29-year old Eli Manning might have had his best year of his career in 2009.  He started all 16 games for the Giants this year and he completed 317 of 509 passes (62.3%) for 4,021 yards with 27 TD passes and 14 INTs (93.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 65 yards (3.8 ypc) this year.  He has now played in 89 games for the Giants completing 1,593 of 2,793 passes (57%) for 18,644 yards with 125 TD passes and 88 INTs (79.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 126 times for 280 yards (2.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  The Giants need Manning to keep playing at the high level he did this season.

30-year old David Carr is a solid back-up QB for the Giants.  He played in 6 games for the Giants this season and he completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6%) for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (93.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 27 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Carr has now played in 91 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,346 of 2,251 (59.8%) for 14,366 yards with 65 TD passes and 70 INTs (75.2 QB Rating).  Carr has also carried the ball 302 times for 1,331 yards (4.4 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  I feel that Carr could do a decent job if forced into the starting line-up due to a injury to Manning.

The Giants were without a true #1 WR after Plaxico Burress went to the pokey but Steve Smith has taken over that role with a breakout monster season in 2009.  Smith has played in 14 games for the Giants this season and he has caught 90 passes for 1,093 yards (12.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Before this season, Smith played in 21 games for the Giants in which he caught 65 passes for 637 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Giants’ passing game has really been great this season and Smith has been a big part of that.

23-year old Ahmad Bradshaw has been excellent this season despite being dinged up all year long.  He has played in 13 games for the Giants this season and he has carried the ball 145 times for 712 yards (4.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs and he has also caught 17 passes for 171 yards (10.1 avg).  Bradshaw has even returned 6 punts for 55 yards (9.2 avg) when the Giants were in need.  Bradshaw and Bradon Jacobs give the Giants a perfect blend of styles giving them a great running game.

The Giants need 23-year old rookie RB Gartrell Johnson to step up due to injuries to Danny Ware (concussion) and Ahmad Bradshaw.  Johnson has played in 6 games for the Giants this season and he has carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 ypc).  Johnson was a 4th round pick out of Colorado State last April of the Chargers but they cut him right before the season despite him being their leading rusher in the pre-season.  The Giants quickly snapped him up and now they want for Johnson to pay them back as Brandon Jacobs’ back-up starting this weekend against the Cowboys.

Rookie WR Hakeem Nicks missed part of the early season due to injury but he is making up for lost time.  He has caught 7 passes for 121 yards (17.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Nicks has pretty much already passed up Domenik Hixon who was a starter for the Giants last season.  He might even overtake Mario Manningham in the starting lineup but that might take him some time.  After all, Manningham has caught 20 passes for 342 yards (17.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs this season.  Nicks is the big, home run type WR that the Giants have not had since Plaxico Burress was out of jail and playing for them.