E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

HOW WOULD YOU FIX THE TEAM?

LINEBACKER, TACKLE, WIDEOUT?
WHAT SHOULD GIANTS GET FIRST?

By DAVE KLEIN
Before we get to the "tease" headline, let's update the Jeremy Shockey-New Orleans Saints situation.

The Giants are expecting to receive the Saints' second round pick in April (along with their fifth) for the tight end who turned out to be a bargain only for them -- after they traded him.

That business about them getting the Saints' first-round pick, tied to what they owed the Jets for middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, must be viewed with a ton of suspicion, because the deal was that if Vilma played 85 percent of the defensive snaps AND was re-signed prior to the start of the free agency period (Feb. 27), then the Jets would receive their second instead of their third pick.

This would conflict with the Giants' deal, which called for a second and a fifth, so the NFL ruled that if the Saints had to pay off the Jets with the higher choice, the Giants would receive the first.

From all indications, you can forget that. The Saints will not re-sign Vilma prior to Feb. 27, since it would cost them w-a-a-a-a-a-y too much, but there is no reason the team and the player's agent could not agree on a deal and then put ink to paper AFTER Feb. 27.

Collusion, you say? Grow up.

So what we're looking at here is for the Giants to receive the Saints' second round pick -- 47th overall -- as well as their fifth. That's still not a bad deal for a player who wasn't overly effective after his first two seasons and who was a distraction both on the field and in the locker room.

Meanwhile, the Giants hold the 29th pick in the first round (based on record, not playoff achievement); they were 12-4, Tennessee was 13-3 and the final two spots are reserved for the two Super Bowl participants (loser goes 31st, winner 32nd).

So the deal seems to shake out this way: The Giants will have the 29th, 47th and 58th picks -- three players in the first two rounds.

Okay, now how would you start the process of fixing the team?

One might suggest that the team's needs, in order, are inside linebacker (with apologies to Chase Blackburn and, of course, to the incumbent Antonio Pierce); wide receivers (no Plaxico Burress, no deep threat); offensive LEFT tackle (let's move David Diehl back to guard so he can go to the Pro Bowl); and then assorted needs such as another tight end, a backup quarterback (it is likely that David Carr will sign where he can start) and a defensive lineman (probably a tackle).

Without going to the available Unrestricted Free Agents yet, let's give the draft a cursory look. The top inside linebackers seems to be Ray Maualuga of USC (6-2, 255), James Laurinitis of Penn State (6-2, 240) and Jason Phillips of TCU (6-0, 235). The outside linebackers leading that group are Aaron Curry of Wake Forest (6-2, 250), Brian Cushing of USC (6-3, 255), Marcus Freeman of Ohio State (6-1, 235) and Cody Brown of Connecticut (6-2, 240).

Wide receivers include Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech (6-3, 210), Percy Harvin of Florida (5-11, 180), Kenny Britt of Rutgers (6-4, 205) and a pair of North Carolina products, Brandon Tate (6-1, 195) and Hakeem Hicks (6-1, 210).

Finally, the offensive tackles include a monster and possibly the first overall pick, Andre Smith of Alabama (6-5, 340), Jason Smith of Baylor (6-4, 300), Eugene Monroe of Virginia (6-5, 310), Michael Oher of Mississippi (6-5, 310) and Jason Watkins of Florida (6-6, 320).

Remember, of course, that drafting is an exceedingly inaccurate science, that some players taken in the first round will be abject failures (William Joseph comes to mind in recent memory) and others blossom and turn into Pro Bowl players when drafted lower (Justin Tuck, for instance).

But both general manager Ernie Accorsi and his replacement, Jerry Reese, have had a reasonably successful draft track record. In fact, in Reese's two years, he has made 15 selections and, in one fashion or another, all are still on the team. Last year's pair of quarterback Andre Woodson (practice squad) and defensive end Robert Henderson (injured reserve) are included; the other 13 remain on the active roster.

It is impossible to predict the status of Burress, either in the courts (he's due to appear March 30) or in the mindset of the team management. Do they want him back? Will they risk public protest to re-sign him? The problem there is no one will know if he's headed to prison until well after the veteran free agent signings are underway, and to pin gigantic hopes on a rookie probably doesn't account for a lot of logic nor is it worth the risk-reward equation.

So what to do? The top two free agent wide receivers seem to be T.J. Houshmandzadeh of Cincinnati and Mark Clayton of Tampa Bay. Both are outstanding. T.J. is older (he's 30) while Clayton is 25. But T.J. appears to be far more stable and his two best seasons have been the last two. The 6-1, 200-pounder caught 112 passes for 1,143 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007 and 92 for 901 and four touchdowns last season, often while fending off the incredible distractions generated by Chad (Ocho Cinco) Johnson.

Clayton might be a gem, but he comes with just a little indigestion. He's 6-4 and 215, was a first round draft pick in 2004 out of LSU but has had "attitudinal problems" recently and "dissed" head coach Jon Gruden shortly after he was unexpectedly fired.

Another is Reggie Williams of Jacksonville, 6-4 and 212.

In any case, the vote here is to shore up the linebackers, and while noting that the new defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan, was that position coach for the last four years, perhaps he needs to revise his thinking, too.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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