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.

By DAVE KLEIN
REESE IS GETTING READY TO MAKE SOME VERY DIFFICULT CHOICES

All right, let's pretend you are Jerry Reese, the Giants' new general manager, and you are sitting at your desk with piles and piles of print-outs in front of you, reports from the various scouts under your employ and the scouting services to which you subscribe and even a few personal e-mails from friends in the college coaching ranks.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to decide on the team's first round draft choice, and for the sake of this argument we will discount the possibility of trading up in the round or down and out of the round.

You hold the 20th pick. Deal with it.

First, Jerry, you must identify the greatest need, and that alone comes with twists and variations on the theme and complications each unique unto themselves. For instance, will you decide to draft the best available athlete regardless of position, knowing that if he's good enough he'll find a place to play?

Do you draft strictly for need, and if so what do you do if the highest-rated need position is not rated as highly as a player at a position you don't really need in the first round?

Which of your scouts do you really listen to, and which ones do you simply use as suppliers of hard, raw data?

Oh, and which of your great needs do you think will be taken care of during the Unrestricted Free Agent period, in which you can sign a veteran with all the requisite experience instead of worrying about making the right choice?

It's a good thing you have been partially responsible for the team's draft picks the last four or five years, you know? I mean, Ernie Accorsi had the final say, but he's retired now and you are his replacement and, well, is it a little lonely at the top? Who have you chosen as your chief advisor? Who is your "main man," the guy whose word will carry the most weight?

It could be Jerry Shay, the team's Director of College Scouting, or it might be Ken Sternfeld, the Assistant Director of Pro Personnel, or maybe Dave Gettleman, the Director of Player Personnel, or how about Chris Mara, the Vice President of Player Evaluation?

One of them? A few of them? All of them? You need to have people around who you are sure of and comfortable with and whose opinions you value. This is critical, you know. The Giants severely under-achieved last season and now both coordinators are gone from the coaching staff -- although head coach Tom Coughlin is still there. But it was kind of a less than enthusiastic move, adding just one year to his remaining one year, and probably in the back of your mind you understand that if the team is lousy again this year there will not be another extension coming.

So choose well, Jerry, and let's examine your choices.

You could go for a defensive tackle, since the middle of the defense gave up enough yards to stretch from here to the Super Bowl -- where the Giants are not playing. Sure, the fourth round rookie, Barry Cofield, played well, but even he began to wear down later in the season. The older guy, Fred Robbins, was surprisingly effective, but can you expect that a second year in a row?

The backups were embarrassing, including one-time first round pick William Joseph (was that before your input really was influential?) and Jonas Seawright just didn't cut it. Joseph at defensive end? Only if you're desperate. Better to cut two things -- him and your losses.

So you could go for a kid named Amobi Okoye, 6-2 and 310 out of Louisville. Or it might be DeMarcus Tyler, 6-2 and 310 out of North Carolina State. They are probably the best of the draft crop at the position, so maybe you're looking at a second round pick for a defensive tackle, you know?

OK, let's move to offensive tackle. Luke Petitgout is the starting left tackle and he missed half a season with a broken leg. He is older now -- he'll be 31 in June -- and you just don't know if he'll reach full strength again. The kid you drafted last year, Guy Whimper, didn't do much. You think he will? You think he can? You better be right.

But if you think you might like to take a look around, guys who will probably be available to you in that portion of the first round include Levi Brown, 6-5 and 325 out of Penn State; and Tony Ugoh, 6-5 and 305 out of Arkansas.

Not thrilled? Well, maybe you're right. If Petitgout makes it back a tackle might not be a prime need, even though you can never have enough of those guys who can play the left side.

So maybe we'll look at an outside linebacker, OK? Oh, hey, what do you think about moving Antonio Pierce to the weakside and finding a stud for the middle -- or using Chase Blackburn in the middle?

See, Jerry? It's a very difficult position, and hundreds of thousands of Giant fans are watching and waiting.

EXTRA POINTS -- If you're around Manhattan next Wednesday, you might want to stop in at Gallagher's Steak House on West 52nd St. and get together with former Giants' Super Bowl/Pro Bowl punter Sean Landeta. ... He'll be there for conversation, discussing the Super Bowl and anything else you want, as well as to sign autographs at lunch. ... Call 212-245-5336 for more information and reservations.

Oh, a note of a personal nature. ... My brother, Moss Klein, spent his final day at The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) last Wednesday night. ... He has accepted a buyout, and now, for the first time since 1933, there is "no Klein" at that newspaper. ... Our father, Willie Klein, spent an incredible 63 years there before he retired. ... I was there from 1961 to 1996. ... Moss spent the last 34 years. ... Oh, well, they just won't have a Klein to kick around now.

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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