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 three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

COUGHLIN LIKES HIS OFFENSE
BUT HE NEEDS TO FIND A WAY TO ADD A QUALITY SAFETY

By Dave Klein
If head coach Tom Coughlin has a say in the identity and position of the Giants' first round draft pick a month from now (and who would have the temerity to say he doesn't?) then he is dropping hints like bread crumbs on a mountain trail that he wants a defensive player.

He is pleased with what the Giants did - offensively - in free agency, even if the fans were disappointed that he didn't land a superstar. He is convinced that wide receiver Victor Cruz will come back "100 percent" from his knee injury and regain his earlier form. He is convinced that wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is going to be "even better and more successful than he was [as a rookie] last year."

Throw in Rueben Randle and veteran free agent Dwayne Harris (from Dallas, and a return specialist as well), add a few who have been on the team like Kevin Ogletree and Corey Washington, and now add the team's star free agent signee, running back-wide receiver Shane Vereen, and Coughlin is a happy coach.

Offensively, that is. He is even anticipating the return of injured guard Geoff Schwartz and the free agent veteran Marshall Newhouse, a tackle, and he suspects that offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and quarterback Eli Manning will have more than enough firepower.

Vereen, especially, adds more than one dimension. The former New England Patriot (and the Giants just LOVE taking a key player from Bill Belichick) can operate out of the slot, as a wide receiver, as a blocking back, as a receiver out of the backfield and, well, in Super Bowl 49 when the Patriots beat Seattle, he caught 11 Tom Brady passes.

"They used him in various roles and he was good at all of them," said Coughlin. "When it was third down you almost automatically knew the ball was going to Vereen if the defense was in a zone." Oh, and if the defense is in a zone, the Giants' formation of choice is a three-wideout look in which they can use somebody like Vereen as a running back into a gapped line.

So it would appear that the offense, to a reasonable extent, anyway, has benefitted from free agency, even though the fans were disappointed because the Giants didn't sign a superstar.

But the defense is another matter.

If you use the word "safety" in front of Coughlin, you'll extract the desired effect. He will take on a worried, concerned look, at odds with the situation. "It is an issue," he says, noting that only two safeties are on the roster - Nat Behre and Chykie Brown - and while the Giants are attempting to re-sign Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps, there is going to be a need even if they are successful.

The loss of veteran Antrel Rolle hurts deeply, but he wanted more money than his 32-year-old status would allow and so he wandered off to Chicago.

So it would be easy to guess that the Giants will go for a safety in the first round, right? Well, not so fast, fellas. This isn't exactly a banner year for safeties and at the moment only one - Landon Collins of Alabama (6-0, 225, 4.43 in the 40) looks like a first round pick. More trouble: He isn't considered to be a high first rounder, perhaps going in the final five or 10 spots - and thus he appears to be unworthy of such a nigh pick as the Giants own.

The solution? Trade down, since there are teams lower in the first round that might well be craving that ninth spot and be willing to pay dearly for it. Which teams? Well, Green Bay, for instance. Seattle, for another, since the Seahawks don't even own a first-round pick this year (it went to New Orleans for tight end Jimmy Graham).

So the Giants could move down, perhaps get Collins in the right spot, get an extra pick or two and look really smart. Indianapolis, Denver and Baltimore might also like to move up. Thus, general manager Jerry Reese does have options there, if he chooses not to take the team's version of the ninth best player in the country.

There is a safety for their second round perusal, too, Ibrahim Campbell of Northwestern (5-11, 210), and don't lose sight of that name.

Which means, clearly, that if the Giants don't think Collins is worth the ninth overall pick, they'll go back to their original (and timeless) practice of taking the Best Available Athlete, or someone close to that. There are still positions to address, and if it isn't safety, they might decide on a linebacker, a defensive lineman or even a quality running back, and then shoot for a safety in the second round.

Will Vereen take opportunities away from Cruz and Beckham? Probably. But if he gets clear while those two superstars are being double-teamed or locked in some sort of a Tampa-2 zone wrap, no one will argue.

He's also adept at picking up the blitz, as was Tiki Barber and Ahmad Bradshaw, and Eli hasn't had that version of an additional safety blanket in a while.

Still, the offense seems to be on its way to a superior season, as long as injuries don't take another deadly toll, and it's the defense that needs to be bolstered for new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. This is his second go-round with the Giants in the same position, and the first one resulted in a pass-rushing, pass-covering unit that blossomed into a Super Bowl champion.

So watch for a safety in the first round, or a trade down in the first round, or a safety in the second round. In any case, there is going to be a new safety - or two or three - on the roster when the season starts.

"It is an issue," Coughlin admits, and he will admit it is a major one..

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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