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.

GIANTS RAIDED THE CANDY STORE AND BUY UP
ALL THE TOP-RATED DEFENSIVE PLAYERS THEY SAW

By Dave Klein
When you were a kid, did anyone ever give you a $20 bill and tell you spend it wisely?

And then you ran to the candy store and blew it all on jelly beans?

Well, Giants' general manager Jerry Reese was given a $60 million bill and told to spend it however he saw fit.

So he ran to the free agent store and bought up all the best defensive players he could find.

The result? Defensive end Olivier Vernon, who last played for the Miami Dolphins; cornerback Janoris Jenkins, a product of the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams; and defensive tackle Damon Harrison, signed away from the New York Jets.

Do those signings solve three major problems? Yes, they do, and the players involved are not green-as-grass rookies. They have proven they know how to play and have reached the upper tier in the NFL at their positions.

And the money? Well, you get what you spend for, and in this case the Giants' defense needed to be torn down and rebuilt. Reese has apparently done a good job at that.

If there is a prize in all this, let's share the top spot with Vernon and Jenkins, with Harrison not that far behind.

Vernon is 26 years old. He played at the University of Miami -- "The U"-- and is 6-2 and 275-280. He is the prize as far as money is involved, signing a five-year contract worth $85 million. The Dolphins had affixed a tag on this pass-rusher, then mysteriously rescinded it, which allowed him to become a free agent. The only caveat was that if he decided to sign elsewhere, the Dolphins would have the right to match the offer.

Well, if you divide $85 million by five, you get $17 million a year. Miami was not going to even consider that. Of course, contracts are constructed asymmetrically. It isn't as simple as dividing the total by the length of the agreement, but it was more than the Dolphins wanted to spend.

So Vernon is a Giant, and he will be one of two starting defensive ends. The other is Jason Pierre-Paul, whose firecracker-damaged hand has earned him the nickname "King of Clubs."

Jenkins is 27, a former second-round draft pick by the Rams out of North Alabama (after he was asked to leave the University of Florida for off-the-field transgressions). Scouts consider him one of the top three "cover corners" in the league, and he, too, will be replacing a one-time blazing prospect, Prince Amukamara, the team's first-round pick in 2011.

Jenkins was signed for $62.5 million over five years with $29 million guaranteed. That works out to roughly $12.1 million a year, but the breakdown of his contract shows that he will earn $11 million in 2018 and $11.25 in 2019 and 2020. That, of course, will earn him $14.5 million in 2016 and 2017.

Golly, that's even more than a plumber makes.

Interestingly, the Giants' history with first-round (or first pick) defensive backs stinks. Starting in 2001, their selections have been cornerback Will Allen, cornerback Aaron Ross, safety Kenny Phillips, cornerback Corey Webster (second round but their first selection) and Amukamara.

The third, Harrison, is a mountain of a man at 6-4 and 350, also 27 and a key starter on the Jets' defensive line. He's going to be part of an offensive line's nightmare when he teams up with the other defensive tackle, Jonathan Hankins.

Harrison, known as "Big Snacks" (for apparently obvious reasons) signed a five-year deal worth $46.5 million. He played at small William Penn University in Iowa and - get this! - he was signed by the Jets as a free agent in 2012.

It might be said that a pass-rushing defensive end, a brick wall at defensive tackle and a cover-corner were arguably the Giants' top three needs. It's going to be interesting to see how they will out their free agent list and then go into the draft without a pressing need to hook a starter.

It's ironic, in a way. When the late George Young was constantly feuding with head coach Bill Parcells (who wanted more and more control over personnel), he said this: "It's my job to put players on the field; it's his job to coach them."

Reese seems to have put the players - at least some of them - on the field. Now the second part of that statement falls on new head coach Ben McAdoo. His job is to coach them, with a lot of help from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

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

NOW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!

Website by Mike