For Veteran-Heavy Giants, Familiarity Breeds Comfort

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The New York Sun

When Giants quarterback Eli Manning takes a snap, he receives it from Shaun O’Hara, who has been the Giants’ center for all of Manning’s brief career. When he looks at the other linemen in front of him, he sees the familiar 300-pound bodies of guard David Diehl and tackle Luke Petitgout on the left and guard Chris Snee and tackle Kareem McKenzie on the right. When Manning scans the field during passing drills, he sees receivers Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, fullback Jim Finn, running back Tiki Barber, and tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Those are the Giants’ 11 offensive starters, and they’re the same 11 starters the Giants fielded a year ago. There’s nothing comfortable about huge men slamming into each other in 100-degree heat, but as the Giants convene training camp in Albany and set their sights on exceeding last year’s surprising 11–5 record, it’s comforting to know they can count on the same 11 players for the second consecutive season. Those veterans give Big Blue a measure of stability in a league where the arrival of rookie draft choices and the defection of veteran free agents makes change the norm.

A few other teams have all 11 offensive starters from last season in training camp this summer, but none of those teams can boast the same level of consistency as the Giants. The Cincinnati Bengals have every starter back from last year’s AFC North championship team, but quarterback Carson Palmer is recovering from a serious knee injury and isn’t playing at full speed. The Chicago Bears also return with the same offense, but the team’s quarterback situation is in flux, with Rex Grossman trying to hold off freeagent signing Brian Griese in a training camp competition, and Kyle Orton, who started most of last season, relegated to third string.

The Giants’ offensive stability goes beyond the starting lineup. Everyone who ran or caught the ball more than once last year is back in training camp this year.That includes backup running backs Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs, third receiver Tim Carter, fourth receiver David Tyree, and backup tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. Last year’s second-string and third-string quarterbacks, Tim Hasselbeck and Jared Lorenzen, are back again, as are last year’s backup linemen, Bob Whitfield and Rich Seubert.

The Giants didn’t sign any offensive free agents of note, which means that out of 25 offensive players expected to make the 53-man roster, it’s likely that 23 will be members of last year’s squad. The Giants’ two offensive draft picks, receiver Sinorice Moss and lineman Guy Whimper, are the only two new offensive players likely to make the team.

The Giants hope Manning’s familiarity with his teammates will accelerate his development as he enters his third NFL season. Much was made of the decision by two veterans, Burress and Shockey, to work out at home in Florida during the off-season rather than attend voluntary workouts with the rest of the team, but with their two full seasons of experience together — plus four preseason games and more than a month of practices before the September 10 opener — Manning, Burress, and Shockey should all be on the same page by the time the regular season starts.

For obvious reasons, keeping the same group of players together is generally considered a good thing, but it can have a downside: A team that keeps its veterans around will start to get old.Age isn’t a problem on the Giants’ offensive line — where 30-year-old Petitgout is the oldest player — especially because linemen generally continue to play effectively for longer than receivers and running backs. Manning can expect to have the same front five protecting him for a few more years.

But Barber is 31 and has taken a lot of pounding, touching the ball more than 400 times last season. It’s almost impossible to imagine him being as effective this season as he was last. Toomer turns 32 next month and has clearly lost some of the speed he flashed as a youngster. His yards-percatch average has dropped from 16.8 in 2003 to 14.6 in 2004 to 11.4 last year. And although Burress may not seem old, he turns 29 next week. Research shows that receivers usually decline significantly by the time they hit their 30th birthdays, so this could easily be the last year the Giants can count on peak performance from Plaxico.

That’s why Moss is such an important part of the future of the Giants’ offense. He’s the only offensive player the Giants have taken on the first day of the draft in the last two years. (In those two drafts the Giants have selected eight defensive players, but only three offensive players.) To stay competitive as Barber, Toomer, and Burress get older, Moss and second-year running back Brandon Jacobs will need to develop a rapport with Manning.

Ultimately, Manning is the one who needs to show that the offense can benefit from keeping the same nucleus together. Stability on the roster is nice, but if Manning doesn’t make progress, that stability won’t mean much.

Mr. Smith is a contributing editor for FootballOutsiders.com.


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