Tiki Barber’s absence is the most obvious difference between last year’s Giants and the team that opens training camp in 2 1/2 weeks. But two lower-profile departures might have a greater influence on the Giants’ offensive approach.

Fullback Jim Finn is out for the 2007 season with a shoulder injury, and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe left as a free agent. Finn and Shiancoe both played all 16 games for the Giants last season and were two of the team’s best run blockers. Losing both of them means the Giants will have an offense that looks like the exact opposite of the smash-mouth approach usually associated with head coach Tom Coughlin.

That smash-mouth offense performed very well in 2006, when the Giants were one of the best short-yardageteamsintheleague. When they ran the ball on third or fourth down, with a yard or two to go, the Giants picked up the first down 71% of the time — the sixth best mark in the NFL. A major reason for that was the team’s tendency to line up in short-yardage situations with Shiancoe on the line of scrimmage and Finn in the backfield.

The two were good enough blockers that with both on the field on third-and-one, the running backs — Barber or Brandon Jacobs — essentially had seven offensive linemen opening a hole for them. Not having Finn and Shiancoe in short yardage will hurt the Giants this season.

But as much as the Giants will miss Finn and Shiancoe, they might find that the adjustments they implement to make up for the loss of two blockers result in an offense that’s more explosive, exciting, and productive.

For starters, the fullback position will hardly exist in the offense led by the new coordinator, Kevin Gilbride, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach after Coughlin fired John Hufnagel. Robert Douglas is the only fullback on the Giants’ roster, and he has never played in an NFL game. Although the Giants might bring in another veteran free agent fullback for training camp, there aren’t any available who block nearly as well as Finn does. That means the Giants will run more formations in which a third wide receiver takes the place of the fullback.

The Giants are hopeful that with a third receiver, what they lose in blocking they’ll make up for in the ability to break big plays — but that only works if they have a third receiver who can make those big plays. The two starters at wide receiver will be the same two from the last two years, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. But the third receiver spot is up in the air.

A year ago the Giants thought they had added the perfect slot receiver when they used their second-round draft pick on Sinorice Moss, but he was plagued by injuries, never looked comfortable on the field, and caught just five passes as a rookie. This year the Giants used another second-round pick on another slot receiver, Steve Smith. They need either Moss or Smith to make a substantial contribution to the passing game, and considering that Burress turns 30 in August and Toomer turns 33 in September, they need both Smith and Moss to develop into reliable starters in the near future.

The departure of Shiancoe puts additional pressure on Jeremy Shockey, who will now have more blocking assignments. But just as replacing a fullback with a third receiver could lead to more big plays, having Shockey on the field instead of Shiancoe in short-yardage situations might prove beneficial. Whereas last year Shiancoe came in on third-and-one and the defense knew he was there to block, this year, Shockey will stay on the field on third-and-one, and the threat of a pass to Shockey will prevent the defense from selling out to stop the run.

Last year the Giants made good use of double-tight-end formations with Shockey and Shiancoe on the field at the same time, but this year they have virtually no one behind Shockey on the depth chart. The Giants would like rookie Kevin Boss, a fifth-round draft pick from Western Oregon University, to take on some of Shiancoe’s blocking work, but Western Oregon is a long way from the NFL, and it’s unlikely that Boss will make much of a contribution as a rookie. The other backup tight end, Darcy Johnson, has played just one game in his NFL career.

The Giants’ two-pronged running attack consisting of Jacobs and free agent acquisition Reuben Droughns would benefit from having blockers as good as Finn and Shiancoe, but the running game should also benefit from the use of three-receiver formations. When the Giants put three wide receivers on the field, their opponents will have no choice but to go into their nickel defense, which means there will be more room for Jacobs and Droughns to run.

All these changes sound good in theory, but whether they will work in practice ultimately comes down to quarterback Eli Manning. For all the pressure facing the coaches, the running backs, and the receivers, the Giant who will face the most pressure on the field, in the press, and from the fans is Manning. The Giants can only hope that for Manning, the departure of Finn and Shiancoe amounts to addition by subtraction.

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