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Pro Sports Wrap - Sports Personality of the Day:Seth Smith

6/2011 Team Scope: New York Giants

June 17th 2011 13:47
The New York Giants fell apart at the end of what should have been a promising 2010 season. There's quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding this team with Osi Umenyiora not happy again, and there is a laundry list of free agents. Barry Cofield, Kevin Boss, Ahmad Bradshaw, Steve Smith, and Keith Bulluck are the key players among the many that the Giants will have to make a decision on once the lockout is lifted.

Kevin Boss and Steve Smith are the Giants' only true possession receivers, and the Giants would be starved of talent at tight end if Boss were to leave. Smith is the best possession receiver in the NFL, and he's probably going to walk. If the Giants want to avoid a lack of depth at receiver, they will have to bring back either Derek Hagan or Dominik Hixon. I would choose the latter over the former.


Ahmad Bradshaw is one of the best all-around backs in the league, and he is a priority for the Giants to re-sign. Brandon Jacobs makes a nice tandem with Bradshaw, but he is the number two back on this roster. Kareem McKenzie is one of the best right tackles in the league, and Rich Seubert is a very good veteran guard. The Giants can live with Shaun O'Hara and Chris Snee, but left tackle David Diehl has become a horrible player. They need to find a new left tackle, but it doesn't seem like he will be replaced this season. That's a key weakness to watch out for in pass pro.

If Osi does leave and Matthias Kiwanuka walks as expected, then Jason Pierre-Paul will be able to start at right end. Justin Tuck is a force on his own, and Pierre-Paul is a physical specimen and was great as a rookie last season. Barry Cofield is a key player for the Giants, and he should be brought back even though the Giants drafted the promising Marvin Austin. Chris Canty is a solid and underrated defensive tackle. The Giants have a monstrous defensive line, and they will still be very good there if Osi leaves.


Jonathan Goff is one of the best linebackers in the NFL against the run but poor in pass coverage. Michael Boley is the exact opposite, so he's mainly used as a nickel corner. Clint Sintim is a talented linebacker who is best suited for the 3-4 and also struggles to stay healthy. The Giants don't have much depth at linebacker, and I think they need to try to bring back Keith Bulluck at a low price.

Terrell Thomas is a good corner because of how physical he is, but he isn't a good corner in coverage. The Giants have a lot of question marks at corner, and they desperately need Prince Amukamara to produce as a rookie. I think he will, but I still don't like their group of corners.

Antrel Rolle is one of the most overrated players in the NFL. He can tackle and make plays, but he is horrible in coverage. Kenny Phillips is talented, but we don't know how explosive he will be after an injury. Michael Johnson is set to become a free agent, so that hurts their depth. Deon Grant is gone, and he was key in their three-safety sets. I think they are alright at safety, and the real upgrades in the secondary need to come at corner.
Is He Serious?
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New England Patriots B Nate Solder has a ton of upside, and he'll develop on the bench under assistant offensive coach/offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia who is one of the best in the league's history. Ras-I Dowling is a physical corner with good length who fits the Pats' system. He'll most likely start right off as a nickel corner, and he can match-up against the tall receivers of the NFL too. Shane Vereen was a poor pick, but the Stevan Ridley choice was a pretty good one. He's the power back they need, and while he was somewhat of a reach, I think the Pats have something special worked up for him.

Ryan Mallet's character concerns are somewhat overblown. There really was none of that when he was at Arkansas, and he showed he could lead in college. While there are concerns, he can't really do anything stupid under Belichick. Marcus Cannon was my favorite pick by the Patriots, and I thought it was the best value pick in the draft. He will start right away if Matt Light is not re-signed, and he is a versatile lineman that was worth a second rounder. He only fell because he has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, but he'll make a full recovery. The trade with the Saints was a nice one at the end of round one.

New Orleans Saints C plus- Cameron Jordan was a much needed choice because the Saints really needed a pass rusher. Jordan will give Gregg Williams even more options in his defensive schemes, and Jordan is a great player that should never have fell that far. My problem was the trade at the end of round one. It wasn't the picks they gave up. It was the fact that they traded up for a running back. Although Mark Ingram won the Heisman once, you should never trade up for a running back.

If you look at last year's draft, the Chargers dealt a crazy amount of picks for Ryan Mathews, and he was disappointing in his rookie year. Running backs are easily replaceable in this league, and it's so easy to find a starting-caliber back. The Saints could have waited and been like the Eagles and picked a guy like Dion Lewis where the value was good. Linebacker Martez Wilson is a leader, but he's going to need some seasoning before he can play. It was a solid choice though.

New York Giants B plus- I liked what the Giants did in the draft. They desperately needed a cover corner. Terrell Thomas is a physical corner, but he doesn't really cover and the other corners are terrible. The Giants went ahead and picked Prince Amukamara, who fell to the 20th pick because of character issues. I love his speed, and he is the most instinctive corner in the draft- even better at that than Patrick Peterson.

Marvin Austin will add another guy into an already very good defensive tackle unit, but he is a great one-gap tackle. Although D-Tackle wasn't a need, the Giants took a good player. I almost never doubt their scouting. Jerry Reese and his guys are among the best in the business. Jerrel Jernigan was the best slot receiver in the draft, and the Giants are preparing for Steve Smith to walk. I loved that 6th round pick to get Greg Jones. He was a great leader in the middle for Michigan State, and he'll bring his solid talents to the pros. The Giants do have good LBs, but they know that he was incredible value in the 6th.

Oakland Raiders D This was another poor draft by Al Davis. Stefen Wisniewski is the son of their offensive line coach, and he will finally give the Raiders a solid player in the interior. He's a smart player that is a true leader. The Raiders traded up to get everyone's sleeper Taiwan Jones. It wasn't a position of need, so the only way to justify trading up for him is for Jones- and his Al Davis like speed- to fulfill his super-sleeper expectations loaded onto him by all of us.
Next Project: Nate Solder
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QB New York Giants Eli Manning

He has the arm, the attitude, the ring, the X-Factor, and the pedigree. Imagine how great Eli Manning would be if he cut down on those reckless throws? His decision making is rash, and that obviously translates to the 20 INTs he throws in a season. But let's not forget that he throws it deep a lot, and that his receivers are young and poor runners for the most part- except for Steve Smith. His throws are inexcusable at times, but Manning has his brother's physical skill set. What kills Eli is that he doesn't have his brother's decision making.

WR Steve Smith New York Giants

Forget Wes Welker. Smith is the best possession receiver in town. This is no knock on Welker, but rather praise for Smith. Players that have Smith's role aren't supposed to put up gaudy TD and yardage numbers, so they don't get hyped by the fantasy guys- who by the way really hurt the game with their stupid views on statistics. Anyway, guys like Smith are consistent week in and week out. They get 7 catches a game and reel off 100 of em in a season. They are the guys that play well when everything else goes wrong.

Smith is a solid route runner that is great at making catches. He doesn't really get the TDs anymore with Hakeem Nicks on the team. Nicks' height is the reason why Manning likes to target him in the end zone. Smith's 7 TDs and 1,220 receiving yards in 2009 hint that he can play well in the red zone and get the yardage when called upon. Right now, the Giants just need Smith to be the guy that moves the chains.
The Best Possession Receiver
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2/2011 Top 75 Wide Receiver Rankings

February 26th 2011 14:29
1. Larry Fitzgerald- Still put up big numbers with nightmare QB carousel. Can catch absolutely anything. Has height, leadership, and athleticism.
2. Andre Johnson- Speed, height, and athleticism. Nuff said.
3. Brandon Marshall- If only he was reunited with Cutler.
4. Reggie Wayne- Peyton doesn't make him great. He helps, but Wayne can ball. Have you seen some of the catches he makes? This guy is amazing.
5. Roddy White- He can beat you deep and can play the possession game. 2010's best WR.

6. Greg Jennings- Jennings is a multi-threat receiver that is extremely tough to guard. You can't afford to give him any inch of space.
7. Calvin Johnson- Megatron is insanely gifted. His raw ability is off the charts.
8. Steve Smith CAR- This is a list by talent, and Smith is certainly incredibly talented. His speed, blocking, hops, catching, and deep play ability make him a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.
9. Mike Wallace- The best deep threat in the league.
10. Steve Smith NYG- The best possession receiver in the NFL.

11. Anquan Boldin- He had a down year, but he is still an athletic wideout.
12. Marques Colston- A great deep threat that is silky downfield.
13. Hakeem Nicks- Extreme talent, but he needs to work on his routes big time.
14. Santonio Holmes- For those of you that don't think he is great, why don't you reexamine that game winning Super Bowl TD catch? Or watch his speed? Or how about the fact that he was the 11th best receiver in the league in helping his team win games according to Advanced Football Stats' WPA score.
15. Miles Austin- He isn't great, but he's definitely good.

16. Jeremy Maclin- If only people realized that it is Maclin who is the best WR on the Eagles.
17. DeSean Jackson- Maclin may be better, but D-Jax and his crazy downfield speed are closely behind Mac. Jackson really needs to work on his route running and other skills instead of just blasting downfield.
18. Vincent Jackson- V-Jax is a huge redzone target and should be valued more by his own team. If he played the whole season, Rivers would be the easy MVP pick.
19. Dez Bryant- I can't wait till this guy fully develops. My best stroke of luck was when I found his rookie card in a Score pack for $1. I'll be holding on to that one.
20. Austin Collie- Collie is a catching machine.

21. TB Mike Williams
22. Wes Welker
23. Dwayne Bowe
24. Sidney Rice
25. Chad Ochocinco
26. Lee Evans
27. Kenny Britt
28. Santana Moss
29. Lance Moore
30. Johnny Knox
31. Brandon Lloyd
32. Braylon Edwards
33. Malcolm Floyd
34. Steve Breaston
35. James Jones
36. Pierre Garcon
37. Percy Harvin
38. Nate Washington
39. Steve Johnson
40. Mario Manningham
41. Davone Bess
42. Jordan Shipley
43. Mike Sims-Walker
44. Jordy Nelson
45. Hines Ward
46. Jerricho Cotchery
47. Mike Williams SEA
48. Robert Meachem
49. Roy Williams
50. Earl Bennett
51. TJ Houshmanzadeh
52. Mike Thomas
53. Michael Crabtree
54. Danny Amendola
55. Randy Moss
56. Nate Burleson
57. Bernard Berrian
58. Donald Driver
59. Kevin Walter
60. Devery Henderson
61. Devin Hester
62. Anthony Gonzalez
63. Ben Obomanu
64. Devin Aromashodu
65. Mike Jenkins
67 Harry Douglas
67. Patrick Crayton
68.Greg Camarillo
69. Brian Hartline
70. Josh Morgan
71. Jacoby Ford
72. Jacoby Jones
73. Early Doucet
74. Chaz Schilens
75. DeMaryius Thomas
Already 19th Best WR
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