Approach to the Game – New Orleans Saints at New York Giants, December 15, 1996: Tick…tick…tick…the season is almost over…the head coach is almost gone. It’s time to start getting an early look at next year’s team. It’s also time to start answering some much needed questions. Hopefully, these next two games will help to provide some answers. Don’t look for the Giants to be active this year in free agency. Most of the front office’s efforts have gone into re-signing the Giants’ own players and there won’t be much room underneath the cap next year to bring aboard fresh faces. The belief is that the Giants can do a better job of building team chemistry by developing their own players. Any major outside help will have to come from the draft. The good news is that the Giants shouldn’t lose any key players this year and are a young, and rapidly improving team.
Note: The salary figures used below are the 1996 cap value (salary plus pro-rated bonus).
Giants on Offense: Who will lead the Giants into the next century at quarterback will not be determined until next year’s training camp. Dave Brown ($2,251,700) isn’t going anywhere. He just signed a big 4-year deal that precludes the Giants from waiving him. He will either be the starter or a very expensive back-up. Brown, when given decent protection and a good game plan, has shown that he can move the team. He’ll never be a “special” player, but he is the kind of guy that could take the Giants to the playoffs. Now whether he can get them to the “Big Dance” is another matter open for debate. These last two games are very important for Dave. His disastrous performance against the Eagles is still fresh in the minds of many. If he can string together three solid performances (including last week’s Miami game), he will do himself a world of good in the minds of the fans, media, and most importantly, the Giants’ next coach. What do we want to see from Dave? An ability to keep drives alive by making clutch throws in difficult situations. We don’t want to see “happy feet,” “birddogging,” or inaccuracy. The Saints have some quality defensive backs (Eric Allen, Mark McMillian, Alex Molden, Greg Jackson) and some quality pass rushers (Wayne Martin, Renaldo Turnbull, Brady Smith) so the Saints won’t be the pushover that most people think they are. As for Danny Kanell ($202,000), he is just itching to get into a game again. His advantage over Brown right now is that he: (1) is a fan favorite, (2) has a quicker release, (3) has better peripheral vision and field sense, and (4) hasn’t taken the physical and mental pounding that Dave has. If Danny gets his chance, Dave may never get his again. The wide receiver spot seems pretty well established for next year. Amani Toomer ($492,000) and Thomas Lewis ($793,000) will provide the outside speed and Chris Calloway ($635,000) will provide the “clutch”, intermediate target. It would be nice to have another quality wideout just in case the injury-bug hits this corps again next year. Arthur Marshall and Omar Douglas ($199,000) have been around long enough to prove that they don’t have it. Lawrence Dawsey ($325,500) hasn’t done much with the opportunities provided to him. Kevin Alexander has shown some “flashes,” but is still a relative unknown. The TE position will be an interesting area of competition next year. For the first time in a long time, Aaron Pierce will go head-to-head against Howard Cross for the starting spot. Throw in Brian Saxton ($141,800), who has good speed and hands, and the Giants may not have to draft a tight end after all. Cross ($1,115,700) and Pierce ($1,283,300) were two of the highest paid players on the team in 1996 — the Giants simply must get more production out of them. The starting running back job will belong to Wheatley ($947,900) next year. Hampton ($1,350,000) can still serve as a valuable reserve, short yardage, and receiving threat, but Wheatley is clearly the more dangerous weapon. Against the Saints, it would be nice to see him carry the ball at least 20 times. Charles Way ($178,400) is set at fullback, but with the H-Back probably gone for good, depth could become a concern. The Giants do have Jeremy Burkett on Injured Reserve and he is a possibility. That now brings us to the biggest question mark on the team for next year — the offensive line. For better or worse, tackle Scott Gragg ($439,800) and guard Ron Stone ($1,661,000) are the future on the right side. Brian Williams ($1,537,500), who should return this week, will be the center. It is the left side where the questions begin. At tackle, will it be Greg Bishop ($716,700) or Roman Oben ($290,000)? At guard, Lance Smith ($686,400) most likely will not be invited back. Thus, the duties at the position will be entrusted to Rob Zatechka ($225,600) or Scott Davis ($545,000). Davis, OC Adam Schreiber ($450,000), and OT Jerry Reynolds ($199,000) will be free agents this offseason and it will be interesting to see how aggressive the Giants are in re-signing them. If the Giants don’t, it will be a pretty clear indication that the Giants will address the offensive line early in the draft. Bishop has played much better since his poor performance against Simeon Rice in the Arizona desert. It is now Scott Gragg who has had a couple of rough performances in a row. It would be nice to see a solid game out of both these guys.
Giants on Defense: Interesting match-up — the Giants’ tough secondary versus the Giant-killer himself, QB Jim Everett, who should play this week. Everett just eats the Giants apart in the Meadowlands for some reason. The Giants have outstanding depth in the secondary. At CB, the Giants have Phillippi Sparks ($1,650,000), Jason Sehorn ($420,300), Thomas Randolph ($508,500), and Conrad Hamilton ($144,300). Sehorn will be a restricted free agent and is due for a raise. CB Willie Beamon ($363,900) shouldn’t be back. At safety, the Giants have SS Jesse Campbell ($969,700), SS Rodney Young ($281,600), FS Tito Wooten ($250,300), and FS Percy Ellsworth ($132,000). Both Wooten and Ellsworth will be restricted free agents are due for BIG raises. SS Maurice Douglass ($700,000) probably won’t be back. At LB, Corey Widmer ($778,100) and Jessie Armstead ($920,500) have proven that they can play in this league. The linebacking corps is much better now than it was last year. There is also depth at MLB and WLB with Doug Colman ($150,000) and Scott Galyon ($146,700), respectively. It is at SLB where there are questions. Corey Miller ($1,600,000) started the season with a flash (against the Bills), but ended it with a whimper. If the Giants keep him, it will be interesting to see if the new Giants’ coaching staff uses him more in what he does best (and that is rush the passer). SLB Marcus Buckley ($375,300) and MLB Coleman Rudolph ($491,900) are journeymen, the latter being a free agent as well. Like on offense, it is the line where most of the questions exist. Michael Strahan is set at left defensive end. Jamal Duff ($180,600), Cedric Jones ($1,667,800), and Chad Bratzke ($220,900) will compete for the starting job on the right side. Duff and Bratzke will be restricted free agents and are due for BIG raises. Inside is a mess. The Giants will have to spend most of their free dollars re-signing Wooten, Sehorn, Ellsworth, Duff, and Bratzke (all restricted). Then there is Scott Davis and Adam Schreiber. It looks like the Giants will have to rid themselves of some salary and some of the highest paid guys are now playing defensive tackle. First look for the Giants to rid themselves of salary at some other positions (Rudolph, Horan — $450,000, Douglass, Beamon, Smith, and Dawsey). They will also have tough decisions regarding Jesse Campbell, Corey Miller, Howard Cross, and Rodney Hampton (maybe not waiving, but approaching them about salary cuts — always a sensitive issue). But that may not be enough. Unrestricted free agent Keith Hamilton ($1,536,200) looks like a goner. The problem is that the other two highly-paid DT’s, Ray Agnew ($1,678,100) and Robert Harris ($1,266,700), are signed through to 1999 and 1998, respectively. Cutting them would mean that their remaining signing bonus would have to be paid next year (and this counts against the cap). So look for Agnew and Harris to compete against newcomer Christian Peter, Bernard Holsey ($133,500), Darnell Gilliard ($57,600), and Ramon Okoli ($132,000), and any new draft picks next year. Holsey, Gilliard, and Okoli also need to be re-signed. As for the Saints, they do have trouble running the ball, so the Giants will probably focus more on Everett and his weapons (Michael Haynes, Torrance Small, Lee DeRamus, and Irv Smith). The Giant LB’s should be challenged once again by RB’s catching the ball out of the backfield.
Giants on Special Teams: Mike Horan makes too much money and is at the end of his career. He won’t be back. Brad Daluiso ($466,700) is coming on again. Let’s hope the Giants can keep punt and kick return yardage to a minimum this week.
Outlook: Giants look horrible against the Cards…great against the Cowboys…horrible against Philly…great against Miami. Is there a pattern here? Let’s hope not…Giants 16 – Saints 13.