Dead Man Walking? Gerris Wilkinson’s Last Chance

In about ten days’ time, Gerris Wilkinson will begin his fourth and, in all likelihood, final training camp as a New York Giant.

He is currently third on the depth chart behind Michael Boley, an offseason acquisition from the Atlanta Falcons, and Bryan Kehl, a second-year player who enjoyed a very successful rookie season.

For Wilkinson, this state of affairs must be hard to stomach. When the Giants drafted him in the third round of the 2006 draft, Wilkinson wasn’t just some anonymous project or enigmatic roll of the dice.

He was the first player drafted to fix the Giants’ dreadful linebacking corps, the team’s oldest, weakest unit and one of the primary reasons the Giants had lost to the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs a few months earlier.

Wilkinson was meant to be a cornerstone, and initially, he looked the part. He played in every game of the rookie season, displaying the remarkable athleticism and versatility that had made him a star at Georgia Tech.

The following season, free agent signee Kawika Mitchell played well enough to keep Wilkinson stuck on the sidelines, but he made the most of his opportunities. In the pivotal regular season finale against the Patriots, Wilkinson played masterfully in coverage, breaking up a sure touchdown pass intended for Randy Moss, and he notched eight tackles the following week in the divisional playoff win over the Buccaneers.

After the Giants completed their improbable championship run, and Mitchell left for Buffalo in free agency, it looked like Wilkinson would get every chance to prove his worth in 2008.

He was named the team’s opening day starter at weak side linebacker, but knee injuries effectively ruined his season: He played in just eight games, and made only 11 tackles.

Under different circumstances, it’s likely that Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin would have given Wilkinson more of a chance to regain his starting job this year.

But with his team poised to make another serious run at the Super Bowl, Reese decided he couldn’t afford to be patient, and signed Michael Boley in the off-season.

Even though he will miss out training camp as well as the first week of the season, the economics of the situation dictate that Boley (making $2.5 million this season) is now the starter.

And though neither Coughlin nor Reese would admit to such a thing, it seems obvious that Wilkinson no longer figures into the team’s long-term plans.

The Giants’ official team website recently did a miniature profile on Bryan Kehl, and none of their training camp previews have mentioned any competition for the weak side position.

Wilkinson is sure to catch on somewhere else next year. At 26, he is entering his athletic prime, and teams are always on the lookout for inexpensive young talent.

But it must be strange for him to think that one magical season will may have cost him the opportunity to experience another one.

Remember, Jerry: We Aren’t Marshall

On paper, Brandon Marshall is hard to pass up.

His stats in 2007: 102 receptions, 1325 yards, 7 TDs.

2008: 104 receptions, 1265 yards, 6 TDs.

That kind of production, in just the second and third years of a career, does not come along often. Marshall is a once-in-a-generation mix of athleticism, speed, and hands. General managers, coaches, and quarterbacks all dream about players like him.

And even though that very production has seemingly become available, I’m hoping that Giants GM Jerry Reese is dreaming about something else.

He better be.

Even after a year in which the Giants’ top two receivers combined to gain just 1116 yards, and with the entire receiving corps in what might be total flux, the Giants would do well to stay away from one of the NFL’s biggest headcases.

In addition to gaining 149 more yards than Domenik Hixon and Amani Toomer by himself, Marshall has also outdone the Giants’ receiving corps in another notable statistic: police incidents.

With charges of domestic battery against him still pending, Marshall was arrested after an altercation with his fiancée, Michi Nogami, this past March. The pending charges are not his first.

A recently aired episode of ESPN’s Outside the Lines featured a profile of Marshall that was alternated between damning and chilling.

In addition to the details of seven cases of domestic abuse involving Marshall and his then-girlfriend, Rasheeda Watley, Bob Barr’s profile detailed Marshall’s attempts to buy her silence; at one point, Marshall’s attorneys offered Watley $100,000 to keep her from pressing charges.

There are also Marshall’s numerous team violations—too numerous, in fact to list—but at this point it should be clear that Brandon Marshall would be a bad fit for the Giants.

One of this team’s biggest strengths, intangible though it might be, is its heart and its character. It played an indisputable role in the Giants’ 2007 championship run, and it continues to be their bedrock. And even if  he is a good teammate, even if he lacks the dramatic flair of, say, Terrell Owens, his mere presence in the locker room would be a disaster.

There is no such thing as a team that does well with distractions, and if Marshall somehow wound up in Giants’ blue, the distractions would never end. His court hearings alone would be good for months of New York sports media headaches.

Plus, if Brandon Jacobs doesn’t think Braylon Edwards is good enough for his locker room, then what kind of welcome mat is he going to roll out for Marshall?

It’s unlikely Reese will knock over his impressive set of building blocks, just to take a risk. The Giants don’t need Brandon Marshall. But even if they did, he wouldn’t be worth it.

 

What 6’4″, 264 REALLY Looks Like

Everybody loves to talk about Brandon Jacobs’s size.

“Six-foot four!”

“264 pounds!”

It never gets old. Giants’ fans recite these measurements with pride and relish, like first-time parents discussing their children or farmers bragging about prized livestock.

They are strange dimensions for any man, especially for a professional tailback. But these statistics have a way of obscuring the things that Giants’ fans truly love about Jacobs.

“6-4, 264” hides exceptional balance, and an impressive ability to switch between agility and force.

“6-4, 264” hides the yang to Eli Manning’s yin, a hectoring, inspirational presence on the field who energizes his linemen and the rest of his teammates.

Maybe most importantly of all, “6-4, 264” hides a fierce, proud competitor, a man who has quietly become one of the Giants’ leaders, and a player who works for his team more than himself.

The following interview is designed to show Giants’ fans what their favorite giant really looks like.

You signed a new deal shortly after last season ended. As a fan, I was really happy to see you get a new contract, but also somewhat surprised at how much money you took. You probably could have gotten more!

It seems like a lot of players on this team have signed contracts for less money than a team like, say, Washington or Oakland could have offered. Does Jerry Reese drive a really hard bargain or something? Or is it more an issue of keeping yourself in a good situation as a player?

While we’re on the subject of staying in a good situation, you’ve been quoted saying you don’t want Braylon Edwards. What is it about the team’s chemistry that you’re happy with now?

You’ve quietly become one of the team’s mouthpieces and one of its leaders, and they’re both kind of new roles for you; you were buried on the depth chart at Auburn, and you only played one year at Southern Illinois. Can you describe that process a little?

Speaking of which, there are people who take issue with some of the quotes you give to the press. That prediction of 13 wins, for example…

Why do you think people get so worked up about them? You’d think fans would prefer that to your saying “I think we’ll be lucky to go .500 next season in this crazy division of ours..”

Another thing I’ve never understood is people who dislike how demonstrative you can be on the field. I know your aunt doesn’t like it, but I think that’s part of really being in the moment of competition. 

I read an incredible story about how, after losing a high school playoff game, you went onto the opposing team’s bus by yourself and shook hands and congratulated each player. Can you tell us a little bit about the role sportsmanship plays for you in football?

Finally, describe how you prepare for an upcoming season. Do you change your diet? Do you work out near your family, or do you like to go somewhere more isolated?

Do you have any football-related priorities during the off-season, or are you just a full-time dad?

Still Beastly: Divisional Rivals Remain Blue’s Biggest Obstacle

As much hay as pundits and fretful fans want to make of the Giants’ offseason moves—releasing Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, letting Derrick Ward leave, and failing (thus far) to trade for Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin—the number one hurdle the team faces in 2009 doesn’t exist on their roster; it resides in their back yard.

The New York Giants play in the toughest division in football, and with all due respect to the NFL’s southern divisions, the fight for the NFC East is going to be the biggest, baddest, nastiest cage match of the season.

The numbers back it up:

All four teams finished the 2008 season ranked in the top 10 in total defense.

The Cowboys and the Eagles boasted top 10 passing attacks.

The Giants and the Redskins each featured top 10 ground games.

The Giants and the Eagles were among the top 10 teams in scoring.

The facts and figures go on and on, but there’s no sense in belaboring the point. Even the NFL’s scheduling department is in on the secret; NFC East teams are involved in more prime-time games this year than any other. Half of the NFC East’s divisional battles will be nationally televised.

That’s scary enough as it is, but when you remember that all four teams spent the offseason getting better, with the Redskins putting a $100 million mountain (Albert Haynesworth) in the middle of their defensive line, the Eagles securing Donovan McNabb’s blind side with Jason Peters, and the Cowboys finally getting rid of Terrell Owens, the Giants’ task of defending their NFC East title seems almost impossible.

But before you prematurely hold a funeral for the Giants’ 2009 season, let’s take a quick look at the chinks in each rival team’s armor. They might seem small, but the Giants spent most of 2008 proving they could power their way through even the tiniest of cracks, and there are plenty of things to exploit in each opponent.

First, there’s the Redskins. Daniel Snyder made one historic investment in his defensive line, but he’s going to wish he’d spent that money on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

While the Redskins did sign a capable guard, Derrick Dockery, in the offseason, he will not be able to disguise the fact that the ‘Skins line is old and fragile. Both of their tackles are recovering from serious offseason surgeries, and behind them on the depth chart are Devin Clark, an undrafted 22-year-old who has never played an NFL snap, and Stephon Heyer, a career backup who got pushed around like a blocking sled last season as a right tackle.

Clinton Portis is less than thrilled about all this, but Jason Campbell is probably fuming. After the Redskins’ very public pursuit of Jay Cutler ended in early April, Snyder turned right around and drafted Chase Daniel three weeks later.

Campbell’s too classy (and too smart) to openly revolt against his situation, but it seems like Snyder is already preparing to get rid of him.

And while we’re on the subject of meddling, publicity-obsessed owners, we may as well tackle Dallas.

In spite of all the upbeat talk about how successful the Terrell Owens-ectomy was, there’s no escaping the fact that this team’s dysfunctions run deep.

From Tony Romo throwing Jason Garrett under the bus to their spectacularly embarrassing 44-6 season-ending surrender to the Philadelphia Eagles—the Cowboys are not well-equipped to deal with adversity.

It doesn’t help that their secondary is in shambles (Anthony Henry traded, Roy Williams and Pacman Jones released), but the Cowboys’ biggest problem might be their schedule.

Its back stretch is murderous;  three of their final five games are on the road, and their home opponents, the Chargers and the Eagles, will be very unpleasant guests. If just a couple of things go wrong, the Cowboys could very well take themselves out of the running by Christmas.

Unlike Washington and Dallas, Philadelphia will give New York a serious run for its money this season. They ended the Giants’ season last year, and there are plenty of people who think that the Eagles might even be the team to beat in the NFC East this year. They have a capable defense and an improving offense.

Yet for all the media gushing over the Eagles’ very young, very promising wide receivers, this Eagles squad faces a unique set of problems.

Like the Cowboys, the Eagles are under a great deal of pressure, but it’s of a very different kind; Philadelphia’s nucleus is running out of time. Brian Westbrook, who turns 30 this year, is a free agent at the end of the 2010 season, and Donovan McNabb is seemingly going to be cut or traded at the end of every year.

The team also shocked its fan base by releasing Brian Dawkins, a Hall of Fame-caliber player who probably had another good year left in his legs. He was the soul of the team, the player that stood by McNabb after his benching last season, and a key reason the Eagles got that second wind last year.

Add the release of Greg Lewis, the possible releases of Kevin Curtis and Jon Runyan, and the questions about Jim Johnson’s health, and what’s left is a team that may be faced with its last chance to compete in the NFL’s most beastly division.

“The No. 1 Thing Is Competence”: The Bill Sheridan Gamble

For Giants’ fans, there are two ways to look at Bill Sheridan.

On the one hand, there’s lots to be excited about: Sheridan, a football lifer, a guy who’s been in coaching for over 25 years, is finally getting his chance to coordinate a defense. Plus, he was apparently an easy choice for Coach Tom Coughlin, who named him as Steve Spagnuolo’s successor just two days after Spags left to coach the St. Louis Rams.

Sheridan has stated that he’s going to stick with Spagnuolo’s system, and he’s going to be running it with premium parts: a defense that ranked 5th overall last season is getting Pro Bowl DE Osi Umenyiora back, plus two more monstrous linemen (Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard), a fleet, nasty weakside linebacker (Michael Boley), and players like Terrell Thomas and Kenny Phillips seem ready to improve on their solid rookie seasons. The team’s defensive leaders, from Justin Tuck on down, offered support for Sheridan, and LB Danny Clark went so far as to call him “one of the most intelligent football minds I’ve ever been around.”

But anecdotes aside, Sheridan has never been a defensive coordinator at any level. In fact, his job as linebackers coach for the Giants was his first in the NFL. For all the talk about what a diamond in the rough Steve Spagnuolo was, he had previous experience as a coordinator at Connecticut. He had served in many different capacities on several NFL teams before GM Jerry Reese and Coughlin gave him his chance.

There are plenty of reasons to think that Bill Sheridan may become a successful defensive coordinator in the NFL some day, but that process can take time. First-time coaches, no matter how talented, sometimes struggle with the challenge of leading an entire unit (Bill Belichick, anybody?). And saying you’re going to institute an aggressive, attacking defense isn’t the same as actually running one (Tim Lewis, anybody?). 

In an interview he gave in late April, Bill Sheridan wisely emphasized how little he wanted change.

Aside from talking about “streamlining” the schemes and pledging to drop his linemen into coverage less, he stressed that his primary concern was not screwing anything up.

“The most important thing for a coordinator is competence,” he said.

For this first-time leader of the Giants’ most important unit, that might be the best fans can hope for. In addition to a dangerously improved Eagles team and the already potent Cowboys, the Giants’ 2009 schedule features a daunting range of formidable opponents.

Sheridan’s charges will face the aerial assault that is the New Orleans Saints on the road, Carolina’s running game in Week 16, plus the speed demon Oakland Raiders, and the Adrian Peterson Express in Minnesota.

But if Sheridan can maintain his composure from up high (he plans to coach from the coaches’ box, rather than from the sidelines), the Giants’ biggest offseason gamble should pay off.

They have enough talent, enough experience, and have a proven, effective system in place. Thankfully, it sounds like Sheridan will keep that in mind.

“If you give them a plan each week to go into the game where they feel they are going to have a chance,” Sheridan said, “they will be motivated and they will respond to you.”

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