The fact that the Giants need to make major changes is obvious to anyone who watched them collapse this year. The question is, what are the changes they need to make?
Start with the defense, Bill Sheridan has to go. His defense has allowed 383 points, fifth worst in the entire NFL. But sacrificing Sheridan is not enough; a lot of the defensive players need to follow him out the door. Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty were brought in to bolster the defensive line and did nothing so cut them. Moving to linebacker, Antonio Pierce may be a great leader, but he also really slowed down this year, add him along with Chase Blackburn and Gerris Wilkinson to the discard pile. As bad as the secondary has been, just getting some guys back healthy would be a big improvement. But, C.C. Brown, Kevin Dockery and Aaron Rouse all need to go.
On offense there is less work to do, but some major decisions. Brandon Jacobs was terrible this year and the Giants should think long and hard about giving the top running back spot to Ahmad Bradshaw. Kareem McKenzie looked pretty bad this year and it is probably time to consider giving Will Beatty the starting job. Sinorice Moss was a waste of a draft pick and should be allowed to leave as well. Getting a fullback who can actually catch the football would be a nice addition as well.
Rounding out the restructuring of the team, the Giants should look for a new kicker and a new punter. Lawrence Tynes was inconsistent this year, just like he has always been and his kickoffs rarely went very deep. Jeff Feagles can still angle the ball, but the distance on his punts is no longer acceptable.
Two guys who should be safe are Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese. Coughlin did not do a very good job coaching the team this year, but he has won before and should be given the chance to do so again. Reese clearly whiffed on his free agent signings this offseason, but he has had some very good drafts and should definitely get a mulligan on the 2009 season.
This will be a critical offseason for the Giants. If the make the right choices, they can quickly return to being an elite team in the NFL. But, if they choose poorly they could also plummet down into the bottom of the league.
