Posted by VDesai:

BTW Robbins and Cofield both had arthroscopic knee surgery this offseason.

ah, that explains the interest in DLmen... V's always informed.

Posted by TMS:

Posted by VDesai:

BTW Robbins and Cofield both had arthroscopic knee surgery this offseason.

ah, that explains the interest in DLmen... V's always informed.

I think the Giants realized they needed more depth on the DL late last year as the pass rush started to wane as well. No Strahan and Osi and they were left with guys like Tollefson, McDougle and Jeremy Clark. This year they bring back Osi, add Bernard and possibly Canty- that'd bring them way above top tier once more. And allow them to move Kiwi around if they so wish. And they also added a lot of speed to the LB's in Boley. This front 7 is looking like a terror again, and the Giants secondary is in the best shape its been since about 1997 with Webster, Ross, Thomas, Phillips and Johnson. Dockery should be back in the fold as well.

Bernard is a really good addition...a savvy vet who has averaged over 4 sacks a year, primarily playing inside. Versatile enough to play DE as well.

Posted by TMS:

i actually really liked what i saw from Tollefson last year... he's a pretty good pash rusher... when Osi comes back next year we'll have 4 DE's that can all rush the passer... & our run defense was solid all year, so wasn't expecting much focus on the DT position... i think we need serious upgrades at LBer if anything.

We may have already gotten them by adding Boley and getting some opportunity to have Kiwi play there at times again this coming season. In fact Kiwi/Clark at SAM may be exactly the kind of combo that could work.

Spags said at the end of the year that the Giants didn't have the personell to do some of the things they did the prior year and it showed as the defense didn't have the same pass rush at the end of last year. Adding Bernard and Boley in addition to getting Osi back will allow them that. Hopefully Sheridan is game to run this scheme, cause we have some imposing personnell on the D again, and the draft will only add to that.

Yeah- he may primarily stay at DE- but you can read the writing on the wall here. Canty is still in town, and with all the bodies they are potentially adding on the DL they now will have the versatility to deploy their pass rushers at different positions as they did back in '07

Posted by TMS:

what's the deal w/our safeties? does it look like Jackie Butler is going to be re-signed or will Michael Johnson & Kenny Phillips be our starters next season?

Jackie Butler was a free first round pick, you're thinking of James Butler . I think James Butler is likely to follow Spags to St. Louis though the Giants may decide to wait and see if he comes back to down to an amenable price range. Most likely Johnson and Phillips are the starters and the Giants look to add another veteran of the Sammy Knight profile to back them up.

I still can't believe we let him go. He is a beast in waiting.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2009/03/its-official-giants-sign-canty.html

March 1, 2009
Giants sign Canty for six years, $42 million

The Giants are now officially loaded at defensive line.

Just a few minutes ago, they signed ex-Cowboys defensive tackle Chris Canty, according to a team official. They are expected to make an announcement in a little while.

And they broke the bank to do it. According to a source, the Giants gave him a six-year, $42 million with $17.5 million in guaranteed money.

No wonder a little while ago his agent, Brad Blank, had told Scout.com that the Giants’ offer was “very decent.” He also added that “even though the Giants have signed a defensive lineman (DT Rocky Bernard), they’ve offered Chris substantially more than what they signed the other guy for.”

According to reports, Bernard got a four-year, $16 million deal from the Giants. Canty’s deal averages $7 million per season and his guarantee is very close tot he $18 million guarantee he had on the table from the Redskins before they pulled the plug and signed Albert Haynesworth instead.

It’s also much more than the five years, $35 million and $12.5 million guaranteed DE Antonio Smith — another player the Giants were interested in — got from the Houston Texans.

The 6-7, 304-pound Canty — a 3-4 end in Dallas who will almost certainly play tackle in New York — now joins a very crowded defensive line with the Giants. For the moment, they’ve got Canty, Bernard, Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield and Jay Alford at tackle, and Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka, Justin Tuck and Dave Tollefson at end.

Several NFL sources have speculated the Giants will have to rid themselves of at least one of those players, probably a defensive tackle and most likely Robbins, who will be 31 in March. But that’s just speculation until the Giants clue everyone in on what they’re thinking by signing two defensive tackles in the first three days of the free-agent signing period.

They are expected to send out a press release with quotes from team officials within the hour.

All I can say is - what a fantastic job by Reese so far this offseason. Just a damn good job. Canty is going to be huge for us.

now to address our WR hole.

i like that kid out of Rutgers that V told us about a while back, Kenny Britt... not the fastest buy in the world but he's a nice big target & he's a physical WR, just the type of guy we could use to fill Plax's role if he ends up in jail or suspended next season... anyone think we could steal him in the 2nd or 3rd round or will he be a 1st round pick for sure?

Maybe even better than Britt could be Hakeem Nicks. Watch out for that guy- he catches everything.

Also don't rule out Braylon Edwards being traded yet.

Posted by VDesai:

This is a huge signing- Canty is a player on the rise and we stole him from the Cowboys.

Looks like Robbins won't be around for much longer. He had a ton of injuries last year and is past 30 now, and we've seen Reese cut those kinds of players loose. Its a shame, b/c he was a fantastic player for us and had several great season in NY.

Canty is a ****ing monster... this is awesome... On third and long, the Giants will be able to rush four or five from Usi, Tuck, Kiwi, Canty, Coefield, Alford, and drop the rest into coverage OR pull Usi, Tuck, or Kiwi back into coverage and send Boley, Webster, Ross, or Phillips.

I don't know... I know Strahan is gone, but I really, honestly, truly believe this defense will be better than the championship defense. If the team can somehow trade up and grab Crabtree... best offseason ever.