NFL Free Agency Preview 2012: New York Giants
By Josh Sanchez
The Giants are currently in a situation where the most important Free Agents for them to sign are their own players, some of them coming off injuries. They have indicated they plan on moving forward with Terrell Thomas (CB) and Jon Goff (LB), both Free Agents. Other players that were injured and will need a second look are, OT Stacy Andrews, CB Bruce Johnson, and TE Jake Ballard.
After they get medical clearances and see their way through that process the Giants will have other decisions to make.
Do they keep tight end Bear Pascoe? Seeing as he is the only healthy tight end on the roster with any playing time, I would say yes. Dave Tollefson will most likely not stay with the team that got him two Super Bowl Rings, and Super Bowl MVP Candidate, punter Steve Weatherford had the Franchise Tag applied.
Giants Free Agents that will hit the market are receiver Mario Manningham, defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, receiver Michael Clayton, receiver Devin Thomas, cornerbacks Michael Coe, Will Blackmon and Aaron Ross, safety Deon Grant, and offensive tackle Tony Ugoh.
The Giants may re-sign a few of these guys, but they are all replaceable by younger players and if a bidding war were to evolve, the Giants would withdraw early. Tackle Kareem McKenzie may retire, or sign somewhere else, but the Giants have made it clear he and RB Brandon Jacobs won’t be back.
On the outside Free Agents the Giants may be looking at, the list is certainly short. They have no needs at QB or FB. The Tight End class is weak, and better addressed by players currently on the roster, or through the draft. The Cowboys have Franchised Anthony Spencer, who might have interested the team, but I can’t see the Giants making many moves this off season. I doubt many of the names at Cornerback or Safety make it to the March 13th deadline. The only spot they may move on would be a young Offensive Lineman, but I think the pickings might be slim there for everyone.
Just a quick note on Mario Manningham, while we have a second. I wrote a piece on the Giants wideouts at GMEN HQ on February 17th that got a lot of play. In it I stated that some GM or Owner who watched the Super Bowl, would fork over a lot of dough to get “Super Mario” on his roster. That would be a mistake if they think Mario could be their number one guy. First, Mario has never played a full season as a starter. He has 160 catches in four years, and plenty of drops to go along with those catches. He is an undisciplined route runner, and has always been the guy that barely survives the final cut each season. Mario has some speed, and is perfect to compliment your other receivers that run underneath routes. He stated this week that he wants to leave because he wants the ball more.
I would suggest that getting the ball in the crucial part of the game like the TD catch to seal the Atlanta game, the key TD catch in San Francisco, and the 3 different catches he made on the final winning drive of Super Bowl 46 is better. That isn’t enough? You want to catch 10 balls a game from Josh Freeman while going 8-8? Let’s remember one thing about Mario’s catch in Super Bowl 46, also. There were five players on the FIELD that day that could make that catch and two quarterbacks’s that could make the throw. There are approximately six quarterbacks’s in the league that could make that throw and at least 25 guys who could have caught it.
Mario will win this years Super Bowl lottery. I wish him and his new team the best of luck.
Preview provided by Joe Tufaro. For more in-depth New York Giants coverage, visit G-MEN HQ.