14-3, 1st place
Everything–and I mean everything–fell into place for the Royal Giants in Year II. Eli Manning was an MVP front-runner, Victor Cruz became an all-world receiver, and the defense remained one of the best in the league.
New York lost to London, and then both at home and away against Berlin. And that was it. So it was a bit of a shame that the season ended with a loss in the Whirled Bowl.
And the pressure is on to ensure they don’t return to the doldrums of Year I. This is one of the most balanced teams in the league, with the defense being slightly stronger than the offense.
The Off Season
I mean … they were arguably the best team in the league. Depth is an issue, and the offense was, perhaps, overly dependent on “career years” from too many people.
Bottom Line
Strengths
QB, top end WR, DL, DB.
Needs
OL, WR depth, LB.
Offense
Pts: 7th
Rush/G: 4th
Pass/G: 8th
Yards/Play: 7th
Skill
Funny to think that, at the end of Year I, there was serious discussion about abandoning Eli Manning (17.6 AV, 3814 passing yards, 39:13 TD:interception) at QB. After this year, not any more, and indeed, Manning has probably guaranteed his job through Year IV.
With that being the case, Y.A. Tittle (0.5 AV) hopes to move on to a situation with more opportunity.
Tiki Barber (9.6 AV, 1477 yards rushing, 217 yards receiving) has the RB slot locked up, and is solid, if unspectacular in that role. Dave Meggett‘s (7.3 AV, 1.1 rush AV) role is expanding beyond returning kicks, and he’s taken advantage of each of those opportunities.
Maurice Jones-Drew (4.2 AV, 621 yards, 7 TDs) is tired of being second fiddle, so he will look elsewhere.
The Ed Danowski (0.0 AV) experiment was ended through injury.
It’s not clear if Manning or Victor Cruz (19.7 AV, 84 receptions, 1535 receiving yards, 16 TDs) was the bigger surprise in Year II: certainly nobody saw Cruz becoming arguably the best WR in the league. Both Odell Beckham, Jr. (7.5 AV, 52 receptions, 10 TDs) and Jimmy Smith (7.4 AV, 705 receiving yards, 10 TDs) were quite good behind him, which sets Plaxico Burress (2.4 AV) and Marqise Lee (1.6 AV) hunting snaps elsewhere.
Jeremy Shockey (5.7 AV) was excellent, and may even turn into an elite TE in the league.
OL
Chris Snee (12.9 AV, 24 holes) and Mel Hein (10.7 AV) are elite performers, and the only concern about Pete Henry (8.2 AV, 20 holes) is his ability to stay healthy. From there it gets a little dicey, as Brandon Brooks (5.5 AV) was solid, and while both Tony Boselli (4.8 AV) and Bruiser Kinard (4.5 AV) were more impressive, they also struggled with injuries.
Erick Flowers (3.2 AV), Brandon Linder (2.1 AV), and Will Beatty (1.4 AV) will all be searching for playing time elsewhere.
Special Teams
Pat Summerall (0.1 AV) was a failure as a K, opening the door for Matt Bryant (1.0 AV), who was good enough to stick around. Nick Harris (-1.2 AV) was even worse than Summerall, but his replacement, Don Chandler (0.3 AV), was merely adequate, so New York will be auditioning punters for Year III.
Dave Meggett (7.3 AV, 5.7 ret AV, 2 KO TDs, 30.8 KO Returns) owns the kick returning job, and LB B.J. Goodson (1.4 AV) returns as the Gunner.
Defense
Pts/G: 2nd
Rush Yards/G: 1st
Pass Yards/G: 4th
Yards/P: 2nd
DL
Jason Pierre-Paul (18.8 AV, 9 sacks, 77 tackles, 26 hurries, 11 stuffs, 6 forced fumbles, 4 blocked kicks) is one of a very small handful of players with career AV’s over 30. He’s a beast, and Sen’Derrick Marks (13.1 AV, 19 hurries) and Michael Strahan (12.8 AV, 54 tackles, 10 stuffs) were fantastic as well in Year II.
Mike Patterson (9.3 AV) was surprisingly good as the 4th lineman, so this group is pretty much set.
LB
If there is a spot needing obvious improvement for the Royal Giants, this is it. The top end is set, with Jon Beason (12.0 AV, 109 tackles, 12 deflections) and Lawrence Taylor (11.5 AV, 9 deflections). But there’s really nothing behind them, as Brad Van Pelt (2.4 AV) has struggled with injuries and Telvin Smith (1.5 AV), while solid, clearly not starting material.
DB
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (17.4 AV, 6 interceptions, 76 tackles, 21 deflections) was spectacular at one corner and Prince Amukamara (11.8 AV) merely great at the other. Those two slots are locked down, as are Antrel Rolle (12.3 AV, 4 interceptions, 19 deflections) and Emlen Tunnell (10.6 AV, 20 deflections) at S.
That leaves Tramaine Brock (7.0 AV, 82 tackles)–who was excellent–out in the cold, and also sets Josh Evans (1.6 AV), Eddie Meador (1.3 AV), and Tom Landry (0.7 AV) looking for work.
Players Retained
Franchise
QB: Eli Manning
RB: Tiki Barber
WR: Victor Cruz
OL: Chris Snee, Mel Hein
DL: Jason Pierre-Paul, Michael Strahan, Sen’Derrick Marks
LB: Jon Beason
DB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Protected
RB: Dave Meggett
WR: Odell Beckham, Jr., Jimmy Smith
TE: Jeremy Shockey
OL: Pete Henry, Tony Boselli
DL: Mike Patterson
LB: Lawrence Taylor
DB: Antrel Rolle, Prince Amukamara, Em Tunnell
K: Matt Bryant
Reserves
QB: Troy Aikman
RB: Glenn Presnell
WR: Percy Harvin, Paul Skansi
IL: B.J. Goodson
Taxis Kept
DL: Tyson Alualu
LB: Justin Durant
Players Waived
To Start Somewhere
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew
WR: Plaxico Burress
OL: Brandon Brooks, Bruiser Kinard
LB: Brad Van Pelt
DB: Tramaine Brock
To Play Somewhere
QB: Y.A. Tittle
WR: Marqise Lee
OL: Ereck Flowers, Brandon Linder, Will Beatty
LB: Telvin Smith
DB: Josh Evans, Ed Meador, Tom Landry
Released
QB: Tony Romo, Drew Stanton, Frank Tripucka
RB: Howie Livingston, Ed Danowski, Corey Grant, Mel Triplett, LaMichael James, Sydney Thornton
WR: Rueben Randall, Bobby Johnson, Mike Wallace
TE: Larry Donnell, Aaron Thomas, Jesse James, Zeke Mowatt, John Phillips
OL: Doc Alexander, Abe Giron
DL: Leonard Marshall, Terrell Suggs, Seth Payne, Ethan Westbrooks, Keith Hamilton
LB: Carson Tinker, Aaron Brewer, Geno Hayes
DB: Mike Harris, Don Doll, Fred Marion
K: Pat Summerall
P: Nick Harris, Don Chandler