New York Giants: Wide Receivers - Life After Plaxico

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

 

N.Y. GIANTS OFFENSE

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Running Game Taking On New Persona

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL:  Jerry Reese And Eli Manning Resuscitated The Position Of Wide Receiver After Plaxico's Gun Shot It.


The Giants signed Martellus Bennett right from under Jerry Jones' nose, and the tight end couldn't be happier about it.  Quite frankly, neither can I.  At present, it appears as if Dallas' All Pro tight end Jason Witten might be out for the season, or miss significant time anyway.  Too bad the Giants are now in possession of the Cowboys' next best thing.  Sweet!  Lets just hope he can stay healthier than the last few tight ends. Otherwise, I can't wait to see Martellus Bennett in action.  If Eli likes him, that's good enough for me.


Bear Pascoe is back for another season.  And I say good.  He is a gamer who has a good nose for football.  More importantly, in my opinion he is a capable blocker on the line.  I have no idea if Martellus Bennett will be a good two-way tight end.  His blocking ability is still yet to be revealed.


Why start with the tight ends?  As receivers go, tight end has been the most pressing position; not wide receiver.  The day Plaxico Burress busted a cap in his own leg, was the day Jerry Reese set out to never get shot again; not by a receiver anyway.  The after affects of that bullet bled into the 2009 season.  No pun intended.  But if there is one thing Jerry Reese has provided the Giants since then, it is depth at receiver.  I rarely hear him receive his due credit though.


At the time of the shooting, Eli was younger, and Plaxico was a player the Giants were dependent on.  Jerry Reese and Eli Manning changed all that.  Eli is older now, and his own man.  It took roughly a whole season for the Giants to fully really recover from Plaxico's wound.  Jerry Reese has since  supplied Eli with a steady flow of receivers since 2009, on.  With Plaxico gone, the position has also become more interchangeable as well.  Between 2009 and 2011, Giants fans moved on from dreading everything regarding wide receiver, to having confidence in anyone the G-Men threw out there.


Sinorice Moss and Steve Smith came in and out of the picture.  Fans were still lamenting Dominick Hixon's career.  Hakeem Nicks was a known commodity coming out of college.  But who the hell saw Victor Cruz coming?  In the widely touted era of quarterbacks, Jerry Reese does not get enough credit for keeping the position going after Plax.


Add Mario Manningham's name to the list of former Giants.  Eli trusted him.  Mario Manningham left for San Francisco and took a large degree of Giants depth with him.  That's where Domenick Hixon re-enters the picture.  This is also the season Ramses Barden needs to step up as well.  And whether Jerrel Jernigan impresses anybody remains to be seen.


As far as the two returning starters, A) - what the hell was Hakeem Nicks doing on the field recently against the Patriots?  And B) - will Victor Cruz suffer through the sophomore blues?  Remember how he started out as an all or nothing receiver?  He was either a heart attack or a touchdown waiting to happen.  He then learned how to control the ball and left defenders in his wake.  The big question is, can he do it again?


I have no concerns about a healthy Hakeem Nicks.  So I guess everything depends on how he comes back.






Mike.BTB