Does Umenyiora fit in Giants’ long-term vision?
By Patti Traina
NEW YORK - In a perfect world, a Super Bowl winning team would stay the same personnel wise from year to year.
However, the salary cap, age, and free agency make keeping any NFL roster together virtually impossible. Therefore, the New York Giants, like every team, will have some decisions to make, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
"There will be a strong core of the players—our current players—coming back. I can tell you that," said general manager Jerry Reese. "But there will definitely be some changes."
Reese, who said that he builds a roster with not just the coming year but also the next year as well in mind, will have several decisions to make. Starting on the defensive line, he has end Osi Umenyiora, who despite missing seven games, finished second on the team with 9.0 sacks and who was a key rotational guy in the Giants' pass rush.
Umenyiora has made no secret of his unhappiness over his contract or his desire to be paid like a top five defensive end, but that's unlikely to happen with the Giants, who have reduced Umenyiora to a pass-rushing specialist in order to get second-year man Jason Pierre-Paul on the field more.
"Osi is under contract, but we'll discuss everything as a staff and we'll discuss all issues that could possibly come up for us," Reese said.
Still with Umenyiora entering the final year of his contract and fellow defensive end Justin Tuck potentially facing shoulder surgery, the Giants' defensive ends have taken quite a physical pounding to where this position is almost certain to be a need come the draft in April.
In the linebacking corps, the Giants will also have some decisions to make. Mathias Kiwanuka filled in at strong-side linebacker last year when former second-round draft pick Clint Sintim showed he wasn't ready and then later suffered a season-ending knee injury. While Sintim is expected back, the team will need to determine if it can count on him in 2012, which would allow them to move Kiwanuka back to his more natural defensive end position.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Goff, who was the starting middle linebacker before a knee injury claimed his 2011 season, will be an unrestricted free agent as will Super Bowl hero Chase Blackburn.
The Giants typically like to get younger and faster on defense, and toward the end of 2011, they had begun looking at undrafted free agent Mark Herzlich as their middle linebacker until a high ankle sprain and chipped bone curtailed that experiment. Still, a healthy Herzlich will probably be in the mix for the middle linebacker spot.
In the defensive secondary, safety Deon Grant and cornerbacks Terrell Thomas and Aaron Ross will be unrestricted free agents. Grant played well, but if the Giants are able to get Chad Jones, their 2009 third-round draft pick, back on the field at a competitive level, that would be a bonus in creating competition for the third safety position.
Meanwhile, look for the team to make Thomas a higher priority over Ross, despite the fact that the former is still recovering from knee surgery he had in August. Ross was too inconsistent and might not warrant a big contract from the Giants while Thomas, before his injury, had quietly developed into one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL.
In choosing Thomas over Ross, the Giants would also be able to get last year's first-round draft pick, Prince Amukamara, into the lineup as the nickel back.
There are some young players that might draw a closer look such as defensive back Brandon Bing, signed by the team from its practice squad, who could compete for a spot as Bruce Johnson and Justin Tryon, both rehabbing from injuries, are due to be unrestricted free agents.
"When you look at personnel and look into the future, you always want to look on your roster first, in our opinion," said Reese. "Look at your roster first—is the guy that you need already on your roster—before you go out and look for someone somewhere else. More times than not, the guy is already on your squad."
