1. William Beatty: A 2nd round pick in 2009, Beatty was active for every game in 2009 and was forced into action late in the year with injuries keeping stalwart right tackle Kareem McKenzie shelved. Beatty is athletic, quick, and has shown the necessary chops to man the left tackle or right tackle position. But, Beatty also needs to put on a few lbs (would be nice if I was in a job that asked me to gain weight so I would have a nice little excuse to tell the wife as to my ever-growing backside) and Beatty also needs to get stronger. Nothing a little weight room time and a few trips to the buffet can’t fix.
The question remains whether the Giants are going to jettison either McKenzie (and slide David Diehl over to the right side and Beatty to the left tackle position) or whether tough-guy Rich Seubert will be shuffled to a backup role at guard and center, with Diehl moving inside (imagine Diehl not having to play in space, kind of nice, right?), Beatty taking over at left tackle and the Giants either keeping McKenzie on the right side (and/or drafting a right tackle, I am thinking a guy like Trent Williams from Oklahoma) to pencil in.
There is still a chance wither McKenzie or Seubert get released outright, McKenzie is set to make $4.125 million in base salary and there are Giants concerns about both guys breaking down a bit. The only thing we know now is that Reese is intent on a revamping of the Giants offensive line and Beatty will be given a chance to start and shine. Beatty better be ready to step up, Giants fans will be a bit more comfortable come training camp with a bigger, stronger, meaner Will Beatty.
2. Clint Sintim: Sintim was also a 2nd round pick in 2009 who never could quite wrestle away the strong side starting gig from veteran Danny Clark (Clark is an unrestricted free agent and there have been no indications he will be returning in any capacity in 2010, nor should he at this point). Let’s not worry too much about Sintim not breaking into the starting lineup right away last year, Coughlin is notoriously loyal to his veteran players and after Antonio Pierce went to I.R., the last thing Coughlin was going to do was insert another rookie next to Jonathan Goff.
With Sintim, there is a lot to like, he is big, strong, and explosive when getting after the quarterback (we saw flashes in bits and pieces and I still blame Bill Sheridan for failing to utilize his pass rushers effectively, as well as failing to cure the H1N1 virus). Sintim has the potential to be an impact player on the strong side and a play-maker at the linebacker position that the Giants defense sorely needs. Sintim will be given every opportunity to start and shine in what we expect will be a very aggressive, multi-look scheme by new Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
Whispers around the league indicate that Kirk Morrison (who we have advocated strongly for since he was tendered with a 3rd round draft choice prior to the start of free agency) has several suitors and that the Giants may have already engaged in preliminary talks about him. If Morrison comes aboard, the Giants will have even more versatility because Morrison is fast enough to man the middle but strong enough to play on the strong side, either way, I like the move for a 4th round pick in 2011 or some variation of a later 2010 pick/player.
The development of William Beatty and Clint Sintim will have a huge impact on the success and improvement for this team in 2010 (we saw the quantum leap by Mario Manningham from year one to two and we can only salivate at the thought of stud rookie Hakeem Nicks taking a huge leap forward after a very impressive rookie campaign), teams win in the NFL by drafting and developing players, Beatty has the looks of a natural left tackle and Sintim has the ability to wreak havoc on the defensive side of the ball, stay blue!