Oct 6, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback
Michael Vick(7) is hit by New York Giants defensive end
Jason Pierre-Paul(90) in the second quarter during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Giants Nation — every now and again a post or an article comes up that calls out an NFL team. You know it, I know it, the world knows it. It’s the way of life these days, everyone has an opinion and those thoughts are routinely heinous and full of frothy hate.
What am I rambling about?
Mike Tanier from Sports on Earth wrote a piece about the best front sevens in the NFL. As such, he decided to rank his bad teams too. Someone has to be bad, and good ole’ Mike chose your New York Football Giants for his bottom feeders. Ranking them 29th in a post he called:
MANDATORY MONDAY: TOP FRONT SEVENS
More like mandatory… meh. I hear where he’s going with his thoughts, it just doesn’t seem like a rational place. Take a look at Mr. Tanier’s words:
"29. New York GiantsLosing Linval Joseph and Justin Tuck is going to hurt. Joseph was a mountainous presence inside, and while Tuck’s competitive fire was starting to look like the barbecue pit after a long weekend, he could still ramp it up and dominate in short stretches. Youngsters Johnathan Hankins and Damontre Moore hope to step up, and Robert Ayers provides some depth as a rotation defender, but that is not a fair exchange, at least this year. Jason Pierre-Paul is either a Comeback Player of the Year candidate or vaporware.The Giants line has gotten younger, but the linebackers have gotten older. The plucky late-round and free agent rookies of the 2011 Super Bowl run are still here — Spencer Paysinger, Mark Herzlich, Jacquian Williams — and they still would look much better as a special teams brigade than as regular contributors (though Paysinger has become a decent run defender). Jon Beason is back after his 2013 rebirth, while Jameel McClain arrives to test the theory that if your idea to improve your defense involves someone from the 2012 Ravens, you need a much better idea.The Giants defense recorded just 33 sacks last year, 14 of them from linemen who are now gone. Most of the team’s rebuilding resources went to the offense. Maybe Hankins and Moore will pay dividends in a year or two, but they will need additional reinforcements, particularly at linebacker."
While it’s true, losing Joseph and Tuck is going to hurt. Mr. Tanier glazed over a very important piece to the Giants front seven. His name is Jason Pierre-Paul and we discussed his abilities in this recent piece. You fanatics might remember him as the guy hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just a couple a years ago as one of the best defenders in the NFL.
“Jason Pierre-Paul is either a Comeback Player of the Year candidate or vaporware.”
Vaporware?
"Definition of VAPORWARE"
": a computer-related product that has been widely advertised but has not and may never become available"
Since when is JPP a computer related product? How’s that word even an antonym of Comeback Player of the Year? I digress, of course if JPP is “Vaporware”, the Giants will struggle. In much the same way the offense would struggle if Eli Manning plays like 2013 Eli.
The Giants may not be strong up front (on paper), but putting them Oreo’d between the Dolphins and the Browns front seven is laughable at best. Yet the message is clear, regardless of the exaggeration. If the Giants don’t get improvement from players like JPP and DaMonster Moore, they could really struggle to hit the QB consistently this season.