Quote (TkM @ Jul 16 2013 05:52pm)

I'm a Pats fan.  This is still funny to me haha.

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Jason Pierre-Paul is next up as we continue profiling the Giants' 90-man roster.

Jason Pierre-Paul and his surgically-repaired back hold the key to the success or failure of the New York Giants defense in 2013. Will he be on the field Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys or will the Giants have to wait for their best player? How close to 100 percent will he be when he returns? Even at 100 percent, will we see the 16.5-sack All-Pro monster of 2011 or the very good but not dominant 6.5-sack player of 2012?

Let's look at Pierre-Paul today as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp later this month.

2012 Season In Review

Maybe it was his back. Maybe it was too many snaps played on the left side instead of his natural right side. Maybe it was not adjusting to all the added attention he received from offenses in 2012. Maybe it was some combination of all three. Whatever the reason(s) JPP was not as good in 2012 as he was in 2011. His numbers were down across the board -- 16.5 sacks to 6.6, 86 tackles to 66, 72 hurries to 54 and an overall PFF grade of +29.2 in 2011 vs. a +23.2 in 2012.

Good, but not good enough to be the player the Giants need him to be.

2013 Outlook

Honestly, it all depends on his back. Anyone who has ever had back surgery (I have not) will tell you surgery is a last resort. Also, surgery or not, back issues tend to never go away completely. Can Pierre-Paul be fully ready when the season starts? If not, when will he be fully ready? Can he be great, not just very good?

We don't know the answers to any of these questions, we just have to wait and find out. The success of the Giants' defense is 2013 might well hinge on the answers.

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Justin Pugh is next up as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the Giants' 90-man roster.


Justin Pugh was drafted 19th overall in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. What role will the versatile offensive lineman play, and how quickly will he play it? Let's look at Pugh as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp later this month at the Timex Performance Center.

2012 Season In Review

Pugh finished his Syracuse University career with 34 consecutive starts, and was All-Big East for three consecutive seasons with the Orange. Per Giants.com, Pugh had 13 blocks that resulted in touchdowns and 102 knockdowns while playing left tackle for Syracuse in 2012.

2013 Outlook

Pugh worked exclusively at right tackle during OTAs and mini-camp, and will compete with incumbent David Diehl and James Brewer for that job. There have also been some indications that Pugh will get some work on the left side, possibly at guard, once training camp opens. That would make sense as last season's starter at left guard, Kevin Boothe, has had to play center as David Baas continues to recover from various offseason surgeries. Baas is expected back during camp.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride seemed to indicate during mini-camp that it would be difficult for Pugh to earn a starting job right away.

"What has he been playing now – 10 years? He has been a starter. I think it is going to be very difficult for someone to unseat him, but certainly Justin was brought in for just that reason – to earn a starting position. Not necessarily to unseat David, because David can move inside and be a guard for us.," Gilbride said. "So it looks like Justin has enough ability – until you put the pads on, you know – but it looks like he moves well enough. He looks like he is intelligent enough – it looks like he is focused, professional, determined. So I would be surprised if he doesn’t come into play for us down the road."

Very difficult does not mean impossible, Giants' fans. Have patience if Pugh does not start right away. He will get his opportunity.

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Rueben Randle is next on the list as we continue breaking down the New York Giants' 90-man roster.


Second-year wide receiver Rueben Randle will be a key figure for the New York Giants in a lot of ways during the 2013 season. His play could help determine how potent the offense is in 2013, as well as the long-term future of what the receiving corps looks like. Let's look more closely at Randle as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp later this month.

2012 Season In Review

Coming out of a passing-challenged college program at LSU it figured that Randle would face a learning curve at the NFL level before making a huge impact. He ended up catching 19 passes for 298 yards (15.7 per catch) and three touchdowns. Randle had a six-catch game Week 5 vs. the Cleveland Browns and hinted at what might be to come in 2013 with a four-catch, two-touchdown performance in the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Let's put Randle's performance in perspective by comparing it to some other first year receivers in the Tom Coughlin/Kevin Gilbride/Eli Manning era. Number of catches in parenthesis:

    Steve Smith (8)
    Mario Manningham (4)
    Ramses Barden (1)
    Jerrel Jernigan (0)
    Hakeem Nicks (47)

2013 Outlook

Bright. Even with star receivers Nicks and Victor Cruz still in the fold offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said Randle is "going to be out on the field unless something disastrous happens."

Gilbride further explained the growth he sees in Randle:

"He always caught the ball well but maybe didn’t always run the routes as precisely, as crisply, as you wanted. He didn’t have quite the understanding you wanted," Gilbride said "He looked (during OTAs and mini-camp) like a guy that has been here for five or six years. ... To see him growing like that was a great step forward for him, which will help us down the road."

As we have discussed before, just how much development the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Randle shows in his second season will go a long way toward determining the long-term future of Nicks, a free agent-to-be, with the Giants.

What are your expectations for Randle in 2013? Vote in the poll and let us know.

Quote (Madmartigan @ Jul 17 2013 11:23am)

xnozx, it will be hard for Jason Pierre-Paul to win the defensive player of the year award.
J,J. Watt, Terrell Suggs, Aldon Smith and Von Miller all produce monster numbers.

He would have to really dominate this season to take it him. 16.5 sacks in 2011 is a start but what about pass deflections, tackle for losses?
Seems like you have to do more than just sacks these days. Watt really set the bar high in 2012.

Quote (Madmartigan @ Jul 17 2013 12:23pm)

xnozx, it will be hard for Jason Pierre-Paul to win the defensive player of the year award.
J.J. Watt, Terrell Suggs, Aldon Smith and Von Miller all produce monster numbers.

He would have to really dominate this season to take home the award. 16.5 sacks in 2011 is a start but what about pass deflections, tackle for losses? Seems like you have to do more than just sacks these days. Watt really set the bar high in 2012.

When a 3-4 DE can dominate all across the board people will become spoiled now.

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Keith Rivers is penciled in as the Giants' starting strong-side linebacker.

Keith Rivers is one of the more intriguing members of the New York Giants defense to track this season. Despite a long injury history, including five missed games in 2012, Rivers has basically been handed the strong-side linebacker job. Let's take a closer look at Rivers as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp.


2012 Season In Review

Rivers, as he has throughout his career, battled injuries in 2012. Hamstring woes limited him to 11 games, including six starts. He made 44 tackles and had one pass defensed. Rivers had a -3.1 rating from Pro Football Focus in 238 defensive snaps. The Giants acquired Rivers via trade from the Cincinnati Bengals.

2013 Outlook

Michael Boley is gone, with the Giants having chosen to bring back Rivers as a free agent instead. Mathias Kiwanuka has moved to defensive end full time. The strong-side linebacker job belongs to Rivers -- provided he can stay healthy enough to keep it.

Health, not talent, has always been the issue for Rivers since the Bengals drafted him in the first round in 2008. He has played 46 NFL games and missed 34, including the entire 2011 season, in his five-year career.

Rivers, 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, has the strength to hold up against the run and the athleticism to be trusted covering tight ends vs. the pass. If he can stay on the field Rivers should help upgrade the linebacking unit in 2013. That, however, is a big if.

Quote (Cheesehead @ Jul 17 2013 10:26am)

brian cushing has the best shot at it. lets be honest here

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Adrien Robinson is next on our list of players as we continue to break down the Giants' 90-man roster.

Adrien Robinson was a non-entity for the New York Giants in 2012. Can he change that in 2013? Let's look at the second-year tight end today as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp.

2012 Season In Review

This was largely a wasted season for Robinson in terms of getting on the field. He missed OTAs and mini-camp due to the late graduation date of his class at Cincinnati, fell behind in his learning curve as a result and was active in only two games, playing just two offensive snaps all season. The fourth-round pick admitted that last season was "a little frustrating" but added that he "learned a lot."
More: Robinson has 'come a long way' Pope impressed by Robinson

2013 Outlook

Robinson should find his way onto the field much more this season, especially if Bear Pascoe has to open the season playing fullback in place of the injured Henry Hynoski. Robinson believes he will "definitely be on the field" this season.

"I feel like I've come a long way from last year as far as understanding the offense and assignment," Robinson said. ""I was drafted, so I feel like they want me here to make plays."

Robinson should see action as the second tight end behind Brandon Myers, possibly more often in a blocking role than a pass receiving one. Tight ends coach Mike Pope is optimistic, saying during the offseason that Robinson had "gone into the Land of the Believers."

Tight end has been a revolving door for the Giants in recent seasons. The 2013 campaign should tell us whether Robinson might be the player who ultimately could put an end to that constant shuffling.