The City of Opportunity!

By Gayle Saunders

On November 30, 2008 two things happened. Plaxico Burress irresponsibly shot himself in the leg and due to that circumstance he turned boys into men within the New York WR corps. The Giants organization had to make a hard choice, how do you cut a productive go-to receiver, who does nothing but intimidate cornerbacks? No matter how tough the decision was, the Giants felt they made the right one.

 

The Front Office also cut ties with 12 year vet Amani Toomer in the offseason, which basically left them with a group of players who lacked the numbers of those who departed. Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss and rookies Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden, not one of them have more than 65 career receptions or 650 receiving yards and most importantly the wisdom that comes with experience.  

In the last 3 weeks opportunity has knocked and 2 young WR’s in Steve Smith and Mario Manningham have answered.  In an off season when the topic of Giants receivers came to mind, these were the common words to describe the bunch, “Unproven” and “Inexperienced”.  Surprisingly both have played up to there capability and  have  shown great poise, and you can see that their timing is in sync with Eli.  With a dominant rushing attack in Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants may have found the one two punch at WR they’ve been waiting for.

From the chart below you can see that Steve Smith followed by Mario Manningham currently lead all Giants receivers.  They both have been consistent and more importantly they have gained Eli Manning’s trust. Steve Smith’s precise route running and big play ability make the perfect blend for a go-to guy.  Mario Manningham has come up big while Domenik Hixon has been injured. Sinorice Moss scored his 1st touchdown along with his first catch of the season. Hakeem Nicks has shown flashes of greatness, however he is coming off an injury .  

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Receiving Statistics
NAME	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
Steve Smith	23	277	12.0	32	2	0	0
Mario Manningham	17	263	15.5	49	2	0	0
Kevin Boss	6	102	17.0	27	0	0	0
Domenik Hixon	2	23	11.5	13	0	0	0
Ahmad Bradshaw	5	19	3.8	7	0	0	0
Sinorice Moss	1	18	18.0	18	1	0	0
Hakeem Nicks	2	18	9.0	11	0	0	0
Brandon Jacobs	2	17	8.5	9	0	0	0
Derek Hagan	1	12	12.0	12	0	0	0
Travis Beckum	2	8	4.0	7	0	0	0
Totals	61	757	12.4	49	5	0	0

In the NFL you can never predict what will happen. Who knew the former Giants star Plaxico Burress would be currently serving a 2 year sentence in prison and contemplating his next career move. The phrase that comes to mind is “Any given Sunday”, you never know whose gonna get hurt or what will happen.  The only thing you can do is make the best of any opportunities that fall in your path. You never know when you’ll be called upon to make a difference. Its a long season, but it will be interesting to see how things play out for the Giants Receivers.  As for now, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham look like the front runners at the WR position.  I have to tip my hat to them for taking on the challenge.