Giants begin off-season program

by Ed Valentine on Mar 17, 2009 7:00 AM EDT in New York Giants News

The New York Giants went back to work Monday, beginning off-season conditioning.

Ralph Vacchiano has all the best quotes from Tom Coughlin, Justin Tuck and Eli Manning over at The Blue Screen.

Go to Giants.com for some workout video and the full conference calls for Coughlin, Tuck and Manning.

Leave it to Football Outsiders to shoot holes (pardon the pun) in the argument that the Giants' offense fell apart in 2008 due to the loss of Plaxico Burress. In a look at the biggest holes each of the NFC East teams has to fill, here is FO's take on the Giants and how much they need, or don't need, Burress.

If Domenik Hixon had caught that bomb from Eli Manning against the Eagles in Week 14, chances are that this discussion wouldn't be happening.

Hixon dropped the pass, though, that came to signify the struggles of the Giants' offense without mercurial wideout Plaxico Burress in the lineup. With the threat of Burress going over or past defensive backs nullified, teams were able to disguise their coverage, push a safety into the box, and stifle the Giants offensively.

The only problem? The Giants were actually better with Hixon as the primary "X" receiver than they were with Burress. Hixon's statistics are more impressive than Burress', both over the season as a whole and in the games where he was specifically in Burress' role (Week 5 and then Weeks 12 through 17).

New York's offense was also better with Hixon as the primary receiver than it was with Burress; in the weeks where Hixon was in charge, the team had a pass DVOA of 8.9 percent and a run DVOA of 20.2 percent; with Burress as the "X" receiver, those figures were 3.4 percent and 20.0 percent, respectively. (Football Outsiders' advanced DVOA stats are explained here.)

Is this a case where the stats lie? I think we all know that Burress' performance in 2008, when he was on the field, was generally not up to the standards we had expected. FO is a great publication, but I'm not buying any argument that tries to tell me Hixon is a better player than Burress right now.

Ahmad Bradshaw has completed his prison term and is participating in the workout program.

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Comments

The stats don't lie and they don't prove that

Hix is better than Plax. They do however support the intuition of those BBVers who argue that Plax didn’t consistently go all out after earning his new contract.

by blue gonz on Mar 17, 2009 7:45 AM EDT reply actions

Fair assessment

As usual you are on target, George.

by Ed Valentine on Mar 17, 2009 8:07 AM EDT up reply actions

I watched those videos last night

Got me all excited for football again…..4 months to training camp!

Giants fan from the womb to the tomb

by Jim Schmiedeberg on Mar 17, 2009 8:17 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah

I got a kick out of watching Eli lift.

by Ed Valentine on Mar 17, 2009 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, but instead of lifting weights, I'd like to see him outside throwing them

by NY17NE14 on Mar 17, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Hixons as the starter is a small sample size

So i wouldnt put too much credence in those findings

Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

by bren on Mar 17, 2009 9:10 AM EDT reply actions

(Hixon) I wonder what a postitve effect...

“catching” that TD pass in the Eagles game would have had on him instead of the negative he took from dropping a sure thing. I know receivers need a short memory like DBs, but that one’s GOTTA still be eating at him. I’m sure that he’ll use it as motivation, but it’s like fishing, you NEVER forget the one that got away.

We all might being see him thru different colored glasses?

by NY17NE14 on Mar 17, 2009 9:35 AM EDT reply actions

I wear contacts...does that matter?

Giants fan from the womb to the tomb

by Jim Schmiedeberg on Mar 17, 2009 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions

just put the Mrs. on the phone please...

by NY17NE14 on Mar 17, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Plax vs Hixon

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Plax is better than Hixon but I’m still adamant in that the reason we went into a tailspin late in the season had more to do with KG’s play calling than Plax absence. That plus the fact that our pass rush was almost non-existent near the end of the season.

by John W on Mar 17, 2009 10:15 AM EDT reply actions

oops

I meant say I wouldn’t go so far as to say Hixon is better than Plax.

by John W on Mar 17, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

You can't compare their numbers to undestand Plax's full value

If he’s supposed to prevent the opposition from bringing a safety into the box, how did the running game do while Plax was playing vs. not playing? He’s also supposed to open things up for other receiveres — how did they (including Hixon) do when Plax was playing vs. not playing? There’s a lot more to it than comparing two receivers’ stats.

by da cut on Mar 17, 2009 11:42 AM EDT reply actions

i agree

Terrell Owens may not be the receiver that TJ Houshmanzadeh (did i get it? close?) is statistically, but because he demands so much attention, you can make the argument that he’s better.

you have to game-plan for Plax, which is something that most teams probably don’t do for Hixon.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Mar 17, 2009 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions