As we say goodbye to 2009, Big Blue View has a look at the top Giants at their position for the last 10 years. If the Giants were lining up their top 11 on each side of the ball, this is what it would look like:

Offense:

QB: Eli Manning. Kerry Collins started the 2000's off strong for the Giants, who helped him resurrect his career, but Eli is in his 6^th season, has a Super Bowl MVP trophy, a Pro Bowl appearance, and is in the midst of the best year of his career. Could be on his way to being the best QB the Giants have ever had.

RB: Brandon Jacobs. This was a tough call, with the great seasons Tiki Barber had before retiring to pursue a career as the next Suzy Kolber, but Jacobs has not only put up great numbers, but is a huge part of the formula for Giants success.

WR: Amani Toomer. The best wide receiver the Giants have ever had, although will probably have relinquished that title by the time we cover the next decade in 2019. For all the great wide receivers that have played in the NFL, I've never seen anyone better at getting his feet in bounds than Amani.

WR: Plaxico Burress: While his Giant career cannot be termed as anything but "tumultuous", there is no doubt about how many big catches he made while with the Giants, including one in Glendale, AZ that will play in our minds forever.

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When we voted for our Big Blue View All-Time New York Giants Team last summer, we skipped over the kick returner.

I think there is little debate that the best kick returner the Giants have ever had is the diminutive Dave Meggett. In fact, I find it hard to believe you can make a legitimate case that the answer is anyone other than Meggett.

Yet, as we looked back at that team the other day, I noticed some of you ask for a vote to 'officially' name an all-time best kick returner.

Here is my case for Meggett.

• Leads the Giants in all-time punt-return yardage, amassing 2,230 yards from 1989-94.
• Averaged 11.0 yards per punt return, one of only two Giants to average at least 10 yards per return in their careers. The other is someone named Ward Cuff, who averaged 12.1 yards on 37 returns from 1941-45.
• Is second in all-time kickoff return yardage to Clarence Childs (who?), having compiled 2,989 yards. Admittedly, though, this was based on volume of returns. He averaged just 20.5 yards per kickoff return as a Giant.
• Has seven returns for touchdowns in his career (six on punts, one kickoff return). Emlen Tunnell (five) is the only other player in the history of the franchise with more than three.

There have been other notable kick returners.

• Tunnell was obviously a terrific punt returner, with five touchdowns over 10 seasons. But, he averaged just a pedestrian 8.5 yards per return and did not return kickoffs.
• Phil McConkey held the return job before Meggett and was a fan favorite. McConkey is third all-time in punt return yardage (1,708), but averaged just 8 yards per return. He was a poor kickoff returner, too, getting just 19.2 yards per return. He never scored a touchdown on a return.

A few other players have been good at one job or the other over the years -- such as Willie Ponder, Rocky Thompson, Leon Bright -- even Tiki Barber and Amani Toomer on punt returns.

No one, though, in my opinion, equaled Meggett.

If you can make a strong case for someone else I'd love to hear it.

We had a lot of fun last summer naming our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team. I thought it might be interesting to revisit that team, especially since we have lots of new members around here who have never seen it.

We went position by position and voted on each spot. The team we selected is below.

Coach

Bill Parcells

Kickers

Punter -- Sean Landeta
Placekicker -- Matt Bahr

Defense

Defensive End -- Michael Strahan
Defensive End -- Leonard Marshall
Defensive Tackle -- Roosevelt Grier
Middle Linebacker -- Harry Carson
Middle Linebacker -- Sam Huff
Outside Linebacker -- Lawrence Taylor
Outside Linebacker -- Brad Van Pelt
Cornerback -- Dick Lynch
Cornerback -- Mark Collins
Safety -- Emlen Tunnell
Safety -- Spider Lockhart

Offense

Center -- Mel Hein
Guard -- Ron Stone
Guard -- Chris Snee
Tackle -- Rosey Brown
Tackle -- Jumbo Elliott
Tight End -- Mark Bavaro
Wide Receiver -- Amani Toomer
Wide Receiver -- Homer Jones
Running Back -- Tiki Barber
Running Back -- Frank Gifford
Quarterback -- Phil Simms

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Phil Simms, as I think most of us figured, was an overwhelming winner in the voting for the quarterback position on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team.

Simms received 116 of the 144 votes cast (80 percent). Y.A. Tittle got 13 votes (9 percent).

So, our team is now complete. What do you guys think of it?

I think it's one helluva team. A coach (Bill Parcells) who will one day be in the Hall of Fame.

Four Hall of Famers on defense (Lawrence Taylor, Sam Huff, Harry Carson and Emlen Tunnell) with a fifth (Michael Strahan) soon to be elected.

Three Hall of Famers on offense (Mel Hein, Rosey Brown and Frank Gifford) with a fourth likely to be elected one day (Tiki Barber).

I can quibble with a couple of the selections. I thought Pete Gogolak was a far better choice than Matt Bahr as placekicker. I would have like to have seen Jimmy Patton earn a safety slot instead of Spider Lockhart, but I understand the demographic reasons for that.

I learned that the two weakest positions in the long, proud history of the Giants are probably cornerback and offensive guard.

I learned a lot about many of the old-time Giants during this process, and that alone made it worthwhile.

So, what do you guys think of our team? I'm anxious to hear your thoughts.

Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team

Coach

Bill Parcells

Kickers

Punter -- Sean Landeta
Placekicker -- Matt Bahr

Defense

Defensive End -- Michael Strahan
Defensive End -- Leonard Marshall
Defensive Tackle -- Roosevelt Grier
Middle Linebacker -- Harry Carson
Middle Linebacker -- Sam Huff
Outside Linebacker -- Lawrence Taylor
Outside Linebacker -- Brad Van Pelt
Cornerback -- Dick Lynch
Cornerback -- Mark Collins
Safety -- Emlen Tunnell
Safety -- Spider Lockhart

Offense

Center -- Mel Hein
Guard -- Ron Stone
Guard -- Chris Snee
Tackle -- Rosey Brown
Tackle -- Jumbo Elliott
Tight End -- Mark Bavaro
Wide Receiver -- Amani Toomer
Wide Receiver -- Homer Jones
Running Back -- Tiki Barber
Running Back -- Frank Gifford
Quarterback -- Phil Simms

The vote for the running backs on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team has concluded, and there were no real surprises.

Tiki Barber and Frank Gifford were your choices. Barber garnered 87 votes (52%) and Gifford 34 votes (20%). Joe Morris (21 votes) and Rodney Hampton (18) were third and fourth, respectively.

Now we move on to the final position -- quarterback.

Some of you will no doubt hate this decision, so I will get it out of the way quickly. I am  not giving you the option of voting for Eli Manning. Super Bowl MVP or not, Eli hasn't been around long enough or compiled good enough numbers to be considered one of the great Giants quarterbacks of all time.

I think that will change eventually, but this is 2008 -- not 2013 -- and there are too many other great quarterbacks worthy of your vote for me to put Eli in here.

So, here are your candidates. Bios come from AssociatedContent.com.

• Phil Simms -- When Simms was drafted in the first round with the 7^th overall pick, New York Giant fans booed the pick. But when he retired after the 1993 season, you could not find a Giants fan who did not love Phil. Simms led the Giants to their first Super Bowl victory in 1986 when the Giants defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI. It was the Giants first league championship since 1956. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXI by completing 22 of 25 passes for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. Phil Simms finished his career with 199 touchdown passes and 33,462 yards both first on the Giants all-time list. Simms passed for over 3,000 yards 6 times in his career. Phil's number 11 was retired by the Giants.
  
  Ed's Take:
  Simms was the perfect quarterback for the Giants at the perfect time. His career was characterized by toughness, leadership, and dependability. The Giants were hardly an offensive juggernaut in the Simms years, but Simms had a terrific career without terrific weapons to throw to.
  
• Y.A. Tittle -- In Tittle's brief career in New York he lead the Giants to three straight championship games (1961-1963) but the Giants lost all three. In his four years with the Giants Tittle passed for 96 touchdowns and 10,439 yards. His best season was 1963 when Tittle passed for 36 touchdowns which at the time was an NFL record. The Giants retired Tittle's No. 14 and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
  
  Ed's Take:
  Tittle was only a Giant for the final four of his 17 NFL seasons, but will always be thought of as a great Giant. Like Dan Marino, he is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks who never won a title.
  
• Charlie Conerly -- Conerly led the Giants to the 1956 NFL championship and 2 more championship games in 1958 and 1959. He was voted the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1959 when he threw for 14 touchdowns and 1706 yards. Conerly finished his Giants career with 173 touchdown passes and 19,488 passing yards. The Giants retired Charlie's number 42.
  
  Ed's Take:
  It seems that I always think of Tittle, then Conerly, when I think of old-time Giants quarterbacks. That might not be fair. Conerly led the Giants for 14 seasons, and did win a championship.
  
• Fran Tarkenton -- Tarkenton is widely associated with the Minnesota Vikings, but he spent 5 seasons with the New York Giants. Although the Giants were not very successful during Fran's stint in New York Fran Tarkenton managed to pass for 13,905 and 103 touchdowns in his five seasons. His best season was 1967 when he passed for 29 touchdowns and 3088 yards.
  
  Ed's Take:
  Tarkenton, as was pointed out, is best remembered as a Minnesota Viking -- where he spent 13 of his 18-big-league seasons. Tarkenton, however, made four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances with the Giants from 1967-70 and was one of the few bright spots during the Wilderness Years.

As always, vote in the poll for your choice. You have until next Thursday evening to decide.

Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team

Coach

Bill Parcells

Kickers

Punter -- Sean Landeta
Placekicker -- Matt Bahr

Defense

Defensive End -- Michael Strahan
Defensive End -- Leonard Marshall
Defensive Tackle -- Roosevelt Grier
Middle Linebacker -- Harry Carson
Middle Linebacker -- Sam Huff
Outside Linebacker -- Lawrence Taylor
Outside Linebacker -- Brad Van Pelt
Cornerback -- Dick Lynch
Cornerback -- Mark Collins
Safety -- Emlen Tunnell
Safety -- Spider Lockhart

Offense

Center -- Mel Hein
Guard -- Ron Stone
Guard -- Chris Snee
Tackle -- Rosey Brown
Tackle -- Jumbo Elliott
Tight End -- Mark Bavaro
Wide Receiver -- Amani Toomer
Wide Receiver -- Homer Jones
Running Back -- Tiki Barber
Running Back -- Frank Gifford

Don't forget that today is your last day to vote for the running back you think most deserves to be on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team.

Tiki Barber is running away with the top slot, having grabbed 80 of the 156 votes cast (51%) as a I type this. Frank Gifford is second with 31 votes, Joe Morris has 20 and Rodney Hampton 18.

Personally, I'm rooting for Gifford to hang on to the second slot.

After this, we move on to quarterback -- the final position on our All-Time Team. I'm sure that one will set off some debates, but I'm not going to jump ahead quite yet.

The vote to determine whether or not we should grant Tiki Barber an automatic spot on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team is split almost 50-50. With that in mind, I can't just give him a spot. So, Tiki will have to rely on Big Blue View Nation to vote him in.

Here are your nominees for the two running back slots.

• Tiki Barber -- We all know the numbers. He's the Giants all-time leading rusher (10,449 yards), second-leading receiver of all-time (586 catches), is only the third player in NFL history to have 10,000 yards rushing and 5,000 yards receiving, had six 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He is the best running back in Giants history, and should go to the Hall of Fame. What I will be interested to see is, considering that his mouth has turned him into such a hated figure can Big Blue View Nation stomach voting for him?
• Frank Gifford -- Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, Gifford had 3,609 yards rushing and 5,434 yards receiving in his career. He was named to eight Pro Bowls and was All-Pro four times.
• Joe Morris -- "Little Joe" was a big part of the Giants' 1986 championship team, gaining 1,516 yards (101.1 per game). He gained more than 1,000 yards three times and finished his 8-year career with 5,585 yards. Named to two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team.
• Rodney Hampton -- The powerful Hampton was the Giants' all-time leading rusher (6,897 yards) until he was eclipsed by Barber. Had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 1991-95. On the down side, he averaged only 3.8 yards per carry for his career, and never reached 4 yards per carry after 1992, his third season in the league.
• Tuffy Leemans -- Played for the Giants from 1936-43, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978. Here is his bio, from Wikipedia:
  Leemans finished his pro career in 1943 with 3,132 yards rushing, 28 receptions for 422 yards, and 2,318 yards passing to his credit. He scored 17 touchdowns rushing, 3 on receptions, and passed for 25 more. His career ledger also includes punt return and pass interception statistics. ... During his outstanding eight-year career, he was named first-or second team all-league every year from 1936 to 1942, by either or both the NFL and a major wire service.

You can make arguments that several others belong on this list, including Joe Morrison, Alex Webster, Dave Meggett and possibly others. Realistically, though, the guys on the list are the ones I feel strongly we should be voting on.

As always, vote in the poll. You have until Thursday night.

Wow!

In the closest, most interesting vote we have had for any of the positions on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team, Homer Jones has earned the second wide receiver slot, besting Plaxico Burress by one vote. Yes, one vote.

The final tally? Jones 40, Burress 39.  Del Shofner and Joe Morrison each got 14 votes, and Kyle Rote 12.

I understood the support for Burress, since current and more recent players are better known to most fans. I was gratified to see the support for a player from an earlier era, though.

So, we now have just two positions left -- running back and quarterback. The Tiki Barber situation will be interesting here.

What I want to do first is ask you guys if we should simply give Tiki a slot, as we have done with Toomer and Lawrence Taylor? I know many of us have mixed feelings about Tiki, so I'm interested to see what you guys want to do here.

Respond to that poll.  Once we figure that out, I'll post the full running back poll.

Have a happy, safe 4th of July everybody!

Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team

Coach

Bill Parcells

Kickers

Punter -- Sean Landeta
Placekicker -- Matt Bahr

Defense

Defensive End -- Michael Strahan
Defensive End -- Leonard Marshall
Defensive Tackle -- Roosevelt Grier
Middle Linebacker -- Harry Carson
Middle Linebacker -- Sam Huff
Outside Linebacker -- Lawrence Taylor
Outside Linebacker -- Brad Van Pelt
Cornerback -- Dick Lynch
Cornerback -- Mark Collins
Safety -- Emlen Tunnell
Safety -- Spider Lockhart

Offense

Center -- Mel Hein
Guard -- Ron Stone
Guard -- Chris Snee
Tackle -- Rosey Brown
Tackle -- Jumbo Elliott
Tight End -- Mark Bavaro
Wide Receiver -- Amani Toomer
Wide Receiver -- Homer Jones