Land of the Giants: Season previews edition

I know you guys need some stuff to keep you busy while waiting for our New York Giants to tee it up with the New England Patriots tonight in the pre-season's final exhibition game. So, here are a few items to help you pass the time.

The regular season must be getting close. Many of the big mainstream news outlets have come out with their previews and predictions for the upcoming season. Let's review, and see what som' e of these self-appointed 'experts' think of the Giants' chance at a second Super Bowl title in three years.

SI's 2009 NFL Scouting Reports - NFL - SI.com

Peter King has the Giants going 12-4 and winning the NFC East. He has them losing in the divisional round of the playoffs to Green Bay. His Super Bowl choice? New England.

SI's Adam Duerson provides an overview of the Giants.

He has this to say about the offense.

The already formidable running game will carry an even greater load, and that includes backs catching more passes.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to pinpoint the Giants' offensive deficiencies when, minus Plaxico Burress, they flamed out in December. As the headline in the New York Post read, big blue butterfingers shoot selves in foot. Nor did it take a stroke of genius to come up with a remedy. As Ahmad Bradshaw -- the Fire in the Earth, Wind and Fire backfield that led the NFL in rushing last year with 2,518 yards -- declared in camp: "This year they'll depend on us running backs to get the offense started and feed the passing game. We need to step up. We will."

The phrase that kept emerging in internal discussions of the Giants' defensive collapse late in 2008: worn down. (Justin) Tuck experienced it firsthand. "The last four or five games," says the fifth-year end, "offenses really started [double-teaming] me and [defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka], and getting pressure was tough. We sensed that if we just had one more guy out there who could put some pressure on, they couldn't just worry about two guys. But we didn't, and you saw how we ended the season.... I was just worn down."

"In the Super Bowl year [2007] we had [Michael Strahan] and Osi, and we could rotate. Come the fourth quarter, when offensive lines were beat up, we were all fresh. We were still on our first winds. Last year I didn't have that."

ESPN The Magazine

ESPN has the Giants winning the NFC East, reaching the Super Bowl and losing to the San Diego Chargers.

In predicting an 11-5 record for the Giants, ESPN says the following.

Surprise! Adjust for opponent quality and Big Blue's 2008 offense was just as good without Plaxico Burress as it was with him. The real issue was a late-season drop-off in the pass rush; the Giants' added depth on the line this year should prevent that.

CBS Sports

Clark Judge picks the Giants to win the division. His reasoning?

The Giants still are the team to beat in the division. They are loaded on defense, particularly up front, and seem set in all but one spot on offense. That, of course, would be wide receiver. There are a lot of candidates, but all look more like second and third receivers at this point. If and when the Giants get that figured out, look out.

Sporting News

Yeah, OK, the primary question here is whether or not you can still truly consider the Sporting News a 'big mainstream news outlet.' But, humor me for now and let's see what SN has to say.

The pick for them is Giants to win the division, and beat the Patriots again to win Super Bowl 44. Gotta like that.

Here is SN's bottom line.

They've bolstered their defense to compensate for losses on offense, and they'll still be dominant rushing the passer and running the ball.

Absolutely amazing! All that love for the Eagles we have been listening to from the talking heads in recent months, and when it comes time to make a choice it seems the Giants are still looked at as the team to beat.

Haven't we been saying that at BBV for a while now