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Everyone has their own ideas on how to fix the New York Giants. John Mara, Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo have ideas. Writers and TV talking heads have their ideas. Fans have their ideas -- and quite often simply can't believe th team doesn't see how their ideas are so obviously the right ones. ESPN's Bill Barnwell has put forth his ideas with five moves the Giants should make. Because it is what we do, let's assess Barnwell's thoughts.
1. Let Jason Pierre-Paul walk -- I have zero problem if this is the decision the Giants ultimately make. I'm in complete agreement with Barnwell that JPP will never be the superstar we once thought he was going to be. Barnwell says "this relationship has run its course." I'm inclined to agree. The only way I change my mind on this is if JPP is willing to take a one- or maybe two-year deal with a low base salary and some performance-based incentives.
2. Invest in a top-of-the-market replacement for JPP -- The obvious candidate on the free agent market is Olivier Vernon of the Miami Dolphins. We have yet to profile Vernon in our look at potential Giants free agent targets, but we will. This is a no-brainer. If you can swap Pierre-Paul for Vernon, you do it. Of course, you have to win the bidding war for Vernon to do that.
3. Restructure Victor Cruz's contract -- Duh.
4. Find some help for Eli Manning up front -- The Giants need offensive line help. That's not exactly difficult to figure out.
5. Bring back Prince Amukamara -- This is a tough one. Amukamara's injury history and the fact that he isn't a real difference maker in terms on creating turnovers makes it difficult to pay him big money. The fact that the Giants don't have a ready replacement makes it difficult to lose him. Amukamara has seemed all along to believe he will be somewhere else next season. I would like to see Amukamara back with the Giants, but can you pay him $9 million or more annually? The top 11 corners in terms of average annual salary make from $9 million (Vontae Davis) to $14.02 million (Richard Sherman). Can you put Amukamara in that range? I have a tough time with that. Perhaps if you can get him for $7 million annually, but to me he isn't worth top 10 cornerback money.