Valentine’s Views: Fourth Of July Fireworks Edition

With this being the Fourth of July let’s offer up a special “Fireworks Edition” of Valentine’s Views. No heavy analysis of the points made, we’ve done that in other places and we know you have plenty to do today. So, a few quick bullet points for you to discuss and then back to enjoying the holiday.

There Will Be Fireworks If ...

• Brandon Marshall, Evan Engram and a healthy Shane Vereen add what the Giants think they will to the passing game.
• Eli Manning remains healthy, gets enough pass protection, and he can hold off Father time by disproving questions about his arm strength.
• Paul Perkins (profile) helps the Giants run the ball better than they have in recent years.
• Odell Beckham is as ready for a huge season as he has been telling the world he is.
• The Giants’ dominant defense remains healthy.
• The gamble that Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart will improve and at least adequately handle the offensive tackle positions pays off.

There Won’t Be Fireworks If ...

• That gamble on Flowers and Hart backfires. I’ve said for years that the quality of your play-makers doesn’t really matter if you don’t have time to get them the ball.
• The Giants’ apparent lack of cornerback depth behind Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Eli Apple gets exposed. The Giants have several promising youngsters, but they still have to prove they can do the job.
• Along that same vein, injuries across the defense cause a regression from 2016.
• It becomes apparent, either because of injury or performance, that Father Time is catching up to Manning.

Enjoy your holiday and stay safe, folks. If you are putting on your own fireworks display, please be careful. And if you’re celebrating a little too hard, let someone else drive.