An honest assessment..

[NightFire]

This is definitely true, though I agree with Wolfy that lots of people are underestimating what Mitchell brought to this defense; a sure tackle. Wilkinson is swifter in coverage and therefore probably more versatile for different packages (amazing watching him cover Moss) but the loss of Mitchell and Strahan (a great run stopper) will be felt when defending the ground game. One of the reasons I didn't mind seeing Gibril go (besides the price) was because he was always a hitter, not a tackler.

 

I have a bad feeling about our LBs but hopefully it won't be a glaring hole again. As people have pointed out while watching the championship DVDs, Mitchell did more than they had thought. Being a good tackler is a very good skill to have but at the price the Bills gave him he wasn't staying. Ahh well....even if the Giants go 1-15 I don't care. SB champs!!!

[gmenroc]

QB - Carr/ Woodson should be better backups than Jared / Wright

RB - No reason that Jacobs / Bradshaw / Ward will not be as good or better than last year

O-line- Should be getting better , still very young and versatile

WR -healthy Plax , Toomer , Smith , Manningham looks excellent to me

DLine- will not be as good without MS ( Tuck needs to prove me wrong )

LB - dont think Mitchell was that good anyway ....prefer the young guys like Wilkinson to step up

Secondary -losing Gibril could hurt us ...but looking forward to Phillips . Ross will improve

Special teams- Tynes worries me / Feagles must be getting too old soon !

 

we will surely be very competitive in 08 IMO

 

Mostly agree.

WR - I especially like the competition for the backup spots. I'm just irritated somewhat that Tyree gets left off most lists after he stepped up in perhaps the most crucial situation imaginable.

 

DLine - I think we'll have a bit of a dropoff here. Tuck played very well, but how much of the impact he had come as a result of single coverage coming up from the DT position? I know he had snaps at DE too as part of the rotation, but again, I know he had a good bit of DT time too with Strahan and Umenyiora on the outside. Again, not taking anything away from him, but it could be a bit of a different story this year. I'm excited to see him come to his full potential. Depending upon what happens with Kiwanuka too, D line might not miss a beat.

 

LB - Again, I like that we have competition for a starting position. Mitchell played well, but not so well that I don't think he's easily replaceable. He was a solid, dependable, servicable player. Nothing spectacular. I don't see a problem with Wilkinson stepping right in.

 

Secondary - Gibril is easily replaced by Sammy Knight's experience and Philip's youth. I'm not worried. I like Ross a lot and Webster, as long he's still in playoff mode, will win me over. I approach Webster cautiously though. Madison is solid provided he stays free of injury.

 

Special teams - Feagles is fine for this year. I don't anticipate him hanging around next year. We should look to the punter for Penn State. Don't know his name, but know that he is rather good when it comes to leg strength. Not sure on his directional stuff, but I imagine that can be taught. Tynes, I feel, is shaky and inconsistent. I could be way off as I'm not overly familiar with his stats compare to the rest of the league. It'd be nice to have someone reliable from 40 yards and shorter and I don't get that feeling from Tynes.