NYSun:Giants Face Roster Holes and Rumors of Turmoil

[spanishomelette]

http://www.nysun.com/article/49761

Giants Face Roster Holes and Rumors of Turmoil

Football

By AARON SCHATZ

March 5, 2007

...

Meanwhile, the Giants, a team with a multitude of holes, did nothing.

The Giants went into the off-season needing help on the offensive line, depth in the defensive front seven, and a replacement for retired running back Tiki Barber. The best players at the first two positions are now all off the market. The best available running backs are still out there, but of the three holes, running back is the one where a draft pick or trade makes more sense than a free agent.

The one free agent who most interested the Giants was former Arizona left tackle Leonard Davis. The underachieving one-time fourth overall pick was one of the most popular players in free agency despite never making a Pro Bowl. The Giants offered plenty of money but lost out to the division rival Cowboys, who will pay Davis a seven-year, $50 million contract — the kind of contract that just two years ago was reserved for only the top handful of linemen in the NFL.

Davis wasn't the only offensive lineman signed for big money. Guards Eric Steinbach, Kris Dielman, and Dennis Dockery all signed huge contracts, getting paid between $6 million and $7 million a season.

All this makes it even harder to figure out why the Giants released Luke Petitgout, their starter at left tackle since the middle of the 1999 season. Despite his tendency to draw false start penalties, his performance was in the top half of starting NFL left tackles. The move was supposed to be salary cap-related, but the Giants only saved $1.4 million on their 2007 cap; Petitgout was scheduled to make $5 million, and instead the Giants are carrying a dead-money cap charge of $3.6 million.

...http://www.nysun.com/article/49761

[Isifhan]

I hope Dennis Dockery works out well in Buffalo.