The odds of repeating as Superbowl champions are never very good. The odds of repeating without your best player on defensive are almost impossible. These are the odds that the New York Giants are going to have to beat this year as in their last pre-season game against the New York Jets defensive end Osi Umenyiora went down with a season ending injury.
Now Head Coach Tom Coughlin and the rest of the Giants franchise are in panic mode trying to find a replacement for Umenyiora. Luckily for the Giants they have a future Hall of Famer on speed dial who is very loyal to the team, Michael Strahan. The problem? Strahan is retired and has spent his entire off-season visiting NFL training camps preparing for his transition into broadcasting.
"We are going to go forward with the players that we have," Coughlin said. "And we are always looking for and searching for people who can help our team. And nothing is going to change with regard to that."
Now the Giants are acting very calm and collected about the whole situation because they claim that they have an insurance policy for such an occasion. An insurance policy named Mathias Kiwanuka. Kiwanuka is a former 1st round draft pick and is a true defensive end who was drafted to eventually replace Strahan.
"I was told all along that if something were to happen that this is a position I could find myself in," Kiwanuka said. "I am ready to step in there and hopefully there won't be a letdown at all."
Moving Kiwanuka to defensive end would leave a hole at linebacker where Kiwanuka has been playing since being drafted back in 2006. Kiwanuka started nine games at defensive end as a rookie and had four sacks so we know that he can play end but that still doesn’t address the linebacker problem. They do have some options but none that can match the talent of Kiwanuka.
As for Strahan he is currently on vacation in Greece but it has been reported that he has been in contact with the team. However Strahan’s former teammates don’t that he will be coming back anytime soon.
"As I know it, he is probably on a beach somewhere sipping on some pina coladas, so I doubt football is the first thing on his mind today," said Justin Tuck, who replaced Strahan at left end.
As for the Giants it seems that things are going to be more difficult for them than they imagined this year as so far this off-season they have lost Strahan (retired), Umenyiora (injury) and Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey (trade). These three players were team leaders and will be sorely missed on the field. At least they still have a Manning at quarterback which is always a step in the right direction.
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