A Giant Problem For New York

The Super Bowl XLIII champions will need to find new offensive weapons if they want to make a run to play in Miami for the Lombardi Trophy. The Giants will be out without their star wideout, Plaxico Burress, along with long time Giant, Amani Toomer, and their big play halfback, Derrick Ward. The Giants had the number one rush offense last year, running for 157.4 yards per game, along with the 18th ranked passing game. The Giants will need to fill a giant gap at the receiver core, with both Burress and Toomer gone, and they will look for another big play halfback to take the pressure off of Brandon Jacobs. Here's how the Giants have attempted to reconstruct their offense so far in the offseason:

Offensive Additions

The Giants selected WR Hakeem Nicks with their first round pick. The 6-1 wideout started all 36 games he played in and had 21 career touchdowns at North Carolina. Nicks has the ability to be a big time threat with the Giants, but will not be able to fill the shoes of Plaxico Buress.

The New York Giants may have found the gem in the draft with WR Ramses Barden. The Cal Poly standout is a physical prescence on the field, and has the body frame of former Giant receiver, Plaxico Burress. Barden should make an impact in the red zone with his height, especially when he has a jump ball situation in the corner of the endzone.

The Giants also drafted TE Travis Beckum from Wisconsin. In 2008, Beckum struggled to stay healthy and suffered a season ending injury when he suffered a left fibula fracture. Look for Beckum to begin with the special teams unit, just as he did in his freshman year at Wisconsin.

What will the Giants Offense be like in 2009?

Expect the Giants to continue their dominance on the ground with the physicality of Brandon Jacobs and the speedy Ahmad Bradshaw to switch things up for the opposing defenses. The passing game will struggle in the beginning, but keep an eye out for former 2nd round pick, Steve Smith, to have a breakout season. Smith will need to have help from his fellow receivers, specifically Dominik Hixon and Mario Manningham. The rookie Hakeem Nicks should be able to provide the Giants with a reliable set of hands, and he will be a key receiver on third down conversions.