You ask, we answer. The Post raises questions from readers about the largest pro sports team in New York and asks our authors to answer them in a series of regularly published letter bags. In installments today: Giants.
What do you think would have happened in 2004 if the Giants didn’t get Eli Manning and were stuck with Kerry Collins? Who will they arrange and do you think they will still (win the Super Bowl)? – Ian Michael
Wow this is interesting. I covered the Giants in 2004, and I’m not entirely on “getting Eli Manning in whatever way it takes” the bandwagon. I am not alone. The owner and patriarch of the team, Wellington Mara, really likes Kerry Collins and wants him to remain as a quarterback. He must be persuaded to let him go and convince trading with the Chargers to get Manning is the way to go. Ernie Accorsi will take the quarterback that year. He loved Eli and really liked Ben Roethlisberger. Accortion is not as high as in Philip Rivers.
If an agreement cannot be made on draft day with Chargers, Accorsi will sit at No. 4 and take Roethlisberger. Sean Taylor, big security from Miami, went to No. 5 to the Redskins. He will be a phenomenal choice, but the Giants are all-in with the quarterback. According to Mara, associating with Collins and choosing to tackle Robert Gallery from Iowa is a wise move. Gallery goes to No. 2 to the Raiders and is a big disappointment. Collins is a real marksman and he certainly has a lot left in the tank and the big right arm. Did the Giants win two Super Bowls with him instead of Manning? I doubt that.
Kerry Collins and Eli ManningJeff Zelevansky; N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
The last time the Giants defeated Cowboys or Eagles was in 2016. Can they finally beat both teams this year? – Ricardo Gordon
They must. That is the bottom line. The first step towards relevance in the NFL is finding success in your own division. The Giants have seven successive defeats for the Eagles and six consecutive defeats for the Cowboy. This is not acceptable. Heading into the 2020 season, there is no doubt that the Cowboys and Eagles are more valued than the Giants and they will be chosen 1-2 on NFC East, in one order or another, by most prognosticators. Pat Shurmur could not find a way in two years to defeat one of these Giants rivals. That is the task that awaits Joe Hakim. I predict he will not be 0-4 against these teams this season.
Can anyone explain what happened to Hakeem Nicks? Victor Cruz has star power in the last Super Bowl team, but in my opinion, Nicks is the best WR we have. But then he only dived after SB and immediately left the league. – Alex
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It’s hard to believe Hakeem Nicks is only 32 years old. He can still play, hauling bait with his big hands. Instead, he has been out of the league since 2015. What happened to him was that his lower body was destroyed. In the span of two years Nicks had 155 receptions for 2,244 yards and 18 goals. He is at any time, as a choice of the first round, recipient No. 1 that the Giants dreamed of.
Nicks underwent leg surgery before the 2012 season and in the second match of the year, he bent his knee when he won in Tampa. Amazingly, he was never the same after that. He dealt with other foot problems, lost his explosive power and struggled to compensate for the loss. He only lasted another year with the Giants, unimpressive in a season with the Colts and returned to the Giants in 2015 as a shell from himself before. His body surrendered to him. He just can’t run like before.
Has injury been the reason for playing Nate Solder which has been rather mediocre over the past two years, and if so, what injuries and are they still affecting him? – George Josiban
Nate Solder hasn’t missed a match in two years with the Giants and started all 16 matches for the Patriots in 2017. Yes, he really slammed in 2018, but he never missed the start. Yes, he was forced out of the Sunday 10 match last season against the Jets with a concussion but he started the next match. So, injury is not the reason why Solder’s performance isn’t good enough – a fact he explains whenever he is asked why or why for his game.
There is no doubt that the Giants did not get nearly enough for their $ 62 million investment they spent to make Solder (at the time) the highest paid offensive midfielder in NFL history. He is a great dressing room man, reliable and professional and very popular with his teammates and coaching staff. It did not help him that when he arrived at the Giants he was asked to break down a rookie left guard, Will Hernandez. Solder sometimes had to concentrate on making sure Hernandez knew what he was doing and that was hurting his own game. Solder is 32 years old and the Giants take his eventual successor, Andrew Thomas, in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. For at least another year, Solder can play left tackle, with Thomas possibly starting with right tackle.
