NY OTA's

Giants:

Although the Giants have won 2 Superbowls in recent memory, they have struggled in the other years. The team fired offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and hired Ben McAdoo from Green Bay, the first major firing of someone who was part of the championships. McAdoo brings a simple offense that is far less reliant on option routes. They lacked depth at the receiver position, and Cruz and Nicks missed time in the offseason last year. This led to a lack of continuity with the offense. The new offense will likely improve the fate of the offense because Manning will have a better idea of where his receivers are, but it is still new terminology to learn. This may have a negative impact in the short term. Although they lost Nicks to the Colts, drafting Odell Beckham Jr. with the 12^th pick was a nice pickup. The LSU receiver is smaller than Nicks, but he is faster and could potentially be a better playmaker. He will flourish in this offense if he stays healthy. The o-line will be better because McAdoo didn’t have much talent in Green Bay either, but the running game needs to take a huge step forward. I was never a fan of David Wilson even before the fumbles, and the fact that Peyton Hillis is still on the team indicates a problem at the position. Drafting Boston College rookie RB Andre Williams in the fourth round could be a steal, but he must be used as a prototypical power back. Despite being a Heisman finalist, he fell due to his inability to catch passes/run routes.

The defense will look different this year, in both names and philosophy. They notably lost defensive linemen Justin Tuck and Linval Joseph, leading to opportunity for second year players Johnathan Hankins and Damontre Moore. They signed Robert Ayers from Denver, who had a solid 29 combined tackles and 5.5 sacks last year. The secondary added Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Denver and Walter Thurmond from Seattle. This should improve the secondary, which was never stellar due to the Giants’ d-line obsessed system. More will be asked of the linebackers and secondary, which can only have positive effects.

Jets:

Coming into the season for the Jets, the biggest question is whether or not the offense can take the next step.  The QB battle between Geno Smith and Michael Vick is intriguing, as well as the acquisitions of WR Eric Decker and RB Chris Johnson. Adding Johnson makes the Jets running attack one of the best in the league. They were sixth in the league in rushing last season, and now they have a legit 3-headed monster with Johnson, Bilal Powell, and Chris Ivory. The receivers have been a problem for a while now, with Jeremy Kerley being the only one who showed promise. Decker put up gaudy numbers last year, but he was playing with Peyton Manning. One can hope that this experience will bring high football I.Q. to the team, but he is limited physically. Rookie WR Shaquelle Evans from UCLA could end up being a factor. Stephen Hill has been a complete non-factor, having only 44 receptions and 4 touchdowns in 2 years. Rookie TE Jace Amaro from Texas Tech will be the x-factor for this offense if they have one. He was widely considered to be the second best receiving TE in the draft behind Eric Ebron, but he fell to the second round nonetheless. The TE position will be huge for the passing game, especially since Jeff Cumberland took positive strides as well.

Rex Ryan coached teams always have great defenses, and last year was an example. They were 11^th in overall defense, but third in rushing yards allowed. Their front seven was unstoppable, stacked with stars like Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Quinton Coples, David Harris, and Calvin Pace. They still struggle in the secondary, however, and they seemingly could have done more to fix it. Drafting FS Calvin Pryor from Louisville in the first round was huge, but the cornerback position is still suspect. They need Dee Milliner to take a huge step in his second year, but the Jets have zero depth at the position. Kyle Wilson has never become great, and acquisitions like Ras-I Dowling will not have much effect. The Jets are much better than people give them credit for, but not quite good enough to overtake New England atop the AFC East.