This weekend, the NFL takes over Radio City music hall for the 2007 NFL Draft and unlike past years, I don't find myself all that excited. Being a Giants fan, I have found the past few seasons emotionally draining given the team's erratic play and propensity for coming up short. The G-men have been plagued by an overwhelming amount of injuries to key players and failed to live up to the expectations placed on them, making it a very frustrating experience to follow this team at times.

The 2006 season is a perfect example of this as the G-men got off to a hot 6-2 start and in the midst of their most dominating performance, a thumping of division rival Dallas in Big D, the injury bug began to bite. Within the next few weeks the team would lose a myriad of starters including both defensive ends, #2 WR, #1 corner, strong-side outside linebacker and left tackle among others in a season that would ultimately result in a wild card round defeat to the Eagles and an unceremonious end to the Tiki Barber era.

With the bitter taste of playoff defeat to a hated rival still fresh on every Giants fans' pallette, it appears many fans have turned the blame to Eli Manning aka the most convenient scapegoat. I for one am sick and tired of hearing that this kid is already a draft bust and is the root of this team's problems. Additionally, any Giants fan who has ever said or even considered that the Giants start Jared Lorenzen should simply stop watching football or find a new team to follow that is a better fit for their non-existant football IQ, say the Houston Texans.

I am pleased the Giants gave Eli an extension this offseason and still believe strongly that he is going to be a special quarterback. In his first 2 years as a starter, Eli has taken the Giants to the playoffs twice and shown discernable talent and inherent skill in doing so. I feel that the Giants fanbase and too oftern talent evaluators around the NFL thought he would step into the saddle and immediately morph into big brother Peyton. Well I have news for you, Peyton Mannings come along once a decade if your lucky and Eli simply needs to find his own way.

Plenty of good QBs past and present have taken 4-5 years to develop a comfort zone and shine in the NFL. Look at Drew Brees who San Diego nearly left for dead after he completed his dismal third season in the NFL. In his 4th season, he broke out throwing for 3100 yards and 27 tds en route to becoming the top 5 Pro Bowl caliber QB you see today. Eli's numbers have been on par if not better than other young starters around the league and the "step back" he took last season can be attributed to more than just his desicion-making. The ridiculous rash of injuries that plagued the Giants would have hurt the play of even the most veteran signal callers. The Giants lost Amani Toomer, Eli's go to guy at WR because lets be honest, Plax does not run intermediate routes he just makes plays down the field and his left tackle Luke Petitgout who was replaced by Bob "head bangin" Whitfield, a complete waste of life offering little protection against the blind-side pass rush.

So Giants fans I implore you to bite your tongue about Young Eli, because wouldn't you rather be in the minority that stuck with him through the bad rather than the fickle majority that will have to flip their scripts once he reaches his potential? The choice is yours Big Blue backers....

Now, onto the draft, the Giants have been surprisingly quiet this offseason and management has done nothing to improve an aging roster with several glaring holes. In fact, this roster appears to be weaker now than when we last saw it at The Stink in January. Gone is Tiki Barber and while I will refrain from bad mouthing him, let me just say Tiki's parting shots at Tom Coughlin, his incessant whining and timeline for revealing his retirement last season may potentially overshadow his on-field accomplishments . Personally, I think we are in good hands with Brandon Jacobs who is a beast in the Larry Johnson mold, big and nimble with break away speed (you'll see) who can run inside and out. Reuben Droughns was a nice addition and offers the Giants an extra back who can really pound the ball.

However, I think the guys who have left totally outweigh the talent that has been added to the roster. While Chad Morton (stinks) and Carlos Emmons (good riddance) deserved their pink slips, cutting Lavar Arrington was a poor choice. The guy is still a solid linebacker when healthy, had a favorable incentive laden contract and was showing flashes of returning to form last year. Another player who could have easily been retained was Brandon Short, a veteran linebacker with a mean streak who played at a high level last year. Short also had a cap-friendly contract however he was not resigned. Finally, the worst move of all in my opinion, was the release of Luke Petitgout. Left tackles dont grow on trees and the Giants let him go with a half-assed back up plan of moving David Diehl to left tackle. The team wants to give Rich Seubert more PT at guard due to the nastiness he can add in the trenches as the Giants pound the ball more this year with their big backs; however, weakening the most important o-line position to do so is ridiculous.

These offseason moves play a huge factor in the team's drafting strategy as not only do we need to address linebacker and cornerback but now we also must find an offensive tackle to develop. To make matters worse, this draft is weak at the tackle position with the top 2 guys Joe Thomas of Wisconsin and Levi Brown of Penn State projected to go in the top 10. That leaves many experts to believe the Giants will be taking Joe Staley (no relation to the DUCE) of Central Michigan with the 20th pick overall. While Staley appears to be a a smart and coachable tackle with good upside, im not sure he would immediately offer a significant improvement over Diehl. If the Giants don't truly believe this guy could be our left tackle for the next 5-7 years, then its my opinion we are better off addressing our most glaring weakness at outside linebacker with Joe Beason, Paul Posluszny or Lawrence Timmons. Im in favor of drafting Timmons and think his tremendous speed and athleticism in the Demeco Ryans mold would be ideal for our defense and a nice complement to the instinctive Antionio Pierce. In the second round I've grown fond of Maryland cornerback Josh Wilson who while a bit undersized at 5 foot 9 inches, is a playmaker with good speed and is a fine kickoff returner, which fills another need.

This is an important draft Giants fans, lets hope Jerry Reese can get it done.