By winning the Super Bowl last weekend, the New York Giants demonstrated that they came out ahead of the San Diego Chargers in the Eli Manning-for-Philip Rivers trade in the only measurement that matters in the National Football League.
No background needed, I'm sure.
The fact is, in the four seasons since the draft day deal, the Giants under general managers Jerry Reese and Ernie Accorsi have become a better football team than the Chargers under A.J. Smith. And they've done so with a mostly-unheralded group that contrasts with some of the bright stars offered by the Chargers. Not many Giants in Hawaii this week for the Pro Bowl.
Manning blossomed toward the end of this season to lead the Giants through the playoffs and become the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. Rivers has struggled at times in his two years as a starter, though he was much better late in the season than earlier and rightfully established himself with fans with a gutty injury-plagued performance at New England in the AFC Championship. Rivers can now be considered good. Maybe very good. Manning might be on his way toward his older brother's greatness.
There's more.
The Giants' no-name offensive line consistently opens holes for it's running backs and protects Manning. The Chargers' front needs to upgrade its right side to be Super Bowl-worthy. Part of why Rivers struggled this season is because he's been rushed so hard by defenses.
Giants starting receivers Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are significantly better than the Bolts' trio of Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson and Buster Davis. Our group was well below average until Chambers arrived. Now, as a group, they're decent. No more so.
Running back and tight end. Okay, sure.
On defense, the Giants are better on the line, at linebacker and at safety. The Chargers probably have an edge at corner with the maturation of Quentin Jammer and the stunning talent displayed by Antonio Cromartie.
The Chargers might have the best combination of kickers in the NFL.
Again, I'm in no way saying the Chargers stink. They're quite good. Just not Super Bowl good, not like the Giants, not yet. With the upgrade wish list here and in previous posts, they might get there next season. But the Giants got there first, with Manning at the helm.
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The San Diego State football recruiting class announced this week is a further showing that coach Chuck Long and his staff are on the right track, at least between Monday and Friday.
When NFL draft day comes, you always have the question of: do you take the best player on the board or do you fill the immediate need?
In Long's case in college football recruiting, his Aztecs had glaring needs in the trenches, and it's taken three recruiting classes to address the problem. With this latest class, call the problem solved, though with the nature of offensive line play, it could take a couple of years to bear out.
In my years of following college football in Southern California, something that struck me as being a difference between USC, UCLA and others of their ilk and SDSU has been offensive line recruiting. You look at the lists of recruits for the Trojans, Bruins, and schools like Notre Dame and Ohio State, and every year it seems that half the players are lineman. The Aztecs usually grabbed a few.
Well, now the numbers are up in the trenches, and Long has something to work with. Aztec fans can argue about just how talented the group is, citing star ratings and the like, but a couple of these linemen are in fact pretty good and provide the numbers necessary to sustain a program.
Long's first three classes have righted the ship. There's enough bodies in the right places. Now, maybe they can get a few more wins. When that happens, Long can start grabbing for those four- and five-star recruits and up the talent level around here. The foundation appears to be in place now.
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