I know, I know.  The Eagles had a great off season, the Colts have Peyton Manning, the Cardinals are on the rise, the Steelers have retooled an already championship caliber squad, and the Patriots have Tom Brady back.  Those teams and a few more surprise teams yet to be determined have the Giants flying under the radar and it’s fine with them.

Major publications are already picking the Eagles to win the division and the Cowboys to surprise.  Heck some people even think the Redskins might make the quantum leap in year two of the Jim Zorn regime but the Giants, those poor boys in blue, can’t possibly win without Plaxico Burress.

When listening to most naysayers you would think that it’s inconceivable that any team could win the Super Bowl without Burress.  This will, of course, come as a surprise to last years champs who have won two since he left.  With all the revelations about Plaxico, before and after the fact, I think the more appropriate question might be, “How did the Giants win a Super Bowl WITH Plaxico Burress?”  But I digress.

Back to the point.  Last year through 11 games the Gotham Guys were the undisputed king of the hill.  They were bludgeoning teams with relative ease.  They ran over teams on offense and hammered them on defense.  Players like Justin Tuck and Derrick Ward stepped out of the shadows to became stars.  In three games, Seattle, Arizona and Washington, the Giants played without their enigmatic yet talented receiver and still rolled to victories.  Then came the fall.   Back to back losses to the dreaded Eagles and Cowboys and a regular season ending loss to the Vikings, broken up only by an inspiring yet concerning overtime win against the Carolina Panthers left the home team a shadow of it former invincible self.  To make matters worse the G-Men laid a huge egg against the hated Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs and the crying started.

Beat writers, bloggers, columnists alike lamented the loss of Burress and the need to fill his shoes.   Even Yours Truly wrote articles detailing how the Burress loss and Giants response were the number one indicators of success or failure in 2009.  If New York could just trade for Anquan Boldin, or Braylon Edwards all would be well.  If Reese found a way to move up for Michael Crabtree or Darius Heyward-Bey then the Lombardi trophy was once again within reach.  Get a number one receiver, preferably a tall one with speed and all would be right in the Meadowlands.  The real problem was the only receiver with those credentials had a healing hole in his thigh and the title of ex-Giant.

This brings us to the good news.  They don’t need him.  The offense is going to be fine.  The line is battle tested, Brandon Jacobs is a force and Ahmad Bradshaw is going to take the next step.  Eli Manning is no longer a caretaker quarterback and the receiving corp is young, talented, hungry, fast and deep.  The Giants have a methodical offense.  They win because they have more options than defenses have answers.  Go ahead stack the line.  Eli will pick you apart with any one of seven quality receiving options.  Hixon, Smith, Moss, Manningham, Nicks, Boss, or Bradshaw.  Go to a dime defense and watch Jacobs run over you and Bradshaw run by you.  Whether it’s with long drives, long runs, or long passes look for the Giants to be near the top in scoring this year.

With all the offensive good news the real reason the Giants are the class of the league is on the other side of the ball.  Last seasons collapse has much more to do with depleted, tired defense then any other reason.  When Osi Umenyiora went down in the preseason it caused Steve Spagnolo to improvise.    Fortunately for him, Justin Tuck was ready for the challenge.  Anyone who saw him play in the first half of the season knows he is a special talent.  He was a disruptive force from the first play of the season.  That being said, the aggressive scheme of the defense was predicated on depth.  To have all out effort on every play you need to rotate players in and the defensive end position was thin because of the Umenyiora injury.  Add to that the in-season injuries to Tuck and Fred Robbins and the defensive line was playing on fumes by the end of the year.  The domino effect was staggering.  The thin defensive line exposed the weakness at linebacker.  The secondary, as young and talented as it was, had zero margin for error.  The promise of the 2009 season wasn’t lost the day Burress shot himself, it happened when Osi went down.

This year there is no such depth issue.  They have arguably the deepest defensive line in the history of the game.   That fact speak for itself.  Tuck and Umenyiora starting at end.  Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty at the tackles.  Reserves of Fred Robbins, Jay Alford, Mathias Kiwanuka, Barry Cofield and Dave Tollefson.   I challenge anyone pro or fan to name me a team that has or has had that kind of depth.  They have improved the line-backing unit, Michael Boley’s injury and suspension not withstanding.  Antonio Pierce’s detractors will be pleasantly surprised with how the new toys on the line will rejuvenate his game.  And the secondary has four studs ready to join the ranks of the elite backfields in football.

The funny thing about this embarrassment of riches is it seems as if almost no one outside of the organization knows it.  Because Reese didn’t go after one of the big name receivers in trade, free agency or the draft  the pundits have all but ignored the Giants.  They have pointed to any of a half dozen other teams who they think will dominate team of 2009.

Giants fans are concerned.  They wonder if their first and third round pick would have been better spent on Edwards or Boldin.   They are hopeful but not optimistic that the Giants catch lightning in a bottle with Burress clone Ramses Bardin.  They read the articles and believe the experts.  But they, like the so called experts, are falling for the rope a dope. They are over thinking and under analyzing.  They don’t know the secret.

I have something to tell those Giant fans, but they (you) have to keep it to themselves.   Even without Edwards, Boldin, Burress or even Jerry Rice in his prime, the Boys in Blue know something you don’t. They are primed for a Super run.  They are ready to prove the experts wrong.  Remember you heard it here first but Shhhhhhhhh.  It’s a secret