The Giants by all objective standards had one of, if not the, best off season in the NFL this year.   Like a master tactician, Jerry Reese, identified the needs, analyzed the options, and moved bodley to fill the gaps.

He needed to look no further back then two years ago to see the blueprint for success.  A top notch running game and  a stellar offensive line were key but he knew the true reason for success was pass rushers as far as the eye can see.  It worked all the way to victory in Super Bowl 42.  It can work again.

In free agency the best defensive lineman available was Albert Haynesworth.   Reese got in the bidding but realised quickly that the Redskins had decided to pay a kings ransom for Prince Albert and he dropped out.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Reese was just trying to drive the price to a crippling point before he walked away.   If the Giants had signed Haynesworth they would have lost cap flexibility, preventing them from addressing their other needs.

Reese had designs on upgrading the whole defense and he wasted no time in making bold moves to bolster all three units of the defense.  He added Chris Canty, a mammoth defensive tackle with the versatility to play end and rush the passer.  Then signed Rocky Bernard a run stopping defensive tackle born to clog the middle.  The Giants needed help at linebacker, enter Michael Boley  a sideline to sideline, athletically gifted outside linebacker who could be a tackleing machine.  And for good measure he then picked up C C Brown to compete for time at safety.

All this maneuvering happened before he used 10 draft picks to bolster the depleted receiving corp, the offensive line, and  line-backing unit as well as adding depth in other positions.  So with all this activity the question remains who was the most significant acquisition of the 2009 off-season?

The answer took the field this week for the first time in nearly a year.  Osi Umenyiora.

Because the Giants seemed to have a top notch defensive line last year and added the two aforementioned free agents I think most Giant fans have overlooked how big an impact was lost when Umenyiora went down last year and how critical he is to this years success.

Umenyiora being back on the field is as significant an addition to the G-Men as the Haynesworth addition to the Redskins.  Umenyiora is an elite pass rusher who can take over a game all by himself.   There was the game against the 49ers two years ago where he was the dominating force behind an important Giant win and the game against the Eagles the year before in which he collected 6 sacks.

In a league where teams only play 16 games, dominating a single game cant be underestimated.  It’s like a single pitcher winning 10 games in a row in baseball.

The genius of the other acquisitions this off-season is that they all fit so perfectly with the return of Umenyiora.  His impact on Canty, Bernard, Boley, Tuck, Kiwanuka, Pierce, Webster, and Ross will be staggering.  Imagine Tuck single teamed.  Imagine runners cutting inside into the waiting arms of Bernard and Canty.  Imagine the clean looks Boley and Pierce will have.  And most of all think of all the errant passes there for the taking.  I know Webster and Ross are.

The goal of every off-season is to give your team the best chance to be holding Lord Lombardi’s trophy over their head with confetti streaming all around.  General managers league wide start each off-season with a list of their hearts desire and this year for your New York Giants, just like Dorothy said “If you can’t find your hearts desire in your own back yard you probably haven’t lost it in the first place”

When Jerry Reese and the Giants made their all important  hearts desire list, they needed to look no further then the brand new practice facility, with its 100 yard field of dreams to find the most significant off-season acquisition of all.  Welcome home Osi.  We’ve sure missed you.