LOOKING TO CATCH ON
The Giants’ starting receivers for the last few years — Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer — are no longer with the team. But unlike recent departures of high-profile players who had clear-cut replacements (Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs, Jeremy Shockey and Kevin Boss, Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck), no one is quite sure who’ll step up and fill those voids. Steve Smith may be the team’s top receiver, but his talents seem best suited to the slot. Lining him up outside could not only diminish his production but weaken what was a strength inside. Domenik Hixon has shown glimpses of excellence but still is improving. The clock continues to tick off chances for Sinorice Moss, who had a strong spring. Mario Manningham’s potential was never realized after early injuries as a rookie last year. Add Super Bowl hero David Tyree as well as rookies Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden into the mix. Who’ll emerge as the No. 1 receiver? Heading into camp, not even the coaching staff knows for sure.

REPLACING SPAGS
Two and a half games into his Giants career, it looked as if Steve Spagnuolo was a bust. Now, after he spent only two seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator, the question is: How do the Giants replace him? They’ve turned to former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan, a first-time coordinator at any level. Sheridan lacks Spagnuolo’s fiery game-day disposition, but he’s well-prepared and will maintain the basic structure of the defense that helped win Super Bowl XLII and made the Giants the top seed in the NFC playoffs last season. Part of Sheridan’s job will be keeping all of his defensive linemen happy with playing time. There are seven starting-caliber players with only four spots on the field. Depth is a blessing for the team, but it can be a heavy burden for those at the bottom of the list.
ADDING A NEW ELEMENT
It was never quite concrete which one Derrick Ward was. In a backfield that became known as Earth, Wind and Fire, Ward sometimes shifted monikers. Now it doesn’t matter. He’s not an element, he’s a Buccaneer, having signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent after a 1,000-yard season for the Giants. Brandon Jacobs is the clear starter, but the Giants have shown they love splitting the carries between backs with differing styles. Ahmad Bradshaw, who made a splash as a rookie but was pedestrian last season, will compete with Danny Ware for the No. 2 job in the rotation. Rookie Andre Brown reminds many in the front office of Ward, and he might also find his way into the backfield. The Giants led the league in rushing last year and had a pair of 1,000-yard runners. They have a chance to do that again, even if they don’t have nicknames as catchy.
WILL ELI BE MANNING UP?
Eli Manning made his first Pro Bowl team last year, and there were plenty of times during the season (and the previous postseason) when he looked like one of the league’s premier passers. But then there were other games, such as the one in Cleveland on Monday Night Football and the all-important home playoff game against the Eagles, when he looked lost. With Manning entering his sixth year in the NFL, the pressure will be on him not to prove himself — he did that in the Super Bowl — but to find consistency in his success. He’s also looking to cash in. This is the final season of his rookie contract, and although speculation has been floating all spring and summer that the Giants will make him one of the richest quarterbacks in NFL history, a person familiar with the negotiations said no deal is imminent. The Giants might want to get a few more readings on Manning before plunking down that kind of coin.
KEEP AN EYE ON:
DE Osi Umenyiora: Returning from a knee injury that required surgery before the 2008 season even began, Umenyiora said he expects to be stronger than ever. Even in his Pro Bowl season of 2007, he said he played with pain in his knee, something the surgery removed. The Giants made a lot of additions on defense in free agency, but the return of Umenyiora could prove to be the biggest addition.
RB Ahmad Bradshaw: He scored the TD that got the Giants into the playoffs and was the leading rusher in Super Bowl XLII. Not bad for a rookie who was drafted in the seventh round. But last year, with jail time before and after the season weighing on him and two veterans ahead of him on the depth chart chugging toward 1,000-yard seasons, Bradshaw had trouble finding a role. Look for him to be the No. 2 running back behind Jacobs and show his explosive quickness and knack for long runs once again.
TE Travis Beckum: He’s only a rookie, but the Giants have been rubbing their hands together like mad scientists since drafting Beckum out of Wisconsin. They’ll use him as an H-back, a position the team hasn’t had in quite some time, and are eager to see what kind of mismatches they can dial up with him covered by linebackers or safeties. The only question is how quickly Beckum can get up to speed. He was sidelined during most of the spring workouts with a leg injury and will need to catch up in order to have his special plays lifted from the team’s big playbook and placed in the weekly game plans.