Youth Movement the Key to a New York Giants' Repeat

No NFL has repeated as Super Bowl champion since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005. The last team that seemed to have a shot at repeating was the 2008 New York Giants, but that season went down in flames faster than the bullet went into Plaxico Burress leg. Do the 2012 Giants have what it takes to finish what the 2008 team could not? If they want to, the progression of their young players will be the key.


Last year's first round pick Prince Amukamara will need to be fully recovered from his foot injury to put himself in a position to win the nickle cornerback spot. Prince showed flashes of why he was taken in the first round, but often looked confused in coverage. With a full training camp under his belt this year, Prince should begin to assimilate to the NFL game and become a major factor in the Giants' secondary.

Another key youngster to watch is linebacker Jacquian Williams, who will compete for major snaps behind Michael Boley at outside linebacker. Williams, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2011, had a major impact during the Giants run to the Lombardi trophy last year. In the NFC Championship game, Williams forced Kyle Williams to fumble the ball which set up the game winning field goal. Williams progression is key to the success of a now very crowded linebacking corp. Former Giant linebacker Carl Banks has compared Williams to Derrick Thomas, but if he can become half of the player Thomas was the Giants will have a lot of success in the years to come.

On the offensive side of the ball the Giants will be looking to two youngsters to replace the production of Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham. Jerrel Jernigan, a second year player, did not play much in 2011 so his progression is going to be looked at closely this training camp. Between Jernigan and rookie Rueben Randle they have some big shoes to fill.

If these players, including a handful of others like Marvin Austin, Mark Herzlich, and James Brewer, can continue to grow the Giants will be in a great position to repeat as champions.