NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS
OFFENSE
Quarterback
1. Eli Manning
2. Phil Simms
3. Y.A. Tittle
4. Charlie Conerly
5. Jeff Hostetler
Eli the obvious #1, Simms the clear #2. Y.A. Tittle gets #3 for some pretty crazy touchdown numbers in the early 60s (36 TDs in 13 games in 1963, that's the record Marino blew past in 1984). Conerly was the QB during their 50s heyday. Hostetler gets in for surviving the 1990 playoff run and doing enough then. I left Fran Tarkenton off because he's most identified as a Viking, even though he had a few good seasons in New York in the middle of his career.
Dishonorable Mention: The Duke QBs, Dave Brown and Daniel Jones.
Running Back
1. Tiki Barber
2. Brandon Jacobs/Ahmad Bradshaw
3. Joe Morris
4. Ottis Anderson
5. Frank Gifford
It gets obscured because of when he left the team and him then instantly slamming them, but Tiki was outstanding when he played and he retired healthy and still effective. The Jacobs/Bradshaw duo from the Eli years I can't really separate, they were an outstanding combo. Morris and Anderson were the heavy lifters of the Parcells era. Gifford was as much a receiver as anything, particularly with how he was used, but was a huge part of their 50s/early 60s success.
Special mention to Rodney Hampton, who slaved away for the team in the early-mid 90s, and Joe Morrison, a guy who played back, receiver, tight end, and basically everything during some of their most dire years of the late 60s and early 70s. Two good dudes on awful, awful teams.
Fullback
1. Maurice Carthon
2. Madison Hedgeco*ck
3. Henry Hynoski
4. Jim Finn
5. Alex Webster
Carthon, before becoming a long time coach under Parcells and Belichick, was the lead fullback during the 80s and early 90s, including both those Super Bowls, and by all accounts was very good. Hedgeco*ck was a key part of the "Earth, Wind, and Fire" years for Jacobs and Bradshaw's best seasons, while Hynoski was good for like 2 seasons during the second Eli Super Bowl run. Finn was the oft overlooked back during Tiki's best seasons of the early 00s, while Webster was another key part of those late 50s/early 60s teams, both as a blocker and runner as fullbacks were used back then.
Dishonorable Mention: Larry Csonka.
Wide Receiver
1. Amani Toomer
2. Victor Cruz
3. Odell Beckham Jr.
4. Homer Jones
5. Plaxico Burress
Okay, so this one takes a bit of explanation with regards to two older players: I already mentioned Frank Gifford and Joe Morrison, who were used heavily as both backs and receivers at various points. Both had more receiving yards than rushing, and are listed at multiple positions, so I wasn't sure whether to include them here as well or not. Instead, I went with guys who were primarily, clearly receivers.
Toomer was the dependable guy who hung around forever, including some very dire years of QB production. Cruz had his salsa dance and a few amazing years, including a Super Bowl, before injuries derailed him. Beckham's catch along and some amazing years with Eli get him a spot. Homer Jones was the first guy to spike the football in celebration after touchdowns, and was a bright spot alongside Joe Morrison in the late 60s. Plax gets in for helping Eli develop and his play in the 2007 playoffs.
Tight End
1. Mark Bavaro
2. Jeremy Shockey
3. Howard Cross
4. Bob Tucker
5. Aaron Thomas
Bavaro was maybe the second most popular player on the team in the late 80s/early 90s after LT, and one of both Parcells and Belichick's favorite players, dude was amazing but just broke down. Shockey put up numbers for a while, but my main memories always seem to be him dropping passes or disappearing when it counted. Cross was a phenomenal blocker and okay receiver for some dreadful offensive teams in the 90s. Tucker and Thomas are guys who played for the Giants in 70s and 60s respectively, mainly during their 18-year playoff drought. To quote my dad, a Giants fan who still has PTSD from those years, they were both very good players, particularly Thomas, who deserved to be on better teams.
Honorable Mention: Kevin Boss
Dishonorable Mention: Evan Engram
Offensive Tackle
1. Rosey Brown
2. David Diehl
3. Jumbo Elliot
4. Kareem McKenzie
5. Doug Reisenberg
Rosey is in the Hall of Fame and was one of the best tackles of the 50s and 60s. Diehl and McKenzie were key parts of the 00s/early 10s teams with Eli, and losing both of them after Super Bowl XLVI started the clear decline of the Giants in that era. Elliot and Reisenberg were staples of the late 80s/early 90s, particularly the Ottis Anderson "time of possession at all costs" teams. Honorable mention per my dad to Willie Young, who slaved away in the later 60s and 70s, and Brad Benson from the 80s.
gently caress Erick Flowers.
Guard
1. Chris Snee
2. Billy Ard
3. Jack Stroud
4. Rich Seubert
5. Doug Van Horn
Snee is way ahead of everyone else, a fantastic player for a long time. Ard was solid in the 80s run heavy teams, Stroud goes back to the 50s/60s peak. Seubert was around for all the 00s and solid. Van Horn is another guy who was very good back in Giants dark ages of the late 60s to late 70s per my old man.
Center
1. Bart Oates
2. Mel Hein
3. Shaun O'Hara
4. Weston Richburg
5. Ray Wietecha/Greg Larson
Bart Oates was on both the 86 and 90 Super Bowl teams, and perhaps most famously, appeared as himself in Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which gets him slightly over Mel Hein, a HoF guy from the 40s. O'Hara was very good in the 00s, Richburg was the only good part of the 10s offensive lines that otherwise sucked. Wietecha and Larson were the Giants centers back to back, covering a 20~ year span from 53-73, guys my dad said were good and my grandfather liked, so that's enough for me to include them.
DEFENSE
Defensive End
1. Michael Strahan
2. Justin Tuck
3. Osi Umenyiora
4. Jason Pierre-Paul
5. George Martin
Strahan obviously leads this group, Tuck and Osi were huge parts of the 07 and 11 teams, JPP was great for a long time. Martin was around as the team developed in the late 70s and for a long time held the NFL record for touchdowns by a defensive lineman.
Honorable Mention: Leonard Marshall from the late 80s/early 90s, and two older guys, Jim Katcavage and Andy Robustelli, both from the 50s/60s.
Defensive Tackle
1. Keith Hamilton
2. Erik Howard
3. Jim Burt
4. Dexter Lawrence
5. Chris Canty
Hamilton was a key cog on the interior d-line during some leaner years of the 90s and early 00s, often next to Strahan. Howard the guy who preceded him, the NT in their 3-4 under Parcells, and Burt was the guy who preceded him, also delivering a key hit on Joe Montana (This in the 86 Divisional Round). Sexy Dexy I'm listing here in lieu of an "interior" position, but he's that good, while Canty was a key part of the 2011 team and always played well.
Honorable mention to Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins from the 2007 line.
Outside Linebacker
1. Lawrence Taylor
2. Carl Banks
3. Jessie Armstead
4. Brad Van Pelt
5. Michael Boley
LT is arguably the greatest defensive player in the history of the NFL. Banks played opposite him and was outstanding against the run. Armstead was a bright spot during the mid 90s, while Van Pelt was in the 70s. I included Boley cause I always remember him playing well during his time with the team.
Inside Linebacker
1. Sam Huff
2. Harry Carson
3. Antonio Pierce
4. Pepper Johnson
5. Gary Reasons
Huff was literally the first middle linebacker, as then Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landy created the 4-3 defense and the position for him rather than what had been the traditional defense of a 5-2. Carson was outstanding as the Giants turned from bad in the mid-70s to great in the mid-80s. Pierce was great in the 00s, notably for the 2007 Super Bowl team. Johnson and Reasons were the other interior guys of the 80s and 90s, both playing key roles and making big plays when needed.
Cornerback
1. Corey Webster
2. Mark Collins
3. Jason Sehorn
4. Prince Amukamara
5. Aaron Ross
Webster and Collins were both guys each with two rings that got overlooked because of other units. Webster was a very solid DB for the 07 and 11 teams, while Collins did similar work for the 86 and 90 squads. Sehorn got a lot of hype for simply being a white corner and marrying Angie Harmon, but he was a very good player, particularly before he blew out his knee in 1998. Prince was solid enough for the 2011 team as a rookie and I never had any issues with him. CB is kind of a thin spot in Giants history, so I threw Aaron Ross in for the 5th spot, since he was on both the 07 and 11 teams, mostly as the 3rd DB, and while he wasn't great, he wasn't Eli Apple, so that counts.
Safety
1. Emlen Tunnell
2. Jimmy Patton
3. Antrel Rolle
4. Spider Lockhart
5. Greg Jackson
Tunnell is in the HoF and is still 2nd all time with 79 interceptions (And did that in 59 fewer games than Paul Krause), and later became one of the first minority assistant coaches in the NFL. Patton played with him back in the 50s and 60s. Rolle was really good during the early 10s including Super Bowl XLVI. Lockhart would replace Patton and be a reliable player for a decade, and later the team would wear a patch honoring him for the entire 1986 season (The first Super Bowl year) after he passed from cancer. Jackson was a dependable tackler for the team during the late 80s and early 90s, and I went to school with his niece and he was cool the one time I met him.
Kicker
1. Lawrence Tynes
2. Pete Gogolak
3. Matt Bahr
4. Jay Feely
5. Pat Summerall
Tynes coming up when it counted both in 07 and 11 make up for him not having the biggest leg. Gogolak signing with the Giants essentially kicked the NFL-AFL war into overdrive. Bahr made a bunch of key kicks in the 1990 playoffs, notable scoring all their points against San Francisco. Feely I threw in cause limited options but he was solid, while Summerall was okay for the 50s and mainly it gives me an excuse to think of his voice.
Punter
1. Jeff Feagles
2. Dave Jennings
3. Sean Landetta
4. Steve Weatherford
5. Don Chandler
Feagles was great and hearing the crowd at the Meadowlands once chant "We want Feagles" when his replacement was horrible speaks to how good he was. Jennings was basically the NFC counterpart to Ray Guy in the 70s and early 80s. Landetta was great in the 80s/early 90s, and is the highest rated punter in Tecmo Super Bowl, which clearly counts a lot. Weatherford was very good for the 2011 team, while Chandler was great in the late 50s/60s, including a spot on the 60s All Decade team.
Dishonorable Mention: Matt Dodge.
Returner
1. Dave Megget
2. Emlen Tunnell
3. Domenik Hixon
4. David Wilson
5. Jason Sehorn
Megget was a fantastic returner and 3rd down back in the late 80s/early 90s, just, uh, don't look into his life after he retired 
Tunnell was a good punt returner in his day as well. Hixon had key moments for a few years around 07/08 and always seem good. Wilson was good as a rookie, but fumbled once and celebrated a bit too much, so Coughlin barely used him, then he had a crazy neck injury early in his second season and that ended his career. Sehorn was a good returner prior to his injury.
Head Coach
1. Bill Parcells
2. Tom Coughlin
3. Steve Owen
4. Jim Lee Howell
5. Jim Fassel
Parcells and Coughlin are the obvious ones, each winning two Super Bowls as head coach (With Coughlin actually being on the 1990 staff as Wide Receivers coach). Owen was the longest tenured coach the team had, over 20 years in the 30s and 40s. Jim Lee Howell replaced Owen, and notably installed Vince Lombardi as his OC, and kept player-assistant coach Tom Landry and eventually made him DC. Fassel rounds out the list for being the 4th longest tenured coach the team ever had (Owen, Coughlin, and Parcells are the top 3, and Howell is 6th), including a trip to the Super Bowl. He wasn't perfect but did okay.
Dishonorable Mention: Allie Sherman, the source of some of my dad's sports PTSD. When Lombardi took the head coaching job in Green Bay, Sherman replaced him, and then he replaced Howell after he retired (According to my grandfather, fans wanted Landry, but he'd taken the expansion job in Dallas). Sherman had decent teams, but was also known for predictable play calling, particularly in later years, to the point the radio announcers and even fans were often calling plays out presnap, poo poo like trying to establish the run on 3rd and 17 while down 20 in the 3rd, and fans chanting for him to be fired.
BONUS ROUND: Long snapper
This is easy for the Giants cause it's a father-son pairing that was fairly often talked about :
1. Zak DeOssie
2. Steve DeOssie
Zak was the long snapper during the Coughlin years, including both Super Bowl teams. His father, Steve, was the long snapper for the 1990 team and was a backup inside linebacker as well.
fartknocker f*cked around with this message at 20:42 on Jun 6, 2024
