New York Giants Seating Chart

The New York Giants came up short in their effort to defend their surprise run to the Super Bowl title, and they can blame much of that on one single, immature wide receiver.

Yes, we would be talking about Plaxico Burress, who rewarded the team for giving him a big contract extension by taking a gun to a night club and accidentally shooting himself in the thigh.

Burress was quickly suspended by the team but would have missed a few games anyway because of the gunshot wound. He was not placed back on the active roster, and a number of players said his loss cost them another Super Bowl.

The team released Burress in the offseason, so finding another big target for quarterback Eli Manning remains a top priority.

The Giants did franchise running back Brandon Jacobs in the offseason, initially angering him. They later made it up to him by agreeing to a contract extension that includes a hefty raise.

The team also managed to upgrade on defense, signing defensive end Chris Canty away from the Dallas Cowboys.

The schedule should be pretty tough but not unmanageable. The NFC East will be tough as usual, as will taking on the NFC South.

Outside of their divisional matchups, the Giants will host the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals and play at Minnesota.

The good news is that the Giants will get the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons at home, and both of those teams were in the postseason in 2008. Road games against New Orleans and Tampa Bay should be winnable.