I spent a day at the Giants camp in Albany last week. A few things stood out. First, backup QB Jared Lorenzen is a giant. I'm not a small guy, but he is literally as wide as I am tall. He couldn't complete a pass while I was watching him, but he'll be handy if all of the linemen get food poisoning or some other ailment.

The bigger realization, however, is that Jeremy Shockey is a big baby. As I watched, he quit on a pattern, dropped two passes and tossed his helmet. He's always been a bit of a loose cannon, but his attitude may be turning completely awful this year. At the end of the day he got a concussion, so maybe that will knock some sense into him. If not, it could be a long, long year for Coach Coughlin. The fact is that Shockey just isn't playing well enough these days to justify truly obnoxious behavior. He's not Antonio Gates.

Linebacker Antonio Pierce was limping around in street clothes at the camp, thanks to an ankle injury. He's one of the few non-pass rushing defensive players that was worth anything last year, so he badly needs to get healthy to help newcomer Lavar Arrington out.

It was only one day and it was early in camp, but I didn't like the vibes coming from Eli Manning. He wasn't hitting his targets crisply in the drills. In the scrimmage he threw two wildly incomplete passes followed by a pretty spectacular interception. He's been to New York before, so it couldn't have surprised him that the crowd of fanatical fans booed him. The glare he gave the crowd, though, was enough to peel paint.

When quarterback coach Kevin Gilbride came to talk to him about it he stared straight ahead and showed no acknowledgment of the conversation. It was incredibly hot so I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was just having a bad day, but his attitude really stuck with me. If it's a sign of some change it could be a real problem.

The team needs Eli at his best. The offense has the power to be very potent, but it is a bit of a delicate situation. If Manning or Barber gets hurt then the almost laughable lack of real depth at those positions will spell an end to playoff ambitions. The Giants won 11 games last year, but it wasn't in a dominant fashion. They scored a lot of points, but they allowed too many points, too.

It's not inaccurate to say that they were a few lucky breaks away from a 7-9 season. This year they obviously did something to annoy the schedule maker because they have a deadly set of games. They play seven playoff teams, and they have the Cowboys and the Eagles twice each. Ouch. They'll need to be lucky again. And they need to hope that the offense that showed up (or didn't show up) in the wild card game against Carolina was an anomaly.

Here's Doc's 2006 New York Giants Preview:

2005 Record: 11-6 (8-2 home, 3-4 road)
2005 Rankings: 4th offense (11th pass, 6th run); 24th defense (27th pass, 12th run)
2005 Against the Spread: 10-6-1 (7-3 home, 3-3-1 road); 8-9 vs. total (4-6 h, 4-3 r)
2006 Odds: 19/1 to win Super Bowl, 8/1 to win NFC, 12/5 to win NFC East, 9 wins O/U
2006 Strength of Schedule: 3rd (.543 opp. win %)
Key stat: Eli Manning threw 14 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions in the first eight games of the season, but only 10 touchdowns and 12 picks in the last eight, then three interceptions in the playoff shutout. Hopefully he found some stamina in the offseason.
Returning starters: 18 (11 offense, 7 defense)
Key acquisitions: Lavar Arrington, LB (from Washington); Brandon Short, LB (from Carolina); Sam Madison, CB (from Miami); R.W. McQuarters, CB (from Detroit); Will Demps, S (from Baltimore) Mathias Kiwanuka, DE (draft); Sinorice Moss, KR/WR (draft)
Key departures: Will Allen, CB; Will Peterson, CB; Barrett Green, LB; Shaun Williams, S

Offense: Eli Manning is a year older and, presumably, a year better. He looked like a world beater the first half of the season, but went from bad to terrible as the season turned into the playoffs. He needs to continue getting more comfortable. He'll be helped in that regard by the fact that the entire offense is intact this season. Plaxico Burress was a favorite target and Tiki Barber was the workhorse. The line was very good and it is all back. In theory, anyway, the offense should be able to improve on what was already a pretty decent showing last season. Adding Sinorice Moss, who has looked good and worked well with Eli in minicamps and training camp, gives Manning another weapon to choose from. They have the tools in place to succeed and to put up the numbers that will make the over attractive, unless they face inflated totals.

Defense: It's basically a clean slate this year, which was much needed. Studs Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan are obviously back, but they will need name tags to learn the names of all their new teammates. The secondary was terrible last year, but the CBs are all new and though they aren't exactly young, they can't help but be an improvement. Lavar Arrington is the high profile addition at linebacker, but I am skeptical that he has the game left to match the hype. Mathias Kiwanuka has impressed the team and the coaches already at camp. The team managed to win a lot of games with a bad, bad offense last year, so this cast of characters has a good chance of improving the defensive fate dramatically. A good thing for the record, but potentially a bad thing for totals betting.

X-factor: Tiki Barber. He was the key to the offense last year, and he got better later in the season when Manning struggled. The problem is that he is 31 and he carried the ball a whopping 357 times last year, third most in the league. At some point he is going to break down physically. If it happens this year the Giants are in trouble. There's not a confidence-inspiring player on the roster to take his place.

Outlook: A horrifying schedule, starting with four rough games (Colts, @Eagles, @Seahawks, Redskins) will be a test for the team this season. They probably need at least two wins there to be in the wild card race, then they need to increase the pace of wins after that in a very tough division. I don't like their chances. They have the feeling of a team that could go either 12-4 or 4-12 without being too big of a surprise.