FanHouse JamesButler

Steve Spagnuolo is going through a rough season in his first as an NFL head coach. He had the unenviable task of taking over a roster which was left in disarray by the previous administration. No real effort had been done to bridge the gap from The Greatest Show on Turf to the next wave of players, with the notable exception of drafting studly running back Steven Jackson before Marshall Faulk was retired.

The results to this point have hardly been surprising. Poor Spags and his troops endured seven losses, including several blowouts, before finally earning their first victory this past Sunday against the Lions. While he's cherishing this first win, Spagnuolo realizes it's the first step of many.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

The Rams enter the 2009 season in full-on rebuilding mode. Another bad season wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the future of the franchise as a whole, as they need to continue to grow their young players. The remnants of the strong Rams rosters from earlier this decade are either gone or aging quickly. New head coach Steve Spagnuolo will look to mold the next generation his way, starting immediately.

Heading into the offseason, the Rams had a laundry list of needs. One of them was to find a strong safety to start in front of the hard-working, yet untalented Todd Johnson. Monday, the Rams likely satisfied that goal by acquiring James Butler.

Butler is a 26 year-old, four-year veteran who had played his entire career with the New York Giants. It's entirely plausible that his previous relationship with Steve Spagnuolo -- former Giants' defensive coordinator and new head coach in St. Louis -- had something to do with this signing.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The New York Giants were an afterthought in 2007, but made their way to a Super Bowl title. In 2008, the Giants found a way to earn home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, only to last one game. Their playoff loss to Philadelphia was certainly disappointing, but the fact that they earned the top seed after the drama they went through was impressive in itself. Now, it's time for the Giants to re-tool, reload, and get back to the Super Bowl.

With each pick of the FanHouse mock draft, we get into the head of an NFL general manager and let you know who he'll pick and why.

Can Jerry Reese and the New York Giants strike gold twice?

The defending Super Bowl Champions will head into draft weekend looking to do exactly what they did last year: select several players that will have an immediate impact on the team. It's a formula that obviously worked well for them and something they'll look to duplicate.

With so many pressing needs, New York will have several options when their turn finally rolls around. They could trade down for additional picks, draft a linebacker, cornerback or safety, or just go with the best player available.

Based on FanHouse's mock draft, Jerry Reese will actually get to do two of those things at once. Not only will he be able to draft the best player still available, he'll also be able to fill an area of need.

Kenny Phillips is considered by many to be a top-20 player in this year's draft and by far the best safety available. With the departure of Gibril Wilson to Oakland, New York desperately needs a young talent to help anchor that secondary. It's obvious that Sammy Knight is not the long-term answer, and despite an adequate Super Bowl performance, the organization cannot feel too comfortable with James Butler.

Phillips is a very physical and instinctive player with great hands. He plays well in both man and zone coverage's and does a good job against the run. He seems like a perfect fit for a Tom Coughlin run team and Steve Spagnuolo defense.

The Skinny:
Team Needs - CB, LB, S, OT
Player Selected - Kenny Phillips, S, Miami (FL.)
Also Considered - Dan Connor, LB, Penn State

Previous Pick: No. 31, Cheating, New England Patriots

We learned several things during the Super Bowl. Among others, we learned Eli Manning isn't going to get booed at Giants Stadium any more, we learned that its not a good idea to trademark perfect season phrases before you win all your games, we learned David Tyree's name and we learned that signing Asante Samuel isn't a good idea for the New York Jets.

That last one might take you by surprise, so I'll explain. The Giants dominated perhaps the best passing attack in league history with a cornerback crew consisting of the rookie Aaron Ross, the achy Sam Madison, R.W. McQuarters, James Butler Corey Webster and Kevin Dockery. No slight on any of those guys, but there's not a Lester Hayes in that group. The Giants dominated because of the way their defensive line and linebackers got after the quarterback. Take away a QB's time and protection and you take away a good chunk of his effectiveness.

That's why the Jets should forget about forking over heaps of cash for Samuel and concentrate on upgrading their anemic pass rush this offseason. He's a fine corner but the Jets could have a dozen of them and it wouldn't make a whit of difference if they don't start treating offenses the way the Giants treated the Patriots on Sunday. Samuel is a fine player but he shouldn't be wearing a Jets jersey next season.

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

James Butler, Giants
You know, I was a little hard on Manning the Younger last night. I accused him of playing great football for 30 minutes, and then turning into an interception-throwing pumpkin, while the Patriots did what they do: mount a second-half comeback and win in handsome Tom Brady fashion.

But after some soul-searching, I've come to the realization that the Patriots-Giants game didn't turn on Manning's fourth-quarter pick, but on what transpired three plays prior. You can see the birds-eye view here, but all you need to know is this: safety James Butler must've blacked out because when the cameras finally caught up with him, he was about 15 yards behind Randy Moss. Moss was making his way to the end zone after hauling in a 65-yard bomb from Brady.

That was the game-changer. To that point, the Giants' offense was moving the ball without much trouble, and the defense was like Plexiglas Burress: bend but don't break.

On the bright side, Manning played probably his best game as a professional, and the timing couldn't be better.
Sorry, No Photos

Nothing like a little drama before the inevitable. The New York Giants, like the Colts, Eagles and Ravens before them, put up a valiant effort. But in the end, well, the Patriots were just too much. That and Eli Manning realized he was Eli Manning, throwing a costly interception midway through the fourth quarter with New York trailing by three points.

On New England's go-ahead touchdown -- which had just as much to do with Giants safety James Butler going coverage-optional on Randy Moss as it did with a great Tom Brady pass -- both Moss and Brady set single-season touchdown records. Moss for receptions (23), and Brady for throws (50).

After Laurence Maroney punched it in from five yards out, the Patriots led by 10 points with just under five minutes to go in the game. Manning threw a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 1:04 on the clock, but the onside kick failed. And that was that.

Credit to Manning for playing a near flawless first half, but unfortunately for the Giants, football games are 60 minutes. And, obviously, congrats to the Patriots for going 16-0. Now there are only three things left to be decided in 2007: Will Bill Belichick win Coach of the Year (Peter King says yes!) Can New England win it all? And how will Mercury Morris cope?

New England Patriots 38
New York Giants 35

I was pretty adamant in pinning yesterdays 16-10 loss to the Giants on Shaun McDonald, who fumbled and was then mostly responsible for two game-losing interceptions in the final two minutes. But like any decent team -- the 49ers don't apply in this instance -- no one in the Lions locker room was pinning the blame on McDonald except for Shaun himself.

Roy Williams put the loss on himself for making too many mistakes, including the inability to take advantage of blown coverage and extend for a catch with nothing but the end zone in front of him. That touchdown would have won the game like both of McDonald's chances could have. But the Free Press pins the loss on Mike Martz.

A few minutes earlier, Kitna heaved an end-zone prayer to McDonald that might have been a touchdown but was wrestled away by James Butler for a pick. And though Kitna maintained that was a great defensive play, Butler is 6-feet-3 and McDonald is 5-feet-10. Those plays work better when the personal stats are reversed -- as in 6-5 Calvin Johnson against 5-8 Kevin Dockery, which resulted in the Lions' only touchdown.

If you were anxious for the return of wide receiver Steve Smith this weekend, don't hold your breath. Although the former Trojan appears 100% healed from his broken scapula, his status for Sunday's game in London is still very much in doubt.

Earlier this week, after returning to practice for the first time since week two, the rookie injured his hamstring and continued the curse on Giant second-round wide receivers.

According to Tom Coughlin, Smith tweaked his hamstring this week while returning from a shoulder injury. He didn't practice today and it doesn't look good for him for Sunday.

If the Giants were looking to get Plaxico Burress a breather this weekend, they can forget about that now. Unless Sinorice Moss turns into a quality wide out in the next 24 hours, Burress will be called upon to continue his success on a bad ankle.

Other injury notes: Running back Derrick Ward (ankle) and Safety James Butler (hamstring/ankle) are also likely to miss the Dolphins game.