An ode to Michael Strahan

Michael Anthony Strahan announced his retirement this week after fifteen seasons with the New York Giants. During his career he amassed 141 ½ sacks (fifth all time), including 22 ½ during the 2001 season (so what if the final one was cheaper than 5AM hooker in a Vegas casino) which is a single season record. He had at least one sack in every season of his career and he was still the defensive leader during Big Blue’s run to the Super Bowl this past season. Strahan’s final sack came during a Super Bowl victory in which he led the Giants’ front four in putting relentless pressure on Tom Brady. Fitting.

Lost on many non-Giants fans is the fact that Strahan was at least as good a run stopper as he was a pass rusher. He has the sack numbers to prove his pass rushing prowess, but you had to really watch the games to pick up just how good he was against the run. If he wasn’t making a play on the ball carrier, he was forcing a cut-back inside or taking on two blockers to allow the linebackers a free run at the guy. He shed blockers like Nicole Richie (AKA Skeletor) shed calories and forced the runner back into the teeth of the defense. During his fifteen-year career, Michael Strahan was one of the most complete defensive ends in football. In an age when defensive linemen generally specialize as pass rushers or run stoppers (or in the case of Jason Taylor, prancing around like fairies on national television), Michael Strahan excelled at both (and who knows, maybe he’s a hell of a dancer too), earning him seven Pro Bowl selections and eventually a Super Bowl ring (upon which is scribed a weak-ass tag instead of one of my far superior suggestions). In fact, replacing Strahan the run stopper will probably be tougher than replacing Strahan the pass rusher. But more on that later.

In addition to his on-field playing ability, Michael Strahan was one of the best leaders in the NFL. He made everyone on the Giants play better. His infectious personality kept his teammates’ loose and their minds in the game. His undeniable love for football rubbed off on those around him. He kept everyone loose and having fun, and it can’t be overstated how important that is for a team. His incredible work ethic served as a wonderful example for younger Giants’ players. Granted he did skip camp last summer and I killed Jason Taylor for that recently, but I genuinely think Strahan was considering retirement at the time and his excuse didn’t involve dancing. Also, Jason Taylor’s work ethic is not nearly as renowned as Strahan’s.

There is no question the Giants are going to miss Strahan. They’re going to miss his consistent pressure on the quarterback, his uncanny run-stopping ability, and probably most of all his leadership on the field and in the locker room. Luckily though, Big Blue does have a capable man to step in and attempt to fill the void left by Strahan’s retirement. Justin Tuck is a hell of a defensive end. I’ve been a fan of his ever since his rookie year out of Notre Dame and last year he proved he can be an effective part of the Giants defensive front – six tackles including two sacks in the Super Bowl should be enough to convince anyone. Tuck is a big, strong defensive end with great pass rushing skills. He’s strong enough to play well against the run, but he doesn’t yet have the instincts or use his hands well enough to be a truly complete end the way Strahan was. He’s still quite young though and can certainly develop into an all-round great defensive lineman. In nickel situations the Giants will still be able to roll Tuck inside to defensive tackle and move Mathias Kiwanuka to defensive end (his natural position) so they have four legitimate pass rushers on the line. There’s also the possibility Kiwanuka moves back to defensive end full time, but I won’t get into that now. Of course losing a player of Strahan’s caliber hurts the Giants somewhat, but they have a player that can fill in well and still will have one of the best defensive lines in the league.

So goodbye #92. It’s been a great fifteen years and we’ll miss you. But hopefully not that much.