E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

DIEHL, SNEE, SMITH EARN PRO BOWL SPOTS WHILE WAUFLE INTERVIEWS WITH RAIDERS
By Dave Klein

How’s this for weird irony? David Diehl, the Giants' left tackle, and Chris Snee, the right guard, have been added to the Pro Bowl roster and will join previously named center Shaun O’Hara. ... This means the Giants will have 60 percent of their offensive line in the game, to be played this year the Sunday BEFORE the Super Bowl. ... Not bad for a team that didn’t even make the playoffs. ... And sorry about missing that trip to Hawaii, fellas, but the NFL does what it does based on ratings and profit.

The big Pro Bowl news is that wide receiver Steve Smith will also be on the NFC Pro Bowl roster. … He was named Wednesday because of surgery scheduled for Arizona superstar Larry Fitzgerald. ... Diehl and Snee got their invitations because, as had been expected, linemen still eligible for the Super Bowl won’t be allowed to make the appearance. ... Smith, a second round draft pick in 2007, caught 107 passes last season for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns. ... He becomes the Giants' first wide receiver presence in a Pro Bowl since (get this) Homer Jones in 1968.

"It's a great honor," he added, "but it" bittersweet because I wish I was playing in the game the week after the Pro Bowl. "I'm really excited about playing in the Pro Bowl. It’s truly an honor to be recognized by the fans, coaches and players as one of the best in the league. I realize how significant it is at the position I play, by being the first Giants wide receiver to be named to the Pro Bowl in such a long time. I plan to represent my teammates, my coaches and the entire Giants organization well, because I know I would not have made it without their support."

Word has it that recently fired defensive line coach Mike Waufle has been interviewed for the same job with the Oakland Raiders, the job he held before he was hired to assume the role with the Giants in 2004. ... Did you know that head coach Tom Coughlin set the Syracuse single season receiving record in 1967, when he was a so-called wingback on the same team with fullback Larry Csonka and halfback Floyd Little?

Former Giants’ linebackers coach and last year's defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has been hired as the linebackers assistant coach in Miami, the same team that this week also hired former Giants' defensive coordinator Mike Nolan as its coordinator. ... He spent last season mentoring the Denver Broncos' defense. ... Nolan, prior to that head coach in San Francisco, is the son of former Giants' Pro Bowl safety Dick Nolan.

Oh, and Dallas head coach Tony Sparano worked under Coughlin on the staff of the Jacksonville Jaguars. ... He is now a part of the burgeoning "Coughlin coaching tree" which features those NFL and college coaches who worked for him such as Bobby Petrino (currently head man at the University of Arkansas), Dick Jauron (recently dismissed head coach in Buffalo), Perry Fewell (the Giants' new defensive coordinator who served under T.C. in Jacksonville), St. Louis Rams’ head coach Steve Spagnuolo and current offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who served in a similar capacity in Jacksonville.

The team the Giants have played the fewest times in their history is Houston (well, the Texans, anyway). ... They did play the Oilers, who now have an address in Tennessee, five times prior to the move. ... The Texans, of course, are an expansion team. .. Speaking of teams, there are five franchises that have never made a Super Bowl appearance, but that number can reduce itself by one if New Orleans beats Minnesota on Sunday. ... The Saints haven’t been there before, along with the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston. ... Oh, and the New York Jets have been there only once, way back in January of 1968, when they earned the distinction of becoming the first American Football League team to win the Super Bowl over an original NFL squad.

The Giants have signed free agent tight end Carson Butler (6-4, 260, Michigan), who spent the 2009 season with four different teams - Detroit, Green Bay, San Francisco and Cincinnati. ... His odyssey began with the Packers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent. ... Let’s see, that gives the Giants six tight ends – Butler, Travis Beckum, starter Kevin Boss, Scott Chandler, Bear Pascoe and Darcy Johnson.

L:isted on the team's "Reserve/Future" list are such as kicker Sam Swank; cornerbacks Vince Anderson, Courtney Brown and London Fryar; offensive linemen Jacob Bender and Reuben Riley; defensive linemen Tommie Hill, Anthony Bryant and Dwayne Hendricks; linebacker Kenny Ingram; fullback Jerome Johnson.

Vikings' tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, whom you might remember as the Giants’ tight end who fled when Unrestricted Free Agency beckoned, is a game away from going to the Super Bowl he missed in 2007-08. ... He was a far greater loss, in the minds of many, than Jeremy Shockey, and over the last two seasons Shiancoe trails only Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss in receiving touchdowns. ... He has 18, and in sharp contrast to Shockey, he stays healthy.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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