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.

By DAVE KLEIN
THE PLAYERS THE GIANTS NEED ARE BUSY SIGNING WITH OTHERS

Do you think the Giants know it's Unrestricted Free Agent time?

I mean, what if the rest of the NFL participated and didn't tell the Giants? Do you think things would be any different?

For those who might have been on vacation last week, here is the story so far:

--- The Giants need a left offensive tackle to replace Luke Petitgout and prevent David Diehl from embarrassing himself. The biggest man in the league, Leonard Davis (6-8, 365) was a free agent. He is so big he doesn't even have to play well; just stand him there and make guys go around him. He wasn't actually signed as a rookie, he was trapped. His scalp is in one zip code and his feet are in another.

Anyway, Leonard signed a monstrous contract with Dallas the other day. In case you forget, that means he'll get to play against the Giants twice next season, and isn't that nice?

--- The Giants need a running back, no matter what they say. Tiki Barber is gone, retired, having taken a job so that he can do that which he does best, which is talk.

There were running backs around (and there still are, to be fair). But one of the top names, Thomas Jones, was traded by the Bears (because he wanted to be) to the New York Jets. Oh, isn't that the team that plays in the Giants building?

Ahman Green signed with Houston. Travis Henry signed with Denver. And while there are a few still out there, such as Jamal Lewis, Dominic Rhodes and Justin Griffith, it is probably true that there are other teams still looking for running backs, too.

Strangely, a Denver running back named Tatum Bell was traded to Detroit and suddenly the Lions are offering him around the league. The Giants? They might be interested. So why couldn't they make a deal directly with the Broncos? Oh, right, that's called negotiating and maybe they feel Detroit general manager Matt Millen isn't quite as sharp as Denver's top man, Pat Bowlen. They're right, too. Besides, why would Millen want Bell? He isn't a wide receiver.

--- The Giants need a cornerback. Oh, my, do they need a cornerback. They have plenty of spending cash and they seemed to be zooming in on the best one available, in fact the best UFA out there regardless of position. He was Buffalo star Nate Clements. Now he's San Francisco star Nate Clements.

But fear not, general manager Jerry Reese. There are still people like Nick Harper and the 5-8 Jason David of Indianapolis, Tory James of Cincinnati, Travis Fisher of St. Louis and Rod Hood of Philadelphia. What's the rush?

--- But there have been some intriguing developments involving this mysterious team, too.

For instance, the Giants have re-signed center Shaun O'Hara and long snapper Ryan Kuehl. That's good. Now maybe they can play upside-down catch with each other while waiting for the season to start.

They also decided (about two years too late) that tight end Visanthe Shiancoe wasn't going to be a functional player. They let him wander off into the sunset, and he found a home with the Minnesota Vikings. This is called addition by subtraction.

--- A wide receiver wasn't high on the list of needs, with Plaxico Burress seemingly happy this year, rookie Sinorice Moss finally finished with his quadriceps strain, Amani Toomer on the mend from knee surgery and a handful of others that includes Tim Carter (and don't you go betting money that he'll be here when the season starts).

But not really needing somebody doesn't count for much, so they will (or have already) interview St. Louis wide receiver Kevin Curtis, who is 5-11 and weighs 186, a four-year veteran out of Utah State who caught 39 passes for 469 yards and four touchdowns last season. The year before he caught 60 for 801 yards and half a dozen touchdowns.

It has been published that Curtis (who allegedly fired his agent recently) ran a 4.21 time in the NFL's Holy Grail, the 40-yard dash. Is that possible? Better measure the course, fellas.

--- Finally, there is defensive end Michael Strahan, perhaps the best at his position in Giants' history, or at least up there with Andy Robustelli, Jack Gregory and Leonard Marshall. He is currently tied with Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor for the all-time team sack lead at 132.5.

Did he really tell the Giants he wants to be traded to the Washington Redskins? Honest? Why would he do that? He had a foot injury last season but that has apparently recovered, that lis-franc tendon-cartilage-whatever on the bottom of his foot. Of course he's getting older, at least in NFL years. He's going to be 36 before the next season ends.

But the Redskins? Come on, Michael, stop having a hissy-fit about money, if that's what it is. Wouldn't it be nice to retire as a Giant, as the only team for which you played all these years? He'll be entering his 15th season in 2007, probably his last one.

Oh, there it is. He's going to miss Tiki Barber in the locker room. That's it, isn't it?

Under the category marked "Wouldn't You Do It Again?" we offer this final tidbit.

Quarterback Kerry Collins has re-signed with Tennessee, with the understanding that he will be the backup to Vince Young. This is the same Kerry Collins who refused to be on the Giants' roster after they drafted Eli Manning, saying, almost poetically: "I ain't no damned baby sitter."

So he went to Oakland, passing up a $7 million one-year contract to take a $5 million one-year contract. Then the Raiders cut him and last year he signed with the Titans. Now he's Young's "damned baby sitter" at far less money.

Hey, you know what? You can lead 'em to the bank but you can't make them deposit the money, you know?

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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