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E-GIANTS TOM SELLS BOOKS; FREE AGENCY NEARS By Dave Klein
So it made perfect sense that Wednesday he appeared on many, many radio and television shows, disguised as a salesman. He was on ESPN Radio and Sirius Radio, followed by TV appearances on the Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan Show, The View and a taping of an interview (to be released soon, one assumes) on Center Stage, conducted by that noted Yankee shill, Michael Kaye. And he has more appearances scheduled for the rest of the week, one being an interview on the Jon Stewart Show Thursday night. The book is certainly not fiction, but rather a how-to on preparing for success, managing other people and, in general, taking the cues of famous U.S. Generals from the past. Strahan, who played for him, has acknowledged that at first he didn't like or understand Coughlin's philosophy, such as being marked tardy and fined if you weren't five minutes early for a scheduled meeting, but said he later came around to appreciate the tough exterior. Perhaps that came when he finally got a Super Bowl ring under Tom after SB 42 and then retired. Coughlin has explained many times that his motivation was to "keep everyone" [i.e., the players] off-balance and unsure of themselves and, you know, it worked wonderfully well. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** It is becoming more and more apparent that two veterans on the roster, offensive tackle David Diehl and cornerback Corey Webster, are in peril of being released next week. The veteran free agent period begins next Tuesday (March 12) and teams must be under the $123 million salary cap. With Diehl and C-Web on the roster the Giants are well over that cap, since Diehl is scheduled to earn $4.475 million this season and Webster is on the books for a whopping $7 million. Those figures will have to change, and since each player has one year left on his existing contract, the only hope is to agree to a major reduction. In Diehl's case it may not help. He has played 10 years and is seemingly well on his way to retirement, and whether or not he agrees to a salary cut, assuming one is even suggested, he will probably find himself released.. Webster, who had a dreadful season in 2012, might be given the chance to re-tool his contract and move to safety, where his injured knee won't be as much of a detriment as it was at cornerback last season. Money is going to be needed to sign the veterans, if any, starting Tuesday, and there are players who have been targeted by general manager Jerry Reese. There is some thought that they might consider Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is going to be a free agent unless the Bills sign him quickly - and they don't seem so inclined. This will fit neatly with their own backup quarterback, David Carr, indicating that he is going to look around when free agency begins, hoping to find a team where he can actually compete for a starting position. Carr is 33, a veteran of 11 NFL seasons and once the first-ever first-round pick of the then expansion Houston Texans. ... Rumors insist the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are interested in him, but to genuinely compete with Josh Freeman? ... That's a push, but if Fitzpatrick forsakes the Bills, can Carr be far behind? Also keep in mind that the Miami Dolphins did not choose to slap a franchise tag on left tackle Jake Long, the 6-7, 320-pound former first round pick via Michigan. ... "Long Jake" is one of the top tackles in the league and would be looking for something in the neighborhood of $10 million this year. ... So if we go back to Webster and Diehl, their combined 2013 salaries would add up to more than $11 million. ... Do the math, move Will Beatty to right tackle and presto! You've got bookends for the next four or five years. Reports out of Philadelphia seem to acknowledge that the Eagles are going to release cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, for whom they paid so much just a few years ago, and if he's willing to take a small cut in his salary, which now appears to be equal to the national budget of Lithuania, the Giants could always use a cornerback, even if he is 31 and a nine-year NFL veteran. So how do you guys feel about the six-year, $120 million contract signed by quarterback Joe Flacco with the Baltimore Ravens? And did you catch his comment, that "it's not about the money, it's about respect." ... As one E-GIANTS subscriber noted in an e-mail, "George Young [the late general manager] must be rolling over in his grave" because Young always said: "When they say it's not about the money, then it's definitely about the money." The question to ask here is whether a gigantic (if foolish) contract that big makes Flacco an "elite quarterback," or if it makes the Ravens merely a laughing stock. ... Well, listen, he won a Super Bowl, so that must count for something, right? Sure it does, but if every quarterback who won a Super Bowl was similarly rewarded, how come they missed Trent Dilfer, Doug Williams and Jeff Hostetler? Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o is slipping daily in the rankings and now seems to be a "lock" for the second (or third) round. ... If the Giants want a tight end in the first round, it looks as though they'll have their pick of all of them, but there are only two marginally worth that kind of status, Tyler Eifert of Notre Dame and Zach Ertz of Stanford. ... As usual, not only is their first-round desire hermetically sealed but much depends on the decision made concerning starter Martellus Bennett and what happens during the free agency frenzy. 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. NOW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!
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