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.

GIANTS WORK OUT THREE VETERAN QBs;
DID DAVID WILSON CRY? WHO CARES?

By Dave Klein
Looking around for notes with more than a week until the next game ...

--- The Giants worked out some veterans without teams Friday (no, not Plaxico Burress and not Terrell Owens), and three of them were recently employed as quarterbacks.

They were Josh McCown, Stephen McGee and Brian Hoyer. ... McCown, in the NFL since 2002, was most recently with Chicago; McGee was a fourth round pick by Dallas in 2009; Hoyer with New England, lost his job to Ryan Mallett and was with the Patriots since 2009.

Isn't it somewhat surprising that a third quarterback seems to be on interest to the Giants but not a cornerback or an offensive tackle or perhaps another guard? ... Kevin Boothe wasn't very good Wednesday night, David Diehl was horrible and with Mitch Petrus back on the roster, why wasn't he activated?

--- Was David Wilson, the first-round running back pick, really crying on the sidelines after his fumble Wednesday night? ... He denies it, so do the coaches, but maybe some of the fans were.

The kid had two carries, came out after the fumble and never returned. ... Head coach Tom Coughlin clearly implanted a lesson but he may need tuition to "Tiki Barber School" to learn how to hold the ball. ... Coughlin is President Emeritus of that particular protocol.

Did Wilson really sit on the sideline and cry after his fumble and subsequent benching? Probably not. But Coughlin kept him out and maintained that decision for the rest of the game, or 53 minutes and 27 seconds. "Ball control," he said, "is a huge issue. We have a lot of work to do."

Someone asked if Wilson has been fumbling frequently in practice, and Tom came up with an actually amusing response: "No, he hasn't fumbled in practice, but on the other hand, there hasn't been any tackling in practice, either."

--- You have probably read about the passing of Art Modell, the former Browns' and Ravens' owner who died this week at the age of 87. ... He was one of the country's good guys and true sportsmen, and the few occasions when we met were memorable. ... Once I was working for The Star-Ledger at Monmouth Park when I got a message in the press box that the late Wellington Mara was in a box and if I had time I should say hello.

That was a summons one didn't ignore, so between races (I think the third and fourth) I went to the box, and there was Modell, too. ... The two men were close friends. ... Modell asked which horse I liked and (honestly) I just jabbed at a name on the program with a finger. ... The horse won, at odds like 8-1. ... So for the next race he asked me again for a tip, and I blindly selected another one. ... Another winner, at approximately the same odds.

I had two bucks on each horse and I am nervous to even guess at how much Modell had bet. He was definitely a plunger. ... At that point he turned to Mr. Mara and said: "Can I give this kid a job so he can go to the tracks with me?" ... Mara laughed, Modell laughed, and I wondered for a year whether he meant it.

--- An appeals court has sent back the "Bounty Gate" rulings imposed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for reevaluations. ... That means the three players who were suspended, including linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who drew a year, will once again have their cases reviewed and, for all we know, be immediately eligible to play again.

The two other players involved were Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and current free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove. ... Goodell will reassess the penalties applied and decide - perhaps again - that they were fair. Or he can waive them or diminish them.

The players suspended will be "instantly reinstated and eligible to play this weekend," said a spokesman from the NFL. ... But there is a chance that once Goodell reviews the cases - again - he might decide on another form of punishment.

The non-players who were suspended - Saints' head coach Sean Payton, offensive coordinator Joe Vitt, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and general manager Mickey Loomis - are still suspended and cannot resume their normal activities.

--- Talk about a balance between running and passing, the Giants threw the ball 32 times against Dallas and ran it 19 times. ... Aside from Wilson's pair of carries (which netted four yards) it was all Ahmad Bradshaw, who carried 17 times for 78 yards but if you remove a 33-yard gain (two Cowboys missed tackles) he had 16 carries for 45 yards and that's just not good enough.

Would Victor Cruz's three drops made a major difference if he had caught them? ... Silly question, of course they would have. ... Coughlin says he has always had a problem with concentrating on the ball before he starts to run, other coaches insist it happens and all the great receivers have had embarrassing drops (remember Jerry Rice all alone in Giants Stadium dropping a certain 70-yard touchdown?) but those are just excuses.

You get paid to catch the ball, you should catch it. End of story.

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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