Aug 20 Two running backs at the back end of the depth chart suited up and took the field Monday night, hoping to impress the coaching staff with a move here, a block there, a tackle made on special teams. Something. Anything. Danny Ware and Kay-Jay Harris took the field during the Giants' 37-34 preseason victory over the Browns, but only one got out of the game unscathed. Ware did exactly what he needed to do with an overwhelmingly positive performance. Harris, however, had to be carted off with a serious injury that ends his dream, for now.
Danny Ware put up big numbers in the Giants' preseason win over the Browns on Monday night. He ran for 97 yards on 10 carries and returned three kickoffs for 117 yards, including a 59-yarder that set up what became the winning points. But there are other numbers that cloud Ware's status on the Giants. Like the stack of running backs who stand above him on the team's depth chart. With Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw likely to be the top three ballcarriers this season, it may be difficult for Ware to find room on the roster.
Danny Ware knows the story of Ryan Grant, the running back who last summer elbowed his way onto the Giants' 53-man final roster only to be traded to Green Bay for a draft pick. He also knows he may be this year's Ryan Grant.

The Giants are finally going to get some of their top receivers back at practice. Coach Tom Coughlin disclosed yesterday that veteran Amani Toomer (knee), second-year pro Steve Smith (hamstring) and rookie Mario Manningham (quad) are expected to return to practice today. "Amani feels good and I am hoping that he can go and get right back in here and not have to be too concerned with what he does and doesn't do," Coughlin said in a conference call to review the Giants' 37-34 win over the Cleveland Browns. Toomer and Smith have practiced on and off since training camp started, but Manningham has missed almost all of camp.
Brandon London, who injured his left shoulder against the Lions, reinjured it Monday and went to the locker room for X-rays that were negative. Coach Tom Coughlin said he isn't sure what London's status will be for today's practice, but said that if there was one yesterday he would have been too sore to participate.

There were 25 seconds left in the first half and David Carr wasn't expecting to play until sometime in the fourth quarter. That's when the unexpected happened. Then again, the unexpected is exactly what a backup quarterback is supposed to expect. "It's a pretty good test if you want to see what's going to happen," said Carr, who was thrust into the Giants' 37-34 preseason win over the Browns Monday night when Anthony Wright sprained his back with two plays left in the second quarter.

After allowing three points on the Browns opening drive due in part to a 56 yard field goal from Phil Dawson the starting defense did not allow another score. However, Justin Tuck wasn't pleased with the fact that his unit allowed points early in the game. The Giants defense proceeded to force three consecutive three and out's in which the Browns total offense, stagnant throughout much of the first quarter, was minus 4 yards.
Every offensive coach in the NFL is aware of what the Giants' defensive ends can do and they've spent the offseason figuring out how to handle them. Now, they'd better spend the rest of the preseason figuring out how to handle the Giants' defensive tackles as well. Through all of training camp and the first two preseason games, Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield have been disruptive up the middle for opposing offenses. Against the Browns on Monday night, Robbins and Cofield flat-out dominated, allowing the ends and linebackers to make plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.

In a career filled with so many memorable passes and so many comeback victories, this might have been the worst moment of all for Brett Favre. Packers-Giants. NFC Championship Game. Lambeau Field in subzero temperatures. One step away from the Super Bowl. Overtime. Game on the line. Favre, back to pass, looking for Donald Driver, and ... it was intercepted by Giants cornerback Corey Webster.
Now he faces the Giants again Saturday in his new Jets uniform, but it's just a preseason game with no chance at redemption, even if he throws three touchdown passes over Corey Webster, who picked off Favre's misguided attempt in OT, setting up the winning field goal.

Drew Brees and Eli Manning are used to calling plays on the field. This season, they also will be helping kids call the shots when it comes to their health as part of the NFL's new public service announcements. Joined by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, the players are working with youngsters as part of NFL PLAY 60: The NFL Movement for an Active Generation, which focuses on the health and wellness of young fans by encouraging them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Ann T. Mara and Joan H. Tisch, co-owners and matriarchs of the Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Football Giants will be honored for their charitable endeavors when Head Coach Tom Coughlin hosts his annual fundraising gala on Friday, September 12, at Cipirani's in midtown Manhattan. For information about corporate tables, individual tickets and sponsorships contact Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Executive Director Keli Coughlin at 904-543-2599 or keli@tcjayfund.org (www.tcjayfund.org).

PSL News
Steve Kern of Boonton has organized a rally against the personal seat licenses. The event will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Giants Stadium, three hours before kickoff for the Giants-Jets annual preseason game. The rally has gotten its approvals from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
Organizers plan to record the complaints of every angry fan and forward a DVD to owners of both the Jets and the Giants. Giants co-owner John Mara has said the PSLs are necessary to finance the planned stadium set to open for the 2010 season. Many longtime fans of the team fear the PSLs will price them out of the seats held by generations of the same family, dating back to Yankee Stadium.

Aug 19 Giants win over Cleveland 37-34         |        GAME PHOTOS

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On The Game: Preseason Game 2 Recap Gamegirl... "..It was great to see Eli take the field and get some nice recognition from the fans at the stadium. The last time the Giants played before their home crowd was in that New England game at the end of the season where they sent a message to us all. They showed us then that they would be willing and able to take on New England in the Super Bowl if they got the chance. ....." Mikefan.... ".. The real story of the first half was the defense, Domenik Hixon and the lack of David Tyree on the special teams unit. The Giants didn't have Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith so Hixon was the guy. He caught 2 touchdown passes and had an 82 yard kick return for a touchdown....."

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ESPN - Eli, Giants build early substantial lead, hang on to beat Browns.
Giants.com - Giants defeat Browns, 37-34.
StarLedger - Domenik Hixon, New York Giants starters return to Super form.
StarLedger - As Michael Strahan watches, New York Giants' D-line makes early stand.
StarLedger - David Tyree no lock for New York Giants roster.
StarLedger - Danny Ware proves special in a running role fr New York Giants.
NYDailyNews - Hixon's the one for Giants in win.
NYDailyNews - Sidelined Dave Tyree goes from Super to stupor with injury.
Newsday - Hixon scores 3 TDs as Giants beat the Browns.
Newsday - First-team defense displays dominance.
Newsday - Coughlin: That was bizarre.
Newsday - As injuries pile up, Giants backups in spotlight.
Newsday - Hustle makes small play by Giants' Thomas big.
NYPost - New Giant weapon.
NYPost - Backup plan not Wright.
NYPost - Like no 'Other".

Aug 18 Things to watch vs. Browns tonight
1. How sharp will the starting units be in their first extended action?
2. Who among the young receivers separates from the group.
3. Can Kenny Phillips continue his impressive play in the first of the two home exhibition games?

The New York Giants return to friendly confines for the first time since last December this Monday night, when the defending Super Bowl champs play host to the Cleveland Browns in the second preseason game for both clubs. The Giants have not played football at the Meadowlands since last Dec. 29th.

Reuben Droughns saw his playing time sharply diminish as Ahmad Bradshaw's star ascended at the end of last season. Now in his ninth season, Droughns, 29, is trying to prove he still has the goods to contribute at a position where his top competitors are all younger. Reuben Droughns will get to take on his former team on Monday night
Derrick Ward, a fourth-year pro, has been plagued with injuries throughout his career. He has never played a full 16-game season and missed the Giants' postseason run after fracturing his left fibula at Chicago on Dec. 2 - when he rushed for a career-high 154 yards.
There is nothing tentative about Kay-Jay Harris. Not on the field and certainly not in the attitude he conveys as he dismisses the extremely low odds of sticking with the Giants . "I'm just hoping the opportunity comes up somewhere because I'm telling you right now when I do get that chance I'm going to be like an angry man in hell," Harris said. "If I get the opportunity to be able to get in there and perform on the roster as a running back I'm not going to give it back."

In case anyone needed a reminder that Jeremy Shockey was gone - as if the quiet summer wasn't a clue - it was all there on the film of the Giants' preseason opener in Detroit. And when tight ends coach Mike Pope watched it, he knew he had a lot of work to do. There were missed assignments, missed blocks, miscommunications, incorrect routes and a slew of other mental errors. For most of the last six years, with Shockey on his side, those were things Pope didn't have to worry about. Now he does.

Kevin Boss appears to be awfully comfortable in the spotlight. He became the favorite target of Eli Manning in training camp while Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer dealt with nagging injuries, pleasing the crowd over and over with grabs that would qualify for highlight-reel status in November. There's more to the picture, though. Mike Matthews and Darcy Johnson could also step into the spotlight vacated by Jeremy Shockey and help bridge the gap at tight end. Both are expected to see time in the second preseason game tonight against the Cleveland Browns.

Andre Woodson is the third quarterback in Coughlin's four-player lineup for tonight's game against the Browns. In all likelihood, he'll have the first possession of the second half and play through the third quarter before handing things over to Carr. Eli Manning and Anthony Wright will play in the first half.
"[Woodson] was supposed to go in with about four minutes left," quarterback coach Chris Palmer said of the plan in Detroit last week. "But we got the ball taken away from us when the fumble call was overturned. We didn't want to put him in a two-minute situation because he had not had a two-minute situation in practice. "I don't think that would have been fair to him or the other players. Tom [Coughlin] made that decision, and I agreed with him." So when the Giants got the ball back with 2:47 to play, David Carr remained at quarterback. And Woodson had to wait.

For a defensive end, playing for the Giants is like, well, like... "Like finding the Holy Grail, huh?" Renaldo Wynn said the other day. That pretty much sums it up. Wynn, a 12th-year veteran who has played for three other teams (including Tom Coughlin's Jacksonville Jaguars, who drafted him in the first round in 1997), has found the dream scheme for an end that wants to get after the quarterback. And he's found a group of linemen that are all worthy of double teams, meaning several guys are going to find single matchups on any given play. No wonder the 33-year-old Wynn feels rejuvenated after signing a one-year deal with the Giants on June 1.

Aug 17 The Giants will end their 13th training camp at the University at Albany today with a jog through workout. Once the workout ends, the players jump into their cars and head down the New York Thruway for home. "A small tear forms as you see Albany in your rearview mirror going down 87, doing the speed limit," center Shaun O'Hara quipped.
Wide receiver Domenik Hixon finished his route, turned, and looked for the pass from Eli Manning. But it never got to him. That's because a blue blur zipped in front of him and picked off the throw. You didn't have to wait to see the number of the blue darter. It had to be Kenny Phillips. It indeed was the Giants' No. 1 draft pick. The rookie safety was the star of the training camp, which ends with a jog-through this morning in preparation for Monday night's game against Cleveland.

It was a fairly good training camp for the reigning Super Bowl MVP, who seemed to get into a nice rhythm with his receivers. The chemistry they developed might even be something Eli Manning could carry over into a game. If any of the receivers he's been working with actually get into a game. Unfortunately for Manning, the receivers most likely to play in the regular season have spent the majority of the summer standing on the sidelines.
Everyone wanted to search for signs that the Giants, coming off their shocking Super Bowl triumph, would somehow be changed or approach training camp differently than in years past. Judging from their 24-day stay here, it was business as usual for the Giants. And, also, hijinks as usual. The Giants break camp this morning after a brief walk-through, meaning time is running out for practical jokes.

Eli Manning was asked if he had any thoughts on the Cleveland game - "Yeah, hopefully we can go out there and play well, they're a good team. They're a 3-4 defense, which we’ll see a lot of in the next three preseason games. So, it's good work and it's been good work in practice. We got some good looks at that and getting some good work on that.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Saturday that he plans to use all four of his quarterbacks in Monday night's game against the Cleveland Browns at Giants Stadium. Starter Eli Manning will be in for about 25 plays, he said. He will be followed by Anthony Wright, rookie Andre Woodson and David Carr, in that order. Coughlin says he's planning to get Woodson his first NFL action sometime in the third quarter.
Andre Woodson, the quarterback selected by the Giants on the sixth round of this year's NFL Draft, did not see any action in the Giants' loss last week in Detroit. "I haven’t played in a while now and it’s definitely going to be a nerve-racking thing for me when I get out there," Woodson said. Woodson managed to compile some huge numbers at Kentucky. He completed 791 of 1,287 passes (61.9 percent) for 9,360 yards, 79 touchdowns and only 25 interceptions. He set an NCAA record by throwing 325 consecutive passes without being picked off.
WR Plaxico Burress, who practiced in a limited capacity on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, was out of action yesterday because of ankle soreness. "Same thing," coach Tom Coughlin said with a shrug. Burress, who did not speak with reporters yesterday, will not play against the Browns on Monday night. It's unclear if he'll practice when the team returns to work at Giants Stadium on Wednesday.

The last time Josh Huston was here he was competing for a job. Now, he's just keeping the seat warm. Huston was signed Friday by the Giants to replace kicker Lawrence Tynes (knee), who will miss Monday night's game against the Browns. Huston and Tynes battled for the job at Giants camp last year. That's not the case this time. "This is Lawrence's job," Huston said. "I'm here to service these guys and give Lawrence rest, give him an opportunity to rest up. It's a good opportunity for me to get game film and hope someone else sees me." Huston flew to New York Thursday and worked out and signed with the Giants Friday. While at home in Columbus, Ohio, he was working out, and also caddying at Muirfield, the prestigious golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Kevin Boss didn't post big numbers as a rookie with the Giants. The tight end just made big plays after taking over for an injured Jeremy Shockey late in the season. Forgotten already? There was the 45-yard catch and run in the Super Bowl that set up the Giants' first touchdown. Maybe even more important was his 19-yard reception late in the second-quarter against Dallas in the NFC Divisional Playoff that helped tie the game just before halftime. Both were huge in the Giants' run to the Super Bowl victory. Boss enters his second season facing a lot more pressure in the wake of the Giants' decision to trade the disgruntled Shockey to New Orleans days before the start of training camp. It thrust Boss into a starting role with the burden of replacing a four-time Pro Bowler.
Kevin Boss and Michael Matthews have a lot to learn, as offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride recently pointed out when he said the tight ends are "not where (they) need to be yet." So Pope must balance his patience for young players with the urgency of the regular season being only a few weeks away. Pope still yells at the players. Just not like he did when Boss and Matthews were rookies last year. "It was more like a father scolding an 8-year old," Matthews said. "Now, it's like we're teenagers and he tries to reason with us, like, 'You know what you're doing. Let's do it.'"

Somehow, in the last two decades, players have come to quibble and grumble and rumble over how they rate...in a video game. Madden NFL is in its 20th year and players throughout the league can't help but gripe about what a few gridiron geeks at EA Sports say about their talents in the game's player ratings. Every year, a 10-man group headed by EA's Jonathan Crankshaw rates every player in a plethora of categories - things like speed, awareness, agility and hands.
The max rating is 100. To players, these marks are gospel. Sure, some guys, like Giants cornerback Aaron Ross, are videogame addicts. Others, like former Giants safety Gibril Wilson and Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck, just want to compare their pixellated selves to the real deals. Last year was Ross' first year in the game, and he felt like a fourth-grader when he grabbed Madden ‘08. "To see myself in there," he says, "was just crazy."

Aug 16 A highly anticipated rookie receiver sidelined by injury? It's become as much a tradition for the Giants as rookie hazing or Tom Coughlin's annual bowling night. This year, Mario Manningham has followed in the gimpy footsteps of Sinorice Moss and Steve Smith.
Sinorice Moss has gotten plenty of reps because Smith, with groin and hamstring problems; Plaxico Burress, with his ankle woes; Amani Toomer, with leg and knee troubles; and David Tyree coming off knee surgery have at times joined Manningham on the sidelines.
Tyree conceded yesterday that there is a good chance that he will be on the physically-unable-to-perform list when the Giants kick off the regular season on Sept. 4 against the Washington Redskins in a nationally televised game. Being on the list would force him to miss the first six games.
The depth at wide receiver was supposed to force these players to make a lot of plays on the field to earn a job. Now, with all the injuries, players like Domenik Hixon, Brandon London and Moss are getting more chances to make those plays. Asked specifically if he's seen more consistency from Moss, Coughlin said, "We're starting to, yeah. He's getting a lot of reps and he's taking advantage of it."
Sinorice Moss drew some praise from Coughlin in the morning, then went out and dropped a short pass over the middle while he was wide open in 7s. He caught another ball in 7s, but was out of bounds. Then he fumbled a catch in the final 2:00 drive.

Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes will miss the Super Bowl champions' preseason game against Cleveland on Monday night because of a knee injury. Tynes, who was the only place-kicker in camp, wrenched his left knee Sunday when his foot slipped while kicking. The Giants signed Josh Huston on Friday to kick against the Browns. Huston was with the team in training camp last season. His battle with Tynes might have been the tightest for a roster spot.
Huston - who nearly beat Tynes in a training camp battle last summer - is likely no threat to Tynes' job, unless the injury to the incumbent becomes a long-term thing. And while the early prognosis on Tynes appears to be good, no one has ruled out an extended absence. Tynes, who is coming off his finest season of his career, making 23 of 27 field goals (85.2%) in the regular season. "I'm not extremely worried about it, but I am a little bit.
Tynes has been the only kicker in camp, but he certainly sees the logic in bringing in someone for the Cleveland game. "I'm not worried about my job," he said. "It would be an embarrassment if they went out there on Monday and there’s not a kicker on the field. Chase Blackburn is the backup, and I don't know if you guys want to see that."

When Giants cornerback Aaron Ross dials up his fiancee, Sanya Richards, he hears a familiar emotion in her words and inflection. "I can tell she's getting more excited as the days get closer," Ross said. "As a competitor I can just feel the vibe, like when it's close to game-time for me, I'm sort of antsy and ready to go and I can hear it in her voice. Just watching and seeing how well the U.S. is doing right now and knowing my 'Fi' is over there, I'm so excited for her. I can't wait." The wait is nearly over as Richards begins her quest for a gold medal in the preliminaries of the 400 meters in Beijing today. The semifinals are tomorrow and the finals Tuesday. Richards is the heavy favorite."

Former Giants
Michael Strahan spent much of the Giants' penultimate practice at Albany smiling and laughing on the sidelines, talking to various members of the staff, including former Giant Jessie Armstead, who is helping coach the linebackers in camp.

Aug 15 Plaxico Burress still is not completely healthy, and is not sure when or if he will be. But he is absolutely certain about one thing: He will be in the Giants' lineup on opening night.
The wide receiver said yesterday that his last hurdle to playing at full speed is being made easier by the orthotics that have been built into his shoes to compensate for what he called "extremely flat feet." "The more I rest, the more I take care of my ankle, then I'll be closer to 100 percent," he said. "If I'm not 100, I'll probably be 95, 96, which I'll definitely take."
Several months ago, the Giants mentioned to Burress that using specially-designed orthotics in his football and street shoes could alleviate the discomfort he was feeling in the ankle. Burress dismissed that advice, but the pain did not go away.
Burress wasn't wearing orthotics before camp when he was running to get himself in shape. He tweaked his ankle and was sidelined for the first 22 practices (and a walk-through) here until suiting up on Tuesday night to do some light work.
Burress used the same practice formula he did Tuesday evening, the first time he put on the pads since Super Bowl XLII. He participated in the individual and offensive jog-through portions of the workout, but not in the more exerting and physical team segment.
Burress didn't play in last week's preseason opener in Detroit and is not expected to be in uniform for Monday night's home game against Cleveland.

Tom Coughlin has a lot of rules. and he was shouting them on the field. First, when Wallace Gilberry and Grey Ruegamer got into a fight during 11-on-11s (the second fight of camp for the team), Coughlin was yelling "Let go of the facemasks! Let go of the facemasks!" He didn't seem too concerned about the roundhouse punches the guys were tossing. Then, a few plays later, when Woodson threw an interception to Zak DeOssie, receiver Brandon London tried to make a tackle by grabbing the back of DeOssie's jersey. "Don't grab the back of the shirt!" Coughlin yelled. (He later explained that grabbing a guy from behind can injure a hamstring). So it was a fun practice to watch -- and listen to!
Brandon London had another awesome practice. And he actually called this one. After a catch early in practice, he yelled, "I'm going to get me some today." He was right, as he caught several balls over the middle, to the outside and up the seam. Again, I don't see how he makes the roster (barring a trade of WR Sinorice Moss or Manningham to IR), but he looks like he belongs.

OT Shane Olivea's biggest issues were supposed to be off the field and in his head, not on the field and in his back. But Olivea, who battled an addiction to painkillers that led to his being released by the Chargers, was injured early last week during camp and couldn't get healthy quick enough for the Giants' liking. So yesterday, the team placed him on injured reserve with the intention of releasing him with an injury settlement when he's healthy again.
On Aug. 3, after what coach Tom Coughlin called "his best practice day," Olivea experienced back problems and could not make it back to the field. "We had an extended amount of time here where we tried to improve his situation, it didn't seem like we were getting very far, it was very unfortunate," Coughlin said.

Madison Hedgecock, at 6-foot-3, 266 pounds, will be barreling through the offensive line again in 2008, looking to move aside linebackers for Giants running back Brandon Jacobs. The fullback's job can be a thankless one. Hedgecock started 15 games in the Giants' 2007 Super Bowl-winning campaign but caught only seven passes for 52 yards and did not carry the ball. Not once.

A Philadelphia man is being charged by federal investigators with trying to blackmail Giants coach Tom Coughlin, threatening to expose a fictitious sexual relationship with two women if he did not pay $20,000 to $30,000. "The only thing I'll say is that I received two different letters, I turned them over to the league authorities as was recommended, and it's in their hands," Coughlin said yesterday. "That's all I can tell you.
The letters demanded Coughlin pay $20,000 to $30,000 or his life would be made "a living hell by doing something to (his) family," according to the complaint filed Thursday. Investigators determined the women named in the letters had never met Coughlin and played no role in the blackmail attempt.

Aug 14 On the Lions' first drive against the Giants last Thursday night, Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna may have started a trend when he took the snap from his center ... and ran away. Kitna ran a bootleg, and he later ran several more, in an attempt to get as far away from the Giants' pass rush as possible. And after a season in which the Giants led the NFL with 53 sacks and rattled quarterbacks all the way through winning the Super Bowl, that figures to be a season-long theme.

Down the stretch of the first training camp in seven years without Shockey, the Giants have been noticeably subdued on offense as they wind their way through one practice to another. Coach Tom Coughlin's insistence that his offense "turn it up a notch" is certainly not alarming, but there's no doubt subtracting Shockey from the mix changes a dynamic, not necessarily in a positive way.
Sending Shockey to the Saints was deemed to be addition by subtraction, given the front office's fear that Shockey's bitterness would have infected those around him. But what about on the field? Thus far, those left behind to carry the load haven't exactly soared beyond expectations or created much in the way of confidence that the tight-end position is going to be just fine.

The dropped pass came on the Giants' sixth offensive play in their Week 3 game in Washington last year. Though it followed two runs for a total of 18 yards, being too exhausted to catch a ball 8 yards away from Eli Manning that early in the game was unacceptable for Derrick Ward. Of course, it was only the second NFL start for a player who was expected to begin last season somewhere in the bottom three of the Giants' five-back depth chart.
Until Reuben Droughns showed up in camp (admittedly) out of shape and unfocused, Ryan Grant was traded, rookie Ahmad Bradshaw was thought to not be ready and starter Brandon Jacobs sprained his knee in the opener. All that combined to make Ward a starter before halftime in Week 1. Though he rushed for 602 yards in eight games (averaging 4.8 yards per carry), Ward knows he wasn't physically ready. This season, he says he will be.

While he clearly understands the game plan, Barry Cofield is a little jealous whenever he's on the sideline watching Osi Umenyiora or Justin Tuck dance. It's a natural feeling. When the personable defensive lineman impacts the game, he actually gets less time on the field. Cofield is stuck in the middle in a lot of ways. He is a fixture on running downs, and steps off the field to make room for sack-happy teammates when the situation calls for a pass. Still, there isn't a single complaint. "Everyone wants to make plays and celebrate just like Osi and (Michael Strahan) did," said Cofield, who has 2 1/2 sacks since he was drafted three years ago. And he does have a few moves in case there's an opportunity to strut. "We all work on celebrations," Tuck said.

He was the Giants' second-round pick, and judging by the deserved hoopla over the first-rounder, Terrell Thomas might be riding shotgun in the fans' minds for a while. But even though safety Kenny Phillips has displayed a wow factor uncommon in rookies since first stepping on the field, Thomas is coming into his own. Soon, he won't be referred to as that other defensive back they drafted in 2008. "We're very happy with how he tackled and how he performed against Detroit," secondary coach Peter Giunta said of Thomas. "He's a very patient player with very good footwork and he works at it all the time. He's very meticulous in what he does."

Aaron Ross ran a 400-meter race once. That was enough for him. "I'll never do it again," the Giants cornerback said. "You feel like your heart's going to bust, your hamstrings are going to pop out. It's the hardest race, full speed all the way around." Running that race was difficult, but watching it from halfway around the world might have Ross' heart busting, too. His fiancee, Sanya Richards, is a favorite to win a gold medal in the event at the Olympics in Beijing.

Not many things can get Eli Manning to match the smile he wore as he lifted the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XLII. One that comes close, however, is the satisfaction he gets from helping unfortunate children. After all, how many 27-year-olds have their names emblazoned on a children’s clinic? In December, the Eli Manning Children’s Clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children will open in Jackson, Miss., thanks in part to money raised by the Giants’ quarterback.

Did his Super Bowl win represent a breakthrough in development for Eli Manning, or merely one lucky month? I can sum up the whole Eli Manning package for you in one word: confidence. For a while, he seemed to lack it; he has long been in a situation not conducive to building it; yet in the waning moments of last season he seemed to finally capture it.

Giants Coach Tom Coughlin addressed the UAlbany football team. "You don't let anybody ever tell you that you can't do anything. You never do. I just finished writing a book. People are going to say 'why did you write a book, coach? What's this book all about?' You know what the book is for? So that my grandchildren and their grandchildren know the real story about this 2007 New York Giants world championship football team."

A Team to Believe In: Our Journey to the Super Bowl Championship
List Price: $25.00 Price: $16.50 will be released on September 2, 2008.
Pre-order now. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Aug 13 David Diehl never was going to be happy about missing a practice. Before today, the indomitable Giant hadn't skipped one since high school, a streak that goes back more than a decade. So when sore ribs finally sidelined the 6-foot-5, 319-pound tackle, he grudgingly took his place as an observer. He didn’t enjoy the view. "It's the worst feeling in the world," Diehl said between practices at training camp. "I've never done that. It was the most awful feeling."
With Diehl out of action, Adam Koets was working with the first team at LT instead of Guy Whimper for the first series. Perhaps I'm not the only one that thought he had a good game the other night. Whimper then came in for the next series and got caught up in a pileup. He limped back to the huddle but stayed in.

Amani Toomer is confident the Giants will avoid a post-Super Bowl letdown when the 2008 NFL season opens next month. WR Amani Toomer hopes to break the Giants post-Super Bowl slump Like everyone associated with the team, Toomer is well aware that every time the Giants have played in the Super Bowl, the celebrations have been wonderful, but the hangovers have been brutal. The Giants not only failed to make the playoffs in each of their three previous seasons following a Super Bowl appearance, they didn’t have a winning record.

Plaxico Burress had been fitted with special orthotics in his shoes, and on Sunday said he would not practice until he felt 100 percent. But in the 24th session of camp, he did some light work. Burress this summer has sought a new contract and been frustrated with the pace of the talks - but his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said, "There's no correlation between Plax' negotiations and practicing."
He was dressed in full pads for practice and took part in individual and offensive drills. At no time did he appear to run full speed, but he did run several routes with the full offense and even caught a pass from Eli Manning on a double option in which Brandon Jacobs took a handoff, ran right, and threw it back to Eli who tossed it downfield. I guess they're opening up the playbook for him.
Plaxico Burress put on his shoulder pads and helmet and participated in some practice drills for the first time since training camp began almost three weeks ago. "It's like riding a bicycle - it's like I never left," Burress said. Burress ran some pass routes with the rest of the receivers and lined up with the first team offense as it walked through several plays. But he did not take part in the seven-on-seven passing drill or the team portion of practice.

Nothing worries Plaxico Burress when he's on a football field. He believes he can dominate anyone. He's usually not concerned with the defense at all. That's why Giants safeties coach Dave Merritt was so impressed a few nights ago when Burress approached him with a few kind words about rookie safety Kenny Phillips. "Coach Merritt, I'm going to be honest with you," Burress said. "I hate seeing guys like Kenny back there in the middle of the post."
To watch Phillips on the field is to see a gazelle in full stride, but packing wallop. Phillips is 6-foot-2 and seems to be all legs. He's taken some good-natured ribbing for hitting too hard during practice but he was able to let loose in the preseason opener in Detroit. Phillips had eight tackles playing in the second half.

Stadium News
Eight months after unruly behavior at Jets football games made headlines, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority took action to limit such behavior, announcing a new alcohol policy and code of conduct for fans at Giants Stadium events.

Aug 12 Special Report - Assuming this all works out the way it appears to be heading, wide receiver Brandon London will provide the classic study of how to mold an athlete from a smaller school into one worthy of NFL stature. The 6-4, 215-pounder from the University of Massachusetts spent some time with the Giants last season, then spent the season on the practice squad. You see, there was too much talent to waive, but it wasn’t nearly refined or defined enough to give up a roster spot.
"I understood that," he said yesterday, huddling under a canopy with several other players being interviewed by reporters at the team's summer training camp site on the campus of UAlbany. "I knew I wasn't ready. I was just happy that the coaches thought I had the talent, and that made me determined to work as hard as possible, to find a way to improve."
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Late in the second quarter of the Giants' first preseason game against Detroit, Domenik Hixon had the perfect opportunity to make good on his chance to start. With the Giants on the Lions' 15-yard line, quarterback Anthony Wright looked for Hixon in the back right corner of the end zone. Hixon pulled in the ball and touched down with his right foot. But his left foot landed just outside the white line, and he caught the unpleasant sight of the referee waving him out of bounds. Frustrated by his near miss, the third-year receiver sought out veteran Amani Toomer as he headed to the sideline. "My second foot..." Hixon started to say. "You have to drag it," said Toomer, reminding him of the cardinal rule for NFL receivers.

Worried? No. But concerned? You bet. That's what the Giants think about their situation at tight end after going over the video from last week's preseason loss to the Lions. From the head coach to the coordinator to the position coach, the message was the same. "We are not where we need to be yet," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said of the position. Tight ends coach Mike Pope said: "It's like trying to put out a forest fire with a garden hose. You've got stuff going on everywhere, so where do you start?"
Pope, 66, who is without Shockey has to make some adjustments of his own. He normally has had a veteran around to help the younger tight ends, like Don Hasselbeck with Mark Bavaro, Dan Campbell with Shockey, and Shockey last year with these younger guys. There is no veteran presence this summer. "My biggest mistake as a coach is assuming these guys know or have been through some of these experiences," he said. "That happened a little bit in the game the other night. There were a few unique things that happened, and they caught us by surprise because we haven't really worked on them. I have so many notes I write for them every day I can understand why they’re so confused."

When practice finally starts at 8:40 this morning, it will have been about 39 hours since the last time David Diehl took a snap on the field with his teammates. That's about as long of an absence as the Giants' Iron Man can take. "I hate missing practice," the Giants' left tackle said. "I've never missed practice. It's frustrating. It was awkward for me - very awkward. It was frustrating standing there. I've never been on the outside like that, watching a practice. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure that doesn't happen again.'
Diehl in his five years with the Giants has started all 86 games; since the introduction of the 16-game schedule in 1978 he's the only Giants player to accomplish that feat. Even more remarkable - or obsessive, depending on your perspective - Diehl had not missed a single practice before this week, not high school, college or in the NFL. You can count the snaps he's missed in his Giants career on one hand and you'll have fingers left over.
Diehl started to feel soreness in his ribs during the line drills in yesterday's practice. During the team portion of the workout, he stood in the back and watched as Guy Whimper took all of the first team snaps at left tackle. If the Giants make it back outdoors, Diehl will certainly try to convince the team's medical staff to let him participate fully.

Over the past five years, rookie cornerback Terrell Thomas has had the misfortune of being injured every other season, during odd calendar years. Thomas had his first taste of live NFL action in Detroit on Thursday, working at cornerback and on special teams. Tom Quinn, the Giants' special teams coordinator, was impressed by his contributions as the gunner on punt coverage. On back-to-back punts in the third quarter, Thomas quickly stifled Detroit's returners, stuffing running back Aveion Cason for a loss of 2 yards, then pushing receiver Taye Biddle out of bounds after a 2-yard return.

As the Giants came together after an afternoon practice, Lt. Col. Greg Gadson walked haltingly toward the middle of the group, his two prosthetic legs bending at the knees, his arms supported by a cane in each hand. The players grew silent and listened intently to the message of the Iraq war veteran, a man who has become a part of the Giants' family during the last 11 months. The last time the players gathered around Gadson was shortly before Super Bowl XLII, when they faced the unbeaten Patriots in Phoenix. He was in a wheelchair then, the result of his injuries from a bombing in Baghdad in May 2007.

It's official - the Giants will hold training camp at the University at Albany in 2009. The team announced that it has picked up the option on its contract and will train here for the 14th consecutive summer next year. The Giants have trained at UAlbany since 1996. "We look forward to continuing our relationship with the University at Albany and the city of Albany," said Giants president John Mara.

Aug 11 That optimistic outlook Plaxico Burress possessed throughout his pre-training camp book tour has disappeared. The Giants' wide receiver now does not think he will get a new contract this season. "For me, that's long gone," Burress said Sunday, referring to the chance for a new deal. "I don't think you'll see [agent Drew Rosenhaus] around here anymore. For myself, I just want to get healthy.
That Burress produced so effectively last year without the benefit of much practice is one reason he remains confident he'll be able to pick up where he left off once he does return. That may be of some comfort to the team. "Those numbers I put up last year, I did it limping around," he said. "I want to get to be healthy so I can go out and just dominate and rip it up. I want that for myself and I want that for my team."
"I'm getting treatment three times a day and I can probably get out there, but I won't be my normal self like I know I can and that's what I want to accomplish. Why wouldn't everybody want that for me? I think everybody would be a lot happier when I'm 100%. I know my quarterback would, so I don't see why everybody else wouldn't feel the same. They (coaches and doctors) haven't tried to push me on the football field or anything like that, but like I said, they would love to have me out there."

Speaking with reporters yesterday for the second time since training camp opened, Burress called negotiations "long gone" and sounded resigned to the fact he'll be playing under the six-year contract he signed before the 2005 season. Burress, who is scheduled to make $3.25 million this year, sought an increase that would have more than doubled his salary.
According to someone familiar with the progress of talks, the sides "are not worlds apart" and have been relatively close on talks for a while. That explains why Burress was so confident a deal was coming before the start of camp and why Rosenhaus made three trips to Albany so far. The person, who requested anonymity because both sides have made only cursory public comments on the situation, said Rosenhaus was confident before each trip a face-to-face meeting would close the deal.

Yesterday morning's practice had some entertainment to it. Not only did the team work on those halfback options, but the punt returners had some fun. They practiced catching the punts one-handed while holding another football in their arm. Both Bradshaw and McQuarters were able to do it. Then Bradshaw raised the ante. On the next punt he threw a football in the air, caught the punt, and then caught the ball he tossed.
RB Brandon Jacobs took a pitch to the right side, stopped and gunned the ball downfield to WR Amani Toomer. The pass was complete. Oh, but there was no defense, as the O was running "against air." RB Ahmad Bradshaw's turn came next and he flung a wobbler to WR Steve Smith.
Because of the threat of thunderstorms, Tom Coughlin moved the start of evening practice up one hour to 5:10. It was a fast-paced, spirited workout in which the team worked on many game situations. Three players who practiced this morning -wide receiver Amani Toomer (leg), defensive end Justin Tuck (foot) and weakside linebacker Danny Clark (groin) -- sat out the evening workout because they are on a one-a-day schedule.
A few nice plays in the abbreviated session, including an INT by Kevin Dockery in which he used his body to seal off Darcy Johnson and jumped up to catch an underthrown ball from David Carr. Craphonso Thorpe made another nice catch and is improving steadily -- and getting more reps it seems to me. Lawrence Tynes kicked 4 of 4 field goal attempts, hitting from 33, 36, 39 and 43 yards.
WR Sinorice Moss caught the first pass of team practice on a hook to the left side from Manning with CB Kevin Dockery continuing upfield as Moss broke off his route. Again, Moss runs these hooks and comebacks with DBs continuing to move upfield because they respect his speed. Moss later caught a quick stop in front of Dockery, who also gave up a hook to WR Domenik Hixon.

His first NFL game wasn't perfect and he didn't face the opposing team's starters. But rookie Bryan Kehl watched the tape of last Thursday's game against the Lions and saw himself moving faster than most of the players on the field. "That's what's encouraging: I look at it and, athletically, I say, 'I can play this game. I can dominate this game,'" the Giants' fourth-round pick said. "I have high expectations for myself." That was the promising part of Kehl's NFL debut. And then, there was the sobering aspect of it.
DE Robert Henderson (ankle), the second of the Giants' two sixth-round draft picks, was waived-injured Sunday, as was rookie free agent FS Nehemiah Warrick (knee). Both were injured in the exhibition loss to Detroit. They were replaced by veteran FS Stuart Schweigert, Oakland's third-round draft pick in 2004, and rookie DE Antonio Reynolds. Schweigert played in 63 games (42 starts) for the Raiders before being released May 20. He signed with Washington, but was cut Tuesday.

Steve Spagnuolo commenting about the absence of Michael Strahan. and if he's seen things that are missing because he's not here or is everything flowing as he would expect. Well, this is exactly the way it was last year, because Michael wasn't in training camp. You know, nothing noticeable right now. I think we all miss him as a person, but we're trying to fill that void.

Aug 10 WR Plaxico Burress (ankle) did not practice (as if you couldn't have figured that out on your own). There's no real update on that, though Tom Coughlin expressed a desire to have Burress get in at least one practice between now and the end of camp on Sunday, Aug. 17. "He agrees we certainly don't want to break camp without him having gotten anything done here," Coughlin said. So far, Burress has only done running on the side and a lot of pedaling on the bike.

The first practice after the first preseason game is usually a refresher course on things that went wrong, and that's what seemed to happen today. Lots of work on details, assignments, all those other things. But a few plays stood out. Some of the plays are worth noting, like the part where Kevin Gilbride started screaming at the palyers to show some life and hustle back after a play. Tom Coughlin addressed some of that in post-practice address.
Coughlin did not particularly care for the intensity of the offense in Saturday's practice, and said the only way to increase that intensity is to work on execution. "The offense and defense are two different animals," Coughlin said. "The defense is aggressive by nature while the offense is methodical. We need to have our execution better on offense in order for us to move forward."

Rookie LB Jonathan Goff, who broke a bone in his back on Thursday, was sidelined yesterday and will be out "indefinitely," according to Coughlin. The coach also said "no decision has been made" on Goff's roster status, which means the injured reserve list might still be a possibility. WRs Burress, David Tyree (knee/PUP) and Mario Manningham (quad), RT Shane Olivea (back), DEs Robert Henderson (ankle) and Wallace Gilberry (ankle), CB Darren Barnett (ankle), TE Eric Butler (ankle) and S Nehemiah Warrick (knee) did not practice.

WR Sinorice Moss had a good afternoon, making several nice plays along the sidelines including what would have been the play of training camp when he reached out with one hand while diving and almost made the grab as he hit the ground. Moss was trying to secure possession with one hand but the ball came loose once he hit the ground.
Sinorice Moss claims he wasn't breathing any easier after he came down with the ball on a 46-yard pass from Anthony Wright against the Lions on Thursday. If anything, he was probably breathing heavily after sprinting down the field and leaping to make the catch. "What he did," Wright said of the catch, "was an example of some of the things he can do."

In his first NFL game action, Kenny Phillips demonstrated why the Giants selected him in the first round of this year's draft. He had a game-high eight tackles (including six unassisted) in the Giants' 13-10 loss to the Detroit Lions in their preseason opener. Phillips successfully transferred the attributes he has demonstrated in training camp practices to a game setting, including good instincts, exceptional range and an ability to quickly find and get to the ball.
How did it feel to finally be able to finish his hits? "It felt good. This whole camp, they've been telling me lay off guys. It's been kind of...I don't want to say depressing, but not to finish a play, that's not like me. It felt pretty good to finally be able to let go. Will he remember now in practice to go back to not finishing? "Ah yeah. I've got to go back in my little shell."

Antonio Pierce on what it was like playing with a headset in his helmet - "It's a little different going from practice to a game. Obviously, when you're in a game environment, it's going to be different mentality-wise. It's going to take a while to get used to it, but it's been a benefit to us, because we do a lot of things as far as dummy signals. It does work to our advantage, we've just got to get used to it.

TE Coach Mike Pope was asked if it was different for him as a coach with this team because he doesn't have a veteran guy in Shockey that the younger guys can bounce things off of? "My biggest mistake as a coach is I make assumptions that these guys might know or have been through some of these experiences and that happened a little bit in the game the other night. There were a few unique things that happened and they just caught us by surprise because we haven't really...when you look at these guys, although Kevin and Mike Matthews both played last year, they didn't play very much. Primarily, in theory, we're basically starting over at this position for those guys to play on the line of scrimmage beside the tackle. We had a couple of bad errors."

He's the New York quarterback with the shiny new Super Bowl ring, the chiseled good looks and the big right arm - the one who beat Brett Favre in January's "Ice Bowl II." A moussed-up Eli Manning is the cover boy in the September issue of Men's Vogue, offering a glimpse at his oft-hidden sense of humor and his game day menu: Spaghetti, Oreos and Gatorade.
Brett Favre was topic du jour Saturday, even at Giants camp. His arrival in New York was the tip of an iceberg that began forming in frozen Lambeau Field last January, when the Giants defeated Favre and the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

Aug 9 In the post-practice huddle after a couple of recent training camp practices, Tom Coughlin told the players the pace of the workouts was far too slow. Coughlin was speaking in general about the entire team, but his remarks were clearly pointed toward the offense, which had several sloppy practices in the days leading up to the preseason game against the Lions. Not surprisingly, the Giants offense sputtered in the first quarter of Thursday night's 13-10 loss in Detroit. Think practicing hard and fast will be a point of emphasis for Coughlin today when the team returns to Albany for the second half of training camp?

A few hours before ex-Jet quarterback Chad Pennington signed with the Miami Dolphins, Giants coach Tom Coughlin made it clear he was comfortable with having either Anthony Wright or David Carr backing up Eli Manning for the 2008 season. And Coughlin praised both backups for their performances in the Giants' preseason-opening 13-10 loss in Detroit on Thursday night.
"Let's face it, all you have to do is look at the numbers and the quarterback rating," Coughlin said. "Carr was 125 and Anthony Wright was 97. The frustrating thing was that you can pick a play here and there and say, 'That's the game.' But we did have opportunities."
Coughlin said the two have been competing in practice ever since Carr got over the foot injury that cost him the first few days of camp. "Certainly there was evidence last night the competition is bringing out the best in them," Coughlin said. "It's highly competitive."
The Lions' three quarterbacks also had impressive quarterback ratings, putting together a combined 117.7, including a perfect 158.3 by starter Jon Kitna. Much of the damage was done when Kitna and backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton moved out of the pocket on designed rollouts and bootlegs.
"It sure looked like they game-planned for us," said Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. Yes, it sure did, because in what is normally a very vanilla first preseason game, the Detroit Lions' offense sure ran a lot of rollouts and bootlegs for their quarterbacks, especially early when their first team offense was in the game. And while it's possible they just decided to work on that part of their offense last night, it seems much more likely it was done with the Giants' feared pass rush in mind. "It really doesn’t surprise me at all, given the success we had last year," Tuck said.

Strange is the preseason position battle in which, if things go according to plan, the winner will never be called upon to demonstrate his skills. Yet that's what is happening as David Carr and Anthony Wright try to lay claim to the backup quarterback spot on the Giants' roster. Wright seemed to have the upper hand through most of training camp, but Thursday night's preseason game in Detroit may have drawn the two even as they clamor for the clipboard.
Wright completed nine of 13 passes for 116 yards - including a game-long 46-yarder to Sinorice Moss in the second quarter - and Carr followed him with 10 completions for 104 yards, including a touchdown, also in 13 attempts, while playing the entire second half.
All around him, second and third-team youngsters were darting to and fro, in and out, aggressively and sometimes desperately trying to find a way onto a crowded roster. This was no place for a former No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, but this was the only place for David Carr, who has fallen so far down the charts that he is surrounded in the huddle by fringe players. Carr's job security is not much stronger, but the way he handled a difficult assignment in Thursday night's preseason opener certainly helps his staying power.

Rookie safety Kenny Phillips appeared to have a terrific debut. He had a team-high eight tackles, six of them solos, stopped an end-around for a 6-yard loss and, to the naked eye, seemed to do everything right. Sometimes the coaches' tapes tell a different story. Not this time. "He had a very productive game," coach Tom Coughlin said. "You see the performance and you go ahead and visualize his further development and how he can help you as the season goes on, no doubt."

Aug 8 Giants lose to the Lions 13-10

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On The Game: Preseason Game 1 Recap Gamegirl... "....Last year in the opening preseason game, Jeremy Shockey caught a touchdown pass from Eli Manning. Well those days are over. In fact, the way things looked in the first quarter, the idea of Manning getting a touchdown pass to anyone on the field, looked like a remote possibility........" Mikefan.... "..... The Giants looked pretty lackluster on both offense and defense to set the tone of this game as Detroit was more up for this preseason event. Jon Kitna had his group looking sharp as they took the field and started this game off with a touchdown drive against the slow moving Giants defense......."

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ESPN - Lions' Kitna solid in preseason opener, but Giants' Manning struggles.
Giants.com - Giants fall to Lions, 13-10.
StarLedger - New York Giants are anything but Super in preseason opener.
StarLedger - Anthony Wright, David Carr on the mark for New York Giants.
Newsday - Giants lose preseason opener to Lions, 13-10.
Newsday - Pennington on Giants' radar?
NYDailyNews - Johnson's field goal beats Giants.
NYDailyNews - Giants may look at Chad Pennington.
NYPost - 2nd-string QB battle too close to call.
NYPost - Fracture puts Goff in limbo.
TheRecord - Super Giants get off to sluggish start in loss to Lions.
DetroitNews - Lions' Johnson catches early accolades.

Aug 7 Three things to watch for in the New York Giants preseason opener - 1. The passing game. 2. Rookie S Kenny Phillips. 3. Anthony Wright vs. David Carr.
Three questions: 1. Are young players such as FS Kenny Phillips, CB Terrell Thomas and LBs Bryan Kehl and Jonathan Goff ready to make an impact on the defense? 2. Has QB David Carr settled down enough to become the backup to Eli Manning, or will the job fall to Anthony Wright? 3. Have the Giants’ starters retained the sharpness they showed down the stretch in 2007?
The Giants will play their first game since Super Bowl XLII when they open their four-game preseason schedule against the Detroit Lions in Ford Field. Little about the game will resemble the Super Bowl.

Mathias Kiwanuka will play his first game where he played his last game: Ford Field in Detroit. It was there last Nov. 18 that, on the second play from scrimmage, Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora combined to tackle Kevin Jones at the end of an 8-yard run. Umenyiora rolled onto Kiwanuka's left leg, snapping his fibula.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin doesn't plan to use any of the regulars beyond the first quarter, but the starters are clearly intent on making an impression. "Obviously, we won't play a whole game, but for the plays we're out there, we're going to take it like it's the Super Bowl," Justin Tuck said. "We're going to try and get our timing down and get a feeling for playing with one another again in a real live situation."

The preseason opener against the Lions won't matter as far as the final score, but the Giants understand every great journey begins with a few small steps. "You can always learn," Manning said. "I think you learn from every practice and every game you play in. This game will help us get back into game speed and will help me get back to throwing under pressure, getting the ball off on time and getting used to taking the hits.

Aug 6 Special Report - "It is one thing to practice all summer against teammates," said one veteran who no longer plays the game. "After a while, you know, it all gets familiar. You know what the other guy is going to do, how he is going to react, what you can get away with and what you can't. Now it's going to be different. Now you're hitting strangers, in most cases strangers older and more experienced than you are. And the speed of the game, even these exhibitions, is going to be a lot faster than anything they saw in college."
And Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin plans to use as many of those young guys as he can. "Where we have some depth," he said, "I'm going to try to get all of them some time. It's to our benefit. Where we aren't so deep, we might not have much of a choice, but I'm still going to try to see that everybody gets some action."
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Tom Coughlin said Tuesday the following players will miss the opening exhibition game Thursday night in Detroit: WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Steve Smith (groin) and Mario Manningham (thigh), CB Sam Madison (hernia), LB Gerris Wilkinson (kneecap) and OT Shane Olivea (back). News on G Chris Snee's shoulder was good. He's suffering only from tendinitis, but Coughlin was not sure if his son-in-law will play against the Lions.

When he spoke to the media yesterday, Eli Manning was asked if the high number of receiver injuries was hampering the offense. "It's not bad," Manning said. "Sometimes it's actually good, because you get to test out some of these young receivers. It's good to get these guys some extra reps so they can have a better grip on the offense."
This time it was Brandon London, who sat out with a hip flexor. That left the Giants with five healthy receivers for tonight's practice. Craphonso Thorpe, your time is at hand. Speaking of hands, the Giants didn't show very good ones. Lots of dropped passes. Sinorice Moss had one that bounced off his chest and into the arms of James Butler for an INT. Darcy Johnson and Eric Butler had back-to-back drops. D.J. Hall dropped an easy one over the middle. Jennings dropped one. And even Kevin Boss flubbed one in 7-on-7s.

Plaxico Burress' agent swooped into town Tuesday, and as a result the star receiver could get his long-awaited contract extension sometime Wednesday. Drew Rosenhaus showed up at Giants practice Tuesday night and later told the Daily News that he was working on Burress' extension with assistant GM Kevin Abrams.

Job security has not resulted in complacency on the Giants' offensive line. The five players form one of the NFL's best lines, a cohesive unit that was the only one in the league to have the same five players start all 16 regular season games in 2007. That was a big reason the Giants were fifth in the NFL and first in the NFC in time of possession (31:22 per game), allowed only 28 sacks and helped the Giants finish fourth in the NFL with 134.3 yards a game. No less an authority than head coach Tom Coughlin has called them, "The heart and soul of this team."

The Giants have an offense that employs a "streak-read principle" for its receivers. The routes don't just depend on the play that's called in the huddle. They have to make sight adjustments when they get to their spot in the formation based on where the cornerbacks and safeties are aligned. The first few months of NFL life weren't exactly what Mario Manningham expected. Things were simpler at Michigan. Playing seemed easier. The playbook wasn't so difficult.

In coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's scheme, the linebackers are most often asked to move forward, or to "play downhill," meaning they attack the ball and don't drop back as often as in some other defenses. Danny Clark says it's the perfect defense with the perfect spot on the weak side for him. And if he wants it, he can reach up and take a big hold of it tomorrow night in Detroit.
After losing productive free agent Kawika Mitchell to the Buffalo Bills, the Giants were looking to fill a hole at weak-side linebacker. They wanted a physical presence alongside Antonio Pierce and Mathias Kiwanuka. Danny Clark is known to be a hitter. There is competition, though. Gerris Wilkinson, a former third-round pick of the Giants, came off the physically-unable-to-perform list this week and gives the organization a speedy option that's already got a year of experience in this defense. "I think Bryan Kehl has had a really good camp, and it's not beyond thought that he would play," linebackers coach Bill Sheridan said. "It's an unsettled position for sure."

While quarterbacks will continue to wear the electronically enhanced green-dot headwear for coach-to-huddle communication, two defensive players will be fitted for red-dot helmets. A new rule this year will allow a defensive coach to speak with a player on the field rather than signal to give the defensive call.

There's no competition this time for Lawrence Tynes. He's working on new approaches to both field goals and kickoffs, designed to give him greater explosion to get the ball deeper. Tynes said he has to battle the high grass here and the inconsistencies of his snapper, second-year defensive tackle Jay Alford. "You know last year was kind of a mess," Tynes said. "I know what I'm getting into and Jay's gotten better too.".

Bryan Kehl was one of the players Tom Coughlin said he'll be keeping an eye on in the upcoming game and linebackers coach Bill Sheridan said he's been impressed by the fourth-round pick out of BYU. Kehl has even had a few practices where he's been able to run with the starting unit. He'll be the weak side linebacker with the second unit in this game, playing behind starter Danny Clark.

The Giants drafted S Kenny Phillips with their first pick in this year's draft. Phillips, the 31st pick of the 2008 draft, stands at 6-2, 197 pounds and models his game after two former Hurricanes that preceded the Miami native; Ed Reed and the late Sean Taylor. Both players mentored Phillips and help mold him into the playmaker he has become.

"They (the veterans) say you’re a rookie until after the third game of the year," Steve Smith said, though he was unclear why that’s the case. "I told them that we won the Super Bowl, that should take away from that (label). I should be like a fifth-year veteran." In actuality, Smith has only played in five regular season games plus the four postseason contests. So maybe he can be considered a rookie for a little while longer. As for the Super Bowl, he said he remembers being very tired on the catch and first down he made.

Aug 5 Nobody is staging a holdout. Nobody is throwing a tantrum. Nobody is even raising an eyebrow off the field. It's almost too quiet. So far, the Giants have enjoyed a training camp void of headline-grabbing distractions. It's been all football. Coach Tom Coughlin hasn't been forced to spend more than a minute or two discussing any issues outside the field of play. Of course, there's still plenty of time for a little controversy. "I think a quiet camp is always good," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said Monday before the 15th practice of the preseason at the University at Albany.
"It's good when things are uneventful and we can just work on getting better." Occasionally, somebody asks whether Jeremy Shockey will be missed. Plaxico Burress remains a topic of conversation, but that's only because he's on the sideline with a nagging ankle injury while negotiations on a contract extension drag on. The only blip on the radar is the curious legal case of Ahmad Bradshaw.

Tom Coughlin is heartened that this post-Super Bowl training camp has been devoid of any major distractions, but he is growing concerned with a number of minor but nagging injuries that have cut into the Giants' depth. "We'd obviously like to have everybody on the field, that's the frustrating part about being a coach, moving on, now looking at your first preseason game and knowing full-well what these weeks are going to be like for us." The newest injury is starting right guard Chris Snee, who sat out with a sore shoulder and will have an MRI to see why he's experiencing discomfort. "Didn't seem like it was going to be anything serious," Coughlin said. Kevin Booth replaced Snee with the first unit.

Practice Report - The entire team looked distracted. The offense completed only one off its first 11 passes in 11-on-11s. Coughlin chalked that up to good defense, but it was pretty lackluster. Even amani Toomer dropped a pass. He had Ross beat in single coverage down the left sideline but had the ball glance off his hands. Butler would have had a sack on the play anyway. Moss had a nice effort, sliding after alow pass from Wright, but he couldn't come up with it. Brandon Jacobs and Danny Clark shared a nice pop on a run up the middle. Kenny Phillips broke up a pass for Michael Jennings across the middle. Jeremy Clark had a nice stop on a Kay-Jay Harris run up the middle. Brandon London had a pass from Woodson go off his fingertips with Terrell Thomas in coverage.
Manning fired high of TE Kevin Boss, who was sandwiched by Johnson and S James Butler. For whatever reason, the timing between Manning and Boss seems to have been disrupted a bit over the past few days. Then again, Manning just seems to be off in general. He misfired on a cross for WR Michael Jennings that was broken up by S Kenny Phillips. A better ball would have resulted in a completion.

It took until halfway through training camp for Ahmad Bradshaw to utter any public comments and yesterday when he did, he wanted to make one thing abundantly clear: "I've done nothing wrong since I was drafted by the Giants," he said firmly. "There is no question about that; it should be over with . . . all of this comes from the juvenile offense."
Whatever offense Bradshaw committed as a juvenile remains unclear. On Friday, a judge in Virginia ruled against the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier, which had sued to open the files that had been sealed. When asked which offense led to his recent jail time, Bradshaw said, "Both of them. Both of them are the reason they kept this thing going since I was 15."
Now the Giants' leading rusher in Super Bowl XLII (45 yards on nine carries) is just looking forward to the day when his past isn't an issue, when he's only known for the things he does on the field. "That's the way I'm trying to make it," he said. "Just to come out here and try to make a name for myself and just play my role. I think everything happens for a reason."

When the Giants put two tight ends in the game at the same time, they have one that's always the designated "move guy" who will often go in motion. That's Michael Matthews. And then there's the "down guy" -- the one who will always be at the line in a three-point stance. That was always Jeremy Shockey. "He wasn't going in the backfield," Matthews said with a laugh about his former teammate. "And even if they called it, he probably would have made me go back there."

Former Giants
Kawika Mitchell isn't about to make any predictions that the Bills are on the verge of doing what New York did last season, but he likes the make-up of this team and its work ethic. With the Giants Mitchell had 87 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and six passes broken up.
Ryan Grant, acquired by the Packers in a trade with the New York Giants just before the start of last season, became the starter in the second half of the season and rushed for 956 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 201 yards and three touchdowns in Green Bay's playoff victory over Seattle.

Aug 4 Plaxico Burress took his first steps toward the practice field Sunday, when team doctors cleared him to begin running. Burress, who has been out all of training camp with an injured right ankle, was examined Sunday by Dr. Russ Warren, the Giants' team physician, and he was cleared to begin what the team called "light running." That's what he was doing during the evening practice, while the rest of his teammates were on an adjacent field. Neither Burress nor Tom Coughlin was available to the media after practice, so it's not clear what this means for Burress' timetable.

Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce missed his first camp practice with a sore shoulder last night. The Giants' injury list is long: Receiver David Tyree (knee) and linebacker Gerris Wilkinson (knee) have yet to practice, and rookie receiver Mario Manningham (quad) and offensive tackle Shane Olivea (back) missed both practices yesterday. Receiver Steve Smith (groin), defensive ends Justin Tuck (foot) and Osi Umenyiora (hip), receiver Amani Toomer (leg), linebacker Danny Clark (hernia), cornerback Sam Madison (hernia) and safety Craig Dahl (knee) were limited to one practice. Starting guard Chris Snee missed a goal-line drill late in the evening with a sore shoulder.

Sinorice Moss dropped another ball. It was probably the best pass David Carr has thrown all camp, a nice arching spiral down the right sideline in 7s. Moss was able to beat both Terrell Thomas and Kenny Phillips, put his arms out to make the catch, and had the ball slip right through his hands. Moss is definitely a guy the Giants are pulling for this camp and as the preseason games begin, because if anyone is going to trade for him he'll have to start playing better.
With everyone guessing that Sinorice Moss is basically playing for his Giants career in this camp, he's been under the microscope this first week and a half. That means every drop is written about, and to be fair, there have been a lot of them. But tonight, No. 83 had a pretty good practice. It started with a nice catch from Manning in 11s on a ball that was thrown behind him on a crossing pattern. Moss did a good job of turning his body instead of just reaching behind him to make the catch with R.W. McQuarters in coverage. Later, in 7-on-7s, he made another good play.

In a sprint with his fiancee, Aaron Ross knows that in the first 40 yards, "I got her." He can lead through 100 yards, too, before he can feel her closing in. By the 200-yard mark, he can feel the blur coming by, and after that ... well, why even bother? There's just no keeping up with one of the fastest women in the world. That's what it's like during the offseason when Ross, the Giants' second-year cornerback, trains with Sanya Richards.
Richards left for China a couple of days ago and Ross has stayed in touch. The two chatted over the Internet on Sunday after practice. The two athletes met in 2003 in a dining hall at the University at Texas. They got engaged last season and plan to marry in 2010. "I'm not a a nervous type of guy," said Ross, who played in 19 games last season, starting 12 including the Super Bowl. "She is way more nervous. She was more nervous in college, and the Super Bowl she was a wreck."
Ross and Richards text message every day and he calls her when time allows. "We have iChat, so I'm able to see her as well," Ross said. "That's my lady. She always keeps an eye on me, so I'm going to try and support her 100%." Ross said it's a little weird having his fiance 7,000 miles away, but it's not an unprecedented experience for him. "We were in college when she went to the Olympics in Athens in '04," Ross said. "We keep tabs on each other, she knows I'm out here at work so she knows what time to call me."
The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing - The US Team, NBC Broadcast, and medal Info.

Tom Coughlin was asked if he was a fan of a running back by committee. "It depends on who your committee is. There is a spot for everybody and the guys that we have will have plenty of opportunities. We have a lot of depth at the position. We're looking forward to it." The followup if there will be enough carries for all of those running backs. "When we get down to the right time we'll have plenty of ideas for how to get them the ball."

Like most players on the Giants' roster, Barry Cofield doesn't appear to have been spoiled by a "special" season that might never be matched. He worked hard in the offseason to slim down, underwent surgery to correct a thumb injury that's bothered him for a while and has continued to quietly push for a bigger role in the defense.

With Strahan retired and Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck nursing injuries, Dave Tollefson has been getting a lot of first-team reps in practices. He said he appreciates being able to hone his craft against the offensive starters, and he appreciates that he's been able to stand out in the workouts either by knocking down passes or stuffing runs.

Gerris Wilkinson was set to battle Kawika Mitchell for the weak-side linebacker job in Giants camp last summer. But a dislocated kneecap forced him to miss the entire preseason, and he never was a factor at the position. Wilkinson was set to battle Danny Clark for the starting weak-side linebacker job in camp this summer. But so far the kneecap problem once again has kept him from competing. Funny thing, however, is between the two summers, Wilkinson was able to appear in 13 regular-season games and four postseason contests, including Super Bowl XLII.
Meanwhile, his competition, newly-signed veteran Danny Clark, is out on the field, getting acclimated, getting better, getting a jump on the job. "I can create some distance," Clark said. "Everybody is getting better and you're just sitting around," Wilkinson said glumly. "This year is another chance for me to get that spot and it's another setback. I'm just trying to be positive about it."

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