June 22 With the NFL lockout finally showing signs of thawing, it appears any new labor deal will include a return to normalcy of the unrestricted free agency rules, resulting in the Giants having a massive to-do list whenever the league opens for business.

Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell believes he is ready for a head coaching job. And many of the NFL experts at ESPN.com agree. Fewell tops the likes of Dallas' Rob Ryan, Jets' Brian Schottenheimer and Arizona's Russ Grimm. If Fewell has success this season, it could very well be his final season with the Giants.

NFC East News
Pro Football Weekly presents the fifth of an eight-part divisional breakdown of the players most likely to be attending 2011 coming-out parties in the NFC East. New York Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul, Dallas Cowboys LB Sean Lee, Philadelphia Eagles DT Antonio Dixon, Washington Redskins OLT Trent Williams.

NFL owners and players are discussing a straight split of income in the next collective bargaining agreement that would net the players just under 50 percent of total revenues. But the expense credits -- about $1 billion last year -- that the league takes off the top would disappear.

June 21 As surprised as the Giants' decision makers were that cornerback Prince Amukamara slipped to them in the first round, there was similar surprise - at least from outsiders - that the team waited until the fourth round to address the offensive line. In fact, even the team's veteran offensive linemen thought that a new member of the line would be added before the draft's final day. Guard Chris Snee, 29, is the only member of the healthy starting five under 30. Guard Rich Seubert and center Shaun O'Hara are both recovering from major injuries.

Former Giants
Tiki Barber - Sports Illustrated's Peter King, in his weekly column on SI.com, explains his opinion that former Giants running back Tiki Barber will sign and play the coming season for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
David Tyree said he'd trade "The Catch" and the team's unlikely championship to keep marriage between one man and one woman.

June 19 Three years ago, almost to the day, the volatile and unhappy Jeremy Shockey got into a screaming match with Giants general manager Jerry Reese. Seemingly bitter about everything, Shockey spent that offseason telling anyone who'd listen he wanted out of New York. And the Giants still, at that time, were determined to bring him back. It took more than a month and a few angry conversations with Shockey before the Giants finally shipped the malcontent to New Orleans for a couple of draft picks. So, you can see why it's far from a lock that even if the Giants don't reward defensive end Osi Umenyiora with a new contract that he'll finally get his wish to be traded to a team that will pay him what he feels he deserves.

Any moment now the NFL lockout could end -- maybe late June, though more likely sometime in July. But everyone around the NFL seems to think the end of the lockout is relatively near. Of course, the end is really only the beginning. What will follow the end of the lockout will be the craziest 2-3 offseason weeks the NFL has ever known, as teams frantically - and quite likely chaotically - speed through their business in time for the opening of camp.

Albany businesses dreading a summer without Giants. "It's a real bonus us having [the Giants] here, a real good experience, and I don't want to lose them," Albany mayor Jerry Jennings told The Post. "It impacts so many. We can't afford with the way the economy is going now not to have a fully productive NFL season. It would hurt a lot of people."

Former Giants
Tiki Barber says failures off the field after his retirement from football in 2006 led to a yearlong bout with depression. The 36-year-old Barber, the New York Giants' career leading rusher, acknowledged in an HBO report to be aired Tuesday that he now needs football more than it needs him.

June 18 When Osi Umenyiora's affidavit became public Thursday, many saw it as a sign the Giants' defensive end was calling Jerry Reese a liar for reneging on a promise to redo his contract or trade him. Umenyiora said that's not the case. At least not yet.
Umenyiora wants to remain a Giant and hopes that once the lockout ends, the team will rework the six-year, $41 million contract extension he signed in 2005. Umenyiora, who had 11.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles last season, currently has two years remaining for a total of $8-million.

Umenyiora claims Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who rushed for 175 yards on 24 carries in two games against the Giants last season, has thrown some intense barbs his way - and that he's fired back. "Oh, he said all kinds of stuff. He called me an 'African (expletive).' It was bad," Umenyiora said. "It was pretty intense between me and him."
"I refer to him as she because that is something that a woman would do," Umenyiora told ESPNNewYork.com by telephone on Friday. "You can sit over there and be a Twitter gangster all you want to but on the football field is where you are supposed to address these types of things."

All indications are that the Giants will sign Ahmad Bradshaw once the lockout is over, even if it's unclear what form that signing will take. They can't get by with Brandon Jacobs as the starter for a full season anymore. And if Bradshaw were to go elsewhere, any free-agent back they got to replace him (think DeAngelo Williams) surely would have more wear on him than Bradshaw does. Bradshaw is a player of special abilities.

Former Giants
Stephen Baker is 47 years old and hasn't played an NFL game in almost 19 years, but he calls himself, "a big kid." Fortunately for him, he still gets to go to summer camp each year.Stephen Baker is 47 years old and hasn't played an NFL game in almost 19 years, but he calls himself, "a big kid." Fortunately for him, he still gets to go to summer camp each year.

NFL News
The NFL lockout may not end soon as owners struggle to come together. Getting the required 24 of 32 owners to agree on anything can be difficult, let alone something as complex as a new collective bargaining agreement. And there has been enough pushback from owners familiar with those proposals that progress made recently might not lead to an agreement in the next few weeks.

June 17 Over the past year, Osi Umenyiora has toned down his criticism toward the Giants' coaching staff and front office in regard to his contract situation. Apparently, that's because he believes he was promised a payoff - one he now says never came.
Osi Umenyiora says he was once promised by Giants GM Jerry Reese that he would either get a new contract or be traded. And after calling Reese a liar in a court document, he may be a step closer to getting the latter wish.
An unhappy Osi Umenyiora means the Giants have an issue that threatens the depth and security of the most important position on their defense. They must have a few contingency plans. And while the leaking of the affidavit might have opened a few eyes outside of the organization, trust me when I tell you this franchise knew this was coming.
We now know why Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora was listed as one of the 10 plaintiffs on the players' antitrust case against the NFL. What defines "playing at a high level" certainly leaves room for interpretation. Umenyiora, who has moved his full-time residence from New Jersey to Atlanta, had 11 1/2 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in 2010 despite being hampered by a hip injury.
While Umenyiora believes he belongs among the NFL's top-paid defensive ends, not all NFL players share his opinion. On his Twitter account, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy wrote: "Overrated n soft 3rd best d-line on his team honestly" as he retweeted this story to his followers on the social media network.

Former Giants
David Tyree doesn't believe that same-sex couples should raise a child, insinuating they lack the parenting skills to raise children of the opposite sex.
David Tyree said "You can't teach something that you don't have, so two men will never be able to show a woman how to be a woman."

June 16 It has been, in Domenik Hixon's words, "a very long year" watching from the sidelines, rehabbing tirelessly, knowing he was helpless to do anything about the Giants' disastrous return games. But the year is over and last week at Bergen Cathlolic High School he was at football practice again, running routes for his quarterback, feeling like his old self. His surgically repaired knee, he said "felt great". He even felt like he's back to normal agai.

The Giants used their first two draft picks on defensive players, taking cornerback Prince Amukamara and defensive tackle Marvin Austin. Unfortunately, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has not been able to coach up his two new prized rookies due to the lockout. And knowing the enthusiastic Fewell, it is probably killing the defensive coordinator.

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress appeared on Good Day New York yesterday and spoke about his time in prison, saying he deeply regrets his actions and that he thinks society's reaction was over the top.
Plaxico Burress described his relationship with the Giants coach as "ambivalent" in an interview this week and criticized Coughlin's coaching style. "I don't pay any attention to it," Coughlin said last night at Yankee Stadium. "It is what it is. Maybe he's sending me along a badge of honor. How do I know?"

June 15 In defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's preparations for April's draft, he did not expect cornerback Prince Amukamara to drop to the Giants at No. 19. When Amukamara slipped and the Giants drafted defensive tackle Marvin Austin the second round, Fewell's No. 7 overall defense improved overnight.
Although Fewell valued his spot with the Giants, he became a desirable head-coaching candidate once the season concluded. Fewell interviewed with four teams: the Broncos, Browns, Panthers and Titans. He did not land any of the jobs, yet Fewell insisted Tuesday that the interviews could prove valuable whenever his opportunity arrives.

For three days, the players and coaches of the Giants' Super Bowl XXI championship team enjoyed the reunion of a lifetime. At events both public and private, they hugged and laughed, jarred their memories and told stories from that magical 1986 season while proving that the bonds they developed in winning the title will never be severed.

NFL News
The NFL and locked out players have made enough progress in their recent negotiations that a deal between the two sides is within reach during the next two or three weeks, people on both sides of the dispute said Tuesday.
Ten developments you can book now. From where most of us sit, the Packers look like a cinch to repeat as Super Bowl champions, provided, of course, we have a Super Bowl.

June 14 Tom Coughlin said that an amicus brief filed last month by the NFL Coaches Association in support of the players' attempt to lift the lockout did not represent the Giants' coaching staff. "That did not speak for anybody I know," Coughlin said after the Giants' annual golf outing at Westchester Country Club to support youth charities throughout the tri-state area.
Neither Giants coach Tom Coughlin nor general manager Jerry Reese was allowed to watch the Giants' player-organized workouts at Bergen Catholic that drew as many as 39 players last week, although both were aware the informal practices took place. Coughlin was encouraged that the players joined together, while Reese did not have much reaction other than noting the benefit of developing camaraderie.

Eli Manning shows tempered enthusiasm for New York Giants' limited workouts during NFL lockout. "It's kind of the best we can do under the circumstances," Manning said Monday. "It's not great work, but it's better than doing nothing." That was the best Manning could say about the work he and his teammates have gotten in this spring while the NFL lockout has kept them away from their team facilities and coaches.
Manning admitted this offseason has been quite different from all others since he arrived to the Giants in the 2004 NFL Draft. "I think everybody's ready to get back to work and see the teammates and the coaches and get back to our normal life," Manning said.
Manning says he and his receivers can get their timing down in training camp once football resumes. "We're throwing routes and we've got decent work in a number of days we've thrown," Manning said. "We've got guys who have been there before."

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress - Tom Coughlin said he simply did not know if Burress could return to the Giants, the team he helped win the Super Bowl months before his legal problems began. "Never say never," said Coughlin, who spoke after playing in a Giants Foundation charity golf event at Westchester Country Club in Rye. "But we have not discussed it."
Plaxico Burress told ESPN that the Jets, who must make decisions on free-agent receivers Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Brad Smith, are "appealing." In the same interview, however, he was less than enthusiastic about a potential reunion with the Giants.
Plaxico Burress = Standing inside the offices of the National Urban League, flanked by Urban League president Marc Brial, Brady Center president Paul Helmke and former NFL coach and personal mentor Tony Dungy, Burress vowed to help change the culture of gun violence that has infected youth in today's society.

June 13 In front of fans at the Meadowlands Expo Center that spanned generations and who still wore jerseys of their favorite players from yesteryear, the Giants' 1986 Super Bowl-winning team came together again to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Harry Carson, never one to delegate, took it upon himself to set up the logistics for the weekend reunion of the Giants Super Bowl XXI championship team. Was it worth it? "One of the highlights of my post-football career," Carson, a Hall of Fame linebacker, said after a fan fest Sunday at Meadowlands Exposition Center.

Twenty-five years ago, Phil Simms was hoisted in celebration by Brad Benson during the Giants' Super Bowl XXI rout of the Broncos. Yesterday, he relived the memories with Harry Carson and Mark Bavaro
Bill Belichick participated in the Giants' 25th anniversary celebration for the 1986 Super Bowl champions. While he has kept in touch with many of his former players, the Patriots head coach said he hasn't seen maybe half of the '86 squad until today.

.
During a day of retrospection to remember the Giants' 1986 Super Bowl championship team, George Martin also spoke about his present-day business as the Executive Director and President of the NFL Alumni. And he had strong words for DeMaurice Smith, the NFL Players' Association Executive Director.
Martin said he has been rebuked by Smith on his attempts to meet again with the head of the players union, who is involved in talks to secure a new collective bargaining agreement and end the lockout. Despite the lack of support from Smith, Martin is optimistic retired players will reap benefits when the current players and owners finally reach an agreement.

June 12 New York Giants linebacker Harry Carson wanted every Giant to be at the team's reunion today. Carson, with the help of the Giants and the travel agency planning the event, would track down one player and then ask for phone numbers of others. Most were easy to find. Some required an internet search or help from the Giants. Vince Warren was the biggest challenge.

The Defense 2010 - The line was stingy against the run and strong vs. the pass throughout the Giants' 10-6 season and spearheaded a defense that finished seventh in the NFL, allowing an average of 310.8 yards per game. In addition, the line was a major force behind the Giants leading the NFL with 39 takeaways.

Earlier this week, 39 players showed up on Tuesday in what was the largest player-organized workout by the Giants this offseason. For the most part, the Giants have been working out on their own. Many players are scattered around the country during the offseason. "There are a lot of guys that weren't here that wanted to be here but had prior commitments," O'Hara said. "There were some guys that said, 'Look, I'm not under contract, I'm not going to come out.' And you know what? I don't blame them."

June 11 While some players who are coming off an injury are using the lockout as more time to heal, Domenik Hixon is dying to get back to organized football. The Giants wide receiver is approaching the one-year anniversary (June 15) of when he tore his ACL during the very first practice at the New Meadowlands Stadium last year.
It's been a long year for Hixon since he limped off the field with what he thought was merely a sprained knee, only to find out a day later his 2010 season was over before it began. He watched as, one by one, a bunch of Giants receivers joined him on the list of the injured. Steve Smith, Ramses Barden, Victor Cruz and Sinorice Moss all landed on injured reserve, while Hakeem Nicks was sidelined for three weeks with leg and toe issues.

In a way, the workouts involving a few dozen Giants players at Bergen Catholic High School this week were like the fourth NFL preseason game. If you come out healthy, you win. "I think this week was successful, and I base that on our No. 1 priority was safety," Giants center Shaun O'Hara, the team representative to what used to be the players union, said after today's workout in Oradell.
Friday was the final day and 27 players showed up, worked in the hot sun then departed with the primary goal achieved. "The purpose was to get guys around each other, shake the football rust off," center Shaun O'Hara explained. Eli Manning ran the offense, throwing to receivers behind an offensive line, with no defensive players on the field. Asked what Coughlin would have liked about the practice, O'Hara said, "Eli didn't throw any interceptions."
"I want to give a huge thank you to Bergen Catholic," O'Hara said. "I would like to thank Jack McGovern, the athletic director, he's the one who allowed us to come here. ... We really appreciated that, helping us try to make the best out of a tough situation." McGovern said he was contacted by a mutual friend and, after several phone calls with O'Hara, worked out the details. Fans and media watched from outside the fence for the first four days."

Giants owner John Mara has emerged as a central figure in the negotiations, sitting in on the meetings this past week and in many other previous sessions. Shaun O'Hara, the Giants player representative to the decertified union, is heartened that Mara is on the case. "One of the things the players appreciate about John Mara is the Giants, it's in his blood. This isn't a business, this isn't something he bought and he's planning on flipping it. That's not why he's in it, he's in it for the game."

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress does not rule out return to Giants. "You never know what may happen," Burress told the the Wall Street Journal. "I love New York. My fan base has always supported me there, and I've had teammates there who I've shared special moments with outside of football."

June 10 The Giants continued their week of player-organized workouts as 30 players practiced in what felt like triple-digit heat at Bergen Catholic High School. With temperatures hovering around 95 degrees and feeling like it was over 100 according to Weather.com, the Giants had a smaller turnout than during the previous two days. Thirty players trained in the sun for about an hour and a half. On Tuesday, 39 players worked out. And on Wednesday, 36 practiced in hot conditions.

The Giants are still planning to hold their training camp at the University at Albany this summer, although that could be in jeopardy if the NFL lockout lasts into July. Camp is scheduled to open on July 30 - 14 days before the Giants' first scheduled preseason game (at Carolina, Aug. 13). It would likely last until Aug. 21, the day before the Giants' second preseason game (vs. Chicago at the Meadowlands), although they could return for a day or two after that game.

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress - The food was awful and the weight room wasn't much beyond serviceable, but after 20 months and 16 days in prison, Plaxico Burress says he definitely came out a better pass-catcher. "There weren't a lot of guys throwing perfect spirals in there," the one-time Giants receiver said with his characteristically quiet chuckle. "I had to work to catch those balls."

NFL News
Both sides met Wednesday for a second straight day in New York, with Judge Arthur Boylan joining Goodell and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith. It was the second time this week the sides got together. Last week, they met twice near Chicago. Also on hand were five owners and five players. That's a critical component for reaching a new collective bargaining agreement.

June 9 The Giants held their third straight day of team-wide workouts, with 36 players in attendance on a steamy day at Bergen Catholic High School. The players continued to decline interview requests as they left the facility, though center and player representative Shaun O'Hara said the blackout will be lifted later this week.
Kiwanuka has been lifting -- Mathias Kiwanuka, who has always had a lean, strong look, appears to have added some more muscle. He's always been in great shape but he's looking good after all the time off due to the herniated disk in his neck last year. Perry Fewell would love to have the impending restricted or unrestricted free agent back.

A quarter century has not dulled Bill Parcells' memories or enjoyment of the Giants' victory over Denver in Super Bowl XXI. "That recollection of that afternoon is still very vivid with me, and it probably always will be," Parcells said. "I can think through the hours of that day and recall them pretty vividly. And certainly that was one of the great days of my life and in the lives of some of the players and coaches and also the fans."

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress - The Eagles are not interested in Plaxico Burress. That is the word from an Associated Press report citing "a person familiar with the team's thinking" stating Burress is not in the Eagles plans for this season.
Plaxico Burress - The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero cites an unnamed source in saying the Dolphins have "no interest" in Burress. -- And, for the record, the Cleveland Browns are not interested in Burress.

June 8 The Giants' "off-season program" finally has gotten off the ground this week at Bergen Catholic High School. There were 39 players in attendance Tuesday, the second day of much larger-scale workouts than the "Camp Eli," which drew just a handful in Hoboken last month. Of the 39, 25 offensive players were on hand, including 10 offensive linemen. Five of the eight draft choices also participated, getting a peer-oriented course in what to expect when the NFL resumes operations.
Unfortunately, not one of the 39 Giants stopped to talk to the handful of reporters gathered outside the gate of the high school field so we can't give you anything more than what we saw. Clearly, the players were told not to conduct any interviews, perhaps to avoid saying anything that would have to do with the lockout. The workout was light with no contact. Players that were coming off of surgeries like Rich Seubert and Ramses Barden took it easy and went through a limited workout.

Perhaps what stood out as the biggest indication that the Giants intended on laying low was the refusal of any player to speak with a member of the media. The usually very candid Rich Seubert and Shaun O'Hara both flailed their hands in the air and shook their heads as the media approached the windows of their SUVs. O'Hara cracked his window just enough to tell everyone that he "had somewhere to be."
The offensive linemen get the gold star for having the largest contingent on hand -- 10 of them showed up: O'Hara, Chris Snee, Rich Seubert, David Diehl, Kevin Boothe, Will Beatty, Jim Cordle, Adam Koets, Jamon Meredith and Mitch Petrus. Wide receivers also were well represented, with Hakeem Nicks, Domenik Hixon, Victor Cruz, Michael Clayton, Samuel Giguere, Devin Thomas, Ramses Barden, Duke Calhoun and Jernigan. Manning and Sage Rosenfels took turns throwing passes.

Of all the players on the scene, the most surprising attendee was defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who does not have a contract for next season and is coming off a herniated disk in his neck that limited him to three games last season. Most free agents want no part of these unsupervised practices, fearing injury and citing the lack of insurance as reasons to stay away.
On the first day, nobody got hurt. But with the chance that somebody could suffer an injury, is this really worth the risk? "It is dangerous," said Rich (Big Daddy) Salgado, the president of Coastal Advisors, a company that helps provide insurance for more than 200 NFL players. "It's dangerous especially if a guy is a free agent and doesn't have a contract. Each players is only covered for a certain amount of money and (to get a payout, an injury) has to be catastrophic."

If you are a New York Football Giants fan, maybe you will never forgive Plaxico Burress for shooting your repeat dreams to hell the night he shot himself in the leg. If you are Tom Coughlin, maybe you will never forget the headaches Plaxico Burress caused you whenever he felt like missing a team meeting. And if you are Plaxico Burress, maybe it would take you a nanosecond to answer this question: "Who would you rather play for, Tom Coughlin or Rex Ryan?

Former Giants
Ottis Anderson, 54, was suffering the affects of concussions even before he retired before the 1993 season, although he never has been officially diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. The Essex County resident is plagued by headaches, sensitivity to light and sound, and most disconcerting, periods he calls "drifting off" that occur in the middle of conversations or while watching TV.
Plaxico Burress - All stats including Burress are through Dec. 2, 2008, which was the day of his suspension, which marked a total of 60 regular season games and six playoff games with Big Blue. The Giants have played 36 regular season games and one postseason game without Burress.

June 7 With the lockout raging on and no contact with his new team, Prince Amukamara admitted, "Every day I just get more anxious" as his Giants career is put on hold. As a cornerback taken in the first round of the NFL Draft out of Nebraska, Amukamara wants to do everything he can to push for immediate playing time. But with NFL business closed down, all he could do was work out in Nebraska and wait for a call summoning him to New Jersey.

On ESPN, defensive end Osi Umenyiora said, "Plaxico will be able to make an impact immediately. I think all you have to do is throw the ball up to him and he'll make the same plays he was able to make before." A veteran NFL talent analyst told The Post, "I think he's going to be valuable to a team that could use a situational guy, but I think his days of starting or being a No. 1 or No. 2 receiver at this point are behind him. The scouts I'm talking to," he added, "are saying he was losing his speed even before he got into the deal with the gun."

Jerry Reese didn’t want to say much about Plaxico Burress since he’s a free agent. However, the Giants general manager did discuss Brandon Jacobs' comments last week about his uncertainty over his status with the team this coming season. "He's just talking," Reese said. "Brandon likes to talk, sometimes he talks just to talk. Us here, in the Giants, in our building, we let some of that talk go off our back like a duck and we don't worry about it too much."
After saying last Thursday that "there is no chance Plaxico Burress is a New York Giant" once he is released, Brandon Jacobs was hesitant to shut the door on a Plaxico reunion on Monday. "I mean, I think there's a chance the Giants, I mean, I know they probably want him back," Jacobs said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL radio. "But with him having more options to pick from, I don't know how that's going to work out."

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress - After serving nearly 21 months of a two-year sentence for attempted criminal possession of a weapon after accidentally shooting himself in a Manhattan night club, the former Giants wide receiver is a free man. He’s on his way to resuming his life and, as soon as the NFL’s labor situation is resolved, his professional football career.
Plaxico Burress - Many of Burress' former teammates and colleagues took to Twitter Monday (at right) to express their happiness that Burress was finally a free man. His release from prison, according to Giants co-owner John Mara, was "long overdue." "Time well over due," wrote former Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress the night of the shooting. "Great teammate, friend, person and better yet Man. Always a Champ."
Plaxico Burress showed some love to the city of Brotherly Love when he emerged from prison Friday sporting a Philadelphia Phillies hat on his head. "It's a beautiful day," Burress said as he left the medium-security Oneida Correctional Facility in upstate Rome after serving 20 months on gun charges. "It's a beautiful day to be reunited with my family. I want to go home and spend some quality time with them."
Plaxico Burress seems to be in a Philadelphia state of mind. The former Giants receiver was wearing a Phillies cap after being released from prison Monday. "I don't know man, that's for y'all (to talk about)," Burress said when asked if that was a hint where his future lies. It certainly won’t do anything to stop the speculation Burress is hoping to sign with the Eagles once the NFL lockout ends.
Plaxico Burress did a brief interview with a TV crew that was following him and his family around all morning, but he did not address the larger gathering of reporters - save for when he was asked about his choice of headgear and whether it was an indication he was feeling some brotherly love and perhaps a stint with the Eagles in the near future, as Brandon Jacobs indicated last week.
Plaxico Burress was hugged by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, as he left the facility with his attorney around 9 a.m. He stopped to talk briefly with the gathered media, thanking the fans for their support and calling his return to freedom "a beautiful day." As far as his football future, Burress said, "When everything gets settled and when they get back on the field, I'll be ready."

June 6 Justin Tuck drills ... with 200 kids. Justin Tuck faked a handoff to Ryan Grant, then authored a short pass to a youngster in the flat. The kid couldn’t handle the left-handed toss, however, much to the dismay of those gathered Saturday at Mahwah High School.

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress - Whenever and wherever Plaxico Burress returns to the NFL, he won't be the feared receiver he used to be with the Giants, and he shouldn't expect to be a Super Bowl hero again. It is much more important for him now, starting today, from here to eternity, to be a champion person than to be a champion football player.

June 5 Without the lockout, the Giants would have been working daily at the Timex Perform ance Center, gearing up for a mandatory three- day veteran mini-camp June 14-16 and then splitting up until training camp. The feeling seems to be that with continuity in the coaching staff and veterans liberally sprinkled throughout the roster the Giants don't need to do too much to get ready. There's also the ever-present notion that all these team-sponsored workouts and OTAs are extreme overkill and won't be missed.

Eli Manning and Mark Sanchez did not make the NFL Network's Top 100 players in a vote by current players even though 12 quarterbacks are on the list. It's one thing to get dissed by fans or the media, but getting disrespected by fellow players is insulting. It also shows that when it comes to selecting All-Pro teams and Hall of Famers, continue to leave the voting to the media, which actually follows the game and does its homework.

The Giants are hoping Jerrel Jernigan can heat things up for the offense. The team picked the Troy (Ala.) wide receiver in the third round of last month's NFL Draft and, according to a pair of his former coaches, they got quite a bargain: a versatile threat, an unselfish person, a hard worker and a tough little guy who plays much bigger than his listed size of 5-9, 185 pounds.

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress served 21 months on a 24-month term that should have been half as long on common sense grounds, a truth that compelled the Giants to call the receiver's pending release from prison "long overdue."
Plaxico Burress' final hours in prison is dwindling, the ex-Giant will turn his attention to finding an NFL job. After 20 months in prison, former Giants wide receiver is slated to be released on Monday.
Plaxico Burress has paid his debt to society, but he might still owe something to the football fans of New York. If he's in playing shape, should the Giants or Jets, um ... give him a shot?

NFL News
CBSSports.com reports that the owners made concessions during the two days of not-so-secret meetings in Chicago. With money being the primary issue in dispute, it’s safe to say that something had something to do with the manner in which the money will be shared.

June 3 Justin Tuck had a chance to greet many of his teammates at his annual celebrity billiards charity event, but whether they'll meet in person to practice during the lockout remains to be seen. Tuck said he doesn't want an organize a workout that only a few players attend. He added that many players live elsewhere during the offseason and have workout regimens that should not be interrupted

Brandon Jacobs wants to remain with the Giants and he wants Ahmad Bradshaw to return. But he is trying to be realistic about his situation as well. Both GM Jerry Reese and head coach Tom Coughlin have said this offseason that they need to get Jacobs the ball more this coming season.

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress won't return to Giants, former teammate Brandon Jacobs says. Jacobs speaks to his former teammate on a weekly basis and has helped care for his wife, Tiffany, and children during Burress’ prison term, which will end on Monday.
Plaxico Burress wants to have the opportunity to win the Super Bowl right away and is considering the Philadelphia Eagles as his next team, according to close friend Brandon Jacobs.
Plaxico Burress - Eagles quarterback Michael Vick - no stranger to serving jail time - last week stated he wants to see Burress in Philadelphia. Jacobs’ talks with Burress reveal the feeling is mutual.

NFL News
The NFL and its players are meeting for a third straight day of mediation that was not scheduled to begin until next week.
The two sides resumed their stalled negotiations under a cloud of secrecy this week in suburban Chicago on the eve of their next court battle.
In the past, a clandestine approach has helped negotiations. Such meetings between former union executive director Gene Upshaw and former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue often led to progress on a new collective bargaining agreement.

June 2 Jerrel Jernigan was the only Division-I player last season to score a touchdown receiving, rushing, passing and on punt and kickoff returns. Versatility is one of his main attractions, and the Giants have every intention of putting Jernigan directly into the mix in the return game and perhaps also as a slot receiver.

Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield is one of the 13 stories featured in "Faces of the Lockout." Cofield anxiously awaits his future to see if he will be become an unrestricted or restricted free agent and whether he will finally be able to sign a long-term deal after playing on a one-year RFA tender last year.

Steve Smith thinks he'll be back with the Giants. They don't have a huge need at wide receiver, but Smith may be Eli Manning's favorite target. His situation is clouded further by his uncertain free agent status and his recovery from knee surgery.

Former Giants
Andy Robustell - The funeral for Giants legend Andy Robustelli is open to the public and will be held Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday morning in his hometown of Stanford, Conn.

June 1 Special Report - ANDY ROBUSTELLI: 1925-2011
He was fast and big, 6-1 and 235 pounds, but those are just numbers. It was his inner fire, his drive and his intensity, that set him aside from most men. He was the automatic leader of the team when he was acquired by the Giants in 1956 from the Los Angeles Rams, who had drafted him in the 19th round of the 1951 season and peddled him to the Giants for a first-round pick. He joined a team that was on the verge of becoming great, and when he arrived he found defensive coordinator Tom Landry waiting for him. It was a marriage of significant proportions.

Andy Robustelli, an icon of the Giants and their proud tradition of defense, and in the words of co-owner John Mara, "one of the greatest players in franchise history," died Tuesday. He was 85.
Andy Robustelli almost never made it here, but he became the perfect Giant. "He was older than the rest of us ... more experienced. He was our godfather." -- Sam Huff, describing Andy Robustelli's value to the Giants

Andy Robustelli, an undersized offensive end out of Arnold College, was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 19th round in 1951. He switched to defense and made the team as a pass rusher. After five seasons, including an NFL Championship in his rookie year, Robustelli was traded to the Giants for a first-round draft pick.
In 1956, when the Giants traded away their first-round draft pick to obtain undersized defensive end Andy Robustelli, there was no way of knowing this would be a franchise-changing move. But it was. "Andy was a great leader -- when he came to us from the Rams, it turned everything around defensively," Frank Gifford recalled.
The Giants won the 1956 NFL championship in Robustelli's first season with the team. They won five more conference championships during his tenure, in 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1963. Robustelli played on a winning team in 13 of his 14 pro seasons and played in eight NFL championship games.

"He was one of the greatest players in franchise history, and one of the finest, most dignified gentlemen you could ever meet," Giants president and CEO John Mara said. "Andy was a man's man in every respect."
After retiring following the 1964 season, Robustelli was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971. He was the team's general manager in the four years prior to George Young. The Giants and Robustelli drafted Harry Carson, George Martin, Gary Jeter and Gordon King among others.

There are 59 players in the NFL better than the best Giants player. At least there is, according to a vote of current players that is being presented by the NFL Network as the Top 100 Players of 2011. The list, which is still in the process of being revealed every Sunday at 8 p.m., is down to the Top 50. There are no Giants in the top 50, according to an NFL Network spokesperson. There were only three in the Top 100.

Up to this point, Justin Tuck has been text messaging and talking to his defensive teammates about staying in shape and training. But that could change at the end of June when Giants players may meet for an unofficial organized workout.

Stadium News
The Giants and Jets opened their $1.7 billion home with the generic name of New Meadowlands Stadium after they were unable to sell naming rights. But a deal could be in place by the start of the season, according to a report.

May 29 In a normal year, none of the Giants draft picks would be signed this early in the offseason but they would have been paid for attending the rookie camp, which was scheduled for May 13-15 before the lockout wiped it out. Rookies also are paid for attending the organized team activity practices, which for now also are on hold. Instead, James Brewer works out in Bloomington, Ind., his NFL acclimation seriously delayed.

May 28 Steve Smith says the rehab on his surgically-repaired knee is going as planned. "I just got out of a really tough workout in the pool right now," Smith said on ESPN New York 1050's Ruocco and Lundberg show on Thursday. "I am running in the pool, doing a lot of strength work and I am doing pretty good. Things are looking good for me. I'm really excited and I can't wait to get this lockout done."

Justin Tuck said he, fellow captain Eli Manning and the veterans have discussed organizing their own training activities. In these next few weeks, he said, they'll try to settle on a two-week span when they might hold a player-run pseudo-camp. "We have a veteran team. We didn't have too much turnover and it won't take us long to get in our stride,'' said Tuck, who said the camp would likely take place toward the end of June.

Eli Manning has made every start since the 10th game of the 2004 season - 103 in a row in the regular season, plus seven playoff games in a row. That is the sixth-longest starting streak by a quarterback in NFL history. In 2010, Manning was one of just 12 quarterbacks to start all 16 games. He was the only NFC East quarterback to play every game. Since Manning started his first game on Nov. 21, 2004 against Atlanta, the other three teams in the NFC East have used 20 different starting quarterbacks.

Stadium News
Jets and Giants season-ticket holders who sit in the stadium's upper level can look forward to 40 percent more men's facilities at the New Meadowlands Stadium this fall, according to stadium Chief Executive Mark Lamping.

May 27 When Brandon Jacobs was complaining last season about not getting the ball enough, the one person in the Giants' organization who could feel his pain was Tom Coughlin. Really. Coughlin played wing back for Syracuse in the mid-1960s, and his backfield mates were Floyd Little and Larry Csonka, both of whom went on to Hall-of-Fame careers. Obviously, Coughlin wasn't No. 1 or No. 2 as a running option, and that drove him crazy, according to Little.

Tiki Barber, who fell out of favor with the Giants when he criticized Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning after his retirement, talked himself into more controversy this week, when he compared himself to Holocaust victim Anne Frank.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated in this week's issue, Barber talked about hiding out in the attic of his agent Mark Lepselter's house in New Jersey with his girlfriend Traci Johnson after their relationship was discovered. Barber's wife Ginny was pregnant with twins and they already had two children.
Barber told SI's L. Jon Wertheim that he and Johnson decided to escape the media scrutiny by moving into the attic of Mark Lepselter, Barber's agent. "Lep's Jewish," Wertheim quotes Barber, "and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing." Yes, read that again. Not a typo. That's what he said. It's remarkable: Barber has a gift for saying exactly the wrong thing almost every time he opens his mouth.

May 26 He has a Super Bowl MVP, a 4-3 postseason record, a lifetime 64-46 record, has never missed a start and didn't make the Top 100 Players of 2011. If that's not enough to make you question a top 100 list that doesn't include Eli Manning, there are other reasons. Who threw more touchdowns in 2010 than Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Josh Freeman, Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb? Manning did, but he's not on the list and those quarterbacks all made the top 100!"

Former Redskins RB Clinton Portis is interested in joining Giants. "To go to the Giants and get to play the Redskins twice a year after them feeling I wasn't capable any more, I think that would be outstanding," Portis said, according to this transcript available on the "Real Redskins" blog. "I forgot to even mention Eli Manning and the great line of the Giants always seems to have and the model of them pounding the ball. I would love that opportunity, too."

NFC East News
Top 20 overpaid players in the NFC East: 7 Chris Canty, 8 Rocky Bernard, 9 Michael Boley, 11 Brandon Jacobs, 12 Antrel Rolle, 16 Eli Manning, 17 David Diehl, 18 Shawn Andrews.

May 25 Six New Jersey residents are among 20 finalists to be featured on Giants game tickets. One is a fireman who let Justin Tuck wear a Giants fire helmet, and another named his dog after Eli Manning. There's a fan who proposed at New Meadowlands Stadium and a fan who wore a Giants hat during his wedding. Then there's an 89-year-old who has not missed a game since 1976.

Some veteran cornerbacks might not like it when their team drafts a corner in the first round. Terrell Thomas, though, whole-heartedly welcomes the addition of Prince Amukamara. When Amukamara, who was considered to be a top-10 draft pick by many draft gurus, fell to the Giants at 19, Thomas felt the Giants secondary got stronger.

For 16 years, Tom Coughlin has been thanking people who attend the annual dinner and golf classic to benefit his Jay Fund Foundation. He has thanked them for their generous donations, for giving their time and their hearts to a charity that does so much for families of children with cancer. But this year, Coughlin was grateful for reasons that went beyond fundraising.

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress - The Eagles are one of the teams speculated to have an interest in Burress, who will head to Florida immediately after his release and begin the process of getting back into football shape.

NFL News
The 32 owners voted unanimously to approve rules amendments for player safety that include eliminating a player launching himself into a defenseless opponent. A 15-yard penalty will result for anyone who leaves both feet before contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent and delivers a blow to the helmet with any part of his helmet. Such tackles will also be subject to fines. The definition of a defenseless receiver has been extended. Now, a receiver who has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner even if both feet are on the ground is considered defenseless.

May 22 Numerous Giants ranging from Brandon Jacobs to Osi Umenyiora have stated that they want Burress back in blue. Diehl said players would welcome back Burress, whom he described as a "good teammate" who "never wronged anybody." But Diehl recognizes the distractions Burress will face if he comes backs.
Burress deserves to get a second chance. He will get one. If Michael Vick, a convicted dogfighting felon, was allowed to resume his career, there's little doubt that Burress will have the opportunity to show if he can still play. Teams have to be at least intrigued.

May 21 While Tom Coughlin stares at the lush green grass on his untouched field at the Giants facility, Eli Manning has been running a handful of receivers through passing drills at Hoboken High School (N.J.). "Glad to see that Eli was getting together with the receiving corps, he had the tight ends and a couple of running backs in there as well," Coughlin said. "I'm just grateful that there were some degree of workout there... I know that guys are working out on their own and I am confident that they will condition and stay in shape."

May 20 John Mara warns NFL owners and players that they must return to the bargaining table to end the NFL lockout. "Everyone should realize what is at stake," he writes. Mara, who took part in this week's two-day mediation session in Minneapolis after being present for a majority of the mediation in Washington in March, wrote Thursday in his 1,000-word piece that appeared on the Giants' website and the NFL.com that, "Fortunately, there is time to get back on track."

May 19 Barry Cofield would love nothing more than to retire as a New York Giant. But after seeing the Giants draft North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin in the second round, Cofield understands he might not get what he wants and that his days as a Giant could very well be nearing an end.

Duval Kamara is an undrafted player without a team because of the NFL lockout. He's a former Notre Dame wide receiver looking to rebuild his reputation after missing his final game because of academic issues. He's a soon-to-be graduate. And he's a happy participant in Eli Manning's little passing camp today at Kamara's alma mater, Hoboken High School.

NFL lockout is just plain stupid. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is tasked with trying to help the owners and players figured out how to divvy up $9 billion. A little compassion - with a written agreement that the money distribution would be revisited once things start looking up - would go a long way in bringing this "madness" to an end.

May 18 At least one player is adamant that when Sept. 8 comes around, the NFL season will start as scheduled. "The fans don't have to worry about that," Canty added. "We're going to have football this fall, and we're going to try and put the quality product on the field that they are used to seeing come September."

Jerry Reese is living proof that a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin can go on to big things, because he did. The Giants general manager this past Saturday related his path to a high-ranking NFL position during his commencement address at his alma mater.

The one need that the Giants set out to address was special teams. "I don't think our special teams were up to par," said general manager Jerry Reese of the 2010 unit that, league-wide, finished 21st in kickoff coverage and 22nd in punt coverage. "We definitely wanted to improve that unit." The Giants believe they accomplished that with a class that will look to earn their keep on specials while they develop into pro prospects at their respective positions.

NFC East News
Redskins - They traded down six spots and still ended up with an elite pass rusher in Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan, who was second in the nation during his career with 33.5 sacks and is the all-time leader with 14 forced fumbles.
Cowboys - By picking USC offensive tackle Tyron Smith with the ninth overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, they took the best player on the board at the position of their greatest need. He became the first offensive lineman drafted by Dallas in 30 years.
Eagles - They ended up staying at No. 23 and addressing one of their many needs, selecting 26-year-old Baylor offensive lineman Danny Watkins, while having several needs on defense. They gave up 50 sacks last season and got insufficient play at right guard and right tackle.

May 17 The lockout has prevented Da'Rel Scott from showing coaches what he can do. But the New York Giants' seventh-round draft pick had an opportunity to leave an impression on Eli Manning on Monday. The former Maryland running back joined Manning, tight end Travis Beckum and wide receivers Victor Cruz and Michael Clayton at Hoboken High School for another of Manning's workouts.
Giants general manger Jerry Reese expressed optimism about Scott on draft day and hoped that Scott could become the Giants' version of former Steelers rusher Willie Parker, an undrafted speedster who turned into a two-time Pro Bowler. Scott's 4.34 second 40-yard dash was the fastest of any running back in the draft and convinced Reese to take a "flyer" on him.

NFL News
NFL lockout: Owners, players talking to each other.
NFL lockout: Appeals court backs NFL, keeping players locked out.

May 16 When the 1986 Giants won Super Bowl XXI, Harry Carson was the universally acknowledged leader of the team. He was the sole captain, the man his teammates confided in and the player Coach Bill Parcells leaned on to solve problems in the locker room. Carson is still the top dog as that most memorable of Giants teams prepares to commemorate its 25th anniversary.

May 15 Though Marvin Austin was, by all accounts, a first-round talent - some scouts put him easily in the Top 15 - all 32 teams let him slide on the first day of the draft. He kept sliding all the way until the second day when the Giants took him with the 52nd pick.

May 14 Giants running back Charles Scott was involved in a car accident in Louisiana earlier this week, according to his agent, Jon Perzley. Perzley did not share any details about the accident except to say it occurred late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. A report by Fox 44 in Baton Rouge, La., indicated Scott was a passenger in the car.
Scott for a time was hospitalized in the intensive care unit. He wrote on his Twitter account "I'm doing well and will be home soon." Last June, draft pick Chad Jones, also from LSU, was seriously injured in a car accident in New Orleans.
Chad Jones - "To this day I am not 100% back, but I am extremely better. I can move and do things people never would have guessed I could based on what I went through. I am so sure that I will be back on the field sooner than anyone can imagine."

Alabama-born defensive end Justin Tuck spent Thursday and Friday comforting storm victims, trying to absorb the "war-zone" devastation from the April 27 tornado outbreak that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala., near his hometown of Kellyton, Ala., and close to his heart. Tuck's sister, Brittany, a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, survived the deadly twister that obliterated more than 5,000 homes and businesses and killed 40 residents with 12 people still missing.

May 13 Media members locked outside the gate at Hoboken High School far outnumbered players on the field Thursday in what may have been the final day of Eli Manning's impromptu passing camp. The five players (not counting Verona free agent receiver Dan DePalma) represented the lowest total of the six sessions over the past two weeks. A dozen players showed up at one time or another.
It was a surprisingly small group, considering what other teams have done. The Saints drew nearly 40 players to their workouts at Tulane University in New Orleans. The Redskins had almost 30 show up in Northern Virginia. The Cardinals have been drawing 20-30 players to their sessions in Phoenix. Even Mark Sanchez lured 15 players to his "Jets West" California camp.

The sixth and - for now - final practice of Manning's mini-minicamp hardly resembled the first. Clayton, Samuel Giguere and undrafted free agent Dan DePalma ran as many routes as they could while tight end Kevin Boss jogged his patterns as he recovers from hip surgery. With other teams around the league gathering tens of players, the numbers of the Giants' workouts continued to dwindle, though those who participated tried to downplay the sluggish attendance.
He's been at Eli Manning's passing camp every day, which is more than any of the other Giants wide receivers can say. Samuel Giguere, 29, is in a tenuous position. After 2 1/2 years on the Colts' practice squad and a half-season on the Giants' practice squad, the Quebec native is no longer eligible to remain on a team's eight-player scout team. That means any hopes of playing in the NFL would come on an active roster.

May 12 Giants co-owner John Mara will be attending Monday's mediation session in Minneapolis after missing the last round when he was on jury duty. There have not been any mediation sessions in nearly a month. Mara was present for the final nine of the 16 negotiating sessions that were held in Washington and presided over by federal mediator George Cohen leading up to the March 11 decertification by the NFLPA and the start of the lockout hours later by the owners. He was the only owner who attended the last nine meetings.

Justin Tuck is taking a break from his offseason workouts in his adopted home to provide relief to his original home. The Giants' defensive captain was slated to leave Jersey today to head down to Alabama to provide relief to tornado victims in his hometown of Kellyton.
Tuck has teamed up with JP Morgan Chase and World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, to bring $275,000 and some help to the victims of the tornadoes in Alabama.

The Giants' group is one of the smallest reported gatherings, with Eli Manning and backup Sage Rosenfels tossing the ball around with four teammates: Cruz, Boss, Darius Reynaud and Samuel Giguere, and one interloper, Verona native Dan DePalma, an undrafted free agent looking for a workout.
Each day of camp includes a rollicking fun game of "Dodge The Reporters," in which Eli Manning drives off in his SUV before addressing what, exactly, the Giants quarterback hoped to accomplish.
So where are all the Giants' defensive players? Why aren't they practicing during the NFL lockout, too? "Just because you don't see us," Justin Tuck said Wednesday, "doesn't mean we're not practicing."
Giants offensive linemen Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara, Adam Koets, Chris Snee and Kevin Boothe, are getting in their preseason workouts at a facility that rivals their normal Giants facility in East Rutherford.
With NFL lockout in place, players risk injuries to train at informal sessions. With NFL lockout in place, players risk injuries to train at informal sessions.

Undrafted free agent Dan DePalma has been training with the Giants and hopes to latch on. After posting impressive numbers during his pre-draft workouts this spring (including a 4.43-second 40-yard dash), DePalma might have done enough to earn a contract as an undrafted free agent. Except there is no free agency, on account of the lockout, which means DePalma was fortunate to be the first non-Giant participant at Manning's camp.

May 11 The Giants started their second week of informal workouts organized by quarterback Eli Manning today with nine participants: wide receivers Victor Cruz, Duke Calhoun, Michael Clayton, Darius Reynaud and Samuel Giguere; tight end Kevin Boss; offensive lineman David Diehl; and quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Manning.
Only one thing could bring a crashing end to the upbeat atmosphere -- a serious injury. There is never a good time for a player to be injured. But this would be the worst time. With the CBA expired and contact with their teams cut by the work stoppage, they have had to find their own insurance.
Players do have COBRA health insurance to fall back on. The short-term, temporary insurance (giving workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group coverage) lasts for a limited time. Plus, the workers usually have to pay most or all the premium.

With no free-agency signing period, rookies who were not drafted have no teams to hook up with and may not be able to land on teams until close to the start of training camp. "Coming in with all the guys and trying to learn everything on the fly, it's tough," Victor Cruz said.
Cruz became an overnight fan favorite when he made his pro debut with six receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-16 preseason-opening victory over the Jets last August. The undrafted free agent out of UMass finished the preseason with 15 catches for 297 yards and four touchdowns and made the final roster.

Giants fans are getting an average of 50 percent above the original sale price for upper-deck personal seat licenses at New Meadowlands Stadium, according to a review of the first wave of PSL resales at the Giants' online marketplace. The average resale price has been $1,510 for more than 100 PSLs that originally cost $1,000 per seat. Terrace 1 PSLs in the upper deck have gone for an average of $1,636, while Terrace 2 PSLs -- the seats behind each end zone -- have gone for $1,336 on average.

Hall of Famer Harry Carson has always known what the Super Bowl XXI champion Giants meant to those long-suffering fans who endured 30 years without a title, and to any of the loyal fans who bleed Giants blue. Many Super Bowl alums will arrive June 11, and the reunion will last until the 14th. Jeff Hostetler will not attend, because of a previously scheduled trip to Africa.
Carson has wrangled the likes of Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms and others for a gathering at the Meadowlands Expo Center on June 12 that includes a breakfast, a Q&A session and an autograph signing. Carson expects 48-50 players as well as eight members of the coaching staff for the event, which is being organized through the team's official provider, Big Blue Travel.

Barry Cofield - A five-year starter who has 10 1/2sacks (including a career-high four last season) and has missed only one game to injury, Cofield has been a bargain for the Giants since they drafted him in the fourth round in 2006. Now, with the lockout still in place and the draft having preceded free agency, Cofield watched his leverage shrink when the Giants drafted Marvin Austin and other teams also selected defensive tackles.

May 9 At a breakfast during the NFL owners' meeting in March, someone asked New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin about players using Twitter and other social media. He looked as though he had bitten into a rotten grapefruit. "I don't know what the hell that is," Coughlin said. "I'm from a different era."

Former Giants
Plaxico Burress' wife counts the days until her husband leaves prison. Burress is slated to be released June 6 after serving a 20-month sentence on a weapons charge.
The night their lives changed. Tiffany Burress never will forget the fateful early morning of Nov. 29, 2008, when her husband used egregiously reckless judgment that cost him a fortune, the prime of his NFL career, and so much more.

May 8 Eli proving himself as leader for Giants. Taking charge at Hoboken workout, QB impressing teammates and fans alike. "What a general he is," said Johnson, who runs the Veterans Field facility at Hoboken High's John F. Kennedy Stadium. "The way he handles himself, the way he handles his teammates, it's amazing to see how they respond to him."

Less than a week after the 2011 NFL draft concluded, the Giants' haul was getting rave reviews. They got "steals" and "bargains" throughout their class, it was said and written, and plenty of good value, too. Not that anyone can really tell. They say it takes 3-5 years to truly judge a draft class, even though it takes some people 3-5 hours to try. Sometimes people - fans, media, other self-proclaimed "experts" - are judging the picks even though they've never actually seen the players play, either live or on film.

May 6 Though they are hanging out on a school field in New Jersey tossing the football around, don't expect any shouts of "Go long" as Eli Manning and several of his receiving targets get some work in this week and next at Hoboken High School. Manning organized this lockout-induced passing camp, but the Giants quarterback is taking it easy because the risks are far greater than the rewards.

Hakeem Nicks said he isn't frustrated by the fact the players are forced to work out at a high school because of the lockout. He's merely focusing on what he can control, and part of that is maintaining his conditioning. Unlike last offseason when he had surgery on his toe, Nicks is completely healthy and is therefore going through a full workout schedule. "I've put on a little bit more muscle weight. I've just been training," he said, adding: "A month after the season I got right back into it. I've been training ever since."

NFL Network humiliates Bob Papa by making him audition for own job, replacing him with Brad Nessler. Thursday, NFLN brass said it was bringing in veteran play-by-play man Brad Nessler, who has spent the bulk of his ESPN career yakking about college football and basketball, to replace Bob Papa, who has called NFLN's Thursday night package for three seasons. In a 1-for-2 swap, the network also hired Mike Mayock to replace analysts Joe Theismann and Matt Millen.

Jacquian Williams was a little nervous as he prepared for his vertical jump at the South Florida pro day. Giants general manager Jerry Reese said something that not only put Williams' mind at ease but also inspired him. Reese asked Williams how great it would be if he and his old college teammate, Jason Pierre-Paul, were reunited in New York. "He told me he was going to make that happen," Williams said.

Jerry Reese said the Giants consulted Hakeem Nicks before they selected North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin in the second round of last week's NFL Draft. So did Nicks talk the team into drafting Austin? "Uhhh, maybe," Nicks said with a laugh today after completing a passing workout at Hoboken High School. "But no, I think it's a good fit for them. I'm sure he's going to fit right in and I know he's going to be ready to work. ... They made a decision and I feel like it's a good addition to us."
In the second round, the Giants drafted the talented defensive tackle, who was kicked off the team and missed all of last season after being a part of an NCAA investigation into receiving improper benefits from an agent. Austin also had been disciplined by the North Carolina coaching staff for violation of team rules. In the end, the Giants said they did their research on Austin, including talking to Nicks, and believe Austin is well worth the risk.

May 5 If the NFL lockout didn't stop Eli Manning from organizing a minicamp for himself and a few teammates, a little rain wasn't going to stop him either. The Giants' quarterback and six teammates gathered again Wednesday morning on the wet field at Hoboken (N.J.) High School and ran passing drills for 45 minutes in a sometimes-driving rain. It was Day 2 of Manning's Minicamp, which is scheduled to run through next Thursday.
Though there was a steady rain for much of the morning, Giants quarterback Eli Manning refused to call off the scheduled session with his targets. The workout was a bit scaled back to ensure no players slipped and suffered injuries. There was a limit on cutting and most of the time the receivers seemed to be moving at less than full speed. "Hopefully, we'll pick it back up (Thursday)," Boss said.

Tight end Kevin Boss hopes he'll remain a member of the Giants. In a normal year, Boss' timely and courageous catches would have already netted him a contract worth several million dollars per season. But like many other players with the lockout in place, Boss is in limbo. Depending on how the labor situation plays out, he could be an unrestricted free agent, a restricted free agent, a Giant or a member of another team.

Former Giants
Tiki Barber - Four years removed from his last NFL rushing attempt and light years removed from the seemingly perfect life he had designed for himself, Barber at age 36 and admittedly humbled some, is again putting his body through the grind to prepare for another season.
Tiki Barber, currently going through a divorce from his estranged wife, Ginny, after 11 years of marriage, credits Traci Johnson for helping get him out of a near-depressed stage after he was fired from NBC.

May 4 While some team leaders are publicizing their gatherings, Eli Manning was trying to keep his quiet. True to his character, the Giants' franchise quarterback and Hoboken resident summoned eight of his targets (plus backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels) for a passing workout but told no one else. It didn't take long for word to get out. At roughly 10 a.m., minutes after the workout began, a handful of residents lined the fence on the east side of the field, snapping pictures with their cell phones. A news camera quickly arrived, as did a photographer for a Hoboken website. Pictures
By now, in a normal year, the Giants would've already been working out together for more than a month in the weight room. They might have even done some work together on the field. Instead, when about a dozen Giants players gathered Tuesday, it was their first time together since the end of last season. And they were so excited to be back, it didn't even matter that the lockout had forced them to gather on a high school field in Hoboken, N.J. "It was great," tight end Kevin Boss said after the workout.

May 3 Giants to recognize their fans on game tickets in 2011 season. For the first time in franchise history, the Giants will feature the names and likeness of fans on their game tickets. Winners will be chosen by fan voting on the team's website and Facebook page. Giants.com. | Facebook.
Tom Coughlin scheduled a rookie minicamp for the weekend of May 13-15, and if the stay is not extended should be able to see his eight draft choices at that time. Otherwise the Giants and the other 31 teams may not be able to unwrap their draft presents until sometime in June or even July.

For nearly an hour on Sept. 11, 2001, Tom Coughlin didn't know if his son was one of Osama Bin Laden's victims. Tim Coughlin was working on the 60th floor of the World Trade Center that day. He was one of the lucky ones who got out alive.
So one can imagine just how emotional Coughlin was Sunday when he learned of the death of Osama bin Laden. Coughlin spoke about it during an interview with Bob Papa and Ross Tucker on Sirius NFL Radio's "Opening Drive" show.

Jim Fassel was the Giants coach on Sept. 11, 2001, and has been as involved with charitable endeavors since the terrorist attacks as any New York sports personality. That didn't change when the Giants fired him after the 2003 season after seven years as head coach. Fassel said. "We will never forget those people." He has been particularly close to the FDNY.
George Martin was so deeply affected by what happened on Sept. 11, 2001 that he literally walked across the country to help. Along the way, he got to know many of the families who were directly hurt by Osama Bin Laden's wrath. It was with them in mind that Martin, the former Giants defensive end, said today was "A day of celebration" after getting the long-awaited news that Bin Laden was dead.

Former Giants
R.W. McQuarters won a Super Bowl with the Giants in 2008. McQuarters has been shot in the back in his hometown of Tulsa. Police say McQuarters was leaving a friend's house in north Tulsa on Saturday afternoon and had started to drive away when he was shot by a man wearing a ski mask.

May 2 The 2001 NFL Draft came and went without anyone calling out the names of Rich Seubert or Antonio Pierce, which surprised no one, considering neither of those players was regarded as worth drafting. Harsh assessment? Seubert, fairly dumpy-looking coming out of small-school Western Illinois, was rated as the 54th best guard in the draft. Pierce, too small and not-too athletic coming out of Arizona, was ranked as the 48th best outside linebacker.

The hours after the NFL draft would normally be frantic for Giants GM Jerry Reese and his staff. There would be undrafted free agents to sign, maybe a few veterans on the market to consider. They'd be working nonstop because there would still be holes to fill. Now there's nothing. The holes are still there, but until the NFL lockout is over all the plans to fill them are stuck on hold. "It is a little strange," Reese said. "Everybody's up there looking at each other like, 'What do we do now?'"

The Giants add to offense, LB corps in the the last rounds. The Giants never take Eli Manning off the field, and Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride might prefer to punt rather than turn to what they consider to be gimmick formation. That probably will not change -- despite the addition of Jerrel Jernigan, the Giants' third-round draft pick on Friday, a small, fleet receiver from Troy who brings a Wildcat threat to his new team.

The more the NFL became infatuated with the Wildcat in recent years, the more Jerrel Jernigan would get excited. His skills fit the offense perfectly. He ran it well and often at Troy. "I enjoy watching it," he said. "Every time I see it, I say to myself, 'That's something that I can see myself doing when I go up there.'" If he does, it'll bring a whole new look to the offense of the Giants, one of the few teams left that have never run a true Wildcat play.

The Giants selected Greg Jones with the first of their three sixth-round picks, despite questions about his height (6 feet) and a subpar senior season. The reason: production. "He's played at a high level (and is a) very instinctive player," Reese said of the 185th overall pick. "He's another guy who's going to come in with a chip on his shoulder because I'm pretty sure he feels like he should've been picked a lot higher than where he got picked."

While some franchises might have adapted to select players who could help fill holes, it was business as usual for the Giants from the moment they drafted cornerback Prince Amukamara on Thursday night until their final selection when, as Reese put it, they "took a flier" on speedy Maryland running back Da’Rel Scott. They came away without any interior linemen and didn't grab any linebackers until the sixth round when they took Michigan State’s Greg Jones and South Florida's Jacquian Williams.

More on first round pick Prince Amukamara.
Serby's Sunday Q & A with... Prince Amukamara.
Prince Amukamara's sisters made royal treatment nothing new for Giants' prized NFL Draft pick.

They booed Commissioner Roger Goodell at the draft, because that was a way of booing the whole sport. The boos weren't about the real courts where the NFL finds itself these days, just the court of public opinion. And as long as there is a game between the Packers and Saints on Thursday night, Sept. 8, as long as the doors are back open on the night the NFL is supposed to officially open back up for business, they don't care. Neither side.
If you want to know how much havoc -- and potentially how much damage -- the NFL's labor battle is inflicting on its on-field product, look no further than this week's draft. The league is so eager to trump the players and their decertified union that it isn't even letting most rookies drafted this week get copies of those playbooks or talk strategy their new coaches while the lockout is in effect.

Apr 30 - UPDATE With their final pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Giants selected Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott. This shouldn't come as a surprise to many that the Giants drafted someone to add depth to the backfield, but most people thought it would happen much earlier. That seems to be the theme of the Giants third day picks. Da’Rel Scott is brings a ton of speed to the table and could give the Giants a serious weapon in the passing game from the running back position.

Apr 30 - UPDATE The Giants have taken South Florida outside linebacker Jacquian Williams with their third and final pick in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday. New York (10-6) used all three picks to bolster its defense, taking Michigan State inside linebacker Greg Jones and Iowa safety Tyler Sash before picking Williams, who was a teammate of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants' first-round choice last year. Williams led South Florida with 71 tackles, including 11 for losses. He also had 2 1/2 sacks and one interception..

Apr 30 - UPDATE The Giants have taken Iowa safety Tyler Sash with their second of three picks in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday. The choice of Sash came a little more than 10 minutes after New York (10-6) took Michigan State inside linebacker Greg Jones. Sash has a nose for the ball. He had 13 interceptions in just three years on the field, although only two came this past season. He could fit right into the rotation since veteran Deon Grant is a free agent and may not be back. Sash also had 79 tackles this past season.

Apr 30 - UPDATE The Giants did not have a pick in the fifth round. They have taken Michigan State inside linebacker Greg Jones with the first of their three picks in the sixth round. Jones was among the Spartans' all-time leaders in tackles for loss with 46 1/2 and third all time in tackles with 465. He led the team or tied for team lead in tackles in 31 of his last 39 games. Jones produced double-figure tackle games 20 times and led the led the team in that category four straight years, becoming only the second Spartan to accomplish that feat.

Apr 30 - UPDATE The Giants selected an offensive lineman in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. They selected Indiana tackle James Brewer with the 117th overall pick. Brewer is a right tackle, so he could be a potential replacement down the line for Kareem McKenzie, who has one year left on his contract. ... On the left side, the Giants have Shawn Andrews, David Diehl and William Beatty but the Giants could move Diehl to left guard with Rich Seubert on the mend. Shaun O'Hara should be ready to go by the season opener at center after undergoing two surgeries in the offseason.
General manager Jerry Reese called Brewer "a late bloomer" who only played one year of football in high school because he was concentrating on basketball. "He probably thought he was going to be a basketball player but you don't see a lot of 335-pound basketball players." Brewer played exclusively at right tackle in college but Reese said the Giants consider him a right or left tackle.

Apr 30 When Prince Amukamara arrived at Nebraska and was told his days as a running back were over, he wanted to transfer immediately. Four years later, the newest Giant is glad he stayed at cornerback. "You just have to switch your mentality from offense to defense," the 19th overall pick in this year's NFL Draft said Friday in his first press conference at the Giants' facility in East Rutherford.
Amukamara arrived Friday afternoon to get a tour of the Timex Performance Center, meet Tom Coughlin, and participate in his first NFL press conference. The Giants, never expecting to have a shot at him, did not have much contact with Amukamara during the pre-draft process. Cornerbacks coach Peter Giunta went through drills with him at the scouting combine but that's about it. Meeting Coughlin went as expected.

If the Giants got a steal with their first-round draft pick in Prince Amukamara, Friday night's second-round pick could end up being the grandest heist of all. Otherwise, the Giants could be left holding the bag. Marvin Austin comes to them as a risk. He was suspended for his entire senior season at North Carolina, was suspended for two games in 2008 and benched for two games in '09. All that will not matter if the 6-2, 309-pound defensive tackle can create havoc like the guy he was once compared to - last year's Rookie of the Year, Ndamukong Suh. If things work out, it's quite possible that, picking 19th and 52nd, the Giants came away with two top 15 players for a defense that had its ups and downs last year.

The team Friday night selected the North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin in the second round of the NFL Draft, with the 52nd overall pick. One round later, they added a wide receiver in Jerrel Jernigan from Troy. From a talent standpoint, the selection of the 6-2, 312-pound Austin was a steal, as he was being compared to the top tackles in last year's draft because of his quickness off the ball and what Reese termed a "nasty" streak on the field. From a personal standpoint, it was a risk because of many character concerns. Which is why Austin can expect the same speech Bradshaw received when he makes his first appearance at the team's facility.

The New York Giants addressed needs at wide receiver and at the return game by taking Jerrel Jernigan in the third round of the NFL draft on Friday. A three-time first-team All-Sun Belt selection, Jernigan had 84 catches for 822 yards and six touchdowns this season. He also added 322 yards and three touchdowns rushing and two touchdowns in the return game, one on a punt return and another on a kickoff.
"He's a little guy, but he's extremely fast," Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross said of the 5-8, 181-pound Jernigan, who ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine. "(He has) just a great feel for the game. ...He's going to add some speed to our team on offense and special teams." As a receiver, he could quickly serve as an option in the slot, particularly since Steve Smith is in the midst of a delicate recovery from surgery to repair cartilage damage in his knee.

NFL News
The NFL lockout is back - appeals court grants temporary stay on ruling. A federal appeals court threw the NFL back into chaos late Friday, granting the league's request to essentially put the lockout back in place. The decision came only hours after teams reopened their doors to players and some basic football operations began, and it came as the second round of the draft was under way.

Apr 29 On the night before the Royal Wedding, the Giants found their Prince. In what was only a fairy tale-like scenario before the draft began, the Giants ended up with one of the top defensive backs in the NFL draft when Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara surprisingly fell into their laps. He was almost universally pegged as a Top 10 selection, but somehow fell all the way to 19. Now, all of a sudden, the Giants have a secondary filled with top picks.
It was widely believed Amukamara would be long gone well before the Giants' turn came up and, even though the position is not a glaring need, it was simply too much value to pass up. So, with the top running back in the draft, Mark Ingram, still on the board, and a quality left tackle, Anthony Castonzo, available, the Giants trusted their draft board and happily took Amukamara, whom Tom Coughlin said was "clearly the highest-rated player on the board.''
General Manager Jerry Reese said, "There are a lot of things to like about Prince." Unless you're Aaron Ross. The selection of Amukamara means the Giants' first-round pick in 2007 might very well be entering his final year with the team. Starting cornerback Corey Webster is signed through 2013 and Terrell Thomas joins Ross as a free agent following this upcoming season. The presence of all three players means it could be tough for Amukamara to get a lot of playing time this upcoming season.

The Giants entered the draft eying help on the offensive line. Florida center Mike Pouncey, who figured to be in their thinking, was selected by Miami with the 15th selection. Offensive tackle Nate Solder from Colorado, another player the Giants coveted, went off the board to New England at No. 17. Running back Mark Ingram of Alabama and tackle Anthony Castonzo still were on the board, but Amukamara's grade trumped them all, even though his interception total dropped from five in 2010 to zero in 2011.
Mark Ingram - It would have been a wonderful tearjerker ... son of a former Giant with the same name who currently is serving time in Beaumont, Texas. A Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama who has handled himself with grace and class. Who talked about how neat it would be to play in the Big Apple for the organization that got his dad a Super Bowl ring 21 years ago under Bill Parcells. Who smiled alongside Justin Tuck yesterday morning as he posed in Manhattan alongside a Subway sandwich bust of him made out of chicken salad. Who has been compared to Emmitt Smith.

NFL News
HOT - 2011 NFL Draft Pick List and Results - Round 1
More here - Newton, three QBs in Top 10 highlight dramatic first round. The Carolina Panthers didn't pull any last-minute surprises, selecting Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Former Giants
Tiki Barber said his attempt to return to the NFL after four years in retirement is not about money. The 36-year-old former Giants running back surprisingly retired in 2006 to pursue a broadcasting career. Then, just as surprisingly, he decided to give the NFL another shot.

Apr 28 - UPDATE The NFL prepares to get back to business Friday, likely under 2010 rules, if a lockout isn't reinstated. All aspects of club-player relations will resume at 8 a.m. Friday - except for player transactions. The league is waiting until Friday before telling the clubs how to proceed on signings and trades.

Apr 28 This is a big draft for Giants general manager Jerry Reese. They all are. A scout at heart (and by job description), who moved up in the business based on his ability to project college players on the next level, Reese ran the draft for the Giants for four years as the Director of Player Personnel and began having final say in 2007, when he took over as general manager after Ernie Accorsi retired. Reese struck immediate gold, selecting five players who paid dividends as contributors to a Super Bowl winner.

The most obvious need is an outside linebacker, an ongoing issue for the Giants. This, however, is not the draft to find a first-round linebacker unless you are holding one of the top five picks, in which case you take Texas A&M's Von Miller, sit back and smile. There might not be another true linebacker -- not counting converted pass-rush defensive ends -- taken in the first round. Any other linebacker the Giants might take at No. 19 would be considered a reach.

The Giants like to say they draft the best player available, not just for need. But in the Jerry Reese era, they've certainly picked the right years to need the best player available. Cornerback Aaron Ross (2007), safety Kenny Phillips (2008), wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (2009) and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (2010) all helped fill needs as rookies and became productive starters by their second seasons (Pierre-Paul notwithstanding). Many experts believe 19th overall is a bit high for Florida C/G Mike Pouncey, while others think this spot would be just right.

Rich Seubert says he has not followed the NFL Draft since the 2001 version, in which he was not included. The Giants' veteran offensive lineman, testament to the fact this process is not an exact science, also says he won't be watching tonight when his team makes the 19th selection in the first round. That's even though the selection may be an offensive lineman.
Everything is going all right with Seubert's knee right about now. Well, at least as well as he could hope after undergoing surgery to repair a torn patella tendon and torn MCL, as well as to fix a hole in the cartilage of his knee. "I feel good. I feel better than I thought I'd be feeling right now," he said. "We'll see how it goes. I still have to build up my leg muscles and maybe by June I can start jogging and see how it feels."

When is the last time you were surprised by something the Giants did in the first round of the draft? I mean really surprised - truly blown away. Not just caught off guard because the receiver you thought they were going to take went two picks earlier, so they took another receiver instead. I mean when was the last time they went for a player or position that you never imagined, that hardly anyone in the media had talked about in the weeks of hype before the NFL draft?

The NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night from Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. In Thursday's first round, Tom Coughlin and the Giants hold the 19th pick, while Rex Ryan and the Jets select 30th. The Daily News' Gary Myers scouts around the league and presents his take on how the first 32 selections may shake out, including three quarterbacks in the top 10.
Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night nor Judge Nelson can deprive Post readers of the annual Steve Serby Mock Draft. A special thanks to eagle-eyed Dave Razzano, former scout for the 49ers, Rams and Cardinals and currently blogger for Playmaker Mobile; and Jim Sabo, the Ourlad's scouting guru since 1981, for their expert opinions. History tonight at Radio City Music Hall ... the draft that precedes free agency ... the draft that could see as many as eight quarterbacks selected over the first two rounds tonight and tomorrow.

A court ruling put an end to the lockout, so teams responded by -- what else? -- locking the doors to their weight rooms, leaving players to wander around the empty hallways of their team headquarters. The weirdness just figures to intensify now, too, as the dispute makes its way through the legal system. But with the draft tonight, this is a good time to rate the crazy, with the help of one of the all-time NFL wild men, Chuck Bednarik.

Former Giants
Mark Ingram, who is in a Texas prison serving time for money laundering and bank fraud. He had two years tacked onto his sentence when he failed to begin serving time to watch his son play. Mark Ingram Jr. has won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy. And sometime in the next two days - perhaps tonight - he'll hear his name called as an NFL Draft selection.

Apr 27 All around the NFL Tuesday, players showed up at team facilities and learned they weren't welcome. Some were turned away at the gate, others at the door. Many were only allowed inside for a token visit. At the Meadowlands, the Giants bucked the trend on the first day after the temporary end of the NFL lockout. They allowed three players inside the building, let them talk to their coaches, and they even let defensive tackle Chris Canty work out with their weights.
Canty flew in on Tuesday morning from Charlotte, where he was spending time with his family for Easter. The defensive tackle reportedly has a $250,000 workout bonus in his contract. It is not clear whether Tuesday's workout session counts toward that bonus with the labor uncertainty but Canty couldn't have hurt his cause by getting a workout in the team facility on the first day he could do so after the lockout was lifted.

Canty was the second Giant to arrive at the practice facility in East Rutherford today. Receiver Mario Manningham was before him at 11:30 and running back Brandon Jacobs came after, rolling in around 2 p.m. Aside from getting a workout in, he also spoke with head coach Tom Coughlin. Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said that all three spoke to "staff members and coaches."
Last night, however, the Giants changed their minds and decided to close their weight and training rooms until further notice. Pat Hanlon, the Giants' vice president of communications, said in a statement that, "We have decided that our workout and training rooms will be closed until we get clarification from the pending challenges to the court's decision." A source said the league suggested the Giants do so because it is an evolving situation.

Jerry Reese learned years ago that there are a few guidelines to abide by on draft day. Picking the best player available on the board usually seems safer than picking based on need. And when things suddenly don't go your way and the players you wanted vanish right before your pick, remain cool. Reese has seen things change seemingly as fast as some prospects can run the 40-yard dash. So as he enters his fifth draft as the Giants' general manager, Reese promises to be as calm as a monk and to consider the best player available.
Whitey Walsh had been a Giants employee for one week when he was assigned to work the 1973 NFL Draft. This week, Walsh will work his 39th and final draft. One of the Giants' longest-tenured employees and most respected scouts, Walsh is retiring on June 1. Walsh has had a reduced workload since 2005, but after almost four decades traveling to schools, evaluating players and writing reports, he is eager to begin a new chapter in his life. Raymond Walsh, Jr. is truly a Giants lifer. His father was hired to work in the Giants' front office in 1947 and stayed for 46 years.

Apr 26 Just because Judge Susan Nelson did the expected and granted the request for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout, that does not mean Giants players are going to march in droves into their Timex Performance Center today and engage in business as usual.
It'is a victory for the players, but all it does is give them a leg up in this best-of-three series. Game 2 comes today when the NFL owners ask for a stay of the injunction granted Monday by Judge Susan Nelson in Minneapolis that lifts the lockout the owners implemented in March after mediated talks broke off.
The league has released a statement saying it "will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree.

As players, we are pleased with Judge Nelson's ruling," Giants center Shaun O'Hara wrote. "Although she has issued an injunction, players have not received any information nor have we been contacted by anyone from our current clubs that would indicate their desire to have players commence working out at the team facility. We are aware that the league is filing an appeal on the decision.
Some players indicated they planned to report to their teams' facilities Tuesday morning, though a few high-profile agents have said they'll advise their clients not to do so until the appeal process is complete. Citing undentified league sources, ESPN reported that teams will allow players into their facilities, but will not open weight rooms or engage players in contract negotiations.

Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty is planning to show up at the Giants' practice facility tomorrow. Several agents that represent players on the Giants told the Daily News that they are telling their players to go to work tomorrow, now that Judge Susan Nelson has enjoined the lockout. The NFL says it's not open for business yet until a judge rules on their request for a "stay" of Nelson's ruling, so it's possible any players who report to work will be turned away. Regardless, some Giants are apparently going to try.
A few NFL teams will likely receive calls from player representatives on Tuesday morning demanding payment of bonuses due on the first day of the league year. One agent at a firm that represents multiple prominent players said he will be among those demanding money for his clients. The agent requested anonymity because he didn't want to be portrayed as negotiating publicly. That agent likely won't be alone.

By the end of the week, Anthony Castonzo might be calling Chris Snee a teammate. The 6-foot-7, 311-pound offensive tackle almost surely will be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night, and he could be the Giants' selection at No. 19, especially if Florida center/guard Mike Pouncey is already off the board.

Former Giants
Mike Mayock, now a TV analyst, prepares for a live broadcast at the NFL Network's studios in Mt. Laurel. When Mayock serves as the NFL Network's face for all 254 picks over the three-day spectacle, it will be another phase in the evolution of a football junkie who grew from a coach's son studying high school schemes to a Giants safety playing under Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, to one of the pre-eminent names in football broadcasting.
Mike Mayock has carved his niche as the NFL Network's draft analyst. The former Giants safety spoke to The Star-Ledger about a variety of topics ranging from his philosophy in evaluating players to the role his words carry in the draft rooms of the 32 franchises:.

Apr 24 Tom Coughlin has never been one to give away secrets, or any information really. So everyone took note of his answer at the scouting combine in February when the Giants coach was asked about his team's needs in the NFL draft. "I'll just say one," Coughlin said. "The center position is a concern because we have injuries at that spot." He could have added guard and tackle, too, because heading into the draft this Thursday night, the Giants have age and injury concerns all over their offensive line. They're also in good position to find immediate help with the 19th pick in the first round.

The Giants might have a glaring need at defensive tackle if Barry Cofield goes elsewhere. They might be in the market for a new starting running back if Ahmad Bradshaw signs with another team. There would be no proven tight end on the roster if Kevin Boss leaves. All three could be deemed free agents, or all three valuable players could be contractually bound to the Giants for another season. The uncertainty is numbing, but that's how general manager Jerry Reese -- and all his counterparts throughout the league -- head into the NFL Draft, a three-day event that begins with Thursday night's first round.

Way back in 1936 -- 75 years ago -- Bert Bell was the driving force behind the first NFL Draft, a bold concept that organized a chaotic offseason and stopped the best major-market teams from simply plucking premiere athletes out of college. Thanks to Bell, teams would file into order, with the worst franchise from the previous season picking first. It was an immediate success, and proved the great equalizer in a top-heavy league teetering on long-term stability.
The ethos at the time was that professional football could survive, but only as part of a united front. There was no question that the Packers, Bears and Giants were drawing steady crowds but there were teams like Bell's Eagles. "The owners were a tightly-knit bunch," said Michael MacCambridge, author of "America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation."

Apr 23 The world seems to think the Giants are locked in on Florida C/G Mike Pouncey. OK, not the world. Maybe just a slim majority of the world. But a bigger majority definitely thinks the Giants are locked in on an offensive lineman. It's certainly reasonable to suggest the Giants will take Pouncey - or some offensive lineman - with the 19th overall pick.
Jerry Reese hasn't changed much in discussing his team's needs. His latest pre-draft news conference with the media was just like his first. "We are going to pick the best player, guys," Reese said. Seven times in 30 minutes, Reese used a form of that sentence in answering questions about the draft. So while the Giants have needs on offensive lineman, at wide receiver and linebacker, don't be surprised if they take a defensive end or safety when they make the 19th pick in the draft on Thursday.

NFL News
The NFL hasn't set a deadline for when games would be canceled without a collective bargaining agreement. "We don't have a date by which the season is lost, or a date by which we have to move from 16 games to some other (number)," Eric Grubman, the league's executive vice president for business operations, said Friday at a meeting with Associated Press Sports Editors. "Our intentions are to play a full season, and we will pull every lever that we can within the flexibility we have or can identify to make that happen."

Apr 22 Jerry Reese's world has been flipped upside down, and there's nothing the Giants' general manager can do about it. Normally he would head into the NFL draft knowing what his team needed. This year he can only guess. That's because with the NFL still locked out, the free-agent signing period hasn't started, and when it does nobody knows what it will look like. The free-agent rules could change. Players who are restricted free agents now could be unrestricted later. And who knows how high (or low) the salary cap will be?
For an indication of the Giants' thinking in advance of the draft, the best place to look is at their list of pre-draft visits, as the NFL limits the number of non-local prospects at 30. Because the Giants know those visits can reveal strategy, they make it clear to players and agents they don't want that information to be made public. But a few names trickle out. And this year, the leaks confirm the Giants are looking for offensive linemen in the first round while showing they're checking out early to midround wide receivers as well as some cornerbacks in the middle of the draft.

Asked about the possibility of addressing needs on the offensive line and at linebacker in next week's draft, Giants general manager Jerry Reese instead cited the hope that former draft picks at those positions can develop. Reese specifically singled out 2009 second-round pick Clint Sintim, who has failed to earn a starting role at outside linebacker in his first two seasons with the Giants.
There weren't a whole lot of revelations or insights on the players the Giants might select next week. But there was an interesting turn when Reese was asked about the linebackers the team has taken in the past few years -- all of whom have yet to make an impact. "We have a couple of guys we don't really know a lot about. Phillip Dillard didn't play a lot and Adrian Tracy dislocated his elbow," Reese said of the fourth- and sixth-round picks last year. "We want to see what those guys can do."

It is highly likely the Giants will not draft a linebacker at No. 19 based on this year's crop of players at that position. The only sure-fire first-round linebacker is Von Miller of Texas A&M, and he doesn't figure to make it past the Bills, who have the third pick. After that, there might not be a linebacker taken anywhere in the first round. At 19, the value simply won't be there at linebacker and the Giants will have to wait until later in the draft to find one. Last year's starting linebacker trio was Keith Bulluck, Jonathan Goff and Michael Boley. Bulluck is a free agent and won't be back.

Justin Tuck remembers munching on wings and watching the 2006 NFL draft with his cousin at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Alabama when the New York Giants shocked him and seemingly everybody outside of their war room. Already loaded at defensive end with Pro Bowl pass rushers Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, the Giants traded down from 25th to 32nd and selected Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka with the last pick of the first round.

As the New York Giants approach the 2011 NFL draft, ESPN New York decided to take a look back at the past two decades and some of the gems the Giants drafted.
For every Ahmad Bradshaw unearthed in the draft, there's a high pick that did not pan out. Some of the picks the Giants made since 1990 have not worked out, some due to injuries that cut short potentially good careers.

Former Giants
Tiki Barber spent 10 seasons in one uniform, rushing for 10,449 yards. The Giants don't want him back, and truth is, the greatest offensive player in franchise history couldn't rebuild a bridge to the past, anyway, not after everything that went down with Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning and a once-adoring fan base that now jeers his image or the mere mention of his name.
Amani Toomer apologized Thursday night for comments about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, whom he had compared to the Nazi secret police. Toomer issued his apology after some in the media "rightfully (had) taken me to task for my remarks. "Obviously I didn't fully understand the meaning of what I said," he said in an email.

Apr 21 Roger Goodell held a conference call Wednesday with Giants season ticket holders and it is clear the paying customers want to know one thing first and foremost from the NFL commissioner: Will there be a 2011 season and if so will it begin on time? "We're planning to start the season on time, we're planning on playing a full season and we're going to negotiate as hard as we can to get that done," Goodell said on the call.

Monmouth's Chris Hogan attended local workouts for the Giants and Jets - the Giants, by all accounts, were wowed - and has fielded multiple calls from the Colts and 49ers. He is scheduled to work out Monday for the Eagles and expects to hear from a few others by this time next week..

Apr 20 The Jets and Giants are both scheduled to play on Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, but they will not be playing against each other. The Giants and Jets will instead face each other on Christmas Eve. The Jets will be the home team in that game. The Giants' bye will fall in Week 7, Oct. 23.
If the Giants are in the playoff race, the second-half of their season could prove to be quite a wild ride. They face a minefield of opponents in the final seven weeks of the 2011 season, including a Monday Night trip to New Orleans, a home game against the defending Super Bowl champions, and four division games including two against the Cowboys in the final four weeks of the season. If you go back to their Nov. 6 trip to New England, then eight of their final nine games have a high degree of difficulty. In all, the Giants will play seven games against 2010 playoff teams - five in the last nine weeks.

The Giants have two "Monday Night Football" games. The first arrives the second week against the Rams in New Jersey as Steve Spagnuolo, the Giants former defensive coordinator, brings his improving team to town. The second is Nov. 28 at New Orleans. Three of the Giants first four games are on the road; after facing the Rams they play in Philadelphia then in Arizona before returning home for games at New Meadowlands Stadium against the Seahawks and Bills for the start of a rare three-game homestand.
A home game against the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, four prime time games and two meetings with the Dallas Cowboys in the season's final four weeks highlight the Giants' 2011 schedule, released today by the NFL. Mr. Mara The Giants will play three of their first four games on the road, including the season opener on Sept. 11 in Washington.

Many observers believed a 9/11 Giants-Jets game 10 years after the terrorist attacks in lower Manhattan would be fitting. Well, Giants-Redskins is arguably more fitting, considering the matchup will allow the league to honor those lost in the attack on The Pentagon.
Easiest stretch - Weeks 5-8. A three-game homestand with a bye tucked into it? Not to mention those three games are against teams with losing records (the 7-9 Seahawks, the 4-12 Bills and the 7-9 Dolphins) last season? Anything fewer than two wins in that stretch would be a disaster. Especially considering it leads to the? Toughest stretch - Weeks 9-13.

Apr 19 It might be tempting for Jerry Reese to go defense with the 19th overall pick in the 2011 draft. After all, the New York Giants have gone for defense with their first pick in seven of the last 10 drafts, including their second-round selection of cornerback Corey Webster in 2005, when they didn't have a first-round pick. Defense is certainly the Giants' identity. But in 2011, it might be time for Reese to think offensively. Along with linebacker and special teams, the GM's biggest area of need is on the offensive line. Though the O-line exceeded expectations last season despite being ravaged by injuries, the Giants need reinforcements.

Apr 15 New York Giants owner John Mara has gone from alternate to the first seat on a jury at an international drug trial in federal court in Manhattan. Mara became Juror No. 1 today in the second week of a major international drug case. He was elevated after another juror got sick from possible food poisoning. It was unclear if Mara might become jury foreman later..

Former St. Peter's Prep star and Florida defensive back Will Hill has impressed the Giants with his athletic ability but must answer their character concerns before the draft. Hill, a West Orange native, is one of a bunch of prospects who are either natives of the metropolitan area or attended schools in and around Jersey that are at the Giants' facility right now. They're there for a pre-draft workout so the Giants can get another look (or a first look) at these players.

You are a Giants season ticket holder and you have a gripe with what's going on with the current NFL labor mess. Or you are still seething about the personal seat license you had to pay to keep your seats in New Meadowlands Stadium. Or, just maybe, you are happy with everything and want to tell commissioner Roger Goodell. Now you can. Goodell is engaging in conference calls with season-ticket holders for various teams, no doubt trying to ease the fears and anger about the lockout with some good public relations.
The NFL may still hope to get in a full 16-game season with no delays this year despite the lockout, but if the league can't, there are plans in place to move the date of the next Super Bowl. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conceded that in a conference call Thursday with Cleveland Browns season-ticket holders. He said the league has a contingency plan to move Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis from Feb. 5, 2012, to Feb. 12, if necessary.

Apr 14 The Giants are in the process of bringing in players for pre-draft visits. They are allowed, in the weeks before the draft, to bring in up to 30 players for a visit and a physical. They're also allowed to bring in an unlimited number of "local" players - players who grew up or played college football in the team's somewhat undefined "metropolitan area" - for a visit, physical and a workout. Teams are also allowed to travel to an unlimited amount of schools to hold private workouts of their own, separate from a school's Pro Day.

Rich Seubert's rehab from major knee surgery is going just fine. He's working with Gibble at EXCEL Physical Therapy in Waldwick, where he's trying to increase the flexibility and strength in his right knee after having his patella and medial collateral ligament reconstructed. Seubert also needed a hole in the cartilage of his kneecap repaired - a procedure he believes was mosaicplasty. The surgery was performed by team physican Russ Warren.