Apr
12 What
can the Giants expect from Eli Manning? There are those who wonder whether
Manning is a player in decline at age 33. This is a question that has not gone
unasked within the ranks of the Giants' front office.
Eli
Manning's ankle surgery will likely keep him off the field for much, if not
all, of the spring workouts. So the Giants are beginning their search for someone
to temporarily take his place.
Josh
Freeman and Matt Flynn, two quarterbacks with starting experience, are expected
to schedule workouts for the Giants in the next week or so, according to sources.
The
Giants have been in contact with the representatives for free-agent quarterback
Josh Freeman and could have the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first-round pick
in for a visit and workout next week, sources familiar with the situation said
Friday.
Apr 11
Eli
Manning has been durable and remarkably injury-free in his 10 years with the
Giants, starting 151 consecutive regular-season games. But he is not invulnerable.
Eli
Manning suffered a high left ankle sprain in the Giants' 2013 season finale
against Washington and had been rehabbing the injury since.
Pat
Hanlon, a team spokesman, said Manning's surgery was "successfully completed."
But Weinfeld said it would take months to determine whether the injury had completely
healed..
His
recovery will be what it will be, and the timetable at this point does not
seem as though it will conflict with the significant on-field portion of the New
York Giants' offseason program.
Apr
10 The
Giants will play a longer, tougher preseason schedule than most, but it offers
them a chance to celebrate with one of their greatest players, a visit to an old
friend, and two matchups against clasic rivals.
Hakeem
Nicks is no longer on the Giants' roster, but he is on their preseason schedule.
The Colts, the team Nicks signed with as a free agent last month, will be the
third of five preseason opponents the Giants face in 2014.
It
is the second preseason in a row the Giants will face AFC teams exclusively.
Indianapolis is the only preseason opponent they will also play in the regular
season. The Colts will visit MetLife Stadium. Indianapolis and New England are
the only 2013 playoff teams on the Giants' preseason schedule.
Three
games is almost 20 percent of an NFL season. Three games is an extended winning
or losing streak during an NFL season. Three games is an eternity in the NFL.
It was enough for wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan to convince some -- including
possibly the Giants -- he's going to be one of the league's best third wide receivers
this season.
Apr 9
Hakeem
Nicks was a huge disappointment in 2013. Nicks is gone now, off to Indianapolis
as a free agent, and the only receiver the Giants signed is former Giant Mario
Manningham, who spent the past two years fighting injuries in San Francisco.
A
look at how Giants CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie fared against the NFC East
in 2013. There's a reason coaches say division games are like two regular ones.
They have double the importance. It's because beating your closest rivals is the
surest path to the postseason. Win and you're in.
The
Giants offseason workout program begins on April 21, and as much as the team
will be watching their slew of new additions, they'll be keeping a closer watch
on some players who are still in transition. There are five players that need
to benefit from the next three months. .
The
Giants hold the No. 12 pick in the first round of said draft, and they still
have any number of ways they can go with it. The popular consensus at this point
has them taking North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron with that pick.
Apr
8 A
busy month of signings and re-signings have reshaped the Giants future, both
long and short-term. General manager Jerry Reese accomplished plenty in the first
month of free agency.
The
Giants have been the NFL's most active team so far this offseason, adding
14 free agents from outside their organization and re-signing 10 of their own.
Did they do enough to improve the offensive line?
Former
Giants
Andre
Brown and the Giants expressed some mutual interest in a return at the beginning
of the offseason, but as free agency lingered, it was clear the running back was
headed somewhere else. That place ended up being the Texans.
Apr
7 Giants
still have issues despite pending spree. It has to be concerning that the
Giants haven't come close to ansering all their questions or plugging all their
holes by spending $115 on 24 players this offseaon.
Apr
6 Antrel
Rolle's been keeping up with the Giants busy offseason with updates from his
mother. Rolle noted that the two offseason signings he knows best are linebacker
Jon Beason and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. DRC and Rolle played together
in Arizona from 2008-09. Those signings and all of the defensive moves received
his stamp of approval.
On
Wednesday, defensive end Robert Ayers signed with the Giants, bringing valuable
depth to a thin defensive line. And in an interview on SiriusXM Radio on Saturday,
Ayers said that he joined Big Blue in part because he believes he can replace
Tuck, a versatile defender who he has long considered one of his heroes.
Apr
5 Special
Report - The Giants' number is now up to 24, and nobody really knows when
it will end. They signed their 14th veteran free agent Friday, and added to the
10 of their own, they have reached a couple of dozen. Friday's acquisition was
a tight end (a position at which they are embarrassingly low) named Kellen Davis,
who is 6-7 and weighs 265 pounds and played his first five seasons with the Chicago
Bears before signing on last year with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Eli
Manning remains Giants' best 2014 hope. Even after all of their dizzying free-agent
activity, the Giants' hopes for a return to contention in 2014 still rest on a
player who has been on their team for the past 10 years.
The
Giants went into the offseason with a glaring need for a tight end and on
Friday they finally signed one, but the one-year deal they gave to Kellen Davis
doesn't mean they are set at the position.
Davis
has played in 95 regular-season games with 39 starts and in four postseason
games with one start. An outstanding blocker, he has 50 receptions for 561 yards
(11.2-yard avg.) and 12 touchdowns in the regular season and two catches for 42
yards and a score in the postseason.
NFL
Sports Books
- League of Denial - Collision Low Crossers - Slow Getting Up - The System - No
Plan B - A Few Seconds of Panic - NFL Unplugged - You're Okay, It's Just a Bruise.
Apr
4 The
Giants have been the NFL's busiest team this offseason. It began with the
retirement of offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, which prompted a restructuring
of the coaching staff on that side of the ball. The Giants have signed a league-high
13 free agents who played elsewhere last season and retained 10 of their own players.
Giants
key dates and offseason schedule. Coach Tom Coughlin will have his players
available for their nine-week offseason program beginning April 21. The NFL offseason
program is a conducted in three phases. Phase 1: Strength and Conditioning. Phase
2: On-Field Workouts. Phase 3: Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
Apr
3 Less
than three weeks after Justin Tuck left for the Oakland Raiders, No. 91 on
the Giants has been officially replaced. That jersey number, along with Tuck's
spot in the defensive line rotation, was given to Robert Ayers on Wednesday when
the 28-year-old free agent defensive end signed a two year deal with the Giants.
The
Giants are turning into Broncos East. Big Blue continued to poach the defending
AFC champion Wednesday, adding former Denver defensive end Robert Ayers. Ayers,
along with cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, is the second prominent Broncos
defender to join the Giants since free agency began three weeks ago.
Apr
2 Giants
take a flyer on OL Charles Brown. The Saints decided this offseason to move
on from Brown, who was their second-round pick in the 2010 draft out of USC. Hoping
that one team's trash is another team's treasure, the Giants on Tuesday announced
that they have signed Brown to a free-agent contract.
Brown
was part of an offensive line in 2011 that won the Madden Most Valuable Protectors
of the Year Award, which recognizes the best offensive line in the NFL. Overall
in his four-year career, he has appeared in 37 games with 22 starts.
Former
Giants
Michael
Strahan to join 'Good Morning America,' according to reports. Strahan, who
played 15 seasons for the Giants, would do double duty at ABC, the Daily News
said, keeping his current job alongside Kelly Ripa.
Apr
1 The
Giants signed free agent cornerback Zack Bowman, who played his first six
NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears, and re-signed defensive tackle Mike Patterson,
who joined the team last year after eight years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Adding
corners as if they cannot get enough, the Giants now have seven cornerbacks
with NFL experience on their roster. Zack Bowman played in all 16 games in 2013
and had three interceptions.
Mike
Patterson, 6-1 and 300 pounds, returns to a defensive line which lost starters
Justin Tuck (Oakland Raiders) and Linval Joseph (Vikings) in free agency. In addition
to Patterson, the depth at defensive tackle includes Cullen Jenkins, Johnathan
Hankins, and Markus Kuhn.
Mar
29 In
his media session Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings, Giants coach Tom Coughlin
spoke of the departure of free-agent wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. Coughlin said
he wished Nicks well, and when the conversation turned to the question of replacing
Nicks, the first name Coughlin mentioned was that of third-year wide receiver
Rueben Randle.
Mar 28
Tom
Coughlin: Giants 'have to make something happen' at tight end. Two days after
general manager Jerry Reese hinted the Giants may still be looking for a tight
end in free agency, coach Tom Coughlin wasn't as reserved with his opinion.
The
Giants invested heavily in free-agent cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie,
and they're going to use him accordingly. Tom Coughlin said Rodgers-Cromartie
would be deployed as the team's No. 1 cornerback.
Tom
Coughlin didn't give any clues about when his coaching career will end, but
for the first time he did hint at where he'd like to wind up. The two-time Super
Bowl champion who normally deflects such ideas admitted Wednesday morning that
he has thought about his potential place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one
day.
Mar 27
For
the first time since David Wilson underwent neck surgery in January, the Giants
publicly expressed confidence that he may actually be on the field this season.
Despite
a strong stable of cornerbacks, the Giants pecking order at that position
seems clear. It's the newly signed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and then everybody
else.
Tom
Coughlin and Roger Goodell had very different opinions Wednesday on the fate
of newly signed Giants offensive lineman John Jerry.
The
Giants lost some key players in free agency, none bigger than Justin Tuck,
a heart-and-soul player from their last two Super Bowl-championship teams. The
Giants will miss Tuck's intangibles in the locker room.
NFL
News
Roundup
of NFL rules changes for 2014 season.
1. The goalposts will be extended
five feet higher to 35 feet.
2. Players' legs will get more protection from
side impacts.
3. The clock will no longer stop on a sack.
4. The recovery
of a loose ball is now reviewable.
5. Referees are now able to consult with
the league office during reviews.
6. Players will no longer be allowed to
drunk over goal posts.
NFL rule changes 2014: Complete list of rules approved,
voted down and tabled.
The
NFL voted on numerous rule proposals. A few passed, but most did not. There
will not be a regular season change to kicking rules, but the preseason will see
longer extra points.
Mar
26 So
last week, the Giants signed offensive lineman John Jerry, who was one of
the three Miami Dolphins players implicated by name in the Ted Wells investigation
into the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin bullying scandal. But because everybody
connected with the NFL thinks the sun shines out of the Giants' rear ends, the
focus in this case is on whether Jerry will be eligible to play when the 2014
season starts.
John
Jerry, the Giants' recent free-agent signing, is subject to evaluation and
treatment ordered by the NFL, along with the two other players named in the Dolphins'
BullyGate scandal in the report prepared by investigator Ted Wells. Giants GM
Jerry Reese said of Jerry: "Just like all players, we did our homework on
him and we feel comfortable with him."
What
the Giants did most of all with their uncharacteristic free agency shopping
spree was provide themselves with flexibility. They now can look ahead to the
NFL Draft -- where teams are truly built -- knowing they are not obligated to
force-feed their picks in order to fix their broken offense..
Under
the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, players who appear in regular-season
games earn "Performance-Based Pay." Safety Will Hill topped the list of Giants
with a paycheck that will total over $215,000.
NFL
News
Bills
owner Ralph Wilson dies at 95. The NFL lost the person regarded as the league's
"conscience" on Tuesday, when Wilson died at his home around 1:40 p.m. Bills president
Russ Brandon announced Wilson's death at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla.
Ralph
Wilson was a close friend of the Mara family, according to Giants owner John
Mara. He attended lots of Mara family events. Wilson was especially close with
late Giants owner Wellington Mara and his wife Ann.
Mar
25 Offensive
line: Have Giants done enough? With free agency two weeks old and the NFL
draft still 45 days away, here's a position-by-position look at where things stand
with the New York Giants' offensive line.
Kevin
Gilbride's offense sputtered last season due in large part to the complete
absence of a running game. There was no opportunity to sell play fakes. In acquiring
Jennings, who had fewer carries than any of the top free agent running backs on
the market, the Giants are trying to give themselves a chance -- even if the offensive
line isn't cooperating.
The
Giants have added a new running back and three new offensive linemen, and
at least two of those offensive linemen appear in line for starting jobs. But
the most significant deals they've handed out have gone to cornerback Dominique
Rodgers-Cromartie and linebacker Jon Beason.
Despite
his name appearing 106 times in the Ted Wells report on workplace conditions
involving the Miami Dolphins and Jonathan Martin, new Giants offensive lineman
John Jerry doesn't appear to be facing an NFL-imposed suspension for his part
in the incident. But Jerry, signed Friday as a free agent, could still be facing
time away from the field due to medical reasons.
The
Giants will have Osi Umenyiora and Martellus Bennett to thank for a nice gift
come draft day. The team was awarded a fifth-round compensatory pick after losing
the pair -- along with Domenik Hixon and Chase Blackburn -- last offseason. The
Giants now have seven picks again: 1 (1), 2 (1), 3 (1), 4 (1), 5 (2), 6 (1). They
lost the seventh-round pick in the Jon Beason trade last October. The compensatory
pick is No. 174 overall.
Mark
Sanchez to the Giants is a long shot. It's unlikely to happen. The Giants
don't have serious interest in the former Jets quarterback at this time. But the
Giants are believed to have made a call when Sanchez was officially released by
the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft at around 4
p.m. (ET) on Monday.
Mar
24 Justin
Tuck thanks Giants fans with full-page ad. Tuck took out a full page ad thanking
the New York/New Jersey area fans for their support during his time with the Giants
in Sunday's edition of the New York Daily News.
Justin
Tuck is no longer with the Giants because they made a business decision not
to meet his price, but his departure has co-owner John Mara feeling the blues.
"That was hard," Mara said. "It will be tough to walk into that
locker room and not see him there."
Mar
23 The
most interesting thing about the Giants' cannonball into the free-agent pool
is that it's really never been their way. They prefer to build through the draft,
to invest in their homegrown assets and leave the wild spending sprees to Daniel
Snyder and Jerry Jones.
Mar
22 Richie
Incognito was exiled from the NFL for his role in the Miami Dolphins' Bullygate
scandal. John Jerry, who was named as one of his co-conspirators, was exiled to
the Giants.
Right
now, with cap space dwindling and significant needs still looming with the
pass rush and passing offense, the Giants are on the lookout for bargains.
Jerry
spent most of his time in Miami as a guard, but also played some at left tackle.
Both of those positions are areas of concern for the Giants because of guard Chris
Snee's hip and tackle Will Beatty's continuing comeback from a broken leg.
Eli
Manning and the Giants took a major step toward sacking a New Jersey memorabilia
dealer Thursday, with both parties filing motions to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges
the Super Bowl MVP quarterback and Big Blue sold bogus game-used jerseys and other
collectibles to unwitting customers.
Mar
21 LB
Mark Herzlich has a new book, "What It Takes", coming out in June. On the
book and surviving cancer: "It is a book that is written as a letter in response
to the thousands of people who have reached out to me over the past five years.
His career highlight other than the Giants' win in Super Bowl XLVI? His first
game on Sept. 11, 2011: "The Giants played the Redskins in Washington and as we
stood on the sidelines for the national anthem, I got shivers as the entire crowd
stood united and sung together."
Mar
20 A
calendar week of free agency is officially in the books, and it's hard to
complain with what the Giants have accomplished. General manager Jerry Reese and
the Giants have signed nine new players. They've re-signed nine more.
Let's
take a look at the Giants' new secondary, piece-by-piece, to get everybody
fired up about how much better it has a chance to be in 2014. Assuming, of course,
that they haven't improved it at the expense of the pass rush. Which they may
have. But that's a different story for another time.
Louis
Riddick, the former director of pro personnel for the Eagles turned media
dynamo, sees the signing of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as a "gamble."
He views the signing of cornerback Walter Thurmond as a slam dunk.
Since
Mario Manningham last suited up for the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, a lot has
changed with Big Blue. The weight room, the practice fields, the players' lounge,
and the equipment room were all right where he left them two years ago. So was
the fourth Lombardi Trophy he helped the organization win in his last game as
a Giant, proudly displayed in the main foyer. But when players report in almost
a month for strength and conditioning and the facility begins to buzz again, the
names and faces won't be as familiar.
NFL
News
The
NFL will consider 13 new rules proposals made by the league's competition
committee at next week's owners' meetings in Orlando, Fla.
Mar
19 Special
Report - Jerry Reese allowed what might be an NFL record 28 players to simultaneously
reach free agent status in the same off-season, while our biggest NFC East rivals
had corresponding numbers of nine free agents (Eagles), and 10 free agents (Cowboys).
This is an extremely unwise onslaught to try to manage all at once, as you can
only be sitting in front of one player-agent pair at one time, so the "opportunity
cost" of having such an avalanche of your existing roster to try to resign is
that you cannot dedicate a competitive amount of time to trying to lure the most
desired free agents to your team. Grade: F
The
Giants project to have new starters at nine positions -- center, left guard,
wide receiver, tight end, running back, cornerback, outside linebacker, defensive
tackle and defensive end -- plus a new slot cornerback, a new kick returner and
a new punt returner. That's serious turnover, folks, and while it was inevitable
and warranted, it creates a level of uncertainty with which this continuity-based
franchise has not been familiar over the past decade.
The
Giants have been more than happy to distance themselves from the members of
their 2011 Super Bowl team this offseason. Justin Tuck, Kevin Boothe, Hakeem Nicks
and Linval Joseph were all allowed to sign elsewhere with little — or absolutely
no — objection. Terrell Thomas, Andre Brown and Aaron Ross, among others, still
float in free-agency purgatory, waiting to hear whether their former team might
want them back.
The
last time Giants fans saw Mario Manningham, the receiver was tip-toeing along
the sideline to haul in a critical late-game pass from Eli Manning, sparking Big
Blue to a game-winning drive over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
Three years later, he's back. On Tuesday afternoon, Manningham agreed to a one-year
deal with the Giants, according to a source, capping a two-day visit to East Rutherford.
Manningham
joined the Giants as a third round draft choice in 2008, the 95th overall
selection. In four years he played in 49 regular-season games with 28 starts.
He caught 160 passes for 2,315 yards (a 14.5-yard average) and 18 touchdowns.
But Manningham is perhaps best remembered for his remarkable 38-yard reception
to start the Giants' game-winning drive in their Super Bowl XLVI victory over
New England.
Mar 18
It
took almost a week, but the Giants finally made their signature move in free
agency. They signed cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on Monday, securing
his services despite the Jets in heavy pursuit.
After
a generation of believing you can never have too many pass rushers, the Giants
appear to be changing their focus to the back end of their defense. The 27-year-old,
considered the best cornerback still available on the market.
Pro
Football Focus, a subjective analytical site, said that Rodgers-Cromartie
allowed just 44.1 percent of footballs thrown in his area to be caught. Behind
Trumaine McBride, it was the lowest mark in football last season.
The
Giants secondary is now so deep that Trumaine McBride, who ended last year
as a starting corner, will be the fourth corner, and re-signed safety Stevie Brown,
a 2012 Pro Bowl alternate who lost last season to a torn ACL, is the third safety.
After
inking cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to a five-year $35 million deal,
the team came to a one-year agreement with former Broncos wideout Trindon Holliday,
according to a person familiar with the situation. Pro Football Talk first reported
the deal.
Holliday
stands at a mere 5-foot-5. He was the shortest player in Broncos history,
and the shortest player in the NFL. Despite being listed as a wide receiver last
season with the Broncos, Holliday did not catch a single pass. He has just two
receptions in his four-year career.
Mathias
Kiwanuka restructured his deal last year to help the Giants get under the
salary cap, and on Monday he agreed to a pay cut to help them do the same for
2014. Kiwanuka's 2014 base salary was reduced from $4.375 million to $1.5 million.
Kiwanuka
started 10 games last season, finishing with six sacks, 41 tackles and two
forced fumbles. He appears to have entered the "hold the fort" stage of his career,
whereby the Giants keep him on board while actively seeking out his eventual replacement.
Former
Giants
Kevin
Boothe, an eight-year veteran who started 14 games as a Raiders rookie in
2006, signed a reported two-year contract with Oakland. He has 62 NFL starts and
played on two Super Bowl championship teams with New York, his team the past seven
seasons.
Mar 17
Two
years ago the Giants let Mario Manningham walk in free agency, mostly because
they had Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks on the roster. Now that Nicks has left the
team, signing with the Colts without so much as a contract offer from the Giants,
it could be Manningham who helps fill his void.
Look
there's nothing wrong with the Giants meeting with wide receiver Mario Manningham
on Monday. He's a former Giant, a Super Bowl champion who'll be 28 when the season
starts, a guy Eli Manning knows well and ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...
The
Giants fortify their defense with the signings of cornerback Walter Thurmond
and safety Quintin Demps. Thurmond, 26, figures to challenge for a starting job
alongside Prince Amukamara and likely means the Giants will not be re-signing
their unrestricted free agent Terrell Thomas. Demps, 28, is not only a solid safety
in coverage but he's a dangerous kickoff returner - something the Giants desperately
need, as if David Wilson can return from neck surgery he probably won't be returning
many, or any, kickoffs. CB
Walter Thurmond. - Safety/return
man Quintin Demps.
Mar
16 Special
Report - The first wave of the 2014 free agency period is, for the most part,
over, save for a few big names and potentially big deals. Now the second phase
begins, or already has, and the Giants still have plenty of work to do.
The
rundown: the Giants re-signed linebacker Jon Beason, safety Stevie Brown, kicker
Josh Brown, guard Dallas Reynolds, fullback Henry Hynoski, running back Peyton
Hillis, cornerback Trumaine McBride and quarterback Curtis Painter. They signed
guard Geoff Schwartz, center J.D. Walton, running back Rashad Jennings and agreed
to terms with linebacker Jameel McClain, while missing out on several potential
free agents, notably wide receiver/kick returner Jacoby Jones.
And oh, by
the way, the Giants lost (let go) defensive end Justin Tuck, defensive tackle
Linval Joseph, linebacker Keith Rivers, safety Ryan Mundy and wide receiver Hakeem
Nicks, who signed Friday night with Indianapolis. Cornerback Terrell Thomas has
already made at least one visit (Oakland) and running back Andre Brown has attracted
interest as well. There is still plenty of work to be done on the honey-do list,
but first a quick assessment of the big picture.
They've
made plenty of progress. But they're not done just yet. The Giants entered
the free agent signing period with a bevy of holes, but in one week, GM Jerry
Reese showed that he has a plan. Armed with $24 million in cap space, he made
a flurry of moves in the opening week, signing road-grading offensive guard Geoff
Schwartz, netting a potentially dangerous running back (Rashad Jennings) and finally
spending on linebackers. If only they didn't still have so many holes. In typical
Reese fashion, the Giants have kept their spending spree tight, even refusing
to loosen a few million to bring back a key veteran in Justin Tuck.
Hakeem
Nicks didn't get any contract offer from the Giants. Justin Tuck received
nothing more than a token one. The Giants are turning the page on a disappointing
season but successful era. Just over two years removed from a Super Bowl triumph,
they're tearing it all down, with the hope of rebuilding Rome sooner rather than
later with a 33-year-old quarterback.
The
Panthers were said to be interested in Nicks, which would have been a homecoming
for him, as he grew up in Charlotte, N.C., and they are badly in need of receiver
after releasing Steve Smith. But their interest certainly was more lukewarm than
boiling hot. That Nicks took a one-year deal after his first visit showed how
far his stock had fallen. There was very little market for him. As for the Giants,
they get to see Nicks next season, when the Colts will play at MetLife Stadium.
NFC
East News
Take
a first look at how our Giants and Jets have fared against their respective
division rivals over the first week of the gold rush.
Mar
15 It
took 10 minutes for Giants to pass on keeping Justin Tuck. As promised, when
Tuck, after getting wined and dined in Oakland, received the offer from the Raiders,
he called John Mara's cell phone. I said "I promised you I would let you
have the last say-so.' He said 'I appreciate it, I'll talk to Jerry and we'll
call your agent.' Ten minutes later, with Tuck in the room in Oakland, the call
came in from Kevin Abrams, the Giants' assistant general manager. "He said
they're not budging on their original offer,'' Tuck recounted. "I said, 'Thank
you for nine years.' ''
It
meant everything to Tuck when Tom Coughlin, his first and only Giants head
coach, called him Friday. "I'm not going to tell you what he said. ... I'll
just say that he's bummed out," Tuck said. "He let that be known. And
he just said, 'Thank you for everything you've done. Thank you for your leadership.
If we had 52 other guys that got it like you did, we'd win 'em all.' That was
his statement to me. Tuck returned a call Friday from Manning. He said Manning
told him, "Thanks for nine great years." "He wished me luck and
vice-versa," Tuck said.
Jon
Beason knows that Justin Tuck is gone, he knows that Jason Pierre-Paul is
coming off an injury, and he knows that veteran cornerbacks Corey Webster and
Aaron Ross are still in the building. But the Giants middle linebacker, who signed
a three-year deal with the team, still expects big things from the Big Blue defense
in 2014.
The
Giants made the return of linebacker Jon Beason a top priority in free agency
- clearly putting him ahead of Justin Tuck on their list - and now that Tuck is
with the Raiders, someone might have to replace him as one of the defensive captains.
Hakeem
Nicks has signed a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, according to
Adam Schefter. The NFL Network reports that the deal is for a $3.5 million base
salary with a chance to earn more through incentives. That there's the rub --
the incentives. Incentive was something Nicks appeared to lack as he lollygagged
his way through his final season with the Giants in 2013.
The
Giants like the upside of former Broncos and Redskins center J.D. Walton,
whose career was momentarily sidetracked due to a serious ankle injury in 2012.
Walton came out of the 2010 draft as one of the highest-rated center prospects
available.
Walton's
deal is for two years and up to $5 million, with $3 million guaranteed. His
2014 base salary is scheduled to be $1.25 million and his 2015 base is $2.25 million.
That's not backup money. This is a guy they expect to play. As of now, he's the
only center on their roster.
Former
Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain, who met with the Giants last week after
he was released by the Ravens on Feb. 27, has signed a two-year deal with New
York. McClain will presumably fill the strong side linebacker spot, which was
vacated when Keith Rivers signed a two-year deal with the Bills.
Mar
14 A
week ago, and, in some ways, an hour ago, Justin Tuck didn't see himself leaving
the only team he's ever played for. But as a two-day meeting with the Raiders
progressed, the former Giants defensive captain began to realize that his future
might not be in New Jersey.
That
changed Thursday afternoon when the Giants were given a chance to match Oakland's
offer and declined. Both sides were in touch during the waning moments of the
deal, but were not even close on the money. The Giants had their perception of
Tuck's value, and Tuck had his. In the end, both sides held firm.
Now
Tuck leaves the Giants after 60 1/2 sacks in 127 regular season games and
another 5 1/2 in 10 playoff games. He also had four sacks in the Giants' two Super
Bowls -- two each in Super Bowl XLVI and Super Bowl XLII. His performance in XLII
was so dominant that he was nearly voted the Super Bowl MVP before Eli Manning's
brilliant, game-winning drive took the award away.
There's
a way for the Giants to sell this, and they have plenty of fans who will buy
it. It goes like this: Sure, Justin Tuck had 11 sacks this year. But six of them
came in two games in December against a Redskins team that had quit, and where
was he the two years before that? Tuck wanted to be back. The Giants didn't want
him back. So they part.
Tuck
said his goal is to win more Super Bowls. He had a good season in 2013, but
that was preceded by two injury-affected down years. The Giants clearly chose
to look at the two out of three and Tuck's age (he turns 31 this month) and determined
that his best days are behind him. Tuck sees it differently.
Tuck
felt he had no choice but to take the money and run when Giants GM Jerry Reese
finally made him an offer on Tuesday. It was, a source told The Post, approximately
half of what the Raiders offered. For the defensive captain of the Giants. A heart-and-soul
player. Who wanted to retire a Giant. "He was devastated," a Tuck confidante
said. "The guy was heartbroken. What they did was a complete, blatant lack
of respect."
While
Henry Hynoski was in Detroit visiting the Lions, his agent negotiated his
return to the Giants. Hynoski agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal with the Giants,
a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to NJ.com. He will likely compete
with John Conner for the starting fullback job.
Mar
13 The
signing of linebacker/defensive end O'Brien Schofield isn't going to happen
after all. The acquisition hit a snag when the Giants noticed a problem with his
knee during the physical. The deal was originally put on hold, but now appears
"dead," one individual with knowledge of the situation told NJ.com.
Giants
doctors discovered an issue with Schofield's knee, according to two NFL sources,
which caused the team to pull its two-year, $8 million offer. New York is believed
to still be interested in the 6-3, 242-pounder, but at a vastly reduced price.
There's
the normal tagline you'll see whenever a professional team signs a free agent.
"Pending a team physical." That medical evaluation led to the Giants to kill the
signing of linebacker/defensive end O'Brien Schofield on Wednesday.
Justin
Tuck has gone west, as on Wednesday he visited with the Raiders, who headed
into NFL free agency with an enormous amount of cash - they were $60 million under
the salary cap. Plus, the Raiders are always attracted to big names and Tuck,
with his captaincy of the Giants, two Super Bowl rings, Subway commercials and
high-profile presence, certainly qualifies. Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas,
who last season made a successful return from multiple ACL surgeries on the same
knee, was also in Oakland meeting with the Raiders.
Linebacker
Jon Beason got a lot of credit for his role in the New York Giants' in-season
defensive turnaround in 2013. But on Wednesday, he got something even better than
credit -- he got a new contract. The Giants and Beason have agreed on a deal that
will keep the free-agent linebacker with the team.
One
of the things that the Giants liked about Geoff Schwartz (and have become
increasingly enamored of in all of their linemen) is his flexibility. Throughout
his career Schwartz, who is 6-6 and 340 pounds, has played guard and tackle. But
during the game he can play only one position at a time. So where will that be?
Here's
one that came out of the blue. According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post,
the New York Giants are signing a former Denver Broncos center named J.D. Walton,
who hasn't played since 2012 because of an ankle injury. .
Mar
12 The
first signing by the Giants in free agency was O'Brien Schofield, an outside
linebacker who mostly has been a backup in his four NFL seasons.
Schofield
projects, for the Giants, as a guy who can contribute as an outside linebacker
and possibly as a situational pass-rusher, which is something for which they're
always looking.
The
Giants have re-signed safety Stevie Brown. Brown was slated as a starter alongside
Antrel Rolle in 2013 but tore his ACL in the preseason. With the signing, the
Giants have locked up a majority of their top-tier free agents in the secondary.
Antrel Rolle and Will Hill are both already under contract. The
Giants have reached an agreement with cornerback Trumaine McBride on a two-year,
$3.1 million deal. After a year out of the league in 2012, McBride joined the
Giants in 2013 and found himself a starting cornerback following injuries to Corey
Webster and Aaron Ross, and he played much better than expected.
The
Giants acquired one of the top free agent lineman on the market. Geoff Schwartz
figures to start at left guard, with Pro Bowler Chris Snee returning to play one
more season at right guard. The Giants still need a center, since they will be
cutting David Baas, and they have looked at free agents Evan Dietrich-Smith and
Brian de la Puente.
The
Giants wasted little time addressing their contingency plan at running back,
agreeing to terms with former Raiders running back Rashad Jennings. Jennings lands
the Giants one of the better free agent running backs on the market and one without
significant mileage.
When
the Giants were absolutely desperate for a healthy body to plug in at running
back last season, they plucked Peyton Hillis out of his semi-retirement. He had
a few productive moments and apparently made enough of an impression that the
Giants want him back. He has agreed to a two-year contract and will compete for
a spot in a depleted offensive backfield.
Former
Giants
Linval
Joseph a tough loss for Giants. It doesn't even appear as though the Giants
made a real effort to keep him, which I think was a mistake.
Brandon
Myers will look to return to his 2012 form as a member of the Buccaneers.
Myers signed a two-year deal with the Bucs on Tuesday.
Stadium
News
The
Giants and Jets have agreed to drop their two-year-old lawsuit against American
Dream Meadowlands developer Triple Five, while the company has in turn dropped
its own year-old suit against the National Football League franchises. .
Mar
11 The
Giants are cutting David Baas, according to multiple sources with knowledge
of the team's thinking. The veteran was set to count $8.225 million season against
the salary cap in 2014. Baas, 32, missed most of last year with knee and hip injuries.
He appeared in 30 games in three seasons for the Giants, helping them win the
Super Bowl in his first year with the team.
In
need of a new center, the Giants have set their sights on Dietrich-Smith,
who spent the past five years with the Packers, a factor that gives him a big
advantage considering the Giants new offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo, spent
eight years coaching tight ends and later quarterbacks in Green Bay.
Longtime
right guard Chris Snee has agreed to a significant reduction in his salary
to assist in the effort.Snee's pay cut is no surprise. He said publicly that he
expected to have to take a pay cut when he decided to put off retirement and play
another season for the Giants.
Giants
season ticket prices will hold steady for a fifth straight year. Parking also
will not be raised after a $5 increase last year to $30. Attending a Giants game
at MetLife Stadium is already costly. The Giants had the most expensive average
ticket price on the secondary market in the NFL prior to this season, according
to 24/7 Wall Street. Average ticket price to a Giants game in 2013 was $292.36.
Mar
9 Justin
Tuck faces free agency by working harder than ever . Tuck, 30, preferred not
to address the elephant inside the workout room - what might happen to him just
a few days from now when free agency opens Tuesday. Personally, he has his thoughts,
goals and ambitions lined up. He thinks he can be a better player than ever.
Just
how much Tuck, who turns 31 later this month, will command on the open market
will dictate if he remains with the Giants. He is one of the top defensive ends
available, especially with Carolina's Greg Hardy being franchised last week. Tuck
likely won't come cheap. His agent said last month that he is "by far the
most complete d-end in this [free-agent] class."
Unless
Hakeem Nicks re-signs with the Giants before 4 pm ET on Tuesday (which is
extremely unlikely), he will be a free agent and able to negotiate with any team.
As of noon Saturday, in fact, teams were permitted to contact Nicks' agent to
discuss contract parameters. Mort also reports that Nicks " is willing to weigh
a one-year contract to prove his past two seasons were aberrations, league sources
said."
It
does not seem as if the Giants are willing to invest a great deal of money
to keep Nicks, their 2009 first-round draft pick, after his subpar and injury-filled
past couple seasons. A one-year deal, though, could suit both sides, as it would
allow Nicks to re-establish his worth and give the Giants a low-risk, one-year
commitment to a player once considered to be among the handful of top receivers
in the league.
Mar
8 The
Giants have 27 free agents with whom to deal - or not deal - clearly a staggering
number that pretty much guarantees some familiar faces, even those with Super
Bowl jewelry, will not be back next season.
On
Friday, the Giants locked up one of their own free agents, as they re-signed
a middle linebacker. No, it wasn't Jon Beason, who is their top priority, but
Mark Herzlich, who was set to become a restricted free agent.
NFL
free agency: Grading the Giants' past four years of signings. Jerry Reese
and the rest of the Giants' front office are in a results-oriented business. They
are judged almost exclusively on their successes and failures. So let's take a
look and judge their past four years' worth of moves during free agency.
Former
Giants
Osi
Umenyiora would entertain an offer to return to the Giants -- and the Giants
would at least investigate -- if his situation in Atlanta came to an end, according
to two people familiar with the situation. The former second-round pick, who registered
7 1/2 sacks in 2013, is due $3.5 million next season.
Mar
7 Jon
Beason informed the Giants that he let go of agent Drew Rosenhaus and would
be representing himself as a free agent. Today, Beason let every other team know.
The Giants linebacker sent an email out to every organization informing him that
he is self-represented and that, in order to avoid tampering rules, he cannot
be contacted until the start of free agency on March 11.
There
is Victor Cruz and then there is only uncertainty. Such is the sorry state
of the Giants' receiving corps this offseason. As free agency approaches, Eli
Manning has exactly one reliable receiver in Cruz, who set the team record for
receiving yards with 1,536 in 2011. He's surrounded by question marks elsewhere,
a serious concern for an offense that has long been built around its big-money
quarterback.
Former Giants
Kevin
Gilbride says he tried to warn the Giants that a season like 2013 was coming.
"I think they finally realize there are areas that need to be addressed," the
former offensive coordinator said of the obvious deficiencies in line depth and
lack of talent at other positions that led to last season's 7-9 record.
Kevin
Gilbride told his wife, Deborah, before the 2013 Giants season began, that
he would retire if he wasn't offered a head coaching job in 2014. He had a chance
with the Chargers back in 1997-98 and was hoping for just one more. As the seasons
dragged on, teams looked at the 62-year-old as a less viable candidate.
Mar
5 The
Giants recently made decisions not to tender restricted free agent center
Jim Cordle or fullback Henry Hynoski, hoping to retain them at a cheaper price
in free agency. But with linebacker Spencer Paysinger, the Giants are hoping to
give themselves a little insurance for when the market opens on March 11.
He
was supposed to be the Giants' backfield savior, an explosive, game-breaking
rusher poised to join the NFL's elite. And then David Wilson fumbled away his
starting job and suffered a career-threatening neck injury that required offseason
surgery. And now, at long last, the Giants know better.
NFC
East News
Eagles
- Eagles are 'pulling away' from Giants, rest of NFC East. The Eagles shocked
everyone by winning the NFC East last season. Now, almost nobody would be surprised
to see it happen a few more times.
Cowboys
- Though Tony Romo takes more crap than just about anybody in the league -- oftentimes,
unfairly -- he had a solid season, completing 63.9 percent of his passes and throwing
for 3,828 yards with 31 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
Redskins
- The Washington Redskins announced they have terminated the contracts of veteran
defensive end Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca while also waiving running backs
Jawan Jamison and Davin Meggett. The team also cut tight end Richard Quinn.
Mar
4 The
Giants aren't charging up a hill to try and re-sign Hakeem Nicks, Justin Tuck
or Linval Joseph. Instead, the front office is focusing its efforts on locking
up 29-year-old linebacker Jon Beason.
Henry
Hynoski fought hard to make it back to the Giants last season after injuring
his knee during a spring practice, but he only lasted three games. Now it's posible
those may have been his last..
Banged
up and aging for years, the Giants' O-line had Eli Manning running for his
life most of 2013 and is in need of a critical makeover. Only first-round pick
Justin Pugh is assured a starting spot next season.
Victor
Cruz is the finest playmaking receiver the Giants have. Now that he has a
new offensive coordinator, he can't help but wonder if he could take on a new
role, too: running back.
Victor
Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are on the same team when it comes to their off-the-field
business, but the union comes just when the two wide receivers may be going in
different directions as football players.
Mar
1 Chris
Snee says he'll play next season; will take pay cut. His current cap number
for 2014 is $11.75 million and his salary is $6.75 million.. "I know my number
is high," Snee said Friday morning on SiriusXM NFL radio. "The most
important thing is to be part of a winning team. My role is to take a pay cut
to bring in guys to help the team."
Snee
feels like he has a new responsibility toward the only NFL team he has ever
known. He knows it's time for him to take a salary reduction to help the Giants
compete in the upcoming free agency market. He is currently scheduled to earn
just under $7 million in base salary in 2014 with a cap number over $11 million.
Feb
28 Offensive
coordinator Ben McAdoo held a conference call Thursday, the first time he's
spoken publicly since the Giants hired him Jan. 14 to replace Kevin Gilbride.
McAdoo is no Rob or Rex Ryan -- he didn't make any headlines with his initial
remarks to the media. McAdoo was asked about some specifics, and here's what he
had to say about them.
McAdoo
didn't delve into specifics regarding the offense or how it will differ from
Gilbride's. But he clearly embraces Coughlin's team-first concept. "First
things first, it's not my system," McAdoo said. "It's our system here
and we're building it right now. I've had a chance to meet different guys going
through the building. It'll be exciting."
The
Giants will play a fifth preseason game in 2014 because of their first participation
in the annual NFL/Hall of Fame Game in a dozen years. One night after Michael
Strahan is inducted into the Hall, the Giants will face the Buffalo Bills in Fawcett
Stadium, next door to the home of pro football's immortals in Canton, Ohio. The
game will be played Sunday, Aug. 3 with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. The game
will be televised by NBC.
Feb
27 The
Star-Ledger reported Wednesday that the Giants "are planning to attack free
agency by looking at some of the top, young guards on the market." That makes
plenty of sense with Chris Snee fighting his way back from major hip injury and
David Diehl now retired. The Giants expect Snee to return, but New York still
needs help.
Snee
missed just one game in an eight-year span as the starting right guard. He
managed to get through the 2012 season despite the deterioration of his left hip
and needed surgery to repair a torn labrum and to clean out bone chips. Snee wants
to play for the Giants, but how badly do the Giants - in the process of a major
offensive line overhaul - want him?
NFC
East News
Cowboys
- Not reaching the Super Bowl with Tony Romo at quarterback has probably been
one of Jerry Jones' biggest disappointments since purchasing the Dallas Cowboys
in February 1989. Jones made that known during a Tuesday radio interview.
Eagles
- General manager Howie Roseman may have found a simple solution to what he described
as a "complicated" situation at wide receiver -- re-sign everyone. The Eagles
were close to a new contract with wide receiver Riley Coope. The team also appears
likely to sign Jeremy Maclin.
Redskins
- Jay Gruden, the new head coach, is seemingly one of the better young offensive
minds in the league, and with Mike Shanahan out of the picture, it's not impossible
to think that perhaps the Redskins can again recapture the magic that made them
one of the most exciting teams in the league during the 2012-13 season.
Feb
25 Jerry
Reese won't change who he is: The Giants general manager has always been known
as a careful and deliberate negotiator, but not to a fault. There is no mad rush
to have something done before free agency unless the price is right.
The
Giants could clear something like $11 million in salary-cap room if they extended
Eli Manning's contract beyond 2015, which is when it's currently set to expire.
Negotiating an extension with Manning now, after he threw 27 interceptions in
2013, would put the Giants in a position of strength. If he goes out and has a
big 2014 and wins another Super Bowl, he's going to be the one with the leverage.
Former Giants
Roy
Simmons, the fun-loving Giants offensive lineman who later became the second
former player in NFL history to come out as gay, died in his New York home last
week at 57. Simmons felt he had no choice except to hide in the closet: "In the
NFL," Simmons said in 2006, "there is nothing worse than being gay. You can beat
your wife, but you better not be gay."
Roy
Simmons moved to the Redskins and was part of their 1984 Super Bowl XVIII
team. But he was out of football the next season. In 1992, he announced he was
gay on "Donahue," a nationally televised show. Friends, family members,
and a former girlfriend attending the Donahue show with Simmons were all stunned
by the news.
Feb 24
Eli
Manning never has gone into an NFL season without a wide receiver who was
a first-round draft pick. He came into the league in 2004 with Ike Hilliard already
on the Giants' roster. He added Plaxico Burress to his stable in his second year,
and since Burress' notorious departure after the 2008 season, Manning has thrown
more completions to Hakeem Nicks than he has to any other Giants teammate.
Feb
23 Get
ready to say goodbye to Justin Tuck and Hakeem Nicks and the Giants as you
know them. Twenty-seven players from last season's disappointing 7-9 squad are
set to hit free agency, and on Saturday at the NFL scouting combine, JerryReese
coldly indicated that many of those players - including longtime defensive captain
Tuck - may not be back.
The
Giants could create room by renegotiating with quarterback Eli Manning, who
will count $20.4 million on the cap in the next-to-last year of his contract.
Reese didn't dismiss the possibility of restructuring Manning's deal. He also
hinted that guard Chris Snee ($11.3 million cap) will have to re-work his contract.
Feb
22 Tom
Coughlin won't be a lame duck in 2014. The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach
has agreed to a one-year contract extension, through 2015, he told reporters Friday
at the NFL scouting combine.
Coughlin
was asked if a longer extension was ever discussed. "It was never brought
up," he said. "It was never proposed by me or anybody else." Coughlin,
who is entering his 11th season with the Giants and 19th overall in the NFL, is
the second-winningest coach in Giants history.
Tom
Coughlin said he could see Eli Manning's desire for a rebound season "in his
eyes." The 33-year-old quarterback, who is coming off his worst professional season,
has a new offensive coordinator in tow and a new quarterbacks coach to assist
in the process.
Of
all the moves the Giants will make this offseason, lowering quarterback Eli
Manning's monstrous cap number will not be among them. The Giants have shown no
indication this offseason of wanting to alter Manning's current contract, according
to a person familiar with the situation.
There
will be changes with the Giants offense next season. Already, there is new
offensive coordinator. There will be new players. So just how much change will
there be with the actual product on the field?
The
Giants were extremely pass heavy last season because of key injuries at running
back, but usually had a 55-45 pass-run ratio with Gilbride at the helm, and Coughlin
indicated those percentages would be in the same ballpark under Ben McAdoo.
Even
though he hired McAdoo to call the plays, Coughlin said he'll remain involved
in the offensive operation. He said all parties have agreed they must maintain
a commitment to the running game.
As
the Giants head into the meat of their offseason, they still don't seem to
have a significant handle on the future of running back David Wilson. He missed
the final 11 games last season.
Tom
Coughlin said the third-year running back's football outlook is still a mystery
a little more than a month after Wilson had an operation to fuse two vertebrae
in his neck to repair a herniated disk.
Hakeem
Nicks' chances of returning to Giants are 'close to zero'. Nicks, 26, is coming
off perhaps the worst season of his career. He didn't record a touchdown catch
and didn't play in the Giants' biggest game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite
a second hip surgery in as many seasons, Chris Snee is building himself back
up with the intention of playing in 2014, according to head coach Tom Coughlin.
"I think there's no question," Coughlin said Friday at the NFL Combine here in
Indianapolis.
Feb 21
Special
Report - The Giants will draft in the 12th position of the first round, not
a bad place to be no matter who they want because at least three of those first
11 picks will be quarterbacks. And if they take one of those, get the butterfly
nets ready. With regard to the free agents and the construction of the 2014 roster,
general managers got a huge gift from the NFL Thursday - the salary cap when up
a full five percent, from $123 million to $130 million. What does this mean?
The
2014 salary cap for all teams is expected to be $130 million, or five percent
higher than last season's $123 million figure. Put simply, it's Christmas in February
for front offices across the NFL. "That's $4 million more than people were estimating,
and $4 million more than people were told in December," ESPN analyst and former
Colts general manager Bill Polian said in an interview. "Every general manager's
breathing a sigh of relief."
Feb
18 The
Giants aren't counting on David Wilson to be completely ready for next season.
But it sounds like the running back is expected to be back on the field. ESPN's
Dan Graziano reports that Wilson is recovering "very well" from his neck surgery
and that there's "no reason to believe he won't be playing in 2014."
Monday
is the first day NFL teams can designate franchise or transition tags in an
effort to keep players they deem most valuable off the market. Linebacker Jon
Beason is a player they'd like to bring back and with whom they've discussed a
long-term deal. Defensive tackle Linval Joseph is another pending free agent who's
a candidate for the franchise tag.
Feb
17 The
most important offseason in recent Giants history is just getting started.
Some moves (coaching changes) have been made, but the major reconstruction (aka,
the roster overhaul) is about to gain full steam. Tom Coughlin and the Giants
have to make important decisions by these key dates.
Feb
15 The
offense consistently struggled last season, and there could be as many as
six new starters on offense next year when all is said and done. On defense, it
is more about keeping guys on the team (Tuck, Beason, Joseph) than having huge
needs you have to fill elsewhere.
Former
Giants
Dave
Tollefson, the scrappy defensive lineman who once described himself as a pigeon
flying amongst eagles such as Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora,
announced his retirement Friday.
Dave
Tollefson's entire NFL career seemed like an upset, considering he was a lightly
regarded prospect out of high school and cut by two NFL teams before arriving
to the Giants in 2007. He ended up winning two Super Bowls as a popular and hard-working
reserve defensive end.
Feb
13 According
to the researchers at ESPN.com, the Giants have the sixth-easiest schedule
in 2014. Based on their 2013 records, Big Blue's foes have a winning percentage
of .465. Take a look at the list for all 32 teams..
Former
Giants
Jared
Lorenzen, the obese quarterback and Internet sensation enjoying a second career
with the Northern Kentucky River Monsters, said his time with the Giants was torture
as he tried to make weight under calorie-counting head coach Tom Coughlin.
NFL
News
The 2014
strength of schedule figures, teams listed by division, home and away, based
on opponents' winning percentage in 2013.
Feb
12 Adrien
Robinson will begin training in March, and was fully cleared by doctors following
a knee sprain that he suffered against the Lions -- his only active snap of the
2013 season. Robinson says breakout season 'has to be this year'.
If
the Giants are the team to employ Michael Sam, Terrell Thomas said he would
shake his hand and tell him "it's very courageous what you did." That
would not be all Thomas would say to Sam, the first openly gay player to enter
the NFL Draft.
On
why some players might resent Sam: "Some team will have to hire a company
to educate us and make sure we're saying the right thing. All the extra stuff
you have to go through, all the extra meetings, that's something as veteran players
we don't want."
Former Giants
Carl
Banks accused Corey Webster of quitting. Banks is a former Giants linebacker
and current Giants broadcaster who wears his Big Blue heart on his sleeve and
isn't afraid to openly rip players for disappointing performances.
NFL
News
2014
NFL strength of schedule.
Feb
11 Nearly
half of the league's 32 teams will have at least one new coordinator in 2014.
One of those is the New York Giants, who hired Ben McAdoo as their offensive coordinator
to replace Kevin Gilbride in the wake of his retirement last month.
Like
Steve Tisch last night, Giants co-owner John Mara wanted to welcome Missouri
defensive end Michael Sam into the NFL with open arms. Sam is attempting to become
the first openly-gay player in NFL history. He disclosed his sexuality last night
in an interview with The New York Times.
The
Giants are confident in the people they have in leadership positions and pride
themselves on being able to focus on football and winning games. If Sam is on
their draft board at a spot where they believe he would represent good value,
then I believe they would not hesitate to take him.
But
while the Giants owners were making it clear that Sam - or any gay player
- would be welcomed in their franchise, not everyone in their organization was
as kind. On Sunday night, after Sam made his announcement, rookie cornerback Charles
James Tweeted his displeasure that Sam made his sexuality public, writing in part
"When did this become a heroic act?" The Giants had no comment on James'
Tweet, which was deleted from his @ShutDownCB1 account on Monday morning.
Feb
10 More
than half of the players on the Giants' roster are free agents. So they have
plenty of spaces to fill and a good chunk of money to spend. How general manager
Jerry Reese decides to allocate his resources, only he knows right now.
The
Giants have a new offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo, who has never before
called plays. Tom Coughlin won't interfere with those duties, but he will have
a firmer hand in guiding and advising the new coach than he had with the more
experienced Kevin Gilbride.
Feb
9 Special
Report - We all know how bad the 2012 Giants defense was, and that it finished
a mere 7.8 yards per game out of dead last place in the entire NFL, ahead of only
the record-setting New Orleans Saints in total yards allowed. So let's flash forward
to the 2013 season, shall we? On the season this team improved by light-years,
earning a season ending overall defensive rank of eighth, coming from 31st the
previous season, but even that doesn't tell the true full story of their rebirth.
In
a move of little surprise, the Giants parted ways with two players who had
perhaps the most disappointing 2013 seasons of all - tight end Brandon Myers and
cornerback Corey Webster - when their contracts were automatically voided.
You
think the Giants had a rough year with Eli Manning struggling and leading
the league in interceptions? Bah. Just imagine what it would be like if Manning
weren't even on the team. Manning is far and away the Giants' most valuable player,
even coming off his worst NFL season.
Feb
8 Hakeem
Nicks is going to hit the open market, some team is going to look at his skill
set and his pedigree vs. the rest of the free-agent wide receiver market and pay
him a lot. The Giants will need to replace Nicks somehow if he does leave.
Hear
what Jon Beason says during a Giants game. Re-signing Beason at the right
price is a high priority for the Giants this offseason, and it's easy to see why.
What would you fork over to sign the former first-round pick?
Feb
7 Who
is the Giants' most untradable player? When a team goes 7-9, there are fewer
candidates than there were two years ago. That being said, there are still plenty
of building blocks, some of whom are signed to team-friendly contracts.
The
countdown clock on the 2014 offseason has begun, and in the coming days the
Giants' plans should become a little clearer. There will be some players released.
There could be some contracts restructured. And negotiations with some of the
Giants' own free agents will begin, if they haven't already.
Former
Giants
Robert
Kratch, a Mahwah High School 1984 football star who earned a Super Bowl ring
in 1990 as a Giants right guard, shared stories and photographs of his "awkward
years" last week.
Feb
6 Jason
Pierre-Paul is four years into his NFL career, and to this point he has had
one utterly brilliant year -- his 16.5-sack 2011 season, which culminated in a
Super Bowl title. So the Giants have themselves a 25-year-old pass-rusher they
believe (because they have seen him do it) can be one of the very best in the
league.
Antrel
Rolle, who was a Pro Bowl safety this season, hinted Tuesday at the Munson
Awards that some of the younger Giants weren't working hard enough off the field.
That limited what they were able to do on the field.
Former
Giants
Antonio
Pierce to be named next Long Beach Poly Football Coach. The school will formally
announce the hire in a press conference in the Poly auditorium at 2 p.m. on Thursday
afternoon.
Feb 5
Can
the Giants be the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles? The Eagles went 4-12 in 2012.
They went 10-6 and won the NFC East this past season. The Giants went 7-9 in 2013,
and it could have been worse. Can they have a similar turnaround in 2014?
Whether
he calls it the green or red zone at his new post, offensive coordinator Ben
McAdoo brings over success inside the 20-yard line from his previous work in Green
Bay. While climbing Mike McCarthy's coaching tree with the Packers, McAdoo helped
the offense grow into one of the most efficient units in the NFL.
It's
never too early to start thinking about next season in the NFL, and Giants
safety Antrel Rolle already has his eye on a new target for Eli Manning. Rolle
said he watched Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday with Packers tight end Jermichael Finley,
who will be a free agent.
Former Giants
Plaxico
Burress once was a handsomely paid rising star in the NFL until a fateful
night in 2008. Now, the former wide receiver stands to lose millions on a waterfront
mansion in Lighthouse Point, Fla.
Jared
Lorenzen blew up the Internet Monday night when videos emerged of him playing
for the Northern Kentucky River Monsters of the Continental Indoor Football League
while weighing in at 320 pounds..
NFL
News
All
the numbers - Seattle's 43-8 dissection of Denver on Sunday night tied for
the third-biggest blowout in Super Bowl history, yet an average of 111.5 million
people watched, more than any single television show in United States history.
Feb
4 The
Giants will play the Seahawks in Seattle in 2014, potentially in the Thursday
Night opener. The Giants are one of the eight teams that will visit the Super
Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks this season. Thus, they are eligible to be the
opponents in the now-traditional Thursday night opener.
If
any football fans in New York, New Jersey or Philadelphia hoped to see their
team on Super Bowl Sunday next season, Las Vegas has a message for you. Think
again. The 2015 Super Bowl odds are out, and the Eagles, Jets and Giants all found
themselves near the bottom of the back of the Pregame.com odds.
There
are definitely some teams weary of soon-to-be free agent wide receiver Hakeem
Nicks. That's a fact. But with the way everything unfolded during Super Bowl week,
it only helped Nicks' cause.
Stadium
News
For
months, the organizers of the Super Bowl coaxed fans to ride the rails, urging
them to renounce private car travel in the name of the New York region's famed
public transportation system. On Sunday, the people listened. A little too well.
The
site of the Super Bowl is decided by a majority vote of the owners, and now
that New York has shown an open-air game in a cold climate is possible, bids are
now being talked about in Philadelphia, New England, Chicago, Denver, Seattle
and Washington, D.C.
Feb
3 John
Mara, the New York Giants co-owner who played an instrumental role in luring
the big game to the region, said he'd like to see a Super Bowl sequel in New York/New
Jersey.
Roger
Goodell has been noncommittal about another Super Bowl in a cold weather city,
but if the league owners agree to do it again, New York will have competition
from cities like Philadelphia, Denver and Boston.
Former
Giants
Michael
Strahan may not admit it, but he probably hasn't had many Saturdays better
than this one. First, he was elected into the Hall of Fame in his second year
of eligibility, and hours later, he received an apology from Warren Sapp, his
longtime nemesis, after a week of taking shots at one another through the media.
NFL
News
The
Seahawks won their first Super Bowl crown by punishing Peyton Manning and
the Denver Broncos 43-8. Seattle (16-3) was too quick, too physical and just too
good for Denver.
Feb
2 After
telling The Post earlier this week he would test the free agent market, Justin
Tuck said Saturday he hoped to stay with the Giants, but had no gut feeling where
he was going to wind up. "I honestly think the Giants are going to do everything
in their power to make it work," Tuck said. "They want me to be back.
I think I want to be back."
There's
no doubt that Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz was the man about town in Manhattan
during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII. Cruz, who grew up in nearby Paterson,
N.J., attended multiple parties this past week and hosted his own in the Meatpacking
District on Saturday night.
Dangerous
Seahawks front seven may employ Big Blue strategy. The Giants won't capture
a third Super Bowl title in six years Sunday night, but their strategy for beating
a future Hall of Fame quarterback just might if the Seattle Seahawks do a fair
enough impersonation.
Former Giants
Michael
Strahan, one of the most dominant and popular players in the nine-decade history
of the Giants, is officially a pro football immortal.
Michael
Strahan got into the Hall of Fame this year. He wasn't going to be denied
the second time around. There's a reason.
Michael
Strahan wasn't the dynamic force of nature Lawrence Taylor was. But you didn't
beat the Giants unless you blocked Strahan, the unquestioned emotional and inspirational
leader of Big Blue.
Michael
Strahan talks about the moment he learned he was elected into the HOF. "You
don't go in by yourself. You have all your teammates, your coaches, your family,
your friends and a lot of people that encourage you along the way."
Feb
1 For
the first time in his eight-year NFL career, Justin Tuck is preparing to hit
free agency. The team captain and 2013 sack leader has a meeting set up with the
Giants in early February to discuss a potential deal, but every indication seems
to point toward Tuck at least checking out the market.
The
way the Giants generally operate with their own free agents is that they assign
each of them a price they feel is appropriate, and if the player's demands far
exceed that price, they basically wish him well and go get someone else.
Former
Giants
Sam
Garnes has tasted a Super Bowl appetizer once before as a player. Now, as
a coach, he wants the full meal. "I was on the only Giants team go to a Super
Bowl and lose," said Garnes, the former Giants safety now an assistant secondary
coach with the Broncos, referring to the loss to the Ravens on Jan. 28, 2001.
Lawrence
Taylor has heard all about the big game the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks
are playing in his old backyard, and over the phone Friday morning, he did not
sound the least bit sorry he wasn't suiting up Sunday in Jersey. "My home
was torn down," he said of Giants Stadium. "Now it's MetLife, or whatever.
My home is gone."
Michael
Strahan demonstrated fine timing by helping the Giants win Super Bowl XLII
in his final NFL game. On Saturday, he can take another dramatic turn by being
elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the city he calls home.
Osi
Umenyiora: I told Justin Tuck he should stay with Giants. One year after leaving
the New York Giants as a free agent, Osi Umenyiora has advice for Justin Tuck
as he gets set to hit free agency: Don't go anywhere!
Jan
31 Antrel
Rolle was sad to see Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and tight
ends coach Mike Pope go, but the safety said he believes they were moves that
had to be made.
Justin
Tuck doesn't have his heart set on retiring a Giant anymore. In comments to
The Post on Thursday morning, the veteran defensive end guaranteed he would become
an unrestricted free agent when the league-wide market opens March 11. Re-signing
with Big Blue before then now appears to be out of the question.
Jason
Pierre-Paul hopes free agent defensive lineman Justin Tuck returns, but if
the longtime Giant decides to leave, Pierre-Paul is ready to fill a leadership
void. Though he hopes Tuck returns, Pierre-Paul would understand if he departs
after nine seasons.
Eli
Manning and the New York Giants will wage a battle against what they called
a meritless lawsuit filed Wednesday in New Jersey that claims that the quarterback
and his team sold bogus "game-worn" jerseys, helmets and other bogus
collectibles to unsuspecting customers.
Stadium
News
You
probably think the idea of a neutral-site game was invented by the men who
invented the Super Bowl, and who saw a string of warm-weather paradises (and the
occasional cold-weather dome dweller) allowing the games to be played in a measure
of fair conditions and equal advantage.
Jan
30 Special
Report - And then there were three. Three sportswriters, that is, who have
covered all the Super Bowls played. For several years there were four, but this
year one - Edwin Pope of the Miami Herald - just wasn't well enough to make the
trek to the cold, blustery location.
So that leaves three of us - Jerry Green
of the Detroit News, Jerry Izenberg of the (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger, and your
correspondent, who spent the first 36 Super Bowls in the employ of the Star-Ledger
and then took early retirement and continued to staff the game for E-GIANTS.
Eli
Manning and New York Giants brass created bogus "game-worn" football
gear to pass off as the real deal - and one of the forgeries is sitting in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame, an explosive new lawsuit claims. Other "forgeries"
passed off on collectors include several Manning jerseys, two 2012 Super Bowl
helmets and a 2004 "rookie season" helmet, according to court papers.
Former
Giants
Sam
Garnes didn't know how or with whom, but he knew he had to be here. "This
is big time for me," the former defensive back for the Giants and Jets who
is from the Bronx said this week. "Once we found out the Super Bowl was going
to be in New York, that's something I selfishly felt like I had to be a part of,
because this is where I'm from.
Plaxico
Burress reached out and spoke to Nicks several times this past season to offer
advice on how Hakeem Nicks should play through the final year of his contract,
even though the two never played a game together with the Giants.
David
Tyree's catch in Super Bowl XLII was the greatest in Giants history, but Plaxico
Burress' reception a few minutes later was the most significant. Burress scored
the game-winning points on a 13-yard pass from Eli Manning with only 35 seconds
remaining to give the Giants a 17-14 victory over the New England Patriots.
Keith
Hamilton doesn't dwell on loss. Hamilton chooses to look on the bright side
of Super Bowl XXXV "Personally, it was probably one of the best games I played
in my life, statistically and just as far as taking care of my responsibilities.
But we came up short. We were one of the two best teams. They say nobody really
remembers the person who comes in second place, but I'll always remember."
Jan
29 If
his mother, Anne, allows it, Giants owner John Mara intends to sit in the
family's box Sunday and watch Super Bowl XLVIII with his brothers, sisters and
children. He is just preparing for the chance that she says no. "She wasn't
all that happy with me the way the season went," he said.
Former
Giants
Michael
Strahan, who makes it into the Top 10 of Pro Football Hall of Fame voting
last year, looks like a lock to be elected this year. "I don't think his
resume stacks up when you put Tony Dungy, Walter Jones, Marvin Harrison and Derrick
Brooks up," Warren Sapp said. "Those are four first-ballot Hall of Famers."
John
Fox recalls Super Bowl sting he felt following Giants' loss to Ravens. It
stung for a long time, that 34-7 loss in Super Bowl XXXV. Fox's defense performed
admirably, giving up two touchdowns and two field goals. The Giants offense, hurt
by four interceptions by Kerry Collins, put the defense at a disadvantage all
day.
Jan 28
Tom
Coughlin to new QB coach: We need to get Eli Manning playing better. Danny
Langsdorf left a comfortable situation in Corvalis, where he spent the past eight
seasons as Oregon State's offensive coordinator, but he jumped right into his
new position with the Giants.
Langsdorf
replaces former quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan, who was reassigned to coach
the team's receivers. Former receivers coach Kevin M. Gilbride will replace departed
tight ends coach Mike Pope. The Giants have added three new faces to the staff
this month in new running backs coach Craig Johnson, Ben McAdoo and Langsdorf.
The
only offensive coaches who will return in the same position are line coach
Pat Flaherty, who has held that position since 2004; his assistant, Lunda Wells;
and offensive assistant Ryan Roeder. Langsdorf will try to get Manning to cut
down on a franchise-record 27 interceptions this season.
Super
Bowl XLVIII hasn't even been played yet, but owners of the Giants and Jets
are so convinced it will be a success they hope to host one every 10 years. They
also see the first open-air Super Bowl held in a northern city going so well that
it ushers in a new era of the NFL regularly putting the game in cold-weather locales.
Since
the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks won the right to represent their
conferences nine days ago, the average asking price of a ticket being offered
for resale has fallen by nearly 25 percent, to a bit over $3,000 from just over
$4,000, according to TiqIq.com, which tracks resale prices online.
Yo,
let's be clear about one thing. The Super Bowl is in New Jersey. New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie made that point in a tongue-and-cheek manner Monday at an
appearance at the Boys & Girls Club in Newark as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
looked over his shoulder with a smile.
Former
Giants
John
Fox
remembers that his career was either treading water or sinking when the Giants
threw him a line in 1997. So, with all that going for him -- along with five years
of living in Wayne -- Fox said Monday that winning a Super Bowl on his old turf
would be special.
Jan
26 The
Giants have yet to fill the tight ends coach position, which makes you wonder
why they let veteran coach Mike Pope go in the first place. He has landed in Dallas,
as if future Hall of Famer Jason Whitten needed any more help. The Giants denied
a report on NJ.com that former quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan, who is slated to
be reassigned, will now tutor the tight ends.
Prince
Amukamara has analyzed Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson and their respective
offenses in Denver and Seattle, and came away with great admiration for the quarterbacks
who will face off in Super Bowl XLVIII next Sunday. Much of that respect was gained
on their previous trips to MetLife Stadium, where Manning defeated Amukamara's
Giants before Wilson did the same three months later..
Former
Giants
Joe
Morris talks SB XXI trickery, motivation. Joe Morris grew weary of the trick
play then New York Giants coach Bill Parcells had his offense run repeatedly in
practice throughout the 1986 season.
Michael
Strahan - Fans who want him in the Hall of Fame point to his 141½ career sacks
(including the single-season record of 22½ in 2001), his stoutness against the
run, his seven Pro Bowls and, of course, his one Super Bowl title.
Stadium
News
The
price of Super Bowl tickets on the secondary market is already starting to
drop fast a week before the Feb. 2 game at MetLife Stadium. And in New York City
and around the region, there are plenty of hotel rooms still available.
To
football fans, visiting media and other dignitaries arriving here for the
Super Bowl: Welcome to New Jersey! And, before you gather up your luggage at the
Newark Airport baggage carousel and dive into the first cab headed to Manhattan,
we can be clear on that point, right? The Super Bowl is in New Jersey.
Jersey
City welcomes Super Bowl week after months of preparation. This week, the
Seahawks will have the use of the Giants' building in East Rutherford and the
Broncos will use the Jets' facility in Florham Park, but the hotels will also
provide facilities.
Jan
25 David
Diehl and his seven-year-old daughter, Addison, walked into the Giants facility
together to break the news to owner John Mara. Addison allowed her father to retire,
even though, as Diehl admitted, she wanted him to play forever.
This
decision was not unexpected, and the Giants' offensive line in 2014 will undergo
an extreme makeover. Only Justin Pugh is assured of a spot, with left tackle Will
Beatty coming off a broken leg sustained in the final game of the season and Kevin
Boothe an unrestricted free agent.
Versatility
and durability were synonymous with Diehl. He played the first 120 regular-season
games and seven postseason games of his career, the longest streak by a Giant
since the 16-game schedule started in 1978. He's played 164 regular-season games
total, tying Phil Simms for 12th all-time in franchise history. He also played
every line position except center for the Giants.
If
the decision is up to Tom Coughlin, the Giants coach will be patrolling the
sideline for more than just the one season remaining on his current contract.
Coughlin expressed his desire to continue coaching the Giants well into the future.
The Giants finished 7-9 this season and missed the playoffs for the fourth time
in five years.
Hakeem
Nicks, 26, now heads into free agency with three touchdown receptions in his
last 30 games. He's coming off a season where he missed the Giants' most important
contest with an abdominal injury he wanted to play through, but the coaching staff
wouldn't allow him to do.
Former Giants
Phil
McConkey netted a touchdown catch as the New York Giants' began to pull away
from the Denver Broncos at Super Bowl XXI. But that's not the play the undersized
Giants receiver remembers most about that afternoon.
Jan
24 What
do two NFL quarterbacks who happen to be brothers talk about when one of them
is playing in the Super Bowl at the other's home stadium? Home-field tactics?
The wind? The turf? Where to park? Which shower head in the locker room has the
hottest water? Don't be silly. They talk tickets. As in, how many can you get
me?.
Eli
Manning pictured himself playing in Super Bowl XLVIII, not being the official
ticket wrangler for another starting quarterback. Eli Manning is proud of the
work he's done. "He's asked for a number for me to try to get," Eli said, "and
I hit that number. Unless he has a few surprises, I'm in good shape right now."
Ann
Mara, widow of Wellington, grandmother to 43, plans to maintain an active
social schedule during Super Bowl week, starting in Manhattan and ending in the
Meadowlands. While she typically roots for the NFC teams, this year she's pulling
for the Broncos and Peyton Manning, big brother to her franchise quarterback Eli
Manning.
The
last time the New York area hosted an NFL Championship Game was Dec. 30, 1962,
when the Giants lost to the Packers at Yankee Stadium -- a day recalled by most
who were there for its frigid winds. Was Mrs. Mara cold? "Noooo," she said. "Of
course, I was much younger, so I didn't feel it. It was not that cold. We survived
. . . I've sat in Green Bay and all the other places where it's freezing cold.
You get used to it."
For
the first time since he was a rookie, Eli Manning will have to learn a new
offense. And he's pumped up for it. "In a way it will be exciting," the Giants
quarterback said of having new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo for the 2014 season.
Eli
Manning said he's "excited" to work with new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo
and expressed a positive attitude about learning a new offensive system after
playing the first 10 years of his career in the same one.
Eli
Manning, who plays his home games at MetLife Stadium, said he'd be offering
Peyton tips on the stadium's quirks, especially as they pertain to potential winter
weather conditions such as strong winds.
Eli
declined to elaborate on any of that insight because, he said, he did not
want his tips to help Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. "I'll tell Peyton
in private," Eli said. Otherwise, Eli seemed to be focused on playing the
good host and helpful little brother.
Former
Giants
Michael
Strahan, who missed out on induction to the Hall of Fame in his first year
of eligibility, knows the questions are coming. He'll have a second crack at being
inducted next Saturday when the Hall of Fame committee meets and votes on this
year's class.
Jan 23
Special
Report - Good weather for Super Bowl 48? Don't be silly, lets just hope there
isn't another gusty snowstorm. First things first, as usual. The 197-year-old
Farmer's Almanac predicts a "winter storm" for the Northeast the weekend of Super
Bowl, complete with high winds, low temperatures and, yes, some snow.
On the
other hand, the Weather Channel reports that there is an 82 percent chance of
NO SNOW on Feb. 2, just bitterly cold weather. Just the right ingredients for
tickets that start (on the open market) at $2,440 each, but if you think you'll
get even fair locations, think again.
The
Giants filled one of the openings on their coaching staff when they named
Craig Johnson as their running backs coach. Johnson, who is entering his 32nd
year in coaching and 15th in the NFL, was the Minnesota Vikings' quarterbacks
coach the previous three seasons.
There
is a chance that Chris Snee, the longtime New York Giants guard, will retire
this offseason after having had yet another hip surgery in October. Word from
people who've talked to Snee is that he feels good, but that he hasn't yet decided
whether he wants to keep playing.
Former
Giants
Mike
Pope - The Cowboys announced the hiring of former Giants assistant Mike Pope
as tight ends coach, replacing Wes Phillips. Coach Jason Garrett and Pope were
together with the Giants in 2000, when Garrett was a backup quarterback and Pope
started a second stint with the team.
Jan
22 What
will it cost to re-sign Justin Tuck? He'll turn 31 in March, he had 11 sacks
this year and is a free agent who wants to re-sign with the New York Giants. He's
won two Super Bowls with the Giants, is one of their defensive captains and will
be a franchise legend whether he re-signs this winter or not.
The
New York Giants are one of eight teams the NFL could force to appear this
year on HBO's "Hard Knocks," the annual miniseries that takes viewers behind the
scenes at a team's training camp.
NFL
News
As
Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium draws near, The Post ranks the 10 biggest
goats in the history of the big game.
NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn't want to stand pat with the extra point.
Goodell says the extra-point kick after touchdowns, which had a success rate of
nearly 100 percent, is too automatic.
Jan
21 Giants
safety Antrel Rolle, who blasted the Pro Bowl voting
process after an initial snub, calling it a "joke," is going to Hawaii
after all.
Rolle
will be the Giants' lone representative at the Pro Bowl - the first time they've
only sent one player since 2007 -- and he will be making his third appearance
in the game.
The
Giants appear to be a long way from reaching next year's Super Bowl in Arizona.
But it's the NFL. Anything can happen. Here's how they can pull off the amazing
turnaround from 7-9 team to Super Bowl participant.
Giants
owner John Mara said the team hasn't yet had discussions with coach Tom Coughlin
about extending his contract beyond 2014.
Wide
receiver Louis Murphy was supposed to be a knife for the Giants. He was supposed
to add a new dimension to the offense this past season. Looking back, it's laughable.
Stadium
News
It
has been widely believed that a cold-weather in the New York/New Jersey area
will be a one-and-done event as a tribute to the family of late Giants owner Wellington
Mara. But his son, John, said the big game could return depending on how well
Super Bowl XLVIII is received.
Jan
20 Eli
Manning promises to be a good host for brother Peyton in New Jersey. "I'm
just happy for him to be in New York and be in a Super Bowl," Eli told a small
group of reporters.
An
NFL Network report hints that Hakeem Nicks wore out his stay with the Giants
this season. According to the NFL Network, Nicks was fined "multiple times" by
the team this season. The fines reportedly stemmed from two issues. He was repeatedly
late this season - a serious offense in Tom Coughlin's straight-laced regime -
and he also apparently missed several treatments.
Jan
19 Ben
McAdoo has never, ever called a play, not a single one, in the National Football
League. He never has designed his own offense. Never been employed for a day as
an offensive coordinator, not in high school or college or the NFL. Anyone who
says they know for sure what system McAdoo will install with the Giants is guessing,
surmising based on his background, or found a way to link directly into his brainwaves.
When
he was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2012, McAdoo impressed with his ability
to relate to the room. He had a different way about him, Mike McCarthy said, and
was able to digest the Packers' QB Bible - from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers -
over a short time. He walked into a room with a two-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl
champion and MVP, and taught him something.
Stadium
News
The
mystery of three letters that disappeared.
15
Days: Super nightmare for Giants, Jets?
Jan
18 It's
a mistake to assume that Ben McAdoo, the Giants new offensive coordinator,
will run a cookie-cutter version of Mike McCarthy's scheme in Green Bay. He will
draw influences from everywhere. But, it is safe to assume that the Giants might
not have all the players he needs to fit the vision, and that's why we're taking
a look at Green Bay's free agents.
No
one in the NFL knows the 36-year old McAdoo better than Packers head coach
Mike McCarthy and no one can break down what McAdoo will bring the Giants more
accurately than McCarthy. McCarthy entrusted McAdoo with the Packers tight ends
for six years, and, the last two seasons, handed over Aaron Rodgers and the rest
of the quarterbacks..
The
recent firing of tight ends coach Mike Pope and running backs Jerald Ingram
and the retirement of offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has us wondering who
is next on the Giants' coaching hit list. Judging by the blame game the Giants'
brass is playing at their Quest Diagnostics Training Center, that would be veteran
offensive line coach Pat Flaherty.
NFL
News
NFL
needs to increase the degree of difficulty for its too-perfect kickers. The
goalposts have been 18 feet and six inches wide since 1920, back when teams did
not have a player whose sole responsibility was kicking. Even narrowing the width
three or four feet would have an impact on the longer kicks.
Jan
17 Money
matters: Mathias Kiwanuka a financial decision Giants have to make. The Giants
are going to clear some space on their salary cap prior to free agency this offseason.
The only question right now is, 'how much?' We concluded that offensive lineman
Chris Snee will have his contract shredded.
Jan
16 What
the Giants seemed to want, and what they got, is a fresh set of eyes to look
at their problem. It doesn't hurt that Kevin Gilbride was 62 and already pondering
retirement, while Ben McAdoo is 36, filled with vigor and energy as he gets started
on what many think will someday turn into a head-coaching career.
Why
is Mike Pope, who coach Tom Coughlin called the best tight ends coach in the
business, taking the blame for the disappointing performance of tight end Brandon
Myers, who was signed primarily as a pass catcher but was then asked to be a big-time
blocker? Was it Pope who didn't want to re-sign former Giants tight end Martellus
Bennett, whom he turned into an elite player?
In
addition to being on the coaching staff for all five Super Bowl appearances
in Giants history, Pope also coached with Bill Parcells with the Patriots in Super
Bowl XXXI. A source indicated the Giants hoped Pope would consider retirement,
but he still wants to coach, so he could end up somewhere else in 2014.
Jan
15 - UPDATE Mike
Pope, the only coach on the staff of all four of the Giants' Super Bowl championship
teams, was fired from his job as the tight ends coach on Wednesday morning in
a move that signaled the start of what one assistant coach feared would be "a
big shakeup" of the Giants' offensive staff.
One
day after adding Ben McAdoo as their new offensive coordinator, the Giants
continued restructuring their coaching staff with the departures of longtime assistants
Michael Pope and Jerald Ingram. Pope has been the Giants' tight ends coach since
2000, while Ingram has mentored the running backs since Tom Coughlin's arrival
in 2004.
Jan 15
Ben
McAdoo - Last name is pronounced MACK-ah-doo. Spent his first six seasons
in Green Bay as the team's tight ends coach before being named as quarterbacks
coach on Feb. 13, 2012.
Assuming
McAdoo is being brought in to run something along the lines of what they run
in Green Bay, the difference should help Manning and could elevate wide receiver
Victor Cruz to new heights.
If
Eli Manning reincarnates as the quarterback who won two Super Bowls, McAdoo's
tenure will be considered a success. He will likely ascend to a head coaching
position, and maybe even succeed Tom Coughlin. If Manning continues to stumble,
McAdoo will be the big loser..
Down
the stretch of his worst season, Eli Manning told The Post he was comfortable
with the offense and that comfortable was a good thing. Well, Eli, you just got
mighty uncomfortable and this will be perhaps his greatest professional challenge:
mastering new plays, new terminology, a new voice in his ear, all this 10 years
into his career at the age of 33.
The
Giants are in need of an offensive rejuvenation. Their offense ranked 28th
in the NFL in both yards (307.5) and points per game (18.4) in 2013, when the
Giants finished a disappointing 7-9. Green Bay's offense was third in the league
in yards a game (400.3) and tied for eighth in scoring (26.1 points a game).
Tom
Coughlin, who interviewed McAdoo on Monday, called him "the best coach
for the job" and described McAdoo as a "very, very meticulous coach"
who was greatly influenced by McCarthy, with whom he worked in New Orleans (2004)
and San Francisco (2005) before serving as the Packers' tight ends coach for six
years.
Jan 14 - UPDATE
The
Giants have hired former Green Bay quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo as their
next offensive coordinator. McAdoo, 36, has seen his star rise over the past few
seasons as a tight ends coach and quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers.
McAdoo
signed a two-year contract with the Giants. Coach Tom Coughlin's contract
only runs one more year. McAdoo drew interest from teams the past two offseasons,
but the Packers blocked him from some interviews because they thought highly of
his abilities. His contract expired this year, though.
Jan
14 David
Diehl, an 11-year veteran, is expected to announce his retirement in the coming
weeks as his body can no longer withstand the pounding in the NFL trenches. He'll
walk away as one of the most durable, toughest and versatile offensive linemen
in Giants' history.
Jon
Beason has been labeled a lot of things throughout his seven years in the
NFL, but he's never been called a free agent. Until now. The middle linebacker
is set to hit the market this offseason after making an instant impact on the
Giants as a midseason acquisition in 2013.
Jan
12 For
all the Giants' special teams problems this past season, their kicker wasn't
part of them. Josh Brown was the least of special teams coordinator Tom Quinn's
worries.
GM
connection has Giants rooting for Panthers. John Mara won't come right out
and say who he would like to see represent the NFC in Super Bowl XLVIII, but it
is impossible for the Giants' co-owner to keep secret his rooting interest in
the Panthers.
Stadium News
The
majority of New Jersey residents are proud that their home state is hosting
this year's Super Bowl. Sixty percent of those polled said it made them proud
that Super Bowl XLVIII would be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Only
34 percent said they were not proud.
Jan
11 The
Giants were the most injured team in the league, according to an expansive
study by Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, losing an NFL-high 91 games
by starters because of injury.
Jon
Beason couldn't be happier that he was traded to the Giants, but he spent
so many years in Carolina he can't help what he's feeling. The Panthers still
have a place in his heart, and on Sunday he may even have a place on their sidelines.
Former
Giants
Chase
Blackburn now looking for ring with the Panthers. Blackburn found a new home
as the starting weak-side linebacker and Beason on Oct. 4 was traded to the Giants,
where he got healthy and turned into the middle linebacker they have been looking
for.
Jan 10
Running
back David Wilson will have neck surgery, forcing team to look at contingency
plans. Wilson is battling a career-threatening injury. The Giants cannot say with
any certainty that he'll be back next season - or ever.
Wilson
started at running back Oct. 6 against the Eagles, rushed six times for 16
yards and scored his first and only touchdown of the season before leaving the
game in the second quarter of a 36-21 loss.
Kevin
Gilbride apparently announced his retirement just in time. If the 62-year-old
former Giants offensive coordinator hadn't walked away on his own last week, Giants
co-owner John Mara made it clear he was ready to push him out the door due to
what he believes was a "broken" Giants offense.
Giants
co-owner John Mara said there's no need to blow up the entire coaching staff
because of one bad season. Mara repeated that he didn't see a 0-6 start coming.
While he pointed out that the Giants led the league by a big margin with 91 games
lost by injury, he admitted that the organization may have "overvalued"
some of its players..
Former Giants
Michael
Straham inched closer to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
on Thursday night when he was named among the 15 modern-era finalists for the
Class of 2014. Strahan missed getting the call last year, his first on the ballot.
Jan 9
Welcome
(back) Mike Sullivan and Dowell Loggains to North Jersey and the Quest Diagnostics
Training Center for the first round of interviews as the Giants officially begin
their search today for Kevin Gilbride's successor as offensive coordinator.
Cruz
said he wants Sullivan not only because of personal ties but also because
it would give the offense continuity. There are some who believe that after being
ranked 28th in 2013, the Giants need more of a change in scheme and philosophy.
Perhaps
the Giants won't stay with the status quo and hire an offensive coordinator
who'll essentially run the same offense as the departed Kevin Gilbride after all.
On Wednesday, the Giants expanded their search for a successor to Gilbride, scheduling
an interview this weekend with Packers quarterback coach Ben McAdoo.
Cruz:
Giants felt extra pressure to be Super Bowl hosts. After a 37-14 loss to the
Chargers in Week 14 dropped the Giants to 5-8 and officially eliminated the team
from the playoffs, the clock counting down the number of days until the Super
Bowl vanished from the locker room.
Victor
Cruz plans to call Eli Manning after Valentine's Day to start workouts, strengthen
chemistry. Tom Coughlin said his quarterback and wide receivers suffered from
a lack of trust this season. And while Victor Cruz didn't necessarily agree, he
made it a point this offseason to get more time in with Eli Manning before the
start of OTA's.
On
a Giants offensive line that has been ravaged by injury and inconsistency
the past two seasons, there has been one constant. Whether it's at guard or center,
Kevin Boothe has been there to protect - or at least try to protect - quarterback
Eli Manning. It obviously hasn't always equated to positive results, as evidenced
by the career-high 39 sacks Manning took this season.
Breaking
down the NY Giants' 2014 Salary Cap: Where is the money best spent? According
to Over the Cap, the Giants have committed $115,374,676 to 51 contracts for 2014..
Stadium
News
Super
Bowl 2014: Weather predicted to be unseasonably warm, no snow. Even better
for those willing to partake in the week-long festivities and be outside for hours
is that temperatures in the days leading up to the game are projected to reach
into the 50's.
Jan 8
Kevin
Gilbride says O-line struggles made it impossible for Eli Manning to function.
Gilbride also said that protection problems forced him to use more three-step
drops and play-action instead of five- and seven-step drops, which are Manning's
strength. He said Brandon Myers would be a good No. 2 tight end. He said the Giants
need a bigger, faster tight end and there's "no question" they'll "bring in some
people" (i.e. a veteran) at the position.
Hakeem
Nicks entered the offseason expecting to meet with the Giants and talk about
"stability." As a pending free agent who could set the market for wide receivers
on the open market this offseason, he said his focus was more than just money.
He would only say that a meeting occurred. He did not want to elaborate beyond
that. "It happened," he said. "But today, I don't want to get into all of that."
Jan
7 There
was never a secret that Mike Sullivan would be a candidate for the Giants'
vacant offensive coordinator job. Sullivan arrives to interview for the job this
week, as he will meet with the Giants either Tuesday or Wednesday.
There
is a possibility that Fewell is named the Redskins' next head coach after
he chatted with their owner and his general manager on Monday. Here are some of
the names that would make sense to be on their list of potential defensive coordinators
if Fewell leaves for Washington.
Left
tackle Will Beatty went under the knife on New Year's Eve to repair a fractured
tibia, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Beatty should be
off his feet in a few weeks when he'll start a rehab process that will have him
ready for the start of the 2014 season.
Stevie
Brown began running a few weeks ago and will kick his rehabilitation into
high gear in the coming days. His eight interceptions and two forced fumbles in
just 11 starts during the 2012 season were missed.
The
fourth-year pro is set to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league
year begins on March 11, unless the Giants re-sign him before then.
Former
Giants
Phil
Simms - The lingering question after Super Bowl XXI was not how did Phil Simms
complete 22 of 25 passes but how in the heck did he end up with three incompletions.
NFL News
Extra
wild card may be coming to NFL playoffs. Should the NFL expand the postseason
field to 14 teams, it would not go into effect until the 2015 season, as there
are "scheduling issues" next season.
Jan
6 When
the Giants reconvene Monday for more organization meetings, they will do so
with their defensive coordinator visiting a division rival. Perry Fewell is set
to interview for the Redskins' head coaching job on Monday.
NFL
News
NFL playoffs:
The latest results, reviews and current schedule.
Jan
5 Coach
Tom Coughlin, general manager Jerry Reese and owner John Mara continue to
meet through inclement weather and retirements. Decisions are still left to be
made. Among them are the composition of the Giants' coaching staff, which currently
has a vacancy at offensive coordinator. But there may be more.
Five
things the NY Giants can do to fix the mess of 2013 The Giants are in the
midst of a franchise-wide evaluation right now, and they know they need a makeover.
More
moves are expected, with quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan a possible target. Special
teams coordinator Tom Quinn could also be a casualty of his unit's up-and-down
performance.
NFL News
NFL
playoffs: How much money is each round worth to players?
Jan
4 Tom
Coughlin knew John Mara wanted to shake up the Giants' "broken"
offense by firing Kevin Gilbride. But Coughlin apparently wasn't willing to let
his offensive coordinator go without a fight. That fight never happened, because
Gilbride decided to retire instead.
"I'll
tell you this," Coughlin said. "The first thing that I said to our
owners (on Thursday) is that I'm responsible for the coaches and to think that
there's any one individual who is responsible for the circumstances that we found
ourselves in, that's crazy."
Three
pieces. That's what the Giants' offense consists of today, a week after the
2013 season came to an end. They have a quarterback in Eli Manning. They have
a receiver in Victor Cruz. And they have an offensive lineman in Justin Pugh,
although it is unclear where on the line he will play.
Antrel
Rolle wasn't pleased when he was passed over for the Pro Bowl, especially
with the likes of an aging Troy Polamalu on the roster. He should be happier with
the AP All-Pro team selections.
Thirty-three
thoughts on Eli Manning. He is coming off the worst season of his career and
the first losing season the Giants have had since he was a rookie in 2004.
Hakeem
Nicks' poor performance in 2013 wasn't because he was injured, according to
Tom Coughlin. But the reasons for the receiver's startling decline remain a mystery
to the Giants coach.
Jan
3 For
the past four years, seasons Kevin Gilbride spent in a hotel while his family
lived in Rhode Island, he contemplated stepping down as the Giants offensive coordinator.
He was finally ready to step down.
Gilbride
is gone, just before Mara and Coughlin could clash over his future. Mara roundly
criticized the coordinator Monday, and many believed Coughlin would fight to keep
Gilbride. The fiercely loyal coach loves stability; Gilbride, who was elevated
from QB coach to coordinator in 2007, was one of six coaches who had been with
the franchise since Coughlin took over.
In
addition to the Super Bowl victories, Kevin Gilbride, 62, coached the Giants
offense when it earned five playoff berths and won three NFC East championships.
Gilbride was the quarterbacks coach in his first three seasons with the Giants
and was instrumental in the rapid development of Eli Manning from a green rookie
to an outstanding quarterback whose big plays were instrumental in the Giants'
title runs.
Gilbride
was clearly forced out in a move favored by many Giants fans and, from the
way it sounded Monday, by Giants owner John Mara as well. And since head coach
Tom Coughlin expressed strong support for Gilbide in the waning weeks of the team's
7-9 season and obviously didn't want to make the move, it's one that could change
the dynamic between Coughlin and the organization going forward.
A
source close to the situation said that former Giants assistant Mike Sullivan,
recently fired as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator along with coach Greg Schiano,
is a leading candidate to replace Kevin Gilbride. The team is expected to bring
Sullivan in for an interview.
After
nine seasons in the NFL, Brandon Jacobs is retiring. The Giants' all-time
leader in rushing touchdowns made the announcement on Thursdsay night on Twitter.
"After 9 years in this whirlwind business they call the NFL, I am proud to
announce that I am hanging up my cleats," he said.
Jan
2 Giants
co-owner John Mara saw all the empty seats for the season-finale against the
Redskins last Sunday at MetLife Stadium. He understood that the weather was bad
and so was his team.
The
Washington Redskins, who recently fired coach Mike Shanahan, have asked permission
to interview Fewell, who has served as Giants defensive coordinator since 2010.
Fewell joins a handful of candidates for the Redskins job.
David
Wilson wants to return from his neck injury and be the New York Giants' starting
running back again in 2014. But because it's a neck injury, no one can be sure
if that's going to be possible.
Jerry
Reese enters the offseason with plenty on his agenda as he tries to restructure
a shaky personnel situation. But after spending a first-round pick on David Wilson
in 2012, running back was not supposed to be among those questions.
Eli
Manning struggled all year to find consistency from and with Hakeem Nicks
and second-year man Rueben Randle, who said he thought Manning and the receivers
were "not on the same page from time to time" in 2013.
Jan
1 Coaches
were getting fired left and right in the NFL on Monday, so Giants fans are
wondering why it should take a few days for their own team's coaching situations
to sort themselves out. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is the name on everyone's
mind, and everyone wants to know whether he'll be back or if the Giants will find
someone new to guide their offense.
One
of the few things the Giants are sure about as dawn breaks on 2014 is that
Eli Manning is their quarterback. And one of the things that Manning is certain
of is that he can and will improve.
His
151 consecutive starts is the NFL's longest active streak, now that Washington
linebacker London Fletcher took his 215 straight starts into retirement. But Manning
still has a comeback to make.
Antrel
Rolle, 31, says he has at least four more years left where he can play at
an "elite" level. It's hard to argue considering he showed no signs
of slowing down this season. In fact, Rolle played a bigger role with the Giants
this year than in the past. His versatility was key in defensive coordinator Perry
Fewell's defense, and his responsibilities in the locker room and huddle increased.
The
Giants defense was supposed to be the biggest liability heading into the season.
It turned out to be the biggest strength. The Giants ended as the NFL's eighth-ranked
defense, and allowed only 18.3 points per game after the horrific start.
All
indications are that the Giants want to bring middle linebacker Jon Beason
back next season. The Giants traded a seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers
for Beason in early October. The move was instrumental in turning around the Giants'
defense, which struggled early in the season.