In our final installment of Giants Summer Theatre, we decided to show a clip that will jog the memories of anyone who remembers the first several seasons after the Giants moved to the New Jersey Meadowlands.
Some good stuff here: QB Craig Morton reacting to the endless chorus of boos is one of them. Hey, this team deserved it…
This is the final Friday of what we call “The Dry Season”. Camp begins on Sunday. Giants bloggers could not be happier. No more scrounging for something to post. Real news and contact football are just hours away….
What’s happening….
Tom Coughlin did interviews over the phone with several beat writers yesterday. He didn’t have anything new or revealing to say. He never does, but he is the only person you will hear injury information from, so you have to pay attention.
Coughlin is a cautious man and there are multiple injury situations he is monitoring closely. Yes, Osi Umenyiora (hip) is one of them….. The team plans to afford players coming off injuries ample time to recover. After last year’s unusually high rash of injuries, they are not going to rush anyone into action unnecessarily.
Kenny Phillips will begin camp on the PUP list. No shocker. Should he not be ready to play immediately, the Giants can allow him to continue to rehab and then bring him back any time between weeks Six and Nine.
Chad Jones was waived for the purpose of placing him on the NFI (non-football injury) list. He will get to keep his $825k bonus, but he will not draw a salary.
The Giants picked up DE Alex Hall off waivers from the Eagles. Hall was released by Philly because they believed he was a better fit as a 3-4 LB. They run a 4-3 and so do the Giants.
The Eagles signed their No.1 draft choice yesterday – DE Brandon Graham of Michigan. Philly traded up 11 spots on draft day to nab Graham at No. 13, in fear he may fall to the Giants, who ended up selecting DE Jason Pierre-Paul at 15.
David Tyree will hold a press conference today to announce that he is signing a one-day contract with the Giants and then retiring. Earlier this week, former Giants WR Ike Hilliard also agreed to sign a one-day contract to retire as a Giant.
John Mara on Tom Coughlin:
“You can’t let one year influence how you look at your team,” Mara told the Daily News. “You have to take a long-range view of it. The league is too evenly matched in terms of talent. If you let one bad year – and keep in mind we were 8-8 (last year), it wasn’t like we were 4-12 – you can’t let that play too big a role in how you look at your team…..look at the guy’s record. He’s done a very good job. I’m very happy with him.”
Coughlin on LB Keith Bulluck and Chad Jones:
“He (Bulluck) is a veteran player who is very smart, a no-nonsense guy who is a physical player,” Coughlin told reporters. “He fits a nice piece of the puzzle for our team.”
“It’s really hurts not to have Chad,” Coughlin said. “The important thing is that he regain his total health. He’s not going to be far from our thoughts in training camp.”
The Philadelphia Eagles have come to terms with their top selection in this year’s draft. DE Brandon Graham, the 13th overall pick, will report to Eagles camp tomorrow.
SNY contributor Mike Garafolo is reporting that Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree has decided to retire.
David Tyree had a strong inkling his NFL career might be over. On Friday, he’ll make it official.
With the team he said has given him his “greatest memories.”
The Super Bowl XLII hero, whose miraculous catch with Patriots safety Rodney Harrison hanging all over him will remain the defining moment of his career, signed a one-day contract with the Giants so he can retire as a member of the organization, the team confirmed.
Tyree will make the announcement during a 10 a.m. conference call.
I interviewed Tyree in May. He didn’t seem like a guy who had any football left in him…….READ
Tom Coughlin is two years removed from a Super Bowl championship. He is also coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in Giants’ history and is anxious to get back to work.
“Let’s go. Let’s do it,” Coughlin said. “I am excited this year as
much as I have ever been excited, I’ll tell you that right now,”
Coughlin said. “I am looking forward to it and have been since the end
of the season last year.“There is nothing to be said,” Coughlin added about last season.
“All you can do is plan and be ready to go on
the field as soon as they let and try to do something about it.”
According to several sources, safety Kenny Phillips will begin training camp on the PUP, or Physically Unable to Perform List.
The Giants are being very cautious with Phillips and his arthritic knee. This is not a surprising move at all.
For those unfamiliar with PUP rules….
“Once a player is designated as such (PUP), they are prohibited from practicing
with the team. They can, however, rehabilitate and participate in team
meetings. If a player begins training camp on the PUP list, they can be
moved to the active roster at any time, even after one practice. A
player is not allowed to be placed on the PUP list if they start
training camp on the active roster.
A player who begins the regular season on the PUP list must sit out
his team’s first six games. After that point, a team has three weeks to
start having the player practice; once the player begins practicing, the
team has another three weeks to put the player on the active roster. If
the player is not activated by that time, or if he does not begin
practicing within that three week window, he must remain on the PUP list
for the remainder of the season.”
Injured rookie safety Chad Jones was waived by the Giants today with the intentions of placing him on the Reserve / Non-Football Injury list. According to the NFL ‘pre-mandatory cuts’ roster rules, all non-vested players (players who have less than four years of accrued service) must be placed on waivers first before being placed on any season-ending list.
According to Ralph Vacchiano, NY Daily News…..
“….the Giants are not required to pay any of his salary while he’s on the NFI list, though they can not attempt to recoup his signing bonus. The Giants will likely pay him part of the salary at least, though they’re likely to consider the cost of his medical care and other factors before they settle on a number with Jones and his family and agent.”
“I’m just hopeful that Chad can have a normal life and walk without a limp at this point,” Giants GM Jerry Reese told the Daily News yesterday, before the roster move was made. “Anything after that is a plus for me. If he makes it back to the football field, that’s fantastic. But really, my hopes and prayers are that he can have a normal life and walk without a limp and be a normal person. Right now, that’s really what I’m wishing for for him.”
Jones’ spot on the roster will be taken by Alex Hall, a defensive end who was waived by Philadelphia. Hall was drafted by Cleveland in the seventh round of the 2008 draft and traded to the Eagles in the Sheldon Brown deal earlier this season.
Although Hall has ability, he has yet to prove himself on the field. The Eagles tried him at DE and LB, but head coach Andy Reid didn’t have a spot for him. Reid proclaimed that the 6″2, 250 lb Hall would “be a very good outside linebacker in a 3-4 front”.
“After the evaluation, we just felt like his best thing would probably be a 3-4,” Reid said, “and I think Alex can definitely play in this league and be very successful, he’s just got to get into the right situation.”
No word from the Giants on their plans for Hall.
It is difficult to administer a solid grade for Jerry Reese’s 2010 personnel moves because there are less qualitative results to look at and hopefully Reese isn’t finished making those moves. What I will look at is how I think the players project on the team, how much sense the pick seems to make, and what I think Reese passed on.
1) Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida – Just playing GM in my head, I can think of a number of different ways I would have played this pick. Reese could have gone BPA and taken Derrick Morgan, giving the team a great backup LE, who offers the same kind of element as Big Mike Strahan, including run stopping ability and leadership. He could have gone need and reached a little bit for Sean Weatherspoon to play MLB. Spoon is a projected 10-year starter and another player that offers strong leadership and even a little swagger, a la Antonio Pierce. Instead Reese drafted a third RE, and a very raw one at that, a raw one with high bust potential. Go figure. How good does that aces front look if Tuck and Kiwi slide to the middle and Morgan and Osi are on the outside? I’m just saying… I certainly could be wrong and if this was a team with no needs I would be much more okay with this pick, but as of right now, I hate it: F
2) Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina – I like this pick, but why not Taylor Mays, the safety that was projected to go top 5 last draft season? If you ask me what unit I think needs the most help from last season, it’s unquestionably the safeties, especially considering Phillip’s long-term outlook. Mays, so far has proven his biggest fault is that he actually listens to his coaches. Unfortunately that was Pete Carroll at USC last season. Under The Great Mike Singletary Mays appears to be blossoming… so far. At any rate Joseph is a solid pick. He won’t contribute this season as DTs usually are quiet year one, but he’ll make a name for himself in no time and keep the middle solid: B
3) Chad Jones, Safety, LSU – Another solid pick with a bright future until the car accident (which we still know little about). This pick actually addresses a need but why are the Giants going out of their way to pass on every MLB who projects to be successful in a 4-3?: A-
4) Phillip Dillard, LB, Nebraska – What can I say? Dillard is a classic 3-4 Mike LB. I just don’t see how he fits Fewell’s cover-2 scheme. (Yes Fewell will run a cover 2, no matter how many wrinkles he puts in there.) I don’t dislike Dillard, but this was a useless pick. If Reese already has Bulluck in his crosshairs at this point, why not draft another safety or a RB or a kick returner? Maybe Dillard will be a good special teamer: F
5) Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas – One of Reese’s outstanding value picks. He’s strong. He’s big. And he’s got attitude. He’ll fit right in around here: A
6) Adrian Tracy, LB, William & Mary – Unless the Giants plan on switching to a 3-4 this could be a useless pick. I just don’t see him being very good at the Sam. He’s pretty athletic for a big guy so maybe with some development. Or he’s a guy they could bring in when they switch to 3-4 fronts. I do like Tracy’s size and production: C+
7) Matt Dodge, P, East Carolina – I wish the Giants would have picked up a punter a couple years ago to train under Feagles. They kind of dropped the ball on that one because now they’re going from twenty years of experience at punter to a rookie. Matt Dodge has a very strong leg, but punting is more of a finesse undertaking. If the Giants are patient Dodge will pay off big time: B
Off-season – Reese missed the boat on Karlos Dansby, the real off-season prize for the Giants but he brought in Rolle, a good but not elite FS. Unfortunately, Rolle is getting paid like an elite FS. Let’s hope he rises to the occasion. I love the Keith Bulluck signing, though it doesn’t make up, in the long term, for missing out on Weatherspoon and Dansby. With Chad Jones having been injured, the Giants still may need to bring in a SS to play behind Grant, who is an 11year vet: B
2010: Season GPA: 2.4
2009 Season GPA: 2.6
2008 Season GPA: 2.6
2007 Season GPA: 2.6
*Next Thursday I will give a cumulative GPA as well as offer my analysis of Jerry Reese as a GM overall.
I’m just saying…
…are the Jets the new Washington? Has Mike Tannenbaum ever had a nap? Does he sleep at night? Does this guy have to look into every FA and trade possibility out there? I mean Terell Owens? Really dude? I admire his vigilance but we’ve already seen what the gets you. Even Washington has finally toned down their act.
…I don’t know if people really know how special of a player Keith Bulluck is. You know that guy that just always seems to be around the ball? Always seems to come up with a big play? That was Bulluck in Tennessee. I don’t know that he’ll be the player he was for the Titans, but I’m pretty sure that he’ll replace everything the Giants lost in AP and still bring more athleticism and coverage skills. The Giants may be going to the Super Bowl this season guys.
…Is the new GFB site beautiful or is it beautiful?
J. Williams is a fan and a longtime reader of GFB. His commentary is strictly his own and is not necessarily the opinion of SNY or the GFB staff.
Kenny Phillips may have wanted to hit the ground running at camp, but according to Tom Coughlin, he may have to wait…
“He’ll be with the trainers until the trainers are willing to let him
begin to practice,” Tom Coughlin said this morning. “I’m sure when
that happens it will be one a day.”
ESPNs’ Herm Edwards, Mark Schlereth and Suzy Kolber discuss the issues regarding the upcoming New York Giants’ training camp.
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