Monthly Archives: July 2009
Here’s a clip from SNY’s The Wheelhouse where they discuss Plax’s chances of playing in the NFL again:
Today, I’ve searched the web far and wide to collect all the power rankings lists I can: Here’s a summation on where each list had the Gmen:
Sports-Central.org: No. 3 behind Patriots and Steelers
ESPN.com: No. 3 behind Steelers and Patriots
WhatifSports.com: No. 3 behind the Eagles and Patriots
CbsSports.com: No. 6!, behind Patriots, Steelers, Eagles, Colts, and Cardinals.
SI.com: No. 3 behind Patriots and Steelers
NBCSports.com: No. 3 behind Steelers and Cardinals.
Pete Prisco at it again. He has the Giants at number six behind teams like the Colts and Cardinals. In a well thought out argument that lasted numerous annoying hours, I can see one person putting the Eagles over the Giants, but the Colts and Cardinals? No way.
I think everyone else for the most part had it right. You have to give the nod to the Brady Bunch and the Steel Curtain right now over the Gmen. one’s the defending champs, and the other has Tom Brady throwing to Randy Moss.
My ranking would go a little something like this:
1. New England
2. Pittsburgh
3. New York (Giants)
4. Philadelphia
5. Indianapolis
On Giant blogs and news sites all over, everyone is talking about the New York Giant wide receiver situation.
No matter where I look, whether it be BigBlue101, Big Blue View, myself, or any major sports syndication site, I will see some sort of debate, article, blog post, or opinion on the Giants wide receiver corps.
With that said, I am officially here to say…Enough is enough.
As far as Im concerned, Giants fans and reporters seem to all have the same (or similar) opinions on the Giants Wide receivers. They go a little something like this:
1. Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon are the starters. Smith is better suited as a second receiver in the slot and Hixon is a down the field threat.
2. Veterans Sinorice Moss and “Mario Manningham” need to step up and be effective players
3. We all really like the upside that Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden have and are very hopeful that at least one of them shows it sooner than later.
4. David Tyree better be on this roster come opening day.
A combination of these points (and some that I may have left out) are the generic opinions of what we are all thinking.
Training camp is less than a week away, and when it starts, we will all start to get some answers to the questions. So with that said…to all you Giant bloggers, reporters, analysts…lets put this argument to bed, at least for a week or two.
The clip is a little dated (having aired during the July 4th weekend) but I just stumbled upon it, and I figured what the heck. Here’s Ramses Barden talking to Foxsports.com about the upcoming season and other such things:
I left this out of my Eagle post earlier, but feel it’s too important to neglect. Brian Westbrook will likely not participate in any pre-season games, and won’t even be on the field until mid August making him very questionable for the season opener against Carolina.
We’d all be lying to ourselves if we siad that the Eagles could be just as good offesnsively with rookie Lesean McCoy and Lorenzo Booker. The Eagles will not be the powerhouse a lot of experts are projecting them to be without a healthy Brian Westbrook…plain and simple.
McNabb and the passing game is good, but not good enough to carry them offensively without a strong rushing attack.
Philadelphia Eagles: Minor receiver problems in the city of brotherly love.
1. Minor receiver problem No. 1: Veteran WR Kevin Curtis is not 100%. In a report on GCobb.com, Kevin Curtis is still feeling discomfort from the sports hernia surgery he underwent i n the off season. Amidst this nagging injury, Curtis says he does not plan to miss any time in training camp. (sigh.)
2. Minor receiver problem No. 2: Rookie first round pick Jeremy Maclin remains unsigned. The deadline for rookies and selected veterans to report to camp at Lehigh University was last night at 6:30 pm. Maclin was a no show. Coach Andy Reid said that the team and Maclin are “close in some areas, but need to get closer in others.”
Dallas Cowboys: Bill Barnwell, a blogger on FootballOutsiders.com answered five questions about the Cowboys heading into this season, and he had some pretty intriguing opinions. Here’s a quick run down on what he said:
1. He refers to new acquisition Igor Olshansky as a “modest upgrade at a much cheaper price” in reference to Chris Canty.
2. A healthy Terrence Newman at cornerback is the difference between a good and a great pass defense for the ‘Boys.
3. Gerald Sensabaugh is an upgrade over Roy Williams at safety.
These are some pretty bold assumptions…
Washington Redskins: Redskins LB Rocky Mcintosh said on his twitter Friday night, and I quote “Do or die this year ‘Skins fans. I choose DO. And do it big.”
In an article in the Wasington Times, Ryan O’ Hallaran lists ten players on the Redskins roster that it is make or break for this year. Among those listed were Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, Deangelo Hall, Chris Samuels, etc.
In a report from Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger, the Giants and Antonio Pierce specifically may still have to deal with some judiciary affairs from the Plaxico Burress gunshot case which began almost exactly eight months ago to the day.
Reportedly, Pierce is still on the hook for firearm possession because after the gunshots went off, Pierce took the gun with him instead of putting it down right there on the sidewalk.
“As soon as it happened, he called Ronnie Barnes right away, rushed Burress to the hospital right away,” said Giants president John Mara. “I mean, should he have taken the gun with him? Probably not. But what was he going to do with it? Was he going to leave it on the sidewalk there? He took it with him, he told us he had it, we told NFL security and NYPD that he had it.”
The Giants head into training camp in six days, lets hope this does not cause any much needed headaches in Albany. The worst thing that could happen is for the media to blow this out of proportion and constantly bombard the team (and Pierce) with nagging questions about the situation.
In a recent podcast on ESPN.com, Matt Williamson goes toe to toe with Jeremy Green on who is crowned “beast of the east.”
Its a 47 minute podcast, so if you don’t have the time to listen to it, don’t bother.
In summation, Williamson takes the Eagles and Green went with the Gmen. Green’s argument for the Gmen starts with the defensive line, which is head and shoulders above any other line in terms of depth and overall skill in my opinion.
I’d like to personally go position by position to truly decide who has the edge right now.
Quarterback: Pretty much a toss-up in my eyes. Neither Eli nor McNabb are much better than each other. I think you stick Eli on the Birds, or Donovan on the Gmen and not much would change
Runningback: You got to go with the Giants here. You know what you’re getting from Jacobs and Bradshaw is a solid backup. With the Eagles, they have the rook McCoy coming in, but he hasn’t proven anything yet, and Westbrook is coming off an injury. (and is very injury prone anyways)
Wide Receivers/Tight End: I’m going to group these two together and just talk overall receiving, where the edge has to go to the Eagles. It’s pretty much a draw when it comes to Brent Celek or Kevin Boss and on the receiver side, the Giants do not have much to work with. DeSean Jackson is coming off a solid rookie year, they have the rookie Maclin coming in, and guys like Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, and Hank Baskett are much more trustworthy guys than Sinorice Moss, Mario Manningham, and David Tyree. Edge to the Birds.
Offensive Line: This is close. If you look at the Eagles line on paper, it looks real solid, however they have three new starters this year…and that’s always an adjustment. The Giants on the other hand, may not be as “pro-bowl studded” but they have played together for what will now be their third straight season and they’ve shown they could dominate. Slight edge to the Gmen.
On to defense…
Defensive Line: No brainer here. Giants. The Eagles are good, in fact very good on the D-line, but the Giants aren’t good…there fantastic. This line is the best in football, at least on paper.
Linebackers: With a healthy, unsuspended Michael Boley, I would probably be less reluctant to give this nod to the Giants, but that hurts. Stewart Bradley played real well last year, and outside linebackers Jordan and Gocong are both expected to be much bigger forces on the outside. You know what your getting with Antonio Pierce and Danny Clark, who are both on the older side at this point. Youth helps the Birds with the linebackers…I also like Omar Gaither off the bench for them. Slight edge (very slight) to the Eagles. For now.
….I really think Derrick Brooks would be a great fit for either of these teams as well. But that’s just me.
Secondary: In terms of the starting four, edge goes to the Eagles. The Eagles may have the best cornerback duo in the NFL with Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, and you know they wouldn’t have let Dawkins get away from Phili if they needed him. Quentin Mikell played outstanding last year from them, and will only get better. I like Corey Webster a lot, and I think he is under rated, but as a whole the Giants lack some real big playmakers in that secondary. I think the key for the Gmen and the secondary this year has to be second year safety Kenny Phillips.
It’s really hard to say as a whole which team has the edge. For now, I am going to say the Giants do, but if i write this analysis again right before the season starts in about a month, some opinions might change.
To me at least, it is safe to say that, at least as of now, these are the top two in the NFC.
To all my Eagle fan readers and friends, I am expecting some rebuttal.
Matt Mosley writes on ESPN.com about his training camp previews for all the teams in the NFC East.
As per the Giants, Mosley brings up an interesting training camp battle that has maybe been a bit overshadowed by the clustered WR competition.
That battle, is the battle for the 2nd/3rd string runningback job. Ahmad Bradshaw does not have this job set in stone, and both Danny Ware and rookie Andre Brown are there to prove they can compete.
Of course, the job looks to be Bradshaw’s to lose, but the Giants and GM Jerry Reese love their rookie Brown and really think he can threaten for some legitimate PT come the regular season.
Assuming Bradshaw does win the job for 2nd string RB, the third string job is up for grabs between the rookie and Ware. I personally like all four of these guys (including Jacobs) and think any of them will play well if they’re put on the field. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Training Camp Ticker: 11 days.
This will be the last installment of my ‘New Face, New Place’ because, well, this is the last new face on the Giants coaching staff.
Jack Bicknell Jr. joins the New York Giants as the assistant offensive line coach. Formerly, Bicknell was an offensive line coach at New Hampshire, Louisiana Tech, and most recently, Boston College.
At La Tech, he was the head coach after his first year in 1997, and led the team to an 8-3 record earning them their first ever AP top 25 ranking.
In ’07, Bicknell joined the Golden Eagles of Boston College to become their offensive line coach. That year, his offensive line ranked first in the ACC in sacks allowed. That line also were the protectors of hot shot QB Matt Ryan who had a record-breaking season that year.
Fun Fact: Actually, make it very fun fact. Remember that famous Hail Mary thrown by Doug Flutie in 1987. Our man Bicknell was the center snapping the ball on that play. Take a look:
← Older postsNewer posts →
