Days Until Camp…..2

The Dry Season is Over

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.

Quotes

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.”