Category Archives: Interviews
Recently, we caught up with former Giants WR Stephen Baker for short interview at a charity event.
Baker, who played for the Giants from 1987-92, was known to many as “The Touchdown Maker” with his biggest TD coming in the Giants’ 2019 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
What are your impressions of the Giants new receiving corps?
Awesome, as usual. That’s always a position I have looked at intently. I have to say that Hixon is one of my favorites. He’s a great returner and he makes big plays; and the new guys that came in last year, they can only get better.
What are your thoughts on Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham?
Last year was a phenomenal year as far as I’m concerned, for rookies. I didn’t have a rookie season that great…they are only going to get better. Their confidence is flourishing now and the timing with Eli should be there so I’m looking for big things this year.
Tell us a little bit about the chemistry you and the other receivers had with Phil Simms
Phil McConkey was one of the best teachers I ever had. When I came to the team I gotta admit I didn’t like him at first. Who is this little guy running around with flags and all that ..but once I got to know him and saw how passionate he was 
about playing the position, he helped me and Odessa Turner out so much.
As far as the timing with Simms, we got that just from practicing all the time. I remember the first time I came here I was in the stadium catching passes I was dropping everyhting ..Parcells went and called him out of weights to come watch me run routes. He saw how fast I was, he knew he had to relese the ball a lot sooner than had in the past. Once we got that worked out, it was a beautiful marriage.
The nickname “Touchdown Maker” – how did that come about?
Actually, I didn’t give myself that nickname, cause that’s cocky. I was playing a game in junior college, I scored four touchdowns off of four passes. A reporter came up to me and asked me if I minded if he printed ‘Stephen Baker the touchdown maker goes wild’, and I just said, sure, go ahead. From then on I was scoring 3-4 touchdowns in junior college and when I got to Fresno it just kind of stuck. I didn’t score a lot in the pros, but whenever they called my number, I averaged over 28 yards and every five catches – a touchdown.
Your most famous TD was in Super Bowl XXV. Was that a called play, or did (Jeff) Hostetler check off and throw you the ball?
No, that was a called play. We used it earlier in the playoffs against the Bears and earlier in the season against the Cardinals. As soon as they called the play. I knew it was coming to me if I could beat my man off the line of scrimmage. Our line blocked well and it was a great pass.
How do you feel about Leonard (Marshall) getting the job at Hudson Catholic?
I saw him prior to him getting that job. I didn’t know that that was going to happen but I’m happy for him. They couldn’t have picked a better guy for the job.
Stephen Baker is currently working as a teacher at the James J. Flynn Elementary School in Perth Amboy, NJ.
Tagged 1990 Giants, New York Giants, New York Giants News, Phil Simms, Stephen Baker, Super Bowl XXV |
Hixon Adds Guts, Savvy to Giants’ Receiving Corps
A few weeks back, Dr. Football (Bill Chachkes) and I had a conversation with Giants’ wide receiver Domenik Hixon at a charity event in NYC.
Q: You’re now one of the senior guys – you and (Derek) Hagen. How do you feel the new guys – Mario (Manningham) and Hakeem (Nicks) help Eli get the ball down the field?
Our whole receiver corps is explosive. You say that we are young, but we have guys on the team that can teach each other things. While we’re teaching the younger guys some things they are teaching us some things as well.
Q: Mike Sullivan was your wide receivers coach, now young coach Gilbride is your coach. What are you guys doing different if anything?
I think its great that they are miving a receivers coach to quarterbacks. Because now the quarterback has perspective of what the receivers coach is teaching us. To me, now, coach Sulllivan can kind of tell the quarterbacks “Hey, this is what we’re thinking..” Kind of being more detailed in it. At the same time they bring in coach Gilbride’s son who has a lot of knowledge who’s coming in to help out the offense.
Q: Give us the 411 on Eli, Jim and Rhett as quarterbacks…
Three characters right there. Let me tell you And believe it or not, three pranksters with Eli heading the pack. (laughs)
Q: How would you classify Eli’s development since you’ve been a Giant?
From day one since I came from Denver, he was coaching me up day one. First practice he was coaching me up. He’s always working and wanting to talk football. I think its great Even throughout the summer we do a little extra and that’s going to help us out throughout the year.
Q: Favorite route that Eli wants you to run?
That he wants me to run?
Q: Let’s say its 3rd and seven we need a first down to sustain the drive. What’s the route?
Get open and catch it. (laughter) Eli will call anything at any time. He’s gonna put it on the money, just catch the ball.
Hixon is currently listed on the Giants’ depth chart as their 5th receiver, but is their primary kick and punt returner. Don’t be surprised if this young veteran makes some big plays on the offense this season as well….
Tagged Domenik Hixon, Giants Offense, New York Giants, New York Giants News |
Five Minutes With…..David Tyree
Last night at the Filli Ponte restaurant in NYC, I attended a fundraiser hosted by In the Game Collectibles to benefit the Tomorrows Children’s Fund. In attendance were many current and former Giants players. I will be posting the interviews one a time over the next few weeks…
Myself and Dr. Bill Chachkes (aka Dr. Football) sat down with Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree, who is currently a man without a team after his contract with the Baltimore Ravens expired earlier this year.
Q: What are you up to these days? It appears that you are in shape and ready to play. Have you been talking to teams?
DT: No, I haven’t talked to too many people. I’m at peace with where my career is at right now. I’m 30 years old and it takes a lot more to be in that optimum shape now. I’m looking for situations where I can be an asset and be the best for myself and my family. There’s only a few teams I would like to play for and hopefully it will work out with one of those teams.
Q: You were a great special teams player. What advice do you have for young receivers in this league who want to make the game day cut?
DT: Its a bottom line business. If you’re that fifth or sixth guy and you want to dress, you better know how to bring something to the table as either a returner or a general special teams player. Its a long wait to get on the field as a receiver no matter how talented a player is. The Giants are deep at receiver these days, so its going to take that much more.
Q; What is your take on some of the Giants young receivers?
DT: I knew Hakeem (Nicks) was going to be special, just from the short time that I spent with him. His hands kind of speak for themselves. Even with the few blunders that he made, he was by far the best rookie Giant wide receiver that we’ve seen in a long time. As a rookie, I had a 100-yard receiving game and I couldn’t remember the next rookie who did. It was rewarding for me to finally see the Giants get a receiver who was able to come in the full length for the season and contribute at that high a level.
Tyree is certainly in shape and ready to be a positive veteran presence – on and off the field – no matter where he lands.
Tagged David Tyree, New York Giants, Tomorrow's Children's Fund |
Yesterday, at the NFL Draft, myself, Dr. Bill Chachkes (Football Reporters Online) and Zennie Abraham (zennie62.com) caught up with Giant great Tiki Barber, who was present on behalf of Yahoo Sports.
Tagged 2010 NFL Draft, Tiki Barber |
Giants center Shaun O’Hara was in Nintendo’s midtown store yesterday for a video game promotion (Ubisoft’s Just Dance) with Jets center Nick Mangold and Danilo Gallinari of the Knicks. (That’s O’Hara and Mangold posing with the author).
All three seemed to be having fun playing the game and interacting with the media and fans.
O’Hara has always been a favorite of mine, and now that I met him and talked with him at length, he will always remain so. We chatted about topical Giants issues such as the draft and what its like to play eleven seasons in the NFL, but that is not what impressed me most about Shaun.
He generally wanted to be there yesterday. He told me its part of the NFL’s initiative to promote exercise and physical activity for young people (i.e. Play 360). Just Dance for Wii combines dancing, fun and lots of physical activity without having to leave your home.
O’Hara does quite a bit of charity work. In 2009, Shaun and his wife founded H.I.K.E (Helping Increase Knowledge and Education in life-threatening diseases) which focuses raising awareness and funding for diseases such as cystic fibrosis.
Most recently, Shaun established a scholarship fund at his alma mater, Rutgers University. The fund endows a scholarship at the $100,000 level to be granted to a walk-on football player that “has earned a scholarship during his playing career at Rutgers.
O’Hara is not forgetting his roots. He himself was a walk-on at Rutgers who eventually earned a scholarship. Shaun also went undrafted in 2000 and takes pride in the fact.
He is a self-made guy, a conscientious guy, which makes me want to root for him even more.
Thanks to Anthony Quintano of QuintanoMedia for the photo.
Tagged New York Giants News, Shaun O'Hara |
Giants wide receiver Steve Smith is being asked to step up this season with Plaxico Burress out of the picture. I had a chance to ask Steve a few questions as we head into the season.
Do you feel like you should be the Giants #1 WR heading into this season?
Label’s don’t really motivate me, but i definitely think my role will be elevated and i will be a big time contributor this year.
What do you think the Giants lacked last season that prevented them from going deeper into the playoffs?
I think we just had some bad timing. Every game in the NFL is tough, so when you miss a big play or an opportunity passes you by, it’s hard to rebound.
How much of an impact will losing Plaxico have on the team and can you step up to replace him?
Losing Plax is tough because he is a great player, but we are all going to step up collectively to replace him.
Who is your best friend on the team and how do you help each other prepare for games?
I don’t have a best friend on the team, but I try to learn something from everyone on our team, regardless of position, as far as who they are as a person and how they prepare for the game.
What do you like to do when you’re not playing football? Do you have a particular hobby or interest you really enjoy?
I like to play video games like Madden and NBA 2K, and just hanging out with friends and family. I consider following the career of my younger brother Malcolm (who is projected starting LB at USC) a major hobby. I also like working on business ideas that can help make the world a better place.
Be sure to check out Steve’s new Facebook Fan Page.
Tagged Plaxico Burress, Steve Smith |
I had a chance to spend a minute with Eli Manning at the Phoenix Rising Award Dinner which was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City tonight.
The audio is a bit tough to hear, so I transcribed our interview below:
Anthony De Rosa: Are you concerned at all about the wide receiver situation, and are you worried that Plaxico may not be coming back?
Eli Manning: Well, we’ll see what happens with Plaxico. We might get some information tomorrow. I think it will work itself out. We have the draft, and we’ll see what happens with the Plaxico situation and hope for the best and take it from there.
Anthony De Rosa: Are you doing anything different in the offseason or are you pretty much business as usual?
Eli Manning: Every year you try and work on some different thing and have different goals so right now i’m just trying to get back into shape and training with the team and work on becoming a better team for next year.
Anthony De Rosa: What do you think is the one thing you need to do to get over the hump of what you guys fell into last year and get back to becoming a Super Bowl team?
Eli Manning: Well, you keep working. You gotta get through the playoffs and hopefully play your best football at the end of the season, learn how to finish, stay strong through the whole season. We had a good team, we got a lot of guys who are coming back, its just a matter of keeping them working hard and hopefully we’ll have another good run.
Willie Colon had this to say about the Giants after the game:
“They weren’t better then us: I’ll say it to their face.”
Seems like a strange comment coming from a guy who collected a couple of key penalties, one of which wiped out a long touchdown pass. He also struggled in all of his one on one battles with Justin Tuck, although I am not sure what tackle wouldn’t.
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