Tag Archives: Justin Tuck

I don’t see any reason to stray from a formula that has been working. Especially when it is extremely appropriate for this particular scenario. So while I don’t intend to be too agitated today, I will be utilizing yet another comparison to the 2007 championship season.

In 2006, Tiki Barber served as the face of an underwhelming Giants franchise. In the fall of 2005 (a season in which he would break off a 95 yard run and accrue 235 rushing yards in a single game), he would accompany Jeremy Shockey to the bedside of a dying Wellington Mara. The two were described as the football patriarch’s favorite current stars.

But after years of serving as the lightening rod for an otherwise underachieving offense, Barber abruptly left pro football. His departure left a significant hole in the Giants roster. The hole was not much unlike the one that Jerry Reese found himself staring at when Steve Smith hobbled out the door and into the Eagles arms.

Between ’06 and ’07, the Giants finally gave up their attempt to mold project slot receiver Tim Carter into a dangerous weapon. Carter, who is the cousin of former MLB Outfielder Gary Sheffield, appeared to be a physical specimen. He was easily one of the fastest players in the league. Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to consistently haul in catches.

(more…)

Tagged aaron rodgers, Brandon Jacobs, Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Reuben Droughns, Tiki Barber |

As the first ever playoff game in MetLife Stadium draws nearer, comparisons are swirling regarding the 2011 squad’s resemblance to the World Champion 2007 Giants team. For the most part, I too can see the resemblance.

Just like in the summer of ‘07, the Giants weren’t expected to make much noise this season. After making quick free agent splashes with top UDFA Mark Herzlich and C David Baas, Big Blue found itself sitting idly by as other teams stole headlines and marquee names.

GM Jerry Reese was under serious fire before a single preseason snap was played. Two of Eli’s top targets, Steve Smith and Kevin Boss, were allowed to quietly walk out the door and in one case into the arms of the franchise’s most hated rival. Ahmad Bradshaw too was almost not retained, but a pay cut taken by Brandon Jacobs led to his return.

After a season staggered with disappointing losses to lesser opponents (including opening day), the Giants appear to have hit their stride in the closing two weeks. In Week 16 of 2007, it was the Bills that the Giants surged past to clinch a playoff berth and in 2011 they would step on the throats of a free falling Gang Green.

I agree there are similarities, but there is also one alarming difference. Earth, Wind, and Fire is no more. In 2008, Brandon Jacobs teamed with Derrick Ward to amass over 2,000 yards on the ground. The pair was so effective that Ahmad Bradshaw barely even saw the field during the entire campaign despite playing a major roll in the previous post-season success of the franchise.

This year, a less effective offensive line and dinged up RBs have hampered Big Blue. The good news, Eli Manning has managed to counter the lack of balance by putting on a passing clinic. He has racked up 4,933 passing yards in 16 games. After publicly claiming that he was in Tom Brady’s class, Manning backed up his words by finishing just 67 yards shy of 5,000. His 15 4th quarter TD’s broke an NFL record that was previously held by big brother Peyton.

(more…)

Tagged Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, Jake Ballard, Julio Jones, Justin Tuck, Matt Ryan, Osi Umenyiora, Roddy White, Tom Coughlin, Tony Gonzalez, Victor Cruz |

During the Holiday Season, even The Bad Guy finds himself in a forgiving mood. For instance, I’ve found it in my heart to absolve Victor Cruz of his childhood allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys. So I know that you’ll all forgive me for incorrectly projecting a Giant downfall on Saturday. It just so happens that Santa was not sleeping. He received my letter, mulled it over, and decided on a bigger and better present than I had asked for. Instead of a TE, he delivered a defense to help Eli Manning soar past the Jets and land in a Title Fight on Jan.1.

Last week, one particularly enthusiastic Giants fan (see: threatens to break things after losses) referred to Justin Tuck as “Papa Defense.” I don’t like the title, mainly because the word “Papa” immediately makes me think of a creepy guy in a red button down shirt selling me crappy pizza. But I agree with it.

(more…)

Tagged Ahmad Bradshaw, Eli Manning, Jake Ballard, Justin Tuck, Mario Manningham, Mark Sanchez, Victor Cruz |

Giants’ defensive captain Justin Tuck has had a rough season. If you’ve been following this site you already know what he’s gone through this year. His not being 100% has been a huge part of why this Giants’ defense has been ravaged this season by offenses both good and bad.

He is right in all ways now, and the Jets got a good dose of what a healthy, focused Tuck can do. He only had four tackles, but one was for a loss and another was a sack. In addition, he batted two passes down at the line of scrimmage. When he plays well, the Giants are hard to beat.

Three Giants played over 100 snaps Saturday (CB Corey Webster, DE Jason Pierre-Paul and safety Antrel Rolle) and Tuck was in on 88 snaps, by far the most he’s played in quite some time. Tom Coughlin said today that Tuck’s presence on the field is a great sign for his team:

“If you play like he did the other night, that is the best message you can send and the best way you can help your teammates is to set that kind of example and follow through with it. He had fun playing the other night. He played with great energy and played a lot of snaps, he didn’t want to come off the field and those are all huge plusses.”

Tuck himself is looking forward, not behind. He has plenty of reasons to do so. If his Giants beat Dallas Sunday night, they are back in the playoffs and back in business. He spoke with the media today:

(more…)

Tagged Justin Tuck, New York Giants |

Famed American fashion designer and Giants fan Kenneth Cole hosted a V.I.P. sale with proceeds going to benefit New York Giants’ football star Justin Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy charity.

R.U.S.H. for Literacy, founded by Justin and his wife Lauran in 2008, encourages children in selected schools in New York and Tuck’s home state of Alabama to read, understand, succeed and hope.

Justin was thrilled as many of his teammates braved the massive crowd of tourists and holiday shoppers in one of Manhattan’s busiest neighborhoods to show support for the kids and their All-Pro Defensive End including Michael Boley, David Baas and Mark Herzlich.

Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka attends the IMAX private screening of the new Tom Cruise vehicle – Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol – at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 on Wednesday, December 14, 2011. (Photo Credit IMAX/Diane Bondareff).

Tagged Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, New York Giants Blogs |

SNY’s Kerith Burke speaks with Giants defensive end Justin Tuck about his charity benefiting literacy and Big Blue’s win over Dallas.

Tagged Justin Tuck, New York Giants, sny |

The Giants were sky high after their big win in Big D last night, but today head coach Tom Coughlin was back to business as usual. He gave his injury assessment:

On TE Jake Ballard: “I think Jake is going to be okay. He may have injured his wrist a little bit, but they don’t believe it’s much..”

On OT David Diehl: “Dave just keeps hanging in there and pounding away. I think that they may be a little bit restricted this week, but they’ll definitely be ready to go…He’s had an ongoing hand issue that he’s battled and really done well with it.”

On TE Travis Beckum: “He’s got some issues with his upper chest area. I think we’re going to have to see if he can play through some of the soreness that he has and hopefully that will happen…Sternoclavicular. Up a little higher than [the pectoral]…”

RE: S Kenny Phillips and DE Osi Umneyiora: “We’re hoping, but we’re going to have to wait and see. This stuff is day-to-day. You get excited and then you get a report and it’s not quite as positive as you thought it might be. We’ll wait, it’s a little early. We have tomorrow and, even treatment-wise, Wednesday before we get on the field. Let’s just see how that plays out.”

On C David Baas: “Same type of thing.”

SNY insider Mike Garafolo reports DE Justin Tuck has sustained another injury that could potentially sideline him:

Tuck, who left the game with a toe injury, said in his weekly interview on WFAN he felt like he was “playing on one leg.” Tuck had an MRI on his foot but didn’t reveal the results and said he’s unsure of his status for Sunday. But when asked his gut feeling as to whether he’ll face the Redskins, Tuck said he expects to play.

Tagged Justin Tuck, New York Giants News |

Giant fans have been asking all year: who is that out there wearing No. 91? It used to be Justin Tuck, but that guy wearing his shirt is no Justin Tuck.

Well, as it turns out, after a slew of on and off-field issues, Tuck is rounding into back into form. Injuries to his neck, groin and ankle held him back this year on the field. The passing of two close family members at the beginning of the season held him back off of it.

His season bottomed out several weeks ago, when he could not make much of a difference as his Giants began to spiral into their annual nosedive. He annouced to the world that he “sucked”. Last week, he picked himself up off the canvas and began to fight back. Justin Tuck has returned.

(more…)

Tagged Justin Tuck, New York Giants |

The Giants may be on the verge of another late-season collapse. The leadership team of Eli Manning and Justin Tuck are fully aware of the team’s recent history and are safeguarding themselves from the fallout if the Giants – who began the season with 6-2 record, fail to make the postseason for the third consecutive year…

Q: How much concern is there with six games left?

Tuck: “I don’t know if there’s any concern. There shouldn’t be. The only thing we have to do is win football games. We still own our destiny. We still have three divisional games left with Washington and two against Dallas. We’re still where we want to be, but we can’t afford to play like we did last night.”

Q: How much does this team need a win to stop the comparison of meltdowns from years past?

Eli: “Obviously we have to go win. That is always going to be the case and we have a tough road ahead and we have a good team coming up this week and we just have to find ways to play more consistent football throughout the game. It seems like we always wait until the fourth quarter before we start playing our best football. In eight or nine games, that has been the case. We go in the fourth quarter and we are down or it is a close game and we have to fight back. Five of them we were able to win and three of them we got into the red zone basically and something happened. We were stopped, you get a fumble or a tipped ball or a guy slips. It is the little things. We still feel that in crunch time we move the ball and we make big plays. We just have to play with more urgency throughout the game.”

Q: What do you see in the running game that has to be fixed?

Eli: “The offensive line and the backs and I have to get us out of some bad runs. It is different things and we just have to try to get into some things where we get three and four yards a carry. There is just too many times where we are losing two yards. When you are playing in second and 12 it makes for a long day.”

Q: How do you avoid people thinking about second-half collapses?

Tuck: “I don’t know. I hope it is in our heads. I hope it’s fresh in our heads, of knowing that we can’t allow ourselves to do that. I think that the good thing is that we don’t have any time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to go down to New Orleans on a Monday night game and play a really, really good football team. So we don’t have any time to be down on ourselves or wonder what’s happening here. We have to figure this thing out right and figure it out now. You talk about second half collapses, if we get down in the tanks it could be a historical second-half collapse.”

Q: What do you tell the young players about playing in New Orleans?

Eli: “It is going to be loud and our communication in the huddle, everybody has to hear our calls that we are making. We can’t let that be a distraction and keeping it from letting us do our job.”

Q: As one of the captains, how do you get the team to move forward?

Tuck: “Just hold guys accountable, including myself. We have to do a better job of making sure that everybody is on the right page. I know a lot of times the coaches get blamed for stuff like that, but I think the leadership has a role to play in that too. We just had a meeting and hopefully we got some things cleared away. I think the best things that you can do after a loss like that is meet with your coaches and see how you could have performed better. You go over things in your head, it’s disappointing and you don’t want to see any of that crap. You take it, you take the medicine and you learn from it. I think today was a good session for us, obviously I can’t speak for the offense, but defensively, we got a lot of things answered. Hopefully we can just come out here next week and just have a good week of practice and put all of this behind us.”

Tagged Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, New York Giants |

Our colleague over at CapitalNewYork, Greg Hanlon, featured Giants’ defensive captain Justin Tuck this week….

I told him I had heard him on Francesa talking about how he didn’t like to talk about the Super Bowl.

“Don’t listen to anything I say on Francesa,” he shot back, pronouncing it “Fran-chesa.”

I told him that he seemed tired of answering questions about the Super Bowl.

“I am,” he said. “And you’re gonna ask me about it, aren’t you?”

No, I told him. I wanted to ask him why he was tired of talking about it.

“Because it’s in the past,” he said. “It’s four years ago. What does that make a difference? I only got one Super Bowl ring. I got some catching up to do.”

Continue Reading

Tagged Justin Tuck, New York Giants | ← Older postsNewer posts →