I'll just jump right in...
-- The Giants re-signed OL Grey Ruegamer to a one-year deal, which gives them six veteran OL who played significant time last season.
-- Michael Strahan is in attendance for the off-season program, and he didn't feel much like chatting with the two reporters (me being one of them) who stuck around when he arrived. He was asked if he asked to be traded and... well, let's just say he didn't answer.
-- Count Corey Webster as one of the defensive players who's looking for a fresh start under new DC Steve Spagnuolo. "Hopefully, this is a fresh start for me," he said. "It's a chance to really show what I can do... Sometimes (the past two years), I got mixed signals. I didn't really know what the coaching staff was asking for. It's never a good thing when a player and the coach aren't on the same page. We're all here to win."
Tim Lewis tried to turn Webster from a press corner during his successful years at LSU into a Cover-2 corner with the Giants, and the results weren't terribly good. Lewis dressed down Webster near the end of last season, according to two players, and even us reporters could see that Webster had withdrawn as the season went on.
"It's a transition, and it doesn't just happen overnight," Webster said of becoming a Cover-2 corner. "As a player you have to be able to adjust. I definitely thought I could have done better."
-- Chris Snee pulled no punches when he talked about his reaction to Luke Petitgout being cut last month. "Was I disappointed? Absolutely," he said. "He's been here eight years and he gave a lot to this organization. He's someone who's a friend, and the O-line as a group was pretty tight. He was one of our leaders. Now, someone else has to fill that void."
David Diehl said he hasn't been told anything about where he'll play, but he's ready for anything. As usual.
-- Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka each went to visit relatives in Africa -- Umenyiora went to Nigeria, where he was born, for the first time in 12 years and became a Chief; Kiwanuka went to Uganda for the first time in 15 years and did something he didn't think he would on the long flight over.
"I did watch 'The Last King of Scotland,'" he said, referring to the film for which Forest Whitaker won an Oscar playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who personally murdered Kiwanuka's grandfather, Benedicto, some 40 years ago.
"I didn't think I was up to seeing it, but friends told me it was really tastefully done, and it's even popular in Uganda," he said. The film makes a passing mention of his grandfather. "It was very well done and pretty truthful in the way it portrayed Uganda and (Amin)."
-- Among the locker shuffles: Jason Bell has Tiki Barber's locker, Jeff Feagles moved into Petitgout's locker and Brandon Jacobs has Carlos Emmons' locker.
-- Eli Manning got quite animated when talking about his brother's "Saturday Night Live" show last weekend. "He was really good," Eli said. "They changed the monologue on him right before the show and they kept saying, 'Don't memorize the lines because they might change.' He worked hard at it."
Eli's brief appearance came during the monologue, when he stood and waved. "It was real complex," he said.
I crashed out before the show started, but I saw the monologue and the instant-classic United Way sketch on YouTube. "I can't even stand to look at you. Go sit in the Port-O-Let for 20 minutes." I'm guessing Peyton actually does this with rookie WRs in training camp.
Comments (16)
About Eli's appearance: it was the first time, in a pressure situation that he waved his arm and DIDN'T throw an INT.
The rest of the NFC has gotten better and if the Skins get Briggs, a competive Giants team MAY hit the field in 2008.
Can someone please tell me why the Giants are not involved in these Briggs talks. Briggs is a monster and he is obviously on the block. What is Jerry doing? Package a first and a 3rd for Briggs. He is that good
Nudd - I agree with you. We should try to get Briggs, though seeing Reese make that move will be like me winning the lottery. I would hate to see Briggs in a Redskins uniform.
The Skins are offering the 6th overall pick. We simply can't compete with that. We may also not be able to afford the contract he is seeking. I also question whether he is worth a 1st & 3rd. I haven't seem a ton of him myself besides against the Giants and in the playoffs, but I've been told that he didn't look so hot when Urlacher wasn't on the field with him.
What do you think of when you think of the Bears Defense? You think Brian Urlacher. Not Lance Briggs. He is a Peter Boulware who flourished next to Ray Lewis. JR is doing the right thing in not giving up the farm for this guy. The Skins can make another offseason blunder. Last I knew they needed help at several positions, QB being one of them. I am still in favor of trading one of our DE's for draft picks or another LB or CB. Even though he is an all time Giant, Strahan being traded wouldn't kill me. He is past his prime and starting to be injury prone. Trade him while you can get something for him and go with a younger stud at the position.
Hey Arthur, great stuff as always! I know it sounds (from Rosenhaus and Briggs) that Lance could be headed to Washington....any chance the Giants could jump ni late with another offer - although it doesn't sound like the Giants could offer as much...
PM: "I can't even look at you"
:)
...nice job on the NYG scoop, as always
Arthur, what are you, on vacation? No posts since 3/37. What, if anything are you hearing behind the scenes w/ regard to DT, Kicker and WR needs? Now that JR is back from Phoenix, can we expect anything happening between now and the draft? C'mon Arthur...your silence is deadly.
I know I like this site but come on it gets updated like three times a month.
I am really confused as to what GM Reese is doing? I really do not see signing linebacker Jason Mitchell (that makes two Mitchell's at LB in a week), who did not play in 2006 because of a knee injury suffered in his final year at the University of Tennessee as an improvement to the team. Reese reminds me of a corporate accountant whose primary concern is to purchase things cheap rather than looking for quality at a good price. I have a bad feeling, Giant fans, that we are going to be in for a very long and unhappy season. Poor Eli Manning with no tackle to protect him. Maybe management should draft a few more RB's to run all over the field to take pressure off Manning. One thing is for sure, we will have a new coach in 2008 with the rooster we currently have and have a very high draft pick.
This site sucks so bad its never updated lmao.
Yeah Bob, we will have a new coach in 2008 but we should have had a new one now. I also agree there are a lot of reasons to gripe about this sorry excuse of a free agent market. Let's face it, there wasn't a lot of players available that fit well with our sceem, off or def. Lance Briggs or D. Rhodes wanted way too much $$ and probably wouldn't fit well with OUR game plan. Not to mention most players probably don't want to play for Tom hitler(I mean Coughlin) anyway! The Giants still should be very competitive in '07 at least for a playoff spot.
Unfortunately folks I believe we are back in the dark times of the 1960's and 1970's. The trade for Manning will negatively impact the franchise for at least three more years and more likely six to seven.
Here's why. During the last two years of Manning's existing contract he will consume a devastatingly high percentage of our cap. We have given him a TON of guaranteed money. The majority of this money will amortize against the cap in 2008 and 2009 since much of it wasn't paid until this year. As a result, there will be incredible pressure on the organization to rework Manning's deal and extend him for at least four more years to reduce the short term cap impact. Thus, we are probably stuck with him through 2013. During that time, he will continue to eat up huge amounts of cap and limit our ability to improve the team through free agency.
If as I suspect, Manning has a disastrous 2007, management will do one of two things:
1) Blame it on the coaching staff and extend Manning's contract anyway.
2) Cut our losses and suffer the devastating cap consequences in 2008 & 2009. The hope would be to have a competitive team in 2010.
If they choose option #2 they will have limited ability to attract a quality coach. In addition, option 2 is a non-starter since management would essentially admit it is incompetent.
If they choose option #1 they will have mortgaged the team's prospects for the forseeable future. However, management will be able to hide from intense scrutiny for another year or two.
This Giants fan will be watching Rutgers games on Saturday rather than Big Blue on Sunday for the forseeable future.
Remember the last time the Giants went after a FA who was in the shadows of another top player? Everyone was convinced that Kenny Holmes would be a big-time player because of the work he did in the shadows of Jevon Kearse. Lance Briggs may very well turn out the exact same way, and there's no way I'd get behind the idea of paying him like he wants to get paid. And to the guy who said that everyone else in the NFC has gotten better; Wade Philips is better than Bill Parcells? The Redskins *always* seem like they "get better" in the off-season, yet they keep losing. And the Eagles have picked up a couple of players, but what have they actually done to improve themselves?
Totally agree Phil and gmen...sorry Bob B. Reese is doing the right thing. Nothing!!! This FA market is very underwhelming. We need to sit on our hands and fill holes through the draft. The Mara kid, who didn't get the GM job, is a good evaluator of talent. Now with Acorsi out of here and no more Eli's to draft, I think Mara will stock the team with some talented no-names. And for crying out loud, let's get rid of Strahan who is past his prime while we can get something for him. I can only see him as a cancer on the defensive side of the ball...let Pierce run the show. And if Plax or Shockey get out of line next year, ship their butts out of there too.