NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

The Giants have cut Keith Washington and Norman Hand. This leaves the Giants a bit thin on defensive line depth. Let’s say the starters are Osi – Robbins – Joseph – Strahan. It’s time for Joseph to step up but it’s not clear if he’ll be as big a load int he trenches as Norman Hand was. Newly signed Kendrick Clancy is touted as a run stopper like Hand was, but I’m still not as confident in our defensive line as I was last year after signing Hand and Robbins.

Chris Robinson takes a jab at the Patriots for profiting from Super Bowl tickets, but what’s more interesting is his first wind sprint:

Make no mistake, New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi was definitely trying to send a message to free-agent receiver Plaxico Burress last week. After some fruitless negotiations with Burress’ agent, Michael Harrison, Accorsi made the surprising move of announcing on the team’s website that the Giants no longer had any interest in the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver. This came after Harrison rejected two surprisingly solid deals from the Giants, including a six-year, $24 million deal with an $8 million signing bonus.
In most NFL circles, the belief is that such a deal (which slightly edges the contract Derrick Mason signed with the Baltimore Ravens) is the ceiling for Burress. But when Harrison rejected it, Accorsi ceased negotiations and issued his statement that they would no longer be pursuing Burress.

Many feel Accorsi was trying to send a message: That Burress should rid himself of Harrison if he wants to get a deal done. Others believe Accorsi saw Harrison as dishonest – that he was trying to play the Giants against phantom interest from other teams to drive up the price on Burress. Whatever the case, Burress got the picture and fired Harrison, and is set to hire Drew Rosenhaus in the coming days. Don’t be surprised if Rosenhaus gets a deal done with the Giants, even after all the fuss.

Personally, I think a six-year, $24 million deal with an $8 million signing bonus is too expensive for an inconsistent performer like Burress.

Ken Palmer writes about how the Jets and Giants go about luring free agents to New York. I like how they got Pierce:

Antonio Pierce certainly didn’t need to be wined or dined. A simple trip across the parking lot to see the Nets play the Heat was enough. After meetings at Giants Stadium, Lewis and Giants LBs coach Bill Sheridan took Pierce to see Shaquille O’Neal vs. Vince Carter.

“That was more than enough for me,” Pierce said. “I’m not like that. I don’t need all that extra fancy stuff.”

Gary Meyers writes that the Giants are closer to competing with the Eagles but not there yet:

GIANTS: McKenzie will help keep Manning off his back, but the QB needs new receivers who scare defenses just a little bit. The fact they offered Plaxico Burress an $8 million signing bonus bidding against themselves shows their desperation. “They certainly improved themselves,” the GM said. “Did they improve themselves enough to contend with the Eagles? No. When teams get good is when the quarterback is established and they have a solid defense. The Giants got better. But did they get good?” They should have signed Jay Fiedler instead of Jim Miller, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2002 and is now with his sixth team in his 12-year career. Not having a first-round pick hurts, but having Manning is better.

Ralph Vachiano writes that Plaxico Burress reached New York. Then there was an important dinner:

The Giants were not pleased that Burress blew off his first scheduled visit on Monday, and some in the organization even questioned whether his flu story was true. A lot was said to be hinging on his meeting with team officials and particularly his dinner with Tom Coughlin and the coaching staff, which took place soon after he arrived at about 6 p.m.

Paul Schwartz wants Burress signed. According to Mike Garafolo we are not too far away from agreeing on a long term deal:

Harrison, who represents former Giants linebacker Dhani Jones, also said he and the Giants are a lot closer to a contract than has been speculated. Harrison and David Resnick, another of Burress’ representatives, did not return phone messages yesterday.

The Giants are clearly the leading candidate to sign Burress. The Vikings, the only other team reported to have interest in the former Steeler, have recently inquired about a trade with the Redskins for Rod Gardner.

Most Giants fans will know that Burress didn’t show up today. The only useful info I can find is this article on Burress from a Vikings perspective:

Pittsburgh’s free-agent receiver will spend Wednesday visiting the New York Giants after Monday’s planned visit had to be rescheduled because Burress was ill. His agent and the Giants reportedly have discussed the parameters of a six-year, $21 million contract, but if things don’t work out there, the Vikings say they’re willing to talk.

The price sounds reasonable to me.

Mark Maske reports what every Giant fan should know: the Giants might try to sign Burress when he visits. That link is to the Washington Post so you would have to register to read the article.

Mike Garafolo has a better article. This one talks about the same lack of interest in Burress but has lots more detail. My favorite part:

Harrison (Burress’s agent) could foresee Burress meeting with the team and signing a contract before departing Giants Stadium. He said no other visits have been scheduled.

The Giants have agreed to terms with right tackle Kareem McKenzie on a seven-year, $37.75 million contract. This Daily News article reports that the Giants may ask him to play left tackle. If he stays on the right side, he will be the highest paid right tackle in the NFL.

Neil Best reports that McKenzie will play on the right side, while Diehl moves to left guard. Best has some important info that was missing from the Dailt News article on McKenzie:

McKenzie scoffed at the possibility of his playing anywhere other than right tackle, perhaps as an alternative to Luke Petitgout on the left. “I am a right tackle, I was brought here to be a right tackle and I will continue to be a right tackle,” he said Friday.

Regardless of who plays on the right, Petigout or McKenzie, they will have a bit more push in the running game than David Diehl. Snee and McKenzie next to each other should definitely generate some movement and help the short yardage running game. The other nice thing about McKenzie is that he has only had three penalties in three years according to the Giants. It’s also nice that he is thinking about chemistry, “The only question in McKenzie’s mind is chemistry.

“You never know the right key ingredient for a team until a guy comes in there, works with the team and engulfs himself in it,” he said.”

I would like to see Kareem McKenzie stay on the right at least for now. Petigout is more valuable trade bait as a left tackle. In other free agent news, the article also report that the Giants are going to try to sign Fielder as a backup QB and Plaxico Buress. Shaun Williams could be cut to free up cap space.

Neil Best reports that the Giants have cut Hilliard to clear 750,000 in cap space. He mentions Plaxico Burress and David Terrel as possible replacements and that the Giants want a fast receiver in the draft.

Also, Gibbs and company can’t match the Giants offer and retain Pierce who says it’s time to shoot down the Eagles. Meanwhile McKenzie and Fielder visited the Giants.

Sponsored by Free Classifieds, a good place to advertise stuff you want to sell.

Ralph Vacchiano from the Daily News has picked up on the Antonio Pierce story and added some nice details:

The Giants are also pursuing Jets right tackle Kareem McKenzie and Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress. McKenzie could be their next free-agent target; with Burress, they’re taking a wait-and-see approach until his market is set.

In the meantime, Pierce is expected at Giants Stadium early today, possibly to sign his contract. It’s a surprising development considering the amount of time Bell, limited to three games last year because of a hernia, spent at Giants Stadium yesterday. The 26-year-old, who played for Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis in Pittsburgh, arrived early on the first day of free agency and had a physical. Soon word spread around the NFL that the Giants and Bell had come to a deal.

But that deal, which was rumored to include a $13 million signing bonus, turned out to be false alarm. It’s not clear why the Giants backed off – whether it was his contract demands or something from his physical. But Bell left Giants Stadium with no contract and headed home.

In my opinion, signing Pierce is far less risky than signing Bell, but Neil Best reminds Giants fans that signing Pierce is a bit risky:

The risk is that the 6-1, 240-pound Pierce, 26, has only one full season as a starter. But he is regarded as a smart, tough player who would bolster a spot manned last year by career backup Kevin Lewis.

Paul Schwartz says that Bell was always the second choice, with Pierce being the first. He also notes that Wahle was never in the Giants plans and that Buress will probably end up in Minnesota.

Then you’ve got Mike Garafolo (who doesn’t have much solid info on Pierce but is covering the story) disagreeing with Schwartz on the Wahle issue, saying that

The Giants have aggressively pursued offensive lineman Mike Wahle, cut by the Packers on Tuesday. The 6-6, 304-pound Wahle, who can play guard and tackle, has also drawn interest from the Panthers, Chargers and Lions.

Sponsored by Pets for Sale, a good place to advertise extra dogs and cats.