May 5, 2005
Giants sign Whitfield
Obviously this is a big help. The Giants projected starters were Petigout, Diehl, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie. Of those 5 Petigout would be considered the most likely to miss time because of his back. Left tackle was also the position where the Giants had least quality depth. And of course left tackle is a position where you need someone in there playing well. Coughlin is also happy:
"He's a guy who has played left tackle in this league for a long time,'' Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He's very smart, very athletic. He's a guy that will give us absolute veteran experience in a backup role. I think he'll be a big help to our offensive linemen because of his vast experience.''
Coughlin said that Whitfield is big (6-foot-5 and 310 pounds), strong and can still handle speed rushers on the defensive line.
"He thinks the game, he talks the game, he likes that aspect of the strategy,'' Coughlin said. "He'll be an excellent addition to our football team.''
He also played on special teams last year so should be able to contribute to our blocking packages. And since he signed for the vet minimum (actually this is unconfirmed), we're not talking about a big cap hit. There's no downside for the Giants with this signing.
Posted by James Trotta at May 5, 2005 1:25 PMThis signing might just be the one to make the O-Line into a solid unit. If Petitgout goes down, there is finally a backup in place. It gets even better if Seubert can still play. I feel a lot better now about the Giants chances to be competitive. Dayne could not run behind a mediocre line, but I'll bet Brandon Jacobs can get short yardage behind this years version.
Posted by: Tom Selby at May 6, 2005 6:14 AMi have been a NY Giants fan for 33 yrs now, have watched so many ups and downs over the past years, so we are not only ready, but deserve a break maybe with someone like Whitfield joining our team, it will give our guys a little more direction for trying even harder this year is gonna be our year guys, so go out there and kick some ass GO GIANTS
Posted by: clista at May 6, 2005 7:14 PM