The Daily News thinks Warner is coming to New York for about 3 million. They also give a nice rundown on his career and talk about his wife a bit. Others are still talking about other teams who may offer Warner a contract. No names though. USA Today also expects to see Warner become a Giant but raises serious questions about his ability to play. Still, like they say, the Giants don't have many options and Warner has even fewer if he wants a good chance to start.
ESPN compared the Giants offseason this year to their one in 2000 and to the recent New England Patriots, because the Giants have not been overpaying for veterans. The Tampa Bay Bucs are the only other team adhereing to the New England model according to this article. ESPN expects the Giants to get 7-8 new starters from the acquisitions but not a trip to the superbowl.
The Giants signed Brent Alexander, who has had 4 interceptions in each of the last three years playing for the Steelers (where he played under defensive coordinator, Tim Lewis). His experience should be an improvement of Ryan Clark, who was cut. Although his speed is questionable according to this highly critical article. The only nice thing they say about him is that he's link an on-field coach. He may be slow, but brains must be worth something; his 12 interceptions in the past three years sure beats Omar Stoutmire's 1 interception in the past 3! Shaun Williams has 6 in the past 3, exactly half as many as Brent Alexander. In fact Stoutmire has only 5 carreer picks, Williams 11. In three years, Alexander has done more than either of our starting safeties have done their entire careers.
As usual this time of year there's not too much news to report but you might be interested in Jim McNally who may have a harder time this year than last because the Bills offensive line was as bad as the Giants' line last year.
Most writers still expect the Giants to sign Warner, and most think it's a smart move. However, there may be some competition from the Chiefs.
NFC East news: This NFC East off season review is nothing special, but there's not much in the news these days.
Everyone who says the Giants have a franchise QB for the next ten years in Eli Manning may have to rethink that when his initial contract expires. If Eli Manning becomes a star and if these NFL QB predictions are correct, a franchise tag might cost around 14-15 million/year pretty soon thanks to the precedent set by Peyton Manning's contract. It might be getting more important to have a star QB but it's getting more expensive also.
Another article about how Palmer may not be a Giant when the season starts. This one is from 1010wins and has a few amusing lines from his teammates.
Not that there was any doubt, but Warner's not participating in Rams camp means he will certainly be cut. Bartelstein, Warner's agent, claims that 4 or 5 teams are interested. Considering how little interest there seems to be in Kerry Collins (who comes with fewer health concerns than Warner) that would surprise me. Plus he has only met with the Giants...
Len Pasquerelli at ESPN predicts an interesting competition among Giants defensive tackles and has some nice things to say about our new guy, Glen Steele.
And the Giants have to pay for their sins. The players get a two day paid vacation.
This rundown on some minor free agent moves suggests that signing Kurt Kittner (who beat only the Giants last season) might mean the end of Jessie Palmer's career in New York. As I wrote before, I won't cry if the Giants bachelor gets no rose from Tom Coughlin. As expected, Kevin Thompson was released. Our QB depth chart might look something like Warner, Manning, Kittner or Van Dyke (I've already written about how I like Van Dyke), with J-Load on the practice squad.
Clarence LeBlanc, Ryan Hoag, Lewis Moore, Beau Fullerton, and Keylon Kincade were also released while we signed James McKnight, JaJuan Dawson, Jason Doering, Glen Steele, Jerrmaine Green.
An excerpt from Phil Barber's offseason analysis:
New York Giants. If the players are having a hard time adjusting to coach Tom Coughlin's minicamp schedule, just wait until training camp. This is a team undergoing massive upheaval, moving from a proven veteran quarterback (Kerry Collins) to a rookie (Eli Manning) and replacing six starters in the defensive front seven, all under a new coaching staff. New York hasn't found a suitable replacement for defensive end Kenny Holmes, and simple math says new linebackers Carlos Emmons and Barrett Green, while good players, can't compensate for the loss of an entire second-level trio -- Dhani Jones, Mike Barrow and Brandon Short. Grade: D
I do agree that the linebacking corps is still a question mark but it could be addressed in free agency or with a strong showing by Nick Griesen.
David Diehl is happy. He doesn't mind working with Coughlin and offensive line coach Pat Flaherty. He doesn't mind working at guard and right tackle. He doesn't mind that the Giants drafted another Guard, Chris Snee.
What's the best case scenarios for the Giants offensive line? It certainly involves a healthy Petigout who seems to be healthy (but back problems are somtimes chronic) at left tackle. It would be nice if Seubert could play left guard (but his injury is still healing and his return is no guarantee). O'Hara seems to be the center although Lucier might compete for a starting job. If Snee turns out to be an immediate force, he could play right guard. In this scenario, Stokes and Diehl would compete for the right tackle spot.
By the way, I did a Google search for Barry Stokes. The first two results (from NFL.com and ESPN) have him listed as a tackle. The third result was more disturbing and involved adult pictures and vidoes. No, I did not visit this site to check if they were authentic).
Anyway, back to the offensive line, we *could* be very solid if Petigout and Seubert are healthy and if Snee quicly adjusts to the NFL. Clearly Petigout is the guy we need most. It is possible to play with the current depth chart: Petigout, Stokes, O'Hara, Diehl, Ian Allen. However, Allen is a liability (as he proved last season). We would need either Seubert to come back or Snee to play well (allowing Stokes or Diehl to play right tackle).
Recap of the best case scenario: If we get Petigout and Seubert back and Snee plays well we'll be in good shape in terms of quality and depth. There's also talk about June 1 cuts and free agent acquisitions. We have some cap space but we also need to consider a veteran QB and a proven MLB. We'll see what happens to the free agent market soon enough...
This overview of the many question marks various NFL teams have points out that in the NFC East, only the Eagles are set at QB. The Giants still need a veteran for Eli Manning. The Cowboys have Quincy Carter and Drew Henson. Henson may be the QB of the future, but it's hard to believe he'll be ready to start this season. The Redskins have Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey. Brunell seemed to be losing his stuff when he lost his starting job and we'll have to see if he can buy it back with the 43 million dollars the redskins are giving him.
The most annoying (and dumbest) article I've read today is very misleadingly titled "Coughlin's Playbook" but has nothing to do with football plays. Instead, it's all about the spat between Coughlin, a few Giants, and the players association. The bit about Strahan and Barber being in danger of getting cut for salary cap reasons was interesting (but wrong for Barber if he stops fumbling and wrong for Strahan is he plays at the same level he always has). The line about not watching games because the off-field politics was more interesting earned this article my "most annoying" label. Subscription required to read this drudgery.
Bill Gramatica signed with the Giants. A big deal will probably be made about his extra point accuracy, but Bryant was 17/17 last year in extra points. The real issue is that the Giants need someone who can put the ball in the end zone on kickoffs. Grammatica hasn't had a touchback since 2001 (that's right, ever since he hurt his knee jumping for joy after a field goal agains the Giants).
One possibility if Mark Gould beats out Jef feagles would be for Gould to ahndle punts and kickoffs while the winner of Bryant vs. Gramatica handle field goals within 50 yards (Gramatica's long is 50 - Bryant's 47). Gould thinks his kickoffs will get him a spot on the roster (from the very coolly named lumberjack online).
Not too much to report, but I found a few interesting things:
Vermeil thinks we should sign Warner. Warner is reportedly #1 on the Giants wish list.
The Giants schedule (from June 7 mini camp to July 30 training camp) and a little bit about Ryan Van Dyke (nothing new).
A little bit about Gibril Wilson. If you read this day 2 draft post (and the linked artticle), you've read everything but this:
A two-year starter at strong safety after transferring from the City College of San Francisco, Wilson was also able to cover receivers out of the slot for the Volunteers. He helped neutralize acclaimed Miami tight end Kellen Winslow and recorded a late interception that sealed Tennessee’s late-season upset of the Hurricanes. His hands are suspect, though, and he defended many more passes (17) in two Division I-A seasons than he intercepted (three).
Posted by James Trotta at 4:11 AM | Comments (0)
Warner met with the Giants, but there's not much to report. No one can talk much because he's still under contract.
Instead, let's revisit the draft and check up on our "expert" mock drafters. It seems that ESPN called mock drafters "Mel Kiper wannabes" (are they serious?) but this analysis of mock draft accuracy finds that the average Browns fan is much better at Kiper's job than Mel himself. In fact none of the "experts" got 10 picks correct (although several Browns fans did).
Maybe instead of scouring the internet next draft season for articles by the "experts" I'll just interview regular fans. Or maybe I'll just take a vaction since we don't have a first rounder anyway...
Warner visits the Giants today. He can talk and take a physical but no contract negotiaions or tryouts until he's officially cut. Nevertheless, Palladino guesses that around 1 million in bonus and salary would be a resonable offer. That certainly seems reasonable, especially in light of the 50 million ESPN thinks Eli will get over 6 years. This article also goes over some of the not so happy details from the Giants mini camp and reminds us that rookies like Elway, Marino, and Aikman didn't do well.
Meanwhile, the Packers are working out Huard. The "insiders" claim that the Giants are interested (The ESPN article linked to above also mentions Huard), but it seems pretty clear to me that there are other QBs (beside Warner who is #1 on the list for now) the Giants prefer.
Interestingly, Huard is considered expendable by New England because their guy in NFL Europe is playing so well. But the Giants Ryan Van Dyke is doing equallt well:
QB Ryan Van Dyke is having an MVP-type performance for the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europe this season. Van Dyke has completed 115 of 176 passes (65.3 percent) for 1,358 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. All of those figures lead the league (he is tied at the top in touchdown passes with Rohan Davey of Berlin and the New England Patriots).
Posted by James Trotta at 12:02 AM | Comments (2)
Another excellent report on the NY Giants mini-camp. There are continued worries about Manning's arm strength, although he did look more comfortable. Shockey looked uncomfortable and there were some dropped passes from the receivers.
The running game looked better than the passing game. It seems that Tiki Barber is working on covering the ball up and has changed the way he holds the ball and his elbow position. Barber and Delvin Joyce saw more running plays to the outside while Ron Dayne ran more plays between the tackles. Antwoine Womack is seen as more of an inside runner but has the ability to get outside.
More good stuff if you read the article.
This excellent report on the Giants Day one mini-camp has some especially good news for Giants fans who are excited about seeing Manning throw touchdown passes to Jeremy Shockey:
Getting back to Shockey for a moment, you might remember, had knee surgery back in February and at quick glance, he showed no signs of favoring the knee or holding back. I don’t think he knows how to go anything less than full speed. I also think that of all the receivers, he seems to have the most chemistry with Eli Manning right now. I just sense that something has clicked there. I can’t say I feel the same way about Manning and the other receivers right now, but remember, this only the first day.
Also noteworthy is that the Giants coaches are very involved with the players (for example helping the offensive linman master drive-blocking techniques). On a more worrying note, Ian Allen is not impressing (not surprising considering his play last year), and while Diehl worked at guard and tackle he is not a definite replacement for Allen. Neither is Drew Stojny, the drafted OT from Duke who needs time to develop.
There's lots more great information in that article so if you haven't already, go read it.
Tiki Barber said he wouldn't be surprised at the return of thunder & lightning. Dayne is reported to wiegh 241 pounds, meaning he lost 20 pounds over the off-season.
"He has done an outstanding job from a conditioning standpoint," Coughlin said. "There's a young man who voluntarily had an opportunity to work long before anybody else even was on the job (in January). He's been on the bike and in the weight room since way back when. And he has proven to me that he's pretty serious about his football.
Eli Manning wasn't impressive in his first minicamp:
He fumbled two center snaps, didn’t have a lot of velocity on his throws, and lofted one downfield that got hung up in the infamous Meadowlands wind.
Meanwhile, Coughlin defends his offseason program despite learning that Gene Upshaw is "out to get him". Several Giants spoke up, with Strahan saying it shouldn't have gone public, and new center Shaun O'Hara saying it shouldn't become a big issue. Will Peterson said they got out late one day but added that it was no big deal.
An interesting article investigating the possibility of the Giants signing Kurt Warner brings up some points worth noting:
Accorsi says whoever gives the Giants the best chance of winning will be the starter.
Martz says that Warner was great in the locker room even after getting benched last season. If he loses the starting job to Eli Manning, the Giants would need him to show the same class.
New York fans would be much tougher on him (say if he had a bad game or evan a bad quarter) than St. Louis fans.
All in all I think Warner would be a fine choice although I think the Giants should look into Vinny Testaverde as well.
So the Giants are talking to Kurt Warner. I would have preferred O'Donnell but that's not happening. Testaverde might be a good mentor too...
Anyway, the Giants signing a veteran QB will show Strahan and others that this is not a rebulding year. The Giants want to be ready to win if Eli Manning is not ready to play this year.
The Giants signed another inexperienced QB. He's only thrown 1 NFL pass but has some other experience:
Thompson's most extensive action since college occurred in 2001 with Frankfurt in NFL Europe. Splitting time with Michael Bishop, he was 66-of-124 (53.2 percent) for 577 yards, two touchdowns and eight interceptions.As a senior at Penn State, Thompson was 133-of-242 (55 percent) for 1,916 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Add Terry Bradshaw to the list of people who don't like what Eli Manning and his family did on draft day. If the Steelers were good enough for me than the Chargers are good enough for Eli (or something like that).
It seems that the Giants need to keep looking for a veteran QB to mentor / back up Eli Manning. AP says Damon Huard is the likely candidate, but I think it would be smarter to wait until June 1 and see if Testaverde or Gannon can be lured to Big Blue. Neil Best adds Kurt Warner to the list, notes that the Cowboys might land Testaverde, and that Ganon is due to make 7 million this year.
Kevin Robinson wrote dumbest article I've read today. He tries to compare Eli Manning to Pat Tillman and somehow concludes that Eli Manning has no patriotism. Honestly, how hard is it to understand that people look at the jobs they can get and take the one they want most. We all do. Pat Tillman is lauded as a hero because he chose the army over Arizona. Now people are trying to say the Eli Manning has no honor (yes Robinson wrote that too) because he chooses law school over San Diego and the Giants over law school? I don't get it.
I just finished reading a very interesting review of Super Bowl XXXV (the one when the Baltimore Ravens crushed our Giants). It presents a theory that goes something like this:
In the NFL cycle, there are preiods of time where defenses rule and periods of time where teams with franchise quarterbacks dominate. Kerry Collins was not good enough to pass against the Ravens defense:
"I sucked," said Collins about his 15-for-39, 112-yard, four-interception stinker. He admitted he was confused and bewildered at times by a Ravens defense that pounded him and forced him to hurry his throws. He found out that this defense plays even faster and hits even harder than it appears on tape, which is something every opponent learns when first exposed to the Ravens' whirlwind.
Think about it. Among the starting quarterbacks in the playoffs were Jay Fiedler, Aaron Brooks, Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, Shaun King, Gus Frerotte and Rich Gannon. The first five were in their first year as full-time starters; Frerotte is a journeyman backup, and Gannon finally had a magnificent season after laboring for 11 years in the league. Compare the state of NFL quarterbacking now to even five years ago. That's when you had Favre, Young, Elway, Marino, Aikman and Bledsoe. At least one of those six played in Super Bowls 27 through 33, and the MVP of Super Bowl 34 was Warner.
If we're entering a cycle where you need a star QB to be special, Eli Manning was the right choice. Sure Strahan thinks that thinks that releasing Collins hurts the team's chances. Let's see if anyone offers him a job as a GM when he retires. For now he doesn't get paid to make personnel decisions. He should take Mike Lupica's advice: "...shut up and play the kind of football for which he is paid a small fortune."
Every Collins supporter argues that since Collins is excellent when he's not pressured, we should concentrate on the offensive line and forget about changing the QB. The fact is that a good offensive line can't protect a QB from every blitz. The QB has to be able to make decisions under pressure, something that Collins wasn't able to do well. Something that the Giants need Eli Manning to do well.
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