After 5 seasons, the giants said good bye to Will Peterson. Sadly, his back will prevent him from playing football. I'm sure everyone else was ecited as I was by his 2004 season, thinking that Peterson (a 3rd round pick in 2001) was as good or better that Will Allen (the Giants 1st round pick in 2001). Now neither is with the the team.
"This is a very disappointing development for our ball club," said Ernie Accorsi. "Will Peterson was a rising star cornerback and just ran into very tough luck last year with the back injury. We wanted to wait as long as we possibly could on his recovery."
The Giants also released their new DT. Strange that he was signed and released one day later. I won't bother learning to spell his name - Junior something.
The Giants also signed a backup QB in Rob Johnson. Tim Hasselbeck, Jared Lorenzen and Josh Harris are the other QBs behind Manning and I'm not clear on how this will play out. You would expect Johnson and Hasselbeck to be #2 and #3 based on talent but the #3 QB is often a developmental prospect. That could be Lorenzen if the Giants aren't ready to give up on him yet.
Over the past few weeks, New York has made some giant, excuse the pun, strides in defending their division title. Signing Arrington and adding a playmaker at the third wide receiver position were big moves and should have a direct effect on the win/loss column. That being said, there are a few things that the Giants have to accomplish to keep their season a good one.
Improve The Defense – You can only go so far with an all-offense team. Despite what Peyton has done in Indianapolis for the last few seasons, it is rare to see teams make the postseason on the virtue of their offense alone. Even the Colts realized this last year, spending a lot of money on improving their defense. Remember how good the Chiefs were on offense a few seasons back? Well not much has changed besides the postseason trip since then.
For the Giants to really improve they have to become a good defensive team. Make no mistake that the defense is the key to the season. Healthy players in addition to some playmakers added in the offseason should be enough to do the trick, but if the defense struggles the season could turn mediocre very quickly.
Develop Eli Manning – This shouldn’t be a big problem but it is worth mentioning that Eli had a very rough ending to the 2005-06 season. Eli showed signs of being a great quarterback at the beginning of last season and I truly believe he is a Pro Bowl quarterback this year if developed right. He has all the weapons on offense and a season of experience under his belt.
Barring any sudden injury problems, Eli should be a top quarterback in the league and anything less is a disappointment.
Continue Running – What made the Giants so good on offense last year was not only the fact that they had three good receivers for Manning, but also that they got a career year from Tiki Barber. The fumbles are gone and all that is left is one of the best running backs in the league.
That being said Tiki has to prove he can do this two seasons in a row now. Teams are going to concentrate their defenses on stopping him and he has to continue to be effective to keep his offense moving. And of course, keep the fumbles down again (I think this problem is gone for the most part though.)
Beat Division Rivals – All four teams in the NFC East could probably finish first in the division. The team that ends up winning the division, and being guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, will need to have a good record (4-2 or better) against the other three teams in the East. No matter what the Giants have to do to win the games, they just have to make sure they get the job done.
Every game in the NFL is important, but division games set the tone for the year and can make or break a season. Last year Washington scored a miraculous comeback win against Dallas in the early weeks of the season and it ended up being the difference in making the playoffs and not making them. Also remember that if Philadelphia had not lost a big lead against the same Dallas team in the mid-weeks, they would have been right back in the race.
I can’t state how important this is, the Giants HAVE to win division games and give each and every one everything they have.
Have A Short-Term Memory – Last season was a fantastic year for all the Giants and they really did do something not expected of them by winning the division. But last year is last year, and it is time to move on and to start over.
If the Giants do all these things they will put themselves in a great position by week 17 to make headlines throughout winter!
Nothing wrong with having another competitor, but the 6'4" 330 pound run stuffer does have some injury concerns. In fact he finished his last season on the Texans' IR. He's been in the league 7 years and he's not a starting quality DT. I expect him to push the rookies in the preseason, but if it's a close call, I'd give the nod to a rookie because of Junior Ioane's injury history.
Peter King mentioned the Giants briefly in his last article: 9. I think you could fry an egg on Giants coach Tom Coughlin's forehead when you engage him in a discussion about Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey skipping offseason workouts in New Jersey.
Danger Moose at BBI posted some great statistics regarding 3 wide receiver sets in the Giants offense and how Moss will ahve a chnace to make big contributions in the upcoming season.
Of Manning's pass attempts, 287 of 557 came with a 3WR set, 76 came in a 4 WR set, and 373 attempts with 1 TE.
Here's an good article on a solid character guy, Lavar Arrington.
LaVar Arrington was just on NFL Live giving an interview with Trey Wingo, probably the best interviewer ESPN has these days, and he said some interesting things about the Redskins, Giants, and even LT.
To start out with Arrington still seemed pretty confused and upset over what happened at the end of his playing days in Washington. He really made it seem like Joe Gibbs and his staff never gave him a chance to prove himself as a playmaker, despite having made three straight Pro Bowls before they came into the fold. He also took a couple of personal shots at Gibbs, albeit not strong ones. Overall it was clear that he didn’t want to leave Washington in that manner but was basically forced to by the way they treated him.
LaVar also called himself one of Tom Coughlin’s “guys” and that he was brought in to help Coughlin, unlike Gibbs who simply inherited him. He gave some props to the Giants for being winners as an organization and seemed ready to get on the field again. LaVar claims that he doesn’t need to prove anything, although he does want to prove the people who said he “couldn’t play football anymore” wrong.
Trey ended by asking him if LT’s legacy makes playing in New York harder. Arrington responded by saying that he wouldn’t have taken his former number 56, which was Taylor’s number too, even if it had been available and that he doesn’t want to play in the shadow of Lawrence for his time in New York.
All in all, Arrington seems a little rattled over the Washington break-up but still looks ready to make an impact for the Giants. And while he won’t admit to wanting revenge on Washington fully, you can tell he has those games mentally circled in already.
Some interesting comments on the Giants competition for wide receiver roster spots:
With Burress, Toomer, Moss and special teams star David Tyree assured of roster spots, Jennings figures to be in a four-way battle for two openings. Two taller, oft-injured speedsters, Tim Carter and Jamaar Taylor, will be trying to stay on the field. And 6-4, 235-pound Anthony Mix from Auburn is an interesting free agent.A great article by Eric from BBI on possible defensive fronts the Giants may try out. This does an especially nice job of explaining technical words like "over" and "under".
Just a couple of articles, one on Kiwi working hard and one on Wilkinson and his mother who passed away. I like the fact that the Giants drafted guys who work hard because I think that minimizes bust potential. You take good athletes like Kiwi, Wilkinson, and Moss who work hard and you should end up with a lot of good players.
Inside Football has a good report on the practices. They see a 1st round draft pick who probably won't be contributing right away because he lacks pass ruch moves and can't disengage from blocks. They see a 2nd round pick who's shorter than 5'8", has good hands, and runs nice routes. Sorry there's no link, but for some reason I can't copy and paste the URL (yes I am too lazy to type the URL by hand). I can copy and paste every other URL so see the links below:
The New York Times also has an article where they talk about Moss and Kiwi, they just don't do a good job of explaining what happened on the practice field.
Arthur Staple talks a little bit about what happened on the practice field in his blog. Specifically, he mentions that CB Gerrick McPhearson broke up some passes. Good for McPhearson - a decent CB coming from a late-round pick would be excellent value. I think CB also happens to be our weakest position so if a rookie can emerge, that would be nice..
New York Giant draft choices and undrafted free agents start their first NFL minicamp today. Justin Tuck talks about how his first minicamp was a big adjustment. In the same article, Osi adds that it will be difficult for the Giants newest defensive end to get the hang of the NFL.
There's another article, a couple of days old, about Rutgers undrafted free agents (including the QB with the Giants). Again the theme is how adjusting to the NFL isn't easy. There's another article where Accorsi talks about how they almost drafted Anthony Mix in the 7th since he dominated in the Senior Bowl. Just goes to show there's a lot to be excited about.
Coughlin is also excited and has something to say about Jai Lewis at long snapper, Kiwi leading the rookie class, and minicamp in general.
Fantasy football draft is one of the best times of the year for the fan who likes to show off his skills at being a general manager, or something like that at least. The most integral part in having a winning team, for the most part, is to have a good draft. It may seem tempting to take Giants players with early picks in a honorable act of being a homer, but the smart thing to do is to take the best players available. This guide will tell you where to take your favorite Giant fantasy studs.
Tiki Barber – He was one of the best all-around backs in the league last year and there is no reason for fantasy owners to see a change coming. The Giants will most likely boast a powerful offense and Tiki will help anchor the load. While it is hard to take him too early, DO NOT pass up Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, or Ladanian Tomlinson for Tiki. Anywhere after that is a good.
Consensus – Tiki is a early to mid first-round pick. He can go as high as fourth in any draft.
Jeremy Shockey – What makes the Shockster so appealing to fantasy owners is how much better his production is than other competing players at his position. He is clearly the second best tight-end in the fantasy game today, next to Antonio Gates who is playing with a question mark quarterback this season (and we all saw how that went with the promise of Todd Heap when Kyle Boller stepped in.) That being said, a good wide receiver or running back will be much more valuable than any tight end in most cases (Gate’s had one freak season that made him the exception), so don’t draft Jeremy too early.
Consensus – Jeremy is probably a good pickup in the middle of the fourth round, if no other good skill players are available. He is a steal by the time it gets to the middle and later parts of the fifth round however, even if it is unlikely that he will be unselected by that point.
Plaxico Burress – There is no doubt that Plaxico is a talented and good NFL wideout. But his production has not been what a top fantasy receiver talent should be producing. Regardless of the reasons, the touchdowns have just not been there for Plax. His career high in a year in this category is seven. While it seems that Burress may finally enjoy double-digit scores this season, don’t pass up proven guys for him.
Consensus – A highly durable wide receiver, important at this position, Burress is a good option for owners in the late fourth and early fifth round.
Eli Manning – Eli started off last year posting some of the best fantasy numbers of any player at any position in the league, but a rough ending left question marks for fantasy owners. Inconsistent play never bodes well for a player in the fantasy realm, and Eli has a lot to prove. If he can toss at least a pair of touchdowns most games while keeping the interceptions down, which he is fully capable of in his offense and with his skills, then he is a fantasy stud and owners who draft him look like geniuses. But he still should not be taken too early; the only quarterback who should be is his brother.
Consensus – Quarterbacks are a weird position in fantasy football, I have won with less than average ones helming my fantasy teams. Any passer can have a miracle day on almost any given Sunday, including those found in free agency. Eli is a good early sixth-round pick but you are taking a risk by taking him earlier.
Those are the only four Giants players that should be considered being taken in the first six or seven rounds. Moss, Toomer, Feely, and the defense can all be taken with later selections (with Moss being the lowest picks as drafting rookies at any position outside running back is usually a bad idea early.)
But feel free to choose fantasy players wherever you want, you are the GM after all! Just remember to have fun, because that is what fantasy season is really all about!
The Giants second pick of the draft Sinorice Moss, brother of NFL wideout Santana Moss, is gathering much speculation and expected to help power the Giants office this upcoming season. Moss may be small at just 5-8, but he has talent, catching 63 passes for over 100 yards and eight touchdowns for the Miami Hurricanes last year. The Giants selected him with their second pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Speaking on what it is like being compared to his brother, Moss had this to say: “It really doesn’t bother me. A lot of people ask me that. There are going to be comparisons no matter what, just like other brothers in the league. They are going to be compared to their brother if they play the same position, but it doesn’t matter to me. Santana is Santana and I am Sinorice and all I have got to do is go out there and play the best football I can. So if they want to compare me, that is what they are going to do. They can’t stop me from playing football. Watch me when I come on the field,” Moss said. “I am not trying to be as good as my brother. I am trying to be as good as I can be. That is what I am going to go out there and do.”
Quarterback Eli Manning is excited about having an explosive third wideout with s much as skill as Sinorice has. “I’m excited about it,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “A receiver with his speed, you want to get the ball in his hands. You see a lot of teams run what they call smoke screens or go screens, where you throw it out there and let a lineman or receiver go block and let the pass-catcher run. It’s an easy completion, and it’s amazing how many big plays you get off of that. I think that’s something he’s done before and he’ll be good at here. Moss will add another element to the offense. He’s explosive. I’m excited about him getting in here and getting to work.”
Currently the Giants have two solid wideouts, Plaxico Buress and Amani Tommer, and were in the hunt for a third quality wideout this offseason. Moss believes he can fit that role.
“I feel like I can fit in right now, maybe at the number three receiver, the slot receiver,” Moss said. “I can stretch the field for those guys. It will help Plaxico and Amani Toomer. It is going to be awesome, and having the opportunity to work with Eli Manning is going to be real great.
“I feel like when I make the transition to the NFL, I am going to get deep into my playbook and understand the plays and understand what I have to do in this offense to better myself as a player. There are things that I can always work on as far as catching the ball and learning different ways to run different routes. So, I feel like when I make the transition over to the NFL, there are going to be a lot of things I am going to have to work on at first, but when I get the hang of it, I am going to be good.”
We will al have to wait and see how this all plays out this upcoming NFL season
We have Newsday coming out with a little article on the Giants choice at #32 and the Jets choice at #4. They say if Ferguson's backup hadn't cheapshotted Kiwi, the Giants new defensive end would have been a top 10 pick.
Jai Streets was one of 16 undrafted free agents signed by the Giants in 2006. He's a project anywhere, so where should the Giants try him?
At 6'6" 290 he's kind of in between tight end and offensive line size and these are the two positiions the Giants will consider him: "They're looking at me as a tight end or offensive tackle," said Jai Streets. "It doesn't matter to me which one as long as I can get out on the field. It's very exciting for me. I'm grateful for the chance to show what I can do after five years with all this rust on me."
With a 5.0 second 40 time, he seems a little slow for a tight end. Then again, if he plays a little faster than he times and loses 15 pounds to get to 275 he might be fast enough. As Accorsi said, "He showed all the qualities of a tight end. He had good hands, good feet. If he didn't have the feet, this would be a big projection for us. But he has them. He could be a 310-pound tackle or a 275-pound tight end. Who knows? But he's a prospect."
The fact is, the Giants could use Jai Streets in either spot if he's a player. Shockey's career might get extended if he doesn't have to play hurt so much and the Giants could use a big blocking tight end anyway.
The prospect I see affecting Jai Street's future with the Giants the most is former tight end Guy Whimper. Since he's a project LOT, do the Giants really have room for another project tackle in Streets? It seems to me that Street has a better chance as a tight end project, but could potentially be more valuable as an offensive tackle if he bulked up to 310.
If the Giants weren't already stocked at defensive end, that might be a good place for a man of Street's size. Of course size wasn't enough help for Brock Lesnar to become an NFL DE way back when.
Not along article but if you have a minute... Best line: Whimper tallied 31 KO blocks while playing on 712 snaps, fourth highest on the team. This longer article calls them knockdown blocks and has some quotes from Guy. Best line: Whimper said he was told by the Giants coaches he could evolve into a Pro Bowl tackle in the NFL.
Based on what Coughlin said after the 5th round of the draft, here's what seems to be the Giants plan at linebacker:
Carlos Emmons, 3rd round pick Gerris Wilkinson, and probably Brandon Short will play on the weak side. The surprise here is Emmons and Short at Will, instead of Arrington.
LaVar Arrington, who the Post interviewed, will play on the strong side for the Giants. Reggie Torbor will back him up. Of course Brandon Short can play Sam as well.
Antonio Pierce, Chase Blackburn, and probably Marcus Lawrence will play in the middle. Lawrence has also played both sides.
Tyson Smith who is doing well in NFL Europe and, according to Coughlin, might factor into one of the outside spots as well. In my opinion Lawrence and Smith have the most to worry about considering Chase Blackburn's special teams prowess.
One of the most exciting boring events to see on television was on the other day, which of course is the NFL draft. Every year I find myself glued to the television for an entire day, and every year I find myself asking why I wasted my time on this event. But like I said, I did end up watching the entire first day of the draft and here are some grades for the bigger picks, in my opinion, for the teams in the NFC East.
Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboy’s first pick was surprising. Carpenter is a solid linebacker but he was not projected to go this early, and it really seemed like drafting Winston Justice would have been a home run for them. That being said Bobby is a solid linebacker out a good college system and the Cowboys were in need of one. In the second round the Cowboys took a tight end, which just didn’t seem like something they really needed too much.
Overall the Cowboys get a B-, Carpenter should be a good fit to the team but no big flashy players were added. That isn’t to say they had a poor draft, far from it, but certainly not the best one.
New York Giants – As some other fans have noted, the Giants first round pick was a little puzzling. They do need a replacement for Strahan at some point, but they may have reached a little to select Kiwanuka. That being said he was considered a really good prospect by many and the Giants made an absolutely brilliant move by trading down so I can’t fault this pick one bit. In the second round the Giants made a terrific selection in Sinorice Moss. I can’t express how impressed I was with their pick here, Moss looks like a stud in the making and was a first round type prospect a few months back.
The Giants didn’t have picks in the right spots to get the players they wanted so they did the smart thing and made some great trades. They get a solid A- for their effort and prove me to be an idiot for saying they would only win seven so early. Just a great few weeks for the organization in terms of the moves made.
Philadelphia Eagles – Coming into the off-season the Eagles probably had the most to prove. They were debating whether or not to trade up to take Bunkley or Justice in the first round, so naturally they stay put and grab both in the first two rounds anyways. In later rounds they got themselves a playmaker for McNabb in Avant and made headlines by picking a skier to return kicks.
If nothing else the Eagles certainly made a splash in this draft. They had the best draft of any team in this division and got two solid linesmen on both ends of the ball for the future. Now we have to see if this translates onto the field, but for now they get an A.
Washington Redskins – No first round pick will always kill a draft grade, as the best talent is usually in the first 32 picks. The Redskins snagged a solid linebacker from Miami in the second round, but will it be enough to replace Arrington? Their third round pick, Anthony Montgomery, could be a solid player down the line.
Washington didn’t have the picks to add playmakers for now, which is unfortunate given that every other team in their division did, so they drafted for the future. They get a C for now, for not keeping pace with the rest of their rivals.
So there you guys go, I know I have been riding the Giants since I got to this blog but I do think they had a good draft and should help their chances to contend in a tough division. Moss should be a special teams contributor immediately. Let me know what you guys think as always!
Safety Charlie Peprah was somewhat surprising since there were a few interesting defensive tackles left. They say he used to play cornerback. NFL.com's profile says he's an inconsistent tackler and inconsistent against the pass. Footballsfuture.com's profile says he can play safety or corner in the NFL and has excellent cover skills. If he can play CB, then great pick. If he can't but turns into a decent safety, OK pick. If he can't play, we should have taken a DT...
The first and second rounds of the 2006 NFL Draft are complete and the New York Giants made some last minute moves trading down in the first round and then up in the second round. With their first pick of the Draft the Giants selected Mathias Kiwanuka, a 6-6, 266 pound defensive end out of Boston College.
“I was a little bit surprised,” Kiwanuka said. “I was waiting throughout the whole draft and knew somebody would take me, I just didn’t know who. When it got to that point I was surprised that the Giants took me, but I wasn’t surprised that I went.”
“He is just a big, fast pass rusher,” said general manager Ernie Accorsi, who said Kiwanuka was easily the highest-rated player left on the team’s draft board. “He will probably get bigger weight-wise. There are games he just dominates. You can turn the tape on and see him against certain teams. Or he just burns the edge. He can run around the corner. He has great speed. And they (pass rushers) are just hard to find.”
“We’re excited about this pick,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “It’s truly a valuable pick at this point. Picking 32, we had a group of players that we really liked and from that group, without a doubt, he’s the highest rated
player. We’re excited because of 11.5, 11.5 and 9.5. Those were his sacks over the last 3 years.”
The Giants took their second pick of the draft and selected Sinorice Moss, a blazing wideout who played for University of Miami Hurricanes in college.
“We really wanted him,” Accorsi said. “He was our highest-rated receiver. He is a game-breaking receiver. He is not big but he can catch and he can run. For a short guy he is very powerfully built. He has a chance to be an outstanding receiver.
“We were prepared to pick him in the first round if our other options were gone. We had other options. But we just didn’t think he would be there at 24 in the second round (which is why they traded up).”
We will have to see who the Giants select in the latter rounds as the 2006 NFL Draft continues.
DT Barry Cofield and OT Guy Whimper. Barry Cofield isn't huge at 6-4, 304 but he is fast with a 40-Time under 5 seconds. He has expereince at both defensive end (hope the Giants don't plan to use him there!) and defensive tackle. They say he pursues running plays well but has trouble anchoring when a run comes straight at him. Hopefully, the Giants coaching staff can work on that because the Giants need someone to stuf runs up the gut.
Guy Whimper moved to tackle as a senior. Interestingly, he might be the exception to the rule that you can't teach footwork since he is so raw. Frank Croyle says that he does have quick feet. He's got good size at 6-5 and 304 pounds. Like Cofield, he also ran his 40 in under 5 seconds. Add 26 reps at 225 and consider that he'll probably add some bulk...
Of course, Guy (don't want to call him Whimper) may not develop into Luke's replacement. Finding a starting LOT in the 4th round is betting against the odds. But the potential payoff is big!
2 fast 300 pounders in the 4th round. Not bad!