2011 New York Giants Thread

[dabomb2045]

The on-again, off-again hostility and controversy that has characterized Osi Umenyiora’s tenure with the Giants has hit a fever pitch with his claim that general manager Jerry Reese did not follow through on a promise to give him a new contract if he performed at a high level.
Umenyiora’s disenchantment is the main reason the decertified NFL Players Association included him in as one of the players named in the antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, claiming the lockout has irreparably harmed him. In a sworn affidavit to be filed in federal court next month in Minnesota as part of the players’ lawsuit, Umenyiora basically calls Reese a liar and states that is why he has wanted to leave the Giants.
The contents of the affidavit were first revealed by ESPN.
In the affidavit, Umenyiora writes the following:
"In early April 2008, approximately two weeks before the start of the New York Giants offseason conditioning program, I, Osi Umenyiora, had a meeting with the general manager of the New York Giants, Mr. Jerry Reese.
"After about an hour of discussing my current contract, as well as the contracts of other defensive ends currently playing in the National Football League, Mr. Reese told me that two years from the start of the 2008 league year, if I was currently playing at a high level, we'd either renegotiate my current contract so that it would be equal to that of the top five defensive ends playing or I would be traded to a team that would do that.
"Before leaving the meeting, I asked Mr. Reese twice if he was absolutely sure that would be the case. He then told me that he was an honest and church-going man and that he would not lie, which I believed to the be the case. Under the penalty of perjury these statements are true and accurate."
Umenyiora never got a new contract. He tore up his knee and missed the entire 2008 season, landing on injured reserve. He slowly returned to form in 2009 but openly clashed with first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, walking out one day and he ultimately was benched down the stretch of the season. Last season, Umenyiora re-established himself as a starter for new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell with 11 1/2 sacks, sharing the team lead with Justin Tuck.
The Giants had no comment on Umenyiora’s claim in the affidavit that Reese lied about a contract extension.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/giants...#ixzz1PWkfSjR7

[Panamaniac42]

CutonDime25 Lesean McCoy
Overrated n soft 3rd best d-line on his team honestly RT @AdamSchefter: In a sworn affadavit, Osi Umenyiora says (cont) http://tl.gd/b5b8gd
22 hours ago

[RhodyYanksFan]

My poor friend is stuck with a dog named Osi for the next 10+ years.

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

My poor friend is stuck with a dog named Osi for the next 10+ years.

As are the Giants for one more.

[RhodyYanksFan]

As are the Giants for one more.

Well played.

I just hope he plays his heart out to prove he's not done. Then he can sign elsewhere and dog it for that contract.

[Cool Papa B.]

The on-again, off-again hostility and controversy that has characterized Osi Umenyiora’s tenure with the Giants has hit a fever pitch with his claim that general manager Jerry Reese did not follow through on a promise to give him a new contract if he performed at a high level.
Umenyiora’s disenchantment is the main reason the decertified NFL Players Association included him in as one of the players named in the antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, claiming the lockout has irreparably harmed him. In a sworn affidavit to be filed in federal court next month in Minnesota as part of the players’ lawsuit, Umenyiora basically calls Reese a liar and states that is why he has wanted to leave the Giants.
The contents of the affidavit were first revealed by ESPN.
In the affidavit, Umenyiora writes the following:
"In early April 2008, approximately two weeks before the start of the New York Giants offseason conditioning program, I, Osi Umenyiora, had a meeting with the general manager of the New York Giants, Mr. Jerry Reese.
"After about an hour of discussing my current contract, as well as the contracts of other defensive ends currently playing in the National Football League, Mr. Reese told me that two years from the start of the 2008 league year, if I was currently playing at a high level, we'd either renegotiate my current contract so that it would be equal to that of the top five defensive ends playing or I would be traded to a team that would do that.
"Before leaving the meeting, I asked Mr. Reese twice if he was absolutely sure that would be the case. He then told me that he was an honest and church-going man and that he would not lie, which I believed to the be the case. Under the penalty of perjury these statements are true and accurate."
Umenyiora never got a new contract. He tore up his knee and missed the entire 2008 season, landing on injured reserve. He slowly returned to form in 2009 but openly clashed with first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, walking out one day and he ultimately was benched down the stretch of the season. Last season, Umenyiora re-established himself as a starter for new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell with 11 1/2 sacks, sharing the team lead with Justin Tuck.
The Giants had no comment on Umenyiora’s claim in the affidavit that Reese lied about a contract extension.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/giants...#ixzz1PWkfSjR7

With the strike can the Giants even discuss contracts with him or anyone?

[Cool Papa B.]

PROPOSED NFL DEAL WOULD MAKE KEY GIANTS FREE AGENTS

With the NFL lockout finally showing signs of thawing, it appears any new labor deal will include a return to normalcy of the unrestricted free agency rules, resulting in the Giants having a massive to-do list whenever the league opens for business.
Prior to last year, the minimum number of years a player needed to become an unrestricted free agent was four. Last year, in anticipation of a lockout and the expiring of the collective bargaining agreement, the 2010 season was uncapped and the threshold for unrestricted free agency was upped from four to six years. That left hundreds of players wondering if they were restricted, unrestricted or even free agents at all.

Rumblings yesterday coming out of the owners meeting outside of Chicago were that any new labor deal will include the return to the four-year minimum for unrestricted free agency. This is not a surprise, but it does add some clarity to what is sure to be a frenzied post-lockout period.
It means three crucial offensive players from the 2007 draft class -- receiver Steve Smith, running back Ahmad Bradshaw and tight end Kevin Boss -- will be able to hit the open market with their four years of experience.
The Giants want to resign all three. Smith is coming off a serious knee injury and might not be ready for the start of the season, which will affect his next contract. Bradshaw, the team's leading rusher last season, is coming off his finest year as a pro, and Boss is the only legitimate tight end on the roster.
Defensive line fixtures Mathias Kiwanuka and Barry Cofield, draft picks from 2006 who have five years of experience and are currently without contracts, also will be unrestricted. Kiwanuka played in just three games in 2010 because of a herniated cervical disk, making his value difficult to assess. Cofield has been a durable and solid starting defensive tackle for all five years, but the writing appears to be on the wall that his time with the Giants is nearing an end.
Prior to the lockout, all these players were tendered by the Giants in the unlikely event some or all of them would be restricted free agents. Those tenders would be rendered meaningless.
Other Giants players with expired contracts who will be unrestricted free agents include LB Chase Blackburn, OL Kevin Boothe, LB Keith Bulluck, S Deon Grant, WR Derek Hagan and DE Dave Tollefson

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giant...#ixzz1Q7BCncim

[b_joseph]

Of those 3, the only one I'd miss would be Smith...I wonder how his recovery is coming along?

[Yankees1962]

Of those 3, the only one I'd miss would be Smith...I wonder how his recovery is coming along?

Unless you have another running back ready to play well, you'll miss Bradshaw too.

[Cool Papa B.]

Unless you have another running back ready to play well, you'll miss Bradshaw too.

I like Bradshaw, but he really has to do something about his fumbles. With a QB that has a tendency to turn the ball over, we don't need a RB that does the same. I'm willing to give the 3rd stringer a chance. I believe his name is Ware.

And Kevin Boss would be really missed if they don't sign him back.

[Cool Papa B.]

Giants Adding Izzo to Staff

The Giants have employed many different special teams coaches and assistants but rarely have they added to their staff someone with the special teams pedigree of Larry Izzo. A special teams dynamo in his 14 years in the NFL, Izzo will make his coaching debut whenever this season begins as the Giants new assistant special teams coach.
Izzo, 36, had no previous ties to the Giants. He last played for the Jets in 2009 and before that was a linebacker and mostly a special teams ace for the Dolphins and Patriots, making three Pro Bowls. No one can be hired officially during the lockout, but once it is lifted, Izzo will come aboard, replacing Thomas McGaughey, who left to join the staff at LSU.

With the Giants, Izzo will assist Tom Quinn, the special teams coach who last season struggled to get his unit to play at a high level. The return game was shoddy -- 31st in the league in both punt and kickoff returns -- and not great on the other side of the ball, as they were second-worst in the NFL in punt return coverage, allowing nearly 15 yards per return. Having an erratic rookie punter, Matt Dodge, certainly did not help.
The Giants hope the return from injury of Domenik Hixon and the selection of Jerrel Jernigan in the third round of the NFL Draft will aid in jump-starting the return game. The presence of Izzo, a spirited special teams performer, should do that, too


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giant...#ixzz1QNGMCBSz

[philleotardo]

Giants Adding Izzo to Staff

The Giants have employed many different special teams coaches and assistants but rarely have they added to their staff someone with the special teams pedigree of Larry Izzo. A special teams dynamo in his 14 years in the NFL, Izzo will make his coaching debut whenever this season begins as the Giants new assistant special teams coach.
Izzo, 36, had no previous ties to the Giants. He last played for the Jets in 2009 and before that was a linebacker and mostly a special teams ace for the Dolphins and Patriots, making three Pro Bowls. No one can be hired officially during the lockout, but once it is lifted, Izzo will come aboard, replacing Thomas McGaughey, who left to join the staff at LSU.

With the Giants, Izzo will assist Tom Quinn, the special teams coach who last season struggled to get his unit to play at a high level. The return game was shoddy -- 31st in the league in both punt and kickoff returns -- and not great on the other side of the ball, as they were second-worst in the NFL in punt return coverage, allowing nearly 15 yards per return. Having an erratic rookie punter, Matt Dodge, certainly did not help.
The Giants hope the return from injury of Domenik Hixon and the selection of Jerrel Jernigan in the third round of the NFL Draft will aid in jump-starting the return game. The presence of Izzo, a spirited special teams performer, should do that, too


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giant...#ixzz1QNGMCBSz

This the a-hole that started the "Yankees suck" chant at a Patriots' victory parade. I hope he succeeds with the Giants and fails at all other things in life.

[Brick Tamland]

Did anyone else listen to Tiki's interview on Francesa's show last week?

Man he took a beating. Deserved every minute of it. Don't like Mike F. obviously but he went after Tiki and really brutalized him and for that I say thank you.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/?podcast...es&dcid=CBS.NY

[b_joseph]

Yeah I listened to it the other day. Tiki is a douche but Francesa went into that interview with the sole intention of showing him up...he has every right to do so but IMO, an interviewer should ask questions neutrally.

[b_joseph]

Unless you have another running back ready to play well, you'll miss Bradshaw too.

Nah...RB's are growing on trees. As long as the O-Line improves, I dont mind who is put in the back field, just as long as they wont fumble.

[Brick Tamland]

Yeah I listened to it the other day. Tiki is a douche but Francesa went into that interview with the sole intention of showing him up...he has every right to do so but IMO, an interviewer should ask questions neutrally.

I agree with you but I really dislike Tiki. I had no problem with him getting beaten down on live air. It was great. Him and his little lapdog agent can sit on it and rotate.

[b_joseph]

Looks like they are going to sell the naming rights to the Stadium...not pleased about that.

[RhodyYanksFan]

Looks like they are going to sell the naming rights to the Stadium...not pleased about that.

I guess they lowered their demands. Didn't they want like $200m to name it and that's why it was just "New Meadowlands Stadium" last year?

Let the Jets sell the naming rights and have it be Giants Stadium for Giants games.

[Cool Papa B.]

I guess they lowered their demands. Didn't they want like $200m to name it and that's why it was just "New Meadowlands Stadium" last year?

Let the Jets sell the naming rights and have it be Giants Stadium for Giants games.

I Like that idea. In fact the Giants should have just gotten their own stadium.

[Cool Papa B.]

Has anyone heard anything about the strike? Some are saying the owners and NFLPA are very close to an agreement. Then I heard last night they are still far apart.

[RhodyYanksFan]

I Like that idea. In fact the Giants should have just gotten their own stadium.

I would have been happy with the Jets being contracted.

[b_joseph]

Has anyone heard anything about the strike? Some are saying the owners and NFLPA are very close to an agreement. Then I heard last night they are still far apart.

Expect nothing until something concrete happens. The rumors are just that..rumors.

[Panamaniac42]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...&sct=hp_t12_a1

I'll never forget when the Giants were 0-4 in the 1987 strike season, going to Buffalo to try to save their season in the last replacement game before the good guys came back. Taylor crossed the picket line and told Parcells, "I don't know how much of a difference one man can make, but I'm gonna try to win this game for you.''
The Bills assigned a truck driver from Illinois, Joe Schulte, to waylay Taylor. He got called for holding Taylor seven times. SEVEN. Taylor, in the third quarter, tired of the abuse and out of the officials' sights, drove his fist into Schulte's throat and screamed, "How do you like that, sucker!'' The Giants had a pathetic strike team and lost the game 6-3.
Taylor had two sacks that day but he was so dominant that owner Wellington Mara told me he thought it was Taylor's best game as a Giant. "I just like to play the game,'' Taylor said afterward. "I don't care who's out there on the other side. It's football.''
Sometimes you're fortunate in this business to be in the right place at the right time. In the primes of Taylor, Simms and Parcells, I was.

[Brick Tamland]

Read that this morning. Good article, but I thought the piece Verducci wrote on the '98 Yanks was much better. Something...I guess passion? Missing from King's article.

[SLURPEE]

@Giants_101

NFL returns and so does Rex Ryan's mouth. He says "#Giants talk about the past, #Jets talk about what they're going to do in the future."



He doesn't want to talk about the past because it's filled with losing. lol

Only winning organizations talk about the past.

This guy is a dick.