A Plea to Jerry Reese: Please Sign Michael Vick

Michael Vick is still unemployed. A number of teams have openly said Vick is not on their radar. Only three teams—Washington, Tampa, and Arizona—showed up to a workout Vick was hosting.

Jerry Reese, please go sign Vick.

The case for Vick to the Giants is one that has not been made. But the case for New England has. What’s so different about New York and New England? Nothing.

Like the Patriots, the Giants have an established, respected coach who instills discipline. Tom Coughlin signed an extension after the Giant won Super Bowl XLII. Win or lose, it is unlikely Coughlin leaves New York. With Coughlin as coach, Vick will get plenty of discipline.

Additionally, the Giants have an established quarterback who will not lose his starting job to Vick. Manning is a good teammate and he will not have to worry about his new teammate and former quarterback.

In fact, maybe having Vick will be good for Manning—the spotlight will no longer be on the quarterback, and that’s how Manning likes it.

Besides quarterback, the Giants have an established running back, offensive line, two defensive ends, defensive tackle, middle linebacker and corner. Vick would come into a locker room filled with leaders and a handful of stars.

Vick would see the spotlight when he first arrived, but with players like Manning, Brandon Jacobs, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Antonio Pierce, he will not have the spotlight all day, every day.

NY Giants Training Camp Battles (Part One of Six)

The Giants report to training camp in Albany on Aug. 2, exactly three weeks from today. Their first practice is the next day, and as I’ve written about before, the Giants have good depth and a lot of players are established starters.

There aren’t many flashy camp battles this year (no quarterback battle, no first round stud expected to push a veteran for playing time) but the Giants do have some interesting camp battles.

Over the next three weeks, I will be writing about six camp battles that won’t make the headlines, but should be pretty intriguing during training camp and the preseason. All of the battles feature young players battling players with experience and have contributed to the success of the Giants in the past.

This is part one of a six part series.

Battle – Backup left tackle and right tackle

The starters – David Diehl, Kareem McKenzie
The players involved – Guy Whimper, William Beatty, Adam Koets, Kevin Boothe

Both Diehl and McKenzie are solid players at their positions (left and right tackle, respectively). Neither are the top at their positions, but they’re good veterans who know how to play the position and they both play it pretty well. Behind them is the real battle.

Left tackle battle

Whimper was drafted in 2006 and was expected to be the left tackle of the future – so far, it hasn’t happened. He’s been inconsistent in preseasons and spot appearances, and while he’s good depth, he hasn’t shown much in the league. He has great athleticism, but right now, he isn’t the guy the Giants hoped he would be.

William Beatty was drafted this past April and like Whimper, wasn’t expected to come in right away to start. He was a solid player while in college at Connecticut and is very athletic. He needs coaching, but he’s good depth right now.

The prediction

In this battle, I expect Whimper to be the guy right now with Beatty being the guy in the future. I don’t think Whimper stays with the Giants after this year, but right now, he’s the best the Giants have in terms of a backup for Diehl.

Right tackle battle

This is where things get interesting. All four guys has the potential to be the backup right tackle. The primary backup last year, Boothe, is solid but unspectacular. He’s a big dude, but in the past, he’s been known to be hit or miss at right tackle.

Koets is transiting to the guard position, but I could see him getting some snaps at right tackle as well. Right now, he’s probably the last guy in the totem pole, but it is possible he gets some snaps at right tackle.

Whimper and Beatty are also in this battle, as Whimper has gotten playing time at right tackle in the past and Beatty could play there if necessary. Whimper has actually looked pretty good at right tackle in the past, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he sees a lot of time there in the preseason when Beatty is getting snaps at left tackle.

The prediction

The guys with the most experience emerge as the top two—Boothe as the primary backup, Whimper as the emergency. If neither Boothe nor Whimper can go at right tackle, the spot probably goes to Beatty then Koets, but by that point, the Giants are really in trouble.

These two battles are interesting because a lot depends on the preseason. If one player outshines everyone else, then he’s the man right now. A bad camp might get a guy buried on the depth chart, but a great camp most likely shoots someone to the top of the list.

As I said, this is part one of six, so look for my other camp battles between now and when the Giants report to Albany on Aug. 2.

Originally published on my blog, http://nygiants247.blogspot.com/

The Final Roster Spots: Training Camp Battles for the New York Giants

For the New York Giants, camp is a little less than a month away and with almost all of their drafted rookies signed (only three remain), the Giants will go into training camp with a lot of established players, some up and coming youngsters and some very talented rookies.

At many positions, the starter is already known, a player is expected to win the job or the position has many guys capable of the job who will all be used throughout the season.

The stability of the Giants’ roster and coaching staff is good for a lot of players, but for a lot of young players, their luck will run out as as the final roster is announced. But there are a few players who have had experience in the system who are on the fringe of making the roster. Right now, they are not locks to make the roster but are not the first on the chopping block, so a roster spot could be theirs.

Roster spots will be tough to come by, but each of the following players could land that last spot. The following four offensive players and four defensive players all have been with the Giants in previous seasons in some form or another, and could make the roster in a special teams or backup role.

Offense

Sinorice Moss, wide receiver, entering fourth season with team

Moss is most likely the speediest receiver the Giants have. He has quick feet and has the ability to get behind defensive backs. He could be the big-play receiver for the Giants, if he makes the roster.

In his three seasons with the Giants, Moss has shown us a few things—he is often injured, he is inconsistent, and he does not have good instincts on the field. Additionally, he does not play special teams exceptionalyl well in a system where backups are expected to contribute in more than one way. Moss is frustrating because fans and coaches have seen the talent, but thus far, he’s been unable to put it all together on the playing field.

With a lot of young players looking to make an impact at the receiver position, Moss will have to work hard to get that final spot. If history repeats itself, it’s improbable he makes the final 53.

Darcy Johnson, tight end, entering fourth season with team

Johnson does not have an impressive career line—4 catches, 46 yards, 2 touchdowns. In 2007, Johnson was on his way to a starting job when he tore his ACL and was sidelined for the entire season. Last year, he was the number three tight end on the roster and saw some time late in the season.

Johnson has proven he can be a capable receiving tight end. It is unclear if he can be a capable blocking tight end, which proves to be a problem when tight ends are required to block in the Giants’ offense.

With starter Kevin Boss returning, rookie Travis Beckum getting a lot of snaps as a tight end/H-back hybrid and Michael Matthews used primarily as a blocking tight end, Johnson will need to improve his game all around to make the roster. But he’s impressed the coaches in the past, so he could make the roster as the third tight end on the roster.

Andre’ Woodson, quarterback, entering second season with team (practice squad)

Woodson came into training camp last year, and a lot of fans (including myself) expected to impress enough to make the roster as the third quarterback. He was a very good college quarterback whose draft stock sunk quickly and landed with the Giants in the sixth round.

Simply put, he stunk and ended up on the practice squad.

Woodson came to the Giants with bad mechanics and a lot to learn. Hopefully he’s learned a lot in the past year, but if he hasn’t, he’ll get replaced by 2009 fifth round draft pick Rhett Bomar.

Woodson has the talent to make the roster, but with the number one and two quarterback positions basically set, the battle will be for the third spot. If Bomar shows any promise, Woodson will end up on the practice squad or another team next year.

Guy Whimper, offensive line, entering fourth season with team (IR last year)

Whimper was a guy who came to the Giants very raw but extremely athletic. The Giants hoped he’d be the left tackle of the future, but besides a few offensive drives (mostly in the preseason), Whimper has not done much with the team.

The Giants have depth at the offensive tackle position, and probably just enough to let Whimper walk if the coaches don’t feel like he has a future with the Giants. He still has the athletic ability, but whether or not he has an NFL-future is still unclear.

Whimper spent last season on injured reserve, so how he performs in camp is key to making a roster spot. If other tackles have as good, or better, a camp as Whimper, he could be on his way out of New York.

Defense

Jay Alford, defensive line, entering third season with team

Every Giant fan remembers Alford in Super Bowl 42. His fourth quarter sack of Tom Brady helped the Giants win the trophy but since then, Alford hasn’t done much.

Alford, a defensive tackle who is very quick off the ball, had 2.5 sacks last season, but did not as play as well as most thought he would. When the Giants acquired Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard, Alford became the fifth defensive tackle, at best.

If he under performs in camp, he could be with another team next year. He has shown he has the ability to play at this level, but with a loaded defensive line, he’ll need to really impress to stick around.

Robert Henderson, defensive line, entering second season with team (IR last year)

Henderson has shown very, very little in the NFL. Almost nothing. He did a few good things in preseason last year, but was put on injured reserve before the regular season started.

Henderson has the talent to make the Giants as the fourth defensive end. Right now, the spot belongs to Dave Tollefson, but he’s an average depth player. If Henderson comes into camp and plays well, he could make the roster as the final end on the roster.

Henderson is a player I liked going into camp last season, but his injury made his first season a wash. If he outplays Tollefson and rookie Maurice Evans, Henderson will make this roster.

Zak DeOssie, linebacker, entering third season with team

DeOssie has the bloodlines to play in the NFL, but his play in the NFL is a different story. He came from Brown football program that doesn’t turn out football stars, but he came to the Giants as the long snapper for the punt unit. He proved to be a good special teamer, both on punts and kickoffs.

However DeOssie has yet to show improvement as a linebacker. In two years with the team, he’s been buried in the depth chart at the position, and this year the position has more capable players than it has in a long time.

If DeOssie wants a shot at the roster, he’ll have to show tremendous improvement at the linebacker position. It is possible, but he has not shown much skill at that position thus far in his career.

Gerris Wilkinson, linebacker, entering fourth season with team

The career of Wilkinson is a sad story. He came to the Giants with the reputation that he was a leader and had the ability to play every linebacker position. Since then, he has underperformed, often injured and has not shown any promise to be an every-down player.

Wilkinson has had very few flashes of talent—in late 2007, he proved he can play in the NFL against the New England Patriots. But before and after that, he’s shown very little.

Wilkinson’s story is much like DeOssie—it’ll be tough to make the roster when he’s going against a lot of talent at the position. But he has experience with the team and has shown more than a few other guys. If he can put it all together, he’ll probably land the last roster spot. If not, he’ll be somewhere else Week One.

The Giants will go to Albany with a lot of talent and few roster spots up for competition. But there are more than a few players who have experience with the team and the ability to make the roster if they perform well.

A good camp probably ensures a roster spot. A bad camp guarantees a new home next season.

Article originally published at http://nygiants247.blogspot.com

The New York Giants as Super Bowl XLIV Champs? Not So Fast

According to Sporting News Pro Football 2009 Preview magazine, the New York Giants will win the Super Bowl.

Yes, it is only July, but that’s what they predict. They also predict the Giants to finish 12-4 and first in the division. Sporting News predicts they’ll beat Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New England, in that order, to win another trophy.

Not so fast. It is only July, and I don’t buy it. The following is my reaction to each of their seven reasons on why the Giants will win it all again in 2009.

1) Championship Pedigree: The Giants have been there, done that. Many key players already own Super Bowl 42 rings. They still have the swagger of champions. Last season made them even hungrier.

Until Plaxico Burress’ gun incident derailed them, the Giants looked ready to repeat. They feel cheated, as if their season went up in smoke when a gun went off in a nightclub. Burress is now gone and will not stand in their way. Nothing will.

Let’s face it, the Giants aren’t the only team to have a Lombardi Trophy, and the players, coaches and owners aren’t unique in the fact they have rings. The Steelers won’t like this reasoning. The Patriots won’t. Plenty of guys who have moved on from Super Bowl teams won’t like this reason.

That was 2007. This is 2009. Things change fast in the NFL. So the Giants have won a Super Bowl. So what?

2) Depth: This team is well equipped to handle injuries. Significant players have gone down over the past two seasons – Jeremy Shockey, Mathias Kiwanuka, Osi Umenyiora. Yet the Giants kept winning.

General Manager Jerry Reese has assembled a formidable roster. The Giants are toast if Eli Manning goes down for the long term. But overall their roster is rock-solid.

The Giants do have very good depth. But a lot of players on IR won’t help the Giants. The Giants do have question marks on their roster. Who’s the top receiver? Who is behind Kevin Boss at the tight end position? Who are the backup guards and center? What’s the outside linebacker situation?

The Giants are a solid team, depth wise. But they still have question marks. A few injuries and rookies will be starting in key positions. And let’s not forget, if the backups get hurt too, what good is depth? Backups play special teams too, and if they get hurt while covering a kickoff or on punt coverage, it hurts the team all around.

3) Offensive Line: Guard Chris Snee and Center Shaun O’Hara are coming off Pro Bowl seasons. David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie are excellent tackles, and Rich Seubert is a dependable guard. The Giants led the league in rushing last season, as their backs were provided with gaping holes.

Few backs run with Brandon Jacobs’ power and Ahmad Bradshaw’s game-breaking speed. Derrick Ward, who signed with the Buccaneers, will miss the Giants offensive line more than the Giants will miss him.

This one I mostly agree with, but I’m not buying everything. As I mentioned above, the Giants have some depth questions in some areas of the offensive line. If those guards go down, who replaces them? The right tackle position should be solid, but the roster doesn’t have a very good backup right tackle.

I agree with that running back situation is good for the Giants, but Ahmad Bradshaw needs to step up this year. If he doesn’t, the Giants will have to rely on a rookie running back in Andre Brown to get the job done for half the snaps.

And since Brandon Jacobs will undoubtedly miss some time, they’ll miss Derrick Ward at times. The running back situation, on paper, looks good. If the running game isn’t the cornerstone of the offense, the Giants might struggle.

4) Ferocious pass rush: Justin Tuck became a star last season after Umenyiora suffered a season-ending injury. Together, they will make sandwiches out of quarterbacks, while Mathias Kiwanuka will rarely see double teams, making him even more effective.

The Giants will miss defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, now head coach of the Rams. But the franchise was smart to promote former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator.

Sheridan sat in meetings with Spagnuolo, and knows best how to deploy personnel. Remember Super Bowl XLII, when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spent much of the game on his back? The Giants have the personnel to do that again.

This I mostly agree with, but Bill Sheridan is the question mark here. So he sat in some meetings, big deal. He’s still unproven as a defensive coordinator. His players have the talent, but what Spagnuolo did so well was put the players in great situations to succeed. Can Sheridan do that?

Yes, the Giants abused Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII. That was also the best game plan Spagnuolo had all year. Can Sheridan repeat that?

5) Tom Coughlin: The longer he coaches, the more the Giants reflect his tenacity. One of Coughlin’s heroes is former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. After the league meetings in March, Coughlin drove up the California coast to meet Wooden for the first time, and they talked for three hours.

Like Wooden, Coughlin never thinks he knows it all. Late in his career, Coughlin had evolved into a players’ coach, without being too lenient. Hiring young head coaches has become trendy, but the league’s oldest head coach (Coughlin will be 63 in August) is still one of the best.

Throughout his career with the Giants, Coughlin’s team will either look great or terrible. Sometimes, the game plan the Giants implement is downright awful. He has gotten a lot better with players.

In the loaded NFC East, one loss might cost the Giants the division. And every New York fan should know Coughlin messes up at least one game every season.

6) Eli Manning: It seems like this guy has been around for a decade, but he’s only 28. Manning has his supporters and his critics, but has yet to reach his prime. He already wears a ring, and often plays his best in clutch situations.

Quarterback is the most important position in team sports. In the fourth quarter, the Giants have a quarterback who makes plays.

Everything about Manning listed is true. The question is whether or not his receiving corps help him out. The wide receivers are young and don’t have a whole lot of experience.

Steve Smith should be his safety blanket, but the Giants don’t have a big-play receiver yet (maybe they do, but no one who has shown he can be that guy). If his receivers struggle, what Manning will we see—the leader in Manning or the guy who shrugs off mistakes?

7) Special teams: The punter (Jeff Feagles) is superb at pinning teams inside the 20. The placekicker (Lawrence Tynes) is reliable. The kick-coverage units are excellent. The Giants usually win the battle of field position and rarely waste scoring drives.

Kick-coverage is excellent? Downright lie. The Giants struggled covering kicks all year. Opponents had great field position a lot, including in the playoffs. Feagles is rock solid, Tynes is not. He’s a good kicker, but he’ll miss a few kicks from time to time, and sometimes they are kicks he should make.

Giants have a good offense, but they sometimes do waste drives by stalling in the red zone. Last year, we often saw the Giants sputter inside the 20 and had to kick a field goal.

In the playoffs, that hurt them. If the Giants can score touchdowns, they’ll be a great team. If they have to resort to field goals, they’ll be in a lot of close games, sometimes on the losing end.

On paper, the Giants do look like a Super Bowl-caliber team. But when the pads go on, everything changes. If the Giants can get it all together, they’ll be a great team. If not, they’ll struggle.

Let’s wait before we crown them. There’s still 16 games to play.

(Article originally posted on http://nygiants247.blogspot.com/)

Tom Coughlin, Others Head to Middle East to Visit U.S. Troops

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When the New York Giants finish their mini-camp on July 18, the organization will have their last break before training camp begins in early August. For head coach Tom Coughlin, the break begins with the USO Coaches Tour, a tour of NFL head coaches, past and present, that will visit combat troops in the Persian Gulf.

Coughlin will be joined by Jeff Fisher (Titans), John Harbaugh (Ravens), Bill Cowher (former coach of the Steelers), and Jon Gruden (former coach of the Buccaneers), and all four will head to war zones sometime in July. The Giants coach has often spoken about how much respect and admiration he has for the troops, and in only a few days, he will be visiting the men and women protecting America overseas.

A close interaction with military personal is nothing new for Coughlin. In 2007, Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who lost both legs in Iraq, became an inspiration for the Super Bowl team, joining the team on the sidelines throughout the year, including at the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship Game.

After the Giants won the Super Bowl in February 2008, Coughlin took the Giants to the Walter Reed Army Hospital before visiting the White House.

Coughlin also has a close relationship with Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the commanding officer in Iraq. Odierno visited Giants training camp last year and personally invited Coughlin to the Gulf before heading to Iraq, according to reports.

The USO Coaches Tour will be Coughlin’s first trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.

This trip should not be a surprise to any fan that has followed a Tom Coughlin team. Coughlin’s coaching style certainly embodies many traits synonymous with the military. Discipline, honor, intelligence, and pride are characteristics of a Coughlin-coached team.

Though some coaches, athletes, and owners may feel like they are bigger than the game, no coach going overseas falls into that category. Coughlin, Fisher, Harbaugh, Cowher, and Gruden should be commended for taking time out of their personal and professional lives to visit the troops. These coaches understand that football is not the most important thing in life and know what a sacrifice the men and women serving overseas are making.

Coughlin’s commitment to the military will not end when he returns to face his team and their upcoming training camp.

Coughlin supports the Wounded Warriors Project, a non-profit organization that “tries to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, helps severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and provides unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members,” according to Giants.com.

On Aug. 2, the Giants report to training camp in Albany, N.Y. Practices begin the next day, so coaches and players have a little more than a month of free time before beginning their 2009 season.

Not Coughlin. Coughlin will be in the arid deserts of the Middle East, and his care and admiration for U.S. military personnel is genuine. Instead of going home to relax, Coughlin is taking time to visit those who truly make a difference in America—the troops.

Coughlin, Fisher, Harbaugh, Cowher, and Gruden remind us that football isn’t the most important thing in America today. Sometimes, there is something bigger happening, but we might not always see it. For those five men, they will see it firsthand, and should be commended for their involvement with the NFL’s first USO Coaches Tour.

But it is probably a good thing Coughlin doesn’t have much hair—it’s doubtful Odierno will give him the Stephen Colbert treatment while Coughlin and the other coaches are visiting the troops.

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