Die Hard Giants Fan

Die Hard Giants Fan would like to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!  Most of today’s news is a continuation of what’s been written the past couple of days.  Mostly it’s about Kenny Phillips wearing Tiki’s No. 21 in tribute to the late Sean Taylor and what Kevin Gilbride thinks about Jeremy Shockey’s future with Big Blue.  There are a few new topics mixed in below.

Giants.com:

Rookie Mini-Camp Concludes - Michael Eisen provided a report on the Giants‘ Rookie Mini-Camp.

Transcript: Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo - Giants.com had a Q&A Session with Steve Spagnuolo.

Transcript: Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride - Giants.com had a Q&A Session with Kevin Gilbride.

New York Daily News:

Giants’ first-rounder Kenny Phillips embraces Sean Taylor’s number, spirit

Kevin Gilbride says Jeremy Shockey’s future up for grabs - Ralph Vacchiano also covered the story that The Star-Ledger covered yesterday about Kevin Gilbride being uncertain about Jeremy Shockey’s future.

New York Post:

ONE GIANT PLAYMAKER - According to Paul Schwartz, Kenny Phillips believes he can live up to performing like a first-round draft pick should.

SHOCKEY STATUS VEXING GILBRIDE

New York Times:

If N.F.L. Doesn’t Call, the Army Will - Joshua Robinson pointed out that Owen Tolson, who signed with the Giants as a free agent, will end up serving in the Army if he doesn’t make the team.

The Star-Ledger:

For Giants rookie, mom is judge and jury - Mike Garafolo wrote up a long article about Jonathan Goff.

Gilbride supports Shockey

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Michael David Smith at ProFootballTalk.com also assembled a Giants Minicamp Report.  For the most part, it is the same as what is below.  The other day, Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger stated that Kenny Phillips might be wearing No. 21 as a tribute to the late Sean Taylor.  According to multiple articles below, it turns out that he was correct.

Giants.com:

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin - Giants.com had a Q&A Session with Tom Coughlin.

Rookie Mini-Camp Report - Michael Eisen reported on the first day of practices that the Giants held with 2008 rookies.

Transcript: LB Bryan Kehl - Giants.com had Q&A Session with Bryan Kehl.

Transcript: QB Andre’ Woodson - Giants.com had a Q&A Session with Andre’ Woodson.

Newsday:

Rookie Phillips grabs No. 21 in homage to Taylor - Tom Rock informs us as to why Kenny Phillips wants to wear No. 21.

New York Daily News:

Mario Manningham is a test case - Ralph Vacchiano lets us know why Mario Manningham is on a “short leash”.

New York Post:

TALK TO STRANGERS - Paul Schwartz stated that Coach Coughlin plans on having a chat with the rookies about his expectations.

MARIO LOOKS SUPER AT GIANTS MINICAMP

New York Times:

Safety Set to Blaze Path With Familiar Number

The Star-Ledger:

Even Gilbride’s unsure about Shockey - Mike Garafolo captured Kevin Gilbride’s thoughts on the Jeremy Shockey situation.

Woodson and Manningham hurt

Giants can invest long-term in Woodson - Jenny Vrentas discusses Andre’ Woodson’s role on the team.

Phillips’ 21 is a tribute

Afternoon practice report

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The Giants were supposed to announce Tom Coughlin’s contract extension today, but I haven’t heard about it yet.  William Joseph is supposed to meet with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.  Joseph was a first round pick in ‘03, and never lived up to his potential.

Giants.com:

Giants react to Favre decision

An inside look - John Schmeelk created a bio about safety Sammy Knight.

Family Bond - Michael Eisen wrote a piece about Kevin Gilbride who had kidney disease infiltrate his family about 50 years ago.

New York Post:

FAVRE’S FINALE A GIANT FIT - Paul Schwartz covered Brett Favre’s final game.

OFFICER HAS LAST PASS - According to Tom Canavan, the interception that Brett Favre threw to Corey Webster is now in the hands of Lt. Col. Greg Gadson.

New York Times:

Packers’ Quarterback Favre to Retire From N.F.L.

Last Pass by Favre: A Special Gift

The Star-Ledger:

Favre, the ultimate gunslinger, retires

Giant thoughts on Favre

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Since the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII, New York City held a Ticker Tape for them up the Canyon of Heroes at 11:00 a.m. on February 5, 2008.  It officially began at 11:10 a.m.

The Giants began walking through the Canyon of Heroes with the George Halas Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy.  Various floats full of Giants went through the Canyon of Heroes as 50 tons of confetti came falling down from the sky.  Giants players had their video cameras and were filming it.  The Giants donned their Super Bowl Champion hooded sweatshirts.  Mayor Bloomberg jumped up onto a float with Eli Manning and Michael Strahan who were holding the Lombardi Trophy.  Marching bands came up Broadway.  Governor Spitzer and Senator Schumer came up Broadway in a car.  John Tisch was on a Gray Line bus.  The Giants fans were screaming and chanting the whole time.  One of the chants was “18-1″.  A float came up Broadway with Steve Spagnuolo and Kevin Gilbride.  David Diehl came off the float and said “it was an unbelievable experience”.  Kareem McKenzie also came off the float and said that Giants fans are the “greatest fans in the world, they cheer for you”.  Other chants were “Defense, Defense, Defense” as floats came out with defensive players.  Justin Tuck said “This is crazy, I never heard of anything like this, the fans scream your name, and it’s amazing.  It’s amazing, I’m lost for words, I’ve been doing this for miles, and this is ridiculous”.  Antonio Pierce said “It’s amazing, we need to do this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, every day of the year.  We didn’t do the impossible.  It’s beautiful that everybody came out so early in the morning.  Don’t stop celebrating.  Tell your boss we’re going to party all week.”  Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins got off the float and hi-fived the fans.  Barry Cofield said “it’s unbelievable.  I never expected anything close to this”.  The fans started chanting “Boston Sucks”.  Antonio Pierce said “It’s the best thing in the world.  All these people came to support us.  This is for the fans of New York.”  Plaxico Burress got up on a float with Gibril Wilson.  Gibril Wilson said ‘It’s crazy right now.  It’s great to see all these people out here”.  R.W. McQuarters said “It gets no better than this.  This is the best thing I’ve ever seen.”  Jeff Feagles and Lawrence Tynes came out on the next float.  Lawrence Tynes said “It is beyond his expectations.  It’s unbelievable.  I was a piece of the puzzle, and it feels good to contribute.”  John Tisch said “I’m a life long New Yorker.  One of the greatest things is seeing New York embrace this team.  And the fans all came here to say thank you.  This is a team of the people.  It’s fabulous, just fabulous.”  Harry Carson by phone said “I really agreed with John Mara.  It was the most historical franchise win for the Giants.  They came through.  They did New York and New Jersey fans well.  I’m watching the parade.  I’m currently in Hawaii.  I’m really impressed with who’s there.  It’s so appropriate that they have a ticker tape parade in New York.”

The City Hall Ceremony began around 1:00 p.m.  Whoopi Goldberg came out first because Mayor Bloomberg invited her there.  She gave an introduction.  The radio voice of the New York Giants, Bob Papa, came up next.  He gave a short speech, and introduced Mayor Bloomberg and other NYC officials and Meadowlands officials, Senator Schumer, Elliot Spitzer, Shelly Silver.  Then he introduced the World Champion New York Football Giants.  Speakers included Bob Papa, Governor Spitzer, Senator Schumer, Coach Coughlin, Speaker Silver, John Mara, Steve Tisch, Michael Strahan, and Eli Manning.

Every Giant received a key to the city.  New York City did a wonderful job with the Victory Parade and the City Hall Ceremony.  Hundreds of thousands of Giants fans were going crazy.  It was great to see all of that.

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Super Bowl Weekend is creeping up on us.  It reality, these two weeks have seemed like forever and it isn’t even over yet.  I’d rather the NFL went back to playing one week after the Conference Championship game.  So much of nothing has occured.

People have continued to bet on the Jints, so the Giants are a 12 point underdog again rather than a 12 1/2 point underdog.  I still don’t see this game getting out of hand.  In Week 17, it was a shut out.  Neither team played good defense so I do think both teams will play better defense.  In the Playoffs, the Giants did not allow an excessive amount of points in any game.  Tampa Bay wasn’t a potent offense anyway so that doesn’t count.  Dallas was the 2nd most prolific offense this season and they did nothing.  Green Bay was a pretty high scoring team that put up 20 points.  So I do believe that both the Patriots and the Giants will play better defense than Week 17 because it’s the Super Bowl. 

Giants.com:

Transcript: RB Brandon Jacobs - Brandon Jacobs answers questions about the running game and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DE Michael Strahan - Michael Strahan answers questions about Steve Spagnuolo’s first year as the Defensive Coordinator and about how historical this game is no matter who the winner is.

Transcript: WR David Tyree - David Tyree answers questions about the special teams unit and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: QB Eli Manning - Eli Manning answers questions about his performance in the Playoffs and about Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DE Michael Strahan - Michael Strahan answers questions regarding the defensive game plan for Super Bowl XLII, the 2000 Giants team, and the 1986 Giants team.

Transcript: S Gibril Wilson - Gibril Wilson answers questions about the defense during the 2007 season and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: CB R.W. McQuarters - R.W. McQuarters answers questions about the secondary and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots Coach Bill Belichick - Bill Belichick answers questions extensively about NFL history and Super Bowl XLII.  Extensive answers are a rarity from Bill.

Transcript: WR Plaxico Burress - Plaxico Burress answers questions about his ankle, and his prediction, and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: WR Steve Smith - Steve Smith answers questions about his career.

Transcript: WR Amani Toomer - Amani Toomer answers questions about the changes Tom Coughlin has made and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: FB Madison Hedgecock - Madison Hedgecock answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DT Fred Robbins - Fred Robbins answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: S James Butler - James Butler answers questions about his performance in the 2007 season.

Transcript: LB Antonio Pierce - Antonio Pierce answers questions about the 2007 season.

Transcript: GM Jerry Reese - Jerry Reese answers questions about his impact as a GM.

Transcript: DT Barry Cofield - Barry Cofield answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: C Shaun O’ Hara - Shaun O’ Hara answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DE Osi Umenyiora - Osi Umenyiora answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.  Apparently, Tom Coughlin handed out more shirts with the motto “Talk is Cheap, Play the Game” because things were getting out of hand down there.  This is Osi’s response:

I think so.  I got mine and I’m wearing mine and this is my motto from here on out.  As a matter of fact, I want to apologize to (Patriots OT) Matt Light for calling him a dirty player.  He’s really not a dirty player at all, I apologize, that’s my fault.  I’m sorry Matt Light, I didn’t mean anything by that.  I didn’t mean to cause a whole hoopla or ruckus, it was between me and you and we’ll see each other on Sunday.  I love you man.

Osi said he’s going to shut up, he apologized, and said he loved Matt Light.  What is that about?  Osi punked out.  This story is the reason why you should just say nothing.  Osi said Light was dirty, and now has to mend the issue.  It looks stupid so if you never say anything then you won’t look like a punk.

Transcript: CB Aaron Ross - Aaron Ross answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots LB Mike Vrabel - Mike Vrabel answers questions regarding his versatility, Andre Tippett being voted in the Hall of Fame, and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots LB Junior Seau - Junior Seau answers questions about Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots QB Tom Brady - Tom Brady answers questions about his journey to this point and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots S Rodney Harrison - Rodney Harrison answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin - Tom Coughlin answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots WR Randy Moss - Randy Moss answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots G Logan Mankins - Logan Mankins answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Patriots Scouting Report - Michael Eisen breaks down the New England Patriots.

Duel Role - Michael Eisen goes in depth about the on-the-field and off-the-field relationship between Chris Snee and Tom Coughlin.

A New Look - Michael Eisen described the new look of Tom Coughlin.

Transcript: K Lawrence Tynes - Lawrence Tynes answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: CB Corey Webster - Corey Webster answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: LT David Diehl - David Diehl answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DE Michael Strahan - Michael Strahan answers questions on whether he’s contemplating retirement and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: LB Kawika Mitchell - Kawika Mitchell answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: RB Brandon Jacobs - Brandon Jacobs answers questions regarding the Playoffs and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DE Osi Umenyiora - Osi Umenyiora answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: LB Antonio Pierce - Antonio Pierce answers questions regarding his leadership role on the Giants and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi - Tedy Bruschi answers questions about his stroke recovery and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: OC Kevin Gilbride - Kevin Gilbride answers questions about the success of the 2007 season and Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: DE Justin Tuck - Justin Tuck answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: WR Amani Toomer - Amani Toomer answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Head Coach Tom Coughlin - Tom Coughlin answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: QB Eli Manning - Eli Manning answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: RT Kareem McKenzie - Kareem McKenzie answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots TE Ben Watson - Ben Watson answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick - Bill Belichick answer questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Transcript: Patriots RT Nick Kaczur - Nick Kaczur answers questions regarding Super Bowl XLII.

Newsday:

Focused Giants say they’ll be ready for Sunday

Strahan enjoys 2nd Super Bowl

Burress doesn’t back down from prediction

Bradshaw has given Giants an unexpected lift

Super Bowl surprises - Jim Baubach discusses how surprised he is by all of the Super Bowl hype.

Pats anything but blase about Super Bowl

How to beat the Patriots - Bob Glauber provides 5 ways that the Giants can use to try to beat the Patriots.

Giants see edge in having faced Patriots

Plaxico’s prediction draws mixed reviews

FOX’s pregame show will mix celebs with football - FOX continues to show us why they suck.  There is no reason for celebrities to be any part of a pregame show.  There is no reason for anybody to have to suffer by having to listen to Joe Buck broadcast a football or baseball game.

McQuarters, Madison mentors for Giants D-backs

McDaniels keeps Patriots’ offense running smoothly

Patriots’ Samuel could give Eli Manning fits - I’m very concerned about Asanti Samuel lurking in the secondary.  Samuel had a pick in Week 17, and he’s always getting interceptions in big spots.

Pepper Johnson not optimistic about race in NFL

Kinder, gentler Coughlin has boosted Giants’ morale

Patriots star wideout Moss has become team player - I was interested in knowing if Randy Moss would fit into the Patriots organization in September, but I guess Tom Rock wanted to reiterate that point.

Patriots love Belichick, and see softer side - Various Patriots admit that they are in love with Bill Belichick.

Giants, Patriots make this Super Bowl special

Giants are thrilled Feagles is still kicking - So am I.

Blog bite: Brady says Giants’ black suits ‘looked terrible’

Patriots coy about Brady’s ankle on injury report - The Patriots did not include Tom Brady’s ankle injury on the injury report, but they continued to leave him on the injury for his supposed shoulder injury.

Ex-Giant Bahr knows pressure, has faith in Tynes

New York Daily News:

Giants look to rush, rattle Tom Brady

Ohm’s Super Bowl Blog: Day 4

Scaling Mount Brady will be Giant task

Eli Manning will need to play like Phil Simms did on Super stage

Pats’ assistant Josh McDaniels likely to be candidate for head coaching jobs

Diary: Surrounded by cookie monsters

Fashion statement: Randy Moss fires back at dark-suited Giants

Plaxico Burress’ mouth runs late

Old Jets feel Super about Giants - That would be the 1968 Jets.

Jessica Simpson or Gisele Bundchen? Giants make their selections

Ben Roethlisberger high on Eli Manning

Don’t bother planning Patsies parade! Big Blue’s going to win it, faithful say

Giants’ Ruegamer honors Pat Tillman - Ohm Youngmisuk pointed out that Grey Ruegamer also went to Arizona State with Pat Tillman.  This is what Ruegamer throught about Tillman, “It’s kind of surreal to come back to Arizona.  It’s Super Bowl 42, that was Pat’s number in college. We are playing in (Arizona) where he played for the Cardinals and they have a memorial for him outside. So it is kind of weird.”

Madison Hedgecock a Giant blessing

Pepper Johnson gives Patriots’ defense a healthy dash of Big Blue history

Tom Coughlin, Chris Snee share professional, family bond

Risk for fans cheering too heart-ily - The AP reported that New York Doctors want New Yorkers to “take their meds and get plenty of sleep before the big game after a new report revealed fans are more likely to have a heart attack while watching a big sporting event.”  What?  What about Bostonians?

Tom Brady, Joe Montana pass each other compliments

New York Post:

BRADY MUST FEEL GIANT RUSH HOUR - That’s what I’m talking about.

BRADY & CO. BLOW OFF BURRESS PREDICTION

AS TUCK WOULD HAVE IT, JUSTIN DREAMS MVP - If Justin Tuck plays like it then he can win it.

ELI CAN COUNT ON O-LINE GENERALS

PLAX IS TARDY TO EVENT

IT’S BOOT-IFUL - Mike Vaccaro relives the Championship game when Tom Coughlin led Boston College to a huge upset over Notre Dame.

MARONEY PROVES CRITICS WRONG

SHOCK WAVE - Tim Hasselbeck had some not so nice things to say about Jeremy Shockey.

MATCHUP OF THE DAY - Steve Serby examines the matchup between Michael Strahan and Laurence Maroney.  Serby explains why Strahan has the edge.

STOPPING MR. VERSATILITY A GIANT TASK - So says Bart Hubbuch about Kevin Faulk.

SECRET WEAPON - That’s what Mark Cannizzaro thinks of Kevin Faulk.

GIANTS JOURNEY

New York Times:

Undersized Patriots Are Shedding Their Anonymity

Blue-Collar Giants Revel in Unity and Obscurity

Absent With Leave: Missing the Big Game - John Branch wrote a story about Jeremy Shockey.

The Star-Ledger:

Plax out again - Plaxico Burress didn’t practice yesterday or today because he now has a knee injury to add to his season long ankle injury.

Plax’s knee the issue

A promise is a promise

Seau: Bradshaw will be “great”

Nice guy Tom Coughlin inspiring NY Giants

A sad reminder of Pat Tillman

NY Giants’ Plaxico Burress just sits and talks

Stepping up for Gridiron Greats

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I was thinking about how the week off between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl would affect the game for each team.  I’m feeling a little uneasy about the bye week, so I would definitely like you all to chime in and let me know what you think.  Maybe you guys can cheer me up a little.  So here it goes.

Giants

I sort of feel like the bye week will affect the Giants more than it will affect the Patriots.  Historically, the Giants have performed very poorly after the “regular season” bye week.  This is by no means a regular season bye week, but it always seems like the Giants can’t get into a rythem after the bye week.  In the Playoffs, the Giants only experienced the bye week once prior to Super Bowl XXXV.  Big Blue bumped into that stout Ravens ‘D’, and it was ugly.  I’ve really tried to examine the vibe of the team after Sunday’s victory over the Packers.  Here’s some positives.  On the flight home from Green Bay, the two players that were on the 2000 team, Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan, discussed how they can keep the team focused enough to win.  Even they said they got wrapped up in it all back in 2000.  After coming off of that 41-0 thrashing of the Vikings in the NFC Championship game, they felt like the Super Bowl was going to be a walk in the park.  Going into the Playoffs, the Giants were labeled as the worst team in the Playoffs.  After winning the NFC Championship game, Wellington Mara even sarcastically said “we are the worst team in NFL history to win the NFC Championship Game” to the team in the locker room.  So now, Toomer and Strahan feel like they can get keep the rest of the team focused on the ultimate goal.  I really hope that they can do that.  With Toomer on offense and Strahan on defense, they really can reach the entire team.  It would be more difficult if both of them were on one side of the ball.  The Jints have a lot of youth, and those are the players that need to remain focused.  And there are millions of distractions right now.  The Giants had a few days off to unwind.  They were all over NYC.  Then they have to practice for 3 days.  Then they go to Arizona.  They have to deal with the media.  They have to practice out there.  Then they play.  Not only do the players not have Super Bowl experience, neither do the Owners, the GM, or the Coaching Staff.  So it is new to everybody.  What I’m saying doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to overcome, but it may be more difficult to handle than it would be if there was some more guidance from the top down.  I believe that the players will give it their all, unlike in 2000.  I heard Ernie Accorsi say how much losing that game bothers him until this day.  He believed that the players felt like they won the Super Bowl after beating the Vikings.  That’s something I cannot comprehend.  How can you not get up for the Super Bowl?  I do believe that the Coaches can look back at Super Bowl XXXV, and say that’s what happens to a team that gets caught up in it.  That in itself should keep their eye on the prize.  The last thing I wanted to mention is Tom Coughlin.  As much of a successful turnaround as Coach Coughlin had in 2007, he doesn’t match up toe-to-toe with Bill Belichick.  Tom Coughlin is a disciplinarian and a perfectionist, but he isn’t known for being one of the greatest offensive brains or defensive brains in NFL history.  So T.C. really needs to rely on his assistants more than Bill Belichick would need to.  Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, seems to be the real deal.  He is a protoge of the Eagles’ DC, Jim Johnson who is a legendary DC.  Since the Giants put up 35 points on the Pats in Week 17, the weight of this game rests on the shoulder of Spags because they can’t give up 38 points again.  The Giants have to make the necessary stops on defense.  The Offensive Coordinator, Kevin Gilbride, didn’t seem to call many good games during the regular season.  However, he’s done a great job since Week 17.  He’s adjusted to the defenses.  The team appears to be comfortable executing his calls.  The biggest thing thing the Giants need to do to win this game is hold onto the ball.  I’m not talking about turnovers, of course they can’t turn the ball over.  I’m talking about time of possession.  In Week 17, the Giants defense got tired after three quarters of chasing Tom Brady around.  If the offense can stay on the field, then the defense shouldn’t tire as quickly.  The Giants need to hold onto the ball like they did when they beat the Bills in Super Bowl XXV.  Tom Coughlin needs to utilize the game plan of Bill Parcells.  The problem with that is Bill Belichick knows the game plan.  The Coaching Staff needs to out coach Bill Belichick, which will be difficult but not impossible.  The team will need to outplay and outwill the Patriots as well.  Our secret weapon is Ahmad Bradshaw because he sat out in Week 17 due to an injury.  Obviously the Patriots know about him, but they haven’t seen him.

Patriots

On the other side of the ball, the Patriots have been to the Super Bowl three times this century.  They’ve been through all of the extracurricular activities each time.  You already know Bill Belichick is one of the greatest defensive minds in NFL history.  They say his players are getting older and losing a step.  That may be true, but they know what they’re doing…and they always seem like they make the big stop when they need to.  Coach Belichick has lost some of his better assistants a couple of years ago, but he can completely take over the play calling responsibilities if need be.  We know that Belichick is in a lab concocting a game plan for the Giants.  He’ll probably be in that underground layer until gameday devising the ultimate scheme.  He will look at every aspect, every angle, and he will leave no stone unturned.  His players have all been to the dance before, and have had tons of success.  The Patriots had two players on the right side of the O-Line that didn’t start in Week 17 that will play in the Super Bowl.  They were Nick Kaczur and Stephen Neal.  So those are two players that the Giants didn’t see live, and obviously they will give Brady even more time to throw the ball to his army of receivers.  The last thing that I wanted to mention is Tom Brady’s leg and/or possible injury.  If he’s wearing a cast of some sorts then something is wrong.  To what extent?  Nobody knows, and Belichick will never provide you that information.  According to the Patriots injury report, Tom Brady has been listed as questionable each week for years so it means nothing.  The Giants are going to want to hit Brady to see if they can further damage his leg.  Knowing that, Belichick is going to have his O-Line totally prepared for this game.  Did you see the Chargers-Patriots game on Sunday?  There were a couple of times where the line couldn’t hold up, and Brady was screaming at them about it on the sideline.  I’ve never seen him yelling at his teamates on the sidelines before.  But, he didn’t have a good game.

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The amount of Giants news this week has been unbelievable.   And with that said, there really isn’t anything written really well about the Giants.  It’s all mostly common sense stuff like the Giants have to run the ball against the Bucs.  There has been some great stories in The Post this week about the Knicks, but we’re not here to talk about the Knicks.  There has been some great stories about Roger Clemens, but were not here to talk about him either.  And it’s all deserved.  And by the way, I’m very happy that I didn’t have to listen to Tiki, Shockey, and Strahan complain all season.  Thanks for listening to Coach Coughlin when he told you all to shut up and play with the exception of Tiki who’s job now is to talk and talk and talk.

Giants.com:

Transcript of Chat with DE Justin Tuck

Road Warriors

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin

Coughlin’s Corner

Bucs Scouting Report

Newsday:

Five things the Giants must do to Beat the Bucs

Giants credit Spagnuolo for turning around defense - On the defensive side of the ball, I’m very happy with Spags as I said yesterday.

Giants’ Gilbride salutes Bucs’ defensive guru - I bet he did.  Gilbride struggles putting up points in every game so I’m sure that this is a real challenge trying to figure the Bucs out.  I hope that we can get a new OC this offseason, but we’ll cover that in the offseason.

Ring is the only thing Giants’ Strahan lacks

Metro-area fans can now get tickets

Pierce, Giants no fans of Ronde’s statements

Former Giant Carl Banks takes next step in his career

Giants playoff moment - Newsday relives the NFC wild-card game between the Giants and the Eagles in 1981.  This is the first time Newsday put together one of these about a game that’s before my time.  I was 4 and have no recollection of this game.  Feel free to tell me about it if you remember it.

NFL GRIDIRON GUIDE: Quest ends at Qwest - Ed McNamara picked the Bucs who are favored by 3.  I don’t know about that decision.

New York Daily News:

Upbeat Giants feel playoff ghosts are things of the past

Inside the Matchups: Giants at Bucs

Moment is right for Eli Manning to follow Peyton’s lead - I love the positive vibes coming out of the Daily News.  Gary Myers tells us how Eli can win a first round Playoff game faster than Peyton did.  He doesn’t mention the talent difference between the Colts and the Giants though.  When Peyton couldn’t win a Playoff game, it was because they only had 3 offensive players that mattered and Peyton being one of them.  Eli has played on Giants teams with some of the best at their position in the game like Tiki, Shockey, Toomer, Burress, etc.  With the talent around Eli, he should win faster, but he isn’t as integral to the offense as Peyton was.  If Eli only handed off to James and threw to Harrison then he wouldn’t be in the Playoffs.

Plaxico Burress to Bucs’ Ronde Barber: Worry about me, not Eli Manning - Burress tries to deter Ronde Barber.  Obviously, Ronde will be covering Plaxico, but maybe Ronde knows that he’s in a few blitz schemes to bring Eli down.

Road-savvy Giants believe they can travel all the way to the Super Bowl - These comments were provided by Plaxico and Tuck.  I wish they reserved these kinds of comments for the locker room.

Jon Gruden: Brandon Jacobs poses big problem - I heard the interview with Gruden on Monday, I believe.  The Daily News is bringing this to us late.  Obviously, Gruden knows that the Giants want to hand the ball off to Jacobs all day.  So, he’s going to have everybody shut Jacobs down and I believe it will be successful for a while because it will be their primary focus.  What the Giants need to do is keep doing it until the Bucs are worn out and can’t tackle him anymore.  OC Gilbride needs to stick with the run no matter what.

Giants ticket ban gets the boot

Regular Season Rewind: For Giants & Bucs, it’s been wild ride

New York Post:

A LINE IN THE SAND

BIG BLUE BLOWS OFF BARBER BROS. BARBS

FORTUNE ROOKIES

CHUMP CHANGE

RELENTLESS ROAD WARRIORS WILLING & ABLE

New York Times:

If Giants Feel the Pressure, They Sure Don’t Show It

Under Spagnuolo, Giants Give Grudgingly

The Star-Ledger:

Official injury report

Injury report

Giants not afraid to leave home

Sibling rivalry? Nah, it’s all Tiki

Madison hurting, will struggle to play

Collins becomes a titan among QBs - Another former inconsistent Giants Quarterback, Kerry Collins, has a 50/50 chance to get the start against the Chargers.

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I really can’t wait for this game.  I know the Giants are the better team even though Vegas put the line in favor of the Bucs.  I am concerned about Jeff Garcia because he’s elusive and has the history against us.  The Bucs defense had a great year.  Of course they can win.  I am concerned about Eli.  The fact that he plays better earlier in the season says to me that he has difficulty playing against teams that are on a Playoff push like the Redskins in Week 16.  He has trouble against teams with their backs up against the wall like in the Playoffs the last two seasons.  In some ways, it didn’t surprise me that he had such a great game against the Patriots because the game didn’t mean anything so there was no pressure on him.  This Sunday, there will be.  So I just want the Giants to win this game already.  I really believe that we can reach the Superbowl.  I don’t believe that they are the best team, but I believe that they can upset some teams.  I’d prefer that we don’t have to go to Seattle or Green Bay, but they will play where they have to play. 

Giants.com:

Transcript: DE Michael Strahan - Michael Strahan answered a few good questions here like:

It almost seems like one win won’t satisfy this group?

No, what is the use?  Everybody is so focused on the Giants getting out of the first round of the playoffs but for us if you are going to come this far you might as well do the whole thing, go all the way.  I think last week’s game, the outcome, was not exactly what we wanted or what we expected.  I think it gave us a sense that we can play with anybody if we put our minds to it.  I think with that after the game last week everybody really feels that we have a great opportunity to go all the way, an opportunity to win it if we get there.  That is everybody’s focus, not just one week and one game.

What has it been like playing for Steve Spagnuolo this season?

Fun. It has been a lot of fun.  He has brought a lot of energy to the defense, accountability to the defense, and he tells you what he expects.  He is straight-up, he is straight-forward with you, and I think as a player that is what you appreciate from your coach, that is what you want from your coach, someone who tells you exactly what they feel, how they feel, and what you need to do to be good and what you have done doesn’t make you bad.  He does that every week.

What were you saying by giving Spagnuolo a Gatorade bath after the Buffalo game?

Congratulations, you did a great job.  In that game we didn’t start out great but one thing about our season even when we weren’t playing that well defensively he just kept telling us tp stay the course, do what we need you to do and things are going to work out.  Just don’t deviate from the course and try to do too much and get away from what our plan is.  We have done that and it has helped us win some games and we just wanted to try to make him sick.

In my opinion, Steve Spagnuolo was the Coach of the Year on the Giants staff.

Transcript: LB Antonio Pierce

Transcript: OC Kevin Gilbride

Giant Task - Michael Eisen says it is a ‘Giants Task’ to beat Jeff Garcia.

Transcript: DC Steve Spagnuolo

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin - After doing this blog all year, I learned that Tom Coughlin doesn’t answer any good questions.  And I’m not talking about anything that has to do with game strategy.

Junior Giants-Jingle all the way!

Big Obstacle - Michael Eisen is calling the Bucs defense as the Giants ‘Big Obstacle’.

Transcript: DE Justin Tuck - In Michael Eisen’s Q&A Session with Justin Tuck, Eisen asked Tuck about the Quarterback that stopped the Giants Playoff run twice, Jeff Garcia.

The fact that Jeff Garcia can improvise and scramble how much of a challenge is it to play him?

Good, it is a good challenge.  He has a track record against the Giants.  Just look what he did last year, so he is definitely our main focus for stopping this offense.

How do you stop him?

Obviously not what we did last year so we are going to have to try something new.  Just trying our best to keep him in the pocket and getting our hands up because he is a shorter quarterback and we can knock down some balls. That is where we start.

Transcript: QB Eli Manning

Newsday:

Sirius trash talk: Giants react to Ronde’s slight - A day ago, I wrote that there would probably be less media interest in this game than normal because Tiki retired.  I was very wrong about that.  I saw that Ronde Barber was on the back page of the Post and the Daily News with this quote, “Eli can be had”.  How frequently does a player from the city of Tampa Bay end up on the back of a NY newspaper?  Probably never…but it happened today.

Notes: Giants’ O’Hara, Mitchell, Madison sit out

Giants playoff moment - Newsday relives the NFC Wild Card game in 2003 between the Jeff Garcia led 49ers and the Kerry Collins led Giants.  This was a game that I wish never happened.  It was easier for me to accept the whoopings that the Giants took in the 2001 Superbowl and the 2006 Wild Card game then it was for me to accept the Giants blowing a 24 point lead.  This is the biggest reason I hate T.O. and Garcia.  Then T.O. had to come over to the NFC East, and Garcia came to Philly and now we have to face him in Tampa Bay.  I also would’ve preferred that Newsday didn’t remind me of that.  I already saw the game and don’t want to think about it anymore.

Giants’ Jacobs must learn how to avoid hits - Shaun Powell makes a great point because Jacobs goes to the sidelines too many times per game, and he has been injured a few times this season.

Bucs’ Garcia wonders if he’ll be rusty from rest - I hope Garcia’s rusty in the game.

Eli adds flavor that’s pure vanilla - Who cares?

New York Daily News:

Giants: We need to win turnover battle

Tiki who? Giants fine without Barber

Ex-Giants out to boot former club - Ohm Youngmisuk points out the ex-Giants seeking revenge.  Here the list: Luke Petitgout, Matt Bryant, and Ike Hilliard.  I forgot about Luke going to Tampa and I paid no attention to where Matt went.

Injured Giants on the mend

Bucs blocking New York on tickets - This article was written early.  I heard on Mike and the Mad Dog that Cuomo called somebody in FL and got this waived so you guys should be able to get tickets to the game.  There are plenty of tickets available.  I also heard that you can get them from StubHub for as little as $100 for anyone interested in heading down to Tampa.

New York Post:

RONDE’S BARBS CHOP DOWN ELI

GIANTS NOT WORRIED IF TIKI TURNS TRAITOR

BRANDON IS BIG BLUE’S RAGING BULL

NO TIME TO REST

O’HARA’S STATUS REMAINS QUESTIONABLE

New York Times:

Garcia’s a Nemesis That Really Gets Around - I was thinking about this yesterday.  How does Garcia keep getting traded if he makes the Playoffs?  I remember that he didn’t live up to his predecessors in San Francisco, Joe Montana and Steve Young, but they were much better with him than they are now.

Fresh-Faced Buccaneers Take Nothing for Granted

Well-Rested Buccaneers to Face Surging Giants

The Star-Ledger:

Bucs lift ticket ban

Thursday injury report

Jacobs is Bucs’ worst nightmare - I love the sound of that.

Same problem, different angle

Rooting interest has Tiki mixed

Bucs’ Garcia a Giant obstacle

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I apologize for not getting this out to you sooner.  I also write on Die Hard Mets Fan, and I’ve been consumed in the Mitchell Report just like every other baseball fan out there.  I listened to all 3 of the press releases yesterday, as well as all of the sports talk radio about the steroid issue.  It has depressed me big time.  You can check out my views on that topic over there.  I’m disappointed about the timing of this.  It was released 4 days prior to the day when the Giants can clinch a Wild Card berth, and it took my excitement away for Sunday.  At least for now…hopefully my mood will change tomorrow.   As you can see, the media was predominantly focused on MLB also because there isn’t as much Friday Giants articles as usual, except from Giants.com who has no business covering MLB.  Enjoy.  Let’s make this official!!!

Giants.com:

Win and In - That’s right baby!!!  We win and we’re in!!!  I can’t wait until Sunday night.

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin

Coughin’s Corner

Transcript: OC Kevin Gilbride

Unknown Territory

Transcript: DE Michael Strahan

Transcript: DE Osi Umenyiora

Transcript: Coach Tom Coughlin

Transcript: LB Antonio Pierce

Newsday:

Redskins QB Collins a mystery man to Giants

New York Daily News:

‘D’ gets a Giant confidence boost

Inside the Matchups: Week 15 - Jim Rich picked the Giants and the over.

New York Post:

CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD

BIG BLUE STUNNED BY MITCHELL REPORT - Paul Schwartz interviewed several Jints players.  Big Blue is shocked about the names included on the Mitchell report.  They act like there is not a problem in the NFL.  I have a big problem with that.  The NFL needs to fix their problem as well.

PLAYOFFS TRUE TEST FOR GIANTS 

The Star-Ledger:

Hitting a Big Blue wall

A look ahead to NYG-WAS

With the first pick…

Strahan flips on the flex

Needell: T.O. rips Eagles - Why does the media still give this guy a mic?

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