Die Hard Giants Fan

So last year Umenyiora was the only player selected to the Pro-Bowl from the Giants, but many are saying it was due to Strahan. Will this season be a repeat for Osi?

Here’s the 411, Osi has become known for his sacking ability (especially that game against McNabb) but was this really because Strahan was getting a lot of the attention? Probably. This still doesn’t take away from the fact that he can get to the quarterback and throughout his intentions he’s bound to get to the QB. Strahan was a major concern for offensive linemen. They would practice before game time a strategy based on his reading ability. Running plays were mostly concentrated on the opposite side to avoid loses and quarterbacks would move in the pocket towards the opposite side to also avoid complications from Strahan. Truth is, during the season they had both become a concern to opponents and plays were now based on their rushing attacks. Justin Tuck will now be the next beast on the line and he’ll be another worry for the guards. Tuck, like my man Keith mentioned to me over the phone, is a well rounded player. He has great containment coverage so it’s not all about sacks for these defensive ends. Umenyiora will benefit greatly from this figure and will most likely maintain his aggresive streak of sacks due to another main concern (which is Justin Tuck). Who will appear in the 3rd spot for these defensive ends? Will it be the rookies Alex Morrow and Robert Henderson? Dave Tollefson? who we have seen very little of due to Tuck being able to take charge of the 3rd string spot for his great contributions; or can it be Renaldo Wynn? who we’re yet to see him in action.

The defensive end spot will be supervised closely to make sure we don’t lose our reputation of attack. I’m sure defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will find the best mode of attack for each player and use them to our benefit during the season.

The battle is on and my New York Giants are ready to prove that we have what it takes at the defensive end spot. We might not be full of pro-bowlers but I can assure you it will be them who fear the most their opposing shadow when it comes to playing my Giants.

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NFL.com created the ‘2008 Player rankings: Top 100′ for Fantasy Football.  Like I’ve said before, I don’t know anything about Fantasy Football.  I know that Eli never does really well when it comes to stats and power rankings so I wanted to see where the Super Bowl MVP would end up on this list about four months after winning Super Bowl XLII.  Eli is 72nd on the list.  Well, at least he has two new massive rings to rock while the 71 guys ahead of him can put up better stats in ‘08.  Surprisingly, Jacobs is the first Giant to appear on the list and he is 27th.  Plaxico is 39th.  Much further down is Shockey who is 91st, and that is it for the Champs.

 Experience Factor - Michael Eisen pointed out that the newly signed Defensive End, Renaldo Wynn, brings experience and depth to the D-Line.  Wynn signed with the Saints last year which was a season after New Orleans went to the NFC Championship game.  When asked about the vibe last year in the Bayou, Renaldo said,

Some of the players might have got a little comfortable, some of the young guys. Sometimes that is a hard thing; you have a lot of young guys who might not know how to take success as much. Obviously, with the Saints they have not had a long tradition of winning. How do you accept the success? I think that some of the young guys probably had a hard time accepting that and looking at it like, ‘Hey, you aren’t going to sneak up on anybody, people are going to be aiming for you.’

This concept is what fears me the most as we head into the ’08 season.  The history of the Super Bowl hangover is real.  I just want to watch Big Blue play competitive football.  As long as they are trying to win the Super Bowl again, I will be satisfied if they don’t achieve their goal.  I don’t want to watch them flat out suck because they won the Super Bowl last year.

After being here only a week, Wynn feels like this Giants group is different than the Saints because,

Even though they won the Super Bowl last year, they are still hungry to win it again. There is a lot of veteran leadership and it’s obvious they’re hungry for this season.

The first meeting I went to with Coach Spags (defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) one of his key points was, ‘Last year is over, we’re 0-0 now, last year means nothing. If anything, we are going to be aimed at more than ever, people are going to know who we are and people are going to be shooting for us. So we have to make sure we start from square one.

His comments are somewhat relieving, but Wynn has only been here for a week.  He may just be saying the politically correct thing because he’s new and doesn’t want to step on anybody’s shoes.  Go Giants!

OTA Report: Secondary (Video) - Giants.com takes a closer look at the Giants secondary during OTA’s.

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NFL.com put together a list of the ‘Top 10 pass rushers in NFL history’.  Before I opened it, I thought about how many Giants were on the list.  Obviously, I thought of LT and Michael Strahan.  I wasn’t sure of how many there could be before my time, which isn’t long ago.  When I opened up the list, there weren’t any more Jints than the two I assumed.  Taylor was 3rd which doesn’t make sense to me, and Strahan was 7th.  They have Deacon Jones 1st, but I’ve never seen him play.  The late Reggie White is 2nd, and I always though LT was better than White.  Plus, LT has 2 rings and White has 1.  At the same time, I’m comparing a LB to a DE.  The article contains three videos for each member of the Top 10 list if you want to check them out.

 Mailbag for June 4 - Michael Eisen fields questions posed by Giants‘ fans.  Here’s a good question because the last thing I want to watch this year is the Super Bowl hangover:

Michael,

Tom Coughlin was on the staff  the last time the Giants won the Super Bowl. They didn’t make the playoffs after the 1991 season. What will he do, and how will keep the team focused, and not have the team letdown during this upcoming season?

 

Dear Russell:

The Coach is well aware of the pitfalls that claim the repeat aspirations of most recent Super Bowl champions. He has reminded the players that the hard work they put in last offseason led to their championship and the importance of not letting up this year. In fact, as he handed each player his Super Bowl ring last week, Coughlin said, “Let’s get back to work so we can do this again.” The coach is not letting up one inch or ounce. He is demanding the same dedication to effort and detail that proved so successful last season. The ring ceremony was the last event of the 2007 season. Everyone’s energy is now committed to making 2008 a successful year.

Fan’s Take - A Giants fan wrote their perspective on the improbable 2007 season.

OTA Report: O-Line (Video) - Giants.com takes a closer look at the Giants O-Line during the OTA workouts.

OTA Report: D-Line (Video) - Giants.com takes a closer look at the Giants D-Line during the OTA workouts.

DE Renaldo Wynn (Video) - Giants.com interviews their newest player Renaldo Wynn.

DT Jay Alford (Video) - Giants.com interviews Jay Alford about the OTAs and about his rookie season.  Part of his rookie season included sacking Tom Brady in the Super Bowl so they touch on that as well.

New York Daily News:

After Super Bowl grab, David Tyree is hoping to hang on with Giants - Ralph Vacciano believes that the “Giants are overloaded at receiver, which could put Tyree’s roster spot in jeopardy if he suffers any setbacks.”

Giants to see Jeremy Shockey soon - Ralph Vacchiano stated that Jeremy Shockey is actually supposed to make it up to New York next week.

The enigmatic tight end is expected to participate in the Giants’ mandatory mini-camp next week, according to a team source. He is due in the New York area later this week for a promotional appearance on Saturday afternoon.

According to an advertisement on the Internet, Shockey is scheduled to appear at the Powerade Pro Challenge at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, although his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, could not be reached to confirm his client’s plans. If Shockey shows up, it will be his first public appearance since he was stuck watching Super Bowl XLII from a luxury box because of his broken leg.

New York Post:

SHOCKEY MAY SHOW ON RADAR

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NFL.com had a poll where over 200,000 fans ranked all 32 teams for the 2008 season.  Here are the results:

1. Patriots - Core of team returns to avenge Super Bowl loss after perfect regular season.
2. Colts - Core of Super Bowl XLI team is still intact. Dwight Freeney should be ready for season.
3. Cowboys - Talented squad only got better during offseason with Pacman Jones, Zach Thomas.
4. Giants - Competition in NFC East should be tough as Super Bowl champs look to go back-to-back.

Who knows how this stuff works?  Big Blue is obviously the team to beat.  If you want your team to be No. 1 then beat the Champs.

According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, ”Cowboys cornerback Pacman Jones has received permission from the NFL to participate in offseason workouts, training camp, and the preseason.  However, he has not yet been reinstated to participate in regular-season games.”  It seems like Pacman may make it back into the NFL which is a shame.

Florio also reported that Terrell Owens will remain as a Cowboy because, “Owens, we’re told, will receive a signing bonus of nearly $13 million.  In all, he’s under contract for four years, and he’ll earn $34 million.”  Now we have to face this moron twice a year for four more years.

 Tuesday’s OTA Report - Michael Eisen pointed out that Amani Toomer was one of the more visible players on the field today.

Giants Bolster D-Line - Michael Eisen announced that the Giants signed DE Renaldo Wynn which other media outlets reported yesterday.  Eisen included a whole bunch of information about Wynn.

• Michael also reported that the Giants placed linebacker Keith O’Neil on their reserve/retired list.

New York Daily News:

Eli & Amani rekindle their chemistry - Ralph Vacchiano also covered the Giants OTAs.  Vacchiano also noted that:

• Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress, Osi Umenyiora, Antonio Pierce and Michael Strahan did not attend.  AP is still on his honeymoon, and who knows where the rest of them were…
• David Tyree did not participate, though he was inside Giants Stadium doing rehab work for his knee.  “Tyree said his knee feels good and his rehab is right on schedule.  He expects to be ready for the start of training camp.”
• Derrick Ward “said he’s 90-95% healed from his broken fibula and isn’t limited at all in what he can do on the field.”
• Mathias Kiwanuka “said he’s getting closer to 100% too and didn’t seem limited on the field.”

New York Post:

WYNN LANDS WITH GIANTS

The Star-Ledger:

A few practice tidbits

Taking attendance at OTAs

Giants announce Wynn signing - Mike Garafolo included Jerry Reese’s and Tom Coughlin’s thoughts on the signing of Renaldo.

More on the Wynn signing - Mike Garafolo explains why the Giants didn’t sign Wynn until June 1 when Wynn first visited the Giants in mid-May.  Garafolo’s conclusion is, “Wynn’s signing on June 1 means he won’t impact the Giants’ chances for compensatory picks in next year’s draft.”

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We all know that most of the success in ‘07 came from the pass rushing schemes designed by Spags and executed by the defense.  After the regular season ended, the Big Blue Wrecking Crew led the NFL in sacks.  After that, Spags kept getting better and better in the Playoffs.  I can’t even begin to explain how impressed I was with Spags in the Playoffs.  He constantly made the right adjustments in each game to shut the opponent down as the game went on.  So how do you get even better in ‘08?  You retain Spags, you retain the players on defense, and you sign another DE like Renaldo Wynn.

New York Daily News:

Reports: Giants sign Renaldo Wynn - The Giants reportedly have signed veteran DE Renaldo Wynn.  Wynn most recently played for the Saints and was drafted by Tom Coughlin’s Jaguars in 1997 our of Notre Dame.

The Star-Ledger:

Veteran DE Renaldo Wynn agrees to deal - Mike Garafolo reported, “The team came to terms on a one-year deal with veteran free-agent defensive end Renaldo Wynn this weekend, according to someone informed of the progress of talks between Wynn and the team.”

Harrison comes to terms with Tyree’s Super Bowl catch - Mike Garafolo included an excerpt where Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe found out that Rodney Harrison has not forgotten about David Tyree making the greatest catch in Super Bowl history on him.  Here’s what Harrison had to say about that play almost four months later:

Not in a million years does he make that catch again. I don’t have any regrets on it. I saw the ball, went up for it, and did my best to grab it out. It goes on his head, so what can you say?

I think you have to understand that certain things happen that you just can’t explain.

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