Carl Banks Interview w/ Joe Benigno & Evan Roberts on WFAN

NY Giant Osi Umenyiora's frustrations with defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan led to his unexcused departure

Defensive end Osi Umenyiora left the Giants' practice facility Monday without telling team officials.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/31/09

Umenyiora misses Giants practice

By Matt Mosley - ESPN.com 8/31/09

2009 NFL Preview: 7 reasons we like the Giants to win Super Bowl 44

Giants' defensive front: Justin Tuck (91), Jay Alford (93), Mathias Kiwanuka (94), Dave Tollefson (71), Fred Robbins (98), Chris Canty (99), Rocky Bernard (95), Barry Cofield (96)

By Clifton Brown - Sporting News 8/31/09

Tyree bracing for "last hurrah as a Giant"

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/31/09

NY Giants linebacker Michael Boley off PUP list and targeting Week 2 return

No more standing around for Giants linebacker Michael Boley, who's been taken off the physically-unable-to-perform list and will practice Monday for the first time since undergoing hip surgery in July.

By Mike Garafolo & Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/31/09

Giants-Jets: Did we learn anything?

By Matt Mosley - ESPN.com 8/30/09

Tickets Are Tough Sell for New Giants Stadium

The Jets and the Giants will begin playing in a new stadium at the Meadowlands next year, but all the seats may not be full.

By Joe LaPointe - NY Times 8/31/09

Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks steps up at the right time amidst dropped passes from other receivers

Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks finds the end zone for one of his two touchdown catches against the Jets in Saturday's preseason game.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/31/09

WIDEOUT BRIGHTENS DULL GAME FOR JINTS

OPEN FIELD: Rookie wideout Hakeem Nicks dashes downfield on one of his two touchdowns in Saturday night's preseason loss to the Jets, boosting his bid for regular-season playing time.

By Paul Schwartz - NY Post 8/31/09

"Be merciful to those who doubt"

Tom Rock interviews Sinorice Moss about last night's game.

By Tom Rock - Newsday 8/30/09

Upon Further Review

By Michael Eisen - Giants.com 8/30/09

Nicks earns "consideration" for bigger role

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/30/09

Versatile Blackburn has come a long way for Giants

Chase Blackburn has made marked strides this offseason.

By Tom Rock - Newsday 8/30/09

Jacobs OK after injuring forearm

By Tom Rock - Newsday 8/30/09

Notebook: NY Giants defense not yet 'in sync'

Mathias Kiwanuka's sack of Jets QB Mark Sanchez was the only one the Giants had in Saturday's preseason game.

By Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/30/09

NY Giants: The morning after

Hakeem Nicks had a pair of touchdown catches in the game.

By Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/30/09

Photo slideshow 2: NY Jets 27, NY Giants 25

Hakeem Nicks was a bright spot in an otherwise bad night for Giants wide receivers, hauling in two TD passes.

By Star Ledger 8/30/09

Just another drop in the bucket

Giants had another embarrassing performace last night against the Jets. The only highlights came when Hakeem Nicks caught two great td passes from David Carr.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/30/09

GIANTS WR BARELY GETS OFF THE BENCH

FAST BREAK: Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks pulls away from safety James Ihedigbo on one of his two touchdowns in the second half of the Jets' 27-25 win at the Meadowlands.
By Paul Schwartz - NY Post 8/30/09

GIANTS RECEIVE NO LAURELS FOR LACKLUSTER LOSS

STEVIE BLUNDER: Giants receiver Steve Smith drops a wide-open pass from Eli Manning as the Jets' Lito Sheppard (26) looks on, then buries his head in his hands (inset) during the first quarter of the Jets' 27-25 preseason victory last night at Giants Stadium.
By Paul Schwartz - NY Post 8/30/09

NY Giants rookie quarterback Rhett Bomar remains patient as he awaits his turn on the field

Giants rookie quarterback Rhett Bomar, who has shown a strong arm and a quick release in practice, has thrown only two passes in the preseason.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/29/09

Giants' Ware knows rivalry from both sides

Running back Danny Ware, who gained 181 yards rushing last preseason, knows the Giants-Jets rivalry from both sides.

By Vinny Ditrani - NorthJersey.com 8/29/09

Make-or-break year for Giants LB Wilkinson

By Tom Rock - Newsday 8/29/09

RIVALS SET TO TURN IT UP A NOTCH

By Paul Schwartz - NY Post 8/29/09

NY Giants' wide receivers all striving to be No. 1

Derek Hagan feels like he's a first-string receiver and Saturday night, he'll get to play with Eli Manning and the rest of the first-team offense against the Jets.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/29/09

New York Giants: What to Watch For against the New York Jets

If backup quarterback David Carr hopes to convince the NFL that he should be a starter again someday, he needs to show something for the Giants this preseason.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/29/09

Ramses Barden and Mark Sanchez to reuinte in Jets-Giants preseason game

Giants WR Ramses Barden will reconnect with workout buddy Mark Sanchez tonight. By Ohm Youngmusik - NY Dailynews 8/29/09

Phillips a rising star in Giants' defense

By Matt Mosley - ESPN.com 8/28/09

Giants Look To Recover $300M Lehman Fumble

By Patrick Fitzgerald - Wall Street Journal 8/27/09

Giants/Jets Preview Preseason Game 3

By Paul Dottino - WFAN.com 8/28/09

Jerry Reese on WFAN with Adam the Bull & Kim Jones 8/28/09

GREAT BLUE NORTH GIANTS DRAFT REPORT Vol 4, No 2 August 27, 2009

So far, not so good… What we said last week! For just about every pre-season games, an NFL team’s priorities are to a) avoid injuries and b) have the starters and top reserves outplay their respective counterparts. After achieving both in their pre-season opener against Carolina, the Giants weren’t so fortunate in week two in Chicago. Literally right from the opening kick-off, the Giants played like a team that just wanted to break camp, get home, and get on with the regular season. In a game that was the reverse mirror image of the Carolina game in which the starters dominated the first half, the Giants were down 17-3 at the break in Chicago and had just 5 first downs and under 100 yards of total offense in the first half, while allowing the Bears 80 and 92-yard TD drives.

Worse, the Giants suffered yet another injury on the defensive line when reserve DT Jay Alford, who had been having a strong camp, was carted off the field with a knee injury. And while the Giants haven’t yet conceded that Alford will be out for an extended period, if not the entire season, the early diagnosis isn’t good as Alford tore the MCL and partially tore the ACL in the knee. The Giants are going to let Alford rest the knee in the hopes that he can avoid what would be season-ending surgery to repair the damage to the ACL, however, that sounds like it may be a bit of a longshot.

In fact, there has to be some concern within the organization that the injury situation, which was mostly just a minor annoyance earlier in the summer, could have a major impact on the regular season. In particular, there is a very good chance that the Giants could be without at least three starters on defense - CB Aaron Ross, DT Chris Canty and LB Michael Boley - when they open against Washington on September 13th. Ross is back on the sidelines after re-aggravating the hamstring strain that caused him to miss the past 2 and a half weeks of practice and there is currently no timetable for his return. Same for Canty who reportedly has a slight tear in his hamstring and underwent a radical new therapy earlier in the week. The Giants report that the early returns are ‘hopeful‘ but it is simply not a good sign when a football player ever has to start exploring alternative therapies. Meanwhile, Boley is definitely out of the season opener as he serves a one-game suspension for an old domestic violence incident back in days in Atlanta. How soon and often Boley plays after that, though, will depend on how quickly he heals from off-season hip surgery.

The Giants should still be okay, though, on the corner if Ross were to miss any extended time as both Kevin Dockery and Terrell Thomas have been solid in his absence in pre-season. The Giants also have plenty of useful bodies who can fill in at WLB for Boley, though, none has his big-play potential. There is concern, though, about the defensive front. Indeed, the Giants’ off-season attempt to build up some depth on the defensive line is in shambles at the moment. Indeed, the Giants are down to just 2 healthy DTs - Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield - although the hope is that free agent sign DT Rocky Bernard will be back in uniform when the Giants play the Jets Saturday night after sitting just about all of training camp to date with an injury of his own. Still, if both Alford and Canty are out for any extended time the Giants will need another DT - likely either Jeremy Clark or Leger Douzable - on the roster to at least take a few snaps every now again to rest the regular rotation. It gets especially worse if Canty is out for awhile as he is not only a likely starting DT, but he was also projected to be the nominal 4th DE on the roster. Again if Canty isn‘t gong to be available any time soon, the Giants may also be forced to keep a 4th DE such as Dave Tollefson, although the latter hasn‘t done next to nothing in the two pre-season games to date.

The possible loss of Alford also implies double jeopardy for the Giants, of course, as he is also the team’s FG long-snapper. Punt LS Zak DeOssie will assume those duties Saturday against the Jets. Indeed, figure that FG and extra point attempts by the Giants just could be the most meaningful plays in the Jets’ game this weekend.

And the increasingly complicated perms and combs facing the Giants in putting together their 53-man opening day roster extend to several other positions in addition to the defensive line. The starting offensive line, of course, is set but the back-up situation appears to be still very much in a state of flux. Figure that 2009 second rounder William Beatty is a lock to make the squad on potential alone, however, he was no better against the Bears than he was in week one when he really struggled, especially in pass protection, versus Carolina. That means that unless the Giants see something in Beatty that we are missing, they will likely have to keep Guy Whimper around as insurance at LT. At the same time, each of OGs Kevin Boothe and Tutan Reyes and C Adam Koets all bring something to the table and it may come down to who can do the most on game day as to who gets the final 1-2 roster spots upfront. Boothe can play both OG and RT and was solid enough filling in in stretches last fall, while Reyes can play all three spots upfront and is the most experienced of the trio. For his part, Koets has also played all three spots in his Giants’ career and was one other than Shaun O’Hara to get any snaps at C versus the Bears. Koets, though, likely didn’t win any points with the coaching staff when he false started late in the game costing the team a chance to go for a short 4th down conversion.

It is also hard to figure how the Giants ultimately resolve the depth issues in the secondary. The Giants, who probably would like to carry 9-10 Dbs, have four solid corners and three decent safeties, but there is a huge drop-off after that. Truth be told, both of 2009 draftees DeAndre Wright and Stoney Woodson have looked badly overmatched in the two pre-season games to date. Wright was the main culprit in week one versus the Panthers, but Woodson looked out to sea against the Bears as he was beaten badly on a 3rd and 17 when he couldn’t close down on a simple slant route; was beaten a second time on the same route (although the ball was overthrown) and then was left in the wake of an undrafted Bears’ rookie receiver on another 3rd down conversion. In fact, undrafted rookie free agent CB Bruce Johnson was the first corner off the bench when the Giants went to their nickel package Saturday against the Bears. Johnson, though, did give up a big gainer, although the case can be made that he actually had pretty good coverage on the play. Johnson also came back to knock down a pass later in the game, but both he and Wright were steamrolled on a receiver screen that gave Chicago yet another 3rd and long conversion. Meanwhile, Travonti Johnson has been the only safety other than Kenny Phillips, Michael Johnson and C.C. Brown who evenly remotely looks like he can play at the NFL level, but again there is still a big talent gap to the other three.

With MLB Antonio Pierce out of Saturday’s game with a minor injury, back-ups Chase Blackburn and Jonathan Goff got plenty of snaps. Unfortunately for Blackburn, the only play anyone will remember was Matt Forte’s ridiculously easy 32-yard TD run on which Blackburn was sealed off. For the most part, though, Blackburn played relatively well. He is very active on his feet, uses his hands well to keep blockers off his legs and has good balance and acceleration. Blackburn also gets into the hole quickly and has good lateral range. Indeed, a pretty good case can be made that he was around the ball far more than one often sees from Pierce, who has tended to get hung up on blocks way too often over the past year or so. However, while decisive and aggressive, Blackburn does appear to guess at times, though, and will over-commit at times and will get caught out of position as he did to some degree on the Forte TD run. Blackburn also gets decent drops in coverage and can run down receivers in the flat, but looks to lack the quickness and aility to actually match up in man coverage.

For his part, Goff also didn’t look out of place, but still has a ways to go before he‘d be ready to start in the NFL. Goff does have pretty good quickness and acceleration as well as very good lateral range; he’s also a very solid wrap-up tackler who runs through the ball-carrier. Goff has also been solid for a LB in coverage with a nice break on balls thrown in front of him, although he may not have the speed to stay with receivers in the seam. Goff, though, has a tendency to get caught up in the traffic between the tackles and once engaged struggles to find the ball and get back into the play.

And while we were focused on the LBs, Clint Sintim, the Giants other second round pick this year, got some unexpected minutes against Chicago when veteran Danny Black was knocked out early with a head injury. As noted in the Carolina game two weeks ago, Sintim was very strong at the point of attack and was very effective going forward, but really struggled when forced to play in reverse. Sintim also was one of the players victimized on Forte’s long TD run as he appeared to have responsibility for the cut-back lane, but like Blackburn got picked off and never got close to closing the play down.

This and that: There were a few positives to come out of the Chicago game. In particular, the running game was working on all cylinders with all three backs making consistent gains, while Danny Ware chipped in a solid KO return. For the record, Brandon Jacobs was the 3rd down back throughout the first half, suggesting that he could be a true every down back this fall. The Giants also had one interesting formation in which both Ware and Ahmad Bradshaw were on the field together, with the latter lining up in the slot… No one else on the Giants had much of a game against the Bears so it would be unfair to single out anyone in particular, however, it didn’t appear as if either of safeties Michael Johnson or C.C. Brown had much of a game; both starting OTs also allowed sacks… We can confirm a Kevin Boss sighting in Chicago as the TE appeared to be the target on a long pass that David Carr hoofed far over is head while under pressure. We can be corrected but according to our notes that was the first pass thrown Boss’ way in the two pre-season games to date… Hard to know what it means, but neither rookie QB Brett Romar nor #4 RB Allen Patrick got on the field against the Bears; should be interesting to see whether Romar gets the mop-up action Saturday versus the Jets… According to the assistant coaches, the Giants have supposedly ditched the zone blitz, or at least dramatically reduced the number of times its called, however, there were at least 3-4 such calls against the Bears; for the record, none did much… It will be a busy ten days or so for the Giants’ staff coming up. Following the annual cross stadium derby with the Jets on Saturday night at 8 PM ET (the NFL Network replay is Sunday morning at 10 AM ET), the Giants will have to make their first cuts by Tuesday as NFL teams get down to the 75-man roster limit. The Giants will be right back on the field next Thursday against New England and then have to get down to the opening day 53-man roster by next Saturday.

What is an eli worth? … We have had several correspondents ask what we thought of the Giants extending the contract of QB Eli Manning earlier this summer to the tune of $97.5M over 6 years including $35M guaranteed. The implied question, of course, is did the Giants overpay to lock up Manning through the middle of the next decade. And the simple, implied answer is who knows! And the simple, implied corollary to the implied answer is does it really matter! Certainly Manning, who became the league’s highest paid player when he re-signed, isn’t the best player in the NFL. He isn’t even a tier 1 QB, however, he’s a solid second tier QB who is a legitimate franchise player and when a team has a franchise QB it has to do what it has to do to keep him around because franchise QBs are just so hard to come by. Just ask the folks who run the teams in Washington, Detroit, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Houston, Denver, and Oakland, just about any one of which would gladly pony up that kind of money if Manning were ever to hit the free agent market.

It is also significant to note that Manning likely isn’t going to be the league’s highest player for very long. Indeed, given the inflation inherent in sports salaries these days, Manning likely won’t be anywhere near the top paid player in the league by the time his deal runs out in 2015 or so. And while they may have just been following the precedent set by the Giants, just days after Manning resigned, San Diego extended QB Phillip Rivers to a contract with very similar numbers to Manning.

STORM MAY HINDER GIANT PLAN FOR WRS

A NICK IN THE PLAN: The Giants coaching staff is hoping to get a look at Hakeem Nicks and the team's other young receivers tomorrow with the starters, but Hurricane Danny may put that plan in jeopardy.

By Paul Schwartz - NY Post 8/28/09

Giants cornerback Aaron Ross refuses to be hamstrung by injury

Aaron Ross, who starts 15 games for Giants last season, is doing what he can to be ready for Big Blue's Sept. 13 opener.

By Ohm Youngmisuk - NY Dailynews 8/28/09

Jonathan Goff coming out of shell, on the field and off, for NY Giants

One of Jonathan Goff's biggest improvements has been his ability to be more vocal on the field, according to his teammates.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/28/09

Home Movies From Giants Camp

Eli Manning offers advice to Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez

Eli Manning has some advice for the Jets' newly minted starter, Mark Sanchez.

By Ohm Youngmisuk - NY Dailynews 8/27/09

Danny Clark using competition with fellow NY Giants linebacker Clint Sintim as "motivator"

Danny Clark, who will test his skill at sketch comedy Thursday, got some smiles when he arrived at Giants training camp driving a Smart Car.
By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/27/09

Defensive tackle Chris Canty 'very hopeful' to play in season opener after platelet-rich plasma therapy

Defensive tackle Chris Canty was able to jog Wednesday, the most work he's done since going down with a hamstring injury early in camp.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/26/09

NY Giants' Aaron Ross reinjures left hamstring in final practice of camp

Aaron Ross said he hopes to be recovered from the injury in no more than 18 days. The Giants' first regular-season game is in 19 days.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/25/09

Coach Tom Coughlin feels pressue to produce signs of Giants' depth on field

Tom Coughlin feels preseason frustration as defense and receivers struggle.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/26/09

Notebook: NY Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce says the defense needs work

NY Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is not happy with the way the team's defense performed in its latest preseason game.

By Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/24/09

NY Giants DE Mathias Kiwanuka, WR Hakeem Nicks add to training camp highlight reel in afternoon practice

DE Mathias Kiwanuka delivered perhaps the best play of training camp with an interception on a screen pass that could have been returned for a TD.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/24/09

NY Giants' Zak DeOssie expects 'smooth transition' into short-snapping role

Giants linebacker Zak DeOssie will take over short-snapping duties in place of injured teammate Jay Alford.

By Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/24/09

Osi Umenyiora & Justin Tuck tight-lipped after Tom Coughlin's edict

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/25/09

Giants' Goff tries to make up for lost rookie year

By Tom Rock - Newsday 8/25/09

Giants backup quarterback David Carr struggling to stay in pocket

Thongs haven't gone well for Giants backup QB David Carr in the pocket this season, like this sack by the Panthers' Hilee Taylor.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/25/09

Pierce refuses to discuss Burress

By ESPN.com 8/24/09

Embarrassed

By Paul Dottino - WFAN.com 8/24/09

One more day, then goodbye Albany?

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/24/09

NFL Network Adds RED ZONE CHANNEL

This is great news for NFL fans that don't have Direct TV.

Adam the Bull with Paul Schwartz Sunday, August 23rd on WFAN

Paul Schwartz discusses the Giants game vs. the Chicago Bears on WFAN with Adam the Bull.

Brandon Tierney: 8/18 Ramses Barden

New York Giants WR Ramses Barden speaking with 1050's Brandon Tierney and Greg Buttle about how he is going to help the Giants offense in 2009.

NY Giants coach Tom Coughlin: 'It's time for us to get to work'

Giants' coach Tom Coughlin was not happy with his team's performance in Saturday's loss and said Sunday the players need to 'stop listening to all the media tell us where we are good and where we aren't good and all of that stuff.'

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/23/09

NY Giants notebook: Defensive line severely hobbled by injuries

Defensive tackle and long snapper Jay Alford may need season-ending knee surgery, which would thin the Giants' depth at defensive line.

By Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/24/09

Spate of Injuries Tests Depth of the Giants’ Defensive Line

Osi Umenyiora, left, and Barry Cofield, both returning from knee operations, are expected to anchor the Giants’ defensive line.

By Joe LaPointe - NY Times 8/24/09

After dismal loss to Bears, Giants coach Tom Coughlin rips team

Tom Coughlin explodes on Giants Sunday after Bears' Matt Forte runs all over first-team defense in Chicago on Saturday.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/24/09

NFL targeting binge drinking among fans in new season

By Michael McCarthey - USA Today 8/24/09

Giants' display tiny air attack in preseason loss to Chicago

Eli Manning throws almost exclusively short passes in quarter and a half of work against Bears.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/23/09

CHICAGO DOMINATES BIG BLUE STARTERS

NO RUSH: Bears defensive end Alex Brown (left) and safety Al Afalava team up to tackle Brandon Jacobs during the second quarter of the Giants' 17-3 loss to the Bears last night. Eli Manning (inset), who went 7-for-10 for 62 yards, passes while under pressure during the first half.

By Paul Schwartz - NY Post 8/23/09

SERBY'S SUNDAY Q & A WITH... RAMSES BARDEN

By Steve Serby - NY Post 8/23/09

Defensive tackle Jay Alford injures knee in NY Giants' 17-3 preseason loss to Chicago Bears

Jay Alford was carted off the field after suffering a knee injury against the Bears but was laughing on the bench with his teammates by the end of the game.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/23/09

Game Release: Giants vs. Bears

By Michael Eisen - Giants.com 8/22/09

Giants rookie wide receiver Hakeem Nicks out to come up big

After making just one catch in the preseason opener, a fully healthy Hakeem Nicks expects big things.

By Ralph Vacchiano - NY Dailynews 8/22/09

NY Giants Fred Robbins, Steve Smith and Corey Webster return for preseason game vs. Chicago Bears

DT Fred Robbins will see his first game action after having microfracture surgery via arthroscopy in the offseason. WR Steve Smith and CB Corey Webster will also play their first preseason game tonight.

By Jenny Vrentas - Star Ledger 8/22/09

NY Giants linebacker Gerris Wilkinson knows time is running out on chance to win job

Gerris Wilkinson says he's cut down on the number of mental errors he made earlier in his career.

By Mike Garafolo - Star Ledger 8/21/09