By Alex Lewin - InReeseWeTrust.com 3/3/10
Alex: Growing up on Long Island, were you always a Giants fan, and, if so, what was your first memory as a fan? If not, what team were you a fan of?
Ralph: I was a Giants fan growing up, though I have to admit I think I started out rooting for the Steelers. I came late to football and I think that when I was real young – 7 or 8 – I had a little Steelers jersey. That sounds about right since it was right around the time of the Steelers’ dynasty. But I really started watching football in the mid-80s and, of course, the Giants were pretty good back then. It was easy to fall in love with that team.
As for my first memory … The earliest game I can remember watching was, for some reason, the 1979 NFC championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (a 9-0 Rams win, I think). I have no idea why, but I think I was at my aunt’s house and I can picture sitting in a room watching it on TV. My first memory of watching the Giants isn’t as clear. I’m sure it was with my dad in our living room on Long Island. He was a huge Giants fan.
Alex: You have been to every NFL Stadium, playoff game, Super Bowl, etc. Give me a time that, sitting up in the press box, you thought to yourself, “wow, this crowd is intense and loud, I’m glad I’m sitting in the press box!” For me, it was the Giants- Eagles 2006 Playoff game at Philadelphia--I barely got out of the stadium alive!
Ralph: I think the loudest stadium I’ve experienced is the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, but I probably should preface this answer with the fact that in most stadiums I’m sitting behind thick glass that does a decent job of keeping out the sound. In St. Louis, the press box is open and up near the roof, so we get the full affect of the sound and the acoustics. I remember covering a playoff game there for the Daily News in Jan., 2002 (a 29-24 Rams win over Philly) and thinking that nobody could come into that building and win. It was so loud and yet so … I don’t know, it’s almost small. Unlike the New Orleans Superdome, which is loud and cavernous, the dome in St. Louis is loud and kind of quaint. That stadium makes my ears hurt like no other. Having said that, I suspect the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in is Qwest Field in Seattle. The Giants went there in 2005 and lost an overtime game that cost them home-field advantage in the playoffs and, in the minds of many of us, a free ticket to the NFC championship game. The Giants, if I remember correctly, were called for 11 false starts. The place was shaking and ridiculously loud for an outdoor stadium. I didn’t get the full effect because of that darned press box glass. But I definitely left thinking it was the loudest outdoor stadium I’ve ever been in.
On a non-football level, nothing will ever top Nassau Coliseum during the Islanders-Maple Leafs playoff series in 2002. The noise was ear-splitting and the building was literally shaking. An unbelievable atmosphere.
Alex: Did you write for the Daily Orange at Syracuse? If so, what was your favorite story you wrote for them? If not, what is the most memorable sports moment from your time at Syracuse?
Ralph: Yes, I wrote for the Daily Orange from the end of my freshman year until the middle of my senior year. I have nothing but fantastic memories from what I still think is the best college newspaper in the country. I have two favorite stories that I wrote for them, actually. The first was a project that I worked on with our sports editor, Rob Guyette, and my co-assistant sports editor, Mike Fazioli. The headline on it was “Transfer U” and it was about the remarkable number of players who had transferred from the Syracuse basketball program over the years. I forget the details, but a lot of players had left the team in the late-‘80s and ‘90s and we wanted to investigate why and whether or not that was normal compared to other schools. Our methods were raw and, in hindsight, we probably could’ve done much more on the topic. But it was pretty good for three college kids and we worked our butts off on the story. My other favorite story was my farewell column, where I apologized (tongue-in-cheek) to the Syracuse athletic department. It occurred to me that my time covering various sports coincided with downturns in every program. I wanted to take responsibility and accept my share of the blame (though I notably never actually wrote the words “I’m sorry”). It was fun to write and got a pretty good response. I thought it was a nice, light-hearted way to end my career. Oh, and if you want a great sports memory that’s not related to my time at the Daily Orange, it was no doubt the football game against West Virginia at the end of my freshman year, when coach Dick MacPherson risked an undefeated season by calling for a two-point conversion in the waning seconds and RB Michael Owens got into the end zone, giving the Orangemen a one-point win and an 11-0 season. That whole year was unbelievable, really. I was spoiled right from the start.
Alex: For future Giants tickets, my father recently had to pay an astronomically high price, and many of my friends are priced out of the new stadium. I personally think the rates are very fan un-friendly and are driving away some of the most diehard NFL fans. What is your take on the PSL’s--not just for the Giants, but the NFL as a whole?
Ralph: My take is that it’s the reality of the future and that none of us should be surprised. Twenty-three years ago I went to Game 6 of the Mets-Astros NLCS series. My ticket cost $25. Today I have a set in the very last section of right field at Citi Field. The average cost: $25. Welcome to the world.
Now, I do think PSLs are unfair and a pretty despicable practice by sports owners. They are taking advantage of the fact that they are a monopoly and that their consumers are emotionally invested in their product. If Pepsi starts charging PBLs (personal bottle licenses), I’d just go drink Coke. If the Giants do it, what can you do? Become a Jets fan? Go watch the UFL? Of course not. You’re screwed and they know it. And if I owned the Giants I would’ve cut out some of the Italian marble in the luxury boxes, built a slightly cheaper stadium, and not charged fans the PSLs.
But they do it because we pay it. That’s the bottom line. If people weren’t buying them, they’d be forced to try another approach. But like blind sheep, we just keep following the sounds of their voices. They say “Pay” and we say “How much?” I would’ve thought we’d all have reached the breaking point by now, but we haven’t. So prices go up and PSLs are here to stay.
The only good side to PSLs is this: It has given many Giants fans who wouldn’t have otherwise had a chance to own tickets the chance they’ve been waiting for all their lives. Some people had 100 season tickets in blocks for 70-75 years because they were affordable. Most of those people were using four or maybe a dozen and selling the rest to brokers/scalpers. That wasn’t fair either. Now the playing field has been leveled. It’s been leveled above most of our heads, but its been leveled nonetheless.
Alex: In all your years watching the team and going to games, give me your top five best Giants players you have seen and why they were so special.
Ralph: The No. 1 player is undoubtedly Lawrence Taylor because he’s probably a Top 5 player of all time. He was just scary on defense. On a recent NFL Network special I said watching him was like watching an animal stalk its prey. That’s what he did. He just walked along the line of scrimmage like he was sizing up a quarterback or running back. And when he went in for the kill, it was unlike anything most of us have ever seen.
I’d have to put Phil Simms in my Top 5. He was just so gutsy as a quarterback and he handled the wind at Giants Stadium better than anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s a borderline Hall of Famer and with better health he’d probably be in. If he won that second Super Bowl he’d definitely be there. As tough as they come and threw for a lot of yards to a lot of below-average receiving corps.
No. 3 on my list is not a popular man among Giants fans, but Tiki Barber was a special player. There may have been better two-way players before my time (I go back to the mid-80s) but there certainly haven’t been any since. He was equally dangerous as a runner and receiver, and he absolutely carried some awful Giants teams on his shoulder. For many years, the offense was him and no one else.
No. 4 would probably be Michael Strahan. Personally he wasn’t my favorite. He was a pain in the butt to cover as a writer. But there’s no doubt about his ability. Other than Bruce Smith, who I covered up in Buffalo, I don’t know that I’ve seen a better defensive end. And I’m not sure Strahan wasn’t better than Smith. It’s close. He was a terrific pass rusher, but what made him special was that he was incredible against the run, too. He also gets points for his knowledge of the game. He wasn’t all brute strength. He was a scientist who had many moves and understood the value of leverage.
And No. 5 I’m going to pick Plaxico Burress. I think he’s the best receiver the Giants have ever had. He was a truly special athlete. His 2007 season, on one good ankle, was one of the best individual performances I’ve ever seen. When his head was screwed on straight, no one could cover him. He was so fluid, had a perfect receiver’s body. With a better attitude and less gunplay, he had Hall of Fame abilities.
By the way, before anyone rips this list, I realize that I’ve probably excluded a lot of great players from the ’86 and ’90 teams. Keep in mind, though, I was 16 in ’86. I have much more in-person knowledge of the teams I covered in later years.
Alex: Tell me something that only the beat writer of the New York Giants would know?
Ralph: That’s a tough one, since almost everything I know ends up on my blog or in the newspaper. And the stuff that I know that hasn’t ended up there is stuff that for any number of reasons I just can’t say.
I don’t know, maybe this will be a surprise: Tom Coughlin is actually a nice guy. He’s gruff on the sidelines, has a mean appearance at the podium sometimes, and I don’t think he really respects the media. But he’s a good man with a good heart when he gets out of the football coach mode. It’s sort of alarming to see him at training camp screaming at players, cursing up a storm, then stomping towards the sidelines only to be stopped in his tracks by the sight of his grandkids, at which point he immediately gets a big, dopey smile on his face and begins dancing a jig to make them laugh.
Alex: We have heard that the defense’s fault is on Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan--the loss of Kenny Phillips, the amount of injuries the line backing core had. The fact that the personnel is pretty much the same as last year, what do you think the problem is and how would you fix it? Why not make Pierce the defensive coordinator? After watching him on the sidelines last week, he seems like the best defensive coach out there.
Ralph: I wish I knew what the problem was. I suspect some of it – maybe all of it – has to do with injuries. They lost S Kenny Phillips (knee), LB Antonio Pierce (neck), DT Jay Alford (knee), CB Corey Webster (knee). DT Chris Canty (hamstring/calf/knee), LB Michael Boley (knee/hip) and CB Aaron Ross (hamstring) had been hammered by injuries since August. DT Barry Cofield, DT Fred Robbins and DE Osi Umenyiora had all been recovering from knee surgery. DE Justin Tuck was playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder and a knee injury. S Michael Johnson (shoulder) was banged up. That’s a lot of guys. A lot of key guys. I think Sheridan deserved to get fired because the collapse was just brutal. The coach had to find a way out of that mess even with all the injuries, even if it just meant keeping their performance respectable. A while I do understand you can’t use injuries as an excuse, I also wonder what his defense and his coaching ability would’ve looked like if he had a full deck to play with all season long.
Alex: You recently wrote that Bill Sheridan was more comfortable running the defense up in the booth? Why didn’t that happen?
Ralph: Stubbornness. Really, that’s my only guess. Back in the spring he was pretty adamant that he wanted to coach from the booth. He said his style wasn’t to be a fiery, on-field emotional leader. He preferred to be removed from the fray, in a quiet booth, studiously looking at the big picture. He wanted to be removed from what he called the “chaos” so he could be more of a thinking man’s coordinator. Then the players decided they wanted him to act like Steve Spagnuolo, who was a fiery, on-fled guy, and I’m absolutely convinced that things began spiraling from there. Tom Coughlin backed the players, essentially letting the inmates run the asylum, and they forced Sheridan out of his comfort zone. Now, both Sheridan and Coughlin have been questioned on this many times since, and they’ve always said the Sheridan’s location isn’t the problem. I still don’t know why they didn’t switch back anyway. It certainly couldn’t have hurt.
Alex: In light of all the problems the Giants have had on defense, did Bill Sheridan or Tom Coughlin consult with Steve Spagnuolo to get his advice in how to fix the situation?
Ralph: No, that would be inappropriate and improper. I believe that Spagnuolo has had a couple of conversations with Coughlin and he’s often exchanged e-mails with Sheridan, but I believe the conversations were “Keep your chin up” in nature. I don’t think Spags was offering solutions. First of all, he wouldn’t do that for a competitor – even if they weren’t directly competing for anything. Second, he’s got his own problems in St. Louis.
Alex: Every since the Alliance controversy, I have not heard any news on the naming rights on the New Meadowlands Stadium. Because of the current economy, will it simply be called Meadowlands Stadium for the first few years, or Giants-Jets Stadium? (Ralph Vacchiano Stadium would have a nice ring to it!)
Ralph: I’d settle for having my name on a seat in the press box, thank you very much. I think it should be named Personal Seat License Stadium. That’s what financed it. Whatever company gets the naming rights won’t pay near as much as the fans have.
For what it’s worth, the Giants and Jets believe they’ll have a naming rights deal in place in time for the opening of the 2010 season. Most of us are skeptical. If they had an agreement or were near one they’d be screaming it from the rooftops. In this economy, it’s going to be hard for a company to justify the cost, especially over a long term. If they don’t get a sponsor, I honestly don’t know what they plan to call the stadium. I know the company running the stadium project is called “New Meadowlands Stadium”. I’m guessing that’s probably what it would be.
Alex: Most people do not realize how hard it is throwing in the Meadowlands in the winter. The wind comes from all different angles, and the ball spirals every which way. Do you think if Eli played in a warm weather place or a dome he would be closer to the Brady-Peyton class? And as an expert on and author of a book on Eli, do you think this is the best we are going to get with him? Will he ever have a 3,500 yard 35 touchdowns 10 pick season?
Ralph: In fairness to you, I should point out that you sent me this questionnaire in November, because obviously he topped 4,000 yards, with 27 touchdowns and pretty good TD-to-INT ratio, too. He’s had a remarkable statistical season – not that anyone is going to care, given the wins and losses. I guess it proves that the only stat that really matters are the Ws, which is what he’s been saying all along.
But to answer your question, yes, I think he’d be closer to Brady-Peyton if he played in a dome. I’m not sure he’s as good as they are. Those two are special. They’re Hall of Famers. I think Eli has the potential to be a great one, but those two are all-time greats. Still, Eli has a big arm and big numbers in it, and a brilliant football mind which helps him know where to go with the ball. He’s more erratic than those two and is a little too inconsistent for their level. But if he can ever figure out the wind – or if he could get away from it – he’d have a chance to be on their statistical level.
Alex: There has been so much talk from Jerry Reese about Ramses Barden having traded up to get him and how valuable a red zone threat he would be. Considering all the Giants’ trouble in the red zone, why has he not even played a snap yet? Is he simply that raw?
Ralph: Yeah, he’s raw, but there are some really good reasons why he hasn’t played a snap yet. The first is that for all the ability he showed in training camp, he wasn’t showing an ability to get separation on NFL defensive backs. Sure he’s 6-6 with long arms and good hands and that helps. He certainly made some spectacular training camp and preseason catches. But he almost always did so over third- and fourth-string corners. And those corners were almost always right with him, step for step. An argument could have been made – in fact I made it – that a starting-caliber NFL corner would’ve been able to knock him off most of those routes, get better position, and knock away some of those balls.
Supposedly he’s gotten better at that, though. The coaches have been impressed with his work on the scout team in practice.
So why not give him a shot? Three reasons: 1. When you spend most of your time on the scout team, you’re not learning your own offense. Training camp is the time to learn. And there was no way to get him snaps during the practice week if he wasn’t going to play. 2. He doesn’t play special teams well. If you’re not a starter, you’ve got to play specials, and Derek Hagan was simply better than him in that role. And 3. Who are you going to sit? If he can’t play specials you can’t sit Hagan. If he can’t return kicks you can’t sit Hixon. So do you want to sit Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham to get Barden into the game for maybe one or two red zone plays?
I didn’t think so.
Alex: Would you say Kevin Boss is a better overall player than Jeremy Shockey ever was, and how would you rank him in the history of Giants tight ends? I think he has a good shot to be Mark Bavaro 2.0.
Ralph: No, I would absolutely not say that. I would say he’s a better overall human being than Jeremy Shockey ever was, but he’s not in Shockey’s class as a player. Shockey was an outstanding blocker and he was a true weapon on offense, capable of 70-plus catches and 1,000 receiving yards. Boss is a pretty good receiver who I think has an outside shot to someday put up numbers like that, but Shockey did it right from the start. And if he was healthy he would’ve done it every year he was here. Plus, in the blocking department, there’s no comparison. Boss is improving, but he’s just not that good. Could he be Mark Bavaro 2.0? Sure. Maybe. He’s got that toughness. But it remains to be seen (at least to me) if he’s got that strength and skill.
Alex: What is your take on the potential uncapped year the NFL is heading towards in 2011, and how would it affect the Giants?
Ralph: It’s hard to say, because my take on it is that it’s going to happen and the results are a complete unknown. I really don’t think you’re going to see teams go on the wild spending spree that has often been forecast. I think there are quirks that will happen that we don’t realize.
For example, a lot of players you wouldn’t expect are already starting to get cut. All of a sudden, with no salary cap, there are no salary cap ramifications for cutting someone early in a contract. So if you signed a guy to a bad deal and he’s got injury issues or you simply just see a better option on the market, you can let him go at no cost. That’s never happened before.
Even with those extra players, though, the crop of free agents is very watered down. With no cap there are new rules in place for unrestricted free agents. Players must now have 6 years of experience in the NFL to be unrestricted. Previously it was 4. That has taken 200-plus in-their-prime players and turned them into restricted free agents – which basically takes them off the market.
And even if teams do find someone worth signing, they have to be careful looking towards the future. What happens if Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones sign every available player and have a $200 million payroll. Then, next year, a new CBA is signed with a salary cap. All of a sudden they’re screwed. So big-pocketed owners will have to temper their enthusiasm because they don’t know what’s coming down the road.
Also, keep in mind, the NFL and NFLPA are heading towards a showdown that may result in a lockout in 2011. The NFL is trying to argue that, despite being an $8 billion-a-year industry, they’re not doing as well financially as we all think. So how, then, can they start spending like drunken sailors? I think given that situation, it’s much more likely teams will take advantage of the fact that with no salary cap there’s also no salary floor.
Whatever happens, if you’re a Giants fan you need to keep in mind that, despite all the PSL money, the Giants have a mountain of stadium-related debt. They’re not likely to be major players on the market. They are more conservative anyway and they may try to lock up some key players to long-term deals. But I don’t think that John Mara and Steve Tisch are ready to just start tossing uncapped money around.
Alex: You have covered the NFL since 1991. What is the most compelling story you have followed?
Ralph: On the field it’s hard to match the 2007 Giants remarkable run to the Super Bowl XLII championship. I’ve always said that the best moments in sports are the truly unexpected ones. Yeah, it’s special when your team is a powerhouse and expected to win. But when it’s not, and the title is like a bolt of lightning, that’s amazing.
And no one saw them coming. Add in all the twists and turns, the remarkable win in Dallas, the Ice Bowl in Green Bay, Lawrence Tynes’ OT game-winner in that game after two earlier misses, the possibility (but not reality) that it was Brett Favre’s last game, the undefeated Patriots waiting in the Super Bowl, the incredible fourth quarter of that game and the unbelievable final drive. The excitement just never stopped. Part of me wished I was “just a fan” watching that, screaming with my friends, and enjoying the ride. I was so caught up in the work it was hard to really enjoy it while it was happening. It was honestly a couple of days later, sitting at the Phoenix Airport with some colleagues, when we all just looked at each other and thought “What the hell just happened?”
Off the field, I guess it would be the whole Plaxico Burress shooting incident. I told you earlier how great of a player I thought he was and that I thought he had Hall of Fame potential. To see him self-destruct like that in a moment of lunacy was just … I don’t know. Sad, I guess. It was like a Shakespearean tragedy, really. One minute he’s catching the Super Bowl-winning TD pass, a hero who has cemented his legend in a tough sports town. The next moment he’s got a bullet hole in his leg and he’s a punchline for late-night comedians. It was a remarkable turn of events. Very, very sad.
Alex: What player from any team did you most enjoy watching?
Ralph: I’m not sure I could narrow it down to one. When I was growing up, Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor were my guys. Simms was so tough and Taylor was so scary good that I got years of enjoyment out of them. I don’t know that I’ve enjoyed watching any modern player as much as I enjoyed watching them.
A couple of exceptions might be Jim Kelly and Emmitt Smith. I covered Kelly when I worked for the Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in 1991-92. People forget how good he was because of all the Super Bowl losses. But those Bills offenses were ahead of their time and he called the plays on the field. He had a set amount of plays to choose from, but he surveyed the defense, considered the situation, and picked one out. Quarterbacks don’t do that anymore. And he was right more often than not, had a gun for an arm, and was just so savvy in the pocket. As for Smith, his toughness as a runner was unparalleled. I can’t remember the details or date of the game off the top of my head, but that one game where he had a separated shoulder and still tore apart the Giants defense is the stuff of legends. I’m probably a little young to remember Walter Payton in his prime, so Smith to me was the greatest running back I ever saw.
Alex: I predicted that when the Giants drafted Brandon Jacobs in 2005 that because of his Earl Campbell style of running, he would have only about 5-7 effective years. Do you think this is the reason why Jacobs is slowing down this year or is the offensive line not performing as well as in the past?
Ralph: I think it’s a combination of both. I think injuries have taken their toll – particularly to his right knee. But I also think the line isn’t as good as it was. One big controversy all season has been that Jacobs is running more to the outside than to the inside where his strength supposedly is. A big reason why is that the coaches are afraid to run him inside because there’s a lot of penetration there from defenders. Guard Rich Seubert is playing with an assortment of injuries and he’s just not as effective as he used to be. Center Shaun O’Hara, despite going to the Pro Bowl, hasn’t been as good this year as he was in the past. And even on the outside, RT Kareem McKenzie has struggled and battled injuries, too. Now, that hasn’t exactly hurt Ahmad Bradshaw’s effectiveness so Jacobs isn’t blameless. But the blocking hasn’t been there. And add in whatever power he’s lost from his banged-up knee, and you’re left with a paltry 3.7 yards per carry.
By the way, I’d lower that projection on Jacobs. I’m not sure he’s going to have five truly effective years.
Alex: Derrick Ward and Tiki Barber were the masters at counters and cutback running. Is the loss of Ward more of a problem than the Giants anticipated because they now don’t have a runner who can run a counter or cutback? Bradshaw does it to a certain extent, but not like those two players.
Ralph: I actually think Bradshaw is better than Ward, but remember he’s been playing hurt. He’s got two sprained ankles and a broken bone in his right foot. That has reduced his effectiveness. I’ve never been a big fan of Derrick Ward and think he got a huge assist fro a career year by Jacobs and a very powerful offensive line. His loss was felt in his blocking – he was a more than serviceable pass blocker. But Bradshaw is, or at least should be, the superior runner. Even on counters and cutbacks. He’s so shifty he has a remarkable ability to keep defenses off balance, more so than Ward ever had.
Alex: I recently looked at the new stadium and saw the upper deck is much farther back than Giants Stadium. This is a trend in all new stadiums (New Yankee Stadium) and I am wondering if you think the New Meadowlands Stadium will be as loud as Giants Stadium? Because of the way it is built, do you think the noise level will stay the same or worsen?
Ralph: Not being an architect, I honestly have no idea. There are other things to consider, though. I don’t know how the shape or contours would change the acoustics. Also keep in mind that the PSLs may cause a younger, more raucous crowd to be introduced into the stadium. And maybe higher walls on the outside will keep sound in. Who knows?
One thing is for sure, if the people who bought up the most expensive PSLs in the new stadium are the same ones who bought up the most expensive seats from the Yankees and Mets, then it won’t be as loud because there will be a lot of empty seats. If they chose not to go to games they’re not going to be able to resell those tickets – at least not at those prices – to “regular fans”.
Alex: You are Coach Doug Marrone. You just finished another dismal season (4-7 as of now), but all in all, it was a good first season. How do you turn around a Syracuse Football Program that has been dreadful since 2004? In addition, have you had a chance to ask Tom Coughlin, a Syracuse alum, what he would do/thinks of the Syracuse program?
Ralph: I like Doug Marrone and think he’s a good coach who seems to have a passion for the job and will do an excellent job at Syracuse. My advice would be twofold: 1. Don’t back down from anyone. 2. But don’t overreach. They go hand-in-hand. And what I mean by that is Greg Robinson was notorious for his lack of recruiting reach. To him, Florida – you know, where all the good football players are – might as well have been another planet. Syracuse may be struggling, but it’s still a Division I program and Marrone shouldn’t be afraid to reach his tentacles into that area. Even if he gets the leftovers from the Florida schools and the SEC and the Big 12, maybe he’ll end up with a gem or two. But he should also focus his attention locally. The New York/New Jersey area is one fertile area for talent where Syracuse is still a pretty big name. He needs to dig in there, because I’m betting he can beat some of the big-time schools to some of the areas top players. Honestly, Syracuse and Rutgers should own this area, with Penn State coming in a close third. Anything else has to be unacceptable.
As for Coughlin, I haven’t asked him what he’d do, but I know he has a deep love for Syracuse and he wasn’t thrilled with seeing the program fall apart. I don’t think he was a particularly big fan of Robinson – either of his coaching or of his recruiting efforts – but from what I’ve heard, he thinks the program is in very good hands with Doug Marrone.
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