What about Bob?

The Giants signed fourth-round running back Andre Brown of North Carolina State. He is the sixth of the team's nine draft picks to sign and the second in the last two days. Third-round tight end Travis Beckum signed yesterday.

The other draft picks who have signed their contracts are third-round receiver Ramses Barden, fifth-round quarterback Rhett Bomar and cornerbacks DeAndre Wright (sixth round) and Stoney Woodson (seventh).

The only unsigned draft choices are wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, the first-round selection from North Carolina, and second-round LB Clint Sintim and TWilliam Beatty.

To clear space on the roster for Brown, the Giants waived rookie Alex Derenthal, a free agent from Temple.

Brown played in 44 games with 30 starts at at North Carllina State and wound up with 2,539 yards and 22 touchdowns. The Giants hope he can fill the void left by departing free agent Derrick Ward.

(Editor's note: Evan Drellich is a summer intern for Newsday who covered yesterday's Atlantic League All-Star game yesterday in Newark. Among those participating in the game were Jets players Kerry Rhodes, Thomas Jones and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, as well as Giants All Pro defensive end Justin Tuck.)

By Evan Drellich

Justin Tuck was mouthing off to Kerry Rhodes during the introductions to a celebrity softball game in Newark on Tuesday evening, and Rhodes wasn’t having any of it.

Rhodes, playing for an opposing team, charged at Tuck near home plate at the Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. He pulled up short, smiling, and walked back down the third baseline as introductions wrapped up.

“I got introduced and I was like yelling at him, ‘Our roar is louder than yours,’ and he just ran over,’” said Tuck. “That’s just love, that’s how we are. We’re both Alabama boys. We didn’t actually play against each other, but we followed each other’s careers in high school.”

Rhodes said he had heard Tuck’s response to his comment that the Jets have the best defense in the NFL. Tuck, in a CBSSports.com story last week, said: "If anybody's saying they have the best 'anything' right now, they're sadly mistaken."

Rhodes didn’t back down: “I heard he commented on my statement about us having the best defense, but we’re definitely going to have the best defense this year. And if they want to take it a little step farther and have some fun about it, we can do that.”

Tuck, told of Rhodes’ insistence that the Jets were top dog, reiterated his sentiments from last week.

“Listen, me talking a lot right now, it really doesn’t do justice to the fact I told them we’ll find out after 17 regular season games,” he said. “But obviously, if you have to put something in your story, obviously the Giants have the best defense.”

- AP Photo

That's been the rumor for the last 20 years, ever since Donald "Tony The Greek" Frankos said in a 1989 interview with Playboy that Hoffa's body was buried at Giants Stadium, beneath Section 107 near one of the endzones.

Now that the stadium will soon be torn down once the new Giants/Jets stadium is ready for operations, do investigators plan to check to see if the former union boss is buried there?

Nope.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the FBI has no plans to search for Hoffa's remains, which Frankos said were buried in a 50-gallon drum.

"If there was some credible information, we wouldn't wait until the stadium was being demolished," Special Agent Bryan Travers told the paper. "We would go in there and aggressively look for it ...

"We would never wait this long. ... We would have no problem digging a giant hole at the 50-yard line if we thought there was reason to act," he said.

"No, there are no plans," said Alice McGillion, spokeswoman for the New Meadowlands Stadium Corp., the company formed to build the privately financed new home of the Giants and the New York Jets, and tear down the old one."The stadium will taken down next spring, and the area will become a parking lot."

Sure, it’s only June. And yes, they were only running around in helmets and shorts. But there was still plenty to glean from this week’s Giants’ mini-camp, almost all of it good. A few nuggets:

• Rookie receivers Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden looked terrific. Again, we’ll know a lot more when they put on the pads in training camp and go against “live” competition in the preseason. But the thing you want to see from rookies in this setting is precise route-running and consistent catching. They were excellent at both. In time, this receiver group will be excellent.

• Brandon Jacobs still runs like a tank, and looks just as hungry now as he did before signing a $25 million contract in February.

• There have been whispers that third-year tailback Ahmad Bradshaw hasn’t been putting in the necessary work during the off-season. Could have fooled me. The kid looked faster than he did as a rookie, and his cutting ability and nose for finding a crease in the blocking is uncanny. I’ll predict it right now: breakout season for Bradshaw.

• Generally good stuff from Eli Manning, although he did throw into coverage a handful of times. Not a big deal. Not at this time of year, anyway. Still no word on Manning signing a contract extension, but there doesn’t seem to be any concern on the organization’s part about a deal getting done before the opener.

• Biggest problem of all: hamstring injuries. There has been a rash of them in the off-season, with Sinorice Moss’ tweak on Tuesday the latest. I asked Moss if he’s been doing anything different conditioning-wise during the off-season, and he said nothing has changed. He’s understandably ticked, since he looked so strong in the first practice. Good news is he’ll be ready to go in training camp.

Continue reading "Plenty to like about the Giants " »

Rock Star chronicles all the goings-on at Giants mini-camp, which concluded this morning.

A must read for any Jints fan.

We'll weigh in with our own observations from the mini-camp for tomorrow's newspaper.

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce has gotten a kick out of the Rex Ryan-Channing Crowder smack talk from last week.

"You've got to like it. It's fun. It's football," Pierce said. "It's the off-season. You've got to find something to write about. OTA champions. Everybody is. We're all undefeated. The Jets are undefeated, we're undefeated. Everybody's undefeated."

As for Crowder taking shots at Ryan, Pierce said that's where he wouldn't cross the line.

"The coach and the player never meet up on the field," Pierce said. "A coach can’t hit me. All he can do is fire me. I’ve had seven defensive coordinators and five head coaches. I've learned not to talk smack to any coach, because eventually, he'll be your boss."

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with Plaxico Burress the night the wide receiver accidentally shot himself in a Manhattan club last November, said today he remains friends with Burress.

But Pierce said he is not keeping tabs on Burress' legal situation.

"I'm not following it," he said, a day after Burress' case was adjourned until Sept. 23.

It was a curious answer, since Pierce was with Burress that night. It was Pierce who took Burress' unlicensed gun and brought it to his New Jersey home before surrendering it to police. In fact, the answer begged for a followup, since it may have left the impression that Pierce was no longer supporting his former teammate.

I asked him if he remains friends with Burress, and Pierce said:

"Of course, we’re friends, teammates," Pierce said. "He’s a guy I’ve been close with. I wish him the best."

I asked Pierce if he continues to keep in contact with Burress.

"I'll leave that between me and him," Pierce said.

Pierce appeared noticably slimmer today that he had near the end of last season, although he declined to say whether he has taken any additional steps to remain fit.

"Training wise, I know what I need to do to have the year that I want to have," he said.

When Plaxico Burress last appeared in court on March 31, his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, asked for and was granted an adjournement until June 15. It was assumed by that time a plea agreement would have been reached.

Not.

Brafman told Tom Rock that he will ask for and receive another adjournment when they go to Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday. Burress has been charged with felony possession of an unlicensed gun in connection with a Nov. 28, 2008 self-shooting at a Manhattan night club.

It's uncertain just when the case would be adjourned until, although Burress appears to be hoping that it will be delayed until next off-season. He would then attempt to play this year, although it's uncertain whether he'd face any suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The Jets and Buccaneers have expressed interest in Burress, although both teams - and possibly a third unidentified team - are waiting for some resolution of Burress' legal situation before making a move.

Stay tuned.

We'll be at the courthouse Monday to check it out.

Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is the honorary chairman for the 2009 TriState Walk for polycystic kidney disease (PKD), an incurable hereditary kidney disease that has afflicted his family for years.

Next Wednesday, June 10, he will appear in the Farkas Auditorium at the NYU Medical Center to speak about the Giants' 2007 Super Bowl run and discuss his family's experiences with the disease.

“If I have an opportunity to do something like this, and it doesn’t interfere with my job, I’ll do it,” Gilbride told Michael Eisen of Giants.com. Gilbride served on the PKD Foundation Board of Trustees for many years. “All you have to do is see one person suffer through the degenerative effects of the disease and you can’t help, if you’re a human being, but to be affected by it. I saw this disease ravage my dad’s body and I saw the affect it had on my family afterwards – my mom had to raise seven kids by herself. It’s a horrible disease.”

There is no treatment or cure for PKD. The disease claimed the life of Gilbride's father, Bernard, in 1972 at the age of 45. It also took the life of Bernard's mother and sister and forced several other family members to undergo kidney transplants. One of them, Dennis Gilbride – Kevin’s uncle and Bernard’s brother – is living well 25 years after his transplant. Kevin’s brother, Matt, and sisters Laurie and Maureen received new kidneys.

Kevin Gilbride was not afflicted with the disease, but had his own kidney issues. When he was offensive coordinator of the Houston Oilers in 1992, he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and had his right kidney removed.

Gilbride hopes to use the Giants' unlikely 2007 championship run as a way to perform under difficult circumstances.

Continue reading "Kevin Gilbride contributes to a great cause " »

The voice of the New York Giants (and NFL Network) Bob Papa said today on his Sirius show "The Opening Drive" that Plaxico Burress had ample opportunities to resolve the gun charges against him, but hasn't taken advantage of them because he wants to avoid jail time at all costs. Even a two-month sentence.

Said Papa: “This is what I’ve been told and what I’ve heard. They worked out something where they had it down to about a three-month jail term with actually only two months served and about 1,500 hours of community service. And I think his lawyers felt that they had a pretty good deal. He doesn’t want to go to jail at all. He shot down the deal. . . . He does not want to go to jail at all. So now coming up in another couple of weeks we’re gonna find out what’s gonna happen. But my guess is that the city of New York is not gonna back off any kind of jail time."

Burress is due back in court on June 15. The case against him could result in a 3 1/2 year sentence, and the City (including Mayor Bloomberg) doesn't appear to be willing to back down on jail time.

-Chris Mascaro

Continue reading "Papa: Burress "deathly afraid" of going to jail" »

Caught up with the Giants' quarterback after yesterday's Organized Team Activity session, and the guy was brimming with enthusiasm about the makeup of this year's team.

No, Manning didn't make any Super Bowl pronouncements. But he was as upbeat about this year's team as any he's had in his five previous seasons with Big Blue. And that includes the championship team of 2007.

He likes what he sees in this year's locker room.

“I feel young, and in some ways I feel like I’m a new guy in here,” said Manning, 28. “A lot of the same teammates are here, and hopefully that’s a good thing. There’s good leadership around the locker room, and that will lead to some success.”

One motivating factor: The bad feelings he and his teammates still have over last year's late-season swoon.

“Last year, we wer playing as well as anybody for a long time,” he said. “We were beating good teams and we were playing great football. At the end of the season, we fell off the track. We had a good shot to make another strong run and let one slip away. We’ve got a lot of the same core of guys, and we have to take advantage of these opportunities. When you have an opportunity for a special season, you can’t let it slip away.”

Another chance beckons; Manning will make it is business to make sure his team doesn’t blow it.

“We’ve got guys who are good people,” he said of this year’s roster. “You like to come to work with them. You know they’re going to give you 100 percent every day. They want to get better. That’s what you like to come in to practice for. They’re going to be there for you. They’re going to fight for you.”

The fight doesn’t begin in earnest for another three months, but Manning believes his guys will be ready. He knows you don’t get these opportunities very often, that time flies by more quickly than you realize. Six years into his career, Manning knows that time is now.

Continue reading "Eli Manning: I like my team ... a lot" »

Reporting to you from the new Giants press room at the new Giants' training facility next to the old place that will be torn down when the new Giants/Jets stadium comes online in 2010.

We used to bring you the latest Giants news from the windowless place that The Record's Vinny DiTrani named "The Dungeon" shortly after its opening in 1977.

Now that we've got a window in the new place, DiTrini (pictured) will have to come up with a different name. "The Dungeon" is pictured below. There's DiTrani again.

Here's some farewell stuff on "The Dungeon."

Less than a week after NFL owners passed a resolution allowing teams to sign licensing deals with state-sponsored lotteries, two NFL teams have already signed up for lottery deals. The Giants could be next.

The Patriots and Redskins announced deals with Massachusetts and Virginia respectively, and a Giants official told Newsday that the team is considering deals with New York and possibly New Jersey.

"We are looking at those potential opportunities closely," said Pat Hanlon, the team's vice president of communications.

The Patriots announced a deal with Massachusetts on Thursday, and the Redskins announced their deal with Virginia on Friday.

"We envision a game that will link lottery fans with the Redskins in new and exciting ways," Redskins chief operating officer Mitch Gershman said.

The NFL has a strict policy deterring any association with gambling, but opted to allow sponsorships with state lotteries because they are not based on the outcome of NFL games. The league took action as a way to create new revenue streams in a struggling economy.

It's uncertain if the Jets will take the plunge, although New York lottery officials are in discussions with the team. Several other teams are talking with their respective state lottery officials. The Michigan Lottery is discussing a deal with the Lions, the Minnesota State Lottery is talking to the Vikings, and the Titans have indicated they'd consider a deal in Tennessee.

The San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals said they have no plans.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at last week's owners meetings that other leagues have affiliated with lotteries without allowing gambling to jeopardize the integrity of the games. In Massachusetts, the state lottery has sold scratch-off tickets since 2006 with the logos of the Red Sox and Celtics, as well as the World Series and NBA championship trophies.

- the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(Hey, check us out on Twitter ... Twittercom/BobGlauber)

The Giants' quarterback was a bit more candid than usual in an interview with Boomer Esiason on this week's Boomer Esiason Show on MSG. In fact, Manning made it clear the Giants are ready to move on without recently released receiver Plaxico Burress, and seemed to back off previous comments about the need to get a big receiver.

Eli's response when Esiason asked about the team's wide receiver situation with Burress out of the picture, according to a transcript of the interview:

"I feel confident. They didn’t need to go and get a big wide receiver. When Plaxico was injured, the guys stepped up and put up big points. It’s not like we need to have him. We put up big points. It’s not like we weren’t playing well because of Plaxico. We just weren’t playing very good football. Steve Smith is coming around in his third year & he’s going to be a guy who gets more playing time. Young guys are getting more experience.

"Last year was very beneficial for them because they got to play so much. Hixon had a tremendous season. Manningham; he has been working hard and wanting to get back in the action and figure out what his role is. These guys are second round draft picks. I feel great about the guys we have. They are hard workers, they practice well, and they’re competitive."

Manning on the team's running back situation:

"Obviously, Brandon (Jacobs) is going to be the main guy and get the main dose of the carries, but the way we’ve had success the past couple of years is because we’ve had two or three really good running backs like Ahmad Bradshaw who has played great for us. When we were on our Super Bowl run two years ago, he was our second back. He has some great games and big plays, and last year he kind of missed out. He wanted more last year but when you have Brandon and Derek Ward it’s hard to get him on the field.

"Ahmad’s a good mix though, but you have got to throw him in there. I think Danny Ware is a guy who works hard and we drafted Andre (Brown) from NC State and he’s been working hard. I threw a wheel route today to see if he can go get one. He turned on a second speed and went and caught the ball pretty naturally. I like the running back who can go catch the ball and be a good receiver in the back field."

Manning on where his head is at coming into the season:

"I’m looking forward to starting the season; I’m coming into my sixth year with the same offense. Offensive lines and running backs are pretty much the same guys who know the system the receivers have been around three or four years. I like where we are. Guys know the ins and outs of the offense and we’re going to do the right thing. We’re not going to make mistakes where guys run the wrong routes. We feel confident and we’re going to grow. Our base plays, we can call them over and over; they all have different reads but these guys now have a better feel for it. We’re going to go out with our game plan and feel confident in what we’re doing. I feel great. My body feels strong and I’m in good shape. I’m looking forward to training camp and to see what our potential is for next year."

Seems I over-wrote a bit (stop laughing, Newsday editors) on "The Dungeon" column that appeared in the paper, which means that a bunch of tidbits never got in.

Ah, the beauty of a blog.

Here's the column in its entirety, complete with memories of writers, coaches, and the infamous pee stain:

Continue reading "More on "The Dungeon" " »

The Giants Stadium press room has been a very large part of my life since August, 1985. And yesterday, we spent one last day there before we closed the joint down.

The Giants are moving into their $90 million training facility next door, and the writers will be moving along with them. It's a building that has it all - outdoor training fields, a full-size indoor field, state-of-the-art technology, cavernous new locker room in the shape of a football.

But one thing the new place can't do is replace the memories of the windowless, concrete room we affectionately called "The Dungeon."

The Record's Vinny DiTrani, who had the longest continuous tenure working the place, named it "The Dungeon" shortly after he started there when the place opened up in 1977.

"It took about two minutes to name it," said DiTrani, nicknamed "The Sage" by former Jints coach Bill Parcells.

How cool was hanging out in "The Dungeon?" Back in the day, Parcells would often come into the room at the end of the day, just to hang out and shoot the breeze with whatever hacks were left.

Writers from New England, the Jets and the Cowboys are probably astounded to hear that, since Parcells had walled himself off from the media when he coached those three teams. But before Parcells became ... well ... Parcells, he allowed a lucky few to see the real him.

Here's a column I wrote for today's newspaper about "The Dungeon."
I mention Parcells, Jim Fassel, Neil Best, Peter King and the pee stain in the carpet.

Hope you enjoy.

Congrats to Newdsay Giants beat writer Tom Rock and his wife, Amanda, on the arrival of their third child. Their baby boy came into the world Friday afternoon, just around the time the Giants trotted out their new wide receivers, Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden, during rookie mini-camp.

T-Rock already rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he goes back into the Giants' media room for another day of off-season interviews.

We'll be heading to East Rutherford this morning for some Giants' player and assistant coach availability ... nothing unusual for this time of year.

But it's unique in this respect: It will be our last visit to the Giants Stadium press room; the team will be moving into its spanking new digs right next door at a monstrous state-of-the-art training facility.

More on the last day in the press room in tomorrow's paper.

In the meantime, I've been busy being Boland over on the Jets' blog, so here are a bunch of posts about the other co-tenants of Giants Stadium ... or, as the Jets like to call it, The Meadowlands.

Didn't get to write about Beatty in the Giants' two-day rookie mini-camp, but check out Desmond Conner's piece in today's Hartford Courant about the former UConn tackle. Conner covered Beatty during his days at UConn, so he's quite familiar with the kid's upside.

A pleasant surprise to see Desmond, a former Tribune Co. teammate, at camp. He was a frequent visitor to the Jets' locker room a few years back, and we're glad to see he's doing well at the Courant.

Q: On whether anyone has stood out so far:

A: I think someone asked me about Mo Evans yesterday. He has done pretty well. He had a nice practice again this morning. You look at the (Sha’reff) Rashad kid at safety. I thought he practiced pretty well. He did a couple of good things this morning. The kid from Syracuse, (Kelvin) Smith, he has done alright for himself. (Cody) Boyd helped us a lot yesterday. He practiced well, he practiced long. We were losing some guys at that position with cramping and heat. He hung in there and did a nice job and we were able to finish our practice. So I was very pleased with what he did. Andre Woodson has had – I think he has taken more charge of the drills and done a pretty job with that. There are guys that are doing okay. There are a lot of people that flash. You get a play and you say, ‘Oh, who is that?’ A lot of people have done that.

Q: How about William Beatty?

A: I think he had a little better – as he has gotten more of an understanding of what he is supposed to do – I know he had one mental error today but that is expected, really, to a certain extent here. But I thought he has gotten into it and has a smile on his face and worked pretty good. This is what he really needs.

Q: Where is Andre Woodson in terms of his development?

A: I think he has worked real hard this offseason; this winter. He has worked hard with (quarterbacks coach) Chris (Palmer) and hopefully he is going to have a very good, very competitive training camp. I think the next few weeks will say a lot as well.

Q: RE: Rhett Bomar - Does he have a funky delivery? Something looks different.

A: Yeah, it is quick. It is an all-arm kind of thing. I can see that we are really going to have to work hard to get his momentum going into his throws, especially off to the left. He seems to be really good and fast and quick at getting the ball out and the underneath and inside stuff but the deeper balls to his left side he is going to have to work on.

Continue reading "GIANTS: TC observations ... " »

The Giants' second-year quarterback, a member of the team's practice squad last year, showed up weighing a good 20 pounds less than last year, when he tipped the scales at 242.

Tom Coughlin said Woodson looked more in command of the offense, and Woodson has addressed a slight hitch in his throwing motion he had last year. He has also made an adjustment in how he transfers his weight during his motion.

He said they measured over 10 inches at the scouting combine, which is believed to be the biggest of any receiver in this year's draft. It's obviously a big advantage for the first-round receiver.

"I catch great with my hands," Nicks said. "You won't see me making many body catches."

Nicks wears size 4XL gloves, and had a tough time locating a pair that fit him.

As for the NFL receiver Nicks respects the most: It's Carolina's Steve Smith.

"I've watched him a lot growing up," Nicks says. "He's not a big guy, but he's got heart."

Smith called Nicks shortly after the draft and offered him some advice as he begins his NFL career.

"He just said go after it," Nicks said. "Just play the game the way you know how."

The Giants' rookie quarterback has quite an interesting back story. And while he wasn't anxious to go into details about the reasons for his ouster from the Oklahoma program, he was more than willing to discuss how it changed his life ... for the better.

Here's my column from today's paper on the fifth-round quarterback.

... incidentally, the kid has a somewhat unconventional delivery, but he does get the ball out in a hurry. Rather than bring his arm back behind his head, he begins his throwing motion from right next to his helmet. He gets plenty of zip on the ball, though, and looked better (at least yesterday) than second-year QB Andre Woodson.

UPDATE: Tom Coughlin just briefed us after the morning practice and addressed Bomar's throwing motion. The coach said Bomar will need to tweak his mechanics. It's not the short passes, which come out very quickly. It's the longer ones, especially to his left, that appear somewhat problematic. Because of the short throwing motion, the longer passes tend to float toward the end.

The Giants' third-round rookie tight end had to leave the field midway through today's afternoon practice because he was suffering from cramps.

The answer is still no.

In fact, it's even more emphatic now than it was when talk of a deal died down shortly before the draft.

A couple of reasons at play here: First, the Giants were quite pleased that they got receivers Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden in the draft.

But as much as anything, it's their fear of exorbitant contract demands from Edwards, who has a year remaining on his original contract with the Browns.

Same deal with Anquan Boldin; the Giants simply don't want to invest $10 million a year in any receiver, especially when they've got a stable of young receivers they plan to develop.

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce lobbied for a contract extension before last season, but all has been very quiet of late. Maybe it's because the Giants have no intention of granting his request.

Sources familiar with the Giants' situation tell me there are no plans to extend his contract, Pierce has two years remaining on a $26 million deal he signed in 2005.

(C'mon over to my Twitter page for NFL updates. It's Twitter.com/BobGlauber)

We'll have more for the newspaper, but here's a glimpse at the Giants' first-round receiver after his first mini-camp practice:

Re: first day oc minicamp

A: Pretty good. Everything I anticipated, I feel like we were out there flying around, having fun, playing football.

Q: Were there any butterflies, anxieties?

A: No, I don’t think there was any of that for me.

Q: What did you think of Coach Coughlin in your first meeting?

A: I think he is a good coach. I had a very great first impression. I am happy to play for him; looking forward to the season.

Q: Are you like a sponge right now, trying to absorb everything, trying to figure out what is going on?

A: No, I feel like that is going to come naturally. But I just want to find my role, whatever that would be, and just perfect that.

Q: You are the only guy out there taking a picture with a game jersey after practice was over. Everybody knows who you are and all of the other players know who you are. Do you feel any pressure at all coming out there as the number one guy and did you feel like you had to show something big today to let everybody know that you were worth the pick.

A: No, I didn’t feel any pressure at all. I just want to go out and play the game that I have been playing – do what I have been doing to get me up to this point. Nothing is guaranteed … I have to work hard for my spot. That is what I am looking forward to right now.

Q: Do you feel you have to be yourself or do you worry at all about that “I have to be the guy to replace Plaxico Burress”?

A: I just have to be myself; that is what got me here.

Q: Folks have talked to you about another North Carolina guy that came here as a number one – Mr. Lawrence Taylor. Not bad shoes to fill, you are not playing defense but there is a little bit of North Carolina history here. How do you feel about that?

A: I feel good about it. Like I said before, I’m very excited about being here; looking forward to the season.

Q: How about walking on the field here and getting a look – no one in the stands, obviously, except a few of us but it is Giants Stadium and you know what has gone on here, I’m sure. How does it feel being out there on that field?

A: It was a great feeling, something that I was definitely looking forward to and I finally got here. It is a very good feel.

Continue reading "Giants: Hakeem Nicks speaks" »

Q: What can you find out with all of these guys running around?

A: You can find a lot out but you have to keep it in perspective. It is rookies against rookies for the most part; guys that haven’t been on the team or whatever. So until we sort this all out and then get to work with our team, we do have to keep it in perspective. But you certainly can do a great deal in terms of evaluating all of the little things – movement skills, protection skills, the running – that type of thing.

Q: How good was it to see Hakeem Nicks close up today for the first time?

A: It was good. It was something that we were looking forward to and I thought Ramses and Hakeem both did a nice job of catching the ball today. We will see if they can come back and do it a couple days in a row.

Q: Is there anything specific that you are looking for, or are you really relying on your assistants on a day like today when you have so many guys? What are you keying in on yourself?

A: You start out with your draft choices. You just do it by order. You have your draft choices. First of all you have to know your roster – you have to know exactly what you are looking for, what the numbers are like. You start out - you have an 80-number for camp. You have an over number – you have some spots that we are looking to fill those numbers in. And then you move to your college free agents that were signed and then your tryouts because you know where your empty spots are. So you have a good idea and you have a lot of trained, very good trained eyes that are on all of these people – I’m talking about our scouting department and staff as well, coaches working individual positions. We will put that all together.

Continue reading "Giants: Tom Coughlin's post-practice Q & A" »

The North Carolina State rookie got a call shortly after being drafted by Big Blue in the fourth round.

The conversation started off something like this:

"Hey, Andre, it's Brandon. Congratulations."

"Brandon who?" Brown said after failing to recognize the telephone number on his cell phone.

"Brandon Jacobs, your new teammate."

Oops.

The two spoke for a few minutes, with Jacobs taking the time to welcome his new teammate to the fold. Nice touch.

Brown on Jacobs: "He’s a big dude. I’m just trying to ride his coattails and learn from him. He just told me to come in here and get ready to work. I’m a young pup right now. Whatever I can learn from him and use and gain his knowledge. I’m going to be a sponge."

Like Brown, Jacobs was a fourth-round pick (in 2005 out of Southern Illinois).

"He said, 'Don't worry about being a fourth-round pick,'" Brown said of Jacobs, who signed a four-year, $25 million contract in the off-season. "'Just come in and get ready to work.'"

* Nice deep pass down the left sideline by Andre Woodson to first-rounder Hakeem Nicks, who made a juggling catch over two defenders.

* In addition to drafted receivers Nicks (first round) and Ramses Barden, the Giants invited a couple of other tall receiving targets, including 6-6 Tommy Breaux of Towson (a school that also produced Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ace reporter Bill Glauber), 6-4 Maurice Covington of Virginia, 6-6 Micah Rucker of Eastern Illinois (Giants practice squad in 2008), and 6-8 tight end Cody Boyd of Washington State.

* Stony Brook guard Lawrence Lovell is here on a tryout.

* Defensive tackle Dan Davis (UConn) of Plainfield, NJ is on a tryout, too.

* Syracuse linebacker Kelvin Smith of Suffern, NY is on a tryout.

* Lafayette linebacker Andy Romans of Allendale, NJ is on a tryout.

... this according to Burress' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who Twitters about Plax:

"Quick update on Plaxico; he is training hard with a personal trainer and is in great football shape!"

Burress, of course, is still in limbo as he awaits his next court appearance (June 15) on charges of felony weapons possession.

...

I am still mulling the idea of going "Twitter," and have not yet reached a decision.

Best, are you tweeting?

Congratulations to the former Giants' general manager, who was given the George Young Award for sports achievement at the 17th annual induction ceremonies for the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame & Museum at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack.

The ceremony was held April 26. Had Accorsi still been general manager of the Giants, he'd have been at this offices working Day 2 of the draft. Instead, he was accepting an award named after former Giants GM Young, who hired Accorsi as the team's assistant general manager and eventually saw him take over once Young retired after the 1997 season.

Accorsi tells us he related a story of his mother's upbringing at the gathering. She was born and raised in Pitigliano in Tuscany, a town Accorsi says was called "Little Jerusalem" because around 10 percent of its population was Jewish. Accorsi said that shortly after Italy signed the armistice with the Allies in 1943, the Germans bombed the synagogue in the town.

"The Italian Christians protected the Jews and kept the ruins of the synagogue as a
memorial until a few years, when they rebuilt it," Accorsi said. "I have been there many times."

Nice touch from a longtime NFL executive we had the privilege and pleasure of covering.

Here are the other inductees from this year's class:

Continue reading "Ernie Accorsi wins George Young Award" »

The Giants' receiver is quite an athlete.

At 6-6, 227, the Giants hope he can become the red zone threat that Plaxico Burress once was.

Very interesting piece in today's newspaper from Tommy Rock Star, who got in touch with Butch Davis of North Carolina and Al Groh of Virginia and asked them to discuss why it's so advantageous for NFL teams to deal with former pro head coaches.

Davis coached Hakeem Nicks, who went to the Giants in the first round, and Groh coached second-round linebacker Clint Sintim.

"When scouts come through here, the feedback we always get is that they are thankful to come in and watch an offense that looks like an NFL offense," said Davis, the former head coach of Boland's Beloved Brownies, who now employs a pro-style offense in college. "They saw Hakeem [Nicks] run every single route that any NFL coordinator could ask him to run."

Said Groh, the former Jets head coach who is now at Virginia:

"We've had a lot of players come back after they've been in the league and tell us that what they were exposed to here was a benefit to them in terms of making the transition."

Groh also knows what it's like to be on the other side of the evaluation process.

"When we talk to the NFL personnel people who come in, I always try to picture what our current player would have been like on the teams I was associated with [in the NFL]," Groh said. "Not just was he a good player for us, but is he going to do the jobs that are required in the National Football League."

Oh, my.

There seems to be an assumption that the Giants will trade for Browns receiver Braylon Edwards, but so far, there is nothing. That all could change with one phone call, but as of now, we're told that the Giants simply don't want to give away at least two high picks in exchange for the elite receiver.

If, however, things do pick up in the coming days - or perhaps when the clock is running on draft day - and a deal is made, Edwards would join a locker room that will be demanding as far as his attitude.

Justin Tuck, perhaps the most respected leader in the room, minced no words yesterday when speaking about what's expected of a guy like Edwards. Here's my column on the subject.

We're a big fan of the BigBlueInteractive website, especially the "corner forum" section where fans/readers share tidbits.

There's been a lot of interest in the idea of a trade for Browns receiver Braylon Edwards as a potential replacement for Plaxico Burress. And there has been a lot of talk about the Browns being interested in defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka.

But unless the Giants are changing their tune, there will not be an Edwards-for-Kiwi swap. There are no plans to deal Kiwanuka at a time when the Giants' defensive line is as well stocked as it's been in years ... maybe ever.

I'm not saying there won't be an Edwards trade. In fact, Jason Cole of Yahoo sports is reporting that Edwards is expected to be dealt to the Giants sometime before the draft. But in all likelihood, the deal will be for draft picks, not bodies, especially not Kiwi.

Here's an item I had on the subject more than a month ago. As far as I'm told, nothing has changed.

The Giants' co-owner, one of the most respected voices in the NFL and a man who does not mince words, detailed his and the team's thinking on the Plaxico Burress situation that ended with the receiver's release from the team last week.

Even by Mara's standards, he was remarkably candid in letting it known that the Giants could no longer afford to wait on a player whose legal situation was still in limbo, but whose unwillingness to communicate with the team was as much to blame for his ouster.

Mara spoke with the "other" Mad Dog yesterday on SIRIUS Radio. That would be Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, not to be confused with our own Chris "Mad Dog" Mascaro.

Here's the transcript. It's worth a read.

Russo: “You wavered for awhile [on Burress]. You were fairly supportive of letting Burress return. Jerry Reese said never say never. The Giants almost considered it. Should the Giants not even have considered it? Should, after that incident, the Giants have not even considered bringing Burress back to the ballclub in 2009?”

Mara: “Well, I can understand people feeling that way. What we had decided to do was, let’s wait and see what happens when he makes his court appearance, the one that just occurred in the last week or two, let’s see what the outcome of that is and we don’t have to make any decision prior to that. Let’s just wait and see what happens when we have all the facts and let’s see exactly what we’re dealing with. Unfortunately, the case was postponed again so we felt like that would continue to leave us in limbo. We were attempting to settle one of the two grievances out there with him, one of which was decided in his favor just the other day, and we were not having much success in those settlement discussions and we just felt like enough was enough and it’s time to just move on. Jerry Reese had attempted to contact him on a number of occasions and was not able to get a hold of him which, to be honest with you, irritated me quite a bit.”

Continue reading "John Mara lays it all out in the Plaxico Burress deal " »

The Giants co-owner issued a strongly worded statement in response to Special Master Stephen Burbank's decision to award Plaxico Burress a $1 million bonus that the Giants had withheld after his self-shooting last November.

"We are very disappointed with the decision of the Special Master," Mara said in a statement just issued by the team. "This ruling represents yet another example of why we need a new and improved CBA. To think that a player could carry a loaded gun into a night club, shoot himself and miss the rest of the season but get to keep his entire signing bonus illustrates one of the serious flaws in the current system. We will have an opportunity in the upcoming negotiations to prevent such illogical results in the future."

Have not seen Mara react so forcefully in such a public manner, which explains the depths of his anger of the situation.

The league is also furious about the situation, and said as much in a statement issued earlier. Sounds as if an appeal is in the works.

Stay tuned.

ESPN's John Clayton is reporting that arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled the Giants must pay Plaxico Burress the $1 million roster bonus they withheld after the wideout was suspended the last four games after he accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Clayton's source is Plaxico's agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

According to the report, the Giants must also pay Burress an undisclosed roster bonus.

The $1 million payment was an installment of the $4.25 million signing bonus which Burres earned as part of the five-year, $35 million deal he signed just before the start of the season.

The Giants argued there was a clause in the deal that said they could recoup part of the bonus if Burress was incarcerated or detained by law-enforcement personnel, or if he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.

However, Clayton reports there is "no specific language in the collective bargaining agreement for a team going after more than $250,000 in bonus money, which was a basis of the ruling in favor of Burress."

So a monetary victory for Burress as he awaits the June 15 court date for his gun charges.

-Chris Mascaro

That's according to a competing publication in the New York metropolitan area.

The former Giants receiver was pulled over two weeks ago for erratic driving during a traffic stop in south Florida. He reportedly had a few choice words for the officer - a deputy sherriff - who stopped him.

The ex-Giants wide receiver was on hand for last night's Michigan States win over UConn in the hoops Final Four, and he seemed at ease mugging for the cameras and enjoying the upset win by his alma mater.

"I feel great," he said about life after the Giants, although he declined to elaborate.

Burress did send a text message to ESPN's Rachel Nichols, and thanked the Giants, his ex-teammates, and the fans for his time with Big Blue.

In a Friday text message to ESPN's Rachel Nichols, Burress lauded the Giants and their fans for his time in New York.

"First of all I wanna thank the organization for allowing me to be a NYG, John Mara, Jerry Reese, Steve Tisch and Ernie Accorsi who is no longer there who was responsible for me to become a Giant," Burress wrote. "I wanna thank Ronnie Barnes and the whole training staff [go state]. I wanna thank my teammates for being so supportive of me and my family. We did and accomplished great things together. I wish you guys the best!

"And to the fans who I will miss the most for embracing me from day one. It's nothing like walking in Giants Stadium on Sundays and seeing all the #17 jerseys. Thank u NJ and NY for being so good to me. I appreciate the love!! Thanks for all the prayers and letters."

Burress is scheduled for a June 15 court date in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Here are my thoughts on Plaxico's release from the Giants that appeared in today's newspaper.