NYchalktalk.com would like to welcome our newest writer to the team, Greg Visone. He is a New Jersey native and a die hard Giants fan. Greg will be covering his team all season long to keep all of the NYchalktalk readers up to date with everything New York Giants. Be sure to listen for him on Daniel and Josh's weekly online radio show. From the University of Albany in Albany, New York, I’m reporting live from Giants Training Camp, where Big Blue is preparing for the upcoming 2009 NFL Season. It has been a hectic first week here in Albany with issues stirring up on the field (position battles, offensive struggles, Coughlin tirades, etc.) and off (Pierce not getting indicted & Plaxico getting indicted, Eli’s new contract, injury worries, etc.). Over the next month, I will be your source for everything Giants leading into the upcoming season.
There was good news to start off training camp here in Albany with the news that defensive captain & middle line backer Antonio Pierce will not be indicted on charges in the Plaxico Burress case, despite openly admitting he helped Burress hide the unregistered weapon Burress used to shoot himself with in late November. Burress, on the other hand, has been charged by a grand jury representing the State of New York with one count of reckless endangerment and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Pierce, while talking to the media this week, defended the concept of helping Burress out, stating that he does not regret what he did. This was good news for the Giants as Pierce is a pivotal leader on defense. With the problems this legal battle had on the team last season, Big Blue will be very fortunate not to be dealing with this problem again in 2009.
More good news came for the Giants this week when Eli Manning agreed to a six-year contract extension with Big Blue worth approximately $97.5 million ($35 million guaranteed). This makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL ($15.3 million per year annually).While he certainly doesn’t deserve that kind of money as a second-tier quarterback, he is still a Super Bowl MVP and the face of a franchise. The Giants needed to lock him up since this is the last year of his contract. While I would have liked to see him earn the contract this year with a solid performance, despite having sub par receivers, I’m glad the Giants have completed the deal prior to the ’09 season as the saga will not cause any distractions in the locker room once the season begins.
In other news here at Albany, practices are in full swing and many position battles have gotten underway. While some position battles are rather high-end (e.g. wide receiver), others are subtle but in some cases extremely heated and potentially very important (e.g. backup quarterback) if a starter happens to go down during the year.
Here is a look at some of the position battles to look into during training camp:
Wide Receiver: At receiver last season, Eli had three very reliable targets in Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith. This year, Plaxico is facing four years in prison and Toomer is in Kansas City. However, the Giants have nine potential targets in camp this year fighting for six or seven receiver slots on the depth chart. Among these possible targets for Eli are Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks (rookie), and Ramses Barden (rookie). I project that Smith and Hixon are going to be the starters this season early on, but don’t be surprised if Nicks, Barden, Manningham, or Moss takes over for Hixon at some point during the year due to skill in the slot position (yes, I project Smith, Hixon, Nicks, Manningham, Barden, and Moss to get the six slots). Also, expect Tyree, Hagan, or Rucker to get a spot on the practice squad in case Moss goes down during the year (yes, I am predicting Sinorice to get injured during the year).
2nd/3rd Running Back: Behind Jacobs, there is going to be a fight for carries between Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware, and rookie, Andre Brown. They all are getting their fair share of carries so far in camp, but expect all three to make the team and contribute somewhat this season. The favorite for the true backup role has to be Bradshaw, but don’t be too surprised if Ware or Brown gets carries this year as the third back. While it won’t be Earth, Wind, and Fire (like last year), don’t be surprised if three running backs come out and perform like they did last year.
Backup Center: Just a quick word of advice for Giants fans reading this: pray that this offensive line does not get injured at all this year, because there are not many dependable backups on the roster. One good example so far of an ugly position battle is at backup Center, where Adam Koets and Kevin Boothe continue fumbling snaps during training camp. In my opinion, whoever fumbles fewer snaps at the end of camp is going to be O’Hara’s backup. It’s really bad for me to think about what would happen if O’Hara got injured right now, because it’s a nightmare imagining one of these two taking snaps for the Giants during a game.
Backup Quarterback: While Eli has the starting position all wrapped up, there is going to be an interesting battle between Andre Woodson and rookie Rhett Bomar for the third quarterback position on the depth chart. While the Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the depth chart last season (Manning & Carr), expect them to keep a third this time around just in case. This will be a very heated battle and an intriguing one to keep an eye on throughout training camp.
On the field so far, the secondary has dominated throughout camp, with many interceptions and defensive swats against all quarterbacks on the Giants roster. While the secondary has done an outstanding job early in camp, the offense has clearly struggled to a certain extent as well. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is clearly unhappy with the offensive performance he is seeing, and many of his trademark tirades are springing up on the practice field. His frustration is rather clear-cut, reminding fans of the days before the Super Bowl Championship, when Coughlin was always short-tempered and angry with his players. However, the message he is sending to the offense is clear: perform well, the team wins; perform poorly, the team struggles (similar to last season).
A few key injuries to point out in camp are those of defensive end Justin Tuck (foot), left guard Rich Seubert (shoulder), defensive tackle Fred Robbins (knee, Physically Unable to Perform list), defensive tackle Rocky Bernard (shoulder/hamstring, Non-Football Injury list), and linebacker Michael Boley (hip, PUP). Tuck is on a one-a-day schedule so far during camp, but this is only to rest his foot for the regular season. Seubert is also just receiving rest for the upcoming season.
With the first preseason game for the Giants only ten days away (Monday Night Football at home against Carolina, 8/17), it appears that we’re just warming up here in Albany at Giants Training Camp.
There was good news to start off training camp here in Albany with the news that defensive captain & middle line backer Antonio Pierce will not be indicted on charges in the Plaxico Burress case, despite openly admitting he helped Burress hide the unregistered weapon Burress used to shoot himself with in late November. Burress, on the other hand, has been charged by a grand jury representing the State of New York with one count of reckless endangerment and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Pierce, while talking to the media this week, defended the concept of helping Burress out, stating that he does not regret what he did. This was good news for the Giants as Pierce is a pivotal leader on defense. With the problems this legal battle had on the team last season, Big Blue will be very fortunate not to be dealing with this problem again in 2009.
More good news came for the Giants this week when Eli Manning agreed to a six-year contract extension with Big Blue worth approximately $97.5 million ($35 million guaranteed). This makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL ($15.3 million per year annually).While he certainly doesn’t deserve that kind of money as a second-tier quarterback, he is still a Super Bowl MVP and the face of a franchise. The Giants needed to lock him up since this is the last year of his contract. While I would have liked to see him earn the contract this year with a solid performance, despite having sub par receivers, I’m glad the Giants have completed the deal prior to the ’09 season as the saga will not cause any distractions in the locker room once the season begins.
In other news here at Albany, practices are in full swing and many position battles have gotten underway. While some position battles are rather high-end (e.g. wide receiver), others are subtle but in some cases extremely heated and potentially very important (e.g. backup quarterback) if a starter happens to go down during the year.
Here is a look at some of the position battles to look into during training camp:
Wide Receiver: At receiver last season, Eli had three very reliable targets in Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith. This year, Plaxico is facing four years in prison and Toomer is in Kansas City. However, the Giants have nine potential targets in camp this year fighting for six or seven receiver slots on the depth chart. Among these possible targets for Eli are Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks (rookie), and Ramses Barden (rookie). I project that Smith and Hixon are going to be the starters this season early on, but don’t be surprised if Nicks, Barden, Manningham, or Moss takes over for Hixon at some point during the year due to skill in the slot position (yes, I project Smith, Hixon, Nicks, Manningham, Barden, and Moss to get the six slots). Also, expect Tyree, Hagan, or Rucker to get a spot on the practice squad in case Moss goes down during the year (yes, I am predicting Sinorice to get injured during the year).
2nd/3rd Running Back: Behind Jacobs, there is going to be a fight for carries between Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware, and rookie, Andre Brown. They all are getting their fair share of carries so far in camp, but expect all three to make the team and contribute somewhat this season. The favorite for the true backup role has to be Bradshaw, but don’t be too surprised if Ware or Brown gets carries this year as the third back. While it won’t be Earth, Wind, and Fire (like last year), don’t be surprised if three running backs come out and perform like they did last year.
Backup Center: Just a quick word of advice for Giants fans reading this: pray that this offensive line does not get injured at all this year, because there are not many dependable backups on the roster. One good example so far of an ugly position battle is at backup Center, where Adam Koets and Kevin Boothe continue fumbling snaps during training camp. In my opinion, whoever fumbles fewer snaps at the end of camp is going to be O’Hara’s backup. It’s really bad for me to think about what would happen if O’Hara got injured right now, because it’s a nightmare imagining one of these two taking snaps for the Giants during a game.
Backup Quarterback: While Eli has the starting position all wrapped up, there is going to be an interesting battle between Andre Woodson and rookie Rhett Bomar for the third quarterback position on the depth chart. While the Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the depth chart last season (Manning & Carr), expect them to keep a third this time around just in case. This will be a very heated battle and an intriguing one to keep an eye on throughout training camp.
On the field so far, the secondary has dominated throughout camp, with many interceptions and defensive swats against all quarterbacks on the Giants roster. While the secondary has done an outstanding job early in camp, the offense has clearly struggled to a certain extent as well. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is clearly unhappy with the offensive performance he is seeing, and many of his trademark tirades are springing up on the practice field. His frustration is rather clear-cut, reminding fans of the days before the Super Bowl Championship, when Coughlin was always short-tempered and angry with his players. However, the message he is sending to the offense is clear: perform well, the team wins; perform poorly, the team struggles (similar to last season).
A few key injuries to point out in camp are those of defensive end Justin Tuck (foot), left guard Rich Seubert (shoulder), defensive tackle Fred Robbins (knee, Physically Unable to Perform list), defensive tackle Rocky Bernard (shoulder/hamstring, Non-Football Injury list), and linebacker Michael Boley (hip, PUP). Tuck is on a one-a-day schedule so far during camp, but this is only to rest his foot for the regular season. Seubert is also just receiving rest for the upcoming season.
With the first preseason game for the Giants only ten days away (Monday Night Football at home against Carolina, 8/17), it appears that we’re just warming up here in Albany at Giants Training Camp.
Greg Visone
NYchalktalk.com
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