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Osi Umenyiora expected to sign one-day contract to retire with Giants

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, July 27, 2015, 3:31 PM
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osiweb28s-1-web.jpgBill Kostroun/AP With no NFL suitors seeking his services, Osi Umenyiora appears ready to call it a career - but not before signing a one-day contract so he can retire a Giant.

A few months ago Osi Umenyiora still was hoping to continue his NFL career, and he was really hoping to re-sign with his former team. Sometime this summer he’ll partially get his wish, but it will only be for one last day.

Umenyiora, a defensive end who spent nine years with the Giants, is expected to sign a one-day contract with his old team next month so he can officially retire as a Giant, according to multiple NFL sources. Just five months ago, the 33-year-old said he had “zero plans” to retire. But he had few suitors in free agency after recording only 2½ sacks in limited playing time with the Atlanta Falcons last year.

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In an interview with ESPN in February, Umenyiora said he was looking for the “right situation” in free agency, but he privately told people that he had a very short list of teams for which he would play. The Giants, according to a source, were at the top of that list, but even after their best pass rusher, Jason Pierre-Paul, lost a finger in a fireworks accident, they had no interest in bringing Umenyiora back.

Umenyiora had also said that “whenever it is that I retire, I think it would only make sense for me to do that as a Giant.” In 2003, the Giants drafted Umenyiora in the second round out of Troy University in Alabama. He went on to record 75 sacks — fourth on the team's all-time list.

GIANTS TRAINING CAMP PREVIEW: FIVE ISSUES FACING BIG BLUE

Umenyiora was also a key player on two Super Bowl teams, but he often had a contentious relationship with Giants management — particularly GM Jerry Reese. He was never fully happy with a seven-year, $41 million contract he signed in 2005 and tried unsuccessfully to renegotiate several times. Then, in a sworn affidavit, part of the NFLPA’s lawsuit against the NFL during the 2011 lockout, Umenyiora called Reese a liar for reneging on a promise to give him a raise or trade him.

And when that lockout ended, Umenyiora staged an angry, one-day holdout and told friends he’d never speak to Reese again.

NFL TRAINING CAMP INTERACTIVE: GET THE TEAM-BY-TEAM LOOK

But when Umenyiora finally became a free agent in 2013 and signed a two-year, $8.5 million deal with the Falcons, he made one last call to Reese and buried the hatchet. He later told the Daily News, “Me and Jerry are cool, man. We’ve always been cool. Jerry’s my guy.”

Umenyiora will end his 12-year NFL career with 85 total sacks — not bad for a player so overlooked he wasn’t even invited to the scouting combine before the 2003 draft. When the Giants took him in the second round, it appeared to be a reach. But even after recording just one sack in his rookie season the Giants knew how valuable he was.

In fact, the next April, then-GM Ernie Accorsi’s refusal to trade him to the San Diego Chargers nearly blew up the entire Eli Manning trade. It was only after then-Chargers GM A.J. Smith dropped his demand for Umenyiora that the two sides were able to work out the historic deal.

Now, Umenyiora will likely someday join Manning in the Giants’ Ring of Honor. First, he’ll get one last day with his old team next month.

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Giants GM Jerry Reese stays mum on Jason Pierre-Paul, hopes for the best

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Sunday, August 2, 2015, 1:16 PM
Updated: Sunday, August 2, 2015, 1:16 PM
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new-york-giants-camp.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Jerry Reese refuses to say much regarding Jason Pierre-Paul.

Just about everyone at Giants camp had given their thoughts on Jason Pierre-Paul, who was seen for the first time Friday in exclusive photos obtained by the Daily News since his July 4 fireworks accident. The only person left to speak on the matter was general manager Jerry Reese, who met with reporters Sunday for the first time this training camp.

Right off the bat Reese was asked if he had spoken with Pierre-Paul, a question he ultimately didn't answer.

"Guys, I'm not gonna say much," Reese replied. "I don't really have anything to report about that situation, but I am gonna say this: I wish Jason nothing but the best. It's a traumatic situation that was - it was an accident. There's plenty of people that have opinions about it, but my heart goes out to him. For a young man to have a traumatic event like that in his life, it's life-changing for him and I hope and pray for the best for him. That's what I can say about that. But other than that, I'm not gonna say anything else about what Jason's situation is except I hope for the best, and hopefully he's healing mentally and physically, and that he can be back to himself as soon as possible. That's all I'm gonna say about the Jason situation."

 

He stayed true to his word, deflecting a follow-up question on if he expects the defensive end to be back. "I'm not gonna say anything else."

greaxweb2s-d3w-web.jpgSBMF/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES/SBMF/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES Pierre-Paul's future with the Giants is unclear.

Despite not having Pierre-Paul around, Reese is confident the defense he assembled can be stingy, and mentioned Damontre Moore and Kerry Wynn as players who have an opportunity to step up.

"I think we'll be really good defensively," Reese said. "I think we're gonna surprise people."

Another big issue for Reese is trying to re-sign Eli Manning, entering the final year of his contract, to an extension. Reese danced around that matter as well. "I'm not talking about the contract," Reese said. "He's under contract."

Reese did express great confidence in Manning and has high expectations for him now in his second year under Ben McAdoo's offense.

"We think the sky's the limit," Reese said. "I think Eli can have a big year."

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Fight! DE Robert Ayers and O-lineman Michael Bamiro mix it up at Giants camp

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Saturday, August 8, 2015, 5:43 PM
Updated: Sunday, August 9, 2015, 12:51
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new-york-giants-camp.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Robert Ayers and Michael Bamiro are in the middle of this scrum at Giants camp on Saturday.

Another day of Giants training camp, another fight. But no, Tom Coughlin said, this won’t happen in Cincinnati next week.

On Saturday, the Giants held their most physical training camp practice yet, and a fight briefly broke out between defensive end Robert Ayers and offensive lineman Michael Bamiro. Teammates piled on, although the skirmish was quickly broken up. Not that Coughlin liked the scene.

“It’s too bad it gets to that, because that takes away from everything else,” Coughlin said.

Bamiro has been at the center of two small fights in Giants camp so far.

“He’s totally innocent,” Coughlin said sarcastically. “It just happens to be him.”

The coach added that he did not want to see anything similar next week, when the Giants hold joint practices with the Bengals on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Saturday, two other teams — the Texans and Washington — ended their run of joint practices with a massive brawl involving multiple players. Coughlin said that he has mentioned this to his team.

new-york-giants-camp.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Giants rush into the pile during Saturday's dust up, the third of training camp so far.

“I heard about it,” he said. “It’s already been addressed. We want good solid work (against the Bengals), but we don’t want any of that.”

He said he did like the physicality of Saturday’s session.

“It was intended,” he said. “They’re off tomorrow.”

HAND IT TO ODELL

In one-on-one drills, receiver Odell Beckham made a fantastic one-handed catch in stride. But no, Coughlin didn’t dig the highlight.

“Two hands, please,” he said. “Two hands on the ball, thank you very much. Ball security as well.”

That’s Tom Coughlin’s way, though, said Victor Cruz.

“Coach is old school. If we had an extra hand to put on the ball, he’d want three hands on the ball,” Cruz said.

NEXT FOR CRUZ

Cruz said he will travel to Cincinnati and participate in individual drills, but he will not take part in anything against Bengals defenders. ... CB Prince Amukamara (groin) will “probably not” make the trip to Cincy, Coughlin said. ... CB Chykie Brown left practice with a right knee injury, although the extent of it remains unknown. ... S Bennett Jackson sat out with a quad issue. ... OL Geoff Schwartz missed his third straight practice.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Giants’ Jon Beason wants quarterbacks flagged for throwing into big-hit areas

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Monday, August 17, 2015, 3:20 PM
Updated: Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 12:18 AM

new-york-yankees.jpg Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

Giants linebacker Jon Beason blames quarterbacks for dangerous hits in the NFL.

The NFL has had a crusade against big and violent hits for several years. And Giants linebacker Jon Beason has a new and radical idea to solve some of that problem: Fine quarterbacks for throwing into big-hit areas.

Beason made the wild suggestion Monday when asked about new teammate Brandon Meriweather, a fierce-hitting safety who has been fined multiple times for his illegal hits.

Beason suggested that none of that was Meriweather’s fault, half-joking that defenders wouldn’t deliver such titanic smacks if quarterback passes didn’t lead receivers straight into trouble.

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“In my opinion, I think they should flag the quarterbacks for throwing the ball there,” Beason said. “Back in the day, certain routes in certain coverages said I could not throw this seam route because it’s cover-4, safety’s sitting right on top of there, I don’t want to get my guy killed.”

Now that doesn’t happen, and that’s partly because a flag for a helmet-to-helmet or other big hit sometimes functions as a reward for the offense. Or at least that’s what Beason seemed to hint.

“Now you throw the ball, guys get hit, they may be hurt, maybe not,” Beason continued.

“You roll around, the flag comes out. Well, it’s a good play for the offense... So you play to the rules. I think the onus should be on the quarterbacks not to throw those balls.

“Then we wouldn’t have those collisions.”

Not that Beason expects Meriweather, now 31 and in his ninth NFL season, to be fined often this year, he said.

“It is a violent game unfortunately,” Beason said. “I think Brandon’s learned his lesson.”

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New Giants safety Brandon Meriweather not going to change headhunting approach

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 12:34 AM
sports.jpgAndrew Theodorakis/ for New York Daily News Brandon Meriweather earns his reputation as a lethal hitter, but his over-aggressive approach may not be the best way to avoid penalties.

Brandon Meriweather can’t tell you how he’ll operate with the Giants defense and he can’t tell you how long he’ll take to learn coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system.

The longshot savior of the Giants’ battered safety corps can only tell you this: He’s not abandoning the headhunting approach that defined the first eight seasons of his NFL career.

“I think every player you ever ask will say you play your game the way you play your game,” Meriweather said Monday. “Do you play within the rules? Yes. I’m going to play my game the way I play my game, but I’m also going to respect the rules.”

This is what the safety position has come down to for the desperate Giants: On Monday, the club introduced an enforcer-type safety who may not even fit into Spagnuolo’s schemes, a player known almost solely for his penchant for making helmet-to-helmet contact and drawing league fines.

This is the player who was called out by Jets receiver Brandon Marshall, who in 2013 suggested that Meriweather’s style of play was so violent he should be kicked out of the league. Meriweather countered that Marshall, then a Chicago Bear, should be kicked out of the league for beating his wife, although on Monday the safety insisted he held no grudge against Marshall.

“Listen man, that’s in the past,” Meriweather said. “I’m not one of those guys to hold grudges. I forgot about that a long time ago.”

Meriweather is the latest unknown quantity in a safety corps of question marks. He believes his physicality can be a “good” fit in East Rutherford, even as Tom Coughlin pointed out that the veteran must tweak his over-aggressive approach. Coughlin said he plans to speak to Meriweather about his playing style.

“The toughness part you want,” Coughlin said of Meriweather. “The penalties and the issues, you don’t want... He’s competitive, he’s very competitive. And to a certain extent, obviously, we want that. But we don’t want what goes with it, obviously.”

Yet that’s what’s long defined Meriweather, 31, who had few suitors until the Giants came calling Sunday.

Ever since his days at the University of Miami, his abundance of aggression compensated for his lack of size (5-11).

sports.jpgAndrew Theodorakis/ for New York Daily News Meriweather says he’s not about to change his style with desperate Big Blue.

“We used to call him ‘Little B’,” said Giants linebacker Jon Beason, who played with Meriweather in college. “As he transitioned to a starter, his nickname became ‘Killer B’ because he literally would take people’s heads off. That’s the type of guy you want back there in your secondary.”

Meriweather is more than a hitter, too, said Beason.

“He will be coaching one day,” said Beason. “You’ll see a guy who understands what he’s doing.”

Beason added that he believes Meriweather’s approach to the game has changed, and that he’ll be able to play a cleaner, less penalty-filled brand of safety for the Giants.

“Nine years later, he realizes the target (for tackling) has changed,” Beason said. “It’s a violent game, unfortunately. I think Brandon’s learned his lesson.”

The Giants need Meriweather to find a way to fit. Rookie Landon Collins (sprained MCL) is losing valuable practice time to injury, and right now, Jeromy Miles, never a full-time starter in Baltimore, is the veteran in the safety corps.

Somehow, Meriweather must be more than a fine waiting to happen.

“Very aggressive football player, experienced, has started in the NFL,” Spagnuolo said, assessing his new safety. “I think all those things are good attributes. We’ll have to find out where he is with all the other things. He hasn’t been in football for a little bit right now.”

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Jason Pierre-Paul ducks media with decoy who has wrong hand wrapped in toilet paper

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, August 24, 2015, 12:51 AM
jpp-decoy.jpgJOSHUA PREZANT/Photo by Joshua Prezant Jason Pierre-Paul goes to great lengths to avoid the media Sunday - but not that great. He sends out this decoy, but this man does not have a defensive end's frame, he has his left hand wrapped when JPP's right was injured and the hand is also seemingly wrapped in toilet paper.

Jason Pierre-Paul couldn’t dodge the Daily News all by himself Sunday.

He needed an extra hand.

The beleaguered Giants defensive end, whose finger was reportedly amputated after a July 4 fireworks accident, tried to fool a Daily News reporter at a charity event in Sunrise, Fla. by sending out a burly decoy in a bandaged hand who was whisked away in a waiting vehicle.

But the fake football player wrapped up the wrong mitt — in toilet paper, no less — a move even Pierre-Paul’s security people admitted was ill-conceived.

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As the fake Pierre-Paul was coming out the front, the real one was sneaking out the back, said a security guard at the event.

Pierre had his right index finger amputated, and his adjacent thumb was badly fractured after a Florida fireworks mishap left him with extensive hand injuries.

Since then, he has been a recluse of sorts, avoiding the public, the media and even his own team — including Giant doctors, who have yet to look at their star defensive end.

Last week, Giants owner John Mara again voiced his displeasure with Pierre-Paul’s disappearing act.

The only glimpse of the damage were exclusive Daily News photos of Pierre-Paul in July.

But it looked like Pierre-Paul might finally surface after he used social media to advertise a charity event he was hosting.

He even joked about the finger folly when he corrected a typo in one of his tweets.

Pierre-Paul had just broken his silence on his status with a positive message to his followers on Twitter.

VACCHIANO: TIME FOR JPP TO COME OUT OF HIDING

“What happened to me was not a setback,” Pierre-Paul said about the setback. “God has greater plans for me. No man can judge me except God himself.”

jppweb24s-1-web.jpgBill Kostroun/AP At least Jason Pierre-Paul can laugh about losing a finger - and possibly his NFL career.

He meant to write “except” instead of “accepted,” then admitted that a simple thing like typing isn’t as easy as it used to be. Three minutes later, he tweeted again. “My bad except lost a finger LOL,” Pierre-Paul wrote.

The Deerfield Beach native was there to give away backpacks to area school kids the day before Broward County schools open, an idea thought up by his fiancée, Farraw Germain. The church's pastors, Apostles Clyde and Sheila O'Brien, have known Pierre-Paul since his days playing youth and high school football, as he grew up with Sheila O'Brien's family. Clyde O'Brien has been his spiritual advisor and has been trying to help him with life off of the football field.

"He wanted to give something back to the area and the smiles on the faces of the kids were a good indication that what he was doing was working," O'Brien said. "Pretty much they left me out of the loop and said they had it covered, but they wanted to do it here."

Unfortunately, some of the kids that showed up later missed out on the chance to meet the football star as he made his exit out a side door in another vehicle at the same time that his decoy was running out the front. About 45 minutes after the event officially ended, Germain was hustled out the same side door into the same black Porsche Cayenne that was used for the decoy.

There's still no indication when Pierre-Paul might feel good enough about his physical recovery to join the Giants, who have been frustrated that he hasn't allowed their doctors or trainers to examine him.

The Giants, short on impact pass-rushers, have not rescinded Pierre-Paul's $14.813 million franchise tag, which he has not yet signed.

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Eli Manning and Giants struggle against Jets in preseason game

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, August 29, 2015, 9:58 PM
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giantsweb30s-he0-web.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Eli Manning completes 12 of 16 passes for 90 yards with an interception.

All those massages and yoga sessions, and how did the Giants feel on Saturday? In the words of Prince Amukamara, “unsure.”

So much for Thursday’s Spa Day, Tom Coughlin’s newest, most desperate idea to coax success and health out of these Giants.

And so much for the idea of the Giants finally, miraculously coming together in this preseason. Because after Saturday night’s 28-18 loss to the Jets at MetLife Stadium, even the Giants were admitting they aren’t ready for the start of the regular season. And that’s why Amukamara suggested that everyone get time in Thursday’s preseason finale in New England.

“Shoot, after this game, if we want to be real with ourselves, I don’t know,” said Amukamara. “I still think we need to get out there and we’re not where we need to be, and it’s obvious to everyone.

“I don’t know if I remember feeling like this last year,” he added, “but it’s just you don’t want to feel unsure going into the season, especially going against a division opponent (in Dallas).”

Yet that’s the only way the Giants could feel after this one, their third less-than-impressive preseason showing in a row. Against the Jets, the first-team defense surrendered a whopping 194 first-half yards, including 127 passing yards and two TDs from journeyman QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Eli Manning and the offense weren’t much better; sure Manning led the unit to its first TD of the preseason, but he also threw an embarrassing pick-six to Antonio Cromartie just before halftime.

The Giants already trailed, 13-7, when Manning dropped back on second-and-10 from the Jet 47 with 19 ticks left in the first half, stared down receiver James Jones to his left, and fired a pass. Cromartie — and half of MetLife Stadium — saw it coming, and he easily stepped in front of Jones and sprinted 47 yards for the score.

giants-jets.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Manning is sacked by Jets DL Leger Douzable.

“It was just Cromartie made a play, and we will learn from it,” Manning said.

The interception was the low point of a half in which not much went right. There were glimmers of promise for the Giants, moments when Odell Beckham Jr. made Darrelle Revis look like a mere mortal, moments when the ballyhooed offense dominated a dangerous Jet defense.

But too many things went wrong, just as they have all preseason. Fitzpatrick staked the Jets to a 7-0 lead on his second drive, capping a seven-play, 64-yard trek down the field with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Eric Decker, who easily beat corner Jayron Hosley and Jeromy Miles, the career backup masquerading as a starting Giants safety.

And after the Manning-led offense managed to tie the score, there was more defensive ineptitude. With 3:03 left in the first half, the Giants completely failed to cover running back Zac Stacy on second-and-6 from the Giant 24. Stacy took a short pass 24 yards, leaping over Giants safety Brandon Meriweather, who was unemployed just two weeks ago, for another TD.

“We were in Cover 1,” said Amukamara. “To be honest, I saw no one there (in coverage).”

And right now, the Big Blue offense isn’t strong enough to mask such a defensive deficiency. Yes, Manning quietly completed 12-of-16 passes for 90 yards. And early in the second quarter, he finally seemed to have the Giants’ offense humming, leading the group on a 14-play, 85-yard TD drive.

giants-jets.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Antonio Cromartie returns an interception for a touchdown to end the first half.

Midway through the drive, he and Beckham nearly made Revis look like a mere prop, when the wideout almost hauled in a long pass down the right side with one hand, leaping clearly over Revis only to land barely out of bounds. And the drive ended with 6:48 left in the half, when Rashad Jennings muscled his way to a one-yard TD. But it was the lone sequence this entire preseason when Manning and the offense have clicked.

“Oh, I liked the drive,” Coughlin said. “I thought the drive was outstanding. I thought there were big plays made.”

And Coughlin wanted that to jump-start his offense for good. Instead, the next Giants’ possession was a three-and-out just after the two-minute warning. And then there was that Manning pick.

“I thought we would come right back out, but this one was the two-minute drill,” he said. “You know we had the ball twice in the two-minute (drill). I thought for sure that this was a great opportunity. . . . So I was disappointed.”

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  • 4 weeks later...

Giants desperately need WR Rueben Randle to get the hot hand

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, September 22, 2015, 12:06 AM
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giants-football.jpgJulio Cortez/AP New York Giants wide receiver Rueben Randle (82) makes a catch during an NFL football organized team activity, Wednesday, May 27, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Two games into this dismal Giants season, Rueben Randle has just four catches for 28 yards. And on Monday, Eli Manning called for that to change.

“We’ve got to do a good job of getting Rueben involved some more, get him some more catches,” Manning said. “He’s got to be a weapon for us.”

Randle was the most invisible member of a Giants receiving corps that offered little help to Odell Beckham Jr. in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Beckham drew two and three defenders at a time, but few other Giants made plays, aside from running back Shane Vereen.

Randle caught just one pass for five yards and was targeted on just two throws, his lowest total since 2013, and Manning believes that pattern must change if the Giants are to have any success.

“We feel confident with all our receivers, so we’ve got to do a good job mixing the ball around,” he said. “Ideally I’m just trying to go through my progressions based on the coverages and find completions.”

Manning reiterated that he’s still confident in Preston Parker, the slot receiver who dropped the game’s final pass on Sunday. Parker has caught just five of the 12 passes thrown his way this season.

“Preston is going to be fine,” Manning said. “I’m going to keep throwing to him... I thought he made some nice catches and did some good things (Sunday). He’s got to make some plays for us as well.”

IT’S UP TO PUGH
Veteran Justin Pugh, the Giants’ left guard, slid to left tackle after rookie Ereck Flowers suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Sunday’s loss, and Pugh could find himself at left tackle again on Thursday against Washington. But coach Tom Coughlin indicated that Pugh needs improvement in that role.

“I think there were some good plays and some plays that weren’t so good,” Coughlin said. “He had an exceptional rusher (rookie speed rusher Vic Beasley), Justin did, on his outside, and he caused pressure at the worst time of the game, obviously.”

INJURY UPDATE
Return man Dwayne Harris had “an issue with his toe” late in the game on Sunday, Coughlin said... The status of Victor Cruz (calf) has not changed, Coughlin said, although the training staff has begun to “extend his work.”

The receiver has been running on grass. It remains unknown if he will play Thursday.

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Giants release WR Preston Parker, sign DT Ellis

6_3878172.jpg(Photo: Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports)

One New York Giants journey is over and another just begun as of Tuesday, the team announced.

The club released wide receiver Preston Parker and signed defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis, they announced on Twitter.

 

Parker suffered five dropped passes in the Giants' first two games this season, three in their season opener at Dallas and a pair last Sunday in their 24-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Ellis spent time with the team in training camp and will look to provide depth to a much-deprived position.

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Report: Giants trying out Hakeem Nicks, Wes Welker

6_3895616.jpg(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

The New York Giants are reportedly interested in a pair of new wide receivers.

The team tried out Wes Welker and Hakeem Nicks on Tuesday, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.

Hicks was drafted by the Giants in 2009, helping the team to a Super Bowl championship in 2011 before spending a season each with the Colts and Titans, who released him on September 5.

Welker is a five-time Pro Bowl selection who did most of his damage with the New England Patriots from 2007 to 2012. He last played with the Denver Broncos, and is the victim of three recent concussions. He led the league in receptions three times.

Though he's expected to return this week, the Giants have been short at wide receiver after starter Victor Cruz was sidelined with a calf injury this summer. The team released James Jones ahead of the regular season.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Report: Daniel Fells may get foot amputated

6_3925329.jpg(Photo: Bill Streicher, USA TODAY Sports)

With the Giants poised to take the field tonight, one of their players faces a very dire health situation.

Tight end Daniel Fells' MRSA infection has advanced to the point where he may lose his foot.

Fells has been in the hospital for more than a week and has undergone five surgeries after doctors discovered the infection when they were working on his injured ankle. He was moved from an Intensive Care Unit to a private room to give more attention to his ankle and foot.

The infection arose as the result of a cortisone shot he received in his foot and ankle when he was in the hospital, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and not only his career, but Fells' long-term health are still under threat.

"This is a serious situation that has been taken seriously from the beginning. We're all fighting for Daniel," Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said, per Rapoport.

The Giants have scrubbed their work rooms, training rooms, and meeting room to clear the possible threat of MRSA and have already placed Fells on the season-ending injured reserve list.

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Daniel Fells tweets well-wishes for Giants from hospital bed

 

 

6_3927218.jpg(Photo: Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports)

Giants tight end Daniel Fells is facing a serious health concern as he continues to battle the MRSA infection doctors discovered in his ankle and foot this week. But he wanted his teammates and Giants fans to know that he's rooting for the team from afar.

 

Fells has already undergone five surgeries on his ankle and there are fears that he may have to amputate his foot to combat the spread of the deadly staph infection. His career, and his long-term health, both remain in danger.

 

http://nyg.247sports.com/Bolt/Daniel-Fells-tweets-well-wishes-for-Giants-from-hospital-bed-40176824

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Vintage Eli Manning puts Giants atop NFC East

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, October 12, 2015, 1:59 AM
giants-49ers.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Eli Manning compiles a vintage game-winning drive and has the Giants in sole possession of first place in the NFC East since Week 14 of 2012.

Eli sprinted off the field to a standing ovation as he waved to the fans near the tunnel, and now he was leaving MetLife Stadium by himself late Sunday night. He had literally thrown the Giants into first place in the NFC East all by themselves for the first time in nearly three years.

He put on one of the old vintage Eli fourth quarter performances against the 49ers that have been missing since he took the Giants down the field on the final drive to beat the Patriots for the second time in the Super Bowl following the 2011 season.

I asked him if he knew the Giants had not been in sole possession of first place since they were 8-5 early in December of 2012. That was a long time ago and many disappointments ago.

“I didn't realize it was that long,” Manning said after the 30-27 victory. “I don’t think you pay attention to what place you’re in week five.”

After the Cowboys and Washington lost and the Eagles won Sunday, they’re all 2-3. And Manning’s 27th fourth-quarter comeback of his career with a franchise-record 41 completions in 55 attempts and his seventh 400-yard passing game of his career, prevented the Giants from losing a game they would be regretting in December.

The 49ers are one of the worst teams in the NFL and had lost three straight coming into Sunday after opening the season with a victory. But after the Niners needed only four plays to move from their 20 to the Giants 2, they took a 27-23 lead on Carlos Hyde’s two-yard run with 1:45 left in the game.

The Giants took over on their 18. Odell Beckman was on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Rueben Randle soon joined him with a hamstring injury. Victor Cruz is still out with a calf injury. When Manning looked around the huddle, his wide receivers were Dwayne Harris, Geremy Davis and Myles White.

Oh no.

When the Giants were bragging in the summer that they were going to have an explosive offense, this was not the trio of wideouts they expected on the field when the game was on the line. But Manning was still firing away.

Manning moved the Giants to the San Francisco 44 with 50 seconds left. He then tried to hit White over the middle but the ball went to Tramaine Brock, who had picked Manning in the end zone near the end of the first half. Brock short-hopped the ball, which was initially ruled an interception.

Manning looked up at the scoreboard and immediately saw Brock didn’t catch it. As the review was taking place, it was enough time for Beckham, who apparently was hurt after he took a short flip from Manning and made a spin move on his way to a 17-yard TD late in the third quarter, to lobby the Giants trainers to go back in the game.

“I figured if he didn’t start the drive, he wouldn’t be back in,” Manning said.

492326830.jpgElsa/Getty Images Manning celebrates with Larry Donnell after he completes his 27th fourth quarter comeback.

How much was Beckman pushing to get back? “Every second,” Tom Coughlin said.

After the interception was overturned, Beckham was back in. Manning threw incomplete and on third down Shane Vereen turned a short pass into a 24-yard gain through the wide open middle. On first down from the 20, Beckham was lined up wide left. Manning went to him and cornerback Kenneth Acker was called for pass interference.

“The guy held him,” Manning said. “It was a smart move. He knew he was going to get beat.”

That brought the Giants to the 12. Manning then went over the middle to the back of the end zone for tight end Larry Donnell. Linebacker Navarro Bowman got his left hand on the ball, but Donnell got both of his on it and snatched it away over the top of Bowman for the winning touchdown with just 21 seconds remaining.

When Manning was asked if this was the best of his 27 fourth-quarter comebacks, he joked, “I had a couple in the Super Bowl, obviously.”

The 27 refer only to the regular season. After making some uncharacteristic mental mistakes in the losses to the Cowboys and Falcons to open the season, Manning has played very well in the three-game winning streak against Washington, Buffalo and San Francisco.

The Giants have a chance to create some separation in the NFC East the next two weeks: They play at Philadelphia next Monday night and then get the Cowboys at home.

Once Tony Romo broke his collarbone in the second game and the Giants were able to get their first victory the next week, I said the Giants would win the NFC East because Manning is just so much better than Sam Bradford in Philly, Kirk Cousins in Washington and Brandon Weeden in Dallas. The NFL is a league of quarterbacks and Manning vs. the other three starters in the division is a mismatch.

As Giants co-owner John Mara got off the elevator to join the happy happy locker room, he was asked about Manning, who threw for 441 yards and three TDs. “That's why we pay him the $22 million,” he said.

Each game in the NFL is precious. Each victory is priceless — or worth at least $22 million.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Giants' showdown with Cowboys about reversing 2014

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, October 25, 2015, 12:39 AM
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g25s-2-web.jpgLM Otero/AP Eli Manning and the Giants are again facing the Cowboys at a possible crossroads in their season.

They’ve gotten off to a 3-3 start, just as they did last year. They spent their sixth game of the season getting eviscerated by the Eagles in Philadelphia — just like last year.

And now, if they don’t rebound against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, their season could start to spiral out of control.

Just like last year.

These are the eerie similarities between the Giants’ 2014 season and their start to 2015, and they are not lost on Cullen Jenkins. They scare him, actually, because at this time last year, the Giants were in the early days of a seven-game losing skid that would sap the life from their entire season.

And nobody wants that to happen again.

“Yeah, and there has to be a sense of urgency because of that,” said Jenkins, the rare Giant willing to admit the parallels between these two seasons. “You look back at last year and we know what can happen if we let one game start snowballing. Philly was a bad game.”

The Giants know they can’t afford to play another bad game on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. Somehow, for as much as they believe they’ve improved this season, with Eli Manning morphing into a West Coast maestro and Steve Spagnuolo’s defense forcing turnover after turnover, these Giants find themselves in the same predicament they faced a season ago.

Six games in, they are an incomplete, inconsistent .500 team coming off a disheartening loss, perhaps beginning to slip from NFL relevance all over again. Before the loss in Philly, the Giants were riding a three-game winning streak, enjoying rumblings that they just might take the NFC East.

One stunner later, all those good vibes have evaporated. Big Blue remains atop a watered-down division, tied with Philly (3-3) for the NFC East lead. But a loss to a battered, Tony Romo-less Cowboys team in New York? Suddenly, Dallas (2-3) would be back in the division race, and the Giants would be dealing with ghosts of last year’s streak.

“Don’t even call it a big game,” said coach Tom Coughlin. “Call it a game of significance.”

It’s a chance to exorcise the ghosts from last year and the ghosts from last month all at once. It was just six weeks ago that the Giants opened the season against the Cowboys and were one Manning brain cramp away from defeating Dallas, only to squander a two-TD fourth-quarter lead in a 27-26 loss.

new-york-giants.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Cullen Jenkins acknowledges the similarities between this year's Giants and last season's team, admitting there is a sense of urgency to beat the Cowboys.

The Giants haven’t forgotten that loss, either, said offensive lineman Justin Pugh. As much as they want to win to right their season, they want to win for a measure of revenge.

“I’ve had this circled since (we lost) the first game of the season,” Pugh said. “We’re excited to play these guys again. Because of the way the last game went with them, this is definitely one I’ve been looking forward to. I’m excited to get back out there because I’ve had this circled since the first game of the season.”

“We had a chance to win and we let one get away from us,” added Jenkins. “It was big. Now we have a chance to face them again and we have to make sure we take advantage of our opportunities this time around.”

There might be opportunities, too, because this Cowboys team doesn’t seem quite as potent as the squad that stunned the Giants in September. Dangerous receiver Dez Bryant is doubtful to play thanks to the broken foot he suffered in that season opener. Romo is sidelined, and he’s being replaced by journeyman Matt Cassel, who hasn’t started a game since 2013. Dallas comes into this game on a three-game losing streak.

The Giants, meanwhile, remain confident, said linebacker Mark Herzlich. This year’s loss in Philly did not destroy their psyche.

“We still feel really good about this team,” said Herzlich, “regardless of what happened last week. We have a winning mindset. We don’t even for a second think that we are not going to win every week.”

But they do believe, for so many reasons, that this showdown with the Cowboys at the MetLife Corral is a huge game. And they won’t let this opportunity slip away.

“They know, believe me,” said Coughlin. “They know how important this game is. And they know it’s within the division and who it’s against and the fact we played them the first time and so on and so forth. So they’re very much aware of that.”

And this Sunday, they’re not planning to let last year happen again.

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Cowboys DE Greg Hardy flips out at Dez Bryant and teammates, responds 'no comment' to every postgame question

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Sunday, October 25, 2015, 9:34 PM
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494240106.jpgElsa/Getty Images Greg Hardy refuses to answer any questions after he is seen getting into verbal and physical spats with teammates.

Dallas Bad Boy Greg Hardy sacked Eli Manning, shouted at teammates -- including the injured Dez Bryant -- on the sideline and declined to answer questions from reporters in the post-game locker room.

“No comment, next question,” he said after each inquiry.

He did it all with the blessing of his owner and head coach. Hardy broke through the Giants’ line on third down in the second quarter to sack Manning for a five-yard loss. It was Hardy’s third sack of the season since returning from a four-game suspension for his role in a 2014 domestic violence incident.

Greg Hardy: 'No Comment, Next Quetion'

 

He showed his volatile side in the fourth quarter when he yelled at teammates on the field, shoved a few and was separated from Bryant by defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford.

“He’s, of course, one of the real leaders on this team and he earns it and he earns it with respect from all of his teammates,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

 

Dallas coach Jason Garrett insisted Hardy’s behavior was not an issue.

“He was coming off the football field,” Garrett said. “When that happens, you encourage guys, you get guys excited, you try to get guys ready for the next challenge. I believe from my vantage point that that’s what he was doing. That’s what happens throughout our football team for three hours on Sunday afternoon.”

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  • 3 weeks later...

This seems like the end of Victor Cruz's fairy tale Giants career

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 16, 2015, 11:22 AM
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ralph17s-2-web.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Giants WR Victor Cruz to have season-ending surgery.

There haven't been many sports fairy tales ever written as well as the Victor Cruz story. He was a hometown kid, straight out of Paterson, and even more straight out of nowhere. He was a nobody, an afterthought, who all-but demanded a place on the Giants' roster with one dazzling game against the Jets in a 2010 preseason game.

The next summer he was nearly cut. His career was saved at the last minute on the last day. Then all he did was go on to have one of the greatest seasons a Giants receiver has ever had. It even ended with the heart-warming sight of Cruz running around, screaming like a child at the end of Super Bowl XLVI.

It was a storybook start to a storybook career.

But even the best books have to end.

Unfortunately for Cruz — unfortunately for everyone who's followed him since his arrival — the end may finally be here. He announced on Monday morning that his season is over and that he'll need surgery on the "strained" calf that has kept him sidelined all season long. The announcement came just a few days after he turned 29 and more than 13 months since he last played in an NFL game.

He was undone last October by a torn patella tendon in his right knee, and then his comeback was undone by a calf "strain" in August and another in September. He had missed the Giants' first 10 games, but was hoping to return after the bye week.

RELATED: THE NIGHT CRUZ WAS INJURED STILL HAUNTING GIANTS

Now his season is over with no catches and no games played. And given his age, health, and the three years and $24 million remaining on his current contract, it's entirely possible his Giants career is over too.

In fact, it might take another fairy tale-type miracle to get him back on an NFL field at all.

"I know that God has a plan for me," Cruz said in the online video, where he appeared to be holding back tears. "I know that I have to retool my brain and retool my body to get back to 100% — a full 100% — and really attack this thing and come out the other end firing. I'm excited actually for the challenge to go back and get my body taken care of and get back to 100% and see what happens, really see where it goes.

"I hope you guys don't lose faith in me," Cruz added. "Because I haven't lost faith in myself. So I'll see you guys next year."

That's part of the beauty and charm of Cruz. He may have embraced the sudden fame he experienced, signing with (and hanging with) Jay Z, making plenty of commercials, sitting runway-side at fashion shows and making documentaries about his life. He even embraced the money, holding out in the spring of 2013 until he signed a life-changing, five-year, $43 million contract extension with $15 million guaranteed.


138327347.jpgElsa/Getty Images In 2012, Victor Cruz celebrates after the Giants defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

 

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Cruz has always remained an optimist with an infectious smile, even under the most trying circumstances. As his latest setback dragged on, it seemed to everyone that Cruz's prospects for playing this season were always dubious. Yet all it took was one short conversation with him to change some of the most skeptical minds.

Now, though, it's more about hard numbers than wide-eyed hope. Cruz is due a $7.9 million salary next season and carries a salary cap number of $9.9 million. Cutting him would clear about $6.1 million in cap space for the Giants next March. It will count for a lot that he's still one of the Giants' most popular players and that from 2011-13 he averaged 80 catches, 1,209 yards and nearly eight touchdowns.

But Odell Beckham is the Giants' star now. Rueben Randle (who'll be a free agent in March) has become a pretty decent second receiver. And Dwayne Harris, in the first year of a five-year, $17.5 million contract, has become a good, tough No. 3. Would the Giants' offense be better with Cruz? Maybe. But it's been pretty good without him.

And at this point, no one knows if Cruz will ever be the same.

That may hurt, but that's the reality of football where even the most promising careers can end with one misstep, one minor-seeming "strain.” It's a young man's game and teams move on, and they don't commit nearly $10 million in cap space just to see if a miracle can happen again.

Maybe Cruz will accept what would have to be a massive pay cut to come back and give it one more shot with the Giants. Maybe he can even return and give the fans he thrilled so often one more reason to cheer. Nobody who's watched his wonderful career would wish for anything else to happen. Nobody wants his story to end.

But it has to some time. All good things come to an end. And this certainly feels like an ending. It's been a wonderful ride in the pumpkin carriage to a ball that's lasted longer than anyone expected. But it feels like the clock is finally striking midnight. And who knows if Cruz will ever fit into that glass slipper again?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Voices fumble explanation of Giants flop

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, November 29, 2015, 10:31 PM

Either they didn’t know the answer or didn’t want to say. How could the Giants, once again, come out flat early, playing like their alarm clocks were set for 3 p.m., in a game so critical to their playoff future?

As Washington was laying the groundwork for its critical 20-14 win, Fox’s Daryl Johnston didn’t say. Preaching on the Giants Radio Network, neither did Carl Banks. But he did a good job focusing on the motivation factor, unfortunately waiting until the beginning the fourth quarter with Washington up 20-0 to do so. “They (Washington) felt they have something to play for,” Banks said. “This Giants team came out on this field apparently taking this Washington team lightly and they are getting run off the field.”

Say what? Again, how could this happen?

How could the Giants, knowing all the ramifications of the game, even “apparently” take Washington lightly? Was it a combination of reasons? A banged-up offensive line that best resembled a revolving door? A pass rush playing in quicksand? Rueben Randle running routes like he was operating in a fog (Johnston held him totally responsible for Eli Manning’s end zone interception)?

What about the decision to abandon the running game? Does Tom Coughlin (now don’t you dare forget he led the Giants to two Super Bowl wins) have any responsibility for the Giants not coming out sharp? What about Manning? Does Banks or Johnston cross him off the list of reasons because you can never blame this “elite” franchise quarterback, especially when his last name is Manning?

Johnston provided no answers. No hints, either. The closest he came was near the end of the game, after the Giants mounted a comeback but failed to close the deal.

“Coughlin said it’s a six-game season now and he wants to see them finish,” Johnston said. “They waited too long to start to really give themselves an opportunity to finish today.”

 

Why? How could this possibly happen?

It’s reached a point where NFL voices like Banks or Johnston take it for granted those watching or listening can figure this stuff out on their own.

The voices will present their opinion, which often only goes so far, then let you be the judge.

That way they won’t have to put the onus on one individual.

Like they both must have opinions on Coughlin’s accountability for Sunday’s fiasco, but didn’t feel the need to explore that angle. Maybe they thought the coach (remember he has “led” the Giants to two Super Bowl wins) can only do so much to prepare his team to play in such a big game. Still, if that’s the case why not just say it.

Why?

Anyway, radio mouth Bob Papa summed up the situation quickly (he must have had a getaway car warmed up in the parking lot), saying: “The Giants came to Washington and lay the proverbial egg.”

Why?

MANNING OVERBOARD

Great minds think alike. Take Michael Strahan and Norman Julius Esiason. Less than an hour before Giants-Washington kickoff, Strahan on “Fox’s NFL Sunday,” marveled at Eli Manning’s consistency. “He’s the one consistent member of the team,” Strahan said. “He’s there to keep them in the game.”

On CBS’ pregame, NJE upped the ante, saying: “Eli Manning owns (Washington).”

 

Then how do these Gasbags explain those three interceptions against the NFL’s 22nd-ranked defense?

Maybe someone else really threw them.

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Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor kicks off Jets vs. Giants trash-talking, says Big Blue owns New York

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, November 30, 2015, 11:08 PM
94174605th2361-jpg.jpgFocus On Sport/Getty Images
Lawrence Taylor chimes in on the Jets vs. Giants rivalry as the two prepare to face each other this Sunday in a critical match for both teams.

Lawrence Taylor had his golf clubs on his cart and was about to take the driver out of his bag on the first hole Monday when he took a full swing at the Jets and smacked them right down the middle of the fairway.

In the Battle of New York, LT says this is a Giants town.

“The Giants pretty much own New York. We’ve done more,” LT told the Daily News by cell phone from the golf course. “We’ve got better fans and more fans than the Jets do. We’ve got four Super Bowls behind us. Until they win some Super Bowls, the conversation is over with. Like I said, the conversation is over with.”

You either line up blue or green with no in between and the best football player who has ever played in New York is obviously true blue. “The Jets are playing the Giants,” LT said. “Is there really any doubt who is the better team?”

The Giants and Jets meet Sunday at MetLife Stadium in what is basically a playoff elimination game. The Giants have been out of the playoffs since 2011, the Jets since 2010. The Giants are tied with Washington for first place in the NFC East at 5-6. The Jets are tied with the Steelers, Chiefs and Texans for the two wild-card spots at 6-5.

If the season ended today, the Giants and Jets would both miss the playoffs on tiebreakers. So, it’s a good thing the season isn’t ending today.

The Giants and Jets play every four years and Sunday’s game is a Giants home game. “At the end of the day, if you can play on a New York team, you really don’t lose anything by playing for the Jets or playing for the Giants,” Taylor said. “The city loves both teams. I prefer the Giants because I am a Giant. Both teams are pretty solid.”

New York has always been owned by the Giants with the Jets leasing it for a few years.

Why? The Giants have been in the NFL since 1925. The Jets, as the Titans, are an AFL original from 1960. The Giants have been to five Super Bowls and won four Lombardi trophies. They didn’t win their first until Super Bowl XXI but their four titles in the last 28 years tie them with the Patriots for the most in the NFL during that time. The Jets won their one and only title in Super Bowl III on Jan. 12, 1969 – a mere 17,124 days ago – in the greatest upset in pro football history.

“I think until you win it all, I don’t want to say you play second fiddle, but it’s more of a Giants town than it has been a Jets town because it’s 47 years since the New York Jets can say they were world champions,” said Marty Lyons, an excellent defensive tackle for the Jets from 1979-89 and now the analyst on their radio broadcasts. “Any time you play the Giants, it’s a challenge game. People say it’s for bragging rights. Maybe it’s for bragging rights for one day, but what really matters is if you’re in the playoffs or watching the playoffs at home.”

I reminded LT of his comment more than 20 years ago about Jets season ticket holders being Giants fans who were unable to get tickets. “I do remember saying that, yeah,” he said with a big laugh Monday. “But I might have been drinking that day.”

hall-fame.jpgMARK DUNCAN/AP LT says the Giants have more fans and better fans than the Jets.

When the Jets moved into Giants Stadium in 1984, the Jets really felt like second-class citizens. “It was not really a rivalry because the Jets were not in our division,” Taylor said. “But playing in the same stadium, you always want to be king of the stadium. I remember in my younger days, it didn’t make any difference what you did during the season. You just got to be the best team in the city.”

 

The Giants and Jets have made the playoffs in the same season just five times: 1981, 1985, 1986, 2002 and 2006. Incredibly, the 1986 season is the only year the Giants and Jets each won a playoff game.

The Jets have owned New York twice and each time it was only briefly:

-Even after the Jets’ Super Bowl III victory over the Colts, it took their 37-14 victory over the Giants in the first-ever preseason game between the teams that summer at the Yale Bowl to win over all of New York. The Giants were just 7-7 in the Jets’ Super Bowl season and in the middle of a stretch of not making the playoffs from 1964-80, but it wasn’t until the Jets beat Big Blue that Giants fans begrudgingly conceded Joe Namath and friends owned the city. The Jets led 24-0 after the first 17 minutes. “It was a bigger game than the Super Bowl to us,” Jets receiver Don Maynard told me before the last time the Jets and Giants met in 2011.

The Jets were world champions, but they weren’t considered champions of New York until they beat a mediocre Giants team. “Back in ’69, we had won the championship, but we knew we still had to beat the Giants because the Giants fans did not accept our (Super Bowl) win as a win against them,” Namath said. “They thought if they had their team in there instead of the Colts, they would have won.”

The Jets have made it to four conference championships game since the Super Bowl victory, but have lost all four.

-The Jets went on phenomenal and unexpected runs to the AFC title game in 2009 and 2010. The Giants missed the playoffs each time. Rex Ryan declared the Jets the “big brother” in his book “Play Like You Mean It,” which came out in the spring of 2011: “When people ask me what it’s like to share New York with the Giants, my response is always I am not sharing it with them – they are sharing it with me…We came to New York City to be the best team in the NFL, not just the best team in New York City. And I have news for you: We are the better team. We’re the big brother…It seems clear right now we are the better team and we are going to remain the better team for the next 10 years.”

Seven months after the book came out, the Giants beat the Jets in a crucial Christmas Eve game highlighted by Victor Cruz’s 99-yard TD catch. A few weeks later, Ryan’s “little brother” won their fourth Super Bowl. And it’s been the Same Old Jets ever since.

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Giants must stop playing mediocre football and finish season with winning record

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Sunday, December 6, 2015, 1:35 AM
lip6s-3-web.jpgTony Gutierrez/AP Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin are looking for some hope the way Victor Cruz did four years ago, but since their last Super Bowl they've been nothing but mediocre.

Here's where we are with the Giants and the Jets as they prepare to play each other on Sunday afternoon, as one of our teams tries to give its fans some hope about the rest of the regular season: In what has been such a mediocre season in the National Football League outside a handful of teams, our teams have been champions of mediocrity, which means they at least have a chance to be champions of something.

The Jets are 6-5. The Giants are 5-6. The only victory either one of them has over a team that currently has a winning record is the one the Jets have over the Colts, who are currently 6-5. That came back in September.

You always hear coaches, usually ones in trouble, talk about how there's no such thing as a bad win in the NFL. But look at the season the Giants have played, in a division that was gift-wrapped for them, and tell me what really good wins they've had so far.

They beat the Washington earlier in the season. The Washington are now 5-6. The Giants beat the Bills, who are 5-6. And they beat the Bucs. Also 5-6.

Their best game, far and away, was a loss, to the then-unbeaten New England Patriots in the middle of November. As soon as Stephen Gostkowski's field goal beat them that day, we heard a lot of talk about how this game was so much like the loss the Giants had to the Patriots a month or so before they beat the 18-0 Patriots in University of Phoenix Stadium in Super Bowl 42.

We hear a lot of talk about the Giants, and the good old days, as if this immensely flawed team is somehow comparable to the ones that did get Super Bowls off the Patriots; as if the Giants are going to get back to the big game by drafting offensive linemen and defensive backs; as if they are still drafting the way they did when Jerry Reese first got the job because Odell Beckham Jr. has become the most thrilling offensive performer in the history of the team.

And every time they get knocked back, the way they got knocked back good by Washington last Sunday, an embarrassing performance — coming off a bye — by any possible measure, we start to hear about the glory days, and about how this is when Tom Coughlin is at his very best, when his team is in trouble.
These stories are as predictable as the tide (though not the Crimson Tide), even though you wonder sometimes who was coaching the Giants when they got IN to trouble.

The NFC East was gift-wrapped for the Giants when Tony Romo first got hurt for the Cowboys. Anybody who has watched the season knows that if Romo stays healthy, the Cowboys most likely run away with the East. But he broke his collarbone and then broke it again on Thanksgiving, so now the Giants and Washington have the best record in the East at 5-6, as the Giants try to somehow get to the postseason for the first time in four years.

Giants fans hope their team does something today against the Jets that gives them the kind of hope that Victor Cruz's 99-yard touchdown did in another Giants-Jets game four years ago, the Giants 7-7 at the time. It means the same kind of hope that Aaron Rodgers gave Packers fans on Thursday night with the most amazing throw any NFL quarterback has ever made. The Giants came so close to the Patriots in November, you know they did. Afterward convinced themselves they could make a run out of the past, where the Giants play their best football these days. You know they will tell themselves the exact same thing if they get to 6-6 on Sunday against the Jets.

The other day Coughlin was asked a question about pressure, because he hasn't made the playoffs the last three years, because the Giants' last win of real consequence was in Lucas Oil Stadium against the Patriots.

This is what he said about that: "The whole reason for being in it is to get to the playoffs and get a chance to compete in the tournament. I don't know how you could feel any more pressure. Do I? No. That was the objective all along."

496328294.jpgMike Ehrmann/Getty Images It's hard to stay positive watching this current Giants team.

 

The objective, he knows, is supposed to be much grander than that. It is about he and Eli winning another Super Bowl. But since they won their second Super Bowl together, in Indianapolis, the Giants' record is 27-32. They are not just mediocre this season, they have been mediocre for a while, and everybody in the organization, top to bottom, knows it. Beckham simply saved everybody last season, and made a 6-10 record feel so much better than it should have.

But who saves everybody this time if the Giants don't win some games? There is the notion that if they make the playoffs, that everything will be fine. But will it, really? Go ask Yankee fans how it feels to just show up in a wild card game.

The Giants need to beat the Jets today and beat the Dolphins on the road and then, maybe, be the team that finally knocks off the Carolina Panthers.

After that they get the Vikings on the road and the Eagles at home. You look at the schedule and think that at best, they end up 8-8.

They need to do better than that. They need to finish with a winning record. They need to stop talking about showing up, and about the good old days, and actually show up Sunday against the Jets, actually look like they're doing something more than playing for the championship of a mediocre season at MetLife.

Cruz gave them hope once at this time of year. Maybe Beckham or somebody else can do that today. If the Giants do end up at 8-8, it will mean one winning season since Lucas Oil Stadium. The problem isn't who they used to be. We know who they used to be. The problem is with what they've become.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Tom Coughlin enables Odell Beckham Jr.'s behavior in desperate attempt to win game

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, December 21, 2015, 7:31 AM

If Tom Coughlin is able to survive this disgraceful season, then he just may be the Giants coach for the rest of his life.

The Giants not only gave up the winning points in the final 10 seconds for the fourth time, but are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year for the first time in more than 25 years despite the worst year in the history of the NFC East.

Wait.

It gets worse.

Odell Beckham Jr., the face of the franchise along with Coughlin and Eli Manning, was out of control and turned the game into a fistfight with Panthers cornerback Josh Norman. OBJ completely lost his focus and apparently his mind and made the game all about him after dropping a wide-open perfectly thrown pass from Manning that was going to be an easy 52-yard touchdown on the third play of the game. He was fighting nearly every time he was lined up against Norman starting with the first series of the game. Most of the time it appeared Beckham was the instigator.

RAISSMAN: ON BECKHAM, VOICES COUGH UP

“He did lose his composure,” Coughlin said after a four-touchdown comeback in the final 16 minutes ended up in an excruciating 38-35 loss to the Panthers, now within two games of a 16-0 season.

1221back.jpg Odell Beckham Jr.'s antics earn him a spot on the naughty list.

Referee Terry McAulay should have thrown Beckham out of the game in the third quarter after an intentional helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman. What does a player need to do to get ejected? At the very least, Coughlin should have sat Beckham down for a series in the first half when it was clear Norman had taken him out of his game.

But Coughlin was so desperate to win, he refused to teach his immature star even a brief lesson. Beckham faces big fines from the league and possibly a suspension. The Giants? They’re a dreadful 6-8.

Coughlin came to the job in 2004 preaching discipline. Hell, he even alienated Michael Strahan, the Giants’ best player, by fining him for being early to meetings, just not early enough. So, Beckham picked up three personal fouls in the first three quarters and could’ve had six, but Coughlin didn't sit him for one play. The pressure to win and keep his job has turned Coughlin into an enabler of embarrassing and unprofessional behavior.

VACCHIANO: ODELL BECKHAM JR. NEEDS TO GROW UP

 

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MYERS’ BOOK REVEALS UNTOLD STORY OF BRADY VS. MANNING

Norman has a reputation of being an agitator. He got into a fight with Panthers franchise quarterback Cam Newton in training camp this summer after he picked off a pass and stiff-armed Newton when the QB tried to tackle him. He implored the Cowboys to get “Dez’s 70 mil back,” after shutting down Dez Bryant on Thanksgiving.

That’s no excuse for Beckham. He’s got to know he’s so good he’s a target. He picked up three unnecessary roughness penalties, which could be a first for a 198-pound receiver. The worst came after he and Norman swiped at each other as he ran down the field before Norman peeled back on what was a 19-yard run by Shane Vereen. Beckham came running after Norman and launched himself and delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit.

Norman said Beckham should have been ejected right then. “The guy ran 15 yards down the field — a dead-on collision,” Norman said.

Sure, the Giants showed a lot of fight coming back from being down 35-7 late in the third quarter to an undefeated team to tie it when Beckham beat Norman for a 14-yard score with 1:16 left – of course, he stood over him and then took a victory lap – before losing on Graham Gano’s 43-yard field goal on the final play of the game. It was the second time the Giants have lost on the final play. They lost by one point to the Patriots with one second left.

VIDEO: JPP TALKS ABOUT FIREWORKS ACCIDENT TO STRAHAN

 

gary21s-3-web.jpgJeff Zelevansky/Getty Images Tom Coughlin shows his desperation to win Sunday's game by not benching Odell Beckham Jr. for his antics.

 

During his news conference, I asked Coughlin if he considered sitting Beckham to let him cool off.

“You want me to take him out of the game?” he said.

“Rather than getting personal fouls – maybe a series,” I said.

“How many did he get?” Coughlin said.

“Three,” I said.

“Well, that just goes to show you again he lost his composure,” Coughlin said.

Oh.

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If anybody playing for a Bill Parcells team ever put himself over the team, he would find his butt on the bench. Later, Coughlin was asked again about the possibility of taking Beckham out and came up with a different answer. “It was a consideration,” he said. “In fact, it was a strong consideration.

"But it didn't happen.”

Coughlin just can’t catch a break this season, starting with the final two minutes of the season opener in Dallas when Manning mismanaged the clock, leaving time for Tony Romo to throw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with seven seconds remaining.

But it was looking so good when Romo went out with a broken collarbone in the second game. Manning was so much better than the rest of the NFC East quarterbacks that the season was never supposed to turn out like this. Instead, it’s another forgettable and regrettable year.

The Giants have lost heartbreaking games to the Cowboys, Falcons, Saints, Patriots, Jets and now the Panthers. The talent-challenged defense never could come up with an important stop.

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nfl.jpgBrad Penner/USA Today Sports Beckham's antics with Josh Norman overshadow a thrilling game and comeback where the Giants fall short once again.

 

On his way out of MetLife Stadium an hour after the game had ended, Manning had a familiar look. Another game thrown away.

“They all hurt,” he said. “It's tough to lose these close ones. Had a chance. It hurts because it’s the end of the year and a playoff run. I thought we got all of these out of our system, but obviously they can still happen.”

Beckham has been the best thing about the Giants the last two years. On Sunday, he was the worst.

Eight years ago, the Giants lost 38-35 in the final game of the season to the undefeated Patriots. They gained so much confidence that they went on to win the Super Bowl. They lost by the same score to the undefeated Panthers. This time it likely ended their season.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Giants can’t win one for Tom Coughlin, fall to Eagles 35-30

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, January 4, 2016, 12:34 AM

In a season that saw the Giants fall short in game after game, they fell just short for their embattled coach one last time.

If this was the end for Tom Coughlin (and Coughlin stressed it as an “if”), it was far from storybook. On Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the Giants did what they’ve done best all season, folding in the fourth quarter in a 35-30 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, this time with Coughlin’s entire family - an army of children and grandchildren all clad in “Coughlin’s Crew” sweatshirts — in attendance.

It was the Giants’ third straight loss. But Coughlin insisted that it may not have been his last hurrah, dismissing reports that he’d made a decision on his future.

GIANTS MAY TURN TO THESE COACHES TO REPLACE COUGHLIN

“No. I’m going to give myself a little bit of time,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll talk with ownership and then we’ll go from there. No one has decided anything.”

new-york-giants-philadelphia-eagles.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Tom Coughlin may have coached his final game for the Giants.

Coughlin’s fate won’t be settled until Monday, at the earliest. According to a source, owners John Mara and Steve Tisch will meet in the morning to discuss Coughlin’s future and the future of the franchise. At some point after that, they’ll meet with Coughlin.

GIANTS MAY TURN TO THESE COACHES TO REPLACE COUGHLIN

Coughlin insisted that his family’s presence at the game had nothing to do with the uncertainty surrounding his position with the franchise after 12 years at the helm. His family was there at his request, but they were there as part of a late holiday celebration, he said.

“We play at home and the family gets together not on Christmas because of ... people have to visit relatives and in-laws and things like that, and so this is the weekend that our group collects,” Coughlin said. “But it was really neat to see it. I didn’t know the sweatshirts were (there). I knew everybody was coming to the game.”

DON'T EXPECT NOTRE DAME'S KELLY TO BE NEXT GIANTS COACH

He added that he still believed he was capable of leading the Giants even after four straight seasons of futility. The Giants finished 6-10 for the second straight year, wrapping up their third straight losing season and their fourth playoff-less campaign. Sunday’s loss was the Giants’ eighth by a touchdown or less, ending when Eli Manning’s fourth-down pass to Will Tye with 28 seconds left was broken up by Philly’s Mychal Kendricks, killing a last-gasp drive. But this season hasn’t shaken Coughlin’s faith in himself, he said with a slow shake of his head.

“No. No,” he said. “If I could play, I would play. But I can’t play.”

His Giants simply couldn’t make enough plays on this Sunday, even though players seemed to grasp that they may have been giving fans their final image of Coughlin as head coach.

new-york-giants-philadelphia-eagles.jpgCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Giants RB Rashad Jennings is bottled up by the Eagles defense on this play.

“It’s kind of hard not to think about it,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said of Coughlin’s future. “I would say everyone in this organization tried real hard not to talk about it.”

Amukamara said it wasn’t until Saturday that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo hinted at Coughlin as a rallying cry.

“It was kind of like subliminal messages like, ‘We know who we’re playing this game for, and let’s finish,’” Amukamara said. “And we didn’t finish. I’m sure everyone feels like they let that person down.”

And the Giants let Coughlin down exactly as they’d done all season. Their inconsistent offense piled up 502 yards, riding a season-high 170 rushing yards from Rashad Jennings, and the much-maligned defense forced two turnovers.

503284514.jpgElsa/Getty Images If this was Coughlin's final time leaving the field as Giants coach, he does so after a loss.

And when Manning found Rueben Randle from 45 yards out for a score with 9:11 left in the third, the Giants had stormed back from an early 14-3 deficit to grab a 27-21 edge.

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None of that mattered with 3:34 left in the third when a hurried Manning, in the midst of a drive that had advanced to the Eagles’ 14, was harassed into a wobbly duck of a pass that was intercepted by ex-Giant Walter Thurmond, who returned it 83 yards for the go-ahead score. “Played hard, we played . . . we did an awful lot of things that were good,” Coughlin said. “We didn’t win the game, so that’s kind of been the way this (season) has gone.”

It’s exactly how the Giants had played since the opener in Dallas, when they choked away a 26-20 lead with 1:34 to play. And it left Coughlin with a two-word description for this season of letdowns.

“The frustration,” he said.

Perhaps for the final time.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Giants defensive tackle Jay Bromley steadfastly denies he tried to rape woman in Midtown hotel, police investigation ongoing

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Sunday, January 31, 2016, 7:54 PM
giants1n-3-web.jpgNorman Y. Lono/for New York Daily News New York Giants defensive tackle Jay Bromley has been accused of attempting to rape a woman he met on Instagram in a Midtown hotel.

Giants defensive tackle Jay Bromley steadfastly denied Sunday he attempted to rape and assaulted a woman in a Midtown hotel who he met on Instagram as questions mounted about the case.

giants1n-4-web.jpgNorman Y. Lono/for New York Daily News Bromley, 23, leaves his home in Secaucus, N.J. around 2:30 p.m. Sunday for a meeting in Manhattan.

The 23-year-old football player’s manager, Keko Payne, told the Daily News the shocking and salacious allegations were “absolutely not” true as the pair departed from Secaucus, N.J. for a meeting in Manhattan — though they would not say with whom.

A police source said investigators were trying to determine if Bromley had agreed to pay the 26-year-old woman from Brooklyn for a sex act at the Hyatt Square Hotel Saturday morning — and that he then tried to do more against her wishes.

GIANTS' JAY BROMLEY ACCUSED OF TRYING TO RAPE WOMAN HE MET ON INSTAGRAM

Bromley then left the hotel with the woman clinging to the hood of his ride — until she skidded off and he drove away, sources said.

Bromley ignored a reporter’s questions at his home as he placed a duffel bag in the trunk of his black BMW 750.

Payne said they had been “meeting with lawyers all day.”

Sunday evening Bromley returned home and an NYPD spokesman said the investigation was ongoing.

spi2017046.jpgRonald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Bromley, the 6-foot-3, 306-pound football player, has not yet been charged.

A separate source with knowledge of the investigation said police believe Bromley’s accuser has “significant credibility issues.”

“They don't think her story makes any sense,” the source said.

An NYPD source went so far as to tell The News Bromley wouldn’t be arrested — though the source subsequently backed off that claim.

giants1n-5-web.jpgGoogle Earth Bromley is accused of attempting to rape a woman at the Hyatt Herald Square Hotel before driving away.

Bromley is represented by attorney Alex Spiro, of Ben Brafman's law firm. Spiro declined to comment on the probe.

Meanwhile, Doug Hogue, who played alongside Bromley for two seasons at Syracuse University before he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2011, told The News he suspected the accuser may have been after Bromley him for his money.

"A lot of times people just try to take advantage of a pro's position. That comes with friends, family, and definitely strangers," said Hogue, who last played in the Canadian Football League.

Hogue said Bromley never had any trouble in college.

“It's actually kind of unbelievable," Hogue said. "He's been good guy, a good character guy.”

giants1n-6-web.jpgInstagram Giants player Jay Bromley posted this image to Instagram just after midnight on Saturday, hours before a woman accused him of attempted rape.

Bromley’s journey to Big Blue is a remarkable story of overcoming the odds.

The Queens native was a crack baby abandoned at just 3 months old by his troubled parents. He was raised by his aunt Francis Nimmons and her husband.

The 6-foot-3, 306-pound Bromley was drafted in the third round by the Giants in 2014 and has thus far been considered a bust.

Bromley frequently posted on social media how grateful he was to play football professionally, Hogue noted.

"He knows what kind of opportunity he has. He would never jeopardize that," Hogue said.

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Son of former UGA RB struck, killed by vehiclePosted: Jan 31, 2016 5:03 PM EST Updated: Feb 01, 2016 1:41 PM EST
By La-Keya Stinchcomb, Digital Producer
ATLANTA (CBS46) -

Former UGA running back, Danny Ware, is mourning the loss of his youngest son.

Ware's son, Danny Josiah, was struck by a vehicle as he played outside with his mother and cousins, Friday, according to a GoFundMe page.

Ware shared an emotional message about losing his son on his Facebook page Saturday morning.

"My life has been a roller coaster in every since of the word. From high school to college to NFL. I've never had it easy nor have I ever forgotten where I come from. I pray the lord to give me a sign. I've lost my youngest son to a truck that didn't see him, I can't imagine what it felt like and would trade myself any day to have my son Danny Josiah back with his brother, sister and family. Danny I love I'm so thankful I got to talk to you today b4 the accident happened and and we both got to say we loved eachother. Anybody that know me and know how much I love my kids please pretty please pray for my family as I'm at a breaking point and need all the help from God/family/friends we can get."

Ware, 30, played for the New York Giants from 2007-11. He last played in the NFL in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Copyright 2016 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

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