NY Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora appears to have been demoted to a backup

[Mr. P]

The NFL Network reported on Wednesday night Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora would play only on passing downs. While Umenyiora figures to see action on first and second down on Sunday against the Cowboys, there’s suddenly evidence he won’t be out there as much as he has in the past.

 

And that, for the first time since 2004, he won’t make a start when healthy.

 

During the portion of Friday’s practice open to the media, Umenyiora was working with the second-team base defense. In his place at right end was Mathias Kiwanuka.

 

Also, defensive tackle Fred Robbins, who’s been slowed following offseason knee surgery and looks nothing like his former self, was bumped to the second team. Taking his place was former Cowboy Chris Canty. The last time Robbins played but didn't start was 2007, but that was only because the Giants started the game in their four-defensive-end look. So Robbins' last time as a true backup was in 2005, when he made only six starts.

 

Coach Tom Coughlin will be available after practice and will surely be asked about the personnel changes. During training camp this summer, defensive line coach Mike Waufle bristled at the notion Kiwanuka was headed back to a “backup” role because of Umenyiora’s return, saying the rotation on the line ensures everyone will play and that there are more than four “starters.” Perhaps Coughlin will take a similar approach and say the team is merely trying to get its best players on the field and that all of the linemen will play.

 

If so, that would be an accurate statement. But if Dallas lines up for its first play and Umenyiora isn’t on the field, that’s about as clear of a demotion as one can receive.

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2009/12/ny_giants_defensive_end_osi_um_4.html

[Sephiroth]

This happened once before in Tuck's rookie season. Umenyiora was doing his patented "rush up the field and out of the play" move and the coaching staff pulled him for Tuck.

 

This lit a fire under Osi's ass and he ended up finishing wih 14 sacks, schooling guys like Walter Jones in the process.

 

Hopefully this has the same effect. In any event, you have to give the coaching staff props for being ballsy enough to sit a former Pro Bowler and two, for making lineup changes in the first place. The guys in there now just aren't getting it done.

[mastershake]

I like the move with Canty. He was kind of a stiff at a Defensive end in a 4 man line, 4 point stance. He's only really suited for the middle of the line, or as a three technique linemen.

[Treehugger]

With this and Goff practicing with the first team it sound more like trying to get more guys ready for rotational work rather than demoting players. We'll see during the game I guess.

[Mr. P]

With this and Goff practicing with the first team it sound more like trying to get more guys ready for rotational work rather than demoting players. We'll see during the game I guess.

 

for the record the thread titles are the headlines from the article, im not just putting that there because thats what i think.

[JMFP]

Very interesting stuff... something needs to be done, and you can't have your defensive ends constantly running themselves out of the play.

 

I'm still concerned mostly about Tuck, though. Maybe he's in better condition than he looks.

 

I love his toughness, but I really don't want to see him flopping around like a clubbed seal in the 4th quarter. Maybe that's when they plug Osi in. Should be interesting to watch.

[mastershake]

With this and Goff practicing with the first team it sound more like trying to get more guys ready for rotational work rather than demoting players. We'll see during the game I guess.

 

 

It seems the gmen are working on a more effective defensive rotation, so there guys don't get worn down over the course of a game

 

My question is, why didnt the do this several weeks ago?

[BlueInCanada]

I like this move Kiwi is the only DE out there getting consistent pressure and if I had to choose between him and Osi, I would take Kiwi. I know alot of people were saying in recent months about the trade value in Kiwi but I might start thinking about the trade value in Osi if he keeps up this run pass the QB by 8 yards and hope that he is pushed into his vicinity.

 

Maybe this will light a fire under Osi's ass and he will start proving his worth with that contract we gave him....I mean that contract Strahan earned him.

[gmenroc]

Either preparing for a rotation or getting experience for next season....

[JMFP]

I like this move Kiwi is the only DE out there getting consistent pressure and if I had to choose between him and Osi, I would take Kiwi. I know alot of people were saying in recent months about the trade value in Kiwi but I might start thinking about the trade value in Osi if he keeps up this run pass the QB by 8 yards and hope that he is pushed into his vicinity.

Maybe this will light a fire under Osi's ass and he will start proving his worth with that contract we gave him....I mean that contract Strahan earned him.

 

I was thinking the same thing, which up until recently would be considered heresy. Osi is like the poster child for the Giants Jekyll and Hyde nature..... one game, he'll sack the QB, recover a fumble, and run it 70 yards for a TD....the next week, he'll totally disappear.

 

I'm probably biased because I'm a 3-4 fan. And I'm a 3-4 fan because the Giants had the best linebacking crew in the history of the NFL back in the 1980's.

 

But, when you look around the league at all the West Coast offenses, I'm more convinced that the most effective defense against it is the 3-4. A great linebacker can get after the QB without being a liability in coverage, and the 3-4 gives you one extra guy to do that.

[fringe]

I like this move Kiwi is the only DE out there getting consistent pressure and if I had to choose between him and Osi, I would take Kiwi. I know alot of people were saying in recent months about the trade value in Kiwi but I might start thinking about the trade value in Osi if he keeps up this run pass the QB by 8 yards and hope that he is pushed into his vicinity.

 

Maybe this will light a fire under Osi's ass and he will start proving his worth with that contract we gave him....I mean that contract Strahan earned him.

They all seem to be playing on an island. If you read what Tuck says, he seems more concerned about his own performance than the teams. The defense is a rudderless ship.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

They all seem to be playing on an island. If you read what Tuck says, he seems more concerned about his own performance than the teams. The defense is a rudderless ship.

 

 

I agree....after Flozell tripped him and he basically dislocated his shoulder...he should have taken it upon himself to just sit out a few games despite what the coaching staff wanted. A one armed Tuck is no good against the double and triple teams...and he does run out of gas in the fourth quarter.

[Iceman_NYG]

A little too late in the day IMO. This is something the coaches should have thought about, used their brains and realised a long time back and should have incorporated it as part of our game plan - NOT a move to save our season. You cant just shit the bed every week and then finally when you are sunk and left with a punctured lifeboat, you suddenly come up with this move to save your season. Idiots!

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

A little too late in the day IMO. This is something the coaches should have thought about, used their brains and realised a long time back and should have incorporated it as part of our game plan - NOT a move to save our season. You cant just shit the bed every week and then finally when you are sunk and left with a punctured lifeboat, you suddenly come up with this move to save your season. Idiots!

 

 

when Osi went down last season they should have backed the armored car up to Strahan's house...opened the doors let the money spill out...put a two-year contract in his hand and Mr. Gaptooth would be out there right now instead of trading shots with Howie and the rest.

[Lughead]

when Osi went down last season they should have backed the armored car up to Strahan's house...opened the doors let the money spill out...put a two-year contract in his hand and Mr. Gaptooth would be out there right now instead of trading shots with Howie and the rest.

 

Strahan said he would of came back last year if Tom himself had asked him.

[Mr. P]

Strahan said he would of came back last year if Tom himself had asked him.

 

i remember reading that he was asked but declined.

 

 

 

ok i looked it up, he said that, but he said "if they called me 3 weeks ago i wouldve returned" and the story was reported in january of 09.

[Mr. P]

 

Since Barry Cofield became a Giant more than three years ago, he had been pretty much surrounded by the same players on the defensive line. But last week, he saw Mathias Kiwanuka to one side instead of Osi Umenyiora at end, and saw Chris Canty in Fred Robbins’ spot at tackle to the other.

 

The message had been sent — and not just to the players who were replaced.

 

“Guys are fearing for their jobs,” Cofield, the Giants’ starting defensive tackle since the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2006 draft, said the other day. “Our unit’s been together for years. In comes (Justin) Tuck, out goes ‘Stray’ (the retired Michael Strahan), but other than that it’s been the same unit.

 

“Everyone will play, everyone will contribute. But it goes a long way in making it clear that accountability stretches to everyone — no matter how long you’ve been with the team.”

 

From the drafting of Kiwanuka three rounds before taking Cofield, to the four-end alignment that helped spark the run to Super Bowl XLII, to signing Canty and Rocky Bernard this past offseason, the Giants have made it clear their defensive line is the key to their success on that side of the ball.

 

Lately, as the Giants (6-5) have lost five of their past six games, the line hasn’t lived up to its reputation. Which is why changes were made up front in preparation for Sunday’s critical game against the Dallas Cowboys.

 

“It has a lot to do with realizing these coaches are put in a position to make the best decisions to help this team win,” Tuck said. “If they feel I or whoever else shouldn’t be starting and the guy who steps in is the better fit to help us win, then that’s their opinion.”

 

The biggest change involved Umenyiora, who did not practice with the first-team base defense and appears likely to come off the bench for the first time since 2004.

 

It was a move that began to take shape after the loss in Denver on Thanksgiving Day, during which the Broncos ran often — and successfully — to Umenyiora’s side. According to two people who have heard the two-time Pro Bowler’s version of the story, defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan told Umenyiora in a private, non-contentious meeting he wasn’t playing the run very well. Umenyiora countered by saying Sheridan should just play him on passing downs. Sheridan told Umenyiora he would be the one to make that call.

 

He has.

 

The people, who requested anonymity because Umenyiora hasn’t made any public comments about the demotion, said he was upset about the demotion but didn’t take the part about his run defense personally.

 

The changes reinforce that the Giants are in a dire situation right now and are in need of something to spark the unit that’s the key to their team.

 

Nose tackle Jay Alford was lost to a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the preseason. Bernard, who might be inactive Sunday for the first time all season, said he’s been dealing with undisclosed injuries. Tuck’s shoulder injury is so painful he winced the other day while trying to open the plastic buckle on his laundry bag. “Oh, you saw my face?” said Tuck, who thought no one was looking.

 

At tackle, Robbins had microfracture surgery on his knee last winter, and Cofield underwent “reconstruction of the patella tendon” in his knee to relieve tendinitis and “some other stuff they found while they were in there that they handled it all at once.”

 

Sheridan, like Cofield, didn’t use the knee surgeries as excuses.

 

“They know that they can play better than they’ve been playing,” Sheridan said. “They have a lot of personal pride and they are equally as frustrated.”

 

Canty, meanwhile, must continue to adjust to playing in a 4-3 defense after five seasons in a 3-4 with the Cowboys, while also showing he has recovered from hamstring and calf injuries.

 

“If the coaching staff puts me out there,” Canty said, “I’m going to be able to help the football team.”

 

The Giants are hopeful the changes to the lineup will have immediate results. But no matter the outcome Sunday and the rest of the regular season, the demotion of Umenyiora and Robbins could be the beginning of the end for both.

 

Robbins is in the final year of his contract and, after failing to rebound well from surgery, will likely be allowed to leave. Umenyiora, meanwhile, has made waves publicly and behind the scenes about his contract. And he needs eight sacks during the final five games to reach a $1.5-million escalator in his contract, which means he’ll make even less over the final three years of his deal (about $10 million in base salaries combined) than he once imagined.

 

With Kiwanuka entering the final year of his rookie contract and Cofield slated to be a free agent at the end of this season, any renewed contract pressure from Umenyiora could be met with plenty of resistance from the team.

 

Especially since the Giants obviously don’t consider him an every-down player anymore and haven’t been shy about making changes all over the defensive line.

 

“I don’t think anyone feels overly confident in their position,” Cofield said. “With some of the moves that have been made, it’s pretty obvious they’re willing to do whatever it takes in their eyes to make this team better.”

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2009/12/ny_giants_defensive_line_feari.html

[JMFP]

This article is a great argument for incentive-based contracts. Perhaps if a player's paycheck were more closely tied to to their production, we'd see a little more effort.

[fringe]

Osi has never played the run well. But he had competent LB's and safeties to back him up. Making him the fall guy is ridiculous. He just isn't 100%.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

Osi has never played the run well. But he had competent LB's and safeties to back him up. Making him the fall guy is ridiculous. He just isn't 100%.

 

 

Having Strahan on the other side smelling out screens and misdirection plays allowed Osi to free lance more and not concentrate on the run...along with what you wrote. Yeah he is being made a scapegoat...but he sure greased his own wheels on getting pushed into the semi-doghouse with his outspoken behavior with little to show for it coming off of an injury. You were quite right when you posted the other men on the Giants' line should be paying Strahan's alimony as he made them into a great unit.

[Treehugger]

This article is a great argument for incentive-based contracts. Perhaps if a player's paycheck were more closely tied to to their production, we'd see a little more effort.

Our you could see it completely undermined teamwork and emphasize individual plays. There's too many immeasurables involved.

 

Meanwhile we still see DEs pulled out of the rush and put in coverage. Osi on a WR? That's asking a bit too much.

[Ditto]

I was thinking Osi was put on the back burner because of Romo's quick release. One of Osi's strengths is reaching around his blocker to grab the arm of the qb.