The P Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 The former heart and soul of the New York Giants defense has joined ESPN. Antonio Pierce officially announced his retirement after nine seasons and is joining ESPN to as a football analyst. "After nine years of having the privilege of playing in the National Football League, today I've decided to end my playing days,” Pierce said. “I am blessed to have played with two great organizations, the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, and numerous outstanding players.” The Super Bowl-winning middle linebacker will appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, and 1050 ESPN New York. He also will provide weekly analysis here for Giants fans on ESPNNewYork.com, your home for New York sports news and information. Pierce officially starts on NFL Live today at 4 p.m. ET with host Trey Wingo to discuss his retirement and his new role with ESPN. “I am definitely going to miss the fans, the locker room talks, and the excitement of putting on a NFL uniform every Sunday, but I am ready to put on a new uniform, and I am extremely excited about contributing my knowledge and experience in this new endeavor to the championship team at ESPN,” Pierce said. “I thank my family, friends, teammates, and fans for their support throughout my career and as I move in this new and exciting direction." Pierce suffered a season-ending neck injury last season and parted ways with the Giants during the offseason. The Giants are still in the process of finding a replacement and Jonathan Goff, Phillip Dillard, Gerris Wilkinson and Chase Blackburn are all candidates. During his nine-year career, Pierce played 137 regular season games (and seven playoff games) with the Redskins (2001-04) and Giants (2005-09). Pierce was the Giants captain for five seasons and his helped lead the Giants to their Super Bowl upset over the Patriots in Super Bowl 42. Selected by the Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2001, Pierce finished his career with 687 tackles, nine sacks and seven interceptions. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-yorkgiants/post/_/id/588/the-captain-joins-espn?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The P Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 well its giants news. sorta. i think its cool though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBLUE01 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thanks for everything AP, good luck in your future endeavors. Thank you for allowing me to be your twin. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The P Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lubeck Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 That was definitely the play that made him to me at least a Giants legend. Not necessarily up there with the 80s LB crew but what a great play. Oh and does ESPN really need ANOTHER analyst? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBLUE01 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Agreed Lubeck, that did it for me too. What a great friggin play. I remember being amazed for like the next 3 plays, just because of that play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakeMeSomeFoodHo Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 he was the only blue(well, white and red) in the picture in a sea of green. Awesome play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Yeah a great play....Green Bay had the Giants blocked all the way into the second level (LB's and the secondary). He doesn't sniff out and tackle the guy despite the corn husker trying to wrestle him off; the guy is still running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I always liked AP... not the biggest, fastest, or strongest guy, but squeezed nine very productive NFL seasons solely outta brains and heart. He'll be a GREAT analyst for ESPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 I always liked AP... not the biggest, fastest, or strongest guy, but squeezed nine very productive NFL seasons solely outta brains and heart. He'll be a GREAT analyst for ESPN. I agree.....he was a very smart player, with a great work ethic, and will always be one of my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohyah Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 He's retiring awfully early, his neck must be an issue. Someone would have taken a look before camp opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 He's retiring awfully early, his neck must be an issue. Someone would have taken a look before camp opened. Yeah, you gotta think it was serious. And AP is a sharp dude......I'm sure his doctor told him the risks. He's got his dough, his ring, and his health.. Smart move to go out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 He's retiring awfully early, his neck must be an issue. Someone would have taken a look before camp opened. When he was on Total Access on the NFL Network I'm pretty sure he said the doctors had told him to pack it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgutmartyr Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 The guy should really be a linebackers coach. UDFA that worked his way to the Probowl, film-head, and used to calling plays on the field? He obviously could give new LBs a great deal of direction. Lots of potential there on a bunch of levels. Of course, he'd probably make a lot more cash as a commentator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 Yeah, you gotta think it was serious. And AP is a sharp dude......I'm sure his doctor told him the risks. He's got his dough, his ring, and his health.. Smart move to go out now. Yep. People are still gonna remember him as being one of the top linebackers in the game if he calls it a career now. No reason to "Emmit Smith" himself and stick around for too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Yep. People are still gonna remember him as being one of the top linebackers in the game if he calls it a career now. No reason to "Emmit Smith" himself and stick around for too long. goodness think of all the disappointed teams who wanted to offer him big bucks to play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfA4 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 The guy should really be a linebackers coach. UDFA that worked his way to the Probowl, film-head, and used to calling plays on the field? He obviously could give new LBs a great deal of direction. Lots of potential there on a bunch of levels. Of course, he'd probably make a lot more cash as a commentator. "Those who can: do. Those who can't: teach" Unfortunately, great players (even the smart ones) don't always make good coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 I dont think anyone wanted to hire ol AP as a linebacker you guys are delusional about this guy........he could not have started for any other NFL team....not now....not for the last 5 yrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The P Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 I dont think anyone wanted to hire ol AP as a linebacker you guys are delusional about this guy........he could not have started for any other NFL team....not now....not for the last 5 yrs let it go jack, the schtick got old a long time ago, we all know you hate him, hes not on the team, get over it, now you just sound like an asshole. who the hell in here was saying he was gonna be starting elsewhere? we are just happy for a former giant getting a job with espn. you are the delusional one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Antonio Pierce sure was slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence the Blue Puppet Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 I'll never see him again, then. I hate ESPN and refuse to watch anything but actual games on that channel. I can't stand watching these so-called "experts" constantly make predictions, get them wrong, and then still act like they know what they are talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 I dont think anyone wanted to hire ol AP as a linebacker you guys are delusional about this guy........he could not have started for any other NFL team....not now....not for the last 5 yrs Dude, we know AP lost a step.. AP knew that too. Welcome to life.. where age catches up with you. Nevertheless AP was integral part of this team.. for YEARS!!! So give him credit and let the man be. I wish him the best of luck.. he was great for us and he lead the D that spooned Brady and got us the Super Bowl trophy.. much to the dismay for Jets fans, philly fans, Dallas fans.. But much for the joy of us Giants fans and the rest of America. my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Dude, we know AP lost a step.. AP knew that too. Welcome to life.. where age catches up with you. Nevertheless AP was integral part of this team.. for YEARS!!! So give him credit and let the man be. I wish him the best of luck.. he was great for us and he lead the D that spooned Brady and got us the Super Bowl trophy.. much to the dismay for Jets fans, philly fans, Dallas fans.. But much for the joy of us Giants fans and the rest of America. my $0.02 he was a loud overpaid boat anchor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BronxRik Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 he was a loud overpaid boat anchor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackStroud Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 well if you can only point to one great play in 7 yrs (the Green Bay tackle) its a problem he was holding down the position, not uplifiting it. The whole Giants linebacker issue since the LT Carl Banks days is sad..........they should bring in some kind of LBer expert to guide them in the draft, and development of the corp........The Giants for most of my lifetime were all about linebacking. Once Fassel/Accorsi got hold of the team everything switched to CB's and linemen maybe Perry is a LBer guy.......maybe he can convince Kwika Mitchell to follow him back here. I was on the message board last year begging the Giants to trade down and grab one of those USC LBers- both of them made the all-rookie and I believe the All Pro teams. Cushing comes from Park Ridge the town adjacent to mine- 15 miles from Giants/Jets XX Stadium. Is he juiced?....not sure.....hes a heck of force at LBer I would have settled for Clay Matthews though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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