Giants News

[kkr]

I knew we were having TE Ben Troupe in for a trial but apparently TE Lee Vickers beat him out and he is a converted DE! Says alot about how Ben Troupe has regressed as he used to be quite handy at one stage and he is still only young too.

[kurtsimonw]

How about this for a new formation -

                         Phillips                        Johnson




                                     Thomas                 


 Ross                                                 Boley                          Webster


                             Osi      Tuck      Bernard     Canty     Kiwi  

A 5-1-5, rush the 5 linemen, 2 Corners Man for Man with 2 Safeties over the top and then Boley and the 3rd CB/Safety either dropping, rushing or picking up HB/FB/TE.

How you going to stop those three up the middle with Osi and Kiwi coming off the edge!?!

*Formation skanked from boards.giants.com!

That would be pretty mean! Would probably prefer to just have AP instead of TT though! Though I suppose it depends on what formation the opposition have put out.. a variation of the 2 seems good, that Dline is incredible..

[kkr]

Yeah i actually meant as a third down package because AP is gash in coverage. Other downs just run standard formations with AP in there calling the shots and stuffing the run.

[kkr]

"I was blind, but I finally see the light" - Chris Canty on moving from the Cowboys to the Giants.

[kurtsimonw]

"I was blind, but I finally see the light" - Chris Canty on moving from the Cowboys to the Giants.

[kkr]

Teddy Bruschi on NFL Chat:

Q. Who was the toughest player you've ever played against?

A. You ever tried tackling Brandon Jacobs? He's 6-foot-3 and all of 270 pounds. He's a tough guy to bring down.

[kkr]

STRAHAN GETS A SITCOM

Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2009, 3:09 p.m. EDT

Former Giants defensive end and current NFL analyst Michael Strahan, who once was rumored to be in line for a talk show on FOX, reportedly is getting a sitcom instead.

According to Variety, Strahan’s show has the working title of Brothers, and it centers on a former NFL player who returns home to reconnect with his family — and, specifically, with his wheelchair-bound brother.

Strahan plays the wheelchair-bound brother.

Right.

Strahan will be the former NFL player, and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell plays Strahan’s brother.

We’re currently tracking down a rumor that Jay Glazer has been hired to play the family’s chihuahua.

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[kkr]

The New York Giants are conducting a private workout with speedy University of Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin today, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.

Harvin said his workout with the Giants centers on special teams.

At his Pro Day, Harvin also said he has private workouts scheduled with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. Harvin’s versatility and speed are drawing interest from multiple teams.

Harvin caught 40 passes last season for seven touchdowns. He also scored 10 touchdowns as a running back while leading the nation with a 9.4 average per carry.

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Probably leading people away from who we actually want as this is what JR has been great at doing the past two years.

[kurtsimonw]

Jerry Reese has pretty much got 100% of his decisions right since he took charge, I really can't think of a mistake he's made, certainly not a big one..

[kkr]

How about this for a new formation -

                         Phillips                        Johnson




                                     Thomas                 


 Ross                                                 Boley                          Webster


                             Osi      Tuck      Bernard     Canty     Kiwi  

A 5-1-5, rush the 5 linemen, 2 Corners Man for Man with 2 Safeties over the top and then Boley and the 3rd CB/Safety either dropping, rushing or picking up HB/FB/TE.

How you going to stop those three up the middle with Osi and Kiwi coming off the edge!?!

*Formation skanked from boards.giants.com!

The 52 Defense -

[kkr]

COVINGTON CATCHING GIANTS’ EYE

Posted by Mike Florio on March 20, 2009, 2:02 p.m.

Remember this name: Maurice Covington.

The Giants already know that that’s the name of a former Virginia receiver who was snubbed by the folks who run the Scouting Combine.

They’re bringing him to town for a visit.

On Thursday, Covington turned in a 40-inch vertical leap at the Virginia Pro Day workout, better than the best vertical leaps posted by the big-name receiver prospects at the Combine.

Covington, who stands 6′4″ and weighs more than 220 pounds, didn’t generate big numbers at Virginia. But there’s a growing sense that his best days could be in front of him.

Especially if he can lift his 76-inch frame 40 inches off the ground on a consistent basis.

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[kkr]

Giants Will Play on Thanksgiving

Article Tools Sponsored By

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: March 23, 2009

Giants fans should plan to eat their turkey early this Thanksgiving because their team will play Thanksgiving night in Denver.

Skip to next paragraph

It will be the first Thanksgiving game for the Giants since 1992, when they lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 30-3, and only their third Thanksgiving Day game since 1938. It will be the first time the Broncos have hosted a Thanksgiving game since 1963. The Giants are 1-3 in Denver, last playing there Sept. 10, 2001.

The Giants-Broncos game will be the third game of the Thanksgiving tripleheader. The rest of the N.F.L. schedule will be announced in April.

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[kurtsimonw]

Bring in a top WR dammit, even if Plax is coming back, we would be lethal on offense then!

[kkr]

Giants' Burress headed to court amid rumors of possible plea deal

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- New York Giants star Plaxico Burress is returning to court Tuesday in his gun possession case amid ruminations of a plea deal and uncertainty over whether he will serve jail time.

Burress, who accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub in November, has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, a felony that requires a minimum jail sentence of 3 1/2 years and a maximum of 15 if convicted.

Statistics show that more than eight out of 10 people arrested in New York City in 2008 for the same charge Burress faces received a reduced charge, though some plea deals included jail time.

"This is going to be a close call," said Randy M. Mastro, a former prosecutor and deputy mayor under Rudy Guiliani. "He's got a pretty compelling story to tell. ... But at the same time, there's been a tremendous public outcry, particularly by some politicians, about this famous figure having a weapon."

Rumors have swirled about a possible plea deal. On Monday, The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported a plea deal was being seriously considered and it appeared likely to include Burress serving some jail time.

A call to Burress' attorney, Ben Brafman, was not immediately returned Monday. The district attorney's office declined to comment.

Prosecutors commonly offer reduced charges in gun possession cases, considering past criminal history, arrest circumstances and the reason for having the weapon.

The 31-year-old wide receiver has no criminal record. The gun he was carrying had been licensed in Florida and only recently expired. It was not licensed in New York.

Burress has not spoken publicly about why he was carrying a gun, but some have speculated that he was carrying it for safety reasons after teammate and fellow wide receiver Steve Smith was robbed at gunpoint three days earlier after being driven to his residence in a chauffeur-driven car.

"There's a pretty compelling story that there were traps in the circle of players which he traveled," Mastro said. "He has a story to tell the courts that is more sympathetic than the typical gun possession charge."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has waged a long campaign against illegal guns, has publicly castigated Burress for illegally carrying the .40-caliber weapon. And there was talk of a cover-up by the Giants and the NFL after the Nov. 28 incident at the Latin Quarter; it took police nearly 12 hours to figure out Burress had shot himself and was hospitalized, and the player turned himself in three days later.

"He's a public figure, the case has become a notorious one," Mastro said. "His fame may not help him in this case."

Burress is scheduled for trial in the state Supreme Court before Judge Michael Yavinksy, although the judge presiding over the case could change.

Precedence is on Burress' side. Only about 14 percent of the people charged last year with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree -- the same charge that Burress faces, are ultimately convicted of that charge, said John Caher, a spokesman for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Of the 1,248 people in New York City initially arrested on second-degree criminal weapons possession in 2008, 184 were convicted of the charge. About half were convicted of a misdemeanor or violation, and the remaining convictions were usually lesser felonies with some jail time.

Reduced charges in similar cases include attempted possession or third-degree gun possession which result in lesser or no jail time. It's not clear whether a plea deal will result in Burress serving any jail time.

Burress' Giants teammates have been supportive about his return, but they're concerned about the future of the team without him. The Giants lost four of their final five games after Burress was suspended, fined and placed on the non-football injury list, meaning he also could not appear in the playoffs. The Giants finished 12-5, losing at home in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Giants, who signed Burress to a five-year, $35 million contract extension in September, have left the door open for Burress to return once his legal issues are resolved.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

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Slap on wrists and suspended sentence i reckon, we shall find out tomorrow though. Our strategy for the draft will be defined by the outcome as well so it will be a very interesting day tomorrow indeed!

[kkr]

Burress' lawyer says gun charge hearing to be delayed

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A lawyer for New York Giants star Plaxico Burress says a hearing in his gun possession case will be postponed.

Defense attorney Ben Brafman says the wide receiver will show up to court Tuesday but "it's just a matter of getting a quick adjournment."

Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub in November. He has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, a felony carrying a minimum prison sentence of 3 1/2 years upon conviction.

Brafman won't say whether the hearing is being adjourned so a plea deal can be reached. The Manhattan district attorney's office hasn't commented.

Prosecutors commonly offer reduced charges in gun possession cases, considering past criminal history, arrest circumstances and the reason for having the weapon.

The 31-year-old wide receiver has no criminal record.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

On and on and on and on and on and on and on and on..........

[kkr]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants released Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress on Friday, a little more than four months after the talented but troubled wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York nightclub.

Burress' four-year tenure with the Giants was highlighted by a game-winning touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLII against the previously undefeated New England Patriots in February 2008, but it also was dogged by fines and suspensions.

Papa: Giants consistent

NFL Network and Giants play-by-play host Bob Papa believes the Giants proved to be consistent in their decision to release wide receiver Plaxico Burress, but the move was still a surprise.

"I don’t think the Giants felt like Burress was doing all he could to get his life squared up. I think they were really offended by the fact that they couldn’t reach a financial agreement with him based on the grievance he has against the organization, even after they felt that they had made significant process with his agent on several occasions." More ...

Burress' status has been uncertain since he shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 29 with an unlicensed gun he'd stuffed into his waistband. He faces a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for at least 3 1/2 years if he's convicted.

Burress' case was adjourned Tuesday while his attorneys and prosecutors worked on a possible plea agreement. He is due back in court on June 15.

Burress, who was suspended by the Giants for the final four weeks of the season for conduct detrimental to the team and fined after the shooting, also faces possible NFL sanctions for violating its personal-conduct policy.

The delay in ending the case in court earlier this week appeared to play a role in the Giants' decision.

"I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said in announcing the decision. "We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico.

"It wasn't to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise."

Burress hasn't spoken publicly about the shooting. His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, noting that he is a Giants fan, called the team's decision to release the wide receiver a huge mistake.

"He is a good man, a good football player, and I only hope that with the benefit of hindsight, the Giants don't ultimately regret this decision," Brafman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Brafman said he hasn't spoken to Burress since the move was announced.

The decision to release Burress might lead the Giants to look for a deep-threat wide receiver in this month's draft. The only current Giant who might fill that role is Mario Manningham, a second-year pro who did little during an injury-plagued rookie season. Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon have shown the ability to be deep threats on occasion, but neither is as consistent as Burress at stretching a defense.

The Giants recently talked with the Cleveland Browns about a trade for veteran wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Those talks either might heat up again with the release of Burress, or New York might make discuss a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for Anquan Boldin, who was unhappy with the NFC champions late in the season.

"It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "(I'm) not surprised. He is a tremendous talent, and you never want to let a guy like that go for nothing, but I think the uncertainty of the court forced their hand."

A little more than a week ago, Umenyiora predicted that Burress would reach a plea agreement and not receive jail time.

However, the prosecution's reported desire to require Burress serve some jail time as part of any deal seemingly ended his chances of playing for the Giants next season.

Burress, 31, caught 244 passes with the Giants, which places him 12th on the franchise's career list, one ahead of Earnest Gray and three behind Aaron Thomas. Burress had 3,681 receiving yards and caught 33 touchdown passes for the Giants.

The Giants lost four of their final five games after Burress was suspended and placed on the non-football injury list, meaning he also couldn't appear in the playoffs.

The Giants finished 12-5, losing at home in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Plaxico's contribution to our championship season in 2007 can never be underestimated or undervalued," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He displayed tremendous determination throughout that season. Having said that, I have always been as concerned about Plaxico as a man as I have been about him as a player, and my hope is that everything that has happened over the past several months represents a turning point.

"He is a young man with a family who has a whole lifetime ahead of him, and I personally wish him and his family well."

The Giants signed Burress to a five-year, $35 million contract extension in September. However, the team failed to pay Burress a $1 million signing bonus after the shooting, and the NFL Players Association filed a grievance on the player's behalf.

The grievance, which contests whether teams can withhold guaranteed salaries and bonus money from players because of off-the-field conduct, was heard earlier this week by a special master, Stephen Burbank, at the University of Pennsylvania law school. His ruling is expected within a week.

Burress had caught a pass in 115 consecutive games, including 56 with the Giants, until he was shut out at Arizona on Nov. 23, his last game before the shooting incident. Burress started but left that game after one series with a hamstring injury and didn't return.

Burress' 23 postseason catches with the Giants leave him fifth on the team's career list, and his 310 postseason yards place him third. He had 35 receptions for 454 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games last season.

Burress joined the Giants as an unrestricted free agent in March 2005 after spending five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

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:cry:

[kkr]

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The Giants today announced they have released veteran wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who played for the team the previous four seasons.

The Giants announced on Friday that they had released veteran WR Plaxico Burress

The status of Burress, 31, has been the subject of much conjecture since last Nov. 29, when he was wounded in an accidental shooting in a Manhattan nightclub. He was inactive for the Giants’ victory in Washington the following day, then placed on the reserve/non-football injury list for the remainder of the season. The team also fined Burress and suspended him for four games for conduct detrimental to the team.

“I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out,” said General Manager Jerry Reese. “We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico. It wasn’t to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise.”

Burress is perhaps best known for catching the game-winning touchdown pass in the Giants’ upset victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. He eluded Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs with an inside move, then ran to the outside, where he caught Eli Manning’s 13-yard throw with 35 seconds remaining in the game. Burress had two receptions in the Super Bowl, catching Manning’s first and last passes of the game.

In his four years with the Giants Burress caught 344 passes, which places him 12th on the franchise’s career list, one catch ahead of Earnest Gray and three behind Aaron Thomas. Burress had 3,681 receiving yards and caught 33 touchdown passes for the Giants.

“Plaxico’s contribution to our championship season in 2007 can never be underestimated or undervalued,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “He displayed tremendous determination throughout that season. Having said that, I have always been as concerned about Plaxico as a man as I have been about him as a player, and my hope is that everything that has happened over the past several months represents a turning point. He is a young man with a family who has a whole lifetime ahead of him, and I personally wish him and his family well.”

Burress had caught a pass in 115 consecutive games in which he played – including 56 with the Giants – until he was shutout at Arizona on Nov. 23, the game before the shooting incident. Burress started but left the Arizona game after one series with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Burress’ 23 postseason catches with the Giants leave him fifth on the team’s career list and his 310 postseason yards place him third.

Last year, Burress played in 10 games with nine starts and caught 35 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns. He played his best game on opening night, when he had 10 receptions for 133 yards in a victory over Washington. His last Giants reception was an 11-yarder late in the second quarter in a victory over Baltimore on Nov. 16.

Burress joined the Giants as an unrestricted free agent on March 17, 2005. The date of his arrival is what prompted him to wear uniform No. 17. In his first season with the team, Burress played in all 16 games, plus the NFC Wild Card Game, and led the team with 76 receptions (the fifth-highest total in Giants history) and 1,214 yards (second-highest). He also tied for the team lead with seven touchdown catches.

Burress was selected NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 4 performance against St. Louis, when he caught 10 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns. In the regular season finale at Oakland, he caught a 78-yard touchdown pass from Manning, the longest thrown by the Giants quarterback in his NFL career. Burress has caught each of Manning’s seven-longest touchdown passes.

In 2006, Burress started all 15 regular season games in which he played, as well as the NFC Wild Card Game. He led the Giants with 988 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches. Burress was the first Giant with double-digit touchdown receptions since Gray had 10 in 1980. His 63 receptions were second on the team, trailing only Jeremy Shockey (66).

Burress started all 20 regular season and postseason games in the 2007 championship season despite an ankle injury that kept him out of practice virtually the entire season. He led the Giants with 70 receptions, 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 12 touchdown receptions were a career high and left him tied in second place on the Giants’ single-season list with Del Shofner, who had 12 scoring catches in 1962. The team record of 13 was set by Homer Jones in 1967. Burress became the first Giant since Shofner in 1961-62 to post back-to-back seasons with 10 or more scoring catches.

In 2007, Burress caught at least one touchdown pass in each of the Giants’ first six games (he had eight overall in that span) to become the second player since 1970 with a touchdown reception in each of his first six games of a season. The other was Jerry Rice, who had at least one touchdown reception in 12 straight games in 1987.

Burress opened the year at Dallas with a season-high eight receptions for 144 yards (his second-highest total as a Giant) and a career-high three touchdowns. His 60-yard touchdown reception on the Giants’ first procession of the season was his longest of the year. Burress set a Giants postseason record with 11 receptions in the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay, one more than Ike Hilliard had in the 2000 Championship Game victory over Minnesota. Burress’ 151 yards in the title game were the third-highest one-game total in team playoff history.

Burress joined the Giants after playing his first five NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, for whom he played 71 games and caught 261 passes for 4,164 yards and 22 touchdowns. The Steelers selected Burress with the eighth overall selection of the 2000 NFL Draft.

His career totals are 505 receptions for 7,845 yards and 55 touchdowns. With three catches last Nov. 2 against Dallas, Burress became the 101st player in NFL history with at least 500 receptions.

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100% pure Braylon Edwards, get it done!

[kkr]

Burress rejected a chance to stay

Plaxico Burress was given one last chance to salvage his career with the Giants, but he refused to sign a new contract the team offered him before his arbitration hearing last week.

According to two sources familiar with the situation, the Giants - - in an attempt to settle their arbitration case with the troubled receiver - - offered the 31-year-old Burress a new deal that would’ve given him the chance to remain with the team at least through the 2009 season. The new deal would’ve nullified the rest of the five-year, $35 million contract he signed in September and would’ve kept the two sides out of arbitration.

Burress and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, flatly rejected the offer, as they had all attempts by the Giants to settle, sources said.

Rosenhaus did not immediately return a call and e-mails seeking comment, and it’s not clear exactly what the terms of the offer were. It was likely much less than the $11.5 million in salaries Burress was due over the next four years under his current deal.

The Giants, according to one team source, took his refusal to accept their offer as yet another sign of Burress’ refusal to change and to work with the team to return under their terms. As a result, the arbitration hearing over the $1 million payment the Giants’ withheld and the status of all the future escalators and bonuses in Burress’ contract, took place as scheduled on Wednesday morning.

Two days later, Burress was cut.

**** him

[kkr]

I mentioned earlier the Giants were willing to make a deal with Plaxico Burress to avoid a hearing with the NFL's special master on whether the team violated the collective bargaining agreement by withholding a $1 million payment of his signing bonus and claiming he defaulted on future roster bonuses and guarantees.

Well, I've gotten the details of the offer and it turns out it was a pretty sweet deal for Burress. And the fact that he turned it down shows you how much he really didn't want to be a Giant anymore.

According to someone familiar with the negotiations, the team offered Burress the chance to earn all of the money that was written into his contract from here on out. All he had to do was end his fight for the money he forfeited over the last four weeks of last season (base salary, roster bonus and signing bonus) during which he was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team" and start playing by their rules.

It's unclear if the full $1 million signing bonus payment the Giants withheld would have been considered part of the defaulted money or if the team would have held on to only the prorated portion for the four weeks he was suspended (a little more than $200,000) and paid him the rest.

But what is clear, according to the people familiar with the team's offer, is the Giants would have allowed Burress the opportunity to earn the remaining four years on his deal: $11.5 million in base salaries, $3.5 million in reporting bonuses (which are actually behavioral clauses), $8.2 million in roster bonuses, $5 million in escalators and $1.3 million in workout bonuses. That's a grand total of $29.5 million that was out there to be earned.

The Giants would have packaged the deal in the form of a new contract and there might have been a penny lost or gained here and there. But they were willing to work with him and give him the chance to make roughly what he could have earned over the next four years if he hadn't blown a hole in his leg last November.

But Burress said no. Again, he didn't feel like he owed the team anything. Nor did he want to wear a Giants uniform ever again.

The real question for Burress at this point is whether he believes he can get anywhere near that kind of money over the next four years from another team - provided his legal situation works out, of course.

MG

Silly bitch to the end!

[kkr]

Rumours of Braylon coming to the Giants tomorrow for our first and 5th round selections emerging from ESPN950 radio in Philly. Probably garbage though but i would be happy with that if true.