Giants News

[kkr]

You won't see Tiki Barber interviewing Tom Coughlin Sunday night on NBC's "Football Night in America" pregame before Panthers-Giants.

Barber, exiled from the FNIA studio, for a role as Giants "beat reporter" (is his next step out the door?), wanted to interview his former coach. Coughlin said no. Good for him.

For his decision Coughlin deserves a standing ovation.

He once again proves he ain't no phony. Coughlin would have completely lost his mind (and credibility) if he agreed to a sit-down with Barber, a guy whose mouth did not make Coughlin's job any easier.

Back in his playing days, when he used to criticize coaching decisions (Coughlin's and those of other Giants staffers), Barber earned a reputation for shooting straight, being candid. Those covering the Giants, and the local media in general, loved this. Barber deserved major kudos for offering unvarnished opinions and answering direct questions, well, directly.

Still, in Coughlin's world, this stuff doesn't play. It would not be a reach to suggest Coughlin believed Barber was purposely trying to undermine his authority. The agenda-driven inmate running the asylum. We saw all this as nothing more than Barber priming the pump for a career in television.

Nothing wrong with that. Just as there is absolutely nothing wrong with Coughlin deciding to dust Barber.

Coughlin's decision makes even more sense after recent comments Barber made, in a published report, about Giants captain Antonio Pierce. Barber blamed Pierce for fueling the notion that his former teammates, the ones carrying the Giants to a Super Bowl win last season, had no use for him.

Once a spit-stirrer always a spit-stirrer. Oh well, there's still hope for Barber. If NBC decides to pick up Dolphins-Jets next Sunday night, Tiki can try getting an exclusive with Eric Mangini. Talk about scintillating TV.

Coughlin might even tune in.

LOL!

[kkr]

The Giants set an NFL record for the fewest turnovers in a season. Their 13 giveaways were one fewer than the previous NFL record -- set by the Giants in their Super Bowl XXV season of 1990. The Dolphins also finished this season with 13 turnovers.

The Vikings' clinching their division put them on the Giants' 2009 regular-season schedule, as the Giants were to match up with teams that finished in their same position in the NFC North and West divisions. The Giants will travel here to face the Vikings and will play host to the Cardinals, who won the NFC West.

In addition to those two games and their standard six divisional matchups, the Giants will play host to the Falcons, Panthers, Chargers and Raiders. Their road games are against the Saints, Buccaneers, Broncos and Chiefs.

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Another tough schedule next year!

[kkr]

Only two QB's have led their team to the playoffs 4 years running i.e. the last 4 years.

Who are they!? Here is a hint, they share the last name.

[kkr]

Which is more impressive when you consider that the Giants are the ONLY team returning to the playoffs in the NFC from last years competitors.

[kkr]

Sunday January 11th 6pm (BST) the Giants will host a divisional game.

[rjw63]

Eagles are comin' to get ya :-)

[kkr]

Yeah i imagine we will get them so that will be a tough game, they look great right now. Id say the winner of that game goes to the Super Bowl although you cant count out the Panthers, especially if they get to host the NFC Championship game.

I think with two weeks practice though and some well earned rest that we will be able to take care of whoever we face. Personally i will be cheering for the Vikings and Cardinals as i reckon the Giants would destroy these teams!

[kurtsimonw]

The Eagles were shit @ Washington last weekend, so I'm not THAT scared of them. Yeah they beat us, but I think we lost a bit of focus towards the end, especially when we started to rest iinjured players!

I agree with the Vikings/Cards. We already beat the Cards, comfortabley, without playing very well. And our backups nearly beat the Vikings, who were playing all out in a must-win game, so they don't worry me too much!

[kkr]

To be fair the eagles are quite poor on the road 3-4-1 and it would be 3-5 if the Bengals could kick a FG!

We cant play the Vikings the week after if we win as we will get the lowest seed and the Viking are the 3rd seed so it will be Eagles, Atlanta or Arizona.

[kkr]

Raiders hope to speak with Giants' Gilbride

ESPN.com news services

The Oakland Raiders are in the process of requesting permission to speak with New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride about their vacant head coach position, according to a report from ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

As the Giants enter their bye week for the opening round of the playoffs, Gilbride is expected to take the opportunity to interview for the job. New York (12-4) is the NFC's top seed and has home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Watch highlights from the Oakland Raiders' 31-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, Raiders sources tell Mortensen that interim head coach Tom Cable has a solid chance of retaining the post.

Cable moved in to the role when Raiders owner Al Davis fired Lane Kiffin four games into this season. Cable won two straight games to finish the season and was 4-8 as head coach.

Cable is expected to meet with Davis soon. The owner did not travel with the team to Tampa Bay for the regular season finale because of a leg injury.

"I want to be the head coach of the Raiders, but it's not in my hands," Cable told reporters after Sunday's game. "But I certainly know I put this team together and got it going in the right direction, and [sunday's win] proved that."

The Giants promoted Gilbride from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator after the 2006 season. The former offensive coordinator with the Houston Oilers, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Buffalo was a head coach for the San Diego Chargers.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Wouldn't be devastated if he left but he has done a good job so whoever replaces him will need to be up to scratch.

[kurtsimonw]

I meant the Vikings for the Championship game, so hopefully they do over the Panthers.. can't see it though.

Gilbride is okay, but he doesn't know how to finish of a game. When we're leading by a score, with about 5 minutes to go, he just seems happy to go with 3 simple running plays reuslting in a 3 and out. I'd like to bring in an OC with a better mentality than that, though he has helped Eli since becoming the OC in fairness to him. Keeping Spags is more of a priority, I still thik we should put a gaurentee in his contract that he's our next HC..

Our schedule is pretty difficult.

vs NFC East: 4-2

vs NFC South: 3-1

vs AFC West: 3-1

vs North/West winners: 2-0

I've got us at 12-4 next season.. though this really does depend on FA and the draft.

[kkr]

Re sign Jacobs and maybe Toomer if he is cheap (hometown discount!) then take a OLB early in the draft or get Terrell Suggs in from Baltimore through free agency as he can play end and OLB, albeit in a 3-4 but i still think he would be awesome for us with Spags utilising him and our other weapons in other ways.

Was good to see Danny Ware against the Vikings, only like 2 carries but still i think he has potential and will form part of the three back set next year.

[kkr]

Odds favor Giants, Titans

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas sports books favor the New York Giants over the 11 other teams in the NFL playoffs to win the Super Bowl, giving 2-to-1 odds on the NFC's No. 1 seed to repeat as champions.

Watch highlights from the Minnesota Vikings' 20-19 win over the New York Giants.

The Tennessee Titans are the favorite among AFC teams to win a title at 4-1.

Oddsmaker Mike Seba of Las Vegas Sports Consultants says the Giants have the easiest road to get to the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, while the AFC teams are more evenly matched.

The Cardinals are the biggest longshots for the title at 40-1; in the AFC, the Miami Dolphins have 30-1 odds.

Before the season, the two teams that opened with the longest odds to win the Super Bowl were the Dolphins (250-1) and the Falcons (200-1). Now they're both in the playoffs.

The two preseason favorites -- the New England Patriots (2-1) and Dallas Cowboys (7-1) -- failed to reach the playoffs.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

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Means nothing.

Personally i see the Steelers or Colts emerging from the AFC and the 1, 2 or 6 seed from the NFC.

[kurtsimonw]

Re sign Jacobs and maybe Toomer if he is cheap (hometown discount!) then take a OLB early in the draft or get Terrell Suggs in from Baltimore through free agency as he can play end and OLB, albeit in a 3-4 but i still think he would be awesome for us with Spags utilising him and our other weapons in other ways.

Was good to see Danny Ware against the Vikings, only like 2 carries but still i think he has potential and will form part of the three back set next year.

Toomer will be back, can't see us not re-signing him with our lack of any oustanding receiver on the team. Brandon Spikes of Florida is somebody I've heard Giants fans talking about as a 1st round pick. I've only seen him a few times since I don't see much college football, but he's a real beast, one of those guys that seems to do things so effortlessly in college.

Yeah, Ware looked decent enough. Looks like Ward will be gone, so Jacobs/Bradshaw/Ware will be fine, I'm sure.

[kkr]

I was thinking perhaps we could franchise tag Ward and then use him in trade bait. Sounds like a great idea but im not sure it would be feasible though!

[kkr]

Lions get permission to interview Giants’ Spagnuolo

Posted: Adam Schefter | Adam Schefter | Tags: Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Steve Spagnuolo

Detroit gave little reason for its to fans to be hopeful this season. But the team is doing what it can today to try to turn it around for next season.

The Lions requested and received permission Monday to interview New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who is regarded as one of the pre-eminent coaching candidates this offseason. Spagnuolo must interview with the Lions this week, during the Giants’ bye, before New York ramps up its preparations for a divisional playoff game next Sunday.

Plus, the Lions are not the only interested team. The Browns also plan to ask for permission to interview Spagnuolo, if they haven’t done so already. St. Louis is also thought to be in the mix.

Spagnuolo might be more apt to make the jump this season from coordinator to coach; last season he was a finalist for the Redskins coaching job before withdrawing from consideration. Now he is under consideration again, and just as coveted.

UH-OH!

[kurtsimonw]

Hmm. Well, us allowing them to talk to Spags means nothing more than that. He was given permission last year and turned down the Redskins job. Hopefully he'll decide to stay, even if for one more year. Hopefully we have one of our positional coaches learning under him, like Spags did under Johnson in Philly, so we at least have somebody who's going to play a similar style of defense.

[kkr]

Well i think we dont have a choice and that because we are on a bye we have to let him interview, or some rule to that effect. Like you say though thats all it is right now, an interview.

If he does go then promote one of the position coaches like the line coach or secondary coach.

[kkr]

Giants’ Manning Gives Romo a Jab

Article Tools Sponsored By

By JOE LAPOINTE

Published: December 29, 2008

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is hardly Broadway Joe Namath when it comes to lifestyle or quips. So it seemed out of character when Manning made a humorous comment Monday alluding to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

The Giants (12-4) have a bye in the first round of the N.F.L. playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 20-19 loss at Minnesota on Sunday.

Someone on the Giants’ conference call asked Manning if he planned to go to San Diego to watch his brother Peyton play for the Indianapolis Colts against the Chargers in the first round.

“No, no, no plans,” Manning said. As an afterthought, Manning added: “My plans to Cabo fell through, so I am going to sit here. That is a joke, by the way.”

He was referring to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where Romo vacationed last year when the Cowboys had a first-round bye. Romo made the trip with his girlfriend Jessica Simpson, her family and some of his teammates.

After Romo returned, the Cowboys were eliminated by the Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

JOE LAPOINTE

Comedy from Eli!

[kkr]

Giants defensive coordinator Spagnuolo will interview for jobs

Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was a hot head coaching commodity after the Giants won the Super Bowl, and the interest in "Spags" has only increased with New York carrying the No. 1 seed into the NFC playoffs.

Spagnuolo, who is one of the league's highest paid coordinators with an annual salary of $2 million, already has an interview scheduled on Saturday for the vacant coaching job with the New York Jets -- the Giants' co-tenant at Giants Stadium. He also has been mentioned for the openings in Detroit and Cleveland.

Bob LaMonte, Spagnuolo's agent, did not immediately return a telephone call left by The Associated Press seeking comment.

"I will give it the thought or address it when it happens," Spagnuolo said last week when asked about the possibility of interviewing during the bye week for the Giants (12-4).

When pressured, the 49-year-old Massachusetts native said with his best Boston accent that he was more concerned about buying his wife a Christmas present.

That's Spagnuolo, though. In his two seasons with the Giants, he has shown himself to be soft-spoken and relaxed. He kids about his Italian ancestry, noting that his father always said that the "g" in his name was silent.

His name is pronounced "Spah-NYOO'-loh."

His coaching style mirrors his personality. He learned an aggressive blitzing style on defense working under Jim Johnson in Philadelphia, and he brought that and his old mentor's other favorite quality -- patience -- to New York.

If things don't go right on the field, Spagnuolo will either start again, stick with his system or ask his players for their thoughts and make changes when their ideas are sound. He rarely criticizes, and never points a finger in public.

When the Giants limited Carolina to seven second-half points in clinching the conference's top seed with a 34-28 overtime victory over the Panthers little more than a week ago, Sgagnuolo took none of the credit for the halftime adjustments.

"If you walked in here at halftime, you would have seen that the players were making the adjustments on their own, and I am not talking about any scheme or any X's and O's," he said. "I think they realized what had happened and, true to their character, the group of guys we have they came out in the second half and got it straightened out on their own."

Players smile when Spagnuolo talks that way. He contributed.

What he has done this season is impressive, considering that seven-time Pro Bowler Michael Strahan retired last summer and fellow Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora was lost in the preseason with a major knee injury.

Despite the losses, the Giants finished the season ranked fifth in defense, yielding an average of 292 yards. It is the first season they have allowed less than 300 yards since 2000, a season in which the team went to the Super Bowl.

Spagnuolo came close to getting a head coaching job after last season. The Washington Redskins gave him two interviews before Spagnuolo withdrew from consideration and got the big contract from the Giants.

Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce expects Spagnuolo to stay put this time, adding it's up to the Giants management to deal with the defensive coordinator.

"Spags is a grown man. He is his own employee," Pierce said Monday. "He is the CEO of Spags Incorporated and my job is not to tell Coach Spags what to do and what not to do. My job is to listen to him because he is my defensive coordinator of the New York Giants and that is all I care about.

"Anything else that is being speculated or being asked about, I think that just shows you the kind of performance that our defense and Coach Spags have put together this year," Pierce said.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Please don't go, please don't go!