Tiki or Tom?

The NY Daily News reports today that Tiki Barber says he would still be playing football if the Giants had a new head coach according to a new book called "Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond," excerpts of which were obtained by the New York Daily News.

The article goes on talking about how he claims that the Giants should have paid him at least $10 million more than he was getting paid during his time with the Giants. He also says the Giants should have won more championships over the years, but failed to do so because they have never been too smart about attracting and retaining high-caliber players or coaches.
Longtime Giants fans have never forgiven the owners for letting two of the best coaches in football - Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry - get away. Both took head coaching jobs after the Giants failed to promote them.

Last week there were the articles about Accorsi and being the GM of the Giants, The Tuna wanting to be in the running for the GM job and now this about Tiki... there seem to be quite a few books coming out about the behind the scenes of Big Blue in the near future.

LT is #4

USA Today is counting down it's Top 25 players on it's 25th Anniversary.

"Lawrence Taylor, whose attack-the-quarterback approach revolutionized the linebacker position, lands at No. 4 on USA TODAY’s list as perhaps the most dominant defender ever to play the game.

Taylor’s aggressive style, highlighted by speed rushes off the edge of the line of scrimmage, changed the nature of defensive schemes. Taylor thrived in his role, collecting 132½ sacks in his 13 seasons. His No. 56 Giants jersey became a menacing sight for fleeing quarterbacks.

"When you played against L.T., you had to know where he was," former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski told USA TODAY before Taylor's enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in 1999. "He basically forced you to change your whole blocking scheme. He could raise a lot of havoc."

I had the pleasure of meeting LT many times and playing at Linebacker with his son at Joe Namath Football Camp back in the early 90's. I remember playing alongside his son, who was great and a lot better than me. He gave me tips at playing LB and all I could remember was his large, golden LT earing he was wearing.

For what it's worth, in 1993 I won the "Sportsmanship Award" from Joe Namath at camp that year...

MVN: COWHER TO GIANTS?

MVN (via Pro Football talk) has a quote from Jerome Bettis:

Jerome Bettis believes that former Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher will be coaching the Giants next season. (Said on a TV interview - NFL Network)
“I really think he’ll be coaching next year, and I think he’ll be coaching in New York,” Bettis said. “That’s my take on it and just thinking about the type of team he fits in good with, the Giants are definitely one.” Hat Tip: Pro Football Talk

I really think this would be a good move for the Giants to make. There was speculation out there last season. Possibly floated by the Giants front office that Cowher would join the Giants after Coughlins contract expires at the end season.

It's no secret that the players do NOT get along with the coach. Let's see how it plays out. We still have a season to get to.

Can it start yet? PLEASE?!?!?

Strahan on Giants

Yahoo Sports posted a video featuring Michael Strahan talking about the 2007 Giants. He also talks about Lavar Arrington's accident.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3264217

“I always tell them (media) I’m retiring every year,” Strahan said. “I’ve been saying I’m going to retire for the past five years … who knows, man. Every year I go day to day, game to game. Some days I wake up and I think there is no way I can do it. Other days I wake up and I think I can do it for another five years. We’ll see.”

He also went on to say:

“You don’t say, ‘Well, we can win in two years or three years.’ I don’t have two or three years right now. I’m thinking of winning right now. They say Eli (Manning) is going to mature. Well, I need him to mature now. The thing about this season is that the sense of urgency is greater than it has ever been.”

NFL Owners Power Rankings

For some reason, people love power rankings. I am not going to lie. I get a kick out of how ESPN, FOX, CBS and SI rank the teams during the season because the Top 10 can be very different depending on the site.

SI decided to take on NFL Owners. The Giants ranked LAST in the NFC East behind #2 Jerry Jones and his new Mega-Stadium and marketing juggernaut that is the Cowboys… #5 Dan Snyder and the Redskins who really haven’t done much besides be worth over a Billion Dollars and #6 Jeff Lurie who, according to the SI article is, “a positive, progressive force in league circles who generates revenue through Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in '03 after the team sank $310 million into the project.”

The Top Owner is the Kraft Family. The Patriots have built a system that has produced three Lombardi trophies in 4 years time earlier this decade. Kraft came in and built Gillette Stadium and is in process of building something called Patriot Place which I guess will be like Xanadu out at the Meadowlands.

The Giants ranked at #14:
14. John Mara/Jonathan Tisch, Giants

As they step up to replace their recently deceased fathers, Mara and Tisch are taking different approaches, the latter co-owner staying largely in the background. Mara, one league insider says, has a lot of promise, "a chance to blend his dad's best qualities with a modern flair. He's calm and loyal and respectful of the tradition, yet he understands that the league has evolved."

Mara impressed many league honchos when, during last year's debate over the proposed revenue-sharing agreement, he stood up to several old-line owners and told them, "You're not being realistic." And though he couldn't pull off a stadium deal in Manhattan, Mara did a nice job of making do with a new facility in Jersey, where a significant slice of the team's fan base resides.

First, the West Side Stadium was a Jets disaster. The Jets asked the Giants if they wanted in because New Jersey was dicking the Giants around for more money after an agreement was reached and we now have what is the aftermath. Second. There is no ryme of reason behind some of these rankings. Did the Mara’s and Tisch families fall to middle of the pack because of the Jets failed efforts at a West Side Stadium?

To be fair, the Jets came in at 17…

17. Woody Johnson, Jets
To Johnson's credit, he tries hard and seems to have scored with last year's hiring of Eric Mangini as coach. But Johnson's peers don't believe he's especially deft when it comes to high-level business maneuvers. Though his joint deal with the Giants on the new stadium in Jersey is a 50-50 proposition on paper, many NFL insiders think he got played. "Because it's in Giants' country, the Jets will still be second-class citizens there," says one owner. "He should've figured out how to do a Westside stadium. It's New York -- you could get people to build one out there."

I don’t know why the Jets didn’t try to build a stadium on Long Island or in Queens. It’s a LOT closer to their fanbase and would make more sense for them. Woody Johnson had to come back to the Giants and ask to become partners in the Stadium at the Meadowlands because the West Side Stadium fell through.

The Jets will always be the second show in town in the shadows of the Giants.

Anyway, back to the “rankings”. I disagree with the way Silver did his rankings. I am going to write up my own rankings over the coming months and share them with you when I am done.

Happy 4th of July

HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Tony Romo Love Fest

Last year, when Tony Romo took over for Drew Bledsoe against the Giants on MNF, ESPN went into a Tony Romo lovefest. Every week, NFL Live would anoint Tony Romo a football GOD.

Giants, Eagles and ‘Skins fans groaned because they had seen him play in person and he really wasn’t all the hype he was made up to be. I have seen Tony Romo play in person and I don’t think he deserves all the accolades he has received from ESPN talking heads.

My father and I were joking around in the Giants Stadium parking lot and I called the above QB, “Hall of Fame Quarterback Tony Romo”

Tony Romo is a good QB in the National Football League. Is he Peyton Manning? No. Is he Tom Brady? No. Did he deserve to go to the pro bowl? No. He concluded the 2006 regular season with 220 completions on 337 pass attempts for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, with a passer rating of 95.1

There is no doubt that he is a good Quarterback. Giants fans know there is a big question mark when it comes to Eli Manning and this season is the make or break for Giants fans.

Get ready for the ESPN/HoFQB Tony Romo lovefest to heat up as the Giants travel to Dallas to open the season on Sunday Night Football.

And by the way, Romo is a third-generation Mexican American on his father's side. His grandfather, Ramiro Romo Sr., emigrated from Múzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico to San Antonio, Texas as an adolescent.

MVN - Predicted Giants Roster

Jay Vultaggio, a guest blogger at Giants 101, predicted the Giants roster, when it's announced after training camp. The only questionmark Jay has there is now Fullback seeing how Jim Finn is now on IR.

Paul Perdichizzi wrote an article about how the Giants never live up to what they are supposed to be. "Since the Jim Fassel era and now through the Tom Coughlin run, the Giants rarely play how they are expected to. When the season looks bleak, and many so called experts pick the Giants to come in last place or win only six or seven games, they often defy the expectations and have a very solid season, ending up in the playoffs. When the Giants start to get some press as being a top flight team with championship aspirations, the Giants often have a let down and do not live up those lofty expectations."

Giants 101 is one of the best Giants sites out there. MVN hires writers to write about teams and provides training. I applied to be a writer and was told...

"Thanks for your inquiry about writing for MVN and specifically Giants 101. As it stands, Giants 101 is the largest page currently owned by Most Valuable Network and also one of the top five Giants pages (hits) on the internet. Because of this, the desire to write for this page is overwhelming. It currently holds five writers and there is a waiting list of seven more. If you'd like, we can certainly add you to the waiting list but we are unable to add any additional writers to the page at this moment."

They are for real and make sure to check these guys out!

THURSDAY MORNING PAPERS

New York Daily News
Coughlin: Shut up & play! - Wants to see more, hear less from Giants... "We need to get back to playing the game and let our play do the talking."

New York Newsday
Petitgout still scarred - "Yeah, I'm still a little bit upset with the way I was basically kicked out of the club... I'm happy here in Tampa, we're working hard, the facilities are unmatched ... " I bet he will miss the sweet smells of Newark and welcome the smell of Turkey Legs at Busch Gardens.

Coughlin: Perform, don't talk - More yelling from Coach

New York Times
Eli in the principal’s office Tuesday, waiting to address a group of fifth and sixth graders.

New York Post
STOP TALKIN' COUGHLIN WANTS LESS LIP - As only the Post can cover it.

GIANTS NOTES: JIM'S SEASON IS FINN-ISHED

"My blood, I always had New York Giants in it," said Armstead, who briefly spoke to the team about how important the Giants are in his life. "There's no organization like the New York Giants. When they say the grass is greener, there's no grass like New York grass."
As a bookkeeping matter, the Giants needed to cut a player in order to get Armstead on the roster. It was supposed to be a temporary move, but Finn's injury opened up a spot.
*
WR Plaxico Burress spent the workouts on the side, as he's recovering from offseason surgery to clean up his ankle. He should be ready to go by training camp. "I was playing with it for 4-5 years," Burress said. "That lets you know how good I'm going to be this year."

Goodbye Jim Finn

Ahh Jim Finn. How sorry I am to see you go. The Giants placed the eight-year veteran fullback on injured reserve because of a torn labrum in his shoulder. Finn had surgery on the shoulder on earlier this week, but will likely need 3-4 months of rehab, according to the NY Daily News. Although he could be ready in October or November, the Giants seem to not want to wait that long to have a fullback.

Giants fans liked Jim Finn. Whenever he caught a pass, Big Blue faithful would cheer for the fullback. Fans will remember him most with one movement, side shuffle motion before the ball was snapped behind Eli Manning as Tiki would run the ball to the left or right.

Ralph Vacchiano says, "first-year pro Robert Douglas is the only fullback on the roster, though I'm betting that will change before camp opens on July 27." Check out his blog here. By far Ralph is my favorite, and most sane member of Giants Online seen on the YES Network and archived on Giants.com.

Jessie Armstead retires a Giant

The heart and soul of the Giants for nearly a decade will be back in blue for one more day.

Jessie Armstead, the emotional leader of the Giants for most of his nine years with the franchise (1993-2001), will re-sign with the team today so he can officially retire as a Giant. He unofficially retired three years ago when he suffered a preseason injury with the Carolina Panthers, but he always wanted to come back to New York.

He even worked out for the Giants in December 2005, when they were being crushed by injuries to their linebacking corps. However, according to someone who witnessed that workout, it was clear that Armstead had little left in his battered legs.

Armstead, 36, was one of the all-time greatest draft-day steals - an eighth-rounder out of Miami in 1993 who went on to make five Pro Bowls (1997-2001). He was released by the Giants after the 2001 season, but went on to play two more years with the Washington Redskins, before his career came to an end in Carolina.

Armstead played 11 seasons and finished with 752 tackles, 40 sacks and 12 interceptions. He will be on the field this morning - watching - when the Giants open a three-day, mandatory minicamp.Armstead was a fierce competitor who emerged as one of the Giants' greatest draft-day steals.

NYP: GIANTS WORK BEFORE BREAK

June 13, 2007 -- For the next three days, Giants young and old, rookie and veteran, will gather for a mandatory mini-camp that serves as the final tuneup before the July 27 start of training camp in Albany. After this camp, it's vacation time for the Giants.

"A lot of times we're not allowed to bring our playbook with us," Eli Manning said of the five-week respite. "I know the offense and what we're doing. You think about it, you reflect, you come in here and watch film and watch some of these practices. Maybe a week before, you kind of go back and review it, just get your mind fresh with some new things you're doing."
Manning has been one of the many regulars at the offseason workout program at Giants Stadium, while two of his most important offensive targets, Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress, have been scarce. Every healthy player is expected to participate in this camp - after all, attendance is no longer voluntary.

"We know that having everybody here helps us because now we move along as a team with no parts missing," Tom Coughlin said.

Receiver Amani Toomer, coming off reconstructive knee surgery, has been limited to agility running on the side and may get to do some individual work during this camp. He will not be involved in any full-team activity.

"I don't want him to be in any bumping and grinding," Coughlin said.

Defensive end Michael Strahan, limited to nine games last season because of a Lisfranc mid-foot sprain, also will be handled delicately. Another defensive end, Justin Tuck, is coming off foot surgery and won't work at all. The Giants are hopeful Toomer, Strahan and Tuck are ready to go for training camp, where they likely will be limited to one practice a day. The status of fullback Jim Finn (shoulder injury) is undetermined.

Manning said mini-camp usually is a time to review what's already been installed during the offseason.

"You've put in a lot of stuff and then you concentrate on what you've been working on," the quarterback said. "We're not really adding new things, so it's not really overload."
This will all be new for Zach Piller, a veteran guard from the Titans signed last week as reserve depth. Coughlin described Piller as "a guy who we expect to be a real solid factor in there, whether he's the sixth guy or the seventh guy or however it goes."

It's possible that if Piller impresses, the Giants could move left guard Rich Seubert back into the reserve interior-offensive-line role he filled last year, allowing him to concentrate on his increased duties as a blocking tight end.

Take MTA to Giants Games?

The MTA is looking to expand the reach of its commuter trains - and Giants and Jets fans will be among the first to benefit.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is working on a plan featuring trains running from its Metro-North station in New Haven to the NJTransit hub in Secaucus, N.J., MTA CEO Elliot Sander announced yesterday.

Riders could then switch to a NJTransit shuttle train to the Meadowlands sports complex, he said at a Crain's breakfast forum at the New York Hilton in midtown.

The pilot program - which has the backing of Amtrak and NJTransit - is expected to be launched in 2009 and provide the new service to up to a total of 10 Giants and Jets games, Sander said.

It would also bring Metro-North trains to Manhattan's West Side - long a pipe dream for that line's riders.

Many details need to be hashed out, including what stops other than Penn Station would be made along the route. And there are significant hurdles, not in the least, different workforces represented by different unions, Sander said.

Still, Sander was optimistic this could be a major step toward a better, if not simpler, regional mass transit network - not just for sports fans but everyday commuters too.

The MTA also is looking at running trains between Riverdale and Montauk, linking the Metro-North and LIRR systems, Sander said.

Another goal for the 2009 pilot program is to have one ticket honored across the three state boundaries. The special ticket would likely be a rail-subway-bus combo with a MetroCard on one side so it could be swiped at NYC Transit turnstiles.

NYDN: No-shows get pass from Eli

The Giants held their third team workout of the spring yesterday, but they are still waiting for Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress to participate in their first.
Both arrived in New Jersey several weeks ago, played a few days of catch with quarterback Eli Manning and promised to stay for even more. But neither has participated in any of the first three days of organized team activities. Even though the drills are voluntary, 84 of the 88 players on the roster attended yesterday's session.
Shockey, Burress, defensive end Michael Strahan and fullback Jim Finn were the only ones who did not.

link: NY Daily News

Tiki Barber on YouTube

Shockey: Overrated?

StreetCred over at Fox Sports blog section, made a list of the Overrated and Underrated players in the NFL. He had some great overrated players, which I agree with, Clinton Portis, Donavan McNabb, and Santana Moss. Also some underrated players like BrIan Westbrook of the Eagles, who is a great ball player.

On tight ends, I knew Jeremy Shockey would be on the list. Here is what he had to say:

Overrated: Jeremy Shockey (Giants) - I'm not saying that Jeremy Shockey isn't a good football player. I'm saying that I think people like to put Jeremy Shockey in the same category as Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates. Shockey has one 70 catch season, which was his rookie year. He has never had 1,000 yard season. He hasn't even had a 900 yard season. The most touchdown catches he has had in a season is 7. His 24 touchdowns in 69 games do not scream elite status. To put it in perspective, Gates has 34 touchdowns in 61 games. He has a 1,000 yard plus season, and two 900 yards plus seasons. Gonzalez has 6 such seasons, including the last 4 seasons. I think the temptation is to lump these three players into the same category as superstar tight ends. I think it is clear that while Shockey is a very good tight end, Gates and Gonzalez are in a class by themselves



As much as I love Shockey, he needs to stay healthy this season and have an impact on the field. There were times during the playoff game with the Eagles where he was hobbling around. My friend Matt and I looked at each other and knew that Shockey was a guy who was not going to give up and play his ass off for the team to win.

STADIUM WATCH

There hasn't been much lately about the New Stadium at the Meadowlands. The Giants/Jets released these renderings of what the new Stadium and complex will look like back in 2006. Since then there has been nothing printed about the stadium. Since Jerry Jones and the North Arlington/Dallas Metro Area Cowboys were awarded the Super Bowl in 2011 in their 100,000 seat stadium, I thought I would re-visit the New Meadowlands Stadium.

First of all... I am not looking forward to the parking situation during construction. The new stadium will be buiilt in the parkinglot of the old stadium.

The naming rights to the stadium are expected to be sold to a company partially so the stadium is not named after one particular team or either team's legendary owners of the past. The deal is widely expected to set a record for an American sports venue.

I personally think that the Jets should pay homage to Wellington Mara by calling it Mara Field. Wellington Mara is an icon for football and pro-sports in New York and should be honored. Without Mara, the Jets and NFL would not exsist today.

Public transportation is all the rage these days and NJ transit said they will be installing a stop at the stadium that on Game/Event days will run express from NY-Penn Station in Manhattan to the Satdium. I do like taking a bus to Port Athority after games with a bunch of drunk Guidos and girls wearing cutoff Shockey jersey's. Much like the new MetroNorth station at the New Yankee Stadium, this will help fans in suburban areas take the train to the game... in this case, it will help me and fans living in the city get to the game without taking a bus.

Overall, the new stadium will be open air and one of the best in the NFL. All we need now is an idea of what it will look like and if it will be open for the 2009 season like they said it will be.

MVN: Giants a Darkhorse

MVN's Hazem Kiswani posted power rankings for May and evaluated how the off season is going with signings and the draft. The G-Men recently acquired Lawrence Tynes in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for a conditional draft choice.

"The Giants hope Lawrence Tynes has plenty to cheer for as a member of the Giants.In three seasons with Kansas City, Tynes connected on 68 of 87 field goal attempts (78.2 percent), including six of 11 from 50 yards or more. He scored more than 100 points in each of the last three seasons, including a career-high 125 in 2005. Tynes has also made 137 of 141 extra point tries." - from Giants.com


Back to the Power rankings...


13 GIANTS - A team that plays its best football when everyone is doubting them, some seem to forget how good this football team was before the injury bug hit last season. Granted the Giants lost their biggest threat on offense and best player to retirement, New York is still loaded with talent in the front seven on defense, the best tight end in football when his head is on straight, very good wideouts, and two big, strong, and fast running backs. In the end, this season comes down to Eli Manning. If Eli Manning has a breakout season in ‘07, this team is a lock for the playoffs, and could make a deep run once there. Looking for a darkhorse in the NFL? Look no further than the Meadowlands.


I think that it is true that the Giants do play the best football when people doubt them. ESPN had the 2006 Giants at #10 in a pre-season Power Ranking saying, "The Giants have a brutal schedule. Their first seven opponents were a combined 71-46 last season. "

A lot of fans forget that the Giants had a rough schedule regardless and injuries were a HUGE factor last year. Shockey, Luke, and The Entire Defense.

In case you care:

Eagles: 11
Cowboys: 12
Redskins: 25

LONDON

The Giants and Big Blue Travel sent me an e-mail about " joining the Giants in London".

London Game Travel Packages On Sale Monday Morning at 9:00 a.m.!!
Overwhelming Ticket Demand
More than half a million ticket requests were received within 72 hours of the NFL’s announcement of the game in February. Earlier this week, the first 40,000 tickets to the game were sold to randomly selected fans in the UK & Europe in 90 minutes.

Enjoy a Great Trip & Cheer for Big Blue
“We’re hoping that many Giants fans will travel across the pond to visit us in London,” said Giants Treasurer Jonathan Tisch. Invited former Giants’ players will “host” you on the trip, including George Martin, Harry Carson, Rodney Hampton, Phil McConkey, Mark Bavaro, Sean Landeta and others to be announced.

The NFL was smart in choosing the New York Football Giants to represent the colonies over at Wembley because, historically, Giants fans travel really well because of the older, wealthier fan-base. ESPN has a partnership with Orbitz and selected the Giants TWICE next season as highlighted games to go to...

5. Oct. 28: New York Giants vs. Miami Dolphins at London
Because you owe it to yourself to finally visit a foreign country. Because you need to see Big Ben up close. Because you need to pour back pints of Guinness and Stella in an celebrated pub. Because you need to feel the history and culture first hand in a walking tour of one of the world's great cities. Because otherwise you won't be able to figure out what time the game is being televised here in America (noon ET, we think).

8. Nov. 25: Minnesota at New York Giants
OK. So every year your spouse and kids watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and ask, "Can we go see that some day?" Well, here's your excuse. You go into New York a couple of days early, catch the parade, watch the Rockettes and the Christmas show at Radio City, do some Christmas shopping, see a Broadway show, then cap off the weekend with the Vikings-Giants game. And when you get home, you can take out a second mortgage to pay for it.

ESPN starts NFL Blog

LINK

ESPN has Matt Mosley blogging about the NFL at the above link. I want to welcome Matt to the blog-o-sphere and hope that someone might read my blog.


Matt Mosley, an award-winning writer for The Dallas Morning News for seven years, joined ESPN.com in January 2007. Mosley, a Baylor graduate, writes columns, features and blogs for ESPN.com.

matt.mosley@sbcglobal.net