NEW YORK – QB Eli Manning organized a practice with some of the players this past week. He took the initiative after the lockout flip flopped back and forth and is still currently about to enter it’s second month. It is an absolute shame that the players have to go to Hoboken high school in New Jersey (we love Hoboken) to get some work in. The New York Giants had nearly a quarter of a billion dollars playing on a high school field so they could get some work in. That’s crazy. It is also awesome. It shows Manning’s maturation into the true leader we all knew he would be one day. He crossed that line years ago but more importantly he has maintained it. I say bravo to Eli and the players who went out and played ball for a couple of days to get the blood flowing. Now that is old school!
Former WR Plaxico Burress was also in the news this past week. Burress will be released from prison in a month and the $64,000 question remains, will he play for Big Blue? There have been a ton of reports saying he will not be with the Giants. My perspective on the matter has not changed. I say the man deserves another chance since he has paid his debt to society for a crime (it was really an accident) where the only person injured was himself. For those not familiar with the story, Burress shot himself in the leg at a NYC nightclub with an unregistered gun. The guy had been a bit of a problem child before the incident but I am confident he has learned to appreciate the blessing of playing football for millions of dollars. The Giants truly have nothing to lose with giving him a league minimum contract for one year to see how well he does. Reports had Eagles QB Michael Vick very interested in speaking with Burress. Giving Burress a one year deal is worth it just to keep him from going to the Eagles as a scorned man. He is reportedly in terrific shape and could still be a very dangerous wide receiver in the NFL.
The rest of the NFL news has been extremely quiet. The lockout is now in it’s 58th day and still nothing has been worked out. It is now going to effect the minicamps and is getting close to messing with the OTA’s scheduling. Tom Coughlin will adapt and adjust but wouldn’t it be nice if he could follow the schedule he had planned all along. They still have to work on free agency, where I expect there will be a feeding frenzy among teams who are just waiting for the light to turn green before taking off. Free agency is going to be a ton of fun once the lockout is over for all of the NFL teams and NFL fans.
Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom and all of the Moms out there!
RD – nygreporter.com
Please visit www.hampscamp.com and donate/contribute to Rodney Hampton’s charity for the kids!
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