Giants Make Big Roster Moves, NFL News From Active Week

March 10, 2012

NEW YORK – The New York Giants have made some roster moves already by signing WR Domenik Hixon, TE Jake Ballard and CB Bruce Johnson. The Giants have also released veteran RB Brandon Jacobs, who may want to test the market but return for less money and get that third ring we all know is coming to New York under QB Eli Manning. Come back to New York for a bit less Brandon, RB Ahmad Bradshaw is the No.1 RB in New York but the two players compliment each other well. Manning was also in the news this week for restructuring his contract to free up over $6.5 million dollars in cap space for 2012. The Giants will also need to pay DE Osi Umenyiora, who deserves to be paid a nice 3 or 4 year deal for consistent production on the field.

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning was released by the team this week, in an emotional press conference which included Jim Irsay. He has already begun checking out teams, including Denver where he was spotted this week and Miami where he will be soon. The Washington Redskins make a bold move giving up three 1st round picks (2012,2013,2014) and this years 2nd round pick, for this years No.2 overall pick from the St. Louis Rams. A pick most believe will be used on QB Robert Griffin III. The New York Jets sign QB Mark Sanchez long term with a five year $40 million dollar deal. Even WR Plaxico Burress was in the news and suggesting a return to the G-Men is always a possibility. I don’t know about that one.

It’s worth mentioning again how much I love the New York Giants using the franchise tag on punter Steve Weatherford. OL Kareem Mckenzie might be on his way out too. It sounds like the Giants are going to bulk up their offensive line this year which is a smart move. I would like to wish Brandon Jacobs all of the best in whatever he decides to do and Kareem McKenzie too, if he should leave. Of course, WR Mario Manningham is another big name floating around about possibly leaving the team. I hope that isn’t the case with Manningham but I wish him well too if he goes.

The NFL draft is next month and I think the Giants could use their first round pick on an offensive player for a change. I love the idea of getting a 10-year offensive lineman like OG Cordy Glenn 6’5″ 345 pounds in round one or OT Mike Adams 6’6″ 320 pounds. Perhaps, a stud tight end like Dwayne Allen 6’3″ 255 pounds or Coby Fleener 6’6″ 247 pounds. I doubt they will use a first round pick on a running back but I can see them taking one within the first four rounds. Giants GM Jerry Reese seems to be particularly astute at finding gems within the RB groups in later rounds, so it could wander into round five. I haven’t heard anything about special teams coach Tom Quinn yet but that is an area I expect will be addressed soon. It looks like K Lawrence Tynes has become a good luck charm for Big Blue and P Steve Weatherford is a rock star compared to other NFL punters. Hixon will help the return game and I expect WR Jerrel Jernigan to be primarily used as a WR. RB Da’Rel Scott is one to watch too. The Giants should also lock up LB Chase Blackburn for 3 years if possible in my opinion. I expect a linebacker to be drafted within the first four rounds. Be sure to come back and check out my full draft analysis by position.

What are your thoughts on some of the recent roster moves by Big Blue?

RD – nygreporter.com – RIP Alex Webster.

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New York Giants GM Jerry Reese, Take a Bow

February 10, 2012

NEW YORK – The New York Giants are Super Bowl XLVI Champions. I might start every article this week off with that sentence. Giants GM Jerry Reese is a winner. He deserves to win the GM of the Year award at least once in his career. I hope the voters see what he has accomplished and consider him each and every year. It’s funny how quickly NFL fans, who do not like the Giants, get sick of the sports news already after less then a week, such haters.

What can I say? I can watch that stuff all day. I am 100% sure that Jerry Reese has already started digging into the 2012 draft class and is without a doubt on top of the free agent market and the contract situations of current Giants players. I know he went back to work the next day following the Super Bowl XLVI victory, even if it wasn’t from his office or even in the NJ facility, Jerry Reese was working on making the Giants a better team and continues to do that right now, I guarantee it. The G-Men will never be mediocre under Reese but the amount of player injuries is something that really needs to be addressed this offseason, we cannot continue to hemorrhage 20% of the team to the IR List each season, it will catch up to us eventually. But enough of the negative, the good news is that Reese has stacked the Giants with a ton of talent. I’m extremely excited to see the players who went on IR last year get healthy. I’m just as excited about getting star players back as I am for the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft, where Reese will kill it once again I’m sure. My opinion on the draft is go 10-year Offensive lineman in round one Jerry. Show Easy Eli that the team is committed to protecting him through the prime of his career. I believe the team should walk away from the 2012 draft with no less then two offensive linemen to throw into the mix. The name of the game on offense is ‘Protect Eli Manning’. I can see the G-men grabbing a TE or RB within the first three rounds as well. The rest of the picks will most likely go to DB’s and LB’s and hopefully they are able to grab a special teams star.

Other predictions and opinions are coming soon with more coverage on the Giants Super Bowl XLVI win. The upcoming NFL Draft in April, where the G-Men will have the 32nd pick, the very last one in round one. Minicamp coverage, Training Camp coverage, player interviews, injury reports, player transactions, trades and everything else related to New York Giants football. So be sure to come and hang out with us during the Giants offseason and discuss Giants football in the comment areas.

What are your thoughts and assessment of Giants GM Jerry Reese and the job he has done with Big Blue in his young general manager career? The man gets an A+ from me. I’m all in.

RD – nygreporter.com – Congrats to the New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI Champions

Check out New York Giants RB Rodney Hampton’s summer football camp at www.hampscamp.com and donate/contribute to the after school programs for kids!


12/23/11 Christmas DAC Day 23, 2012 NFL Draft

December 23, 2011

NEW YORK – Hello Giants fans, I know it seems way too early to start talking about the draft but it is in fact only 4 months away. The NFL will hold the draft in April 2012 at Radio City Music Hall as usual and fans will be giving their expert advice, all month long, to anyone who will listen. I will be no different on here, telling you what I think and what is needed. The first area of need continues to be the offensive line. They need more depth at this position and protecting Eli Manning is worth the first round pick. Manning is having a career year and they need the blue wall up to protect his NFL Iron Man streak. I would start the entire draft by picking up a 10 year beast in the middle. I have been talking about grabbing a first round offensive lineman for two years now. With Manning getting into his 30’s, this investment makes sense now more then ever. What do you think?

The next area I would focus on is the running back position. I love the guys we have on the team but injuries have forced me to look at the Giants depth. Drafting a young and strong RB to keep in the stable would be a smart move right about now. If anyone can find the diamond in the rough in round two, it’s Giants GM Jerry Reese. I know it may seem odd that I would use the first two picks on offense, when the defense was so decimated by injuries this season. But The offensive line is what allows the offensive machine to get into sync and the RB situation was illuminated when both Jacobs and Bradshaw missed time. Ware and the rookie Scott were the only two options remaining and the Giants rushing attack is ranked at the very bottom of the list. The numbers simply don’t lie.

I honestly would not be surprised to see Big Blue draft a OL, RB or LB in round one. I’ve narrowed it down to those three positions. Now things can certainly change with transactions and trades as the draft gets closer. So this is strictly a pre-pre-pre-draft analysis for our readers. I think when the team gets back all of those injured players and you see them on the field, what I’m saying now, will make more sense. The G-Men are stacked at a bunch of positions but it has been so long since fans have seen these guys play together, they actually forget the squad. I wouldn’t mind seeing them bring back the Andrews brothers either, Shawn and Stacy as a real insurance policy for the offensive line.

These are my early draft assessments for the New York Giants. I will list the Giants area of need and show seven rounds by position. You are all welcome to write your own in the comment area and if you know of specific names, that is even better. I love checking out players that our readers inform us about. Remember these are just my opinions, so don’t rip my head off if you disagree with me. I’ve added a few player names for you to check out on your own, name and college.

DAC Analysis

New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Needs by Position.

1. Offensive Lineman – Barrett Jones or DJ Fluker, both from Alabama maybe?

2. Running Back – Chris Polk from Washington?

3. Safety – Ray Ray Armstrong from University of Miami or Trumaine Johnson from Montana.

4. Linebacker – Keenan Robinson from Texas or Bobby Wagner from Utah State. 

5. Offensive Lineman – Alex Hurst from LSU or maybe Xavier Nixon From Florida?

6. Cornerback – Greg McCoy from TCU or Tashaun Gipson of Wyoming.

7. Kicker – Randy Bullock from Texas A&M, Caleb Sturgis from Florida or Quinn Sharp from Oklahoma State are all good prospects.

What are some of the needs you see on the Giants and what positions are in the most need?

RD – nygreporter.com – Merry Christmas!

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Giants Lose Half of their Starting Offense in 2011

August 11, 2011

NEW YORK – The New York Giants might have to change their name to the New Look Giants this season. The team has been hit with a string of bad news (karma is a female dog) in recent weeks and the team has lost half of their starting offense. The news about WR Steve Smith going to the rival Eagles yesterday sealed the deal for me. I have been a very big fan of GM Jerry Reese and have showered him with praise since the first year he came to the team. But even my faith has been shaken by the mass exodus of pro bowl athletes in 2011. Think about this for a moment, the Giants have lost OL Rich Seubert, OL Shaun O’Hara, TE Kevin Boss, FB Madison Hedgecock and WR Steve Smith. All five of these guys were starters in an offense that requires eleven men. You do the math.

The Giants also lost some other quality guys such as OL Shawn “Fan Fav” Andrews, DT Barry Cofield (who also went to division rival, the Redskins). They are in a contract battle with all pro DE Osi Umenyiora, they lost CB Bruce Johnson to injury and cut him. They signed TE Ben Patrick who turned around and retired on them and they have lost their 1st round pick CB Prince Amukamara for two months. When it rains, it pours. There were other transactions made but these mentioned are the big deals and the team still hasn’t addressed all of the free agents that need signing. The Giants play their first preseason game in two days and will need to get a ton of new players up to speed on the playbook and the system. I’m not sure how they will fair but I wish them good luck with that.

I cannot remember a year in recent memory where the Giants lost so many quality players within a one month period of time. I’m not sure if there ever was a similar situation in team history. Yes, the team has signed some players but they hardly replaced all of the talent the team lost. I hope Jerry Reese knows what he is doing because this will be an unrecognizable group of players on the field to the true blue fan. The fact that the team was six million dollars over the salary cap certainly plays into the mix but that also begs the question of why? Who was watching the salary cap and allowed this to happen? Rabid fans have been calling for the head of Jerry Reese and for changes in the front office as a whole. I will keep my opinions to myself until I see what the team does in 2011. I will not panic but I am certainly deeply concerned.

What are your thoughts about the recent roster moves made by the Giants?

RD – nygreporter.com

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New York Giants Continue to Reshape Team with More Moves

July 27, 2011

NEW YORK – The New York Giants had a wonderful day by any measure of success in obtaining undrafted rookies yesterday. However, they also caused some waves among Giants fans by releasing some “fan favorite” players. After the news broke about the teams plans to release C Shaun O’Hara and OL Rich Seubert, the team followed up with more bad news by not coming to terms with OL Shawn Andrews. That means three offensive linemen have been cut or released in one day. This has left fans scratching their heads because it was very evident that the offensive line needed help before these cuts. They did re-sign OL Kevin Boothe to a two year deal but he is primarily a backup. The Giants have also reportedly agreed to terms with OL/C David Baas (6’4″ 330 pounds) who played his first six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Fans have come to trust GM Jerry Reese and I’m sure he has a plan but this is asking for a whole lot of trust.

Fans awoke today to more bad news, when they read that DT Barry Cofield will be leaving the team and going to the Washington Redskins of all places. Reports have him signing a six year deal with the division rival. This is another move I just don’t understand. Barry Cofield had become one of my favorite players because all he did was shut his mouth and do his job. The coaches must have seen something that I didn’t because Barry appeared to be the only steady rock in the middle of that defensive line. I truly wish him well and hate that he will be playing across the line from us for at least six years.

The Giants have been working hard to re-sign RB Ahmad Bradshaw and believe it or not, the team had been talking with WR Plaxico Burress for much of the day yesterday. Coughlin even came out and said he did not mind speaking to Burress, which he will do today. I’m not sure how realistic it is to think Plaxico will return to New York after all of the bad things he said about not wanting to play for Coach Coughlin but crazier things have happened in the past. It is unclear who the G-Men will target in free agency after clearing up some cap space by releasing all of these players. They may have to just sign all of their own players and only get one or two free agents off the market. The Giants have just placed the offensive linemen position on top of the “need” chart by making all of these moves. I’m very surprised they didn’t take measures to replace them prior to announcing the cuts. That only tells me that GM Jerry Reese must be targeting at least one big time offensive lineman from free agency. The madness is far from over so stay tuned for more updates fans.

Are you surprised by all of the player moves Big Blue has made so far?

RD – nygreporter.com

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Big Blue is Making Waves Early in the Free Agency Pool

July 26, 2011

NEW YORK – The Giants have started making roster moves. The biggest signing of the day was Boston College star LB Mark Herzlich. This is a kid that seems to charm everyone he meets and he has also shown his inner strength by beating cancer. I do not want to focus too much on him beating cancer (awesome story) because I’m sure this young man wants to put that all behind him and focus on the future. I hope other sports writers will leave him alone about that too. Let the kid play football now.

Giants GM Jerry Reese continues to show why he is an elite general manager in the NFL by having a great morning in the free agent market. The collection of undrafted rookies he has made deals with all bring unique talents to the table. Of course, Herzlich was projected to be a first round pick before he got sick and I have been hearing a lot of good things about this fullback Hynoski.

I will list a few of the players below but this is by no means the complete list. These are just a few players the team has worked on this morning. You can absolutely expect the list of players to grow but I thought I would give our readers a taste of what the day has brought so far. You can expect the madness to continue throughout this week and all the way up until the season starts. The two biggest needs for Big Blue are linebackers and offensive linemen.

Let’s take a look at some of the players the Giants were able to grab today.

1. LB Mark Herzlich – 6’4″ 250 pounds, Boston College

2. FB Henry Hynoski – 6’2″ 260 pounds, Pittsburgh

3. DB David Sims – 5’9″ 200 pounds, Iowa State

4. DT Martin Parker – 6’2″ 303 pounds, Richmond

5. LB Spencer Paysinger – 6’3″ 235 pounds, Oregon

6. DE Justin Trattou – 6’3″ 250 pounds, University of Florida

Which player are you hoping the G-Men will re-sign out of the current Giants free agents?

RD – nygreporter.com

Please visit www.hampscamp.com and donate/contribute to Rodney Hampton’s charity for the kids!


The 2011 NFL Lockout Ends After 136 Days of Stress

July 25, 2011

NEW YORK – The 2011 NFL lockout has finally come to an end today on the 136th day of the lockout (I do not subtract the 4 days a judge ordered the lockout stoppage in April). Thanks for the ulcer and 4 1/2 months of worrying. Maybe next year you can finish me off by telling me the Giants will be relocating to Oklahoma City or something like that. After all of the bickering and posturing, both sides have finally agreed to a deal and saved the 2011 season. I know that I am supposed to be overwhelmed with joy and excited but strangely I’m not. I feel like someone who went through a draining court process for half a year. I really thought I would feel excited but this sense of relief is still dominating my mind. I’m sure this feeling will change in the next day or two once the fire returns in my belly. I won’t have time to digest everything that has happened because football business will explode at a rapid pace now.

NFL teams can sign their free agents and begin negotiating with unrestricted free agents tomorrow. They can also start talking about trades with other teams and start talking with undrafted free agents as well. Let’s not forget all of the rookies from the 2011 NFL draft class, they need to be addressed too. The new rules on the 10 year deal are still very foggy but I expect team lawyers to pull an all-nighter to get themselves up to speed. We’ve got training camp starting in 4 days (reportedly this Friday) for Big Blue and the preseason starting in about two weeks. The NFL cancelled the Hall of Fame game and all signs point to preseason games beginning on August 11, 2011. This is going to be a very turbulent few weeks for Giants fans because there are going to be some players that leave the team. These are players that will make your heart break. There will also be some excitement for the new players the team brings in but it always hurts when you lose an old friend.

Be sure to check back with us a few times per day because the articles will be pouring out now to keep up with the news. There isn’t much to report yet except to say that things are about to get stupid, silly crazy! I’m actually starting to get excited now and should be on red alert by the time I’m finished writing this article. I would like to say good luck to all of the Giants free agents, I hope you can all come back. I would also like to say farewell to any players who might leave the team and I want to let you know that once you’re a Giant, you’re always a Giant to New York and the fans! Best wishes and good luck to you guys. And to the fans I ask, are you ready for some football?

What have you learned from the 2011 NFL lockout and how has it affected you as a fan?

RD – nygreporter.com

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Bizarre Week in the NFL Ends Today With Possible Vote

July 22, 2011

NEW YORK – Things have really started to heat up with the lockout situation (currently 133 days). I haven’t seen this much hype since the presidential elections. We’ve got information coming in from all over the country, both from the owner negotiations and also from players hometowns and such. It is absolute madness and it might not be over today as some expect. The NFL owners approved a deal yesterday (meaning the owners agreed with each other on a deal to show players) and handed it over to the players. This means if the players accept the proposal, teams will go back to work as early as tomorrow when they open the team facilities. Sounds great right? The only problem is that players have come out saying the NFL owners sneaked in some new stuff before handing the deal to the players. Shame on the owners for playing dirty and being sneaky porkers.

After a night in which twitter exploded with theories and speculation from the sports community, we rise to a new day. So what happens now? It is hard to say but the owners have waited so long to introduce this proposal that it really puts everyone in a bad situation. The players will not accept something they think is unfair and there simply isn’t enough time to start this whole process over again without canceling games. Just like they did last night when they cancelled the Hall of Fame game which was to be played on August 7, 2011. Roger Goodell has said that if a deal isn’t reached by this Wednesday (7/27/11), more games will have to be cancelled in the preseason and it could seriously jeopardize the regular season beginning on time. My question to the NFL owners is simple, why the heck did you wait so long to hand over a proposal which has directly put everyone in this time crunch situation? Was there no sense of urgency to get this done? The only way a vote gets done today is if the NFL owners alter the current deal they gave to the players.

Meanwhile, we have Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw talking in the news about going to the Miami Dolphins. That is not encouraging news at all. Reports say the G-Men will be about $11 million dollars over the salary cap once the lockout ends and that they will need to make some tough decisions. The Giants are simply going to have to trim the roster and everyone knows it. What we don’t know is who is going to be let go or traded. Some of the more prominent names who could become salary cap casualties are DT Barry Cofield, DE Osi Umenyiora, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, WR Steve Smith, RB Brandon Jacobs and DE Mathias Kiwanuka. There are more players at risk but these six scare me the most. I do not want to lose any of these guys but the reality is that at least one of these players will not be with the team in 2011, maybe even two or more. Following the madness of keeping star players on the team, the G-Men will then have to focus on signing the rookies, who they haven’t seen play on the field yet.

Giants owner John Mara has said that he hopes to have the naming rights to New Meadowlands stadium sold before the season starts. Most reports think the new name will be the MetLife stadium, which I absolutely hate. I have not heard one Giants fan mention how they liked that name. In the age of corporations, it was nice that fans still had Giants stadium and Yankee stadium out there. It gave fans the feeling that their teams were above selling out to the corporate animals. I understand the situation is different with the leech Jets sharing the stadium but we can dream, right? It will always be Giants stadium to me.

What are your thoughts on how the 2011 NFL lockout is being handled?

RD – nygreporter.com

Please visit www.hampscamp.com and donate/contribute to Rodney Hampton’s charity for the kids!


Brutal 2011 NFL Schedule Will Force G-Men to Dig Deep

July 20, 2011

NEW YORK – If the New York Giants are going to make it back to the playoffs in 2011, they are certainly going to have to earn it. The G-Men have a tough overall regular season schedule this year but the second half of that schedule following the bye week is absolutely brutal. The Giants will need to be at full health and clicking in every area of their game to seriously compete with the elite of the NFL. I believe the Giants belong in that elite grouping as well but after two seasons in which they failed to make the playoffs, speculation swirls among even the most die hard fan. I know the Giants are capable of running the table when fully healthy but trying to convince others of this fact is almost impossible.

Starting in week nine, the level of competition goes through the roof. I know the Giants would not want it any other way but even the players must have been shaking their heads and saying “Are you kidding me?” Between weeks nine and seventeen the Giants will play the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys twice. You can also add the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers to that list which rounds out the final nine games (five of those games are on the road). The rule is that any team can beat any team on any given Sunday. Having a week seven “bye week” is favorable to most teams in the NFL and the G-Men are really going to need that break before basically facing a playoff caliber team each and every week to finish out the year. This is about as tough a schedule as I can remember in recent history.

As I mentioned, if the Giants are healthy, they can beat any team in the NFL. Without having all of their weapons on the field, the odds go down considerably. Throw in the fact that the NFL has been messing around with this lockout for 131 days now and you have to wonder if the players are going suffer on the field from a lack of true conditioning. Only time will tell. The first step is to end this silly lockout which appears to be happening as I write this. Most expect a deal to be done within the next 72 hours. Let’s hope these “insiders” and “experts” are correct.

Are you concerned about the tough schedule the Giants face this season?

RD – nygreporter.com

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New York Giants QB Eli Manning is a Superhero

July 19, 2011

NEW YORK – The New York Giants have a superhero on the team. I know it sounds strange but it’s true. Can you guess which superhero I’m talking about? I’m talking about QB Eli Manning being an Iron Man in the NFL. I have talked about this in previous articles as one of the many achievements Easy Eli has accomplished so far in his short career. I simply added it to the list of other achievements such as Super Bowl MVP, Pro Bowl player and Super Bowl Champion. The NFL Iron Man title is reserved for the players who have the most consecutive career starts.

I was a bit shocked when I checked this out today and realized that Eli Manning is ranked 6th for quarterbacks on the all-time consecutive starts list with 103. Yes, you heard me correctly, he is ranked 6th All-Time in NFL history. He is also ranked 3rd among active players, his brother Peyton is ranked 2nd all-time with 208 starts, trailing only Brett Favre who sits on top of the list with 297 consecutive starts. Only Peyton and Eli have active streaks in the top 10 still going right now as well. The others on the list have had their streaks snapped at some point. That Favre record is amazing considering all of the injuries that occur on the field each and every year. If things go right for Eli in 2011, he will easily overtake the No.5 position on this list by week 5. By week 9, he will have surpassed Tom Brady for the No.4 position on the list and by week 14 he will hurdle over Ron Jaworski for the No.3 spot. I do not want to jinx Manning which is why I am writing this article before the season starts but it’s pretty cool to think he will be ranked 3rd on the all-time list by seasons end if things go well.

I will leave the list below for all of our readers to check out and I would love to hear your opinions on this subject. Is this a record that deserves more attention such as the Cal Ripken Jr. consecutive starts record for baseballs Iron Man title? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that football is much more violent then baseball. While Ripken’s record is extremely impressive for baseball, it cannot truly be compared to the staggering 297 consecutive game streak held by Brett Favre. This is just my opinion, what do you think?

The NFL All-Time Consecutive Starts List for QB (Iron Man Streak)

1. QB Brett Favre, retired – 297 consecutive starts. The number is 321 if you include the playoffs.

2. QB Peyton Manning, active – 208 consecutive starts. The number is 227 if you include the playoffs.

3. QB Ron Jaworski, retired – 116 consecutive starts. The number is 123 if you include the playoffs.

4. QB Tom Brady, active – 111 consecutive starts (*streak ended in 2008). The number is 128 if you include the playoffs.

5. QB Joe Ferguson, retired – 107 consecutive starts. The number is 110 if you include the playoffs.

6. QB Eli Manning, active – 103 consecutive starts. The number is 110 if you include the playoffs.

Are you surprised to find out about this ongoing accomplishment by QB Eli Manning?

RD – nygreporter.com

Please visit www.hampscamp.com and donate/contribute to Rodney Hampton’s charity for the kids!