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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Posted by robdomaine

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

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2 Comments | 2011 Fantasy Football, 2011 New York Giants, 2011 NFL Draft, 2011 NFL Lockout, 2011 NFL Minicamp, 2011 NFL Preseason, 2011 NFL Regular Season, 2011 NFL Training Camp, Big Blue, Chris Mara, East Rutherford, Eli Manning, G-Men, Giants, Giants Coaches, Giants Draft, Giants Front Office, Giants Mini Camp, Giants Roster, Giants Stadium, Giants Training Camp, Hamps Camp, Jerry Reese, John Mara, Jonathan Tisch, Justin Tuck, Kevin Gilbride, New Jersey, New Meadowlands Stadium, New York, New York Football Giants, New York Giants, NFC East, NFL, NFL Draft, NFL Lockout, NFL New York Giants, NFL Schedule, Nilay Shah, NY Giants, NYG, NYG Blog, NYG Draft, NYG Fantasy Football, NYG Minicamp, NYG Preseason, NYG Regular Season, NYG Reporter, NYG Schedule, NYG Story, NYG Training Camp, NYG Website, nygreporter, Pat Hanlon, Perry Fewell, Roger Goodell, Steve Tisch, Timex Performance Center, Tom Coughlin, Tom Quinn | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by robdomaine

Giants S Phillips Ready To Go Monday, WR Smith Hurt

August 7, 2010

The New York Giants continue to be peppered with some bad luck in the injury department. As a fan, there is nothing more frustrating to me then injuries. It is easy for us to say that from the sidelines but trust me, it frustrates the players even more. I don’t mind the team losing a fair fight but when you have 6 or 7 or 8 starters injured or on the IR list, it takes the true test away from the game.

In a week where we saw WR Hakeem Nicks hyperextend his leg and need two MRI’s in New York City (turned out to be fine), we now have the news of WR Steve Smith going down with a groin injury at yesterdays afternoon practice. They say it is nothing serious but I’m sure they will rest there star receiver for a day or two. The recent news begs the question, what would Tom Coughlin do if both WR Steve Smith and WR Hakeem Nicks were lost for 6 weeks? Also, what would you do? To me, you would have to go with WR Mario Manningham, WR Ramses Barden and WR Sinorice Moss.

We must also mention that OL Rich Seubert may need to have surgery to repair a broken bone in his hand and has been listed as out indefinitely. It is becoming more obvious that OL William Beatty is going to take over the left tackle position, meaning that OL David Diehl will move to the guard position (his natural position). In this scenario, OL Rich Seubert would find himself in a backup role. Personally, I think he will thrive after getting some additional time off this year. I know his ego won’t like to  hear that but the man has earned his place on the team and he will come back stronger and refreshed.

Let’s not forget that DE Osi Umenyiora will need hip surgery at some point and might not make it through the season. We have C Shaun O’Hara with a nagging ankle injury that has made him miss most of training camp thus far. Both of these men are important pieces to the puzzle. OL Adam Koets and OL Jim Cordle, are the number two and three centers respectively behind O’Hara.

The best news we have had thus far is the return of S Kenny Phillips to practice on Monday. The Giants have been extremely cautious with Phillips during his rehab process. Now after all of the hard work and effort, Phillips will finally be dressed and on the field for practice. Phillips was projected to be a S Ed Reed clone when he came out of college. He has shown flashes of brilliance in the few games that fans have been able to watch Kenny. If Phillips is fully healthy and starts opposite S Antrel Rolle for the 2010 season, this could be one of the greatest “turn arounds” by a skill position in NFL history. Key areas to watch are obviously the INT, tackles, passes defended, defensive TD and sack department for the safety position.

– In other sports news, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Russ Grimm, Floyd Little, John Randle, Dick LeBeau and Rickey Jackson will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton this weekend.

– The 2010 NFL Hall of Fame game, Cowboys vs. Bengals will be played this Sunday 8/8/10 at 8PM EST.

RD – nygreporter.com

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Posted by robdomaine