Die Hard Sports Fan

The Giants dominated the Seahawks as they scored 4 TDs and 2 FGs on their first 6 possessions of the game which was enough for both coaches to pull their starting quarterbacks out after the 3rd Quarter giving Big Blue their fourth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

During the opening drive of the Seahawks, Tuck took down Matt Hasselbeck which required medical attention on his knee, and the drive ultimately led to a punt.

During the Giants first possession, Eli Manning handed the ball off to Jacobs three times for 64 yards before he hooked up with Domenik Hixon in the left side of the end zone for a 32-yard Touch Down reception with 11:21 remaining.

Hasselbeck marched the Seahawks 56 yards to set up a 30-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Olindo Mare with 7:09 remaining.

The Giants second possession began at the 25 yardline, and Manning got Toomer involved with 3 receptions on this drive before handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who ran it up the gut for a 3-yard Touch Down run with 3:39 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Manning aired out a 41-yard pass to Hixon which got the Giants to the Seahawks’ 18 yardline, and John Carney made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 14:50 remaining.

Manning sprinkled in some Smith, some Hedgecock, and some Manningham as he led the team 73 yards to the end zone, and he capped off the drive by handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who jumped over the pile for a 1-yard Touch Down run with 7:23 remaining.

On 2nd and 5, Patrick Kerney sacked Eli Manning on his blindside and knocked the ball out as well, but Kevin Boothe recovered it so the Giants did not turn the ball over. Manning got Hixon, Moss, and Ward involved as he marched the Giants into field goal range, and John Carney made a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:47 remaining.

Hasselbeck, along with a couple of bad facemask penatlies by the Giants, was able to march the Seahawks into field goal range before the 1st Half concluded, and Olindo Mare made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:03 remaining.

3rd Quarter

Eli Manning handed the ball off Jacobs, one of which was a 28-yard run, and Ward before firing a 23-yard Touch Down pass to Sinorice Moss in the middle of the end zone with 11:58 remaining to cap off an 80 yard drive (The Giants reported that Dominek Hixon and Kareem McKenzie left the game due to concussions).

The Giants seventh possession resulted in a Punt which was the first non-scoring drive of the game for them.

On 3rd and 5, Matt Hasselbeck scrambled and threw an interception to Kevin Dockery at the Giants’ 23 yardline, and Dockery returned it to the Seahawks’ 31 yardline. The Giants were unable to get into the end zone, but John Carney made a 25-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:38 remaining.

4th Quarter

Seneca Wallace replaced Hasselbeck on this drive, and Mathias Kiwanuka sacked Wallace for a loss of 9 on 3rd and 10 with 14:11 remaining.

David Carr replaced Manning on this drive, and Carr kept handing the ball off to Bradshaw until they got to the Seahawks’ 5 yardline where Carr hit Sinorice Moss in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard Touch Down pass with 9:25 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 19/25 and threw for 267 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 15 and 136.

Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led in Receptions with 4, and Domenik Hixon led in Receiving Yards with 102.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 TD Runs, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Reception, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD Reception.

John Carney went 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Aaron Ross led the team in Tackles with 6.

Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson had 1 Sack.

Kevin Dockery had 1 INT.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The Giants and the Bengals went back-and-forth all game until time ran out in regulation which forced the game into overtime where the Giants won on a game winning field goal giving Big Blue their third win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

Mathias Kiwanuka, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield sacked Carson Palmer on the Bengals’ first play of the game for a loss of 6 yards with 11:04 remaining.

On the same drive, Corey Webster knocked the ball out of Carson Palmer’s hand with 9:48 remaining, but Bobbie Williams fell on the ball to keep it in the Bengals’ possession.

Carson Palmer marched the Bengals 60 yards to the Giants’ 3 yardline during their second possession, but the Giants stopped the Bengals from reaching the end zone so Shayne Graham made a 22-yard Field Goal Attempt giving the Bengals a 3-0 lead with 0:38 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Since this is the first time that the Giants have been losing this year, Eli Manning immediately countered by leading the Giant offense 80 yards down the field and capped it off with a hand off to Brandon Jacobs who leaped over the pile for a 1-yard Touch Down run giving the Giants a 7-3 lead with 10:38 remaining.

Carson Palmer then countered by driving the Bengals 74 yards for another score, and Carson Palmer capped off the drive by handing it off to Chris Perry who broke right side for a 26-yard Touch Down run giving the Bengals a 10-7 lead with 7:20 remaining.

Eli Manning countered again by marching the Giants 51 yards down the field for another score, but the Bengals stopped the Giants from getting into the end zone so John Carney made a 24-yard Field Goal Attempt to tie the game at 10-10 with 3:55 remaining.

Barry Cofield sacked Carson Palmer for a 6-yard loss during the Bengals’ fourth possession with 2:26 remaining.

Also during the Bengals’ fourth possession, Carson Palmer kept this offensive showdown alive by marching the team 80 yards to the Giants’ 4 yardline before getting sacked by Mathias Kiwanuka for a loss of 8 yards on 3rd and 3 which set up a 30-yard Field Goal Attempt that Shayne Graham made with 0:32 remaining giving the Bengals a 13-10 lead.

3rd Quarter

Fred Robbins sacked Carson Palmer for a 10-yard loss during the Bengals’ sixth possession with 11:28 remaining.

During the Giants’ seventh possession, Eli Manning took the Giants to the 30 yardline which was where John Carney made a 46-yard Field Goal Attempt to tie the game at 13-13 with 6:23 remaining.

Dave Tollefson joined the party by sacking Carson Palmer for a loss of 8 on 3rd and 16 with 2:49 remaining which led to a punt.

4th Quarter

The Giants eighth possession began at the 25 yardline.

After the Giant defense made a few stops, Eli Manning took the Giants 67 yards to the 8 yardline where they had to settle for a 26-yard Field Goal Attempt that was made by John Carney which gave the Giants a 16-13 lead with 11:32 remaining.

Carson Palmer countered the Giants score by driving the Bengals 68 yards, and he capped off the drive with a 17-yard strike to T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the middle of the end zone for a Touch Down giving the Bengals a 20-16 lead with 4:39 remaining.

Eli Manning, in a hurry up offense, marched the Giants 68 yards to the 3 yardline where he fired a 3-yard TD pass to a covered and leaping Kevin Boss in the middle of the end zone giving the Giants a 23-20 lead with 1:50 remaining.

Carson Palmer was able to get the Bengals to the 3 yardline to set up a 21-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Shayne Graham on their final possession to tie the game at 23-23 with 0:00 remaining.

Overtime

The Giants won the toss and elected to receive, but the Bengals were successful in stopping the Giants from scoring during their first possession.

The Bengals went 3-and-out during their first possession.

The Giants began their second possession at the 29 yardline. Manning hit Burress on the left sideline for a 33-yard gain. After that, aired it out to Toomer along the left sideline who went out of bounds at the 7 yardline for a gain of 31 yards. On 2nd and Goal, John Carney made a 22-yard Field Goal Attempt to win the game by a score of 26-23 with 8:39 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 26/43 and threw for 289 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts with 14, Derrick Ward led in Rushing Yards with 80.

Steve Smith led in Receptions with 7, and Amani Toomer led in Receiving Yards with 64.

Brandon Jacobs had 1 TD Run, Kevin Boss had 1 TD Reception.

John Carney went 4/4 in Field Goal Attempts.

Antonio Pierce led the team in Tackles with 10.

Fred Robbins had 2 Sacks. Corey Webster, Barry Cofield, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Dave Tollefson each had 1 Sack.

Corey Webster had 1 Forced Fumble.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The best part of yesterday’s game between the Giants and the Rams was the final score which was 41-13. The Road Warriors went out to St. Louis seeking their 11th consecutive road win, and 12th if you include the Super Bowl. The G-MEN dominated the Rams in every way except for points during most of the game.

Offense

Eli Manning had a solid game as he went 20/29 which is a 68.96% completion percentage and threw for 260 yards and 3 TDs. Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress both were key contributors in the Giants aerial attack as they combined for over 150 receiving yards. The ‘running back by committee’ had a solid outing as they combined for over 200 yards. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward wore down the Rams’ defense. In the 4th Quarter, Ahmad Bradshaw ran into the end zone untouched once for a 31-yard TD run. The Bradshaw TD run was beautiful to watch because nobody got a hand on him. With all of that said, the Rams were able to keep the Giants from not getting into the end zone too much until the 4th Quarter when the Giants torched them for 3 TDs, one of which was a defensive touch down. The Giants’ offense put up 28 of the 41 points.

Defense

Big Blue was able to apply pressure on Marc Bulger all day. Justin Tuck was a beast as usual and finished the day with 3 Tackles, 2 Sacks, and 1 Interception that he returned for a Touch Down. Fred Robbins also had 2 Sacks which were his first sacks of the season. Antonio Pierce and Jay Alford also got to Bulger once. I really enjoyed the AP sack also because nobody even touched him as he went right up the middle. The Rams’ offense was unable to stop the Giants’ defense. The Giants’ defense put up 7 of the 41 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 2/2 in Field Goal Attempts. Domenik Hixon was solid returning Kickoffs and Punts. The Giants’ special teams put up 6 of the 41 points.

So the Giants won their first two games. Big Blue turned this one into a blow out. You would’ve never known how close this game was in the 4th Quarter by looking at the final score. Next on the schedule are the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Tom Rock of Newsday put together a Q&A for the Giants, and here are two questions that I found to be the most interesting.

Is Ahmad Bradshaw still on the team?

Yes, and he did return a kickoff. But the second-year running back was left out of the rushing game. That wasn’t by design, Tom Coughlin said. “I didn’t get the rotation worked out the way I really would want to,” he said. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward took all of the team’s handoffs, and they seemed to fare rather well. Coughlin pointed out that he was pleased with how the two backs worked against a physical, stout defense. “Not that I’m not pleased with Bradshaw,” he said. “That’s not the case. I just didn’t get the right rotation.”

What was the most impressive moment of Jacobs’ night?

That would have to be the hit he put on LaRon Landry, an instant YouTube classic in which the Redskins safety was essentially spiked into the ground and had to leave the game. “I’m just glad that guy’s on my team,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “He ran over a guy while a guy was on his back, too. That’s hard to do. That’s what you get when you have a running back that looks like a lineman. I don’t know what to tell you other than I’m glad I don’t have to tackle him.”

So now we know why we only saw Bradshaw once. Jacobs is a beast, and I love it. We just have to hope that the physicality he bring does not get him injured again like last season. I am aware that we have depth at the RB position, but I would prefer to have Brandon in every game if possible. I went and found the YouTube video of when Brandon Jacobs ran over LaRon Landry and another video of when he knocked the wind out of Fred Smoot.

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To be honest, I’ve been avoiding the NFL Network, ESPN, blogs, etc., all morning. Why? Two reasons. First, I don’t want to hear others talk openly about how uncomfortable we looked on offense last night. I think there is a lesson to be learned for the team, and Zorn. Preseason does matter. Last night showed the team was not where it needs to be. Now, I don’t know exactly what happened during training camp. I don’t know if there was a sense of premature accomplishment, or what. But clearly, last night, the Giants let us know, we’re not there yet.

So, yeah, the score wasn’t that bad. We didn’t get blown out. The defense can take the credit for that. By half-time, the squad had seemed to figure it out. And, even after Fred Smoot went down, we were able to hold them back from squirting Plax juice in our face for the rest of the night. I think the defense will be fine if they can play a whole game like they played the second half last night.

As for the offense, to be certain, I do believe we will improve…dramatically. How could we not. The running game needs help. How Clinton Portis ended up with 84 total yards is amazing. Jim Zorn wants to keep the same running game. Well, he might want to think seriously about adding a few new wrinkles to it ’cause “50-gut” doesn’t work any more. Beyond that, we need to get Chris Cooley more involved. And, he needs to learn how to “crash” block down on the far side DE. On one particular play, his DE ran all the way across and down the line to stop CP for maybe a 1-yard gain. Are you kidding me?

The second reason: I don’t want to see LaRon Landry get blasted and bowled over by Brandon Jacobs, again…and again…and again.

 

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So I know you can’t tell much from the first pre-season game but you can definitely get a basic idea of who is the consistent no matter what player on the field. My basic observation of the game begins with Derrick Ward. Not very good in the running game but great in the short pass situation. I think he’ll be a lethal weapon when used in play action plays. He seems to be more of a natural catcher and good at making strides after the catch for more gains. Eli Manning seemed very comfortable in the pocket and I can definitely see that it is all thanks to his offensive line. We’ll see great things from him this season again and spreading the ball around to different wide receivers is going to be every defense’s nightmare. Brandon Jacobs maintains sharpening up his cutting abilities which can only make him more dangerous. This guy is a beast as it is and if he develops more finesse with his run he’ll be more of a main target to defenders. Once this man gets past the second wave of defenders and is left to face the undersized cornerbacks and safeties, you know he’s going helmet to helmet with these guys. Kevin Boss is still the boss and showing why he’s the boss. The type of player who will surprise us the most is going to be this man here. Yes Shockey is gone but if you think we have a good back up, you’re wrong, this guy is a definite starter. A little more work on his blocking ability and we’ll have a well rounded tight end again, or we can depend on Madison Hedgecock. Hedgecock has become the real deal when it comes to blocking. His size is definitely aomething we can take advantage of, especially since he knows how to angle himself and push his own weight around. last but not least, Ahmad Bradshaw is looking very good once again. He has not lost a step since his outstanding performance last season and continues to look more and more like a number 2 running back. It’s amazing how the two punch has become more popular nowadays with the great talent that comes from these young players. Just like Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor from the Jacksonville Jaguars, our two headed monsters will show everyone this season the benefit of vision and power We will soon see everyone in it for some real action. I can only imagine what this season is going to be like for our Giants, but I can tell you we are well prepared for the future.

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Bob Glauber of Newsday asks ‘Will the Super Bowl Championship go to the Giants’ heads?’ Glauber’s argument is, “Repeating as Super Bowl champs is one of the toughest feats in sports; it has been done just eight times before. The Giants do look good on paper, even with the retirement of Michael Strahan, although they’ll have some new faces defensively. It is awfully tough to repeat in this league, and the Cowboys and Eagles remain viable threats. But I will not write off the Giants until I see definitive proof that they’ve taken a step back from last season. Barring key injuries, this is a serious Super Bowl contender.”

I believe that Bob’s argument is a good one. Keep in mind that the Giants had a very similar roster on paper heading into last season, and the ‘experts’ picked them to come in last place in the NFC East. Now they are a ’serious Super Bowl contender’. I love how people point out the obvious. I had the Giants as an 11-5 team heading into last year so don’t buy what the media is selling. The past few season, the Giants have had more offensive weapons on a Giants’ team at one time than I can ever remember. I’m referring to Eli, Tiki, Shockey, Amani, Plaxico, Jacobs, etc. When was the last time that you can remember the Giants having that many Pro Bowl caliber players on offense at one time? It was the defense that got soft the past few seasons which is not the norm. Spags came in and straightened that out in one season.

In another article in Newsday, Tom Rock says that the Giants will continue to use the “us against the world” attitude in 2008 because other teams around the league believe that the G-MEN just got hot at the right time last year. Shaun O’Hara said, “You do it once and people can call it a fluke, but if you do it twice, they start to really respect you and understand your talent.” Here’s what the Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning had to say, “I don’t think we’re satisfied. I think we are happy about last year, but we are not content with where we stand as a team and what we can do as an offense, as a team. We know that we can become a better group of players. We can have a better season.” In a similar article by Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, Vacchiano captured the thoughts of other Giants. Barry Cofield said, “We still feel a little bit of a sense of people saying that the Patriots lost. We still feel like a poor man’s champ.” Poor man’s champ…that’s a horrible feeling for taking down the undefeated Cheatriots. Brandon Jacobs said, “I’m not surprised. But if we haven’t shut up a lot of doubters yet, we can still shut them up next year.” Jerry Reese said, “I think it’ll definitely be addressed when we get into training camp and get everybody together. Last year is last year. That’s not going to help us win any games this year. We can’t talk about it. You’ve got to get out there and do it. That was our mantra last year: Talk is cheap, play the game. I think that carries over into next year as well. You can’t talk about it, you’ve got to be about it.”

That mentality was exactly how the Giants imposed their will upon their opponents. Look back at the Cowboys, Packers, and Patriots tapes and tell me that they didn’t win some of those games on heart alone. Antonio Pierce is probably the best player on the Giants that is also a leader that completely buys into this mentality. You could hear it each week when he called into The Fan. It is imperative that the Giants carry that attitude over to 2008 if they want to repeat.

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So the Giants have concluded their final day of Mini Camp.  The next 40 days or so are going to be much quieter since not much will be going on until they go up to Albany for training camp.  I’m sure we’ll continue to hear about Burress and Shockey until it’s resolved.  For now, Justin Tuck is expected to replace Strahan at left defensive end rather than moving Mathias Kiwanuka back up to the D-Line.

NFL.com is running a video called ‘Top 10 comebacks’.  Big Blue made the list twice, once on the winning end and once on the losing end.

• No. 9: Giants 17-point comeback over the Eagles in 2006.
• No. 3: 49ers 24-point comeback over the Giants on Wild Card Weekend in 2002.  This game just broke my heart.  I was up at Mohegan Sun watching the game in one of the bars, and I had to drive back to Long Island so depressed.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com believes that Michael Strahan may come back if the Jints call him and say that they need him back when the season is about to begin.

Giants.com:

Born to lead - Michael Eisen expects Antonio Pierce to take a bigger role as a leader for this team now that Strahan retired.  Pierce said,

I don’t feel that respect amongst the league. Talking to other guys throughout the league a lot of them said, ‘You guys played a hell of a game.’ A hell of a game - so the other 16 games in the regular season and the three playoff games really didn’t do anything for us. You hear that amongst players. We played a good game at the right time. Your quarterback got hot at the right time, your defense started playing ball at the right time. All those things are being said and heard, and that is fine and dandy. We have to do it again and the only thing we are shooting for is to win our division and get to the playoffs.

We are the underdogs again. We are not even picked to win our division, so there is nothing that has changed. The only thing that we have is the title of having the Super Bowl championship, of being the most recent Super Bowl champion. We are still the underdogs, and I think going into it we will probably be underdogs even at home again.

I know what they are saying, but I don’t worry about that. I am going to go about my business the same way I did last year. When Strahan wasn’t here for the whole OTAs, mini-camp, and training camp it was already starting to go that way last year. He came back and he picked up right where he left off. Obviously, he is not going to be here this year. But I am just going to do what I normally do, go about my business the same way. Obviously, I am going to be a little more vocal and I am going to have to be the guy to get after the guys a little bit more if need be.

I know AP loves to use the ‘underdog’ and the ‘us against the world’ mentality to prove everybody wrong.  I think that the media is retarded for saying that the Road Warriors are not the team to beat, but maybe it will benefit the team in a positive way this year just like it did last year.  Also, AP was the biggest leader on the team last season anyway.  Not just on the field, but he represented the team off the field as well (i.e., his weekly spot on WFAN).  He did a great job doing it also.  He does need to increase his role as a leader now that Strahan is gone.  It is funny how a guy like Pierce can become a leader because he was an undrafted free agent signed by the Redskins.  The Giants got him and he’s already been one of the leaders of the defense.  There are others guys who have been around much longer, but where are they? 

Mini Camp Report Day Three (Video) - John Schmeelk and Michael Eisen discussed day three of this week’s Mini Camp.

Fierce Pierce Report (Video) - John Schmeelk had a Q&A Session with Antonio Pierce.

6.13 DC Steve Spagnuolo (Video) - The media asked Steve Spagnuolo about moving forward without Strahan.

OC Kevin Gilbride (Video) - The media asked Kevin Gilbride about Shockey and Burress not being out there on the field.

WR Amani Toomer (Video) - The media asked Amani Toomer if he thinks it makes a difference that he was the only one out there for Eli Manning to throw to.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin (Video) - The media asked Tom Coughlin about this week’s Mini Camp.

QB Eli Manning (Video) - The media asked Eli Manning about this week’s Mini Camp.

RB Brandon Jacobs (Video) - The media asked Brandon Jacobs if they have a different attitude this year since they won the Super Bowl.

CB Sam Madison (Video) - The media asked Sam Madison what he thinks about Plaxico’s contract dispute.

WR Sinorice Moss (Video) - The media asked Sinorice Moss what we should expect from him this year.

New York Daily News:

O’Hara: Media misinterpreted me - Shaun O’Hara had this to say to the media.

I thought it was quite humorous that all these intellectuals with pens and recorders could totally miss the point that was made yesterday I was frustrated with the media. I never once criticized anybody or any teammates. So you guys missed the point on that one. I was asked a general question about players in general. It had no relevance whatsoever to anybody. (It was) a general question about players wanting more money and new contracts. I’m always going to side with the players when they want more money. You have to handle your business. But what I said was that in my opinion that there was a right way to do things. I’m not talking about those guys (Shockey and Burress). I never was talking about those guys. I was speaking in general terms, my belief about the way I would handle it.

Ralph Vacchiano stated that O’Hara, ” has been a consummate professional with the media ever since he joined the Giants. He has earned our trust and the benefit of the doubt, so I’ll believe him that his intent was not to specifically attack two teammates. Only he knows for sure and I’m not going to try to interpret what was in his head.”  With that said, Vacchiano included the transript of the interview and O’Hara did respond to the question specifically about Burress.  I don’t think O’Hara should back down from what he said.  He is the captain because he says the right things about the team.

The Star-Ledger:

Coughlin: Shockey an ‘issue’ - Mike Garafolo pointed out that Coughlin said that, “There is an issue.” when asked about Shockey’s mental state after practice, “but it’s not something that would prevent him from working.”

Final minicamp practice report - Mike Garafolo lets us know who impressed him on the final day of Mini Camp.

Rosenhaus cryptic about 80, 17 - Mike Garafolo provided the transcript from Drew Rosenhaus.  As usual, Rosenhaus didn’t have much to say about his clients.

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Pat Kirwan of NFL.com wrote an article about how the Giants will effectively pressure the Quarterback without Strahan.  His conclusion is the depth the Giants have at the position, and he is confident that Umenyiora, Tuck, Kiwanuka, and Wynn will wreak havoc on opposing QBs.  I definitely recommend that you check it out.

Giants.com:

Chance to improve - Michael Eisen says TE’s Kevin Boss and Darcy Johnson are getting valuable snaps at Mini Camp.

Moving Forward - Using a bunch of quotes, Michael Eisen realizes that theme is that the Giants are looking ahead to 2008.

Transcript: Player Quotes - Here is the funniest one posed to J-Load:

Your face looks slimmer?

No, this is just sunburn, but I am getting there, I am getting there.  It is always working, you know how it is.

What does looking slimmer have to do with sunburn?

Transcript: WR Amani Toomer - Yesterday, Amani Toomer fields questions about mini camp.  This one is hysterical because Toomer doesn’t seem comfortable answering the first five questions so the media asked what he had for lunch.

Why are all the players upset about all the Shockey questions?

Why are the players getting upset?  Because it is really not the players, it is just between the people who it is between, it is not between us.  We would love to have him back if we could, if everything works out, but it is really out of our control, that is why.

Have you shown him the love?

Yeah, I guess it was good to see him.  I don’t know [what you are asking?]

Is he in a bad mood?

Is he in a bad mood?  I wouldn’t say a bad mood.  Honestly, I have no idea about the whole situation.

What has Plaxico shown you over the years while he is healthy?

I think last year says pretty much everything.  He had a great year last year and he did a lot for our team.  I don’t know what else you want me to say.

What is he like as a teammate?

He does a lot for us on the field.  I don’t know what else to say.  He does a lot for us.

How was lunch today?

Actually it was good, the salmon was pretty good and you can’t complain about that.

Transcript: C Shaun O’Hara - Yesterday, Shaun O’Hara fields questions about mini camp.  Here’s a good one because I’m still waiting for the Giants to have a dynasty era.  Is it now?

What comes along with winning that first title?  Is there more of a desire to get to a second one?

Absolutely.  You do it once and people can call it a fluke, but if you do it twice they start to really respect you and understand your talent.  You have to win three for them to start using the ‘D’ word, dynasty, but I think that we all understand the requirements and the responsibility that comes with being defending champs.

Trancript: RB Brandon Jacobs - Yesterday, Brandon Jacobs fields questions about mini camp.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin (Video) - Tom Coughlin answers questions from the media about today’s practice.

TE Kevin Boss (Video) - Kevin Boss answers questions from the media about Jeremy Shockey.

QB Jared Lorenzen (Video) - Jared Lorenzen answers questions about mini camp.  It’s always good to hear from the ‘Hefty Lefty’.  You only hear from him and see him prior to the season.

DE Osi Umenyiora (Video) - Osi Umenyiora answers questions from the media about moving forward without Michael Strahan.

TE Darcy Johnson (Video) - Darcy Johnson answers questions from the media about how much weight he gained and how he plans on contributing to the team.

Mini Camp Report (Video) - Yesterday, John Schmeelk and Michael Eisen provided the Mini Camp Report.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin (Video) - Yesterday, Coughlin answers questions from the media about practice.

QB Eli Manning (Video) - Yesterday, Eli Manning answers questions from the media about how they intend on improving in 2008.

LB Mathias Kiwanuka (Video) - Yesterday, Mathias Kiwanuka answers questions from the media about moving forward without Strahan.

DE Osi Umenyiora (Video) - Yesterday, Umenyiora answers questions from the media about his contract.

New York Daily News:

Osi Umenyiora not happy with contract, won’t throw mini-tantrum - Ohm Youngmisuk wrote this about Osi, “Umenyiora could have added to the Giant headache but the affable Pro Bowler said he is going to take the opposite route and practice while talking to Giants brass. “I will be in camp,” Umenyiora said. “I’m not going to hold out. My situation is a little different.”"  This is exactly what Plaxico should be doing.

The Star-Ledger:

Afternoon practice report

O’Hara comments on Plax situation - Shaun O’Hara had this to say about Burress’ situation,

There’s a right way to do things. I’ve always felt that, as a player, you go out there, you put your best foot forward and as long as you’re giving 100 percent effort every time, you’ll be taken care of.

I think it’s a disservice to all the other guys that are out there working hard, practicing and doing their jobs. To focus on the negative is … sometimes we expect that, but there are a lot of guys out there doing good things every day. We have a lot of young guys that are getting a lot of good reps in. I think that should be the focus.

I think we proved it last year that the team-first concept overcomes everything. Whether players like it or not, this team is going to move forward. There certainly will be another center playing in my position when I’m done and that goes for every position along the line, so you’re either with us or you’re against us. I think the players are doing a good job of focusing on their daily tasks and their jobs and as long a we all continue to do that, this team will succeed.

Morning practice (and 80/17) report

Giants trainers have a busy day - Mike Garafolo provided an injury status for various players.

Practice must go on - Mike Garafolo tells us the highlights of yesterday’s practice.

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After the unbelievable season we just had we are now officially back to business. Party time was great and the players were spoiled left and right but now they look towards what lies in front of them. Looking at the Giants I do not see a reason to trade or release anyone (maybe a reserve). The team looks complete and now that they tasted victory, they will pursue that flavor once again. How good would it feel to get another crown and be known around the league as a brute force not to mess with? I can be realistic and say that we won’t finish the regular season undefeated but you can bet every game it’s going to be a nightmare for the opposite team. First off, our defensive line it’s just going to be top notch. I believe they are going to be the boys who stand out the most. Linebackers are the second body who’ll make their presence felt closing gaps and shutting down short pass situations. The cornerbacks and safeties will step up big this year and hope that watching the tape will help them see where they get beat. Our running game is going to be ridiculous.However order you like to place them in, Jacobs, Bradshaw, and Ward are going to take us to the top of the chart in rushing yards. Our wide receivers will be the consistent open wins on the field. Our offensive line is full of soldiers that help us stand tall to the team name, “Giants”. It’s on again and the team is ready to begin their journey putting 07 behind. You better believe that these Giants are not the type to let their previous superbowl win affect this year’s performance. These guys would rather be known as the force that could not be stopped then win one superbowl and call it a career. Something happened to these Giants late in the regular season, and it’s not going away. It does not have to be a dream and next season we’ll prove everyone wrong again

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