Video: More ESPN on Jeremy Shockey
Matthew Berry of ESPN breaks down Jeremy Shockey’s move to New Orleans.
Archive for the ‘NFC East’
Carl Banks Interview on WFAN
Yesterday, Carl Banks joined Evan of WFAN to give his thoughts on the Giants trading Jeremy Shockey. To hear the interview in its entirety, click here.
Video: ESPN on Jeremy Shockey Trade to Saints
ESPN analyst Floyd Reese breaks down the Jeremy Shockey trade to the New Orleans Saints.
Giants Rid Themselves of Jeremy Shockey
2008 Training Camp Previews
There are a few Training Camp previews out there about the Giants. Here are some links to the sources.
NOTE - The Redskins just signed Jason Taylor, according to The Star-Ledger.
The Upside to PSLs
On Friday, I wrote a post about the Giants’ PSL pricing. Near the end of the article, I included a quote by Kyle Burks, whose SeasonTicketRights.com Web site manages PSL sales for four NFL teams puts more of a positive spin on it by saying that, “Teams just haven’t done a good job on educating fans what they’re selling” and “The bottom line is that almost all seat licenses will appreciate over time”
I just found a pretty solid article titled ‘PSLs could be used as an investment tool’ by Maura McDermott of The Star-Ledger. I was aware that sports fans were able to buy PSLs and resell them in the future at a higher price if the demand is there, but I didn’t know anything specific about it which is why this article is a good read for those looking to purchase season tickets in the new stadium.
McDermott begins with a story about a couple who purchases PSLs to different stadiums around the country. The couple has a portfolio worth $280,000. Since this is supposed to be for fans, I believe that the NFL should not allow people to purchase PSLs to multiple NFL stadiums. If that isn’t a clue that these people are purchasing the tickets as an investment then I don’t know what is. How many people on the planet are that much of a fan that they will pay for PSLs in multiple stadiums and attend all home games at multiple stadiums? It is one thing if a person purchases one group of PSLs for each sport, but it should be limited to that. By that, I mean that a person may buy 4 PSLs for an NFL team, 4 PSLs for a MLB team, etc.
Further down in the article, McDermott asks if they are a wise investment for fans? She included numerous quotes about how good it can be and some quotes about how it hasn’t worked out so well. I definitely recommend that you give the article a read if you are a season ticket holder and are concerned about the PSLs.
Q&A Session With Plaxico Burress
Arash Markazi of SI.com had a Q&A Session with Plaxico Burress on Friday. Here are some of the questions…
SI: First of all, there’s been some confusion about your situation with the Giants. Will you be there for the start of training camp, on the practice field, ready to go?
Burress: Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just waiting on the Giants and my agent to get this deal done in the next few days or so, and I’ll be ready to get down to camp on time on the 24th.
SI: So you’re saying a deal is imminent and you’ll be on the field for the start of camp?
Burress: Yeah.
SI: You almost didn’t play in the Super Bowl after spraining your MCL during a fall in a hotel shower. In your book, you mention crying four days before the game after being told you likely wouldn’t play.
Burress: Yeah, I was very scared. I didn’t think I was going to be able to play. I remember I didn’t run for a week and a half before that. I didn’t know how it was going to feel on Sunday. They gave me some medicine to numb it up but the medicine wasn’t working too good because I was still hurting. The first time [it hurt] was during the warm-ups before the game. It was painful and frustrating because I wasn’t able to do the things I wanted to do, because I was hurting so bad, but I kept telling myself, “If there’s one game I can play with a lot of pain it has to be this one.” I found it in myself to somehow perform. I was just so frustrated that whole game — I don’t remember talking to anyone because I was in so much pain coming off the field and going to the sideline. I was hurting so bad that I just wanted to play one or two plays. I didn’t really think I would play the whole game.
SI: There’s some stuff in the book that’s going to come back at you during the season, especially the weeks you play the Cowboys. You wrote: “The Cowboys don’t talk a lot of trash. They don’t want to get me riled up. You know, their secondary is not that good anyway. Terrence Newman is a good player and I like Kenny Hamlin. But outside of them, there’s not much.” Any concerns?
Burress: Not at all. I’m a very honest person and when I look in the mirror and be honest with myself it’s easy to tell the truth and tell the things that you see. I didn’t have any problem writing or saying anything that was in the book.
SI: The hardest thing for a champion to do is repeat; especially in the NFL where lately we’ve seen Super Bowl teams not even make it to the playoffs the year after a title. What’s your mindset going into this season?
Burress: I want to win another just as bad. When you get one, you want to do it again. That’s what we play for, and when you put that ring on, it’s a daily reminder of all the hard work you put in to get to that point. I think we’re going to be better than we were last year, and I expect us to win it again.
Training Camp is only days away so it seems like Burress won the battle against the Giants. I expected that all along because the Giants couldn’t have made an example of Plaxico and Shockey at the same time. They wouldn’t have any playmakers left if they did that so I figured that they would’ve given into Burress and gotten rid of Shockey. However, it seems like the Jints caved into both players at this point in time.
Will Big Blue Repeat?
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.
Patriots Chair With Plaxico Burress’ Autograph
About a week ago, Plaxico Burress stopped by the Sirius NFL radio studios in Manhattan which was part of the tour to promote his book. When he was there, he noticed that there was a New England Patriots dynasty recliner inside the control room. So Burress signed the chair, right over the Pats logo. He wrote “Plaxico Burress, #17, XLII CHAMPS!” Way to go Plax. Not quite sure why there is a Patriots chair in Manhattan. Maybe it’s reserved for when Tom Brady comes to town for an interview. Next time, Brady will get to see the signature of the man who caught the winning catch in the Super Bowl. By the way, Ralph Vacchiano of The Blue Screen included a picture of the chair.
Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger offered his thoughts on Plaxico’s new book if you haven’t read it yet and want to know what others think about it.
SportingNews.com Ranks Giants
SportingNews.com has been busy ranking players:
The first article is titled, Ranking the top 25 NFL wide receivers. Only Plaxico Burress of the G-MEN made the list at No. 9. Here is what they had to say about Burress, “What Burress did last season despite struggling through a myriad of injuries is nothing short of remarkable. Blessed with unbelievable skills and physical tools, he is definitely a top-10 receiver when his head is on straight.” It seems about right when you look at the players on the list ahead of him.
The second article is titled, Ranking the top 20 NFL tight ends. Only Jeremy Shockey made the list at No. 5, and they wrote, “Shockey’s greatest weaknesses are his head and his mouth. If he would just stop complaining long enough, he would be recognized for the outstanding receiving threat he is. He is also a better blocker than most think — he just doesn’t like to block.” It seems about right, but I never saw Kellen Winslow of the Browns play. Winslow is hogging the No. 3 spot so I’m not sure if he deserves it or not.
Last, Clifton Brown made his NFC predictions. Brown has the ‘Girls winning the NFC East with a 13-3 record, but he has the Giants with a 13-3 record but making the Playoffs as a Wild Card. Brown made all of his NFC picks in the article, plus who’s beating who in the Playoffs, and he has the Chargers winning the Super Bowl over the Cowboys.
