Die Hard Sports Fan

We knew that the Giants hit Plax with a two-week unpaid suspension, and we knew that Burress filed a grievance against the Giants. ESPN.com reported that Plaxico Burress and the Giants nearly came to an agreement on the terms of the suspension yesterday so it seems like it will end up somewhere in the middle. It may turn into a one-week suspension instead.

ESPN wrote…

If the settlement is reached, Burress will still miss the Giants game on Oct. 5 against the Seattle Seahawks but he will lose just half of the $235,294 he is being docked for a two-week suspension.

As a final condition, sources said, the Giants would agree not to pursue action against Burress seeking any bonus money he could owe under a forfeiture clause in a $35 million contract extension he signed just before the regular season opener.

The Giants decided to not let Burress play against the Seahawks even though they reduced it to a one-week suspension which is a little surprising. I guess they are making a point. Like I said in the last post about this topic, I wasn’t there to say who is right or wrong. I only know what the media reported. Based on the infrequency of the organization suspending players historically, I would say that I’m leaning on the side of the Giants. This incident is a little embarrassing as well because it sort of puts Burress into that prima donna wide receiver group like Keyshawn Johnson and T.O. who got suspended for conduct detrimental to the team for the remainder of the season. It is a bit different, but I can easily see the national media portraying this story in a similar manner, and I have heard plenty of it already.

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I was listening to WFAN at work this morning, and they stated that Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com reported that the Giants suspended Plaxico Burress for two weeks for skipping practice and avoiding phone calls which took effect immediately. The Jints have their bye week this week so Burress will only miss one game against the Seahawks.

I wasn’t there so I don’t know exactly what happened. I don’t know if the punishment is too harsh. Off the top of my head, I can’t even remember the last player that was suspended by the Giants so it doesn’t happen often. Plax must’ve done something wrong, in their minds, if he actually got suspended. Maybe he partied too hard, maybe he was depressed for not having a good game, maybe he had family problems, who knows. If you have followed this blog since the beginning then you would know that I was never a fan of his until last season. I was not impressed at all with Plaxico in ‘05 and ‘06 because he gave up on plays all the time. Last year is when I started to actually like him when he had a great year on one leg. I was very skeptical when he was making a big deal about wanting a new contract because he only had one good year out of three so why should he get a raise. If I performed to less than my capabilities at my job for two years then I wouldn’t even have a job in the third year to be able to have a great year.

Once the news came out about Dick Lynch passing, John Mara was on WFAN and confirmed that Plaxico was suspended.

In the afternoon, NFL.com reported that Plaxico Burress filed a grievance against the Giants for docking him two weeks of pay and suspending him one game.

ESPN discusses Burress’ two week suspension.

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The best part of yesterday’s game between the Giants and the Bengals was the simply the fact that the G-MEN won by a score of 26-23 in overtime. The Road Warriors won their second home game in as many games in the early 2008 season. These are the Road Warriors that could barely win at home in ‘07.

Offense

Eli Manning did not have a good game statistically. He went 26/43 which is a 60.47% completion percentage and threw for 289 yards and 1 TD. Even though Eli may not have helped out your fantasy team, he was able to counter every scoring drive that the Bengals had. If not with touch downs then with field goals. The Bengals played a much better game then I thought they were going to play, but I guess that’s how NFL teams are going to come to play the Champs. The Giants did not score on their opening drive in OT, but they did not go 3-and-out either. Manning was able to move the chains a bit before they were forced to punt. Eli also marched the Giants down the field when it mattered most during their second possession in overtime which set up the game winning field goal. Steve Smith and Amani Toomer both were key contributors in the Giants aerial attack as they combined for over 120 receiving yards. Manning hooked up with Kevin Boss for a TD to give the Giants the lead before the Bengals tied the game at the end of regulation. In OT, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer made huge catches for gains of 30+ yards which allowed the Giants to attempt the game winning field goal. Earth, Wind, and Fire had a decent outing as they combined for 115. Derrick Ward had 80 yards on only 9 carries. The Giants’ offense put up 14 of the 26 points.

Defense

Big Blue was able to apply pressure on Carson Palmer all day, but Palmer kept on fighting to get the Bengals points and stay in the game. Fred Robbins was the beast of the day and finished the day with 3 Tackles, 2 Sacks, and a few batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Corey Webster, Barry Cofield, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Dave Tollefson were all able to get to Palmer as well. The Giants defense had 6 sacks for the second game in a row which is sweet. Antonio Pierce was all over the place as he ended up with 10 tackles. Even though the Giants were able to get to Carson all game, the Bengals were able to put up a bunch of points. Palmer took the hits and kept on going kind of like Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII. The Big Blue Wrecking Crew were able to make some keys stops at the right time which made it easier for the Giants’ offense to keep pace with the Bengals. The Giants did not allow the Bengals to score in the 3rd Quarter, but you can see how hard they were trying to force the Bengals to punt. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 26 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 4/4 in Field Goal Attempts. Reuben Droughns was effective on kickoff and punt coverage. Domenik Hixon was solid returning Kickoffs and Punts. The Giants’ special teams put up 12 of the 26 points.

So the Giants won their first three games. The last time the Giants went 3-0 was in 2000 when they lost Super Bowl XXXV to the Ravens. Do you remember last year when nobody knew if the Patriots got the good Randy Moss or the bad Randy Moss? After the Pats went 3-0, all of that undefeated chatter began. I haven’t seen a Sports Illustrated cover stating that the Giants are going undefeated. Our boys in blue get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. This game was a back-and-forth offensive showdown that Big Blue was able to pull out in overtime. The Giants have a Bye Week in Week 4 so next on the schedule are the Seattle Seahawks.

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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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The Giants kept the Rams in the game as they only held a 7 point lead early in the 4th Quarter before they put up 21 4th Quarter points giving the Jints their second win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

The Giants scored first on their second possession as Manning marched them 64 yards down the field, and then Eli Manning capped off the drive with a 33-yard Touch Down pass to a wide open Plaxico Burress in the middle of the end zone with 8:51 remaining.

2nd Quarter

The Rams scored on their second possession as well as Bulger marched them 77 yards down the field before Josh Brown made a 54-yard Field Goal Attempt with 14:13 remaining.

With 8:14 remaining, the Giants scored again on their third possession when John Carney made a 39-yard Field Goal Attempt.

Fred Robbins sacked Marc Bulger for a loss of 13 yards on 3rd and 8 with 6:54 remaining which led to a Rams punt.

On the Giants’ next possession, Howie Long’s son, Chris Long, got his first NFL sack when he sacked Eli Manning on 3rd and 8 for an 8-yard loss with 5:21 remaining.

Justin Tuck and Fred Robbins sacked Marc Bulger for a loss of 7 yards with 4:29 remaining.

Antonio Pierce joined the party by sacking Marc Bulger for a 9-yard loss with 3:14 remaining.

With 1:55 remaining, Josh Brown made a 54-yard Field Goal Attempt to cap off an 53 yard drive by the Rams.

When the Giants were in their 2:00 offense, John Carney drilled a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:02 remaining.

3rd Quarter

With 8:48 remaining, Eli Manning marched the Giants 97 yards down the field prior to throwing a 10-yard Touch Down pass to Amani Toomer who caught the ball with a man hanging on him in the middle of the end zone.

Victor Adeyanju sacked Eli Manning on 2nd and 17 for a loss of 8 yards with 1:49 remaining.

4th Quarter

Marc Bulger aired out a 45-yard Touch Down pass to Torry Holt who had to wrestle for the ball with Phillips in the end zone and came out the winner with 10:46 remaining.

With 7:18 remaining, Eli Manning countered the Rams’ 4th Quarter Touch Down with one of his own as he completed an 18-yard Touch Down pass to Ahmad Bradshaw on the right side, and Bradshaw ran down the right sideline and into the end zone.

Justin Tuck sacked Marc Bulger for a 6-yard loss with 7:09 remaining.

Marc Bulger had his pass batted down at the line by Justin Tuck who then caught it and returned it for a 46-yard Touch Down with 5:30 remaining.

With 3:23 remaining, Eli Manning handed the ball off to Ahmad Bradshaw who ran up the middle and to the left as he went untouched into the end zone for 31-yard Touch Down run.

Jay Alford sacked Marc Bulger for a loss of 7 yards with 3:06 remaining.

David Carr actually took over for Manning after the 2:00 Warning, and Carr took a few knees to wrap this game up.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 20/29 and threw for 260 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing attempts and yards with 15 and 93 respectively.

Amani Toomer led in Receptions with 6, and Plaxico Burress led in Receiving yards with 81.

Ahmad Bradshaw had 1 TD Catch and 1 TD Run, Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress each had 1 TD Catch. Justin Tuck also had 1 defensive TD.

John Carney went 2/2 in Field Goal Attempts.

Michael Johnson led the team in Tackles with 5.

Fred Robbins and Justin Tuck each had 2 Sacks, and Antonio Pierce and Jay Alford each had 1 Sack.

Justin Tuck had 1 Interception.

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

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John Clayton of ESPN discusses Plaxico Burress‘ new contract extension and Dante Culpepper’s retirement.

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Ralph Vacchiano over at The Blue Screen pointed out that Drew Rosenhaus was in Albany today along with his brother Jason. Both of them were in town to try and wrap up Plaxico Burress‘ new deal. Drew said, “We’re still in discussions with the Giants and there’s nothing to report at this time. I’m sure we’ll spend the night talking with the Giants and into tomorrow. This is the third time we’ve been up here. We’re certainly working as hard as we can to get this done.” Vacchiano pointed out that, “Rosenhaus doesn’t usually swoop into town until it’s time to close a deal.” Then I can also argue that Rosenhaus thought they were close to a new deal three times already since he said has has been to Albany three times. Ralph also wrote that, “The Giants, wary of all the injuries Burress has suffered in the past year, were not willing to approach the Terrell Owens-like salaries their top receiver was demanding, and as a result the talks essentially broke off.” That took place a few weeks ago, but I believe the Giants have a right to be concerned with Plaxico’s injury. I can also point out that Burress wasn’t very productive in his first two seasons as a Giant. He had an outstanding third year on one leg so he gets tons of credit for that. The Giants could also argue that Burress should have 2 out of 3 good years to deserve a raise. After 3 years, how do you ask for a new contract where you didn’t play up to your capabilities for 2 out of 3 years? That doesn’t happen in the real world. Burress wasn’t the only one not living up to their potential prior to 2007 though. The Giants had a bunch of offensive weapons, and only Tiki delivered. As a fan, Plaxico disappointed me a lot in his first two seasons with the Giants so he had to deliver the way he did in 2007 to get some fans in his corner. If he continued to watch balls get intercepted when thrown his way in 2007 then he may have been run out of town with Shockey. I give him all the credit in the world for 2007, but it is only one year in terms of Giants years. Anyway, he may end up getting his deal tomorrow.

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The Giants had to go back to work today, unfortunately. Below you will find a bunch of notes and reports assembled by a variety of beat writers. The Giants play their first game on Thursday so make sure you watch it.

The Star-Ledger

• Since Plaxico Burress has been unable to practice, he is contributing as an adviser to the Giants’ young receivers. Plax is taking on the mentor role even if the young guys don’t ask for it.
• Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/3 morning practice report worth checking out. Below is a sample of the entire report. There’s much more where that came from so go check out the source.
  • DEs Justin Tuck (foot) and Osi Umenyiora (hip), WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Amani Toomer (leg), Mario Manningham (groin) and David Tyree (knee/PUP), LBs Zak DeOssie (back) and Gerris Wilkinson (knee/PUP), CB Sam Madison (sports hernia), RT Shane Olivea and S Craig Dahl (knee) did not practice.
  • There we go again: first play of team drills was a bomb. Again from QB Eli Manning to WR Domenik Hixon. Great tackle on the play by CB Aaron Ross. Too bad it was way before the ball got there. That’s a 40-yard pass interference penalty on Ross.
  • QB Anthony Wright and WR Michael Jennings hooked up for deep in.
  • WR Craphonso Thorpe got the crowd excited with a spinning, toe-tapping catch on a fade to the left side from Wright. Dockery was in coverage on the play.
  • Hall ran a nice route to catch a hook from QB Andre’ Woodson in front of Webster. Hall later went deep on Pope, but the ball from Wright was overthrown and out of bounds.
• Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/3 evening practice report also worth checking out. Below is a sample of the entire report. There’s much more where that came from so go check out the source.
  • WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Steve Smith (groin), David Tyree (knee/PUP) and Mario Manninghan (groin), LBs Gerris Wilkinson (knee/PUP) and Danny Clark (sports hernia), CB Sam Madison (sports hernia) and OT Shane Olivea (back) did not practice..
  • CB Corey Webster would have none of WR Domenik Hixon catching a fade on the left side. He stayed all over Hixon and knocked the ball away. Webster also stayed stride for stride on a go from QB David Carr to WR Sinorice Moss. Webster had such good position it almost looked like he was the intended receiver. Webster knocked it away for a PD.
  • Hixon ran a perfect comeback to get separation from CB R.W. McQuarters and make a diving catch. McQuarters bounced back with a PD a few plays later when WR Craphonso Thorpe ran the same pattern.
  • LB Chase Blackburn keeps making plays. I mean, this guy couldn’t get a job after the draft a few years ago and now he’s a steady backup in my mind. Tonight, he stayed with Boss on a post into the end zone and wrestled with him to grab a ball from Wright for an INT.
  • WR Brandon London made his first nice grab in a few days on a skinny post over CB Kevin Dockery. Not a bad ball at all from Woodson. London then did a great job of accelerating to at least get his hands on a deep incompletion from Manning. The ball was overcooked and I didn’t think London had a prayer of getting there, but he dove and almost made the catch after getting past CB Terrell Thomas.
• Plaxico Burress did some light running for the first time since training camp.

Big Blue Blog

• Paul Schwartz assembled his own morning practice notes. Below is a sample of his notes, but there are not too many more.
  • On Manning’s second pass, Ross made another aggressive play, storming in to bat away a pass in the flat. Unfortunately for Ross, the ball was picked out of the air by RB Derrick Ward for a completion.
  • David Carr could not have thrown a better pass on a deep toss to Sinorice Moss, who had a step on two rookies, S Kenny Phillips and CB Terrell Thomas. The ball floated down perfectly to Moss … who watched as it slid right through his arms and to the grass. Moss looked up to the sky in bewilderment.
  • TE Kevin Boss, who has caught virtually everything thus far in camp, could not make the grab on a lunging attempt from Manning over the middle.

Inside the Giants

• Tom Rock believes that Sinorice Moss is basically playing for his Giants career in this camp so he’s been under the microscope this first week and a half. That means every drop is written about, and to be fair, there have been a lot of them. Moss had a pretty good practice tonight.

The Blue Screen

• Mike Garafolo put together another morning report and another evening report.

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If you want see what the media is saying about our boys in blue while they are at Training Camp up in Albany then take a look below:

Newsday

• Tom Rock of Newsday stated that Kevin Boss is making the most of taking Jeremy Shockey’s place. Boss caught just about every pass that came his way during the first week of training camp, and he’s working on his blocking.
• The first fight of training camp took place yesterday. It was between Rich Seubert and Danny Clark, but he said that it, “was more a dance while holding on to each other’s face mask than a brawl.”
• MIA from practice: S Kenny Phillips did not participate in either practice with a sore hamstring, Plaxico Burress (ankle), Amani Toomer (leg), and Mario Manningham (quadricep).
• Players worth Noting: WR Domenik Hixon had another outstanding practice in the morning, though it came at the expense of CB Corey Webster, who covered Hixon most of the session … Undrafted rookie S Nehemiah Warrick had a second straight practice with an interception in the morning, playing with the second unit in place of Phillips.

New York Daily News

• Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News says Sinorice Moss is as disappointed as anyone by the way his first two NFL seasons have gone. He suffered a few injuries, but he’s not ready to give up on himself yet. And neither are the Giants.

New York Post

• According Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, “Tom Coughlin gave permission for [Dave] Tollefson to go home to be with his wife, Megan, for the birth of the couple’s first child, a son they plan on naming Tucker. Megan is due on Aug. 15, but will be induced to accommodate Dave’s football schedule. A day or two later, Tollefson will return to camp and hopes to continue his development at defensive end.

The Star-Ledger

• Dave Tollefson cherishes each moment he is on the field.
• Mike Garafolo compiled some notes about Giants training camp.
• Tom Coughlin is still going to be kind and gentle in 2008.
• Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/1 evening practice report worth checking out.

Sports Illustrated

• Ben Reiter, a writer at Sports Illustrated, recently provided a Giants camp rundown at SI.com. In Reiters “Three Observations”, he writes this of the secondary:
  • I spent several moments observing what I assumed to be the Giants’ linebacking corps huddled up next to the practice field — until I realized the group was actually the team’s secondary. These guys are monsters (only cornerback Sam Madison is under 6 feet), but the most physically impressive of them all is safety Kenny Phillips, the team’s first-round pick out of Miami.

The good news is that everything mentioned about Big Blue is positive. That’s not the norm so enjoy it while it lasts. As mentioned above, Dave Tollefson’s wife is expected to give birth on August 15 so we wish them a healthy child.

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Big Blue Interactive (BBI) presented the “BBI Player of the Year” trophy to WR Plaxico Burress for his play during the 2007 NFL regular and post-seasons after the evening practice yesterday. BBI is one of the most popular Giants fansites out there.

Burress was determined to be the award recipient by a BBI fan vote that occurred earlier in the offseason. For more information on the ceremony, see the Daily News’ Giants Blog update Burress Named BBI Giant of the Year. Pictures of the ceremony are available in The Corner Forum.

Personally, I would not have given my top vote to Burress. I would have given it to somebody on defense or to the Steve Spagnuolo, but Plax is not a bad choice at all so we at Die Hard Giants Fan tip our cap to him for winning the award over at BBI.

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