Giant Football Blog

Plaxico cleared in tax snafu

In what his tax attorney described as a "bureaucratic snafu," Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was issued an arrest warrant because of unpaid taxes and suffered a day's worth of bad publicity until yesterday, when the matter was rectified and Burress was cleared.

According to a report in Thursday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a criminal complaint filed by a collections agency stated that Burress did not file returns or pay the combined one percent wage tax to the Moon Area School District. Continue

Arrest warrant for former Steeler Burress over unpaid taxes

New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress failed to pay part of his taxes, according to a collection agency. A district judge issued an arrest warrant for Burress on Thursday after he failed to appear at a delinquent tax claim hearing Wednesday. Burress, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Giants in March, could be arrested and fined $2,500 upon returning to Pennsylvania, said Coraopolis District Judge Mary Murray. Continue

Green eyes new Jint start

Judging from his lack of production on the field and the swirl of controversy he created off it, one would assume that linebacker Barrett Green, if possible, would wipe away all memory of his first year with the Giants. That assumption would be incorrect.

"Last year was a very good year for me, I learned a lot," Green said this off-season. "I think last year is gonna be very pivotal in me building toward this year. It's gonna make me a lot tougher, a lot stronger for this year, mentally and physically."

Consider year No. 1 a disaster for Green, signed slightly more than a year ago to a five-year, $13.25 million contract to make an impact as a speed demon on the weak side. The Giants on Wednesday assemble for a mandatory three-day mini-camp, another step toward incorporating a group of newcomers. Green isn't new but he hopes his fortunes are. Continue

Toomer: Don't sell me short

Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard were together for eight seasons as Giants wide receivers, so Toomer has found it "definitely weird" since Hilliard was released March 3. That is not the strangest thing for Toomer, though. It's this: "I'm the short guy now," he said yesterday.

That is because on March 17 the team signed Plaxico Burress, who at 6-5 stands two inches taller than Toomer. They will join tight end Jeremy Shockey, who is 6-5, to form the league's most vertically gifted receiving trio."[Opponents] definitely can't come with the short corners," Toomer said in his first public comments since Burress signed. "I don't know what they are going to do, really." So the good news for Toomer is he might have complementary threats to ease the double-teaming that has frustrated him in the past. But how will he react to not being the clear No. 1 receiver anymore? "I'm just excited about having Plaxico playing on the other side," he said. Continue

Hasselbeck plots Giant comeback

Tim Hasselbeck was 8 years old when he sat in the stands at Giants Stadium and watched Phil Simms toss a three-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Don Hasselbeck to help beat the 49ers in a 1985 wild-card playoff game. "Walking into the locker room here, not a whole lot has changed in 20 years," Tim Hasselbeck said yesterday.

That turned out to be the only season with the Giants and the final season in the league for Tim's father, Don, a Bill Parcells favorite. Now 20 years later, the Giants have another Hasselbeck after they were awarded QB Tim off waivers from the Redskins last week. He is the favorite to beat out Jesse Palmer to be No.2 behind Eli Manning, which is two spots higher than Hasselbeck stood on Washington's depth chart when he was cut. Continue

Giants: Tim our no. 2 QB

There is no experimentation going on with the Giants and their quarterback situation. The search is over. The team is entirely comfortable going into training camp — and heading into the season — with Tim Hasselbeck as the backup to Eli Manning. Getting awarded Hasselbeck off waivers from the Redskins was no minor move in the minds of the Giants, as they coveted him, hoped he'd get cut and then sweated out the waiver process until they received word last Monday that they got their man.

"Hasselbeck was a gift," GM Ernie Accorsi yesterday told The Post. "We did not expect him to become available. We have a high regard for him. If he were a free agent he would have been at the top of our list. This is not one of these stop-gap things." Continue

Giants cut QB Miller

The brief, almost non-existent Giants career of Jim Miller ended yesterday when the team reached an injury settlement with the veteran quarterback, who was signed to mentor Eli Manning but was thwarted by more injury woes.

Miller's hold on a roster spot became tenuous after his recent surgery to repair a torn hip labrum, which prompted the Giants to look elsewhere. They tried to lure 42-year old Doug Flutie, who instead opted to return home and signed with the Patriots. Monday, the Giants were awarded Tim Hasselbeck off waivers from the Redskins, a pickup that greased the skids for Miller's departure. Continue

Palmer welcomes QB rival

Jesse Palmer spotted Tim Hasselbeck yesterday in the Giants' locker room and renewed acquaintances. "It was great," Palmer said. "We had a good laugh."

It's shouldn't be so easy to share a few smiles with the guy who might take your job, but Palmer never would have lasted four years with the Giants if he obsessed about who was lurking on the quarterback scene. Palmer's situation looked favorable even before newly signed veteran Jim Miller suffered a torn hip tendon that required surgery, but Monday's news that the Giants were awarded Hasselbeck off waivers from the Redskins complicates matters once again. Continue

Giants scoop up Hasselbeck off waivers

The New York Giants, who have been seeking to bolster their quarterback depth chart since Jim Miller underwent hip surgery two weeks ago, acquired a potential challenger for the No. 2 spot behind starter Eli Manning on Monday, when they were awarded Tim Hasselbeck on waivers.

Hasselbeck, 27, had been released by the Washington Redskins late last week. It was not immediately known if any other teams had submitted a waiver claim on him. Hasselbeck became expendable in Washington when the Redskins invested a first-round choice on Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell in this year's draft.

"We got very fortunate that this young quarterback became available just when we need one," said Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi. "We're fortunate, especially since we had to wait out the waivers. We are pleased to have him." Continue

Giants happy to Tuck him away

The first seven hours of draft day were agonizing for Notre Dame defensive end Justin Tuck, but at least he was able to keep his head up knowing the Giants were thinking of taking him with the 43rd pick. When they took LSU cornerback Corey Webster instead, Tuck couldn't believe it. He also couldn't believe it would be another 2-1/2 hours before his name was finally called.

"Words do not describe how shocked I was," Tuck said at the Giants' rookie minicamp over the weekend. "But I ended up in the right place. God works in mysterious ways and put me here for a reason. I'm just trying to go forward and make the best of this opportunity." Continue

Renegade rookies look good to Giants

The advice is simple enough. To defy the odds, to claim one of the precious roster spots, a rookie who was not selected in the NFL Draft must show himself to be special, in one way or another. "The way the people make teams, naturally, is to be an outstanding something," coach Tom Coughlin said.

With only four draft picks this year, the Giants 2005 draft class picture was hardly cramped this past Friday, when the four posed for the media guide shot. t's likely all four — cornerback Corey Webster, defensive end Justin Tuck, running back Brandon Jacobs and defensive end Eric Moore — will make the team, one way or another. Others who participated in this past weekend's rookie mini-camp also will find their way onto the roster, because every year, a handful of first-year players who were not drafted manage to stick. Continue

'Hefty Lefty' Lorenzen shaping up for Big Blue

Jared Lorenzen said he felt "just terrible" when Jim Miller called him with the news that he'd be out 3-4 months with a torn labrum in his hip. Miller, an 11-year veteran, and Lorenzen had become friends. The two quarterbacks even drove to the stadium together for workouts every week. But at the same time, the 24-year-old Lorenzen knew he'd be crazy not to think of Miller's injury as an opportunity - especially since 10 months ago it looked like it was an opportunity he'd never get.

That was when Lorenzen, the 300-plus-pound "Hefty Lefty" quarterback from Kentucky, mysteriously went AWOL on the Giants by not showing up for training camp and telling reporters that he was told he'd been released. The Giants disagreed, and privately said his absence was weight-related. He had been told to come to camp at 288, but as the date to report approached, sources said he was still over 310. Continue

The new Dayne is great

Yes, that was No. 27 carrying the ball on the Giants' practice field Friday, and he surely was big. So at first glance, nothing had changed compared with recent springs. It did not take long, though, to determine that something was far different.Ron Dayne is gone at last after five disappointing seasons, and in his place is a runner so large, it is as if the 5-10, 245-pound Dayne had been stretched into a taller version of his famously bulky self.

The new No. 27 is Brandon Jacobs, a fourth-round draft choice out of Southern Illinois who put on a Giants jersey for the start of a three-day rookie minicamp and clearly stood out at 6-4, 265 pounds. After spending the morning slashing his way through the line and running smoothly downfield, Jacobs answered a series of questions from reporters wondering how such a large target will be able to succeed where Dayne failed as a pro. Continue

Giants sign 15 rookies

Four players from Georgia Tech and the nation's co-leader in pass interceptions were among 15 rookie free agents signed by the Giants on Friday.

Georgia Tech safety James Butler, center Andy Tidwell-Neal, tackle Kyle Wallace and tight end Darius Williams were signed, along with Amad Rashad Treaudo of Southern University. He was one of the nation's interception leaders, nabbing nine, despite not starting until the fourth game of the season. The interception total was the most by a Jaguars' player since Aeneas Williams had 11 in 1991. Butler had 204 tackles, seven interceptions, 10 pass breakups, four forced fumbles and blocked two field goals in his final two years. Continue

Tiki eager to pass torch, sort of

Tiki Barber turned 30 last month, and he knows that's traditionally the age when running backs' careers begin to slide. That's why he's in favor of anything the Giants can do to help extend his NFL life. "Absolutely," Barber said. "I want to play another four or five years, and if I keep getting 330 (carries), or whatever I've had the last few years, my body is going to break down. It's just physics. I'm not against doing it, because all I want to do is win and I know by being on the field I help us do that. But it's good to have help."

Help arrives this morning when Brandon Jacobs, the mammoth running back the Giants drafted in the fourth round two weeks ago, takes the field for the start of Big Blue's three-day rookie minicamp. The veterans have the week off, so Barber won't be there to see the 6-foot-4, 267-pound rookie who insists he can run a 4.4 in the 40. But he's hoping Jacobs will be good enough to fill the short-yardage running back role. Continue

Giants get big help on line

The Giants added some much-needed depth along their offensive line yesterday when they signed veteran tackle Bob Whitfield. Whitfield, 33, played his first 12 NFL seasons with Atlanta before playing 10 games with Jacksonville last season. He is expected to be the primary backup to left tackle Luke Petitgout. "You ever heard the phrase, 'He's still got it?'" Whitfield said in a statement released by the Giants. "I still got it." Continue

Giants bolster line with veteran tackle Whitfield

The New York Giants signed 13-year veteran Bob Whitfield on Wednesday, giving the team a veteran offensive tackle to back up Luke Petitgout on the left sid The Giants did not announce terms of the contract, but Whitfield was expected to make the NFL veteran minimum of $765,000.

After signing with Jacksonville on Oct. 5, Whitfield appeared in 10 games with the Jaguars as a backup left tackle and on special teams. The 33-year-old spent his first 12 seasons with Atlanta, starting 167 of 188 games. He made the Pro Bowl in 1988. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said that Whitfield is big (6-foot-5 and 310 pounds), strong and can still handle speed rushers on the defensive line. Continue

Giants take pass on signing Vinny

The Giants still want a veteran to back up Eli Manning this season. It just won't be Vinny Testaverde. The team decided to take a pass on the 41-year-old ex-Jet quarterback, after a brief and seemingly one-sided flirtation in the last few days. Testaverde's agent, Mike Azzarelli, said he had spoken to the Giants over the weekend. But Giants GM Ernie Accorsi said the team has no interest in the Long Island product.

Accorsi said the Giants haven't decided whether they'll pursue any of the veteran quarterbacks on the market. They also haven't ruled out waiting to see how quickly Jim Miller can rehab from the hip surgery he had on Wednesday. And they haven't ruled out waiting to see which quarterbacks are cut June 1. Continue

Shock and yawn

Jeremy Shockey has done and said enough controversial things in his three years with the Giants that they should be contemplating whether he is worth the aggravation. So far, he's been a one-year wonder. Ever since he dropped that touchdown pass in the San Francisco playoff game at the end of his All-Pro rookie year - the same game he tossed a cup of ice water over his shoulders that hit two kids in the stands, but months before he called Bill Parcells a "homo" - Shockey's production, complete with many more dropped passes, has not warranted the superstar attention he receives. If he still has it in him to be the best tight end in the league, this is the year he must break out. Continue