Giant Football Blog

On first day back, Shockey wows QB & coach

If first impressions mean anything at all, the old Jeremy Shockey is back. Flashing that old attitude, along with the speed and skills that he displayed during his impressive rookie season three years ago, the Giants' tight end yesterday had one of the best first days of any player at camp. He constantly ran routes that left defensive backs tied up like pretzels and he seemed to catch everything thrown his way.

His coach and quarterback - neither of whom was happy that Shockey skipped the Giants' offseason workout program - were duly impressed. "He's running well, you can tell he's healthy and he feels confident in his body right now," quarterback Eli Manning said. "He's making his cuts, making moves, so he knows what he's doing. Hopefully he'll keep it up." "He made some nice catches and some nice runs after the catch," Tom Coughlin added. "I hope that continues." Continue

Plaxico gives Giants a scare

Plaxico Burress once got stuck with the nickname "Plexiglass," and he didn't exactly come to the Giants with the reputation for being a very tough player. But yesterday he took a huge step towards proving that nickname was misguided and his reputation was once again wrong.

Just hours after being carted away from his first practice at the University at Albany with a hyperextended right knee, the Giants' $25 million receiver was back at the afternoon session, shocking everyone by running full speed and diving for balls. He wasn't limited at all in his surprise appearance, even though he admitted he was "a little sore." And he expects to be out on the field again for both practices today. Continue

Green ready to go

Coming off reconstructive knee surgery, linebacker Barrett Green for the time being will practice only once a day in training camp. The one session yesterday was in the morning, and Green was pleased with the results. Green had his left anterior cruciate ligament repaired six months ago to short-circuit a highly disappointing first season with the Giants.

"Usually after ACL surgery you're not able to do the things I'm able to do right now," Green said. "I'm not ready to play a game, but I can move real good. I don't know if I can strike off of it yet, I'll find that out in the next few days." Another player coming back from surgery is guard Rich Seubert, who hasn't played since a devastating leg injury during the 2003 season. "My leg's fine; I don't even think about it," Seubert said. "The only thing I have to worry about is getting sunburn on the skin graft." Continue

Burress hyperextends knee, Coughlin says

Wide receiver Plaxico Burress was taken off the field during the New York Giants' first practice session Saturday morning with what coach Tom Coughlin described as a hyperextended knee. Burress, the Giants' major offseason acquisition, went up for a long sideline pass from backup quarterback Jesse Palmer and fell to the ground after battling with rookie cornerback Ahmad Treaudo. He grabbed his right leg, then lay on his back for about five minutes while trainers examined him. Burress later was taken from practice in a golf cart with his right knee wrapped. Continue

Eli, Jeremy, Plax to play catch-up

Back in the spring, Plaxico Burress saw enough of Eli Manning to declare him the most talented quarterback he ever played with. But even in their brief time on the field together, the newest Giants receiver could tell that something wasn't quite right. "It was a little bit of bumps and bruises along the way in minicamp," Burress said yesterday morning. "We were kind of hit and miss, hit and miss. "(We need) for us to get on the same page quick," he added. "But this is what training camp is for."

Beginning this morning, when the Giants hold their first practice of training camp at the University at Albany, that's what it will all be about for both Burress and tight end Jeremy Shockey. They are two of Manning's biggest weapons, but they both skipped almost all of the Giants' offseason workout program. Continue

Strahan is raring to go

He greeted reporters with his gap-toothed grin and said this year's camp, his 13th, is no different from any of the others. But this is about as different as it gets for Michael Strahan, the steadiest, healthiest Giant for the better part of his first dozen years as a standout defensive end. It's the first camp he has attended while coming off an injury, the torn pectoral muscle that caused him to miss the second half of 2004. He also is 33, not a prime age for pass-rushing defensive ends. And the divorce from his wife, Jean, which was dragged into the public eye, made this his most disconcerting offseason yet. But he showed no signs of negativity Friday when he and the rest of the Giants arrived at their dorm rooms for conditioning tests that precede Saturday's start of practice.

"I always come here in the same mood, ready to play, ready to prove myself," Strahan said. "Every year's different" - in the sense of a fresh start - "every year you have to prove yourself. I think everybody looks at this as a year for me to prove myself because of being injured, but for me, I look at it just like last year, the year before. Every year you have to prove yourself, regardless of injury." Continue

Tuck makes sure he's starting on time

Giants rookie defensive end Justin Tuck signed a four-year contract Friday morning just after arriving at training camp. Tuck, a third-round pick out of Notre Dame, had been staying in Nyack with former Irish teammate Ryan Grant, an undrafted free-agent signee by the Giants, clearly anticipating that he would not miss a minute of camp. "This camp, being my first, it's a vital one," Tuck said. The only remaining unsigned player is second-round cornerback Corey Webster. Jeremy Shockey drove up with new teammate Plaxico Burress. The two worked out at the University of Miami this offseason. Shockey said this camp, his fourth, is the one he's most excited about. Continue

Jints open camp with good cheer

The first hint of dissension hit the crisp air yesterday at Giants training camp, with Plaxico Burress ripping into Jeremy Shockey. "I see what type of teammate he is," Burress said. "Me and him start off on a bad foot already." Burress, the newly signed towering receiver, was in a bind in his first camp with the Giants. "I can't find the lunchroom, my key doesn't fit in the door, I'm pretty much going through a rookie phase right now," he said early in the morning standing outside the team dorm. He was hoping for some help from Shockey, who abandoned his first-year teammate.

"He drove me over here, then he left me," Burress said with a shrug. The two dynamic offensive weapons, who worked out together in Miami this past spring, are friends, and this was all harmless kidding, a fitting backdrop to a low-key and optimistic reporting day for the Giants. All but second-round draft pick Corey Webster arrived on time — the cornerback out of LSU remains unsigned and unseen — and a mood of renewal is in the air. The positive vibes are the result of having Eli Manning entrenched at quarterback coupled with having several key players back from injuries, all of whom are cleared to go full-bore at today's first practice. Continue

Tom lightens up on fragile Giants

Tom Coughlin spent a good portion of the offseason studying why the Giants had 18 players on injured reserve last season, and a total of 30 in the past two years. The coach didn't come up with a solution, which wasn't all that surprising. "That's the problem with our game," Coughlin said yesterday at the Giants' training camp-opening picnic. "What is it that causes a guy to have an injury? The fact that he's 320 pounds and he's running faster than heck and the other guy is too? I wish there was a simple answer."

While it may be impossible to prevent another injury epidemic this season, that won't stop Coughlin from trying. In the hopes of preserving his players' bodies, he has radically altered his training camp schedule in his second season. So when his players report to the University at Albany this morning they will find fewer two-a-day practices, and seven practices scheduled at night. Continue

Coughlin changes Jints' script

Year No. 2 is already off to a better start for Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who, unlike last summer, yesterday navigated his way up the Thruway without incident. "I got here without getting lost," he said proudly.

Coughlin's second training camp kicked off with yesterday's arrival at the University at Albany, where players will report today and begin practice tomorrow morning. With Eli Manning entrenched as the new and very young starting quarterback and several key free agent additions, Coughlin proclaimed: "We have a football team which on paper is improved from last year." To ensure that the roster remains robust and not devastated by injuries that ruined the 2004 campaign, Coughlin has changed some of his longstanding beliefs and the result is an altered preseason schedule. Continue

Giants ink 6th-rounder Moore

Defensive end Eric Moore, the Giants' sixth-round draft pick, signed a four-year contract yesterday that includes incentives that his agent said "are the best for any second-day player in the draft." The deal includes what agent Adisa Bakari said was a "four-tiered escalator clause" that could push his 2008 salary from the league minimum to close to more than $1.5 million. Depending on how Moore performs and how much he plays, the Giants may have to pay him an amount equal to a first-round tender offer in his fourth season.

That amount changes yearly, but this year a first-round tender was $1.43 million. Because of the Giants' lack of depth on the defensive line, Moore, a 6-4, 268-pounder out of Florida State, could emerge as one of the primary backups behind Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora. Continue

Giant fullback agrees to deal

Brandon Jacobs, the massive running back drafted out of Southern Illinois, became the first of the Giants' four picks to agree to a contract yesterday, ensuring he'll be at camp when players report Friday. Jacobs, the 6-4, 267-pound fourth-round pick, was expected to sign his four-year contract last night, according to his agent, Justin Schulman. Terms were not immediately available, but Schulman said the deal has plenty of incentives so that "if he performs, he'll make good money. "The Giants treated him very well," Schulman said. "They realize he could be an important part of their future." Jacobs could contribute immediately, since he will compete with Mike Cloud and Derrick Ward for the short-yardage job. Continue

From boy to a Manning

The beating Eli Manning took on Dec. 12 at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens was really nothing compared to the beating he gave himself afterwards. The three hours he'd spent on the field during that horrible game were the longest of his life: Sitting alone on the train ride home, he had more time to relive them.

Kevin Gilbride, the Giants' quarterbacks coach, saw the pain in his quarterback's glazed-over eyes. So he sat down next to Manning and started a conversation that might turn out to be the turning point of Manning's young career.

"It was an ugly feeling after that game," Gilbride says. "That was about as low as you could go. I don't think I had any question about his ability or what his future potential was, but I did worry about what was going to happen to him psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. Continue

5 Keys to Giants training camp

Given the riches-to-rags-to-riches nature of the NFL, last year's trash can evolve into this year's treasure. The Giants firmly believe they fall into that category. Players report to training camp in Albany on Friday fully expecting to begin the long and arduous task of claiming a playoff berth. Of course, that's the prevailing sentiment for nearly every team this time of year. The Giants, though, seem poised to make good on their claim that they're a solid team waiting to emerge. Here's a look at five key issues heading into camp: Continue

Peyton thinks brother Eli is a keeper

From a distance, it was impossible to tell the two brothers apart yesterday morning, when Eli and Peyton Manning were throwing passes to fans at South Street Seaport. Every pass was a perfect spiral. Every throw was made with perfect form. Of course, on closer inspection, there's a huge difference between the two members of the NFL's first family of quarterbacks. Peyton, the older brother, is the reigning, two-time NFL MVP. Eli is seven months removed from a rocky rookie year.

But Peyton sounded confident that Eli isn't far away from greatness. In fact, he promised that Eli - who will report to his second training camp with the Giants on July 29 - will make great strides in his second season in the league. "I told him a while back, 'Obviously there are going to be some bumps and bruises, but I promise you the experience you gain your rookie year will pay off for you in your second season,'" Peyton said. "'You'll just feel more comfortable.' Obviously I wish he could've played even more games last year, but the chances he got to start, that'll pay dividends." Continue

Persistent cough

Tom Coughlin knows he can't conquer the traffic. He cannot command the congestion on Route 17 to dissipate, or blow an air horn to clear the Lincoln Tunnel. Rather than admit defeat, suck it up, sit and wait, Coughlin The Impatient opts for non-confrontational methods to get around the metropolitan area.

"You know how it is in this part of the world; it takes so long, even if it's just traffic involved," Coughlin said. "You could waste two or three hours and you just can't do it. I do everything I pretty much can to avoid it." He beats rush hour by arriving at daybreak at Giants Stadium. The evening crush is long gone by the time he departs. If only such discipline and a trusty alarm clock could help the Giants ensure that Coughlin's second year at the helm flows so freely. Continue

Jints claim rookie TE

In their ongoing quest to take a look at as many young tight ends as possible, the Giants claimed Victor Sesay off waivers yesterday. The Giants had an open roster spot, had a solid free agent-type grade on Sesay and can use another tight end for training camp. Sesay was not selected in the 2005 NFL Draft but was signed by the Dolphins on April 29. He was released June 24. Continue