Giant Football Blog

NY Giants set for offseason workouts

The confetti has long been swept up and the champagne has evaporated. For the Giants, it's time to get back to work.

While several players have been working out at Giants Stadium on a daily basis for more than a week, today marks the official start of the team's offseason workout program. The workouts are optional, though coach Tom Coughlin prefers as many players to be in attendance as possible, especially after last year's high attendance rate kicked off a season that ended with a united team making a run to a Super Bowl title. Plus, many players have workout bonuses that are paid only if they're present for a certain percentage of days. Continue

Antonio Pierce neglected dogs

Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce has gone from a Super Bowl champion to an admitted animal abuser. Authorities say one of Pierce's pet pit bulls was severely underweight and suffering from a respiratory illness. They also say Pierce and his girlfriend let the dogs run loose and failed to get them rabies shots.

Pierce appeared in Municipal Court in Monroe Township Friday and pleaded guilty to neglecting the pit bulls. He agreed to pay a $1,300 fine. His girlfriend, Jocelyn Maldanado, also pleaded guilty and was fined $1,300. Continue

Jets and Giants Fans May Pay for the Right to Pay for Tickets

National Football League franchises across the country have helped pay for modern stadiums since the mid-1990s by asking season-ticket holders to ante up for the right to preserve their seat locations in the teams’ new homes.

Now, for the first time, the selling of personal seat licenses is a real possibility in the New York area. Jets and Giants executives are considering using them at the $1.6 billion stadium they are building in New Jersey, which is scheduled to open in 2010. Although any decisions are months away and team officials are reluctant to discuss details publicly, sports business analysts and others around the N.F.L. said they expected to see the teams sell licenses. Continue

Giants to open NFL season on Sept. 4 at home against Redskins

The Giants' defense of their NFL title begins on Thursday night, Sept. 4, at home against the Washington Redskins. An official announcement is expected to come at the NFL owners' meetings on Monday, but according to a league source the game is set. It will kickoff at 7 p.m. instead of 8:30. The NFL and NBC agreed to push up the start of the game so it will be less of a conflict with the final night of the Republican National Convention. Continue

Seubert extended through 2012

Three years ago, Rich Seubert wasn't certain if he'd ever play football again. Now, he's got job security for the next couple of seasons. Seubert, the Giants' starting left guard last season, signed a contract extension through the 2012 season today, according to someone familiar with the negotiations. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Seubert, who turns 29 on Sunday, had two seasons remaining on his existing contract. After the Super Bowl win, he presented the Giants with a contract proposal that would allow him to finish his career with the team. Seubert's proposal also made his recent salary increases (from $1.05 million to $2 million this upcoming season) due to incentives reached more palatable for the Giants' salary cap because they'll now be converted into a signing bonus and spread over five years. Continue

Are the Giants interested in Pacman Jones?

Giants were willing to trade for DeAngelo Hall, would they offer a 2nd round pick for Pacman Jones? Jones is a great talent with many issues off the field, and his current contract is low.He is not a free agent until after 2009. Expect him to end up with the Cowboys who seem hell bent on imploding.

Giants raise ticket price average of $7

New York Giants' season ticket holders are going to pay about $7 more per ticket to watch the Super Bowl champions next season. The Giants sent letters to ticket holders this week informing them of the roughly 8 percent increase. Last season, the gross average price of a ticket was $83.29, which ranked 12th out of the 32 teams in the NFL. Last year's average increase was $4.72. The new prices again will be based on seat location in Giants Stadium. (AP)

Hall to Raiders

The Falcons have agreed in principle to trade CB DeAngelo Hall to the Raiders, according to ESPN.

RB Derrick Ward re-signs with Giants

Running back Derrick Ward, who missed the Giants' Super Bowl run with a broken leg, re-signed with the New York Giants Friday. The 27-year-old Ward agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract that includes another million in incentives. He had been determined to test the open market after rushing for 602 yards last season to see if he could find more money or a better chance at a starting job. However, he found few interested teams.

So instead, Ward returns to rejoin a very crowded backfield that includes Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Reuben Droughns. With the way Bradshaw emerged after Ward broke his leg at the end of his 154-yard day in Chicago, it remains to be seen exactly where Ward will fit in. Continue

Giants sign linebacker Danny Clark

Needing some more depth at linebacker after losing two free agents at the position in the last month, the Giants signed veteran Danny Clark on Thursday to a two-year, $4million deal. Clark, who will be 31 in May and will be entering his ninth NFL season, spent last year with the Houston Texans, but he played the first three years of his career for Tom Coughlin on the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is the first ex-Jag to rejoin Coughlin in New York. Continue

Giants' Strahan still up in air about retirement

Michael Strahan still hasn't decided whether he'll play for the Giants next season. But after seeing Brett Favre and Warren Sapp pack it in after long, successful careers, he does admit that retirement crosses his mind.

"I can't say I don't love to play and don't love to see the guys," Strahan said yesterday morning at a promotional appearance in Times Square. "But when I see guys like Favre and Sapp and [Chiefs guard] Will Shields, all these guys who are players from my era, say, 'Enough's enough' ... Sometimes, you wake up and your body is hurting and you're thinking, 'Man, maybe enough is enough.' You think about it." Continue

Eli, meet your new backup

QB David Carr has agreed to terms of a one-year deal with the Giants, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who is not authorized to speak for the Giants.

The deal, which Carr is signing now, is worth $1 million plus incentives. Carr will serve as the veteran backup to Eli Manning, and is aware he's not competing for the starting job, but he's happy about the chance to get his career back on track in a positive, post-Super Bowl championship environment, said a person familiar with Carr's thinking. He is also excited to work with Giants quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer, who was the Texans' offensive coordinator during Carr's first four seasons in Houston. (The Star Ledger)

Clark to visit Giants

In addition to bringing in quarterback David Carr for a visit, the Giants New York Giants last night and today also will meet and get to know linebacker Danny Clark, who, like Carr, has a Giants connection.

Carr played for QB coach Chris Palmer when Palmer was the offensive coordinator in Houston. Clark back in 2000 was drafted out of Illinois by Tom Coughlin and spent four years in Jacksonville, three with Coughlin. A strong side linebacker, Clark if signed would fill the roster spot opened up when Reggie Torbor signed with the Dolphins. Mathias Kiwanuka , coming back from a broken leg, is expected to resume his linebacker career and in reserve on the strong side, the Giants at the moment have Zak DeOssie entering his second year. Continue

Giants looking at David Carr to be Eli Manning's backup quarterback

The Giants already have one former No.1 pick playing quarterback. Soon they might have two. David Carr, the No.1 selection in the 2002 draft, will arrive in the New York area Monday to begin a two-day free-agent visit with the Giants. The Giants are interested in signing the 28-year-old to be the backup for Eli Manning, the No.1 pick in 2004.

Carr spent part of last year with the Carolina Panthers, making four starts. He went there after five mostly disappointing seasons with the Houston Texans, where he never quite lived up to his hype. If he signs with the Giants, Carr would be reunited with quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer, who was the Texans' offensive coordinator in Carr's first four NFL seasons. Continue

Tom Coughlin ecstatic about new deal

Coaching the Giants has been the "dream of a lifetime" for Tom Coughlin. And he's ecstatic about getting the chance to live the dream for a few more years.

"I was thrilled to become the head coach of the New York Giants in 2004," Coughlin said in a statement released Saturday by the team. "It would be difficult for me to capture the emotions for the opportunity I was given back in 1988 to be an assistant coach with the Giants. And then to have the opportunity to be the head coach was the fulfillment of a dream of a lifetime. Continue

Giants give Tom Coughlin new deal

Tom Coughlin finally got his reward for leading the Giants to a Super Bowl championship - a new contract that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL.

Coughlin and the Giants finalized a new four-year, $21 million deal Friday afternoon, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, and an official announcement will be made Saturday. The contract was in the works for weeks and inevitable since Dec. 23, when the Giants clinched a spot in the playoffs. One year after giving him a one-year extension that was hardly a ringing endorsement, ownership was ready to commit to the 61-year-old Coughlin for the long term. Continue

Coughlin extension appears ready to go

Coach Tom Coughlin's much anticipated contract extension could finally be announced today, according to someone familiar with the progress of negotiations between the Giants and Coughlin's agent. The person, who requested anonymity because talks were ongoing yesterday, said the delay is due to some phrasing with legal ramifications that must be worked out.

The person said the contract will be a four-year deal worth $21 million that will keep Coughlin under contract through the 2011 season. Meanwhile, the team hosted free-agent cornerback Brian Kelly yesterday. The former Buccaneer left without a contract, according to someone who spoke to one of the parties involved in the negotiations. The person, who asked not to be named, did not indicate if Kelly would eventually sign with the Giants. Continue

Giants wooing CB Kelly

It seems the Giants havent given up on the idea of adding another cornerback. Having flirted with -- and then backing away from -- a trade for DeAngelo Hall of the Falcons, the Giants will be visited today by former Buccaneers cornerback Brian Kelly, according to someone familiar with Kelly's free-agent prospects as well as the Giants interest in him. The person requested anonymity because the talks are in the preliminary stages.

The 32-year-old Kelly, who started opposite Ronde Barber and had 22 interceptions in 10 seasons with Tampa Bay, visited the Lions yesterday. Continue

Favre’s finale a Giant fit

Any thrilled Giants fan who reveled in their incredible and improbable Super Bowl run is sure to win a bet in the years to come when the following trivia question is asked: Who caught the final pass of Brett Favre's Hall of Fame career? Answer: Corey Webster.

The fairly nondescript Giants cornerback made one of the biggest plays in a playoff drive fueled by mammoth moments. Webster stepped in front of receiver Donald Driver and intercepted a soft and errant Favre pass in the first minute of overtime in the NFC Championship Game at arctic Lambeau Field. Webster's return to the Green Bay 34-yard line set up Lawrence Tynes Lawrence Tynes ' dramatic 47-yard game-winning field goal to launch the Giants into Super Bowl XLII and, as it turned out, further glory against the Patriots. Continue

Jerry Reese not silent this time around, signs Sammy Knight for Giants

Last year, it took Giants GM Jerry Reese three weeks to sign his first free agent. This year it only took him four days.

Reese brought in his first reinforcement Monday when he signed former Jaguars safety Sammy Knight, an 11-year veteran to replace Gibril Wilson, who signed with the Raiders when free agency opened. Knight signed a three-year deal worth $5.15 million and got a signing bonus of $1.25 million. That's quite a bargain compared to the six-year, $39 million contract (with $16 million) that Wilson got from the Oakland Raiders on Friday night. Continue

Knight officially a Giant

The Giants have officially signed S Sammy Knight. According to someone familiar with the terms of the deal, it's a three-year, $5.15-million contract with a $1.25-million signing bonus. Not a bad deal for both sides after Knight signed a one-year, $820k deal with Jacksonville last year. The person familiar with the deal also said Knight has been told he will be a starter, though it's not clear if it'll be at strong or free. Again, not that it matters much because both spots are similar in the Giants' D.

"We're excited to have a veteran of Sammy's caliber joining our secondary," GM Jerry Reese said in the team's release. "We were attracted to how smart he plays and how productive and physical he plays. We think he will thrive in our defensive schemes. He brings a lot of leadership to the team, especially to the secondary, and he is a real pro." Continue

Safety first for Jints

Much like a year ago, the Giants are sitting out the early flurry of free-agent frenzy, but that doesn't mean they are sitting idly by. Last night, they brought in veteran safety Sammy Knight for a visit that will extend into today.The need for a new safety was created with the loss of starting free safety Gibril Wilson to the Raiders. Knight turns 33 in September and has 42 career interceptions in 11 seasons with the Saints, Dolphins, Chiefs and Jaguars. Continue

Giants eye Sammy Knight to replace Gibril Wilson at safety

Sammty Knight has left Denver without a contract, and his next stop could be New York. The 32-year-old ex-Jaguars safety, who is the Giants' top choice to replace the departed Gibril Wilson, was in Denver last night and today, but was unable to come to terms on a contract with the Broncos. One NFL source said a trip to New York is definitely on his itinerary, and will likely take place early next week.

Whenever he does get around to visiting the Giants, he can almost certainly expect an offer, though it doesn't figure to be any more than $2 million per season. That, obviously, is nowhere near the $6.5 million per year that Wilson got from the Raiders yesterday. It's not clear if it'll be enough for Knight, either. Continue

Giants lose three from defense

The defending Super Bowl champions hadn't suffered a loss since December. Friday, on the first day of free agency, they lost three times. The Giants lost three defensive starters just hours after the free-agent signing period opened, as safety Gibril Wilson and linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor all left for greener pastures.

The Giants were trying to keep both Wilson and Mitchell, according to team sources, but their prices went way too high. Wilson got a six-year deal worth a reported $39 million with $16 million in guaranteed money from the Raiders. Mitchell got a five-year, $17.5 million deal with a $3.5 million signing bonus from the Bills. Torbor agreed to terms with the Dolphins. The Giants aren't worried about their linebacker corps, with Mathias Kiwanuka due to return from a broken leg and reclaim his starting spot on the strong side next season, and Gerris Wilkinson ready to step in on the weak side. Replacing Wilson, though, could be more difficult. That's why the Giants inquired yesterday about free-agent safeties Sammy Knight (Jaguars) and Eugene Wilson (Patriots). Continue