2009 Rant Archive

I don't know about anyone else, but, I'm getting goddamn tired of watching my team play like a bunch of Pop Warner rejects. Whatever the hell broke better get fixed. Fast.

Even though it wasn't an originally chosen game with a chance of the time being changed, the game time for November 1st game in Philly has been changed from 4:15 to 1:00pm.

Now that, my friends, is how you end a football game regardless of whether it's pre-season, regular season or the damn Superbowl. We've already established that when my time on this earth ends, the cause of death will be the New York Football Giants, and I'll be glad to go out with a smile on my face because we won the game with a last SECOND (nevermind those pansy last minute scores) touchdown off of a fumble/interception. :-)

Eli Manning, has agreed to terms on a new deal that will pay him $106.9 million over the next seven years. He'll get a six-year, $97.5 million extension (with $35 million guaranteed, so sayeth the rumor) on his current contract, which calls for him to earn $9.4 million this season. The average of $15.27 million between now and 2015 when the deal expires is an NFL record.

Works for me. Now everyone sign the damn papers and let's put this behind us, too.

"It’s been a long nine months since November 2008 when the incident took place. I’m glad I had the opportunity to speak to the grand jury and let them hear the facts from my lips, not from anybody else, but hear the facts from me. I thought I acted very reasonably, responsibly, and instinctively. I had a teammate in need and my concern that night was to get him help.

"There are a lot of people, obviously, that I want to and need to thank. First and foremost, I want to thank my family for dealing a lot and staying behind Antonio Pierce and knowing who he really is. Secondly, my friends. Thirdly, and not lastly, the New York Giants – the whole organization. They are one of the main reasons I came to New York, because of the organization, the front office, and the people around here.

"Obviously those statements have been made several times throughout this process. With that being said, I am not sorry for how I acted that night and how I responded. I am sorry for putting myself in a position in which I had to respond. I’ve learned a lot of lessons from this. I take them to heart, and I obviously take them seriously.

"There have been a lot of ups and downs, but ever since the New York Giants got to Albany the sun has been out and it’s been bright, and Antonio Pierce and the New York Giants are looking forward. I’m tired of seeing myself on the TV and my name in the news.

"It’s time to talk about the New York Giants and the 2009 season. Anything that happened in 2008 is really irrelevant at this point, and I don’t have anything to say about that incident or that season because I need to move forward just like the team does, and that’s what we plan on doing."

Not from the NYC DA nor will the NFL be laying any suspensions down. As Plax got indicted by the grand jury on three charges (2 counts of felony gun possession and 1 count of reckless endangerment, depending on who you ask), they felt Pierce was guilty of merely "bad judgment".

Glad that's over with. Well, the Pierce side of it anyway. Now we can just move on with getting ready for the season without this bullshit hanging over his, or the Giants, heads.

Again, good luck to Plax. Personally, as I've said before, I think the DA is looking to not only make an example out of Burress, but, looking to make a name for himself, as well.

I am all for "upholding the law", but, every day adjustments are made to which laws we seem to choose to uphold and the punishments that come forth from those laws. I choose to only respect the prosecutors who use sound judgment when doing so.

Ok- I'll be climbing down off my soapbox on this particular subject for a while.

Didn't say much afterwards and no questions were allowed, which sounds reasonable. Said he was truthful, honest and remorseful. Thanked everyone for their support.

I've tried not to get too much into this the last couple of days because Morgenthau is really pissing me off with his gung-ho bullshit like he has some kind of serial killer on the hook that he wants to make his name in the media with. Personally, I think the guy needs to take a chill pill because he's looking like an idiot, especially with his proclamations of going after Antonio Pierce with similar charges.

I was VERY happy to see the Giants organization come out in support of AP, with the statement made by John Mara (which is pasted below), and it would hard for anyone (I'm talking to you Morgenthau) to really disagree with what he said.

“We have refrained from making any public statement regarding the legal proceedings against Plaxico Burress out of respect for the process,” Mara said in the statement. “Our organization, including Antonio Pierce, has cooperated fully with the police and the DA’s office from the outset of their respective investigations. However, since the District Attorney’s office has seen fit to publicly discuss the details of the potential case against Burress and has suggested it will seek to charge Antonio, we feel it is necessary to offer the following:

“While we in no way condone Antonio’s decision to be in a nightclub in Manhattan less than two days before a game, we cannot understand the DA’s position that Antonio is subject to criminal charges. When this incident occurred, Antonio reacted out of concern for the health and well-being of Plaxico Burress. His first priority was to make sure Plaxico received proper medical attention for what very well could have been a life-threatening wound. There was no criminal intent on the part of Antonio, who was thrust into this predicament simply because he accompanied Plaxico that evening and because he made the decision to immediately take Plaxico to the hospital. We believe it is unwarranted for the DA’s office to press criminal charges against Antonio under these circumstances.”

I'd recommend giving it a peek if you're planning on coming by, so, you don't end up coming on a day that there is no practice or just a jog-thru (although some don't seem to mind those). You can view it here.

Didn't think it was ever gonna get here. One step closer to the season beginning!

Stories trickling out of Giants camp say that it is for an arrest in 2008, when he was a Falcon, for domestic battery and the Giants and him were aware that it was coming. Meanwhile, here is the official "release" on the matter:

Michael Boley of the New York Giants has been suspended without pay for the team’s first regular-season game of 2009 for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy.

Boley’s suspension begins on Saturday, September 5. He is eligible to return to the Giants’ active roster on Monday, September 14 following the team’s September 13 game against the Washington Redskins.

Boley, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip on June 24, may participate in all preseason practices and games. The anticipated recovery time from the surgery is 8-10 weeks. The Giants report to training camp at the University at Albany on Sunday, August 2.

Don't know what happened to the original Twitter account. May have been deleted because I'm not much of a Twitterbug, but, a new one is up and rolling. You can follow us at

https://twitter.com/GiantsZone

How often will it be used? Who the hell knows. As often as I remember it exists. LOL

Needless to say, none of this is 100% confirmed until rookie camp starts, which I THINK is May 8th, or thereabouts.

Maurice Evans - DE - Penn State
Vince Anderson - CB -Weber International University.
Otis Wiley - S - Michigan State
Alex Field - DE - Virginia (3 year contract?)
Kenny Ingram - S - Florida State
Sha’reff Rashad - S - Central Florida
Darius Hill - TE - Ball State

Draft Day Tidbits A-Coming Soon... As you guys should know by now, I attend the draft every year (as an additional birthday weekend celebration) and usually upload the picks in real-time from my phone and give my personal observations in a separate note here... New phone doesn't seem to have the proper ability to do so and the notes, well, they'll be up later, as well as the regular draft grid.

The draft fell ON my birthday again this year and I have the hangover from hell. I can't lie. Maybe those quicker rounds and getting out of there a little earlier wasn't such a good thing this year... :-)

April 13, 2009

Kevin Dockery made his return to the Giants official by signing his one-year, $1.545 million tender offer from the Giants.

The move, first reported here, comes as no surprise since the 25-year-old restricted free agent had drawn no known interest on the market. That was likely the Giants’ intent when they signed him to the “second-round tender.” Not only would any team signing him have to pay a high monetary price, but they’d also have to cough up a second-round pick in this draft if the Giants had declined to match.

Dockery, who made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2005, had until this Friday to sign his tender. He’ll likely battle second-year pro Terrell Thomas for the nickelback job in training camp this summer.

Seems damn near ALL of the Zetaboards are down. I can only imagine that they are having server issues since even the support forums are showing as non-existent.

So Plaxico Burress has been released by the Giants and The Blue One is not happy about it. Thought I'd give it a day to "report" on it because, well, you know how emotional I can get about stuff and I'm not in the mood for any emails from the FO or players. LOL

Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that, regardless of how much, Plax will be doing some time in the clink. Doesn't help that things, court-wise, have been delayed until June, which will more than likely kill off a season of playing time, especially when you add in the NFL's suspension. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

No matter which way you cut it, the Giants became a worse football team upon his release.

Feel free to alert me if I miss anyone or you have info on the contract deals. Put the players name in the subject of your email and send your tidbits to:

They will be honoring Tuck and the OL, hosted by Mike Francesca with Rodney Hampton.

When: April 5th, 2009. Doors open at 9am.
Where: The Sheraton Meadowland Hotel (Yes, the one right by the stadium.)
Price: $150 for general admission, $399 for VIP seats.

1/19/09- Told yas... The Giants announced today that they promoted LB coach Bill Sheridan to DC. Glad to hear it... and not just because I like being right. :)

1/17/09- Well, Spags is gone. The Rams have hired him as their HC and the bastard took it. I expect Sheridan to be named new DC soon. I'm not buying this Capers crap.