Category: 2008 Offseason

But I guess I first have to review the big game from Sunday. I thought it was a pretty boring first three quarters, with the only exciting play being the long interception return by the Steelers which looked like it was going to be the real difference in the game. But the Cardinals, who could never get any rhythm going throughout the entire game, finally made a game changing decision in the fourth quarter and went no-huddle. That move proved very effective. The Cards got a score to Fitzgerald to pull within six, and would eventually take a one point lead with a little more than two minutes left on a second Fitzgerald TD that was lightening quick. Both scores exemplified Fitz’s assets: size, strength, and speed. The Steelers, led by MVP Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger, then literally snatched the game away from the upstart Cards with a text book two minute drive in a dramatic fourth quarter.

A few bullets:

• This was not the best Super Bowl ever, even though Don Banks from SI.com and Mike Wilbon from ESPN’s PTI both said so. I can think of one, two, three, four games that were better without blinking. This game plodded along, with a host of penalties, for three quarters. One of the better fourth quarters, surely. Not the best game ever. Al Micheals probably said it best, in the heat of the moment, and I’m paraphrasing: “This might not be up there with last year’s game, but it is in the neighborhood.” Michaels stayed calm, cool, and collect while Banks went off the deep end.
• Holmes catch was the best ever play, per ESPN’s SportsCenter? Are you kidding me? It was an excellent play which will go down as one of the best clutch catches in SB history, but it can’t be considered the best. How quickly we forget. It just doesn’t top Manning to Tyree from last year. That play had two parts: the escape and then the catch. And the Tyree grab was just flat out a tougher reception, a one-hander against his helmet as he was being mugged by Rodney Harrison. To settle the debate, ask yourself this: how often to you see a catch like Holmes’? Then how often do you see a play like Tyree/Manning? In fact, ESPN had three plays from last night in the Top 10 of all time. They actually put Fitzgerald’s second TD catch in there. Really? A super play, but a Top 10? We’re talking all plays in SB history here. ESPN needs to calm down already.
• Mike Pereira, head of NFL officiating, probably can’t wait to officially transition his position to the new guy. I didn’t notice it during the game, but post game analysis showed Holmes clearly using the ball as a prop, which should have resulted in a 15 yard penalty on the kickoff which could have dramatically changed the way the game ended. Sure the Cards probably still lose, but they might get a few shots in the endzone to make it much more interesting. I heard Craig Carton on WFAN who basically said, “It’s the Super Bowl, let the guy celebrate the game winning score.” There are plenty of ways to celebrate: with your teammates, spiking the ball, or even jumping into the stands. Pereira has said on more than one occasion he wants the Super Bowl officiated the same way Week One is. Based on that, his crew missed this one.
• Why do posters on Giant message boards/blogs get so worked up on comparing Eli Manning to Big Ben (and Phillip Rivers for that matter). It’s like bragging rights for who is the best quarterback and justifying that Eli should have been the number one pick. Personally, I have no problem saying Roethlisberger is the better QB. He’s won the most games by any QB ever after five years and has two SB rings. They’re both Top 10 QB’s, but Ben is ahead of Eli. I certainly wasn’t rooting against Pittsburgh because of any imaginary competition between Roethlisberger and Manning.

Before the draft, rumors were rampant about Shockey going to the Saints, and today it finally came to fruition. Just days before the opening of camp, the Giants cleared the air and get a #2 and #5 from the Saints in next year’s draft for the disgruntled tight end.  Back in April, I discussed the reasons for not doing it. However, during the OTA’s, in which Shockey was present but wasn’t seen anywhere near the field (he was supposedly rehabbing), there was quite a bit of uneasiness when the tight end’s name was brought up, and an apparent shouting match between Jerry Reese and Shockey could have been the final straw.  Whether it ever happened (or to what degree) we’ll never know, but that could have been the clincher which ended this saga.

In the end, the Giants did the right thing. While the prospects of having Kevin Boss and Shockey in double sets is very appealing, it doesn’t really work if one of them isn’t on the same page as everyone else.  And if Shockey was going to be this huge distraction during camp (with a press egging him on too), it really was the last thing the defending champs needed. Shockey was the last remaining player in that offensive huddle that looked through Eli. Now with both Tiki and Shock gone, everyone looks to the QB, not beyond him.

To steal a line from BBI, in which one of their loyal members posted: “I love Shockey, but I love Superbowls more.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Told ya’ we hadn’t seen the last of him. Brett Favre wants to return to the NFL and not necessarily with the Packers, as he apparently has asked for his unconditional release. My initial thoughts on this latest desire to return is there is some conflict between Favre and the front office/coaching staff. Why retire, then back the Packers into a corner by wanting to come back at such a late date?  It seems pretty clear to me he is trying to flee Green Bay, and what validates my assumption is that we now know Favre talked to the Packers a few months ago about coming back, and the team was all for it. Then Favre changed his mind again. Now at this point of the NFL calendar, he has no choice but to commit to coming back and the Packers aren’t budging. This latest bid to return has simply ticked off the Packer organization, as they have made a commitment to Aaron Rodgers. So the team told Favre they will not grant him a release, but he is welcome to join the Packers as a backup and compete for the job.

I believe the Packers have handled this perfectly, so far. Favre is under contract with the team. Why release him and let another team (such as division rivals Chicago or Minnesota) reap the potential benefits? Do I think Rodgers starting and Favre as the backup can work in Green Bay? No way, not in that combination. Most everyone sees Favre winning that battle.  A trade of Favre would make GM Ted Thompson public enemy number one, and would the team even get equal value for a player his age and squawking to get out?  Favre has put the organization in quite a pickle. Very interesting times in Green Bay, eh?

On Thursday, the Giants announced that every single seat in the new stadium, to be ready for the 2010 season, will come with an additional price: a PSL.

To be honest, I have been hoping that PSL’s arrived on the scene with the new stadium. The reason? To basically thin out the droves of people who hold, for example, 6-10 seats as part of their season ticket package, and in some cases, never use some or all of these tickets but rather broker them to others. Those fans will now have to make a choice on how many (if any) tickets to renew under the terms of the PSL. And ultimately this will open up opportunities for those on the ticket wait list.

But as always, you have to careful what you wish for. The Giants have already announced that every upper tier seat will come with a price of $1,000. Lower tier and mezz prices haven’t been released, but it’s quite obvious these will be more expensive (in some cases rumored to be as much as 20K per seat). It’s commonly understood right now that those in the lower/mezz levels will have three options:

renew at the going PSL price for their current seat(s)

opt to move to the upper level

not renew their season tickets.

It is also believed that choice to move to the upper level will be based on seniority. Once the upper level is filled, option 2 no longer applies.

So I have conservatively estimated that 15-20% of current ticket holders will not renew. In a new stadium that will hold about 82,500, I believe that the first 12,000 to 14,000 fans on the wait list will have an opportunity to get season passes. But the question becomes at what price? Those seats will certainly be the highest priced seats in regards to the PSL (and face value of the ticket). So while your number finally comes up, you may not be in a position to afford it.

The other interesting thing to point out is once the new stadium is full (meaning every PSL is assigned), the wait list as we know it becomes meaningless. If someone decides they are done going to Giant games, they will sell their PSL to the highest bidder in the open market. The first person on the waiting list doesn’t get a crack at it. 

It also will become increasingly more difficult to get tickets at decent prices outside of the current TicketMaster ticket exhange program. Here’s why. Upper tier fans, possibly owning less seats now, will be more reluctant to sell because they want to go to the game themselves. And if they do sell, the price will be more expensive in an effort to recoup their cost of the PSL. The same thing applies to lower and mezz seat owners, and figure the cost to be even greater considering their outlay for PSL’s.

Be careful what you wish for. Hoarding of seats will be eliminated. New fans will get an opportunity to become season ticket holders. The only question becomes, at what cost?

Michael Strahan has decided to retire after 15 terrific seasons in the NFL, ending a career that will certainly put the defensive end in Canton when he becomes eligible in 2013. I really feel he’s making the right choice, going out a champion and also ending it on his terms. We see so many athletes simply hang on or either get tossed aside due to declining skills. Strahan represents neither of these instances. The man can still play with the best of them, proving it last year at the age of 36. And when he was named captain after missing all of training camp last summer, his leadership and respect in that locker room was held in as high regard as his play.

Strahan is probably the second best defensive player I have seen on the Giants (Taylor) in my fandom since 1980. What makes Strahan a Hall of Famer is his ability to play the run and the pass. Making it even more unique is the size of Strahan. Whether he was playing at 285 pounds (earlier in his career) or at 245 pounds (like this past year), he was equally effective. Amazing. Strahan just knew how to play the technique at his position, and do it at the highest level.

The one knock on Strahan, and I always said this, was he didn’t make the big play when the Giants needed it most. There were some bitter collapses during his time (1997 versus Minnesota and 2002 versus San Fran come to mind immediately) when Strahan, or his defense, didn’t come through. Don’t get me wrong, there are always going to be situations where the defense fails, it happens to the best of them. But the Giants never seemed to get that stop when it was needed in big, tight games. 2007 was different. They didn’t fold in Dallas or Green Bay, when they easily could of. Instead they got tougher. And while New England did go the length of the field for a go-ahead score late in Super Bowl XLVII, the offense came to the rescue. And that was so appropriate, because the defense, led by Strahan, played wonderfully on that February evening and deserved every ounce of praise.

John Mara was unsure about retiring Stra’s number, only because the Giants are “running out” of numbers to use for current players. That’s okay, because no one will confuse #92 with anyone else. It’s Michael Strahan’s number forever.

…before I depart to run my summer baseball team, the Roughriders.

 First, I picked up the five DVD set released by NFL Films that everyone has been waiting for: the Giants’ incredible run through the playoffs that includes Week 17’s game versus the then undefeated Pats. It’s the full network broadcasts, with the original announcers (Buck and Aikman for every playoff game). There had been a rumor that Bob Pappa and company from WFAN would be spliced in over the video, but that isn’t the case. The really cool thing: you can watch the Super Bowl with Strahan’s commentary turned on (athough Stra, like any defensive player, harps too much on the offense to just not make a mistake…still, who can get mad at the guy?). The really uncool thing: these games aren’t in HD. I have to admit, I’m spoiled and it’s really a big time blunder by the producers. All these games were broadcast orginally in HD. Talk about going cheap. It’s just not the same. Nonetheless, it will be a long time before I actually sit down and watch the entire set (if ever, as I’ve watched numerous replays already) but if you’re a Giants’ fan this is something you at least have to have in your video collection.

 The Giants got their rings last week, and man, were those things huge! Strahan wanted a “10-table ring” and Tiffany’s certainly delivered. The ceremony kicked off the start of OTA’s to be followed by a “mandatory” mini camp June 11-13. Shockey wasn’t at the ring ceremony and we’ll see what happens at the mini camp. Some minor drama, but really, after what this team has gone through over the last three years, this amounts to small potatoes despite what ESPN or any other outlet can make it out to be.

Finally, some more kudos to the front office. When the Giants came to David Diehl to rework his contract a few weeks ago to be more in line with a starting left tackle, it sends a message. To everyone. The Giants know they have a young nucleus and keeping it intact is vital to the team’s future success. Look for Chris Snee and Brandon Jacobs to be next on the list.

The rumors that have been circulating for the last month involve Jeremy Shockey to the Saints for safety Roman Harper and their second round pick (40th overall). The trade on the surface appears to have some validity. Shockey had his greatest success under Saints HC Sean Payton when he called the plays in New York. Plus, for different reasons, Shockey is not the focal point of the Giants offense (in fact, he greatest contribution currently may be his blocking in the running game). And when you consider that the Giants most pressing need is at safety, the trade makes even more sense (Harper started every game for the Saints last season). However, in my opinion, the trade should be avoided by both teams, and here’s why.

First, from the Giants perspective, Shockey is a proven commodity in the NFL. While he may not be the dynamic player he was early in his career, he still draws the attention of defenses and as mentioned above, really is a fine blocking TE.  Combined with the emerging Kevin Boss, the Giants have great depth at this position (something that proved invaluable last year). With Boss, Shockey’s role may not be that prominent anymore, but he can still be very effective.  Shockey doesn’t have to be the superstar TE, just a good TE. That old adage applies: less is more. Furthermore, Shockey is signed through 2012, making him even a more attractive asset. There are of course the well known negatives. Shockey is way too animated on the field, and frankly doesn’t back it up anymore. He doesn’t appear at times to be on the same page as Eli Manning (whose fault that is debatable, but it’s Shockey who doesn’t show for voluntary workouts). He still suffers from the occasional drop, and is constantly hampered by nagging injuries. I feel these negative, however, will be squelched due to the fact that this is now a football team, and it’s Eli’s team. That mark was stamped with the performance in the playoffs. Shockey will have little option but to follow marching orders.

From the Saints perspective, this player and a high pick is too much to give up and why would you be willing to give up a young defensive player when your main weakness is on that side of the ball? Harper was a high draft choice in 2006 who has started every game when healthy (21 games total), putting up nice stats. There definitely appears to be more upside to Harper’s game. Would Shockey enhance their offense? Surely. But you’d have to wonder about the baggage mentioned above that he would bring. The Giants can minimize this because Kevin Boss can take some of the focus away. With the Saints, Shockey would be front and center, and you’d be giving up a second round pick for a player that you can make the argument for is on the decline. But a change of scenery could just be the tonic needed for Shockey.

So is this truth or rumor? Would Jerry Reese really pull the trigger on this deal? Remember, Reese is playing with house money – he won the Super Bowl last year doing it his way. He rid the team of constantly injured players such as Pettigout, Emmons, and Arrington. Is Shockey next? Harper solves the safety issue, but immediately opens a hole at tight end, not a very strong position in this year’ draft. In all honestly, the trade makes more sense from the Giants perspective, as they’d be trading a player they don’t get max performance out of in return for more youth.  In the end, though, I’m biased. I like Shockey, despite all his faults and believe that the combination of him and Boss will be dynamite. If it were next year, I’d be more tempted to make the trade. We’ll see if it happens, but I hope Shock stays. But I am not Jerry Reese.