Tom Coughlin to Live in a Jim Fassel Era?

Remember back in the day how sloppy the Giants organization was and how much of a joke it was under Jim Fassel? Just awful defense, no togetherness, and just a terrible time to be a Giants fan.

Welcome back to that era Giants fans! Although it is possible the era may not return there is a chance. Of course by Jim Fassel era I do not mean Jim Fassel is coming back. Don't worry it is not that bad. This post really has nothing to do with Jim Fassel.

I would just like to quote one of my favorite sports websites, Rotoworld. The site reports news picked up from other news sources. This is from January 27:

Antonio Pierce believes Plaxico Burress holds the key to his own Giants' future.

GM Jerry Reese has hinted that Plax could be retained if the troubled receiver showed a tangible attitude adjustment, but coach Tom Coughlin wasn't so willing to forgive and forget. Plax's legal situation remains the biggest hurdle to his return.

Source: ESPN.com

Does anyone else see how this can lead to a mess? At this point a Giants fan should hope that Burress is put in jail to avoid any conflicting views regarding a Plaxico Burress return. It is impossible to play football while in prison.

But if Burress avoids jail, and the Giants choose not to bring him back, and then other players choose to leave or not play because of it..... well yeah. That is a huge problem.

Pierce is without doubt the defensive leader of the New York Giants and they cannot afford to lose him at this time. There may be many other players who agree with Pierce.

I feel like there is a grenade just sitting in the Giants locker room. The question is whether or not somebody is going to pull the pin.

Brace yourself for a Giant mess...... Yes the pun was in fact intended.




***UPDATE***

I wrote the above earlier today and then I read this, again on Rotoworld:

Amani Toomer lashed out against the Giants' coaching staff in an interview at a charity event Wednesday.

"The last couple of games I wasn't a big part of the offense and we lost a big percentage of the games," he said. "You can't tell me (that) didn't play a big role. I questioned (the coaching staff's) approach going in. Ultimately my suspicions came true. (The Giants' coaches) have an agenda." A 34-year-old impending free agent, Toomer won't be back with New York in 2009.

Source: Newark Star-Ledger

I think I have said this before, but I believe I am a predictor of the future.





Jan 29 ***UPDATE****




Again from Rotoworld:

Impending free agent Brandon Jacobs wants the Giants to retain Plaxico Burress for next season.

"If we have Plax...we go 15-1 and we win the Super Bowl," Jacobs said. "We had a different identity with him. (Defenses) did a little better each week because they had that eighth guy in the box." Jacobs also said he thinks Plax has changed since his self-shooting. Asked if he'd re-sign without Burress on the club, Jacobs replied "If I'm here, I need 17 back on that roster."

Source: Newark Star-Ledger

Not good.... not good.








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Pettitte and Yanks Agree to Terms

The Andy Pettitte talks with the New York Yankees have almost been as annoying as the Favre talk during last year's off-season but just a little less public. Andy Pettitte was being quite stubborn for a while and holding out for money the Yanks would not give him. Pettitte ideally wanted roughly 14 million dollars but the Yankees would not budge and it is good they didn't.

Pettitte is not worth 14 million dollars for one year. He was not even great last year. Pettitte was 14-14 last year with a 4.54 ERA. Not 14 million dollar material.

The deal is now agreed upon as a 5.5 million dollar deal for one year but Pettitte can earn himself up to 12 million.

The Yankees rotation should now be Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, Joba, and Pettitte. We may see some Phil Hughes mixed in some where but the signing should take away time for Ian Kennedy, Kei Igawa (thank g-d), and Alfredo Aceves (at least as a starter).

Of course we could see those 3 pitchers in the rotation at the same time if the Yankees face the worst case scenario. Burnett has shown to be injury prone, we are not really sure what the deal is with Joba yet and Pettitte is getting a lot older. The Yankees hope those guys are not hurt but you never know.

But for those of you Yankee haters with the whole buying players argument and whatever, you may see a rotation with Aceves, Hughes, Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain if things are bad. Plus there is Wang as well. These guys are all young and Yankee prodigies.

So stop whining.




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SportsTalkNY Show Update: Mascots

Anyone who tuned in to the latter 20 minutes of SportsTalkNY on Wednesday January 21, you heard a very in depth discussion regarding mascots.

Until I am told or can come up with something unique to write or until AJ decides to make a post, you can feel free to look over this list of college mascots courtesy of Wikipedia.

Keep in mind that it is not necessarily a complete list and also that it is Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._college_mascots

The archive of Wednesday's show can be seen at the very bottom of the blog page. I know convenient right? That was all me.....


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Rex Ryan is new Jets Head Coach.... and he Wants Favre!

Well Jet fans there is good news and bad news. The good news is, you are going to have a good coach in Rex Ryan. He should be able to fit over well with the Jets and one would expect the Jets to have a successful season.

The bad news is, Rex Ryan wants Brett Favre. How about ummm no! Rex Ryan may be a good coach but he may not be that smart. Rex Ryan wants Schottenheimer to stay as offensive coordinator and the Jets feel with Schottenheimer still there, it will convinve Favre to come back.

This is the very wrong approach. Ryan said in his press conference that he would rather play with Favre rather than against him. He said in 2001 Favre had maybe his best game ever against the Ravens.

Great! Who cares? 2001 was 8 years ago! That is nearly a decade. Do you know how big a difference that is? Brett Favre is not that QB anymore! He is old and oh yeah just in case you did not realize Jets and Ryan, THE JETS MISSED THE PLAYOFFS WITH FAVRE!

It is time to force Favre into retirement. Rex Ryan, Brett favre will play for the Jets or retire. He won't play for another team he won't play against you. Brett Favre will fail down the stretch again, if not maybe for the whole season and it is time for the Jets to find their Quarterback of the future and that obviously is not Brett Favre.

Idiots.


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P.S. I am a diehard Giants fan but stupidity makes me angry...

Dipietro out for Season... LOL?

I think we are getting to a point where discussing the Islanders is just ridiculous. I feel really awful for anyone who broadcasts the Islanders, anyone who hosts any Islander shows or anyone who is an Islanders beat writer. Find a reason to take a leave of absence and just take off. I mean it is so ridiculous.

Dipietro is done for the season with a knee injury after playing just 5 games this season. Dipietro won only 1 of the 5 games.

It was great the Islanders signed him to such a long contract. An injury prone goaltender who is not really that great. Certainly not worth a 15 year deal!

But my post ends here. No point of continuing on.


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Giants Hire Bill Sheridan as new DC

The Giants have decided to hire linebacker coach Bill Sheridan as defensive coordinator to fill the vacancy of Steve Spagnuolo who is the new head coach of the Rams.

Bill Sheridan should be able to keep the strong Giants defense in tact. Sheridan knows Spagnuolo's system, he knows what system works well with this Giants team, and a hire from within the system was probably a smart choice by the New York Giants.

He has seen how this team operates and has been there along the Super Bowl run and whatnot. Even Stave Spagnuolo was trying to bring him along to St. Louis. If Spags liked him, then he must be a good fit to fill in.

Touche New York Giants... touche!




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Islanders May Move to Kansas City... Finally!

Well it has been a long time coming but the Islanders will play a pre season game next year in Kansas City as there is a chance they may move there!

It really is about time. The Islanders are making New York look awful. This will move the spotlight to the New York Rangers where the spotlight truly belongs. We will leave the Sabres out of this for the moment.

The Islanders are a perfect fit in Kansas City. The fans there love awful teams! The Cheifs were 2-14 this year, the Royals are always terrible and finished 4th last year and now they can have the awful Islanders. Is this not the perfect world?

So much for that new Nassau Coliseum. In America, we call that "a waste."

It will be interesting to see what the current Islander fans do if the move does happen.

I gotta say though, the team name does not really fit. Kansas City isn't really an Island. I mean we all know the Islanders made sense since they were on Long Island. But we see the teams in Kansas City being people high in power with the Royals and the Chiefs so I was thinking the Kansas City Congressman. We all know congressman suck!


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Giants to Sign TO?

According to Mike Lombardi of the Nation Football Post, the Cowboys are having serious discussions about releasing Terrell Owens.

Well this timing could be perfect because with Plaxico Burress, on the verge of serving a 3 year jail sentence, the Giants lack a number one wide receiver which is a big reason why the Giants failed to win against their division rival Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.

Owens is 35 years old but if the Giants want any chance of winning a Super Bowl again in the near future, Owens can certainly help. Despite being 35 years of age, Owens still has great skill and would probably draw as much attention as Plaxico Burress did. Owens is 4 years older and 3 inches smaller, Owens is a much bigger upgrade over Hixon.

There are sometimes distractions that come along with Terrell Owens but, Plaxico Burress of course has plenty of his own. Ya know... like shooting himself in the leg? A two-year contract may not hurt so much. Obviousy Owens has a lot more issues than Burress but I think it may be worth the risk. The Giants would not have to trade away good young talent and they would be able to get a number 1 caliber receiver.

Of course as of this post Owens is still a Cowboy and the Giants have had zero discussions regarding Terrell Owens. Owens averaged 18.9 YPC with five scores in the last eight games.

If TO is released I think it would be worth it for the Giants to have some discussions regarding TO.

If the Giants are really skeptical about him I would wait a little bit. If TO cannot find a team in the time frame he would like you can probably get a pretty cheap 2 year deal for him. If you don't like him after 1 year, you would not be missing out on a whole lot of money.

It is worth a shot....


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What to Expect: Gaints vs Eagles

The game between the Giants and Eagles might be the greatest one in this year's playoffs. It will be a close, hard fought, and intense match up. So let us cut to the chase:

Both teams are going to rely heavily on defense. First on the Giants side, they need to make sure to contain Brian Westbrook. Westbrook is very dangerous on the running attack and even as a wide receiver. They must know where Brian Westbrook is at all times. Whether he is split out wide or in the backfield, someone must be on him. If Westbrook is in the backfield, linebacker Antonio Pierce will most likely have his eye on him. If Westbrook is split out wide, he is good enough to earn himself a corner which will open up other options for Donovan Mcnabb. The Giants secondary needs to be tight and they need to be smart. The Giants are a blitzing defense. If they bring the blitz, they need to make sure they are getting to Donovan Mcnabb. If the blitz is not working, the Giants may need to drop some more people back to stop the big play.

Main Key for Giants Defense: Know where Westbrook is and play tight, smart defense.

On the Eagles side, they need to watch for big Brandon Jacobs and of course Eli Manning. The Giants of course do not have Burress so they probably do not have to double cover anyone. The Giants are known for a power running game with Jacobs and if they can stop Jacobs, the Giants will be in trouble. If Jacobs is contained early, Eli Manning will be forced to pass more. Without Plaxico Burress, defending the pass game of the Giants has gotten much easier.

Main Key for Eagles Defense: Put the game in the hands of Eli Manning.

On the offensive side for the Giants, they need to establish the running game. They need to use a good mix of the powerful Jacobs followed by the speedy Derrick Ward. People constantly mention Ahmad Bradshaw. I personally believe the Giants need to use him more but the bottom line is, the Giants have really only been using him in the 4th quarter if at all. Don't expect Bradshaw to get moe than 6 carries. If the Giants can establish the run early, Eli Manning needs to make good use of the play action. Eli must also spread the ball to everyone. Everyone means Kevin Boss, Michael Mathews, Madison Hedgecock, Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Amani Toomer, Sinorice Moss, Mario Manningham, Domenik Hixon, and Steve Smith. If every one of those players have at least one reception, plus the Giants can establish the running game, the Eagles will be lost on defense.

Main Key for Giants Offense: Establish the run early and spread the ball around to everyone.

For the Eagles offensively, they need to establish the run with Westbrook. Mcnabb needs to recognize where the Giants are blitzing from and have Westbrook rush in the opposite direction away from the defense. The Eagles also need to give the Giants many different looks. Put Westbrook wide, or in the slot. Put him on the left side, right side. The Eagles need to confuse the Giants defense and cause mismatches. They can do the same with LJ Smith. He can block but you can also put him in the slot or on the outside. Mcnabb has lost some of his mobility over the years but he may have to get some back with the Giants pass rush. Mcnabb needs to be able to move and make passes on the run.

Main Key for Eagles Offense: Establish Westbrook and show the Giants many
different looks.




Prediction: These teams know each other very well. Home field for the Giants means absolutely nothing in this game. Giants stadium does not rattle the Eagles. This game may come down to the very end and may even go into Overtime. But Mcnabb need not worry as there are no ties in the playoffs.

Final Score: Giants 23 Eagles 21



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There is a Small Chance I am a Genius

The idea of this blog probably isn't for me to gloat but I think now that I have the opportunity, I am going to do so. Granted the Penguins have lost 4 straight games before the Rangers destroyed them 4-0, I still believe that what I said in my last blog post is 100% correct.

I said that Metsradamus' assertion blah blah blah was wrong. But I also stated that if Drury and Gomez played like the players we all expected them to, the Rangers all of a sudden have 2 dynamic players.

Well wouldn't you know that just 3 days later, Drury and Gomez each get a goal and an assist vs the Penguins and the Rangers embarrass Crosby and his gang 4-0. Of course there are so many people that deserve credit in this game but it just further proves that getting rid of Dubinsky for Kovalchuck is not necessary.

When Drury and Gomez are on, the team is on. Dubinsky for Kovalchuck would be an unnecessary trade.

Just throwing that out there.....

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RE: The Good Word

I would like to do something unprecedented on this blog and set a precedent. This precedent is for the contributors of this blog to respond to blog posts posted by others. Just below this post is an article titled "The Good Word." It was posted by someone that I only know as Metstradamus. This person does not sign his name at the end of his posts like he was told to do so when he was first invited to this blog. So I cannot put a name on the person I am responding to but I am responding to his post nonetheless.

The reason I have chosen to respond through a post and not a comment is because I have the ability to do so and I also did not believe that a comment would get the same amount of views as an actual post.

I will now put my obsession of starting blog posts by saying absolutely nothing on hold, and finally respond to the below article.

If you want to propse trading Brandon Dubinsky for Ilya Kovalchuck, you need to have much stronger reason.

If there is one distinct characterstic of Ranger fans, it would be pateince. Ranger fans have always had patience. They have waited from 1940 until 1994 to win a Stanley Cup and since then it has now been 8+ years since the 94 cup. Of course no sports fan necessarily wants to have patience but some sports fans have just adapted it.

Now the reason I bring this up is although any Ranger fan truly believe their team has the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup this year, or next year if they were to really really go deep inside themselves and express their true feelings (and many fans never will), I think they can admit the Rangers will not win a Stanley Cup this year.

And also, with all the players the Rangers lost in Shannahan, Jagr, Straka, Nylander and on and on and on, the Rangers I think are doing much better than everyone expected. We all knew the Rangers had great young talent but I don't think anyone thought they would get off to the start they did.

Now Mestradamus claims the Rangers do not have a dynamic player and that is 99.9% true. However, will bringing Ilya Kovalchuck really all of a sudden make us think the Rangers will win the Stanley Cup this year? The answer I still believe is no. Kovalchuck is still only 25 and he is no Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin. He would provide a great boost but the bottom line is, Ranger fans would have to wait for a Stanley Cup anyway.

The Rangers do have great experienced players in Gomez and Drury and I don't think they have necessarily performed to the high standards us Ranger fans hoped they would. However, this is the .1% reason that I do not agree with the "no dynamic player" assertion. If they really stepped it up to the high level they have shown in the past then the Rangers all of a sudden have 2 dynamic players.

Now here's the main thing. As I said, if Kovalchuck were to become a Ranger this year, the Rangers still probably will not win a Stanley Cup this year. Would they win next year? Ehh. Maybe. The next year? Possibly. You never know with hockey.

But here is my point. Kovalchuck is 25. Dubinsky is 22. They are both really young. I don't necessarily think the 3 years is a tremendous difference. But even Mestradamus said and I quote "He'd be a tough player to give up, as he is probably a future captain of this team (he even looks like a young Rod Gilbert)."

So for the purposes of this blog, let's say the Rangers even with Kovalchuck would still have to wait 3 years to win a Stanley Cup. In 3 years, Dubinsky will be 25, and the current Rangers captain Chris Drury will be 35.

If Brandon Dubinsky looks like a young Rod Gilbert already, then let's say that Dubinsky will end up being that dynamic captain-esque player in 3 years anyway! So the point is, you will end up having a dynamic Brandon Dubinsky at age 25 in stead of Kovalchuck at age 28. Dubinsky at age 25 will be just as good and the Rangers will not gain any ground by getting Kovalchuck (at least not for the reasons asserted by Mestradamus)....


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The Good Word

I asked a friend of mine the other day: "Hey, what's the good word?"

It's one of those throwaway questions you don't expect to get a real answer for. But my buddy's response:

"The good word is Kovalchuk."

From one Ranger fan to another, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

The Rangers, right now, are a nice team. They're going to win more than they lose, and as long as Henrik Lundqvist is in goal, and as long as he continues to play his best hockey after the calendar turns, they'll always have a punchers chance to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. But don't expect the Rangers ... a team with no real identity ... to be much more than that, unless they are able to make a bold move in the trade market to bring in a dynamic player. Ilya Kovalchuk might be that player.

Now granted, there are a lot of hurdles to jump over if Kovalchuk is to become a Ranger. First and foremost is getting Don Waddell to trade him, which he recently said he wouldn't. But really, what would you expect him to say? "Yeah, we can't afford him so he's gone." Then what would you reasonably expect for him in return? In fact, ten days after Waddell said he wouldn't trade him, rumors of a Kovalchuk for Marian Gaborik swap surfaced.

With Gaborik's recent hip surgery, that deal is obviously off and the opportunity to bowl the Thrashers over for a deal is wide open. Hence the other huge hurdle: the Rangers cap room. There is none. And do the Rangers have enough in their system to give Atlanta to make the thought of taking a huge contract back for Kovalchuk more palatable for Waddell?

Would guys like Brandon Dubinsky and Petr Prucha do it? Because that's probably what it would take to even start conversations. With Dubinsky due to become a restricted free agent after this season, he might be a cap casualty anyway. He'd be a tough player to give up, as he is probably a future captain of this team (he even looks like a young Rod Gilbert). But to make a bold move to get a guy like Kovalchuk, it's something worth thinking about if you want your Rangers to take the next step.

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