Who Should the Giants Draft?

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What do the Giants need to address in the draft? Who’s going to be lingering around that 19th pick? Both questions Giants fans are eager to find out.

With so many holes on the Giants roster this offseason it’s hard to pinpoint one specific area the G-Men need to focus on.

Some people would argue that they need to draft defensive players, especially within the secondary and linebacker postions. While others would argue they need help on the offensive line.

Here are three names to consider and might be on the Giants wish list:

Hi-res-155398001_display_image  LB Alec Ogletree, Georgia.  

Hi-res-157285442_display_image  OT D.J. Fluker, Alabama.

Hi-res-154488199_display_image  CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida State.

Any of these players could bring an immedient improvement to the Giants roster.

It’ll be interesting to see what route they choose to go with their first round pick. But as always Jerry Reece and Tom Coughlin will pick the best player on the board and it’s bound to try excitement to the big apple.

 

 

 

The Nash Effect

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What has hurt the Rangers these past few games?

That answer can be summed up with one word, injuries. The Rangers have gone 0-2-1 in the past 3-games and have only managed to gain 1 point.

imgres Does Rich Nash being out of the lineup really hurt the rangers offense?

John Tortorella believes, “I think this is a team that needs something good to happen to it to gain some confidence back I don’t think we’ve played the right way consistently enough, and if we concentrate on that, I think good things will come out way.”

Consistency has been the problem on offense and Nash being out has affected that progression. The other problem the Rangers has faced is their 28th ranked power play. Only scoring 6 goals on the power play this year is an issue that needs to be fixed.

Once Nash returns it’ll provide that spark the Rangers need to get back into playoff contention. Until then they’ve got to find some chemistry and balance in their offense if they want to get back to winning games.

Freeney in Blue?

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Who wouldn’t want that sack machine leading the charge on defense? Apparently not the Indianapolis Colts.

After 11 seasons with the Colts Dwight Freeney has been released and now sits among the  top 4-3 pass rushers on the open market.

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Freeney is the Colts all time leader with 107.5 sacks. While Peyton Manning became know for being the face of the franchise, Dwight Freeney became known as the leader of the defense. One of the most feared pass rushers for a decade he became known for his fierce bull rush technique.

Now that he’s hit free agency, who’s going to win him over?

Teams like the Atlanta Falcons and Green Packers could greatly use his services to boost their average defenses, but how about the team that he grew up watching as a kid?

The Giants could use another relentless pass rusher to coincide with JPP. With Osi Umenyoria now gone and Just Tuck declining the G-Men could benefit greatly from adding a player of Freeney’s caliber for the right price.

There is concern with his age (33) and lack of production this year (5 sacks), but the Giants are lacking in depth at the position. He would be moving back to a 4-3 scheme under Perry Fewell and could have great success with JPP on the other side.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Giants take him into consideration during the new league year (March 12th). Something both Coughlin and Reece should think about during the next few weeks.

The Rebuilding Process Begins

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The New York Giants have begun their house cleaning a little early this offseason. It began with the release of Michael Boley and now the G-Men have parted ways with veteran running back Ahmad Bradshaw & defensive tackle Chris Canty.

Both players were vital parts of the Giants superbowl run last year and solid starters at their positions. Though, the price of keeping both of them would limit big blue from several million dollars in cap space. The Giants have other areas of the team to improve on and 22 other free agents to re-sign, such as Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

The leadership and production that Bradshaw and Canty brought will be missed, but opens the door for younger players to set up and fill that void.

imgres2012 1st Round pick David Wilson and 4 year vet Andre Brown will be the running backs coming into next season. Wilson has a chance to shine as he proved toward the end of last season that he has what it takes to be a starter with his unique speed and elusiveness.  Brown is a great power runner that will be a good rotational guy and red-zone threat.

Markus Kuhn and Marvin Austin have a lot to prove this season after coming back from injuries. Both are talented DT’s and need to show they can stay healthy to fill the role that Canty brought to the defensive line.

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The Giants have more depth at positions than people give them credit for, but still have some work to do to maintain that core foundation. Free agency and the draft will be interesting to watch we’ll see how Reece and Coughlin answer the call. Though, they’ll certainly made some big moves to start.

 

 

A Wild Trade

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Goodbye Mike Rupp, welcome Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri to the big apple. On Monday the Rangers announced that they traded Mike Rupp to the Minnesota Wild for two new forwards.

It was projected that Rupp was going to be on the trading block this past week because of the injury to Ryan Callahan. He played in all 8 of the Rangers games this season and racked up 12 penalty minutes and zero goals.

imagesPowe comes into this season with 91 blocked shots, 82 games played, 109 shots on goal and 57 penalty minutes in 2011-2012.

imgresPalmieri has played 87 career NHL games with the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild, tapping 13 goals, 12 assists, and 20 penalty minutes.

With Rupp gone and Callahan still hurting these two were brought in to fill the lack of depth the Rangers have on their 3rd and 4th offensive lines. Hopefully within the next few weeks we’ll all be saying that they made a couple of smart moves that will get the Rangers winning again.

Boley Released

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Michael Boley has been released by the Giants and now lurks among the free agent market. This comes as no surprise considering his pace of play has declined this year due to several shoulder injuries.

He started 11 games this season and played in all 16. He racked up 84 tackles, 3 interceptions, half a sack, and two fumble recoveries.

imgres  The key factor in his release was the 550 passing yards he let up in pass coverage. He was brought to the team in 2009 because of his exceptional pass coverage skills and tackling ability. Though, his play this season didn’t display those skills like during last year’s super bowl run.

“We recognized his special skills were in coverage. He’s a smart player who made some big plays for us. He was an integral part of our Super Bowl XLVI championship team. Michael played outstanding football down the stretch for us that season” said Tom Coughlin.

In realty Boley shouldn’t have been released because he was still one of the better starting linebackers on the Giants squad. It was the 6 million dollar price cap that Jerry Reece didn’t want to pay for when the G-Men have 22 other free agents to resign on the team.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Giants plan to fill the void of Boley, whether that be through the draft or free agency. And where will the next stop be Boley himself? All questions soon to be answered.

 

Cally out for two Weeks

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New York Rangers Captain Ryan Callahan is going to be watching his teammates play without him for the next two weeks.

Callahan suffered a left shoulder subluxation last tuesday today night when he got into a little brawl with Philadelphia Flyers Max Talbot during the third period. After the fight he raced off the ice holding his left shoulder in pain and didn’t return. The MRI Wednesday morning confirmed the left shoulder injury and an estimated two week recovery.

Rangers Assistant Captain Brad Richards stated “Obviously the mood around here is that we want him back as soon as possible. He’s a big part of every part of the game—power play, penalty kill, and 5-on-5—but that being said we have to push on, it’s part of the game. Hopefully he is back soon.”

It’s true the Rangers will be missing one of their best offensive and defensive components. Callahan brings the intensity and play to their forecheck and penalty kill that most other Captains don’t. Losing him is a set back, but something they must overcome to become a championship caliber team.

“Consistency is key to Success” as Carl Hagelin mentions in an interview after the loss to the Penguins thursday night. Something the Rangers have been missing to the start of this regular season.

Hopefully some of that “consistency” will happen this Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning with the return of Chris Kreider. He’ll be taking over second line responsibilities in place of Callahan.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Rangers pace of play picks up after the loss of number 24. This could either give them the spark they’ve needed all season or could result in a jeopardized playoff berth.

These next two weeks will tell the tale and for the Rangers, hopefully it ends up being a positive one.

 

Should the Giants pursue Revis?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cERNVVo9kIw

Courtesy of CBSSports

The rumors of New York Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis being on the trading block have been circulating around the NFL for weeks now. Leaving fans with one simple question, where’s he going to land?

According to Revis’ twitter feed he was completely unaware of the occurring plans for him to be dealt and was left “speechless” due to the rumors.

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Now in retrospect this wouldn’t be the first time people from Jets camp would try and pull a stunt to make major headlines and grab media attention, aka Tim Tebow. But let’s pretend for a second that the rumors are true, if Woody Johnson actually plans to deal Revis to another team who could best utilize his talents? What kind of value can the Jets get for him? Will another team be willing to pay his 6 million in base salary next year and then sign him to a long term deal?

The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots have expressed interest in the star corner, but the Jets have no plans on dealing him within the division. So why not consider the team that plays in the same building?

The New York Giants ranked 28th overall in pass defense this year and many fans have credited that to the colossal defensive impulsion they suffered as a result. Looking at the corners on the Giants roster isn’t a very appealing one. Cory Webster is entering the final year of his contract and his performance this year doesn’t warrant him to be receiving an extension anytime soon. Terrell Thomas has been plagued by injuries and hasn’t played a defensive snap in over two years. 19th overall pick in 2011 Prince Amukamara and 3rd Round pick in 2012 Jarod Hosley haven’t had enough time to develop in the Giants defensive scheme due to injuries.

Enter the possibility of Revis Island. Adding a shutdown corner like Revis would boost the g-mens secondary quite significantly and potentially restore their fierce pass rush they’ve become known for. Now, would Jerry Reece and Tom Coughlin actually make a bold move to acquire the corner?

The Giants have never been known to make big splashes in free agency since Coughlin and Reece know how to build teams based on talent from the draft. They’ve won two superbowls during their tenure and neither team had a star corner like Revis. So the move is very unlikely to occur.

Though, it’s not to say that such a trade couldn’t happen. It’s just very unlike the nature of the Giants to take part in unless the price is right. Only time will tell the outcome of this story and within the next few weeks we’ll have a clearer picture into what the Jets plan on doing with Revis. For now, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the show or as T.O. would say “get your popcorn ready”.