Giants News

"Out of the 80 players expected to report this morning to training camp at the University at Albany, the Giants New York Giants anticipate just one not being physically able to practice tomorrow - Super Bowl hero David Tyree David Tyree . Coming off offseason right knee surgery, Tyree is not close to ready and he could be headed to the physically unable to perform list. Things could get sticky for Tyree if his injury lingers long into the summer, because the competition at receiver will be considerable. Others coming off surgeries - cornerback Sam Madison Sam Madison and linebacker Danny Clark (sports hernias) and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka and running back Derrick Ward (broken legs) - ..."

"Every syllable, word and sentence of the poignant theme Tom Coughlin presented yesterday as he arrived at Giants training camp made crystal clear that in order for this team to learn the lessons of its Super Bowl triumph, Jeremy Shockey had to go. The former Giants tight end was shipped this week to New Orleans, not because he's no longer a viable player but because the franchise - from the front office to some in the coaching staff to many of his teammates - grew tired by his diva act. Coughlin's message yesterday was simple and resounding - "Team over self is why we win" - and, asked if Shockey's inability to adhere to that mantra was a factor in the trade, he admitted, "I am sure at ..."

"The spotlight and the pressure will officially be turned on to Kevin Boss Friday morning when he begins the task of trying to replace Jeremy Shockey . But that's nothing compared to the pressure the 24-year-old faced six months ago. "I feel like I've faced as much pressure as I'm going to face in my career trying to replace him in the Super Bowl," Boss told the Daily News Wednesday. "And I felt like I played well there." Boss' play in the Super Bowl and during the entire postseason was a big reason why the Giants felt comfortable enough to trade the disgruntled Shockey to New Orleans on Monday, and why they seem so optimistic about the post-Shockey era. And even though there are ..."

"Eli Manning 's birth certificate says he will always be Peyton's little brother, but at least now all the condescending comparisons and questions have finally stopped. Eli won a Super Bowl in his fourth season with the Giants , less than half the time it took Peyton to win his Super Bowl with the Colts , which came in his ninth season. Peyton was named Super Bowl MVP. Twelve months later, Eli took home the same trophy. If you had to choose, there's no doubt Peyton is still the better player. But since quarterbacks are ultimately judged by their Super Bowl rings, the score is 1-1. "I think Eli did more to win the Super Bowl than his brother," said one GM, referring to the entire playoff ..."

"It was fitting that Giants Coach Tom Coughlin talked on the eve of training camp about putting "team over self" and was asked immediately about trading Jeremy Shockey. Each year, it seems, the Giants are whittled into something closer to Coughlin's ideal mold. Coughlin likes quiet leaders, those who play hard and keep their concerns out of public view. He detests disruptions and sideshows. Shockey, the talented and volatile tight end who was traded Monday to the Saints for second-round and fifth-round draft choices next year, represented the personality on the Giants that most clashed with the head coach. Coughlin admitted Wednesday that part of the internal trade discussions centered on ..."

"Giants general manager Jerry Reese has put together a perfect record with this year’s seven-member draft class, having reached an agreement with first-round safety Kenny Phillips today. The deal reportedly is for five years, although no further details were available. Phillips, the 31st overall pick from Miami, will join the team for the opening of training camp Thursday in Albany, N.Y."

"For the third consecutive year, the Giants will have all their rookies under contract for the first practice of training camp. Safety Kenny Phillips, the team's first-round pick in April's draft, agreed to terms yesterday, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who has had a busy few days conducting business with the Giants. Rosenhaus declined to provide the specifics of Phillips' deal, but someone familiar with the terms of the contract said it's a five-year deal worth up to $11.15 million, though that figure likely includes about $3 million in incentives and escalators. The person requested anonymity because the contract hasn't yet been signed and announced by the team."

"For the first time in years - and the first time in Tom Coughlin's tenure as Giants coach - the team will start a season with a question mark at tight end. That's because the Giants just traded their exclamation point. Jeremy Shockey, a four-time Pro Bowler, was traded to the Saints on Monday as the Giants unloaded a package that included as much talent as tumult. Now, with training camp about to open and players expected to report tomorrow, they must find a replacement for his production. "We have five young kids who are all vying for the position," Tom Coughlin said Monday following the trade. "The tight end position will be a very competitive position in training camp.""

"The Giants could not make it work with Jeremy Shockey, but they will have all seven of their draft picks signed and ready to report to Albany tomorrow for the start of training camp. The club yesterday agreed with first-round pick Kenny Phillips to a five-year deal that could be worth more than $11 million, assuring the rookie will be in camp and ready to compete for the starting free safety spot vacated when Gibril Wilson signed with the Raiders."

"Tom Coughlin sounded as if he couldn't get to Albany fast enough yesterday to begin defending his Super Bowl championship, the sights and sounds from the Canyon of Heroes, from the ring ceremony at Tiffany's, from visits to Walter Reed Hospital and the White House suddenly in his rear view mirror. Full speed ahead, to a new season, and a new challenge, and the same old naysayers who will argue that the Super Bowl XLII Giants were a fluke. What would the only Giants head coach not named Bill Parcells to win a Super Bowl championship say to them? "What I would say is, 'That's a lot of garbage,' " Coughlin said swiftly in a telephone interview with The Post."

"Tiki Barber, who played for Sean Payton and beside Jeremy Shockey, said the then-New York Giants offensive coordinator and then-New York Giants tight end had tangible simpatico. "It was great," said Barber of Payton's working relationship with Shockey, traded to the Saints on Monday. "Sean has an ability (to find) the strengths of his players. "He made me a star, basically, by saying, 'Don't put Tiki between the tackles. Let's do some misdirection so he can get outside and trick some people.' With Jeremy, it's, 'What's he good at? He's fast, so he's a mismatch for a linebacker. He's strong and big, so he's a mismatch for a safety. So let's put him in the slot and let him run some ..."

"Jeremy Shockey is a Saint. What a twist. Never thought we'd be saying that about this guy. He was an-in-your-face presence that extended to his quarterback as well. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and sported tattoos on his arms. There will be no training-camp carnival when the Giants report on Thursday. Shockey was traded to the Saints for two draft picks Monday."

"As distracting as Jeremy Shockey could be, members of the Giants organization were sorry to see him go on Monday. In fact, one person called it "a sad day" around Giants. But there is life after Shockey. And the Giants know from experience that it can be good. So the Giants will begin the post-Shockey era Thursday with a considerable amount of optimism when they report for training camp at the University at Albany. They got a taste of it in the winter, when they played six games and won a Super Bowl without the enigmatic tight end. And in his absence, they got a good look at what tight end Kevin Boss - and perhaps more importantly, third receiver Steve Smith - can do."

"The Giants made their first strong play call of the year yesterday when they decided to punt Jeremy Shockey. This wasn't just a smart move, trading Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for two draft picks; it was a perfectly timed one, coming just three days before the Giants officially open training camp. And that, as much as anything, is why Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin and everyone else inside Giants headquarters should wake up this morning feeling good. Understand, this isn't about whether the Giants are a better team with or without Shockey. The arguments on either side of that issue are reasonable; Shockey's talent is undeniable, but certainly the Giants couldn't have done any ..."

"Some Giants and Jets season ticketholders have muttered lately that there ought to be a law against the teams charging fans for “personal seat licenses.” Now state Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone is threatening to do just that. It may be a longshot, but Chiappone, D-Bayonne — a lifelong Giants fan — said today that he plans to introduce legislation when the Assembly returns this fall that would prohibit any New Jersey team from issuing the seat licenses, known as PSLs."

"Even though the Giants apparently have done exactly what Jeremy Shockey asked them to do - trade him to the Saints - the tight end previously told reporters from Newsday's Kidsday in a video interview that he will be looking for revenge when he takes the field against his old team. "If the team trades me, I promise you I'm going to make them pay," Shockey told the youngsters during a promotional appearance in Queens in early June. "If I ever get a chance to play against a team that trades me, it's not going to be a pretty sight.""

"New York wanted to love Jeremy Shockey from the start, and often did. He was Mickey Mantle 2.0, a brawny, reckless, untamed Okie who immediately announced himself by brawling with Brandon Short in the training camp dining room after a disagreement over some low-level rookie hazing. Soon, he was bowling over various hapless members of the Houston Texans in his first appearance as a rookie, the 2002 Hall of Fame Game, causing TV types to scramble for old tapes of Mark Bavaro. That was only the start of an eventful first year. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, then capped his season with a day in San Francisco that foreshadowed the career to come."

"There are five tight ends on the Giants roster and none of them has much of a pedigree. Kevin Boss as a rookie filled in wonderfully when Shockey went down late in the season, starting six games and putting on display his soft hands and precise route-running. The 6-foot-6 Boss has great size but is light years behind Shockey as a blocker and probably will never be the explosive force of his predecessor. Otherwise, it's slim pickings. Michael Matthews started six games as a rookie and is more of a blocker, although shoulder problems limited his effectiveness. Darcy Johnson, who missed all of last season after blowing out his knee, has muscled up to 270 pounds and the second-year player ..."

"EVEN as bodies, fists and chairs were flying in the training-camp cafeteria when a defiant rookie named Jeremy Shockey began brawling with linebacker Brandon Short, Jim Fassel, the Giants coach at the time, allowed himself a smile inside and thought to himself: "My guy is here!" Years later, walking out of the Georgia Dome after Shockey had imposed his will on the Falcons, Short smiled when he said: "The renegade is back!" Now the renegade is gone. Gone to Bourbon Street, for a No. 2 and a No. 5 draft pick. And to those of you who shout "Good riddance!" to an unhappy camper who threatened to be a divisive headache for Tom Coughlin and the Super Bowl Giants, I say this: The Giants ..."

"Check the sales rack for the impending arrival of those once-coveted No. 80 jerseys. Jeremy Shockey, born to be a New York Giant, is gone, traded yesterday to the Saints for a second and a fifth-round draft pick in 2009. Not long ago viewed - for better or worse - as one of the snarling faces of the Giants - Shockey grew so disenchanted with the franchise following the stunning Super Bowl triumph he missed out on that dissolution of the relationship became inevitable."

"With one trade on Monday, the Giants solved one problem and created another, losing a habitually disgruntled star player and a perennial Pro Bowl tight end. Jeremy Shockey, the rough-and-tumble Oklahoman with the fiery personality, was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a pair of draft picks in 2009 — one in the second round, one in the fifth...Shockey’s absence from the Giants will add a different measure of intrigue to training camp, where the tight-end position becomes a sudden spot of concern. The Giants report to Albany on Thursday and begin practices on Friday."

"Plaxico Burress will report to Giants training camp on Thursday in Albany. With Jeremy Shockey gone, the Giants ' last remaining pre-camp headache appears to be Plaxico Burress . But there's nothing to worry about there, according to his agent, who said the receiver definitely will be in camp on time. Drew Rosenhaus , Burress' agent, told the Daily News Monday that his client will report to camp at the University at Albany Thursday morning with the rest of the Giants. And the receiver plans to be there whether he has a new deal in place or not."

"With one trade on Monday, the Giants solved one problem and created another, losing a habitually disgruntled star player and a perennial Pro Bowl tight end. Jeremy Shockey , the rough-and-tumble Oklahoman with the fiery personality, was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a pair of draft picks in 2009 %u2014 one in the second round, one in the fifth."

"Jeremy Shockey was traded to the Saints for two draft picks yesterday, giving New Orleans a disgruntled star tight end who watched from the sideline while injured as the New York Giants surged to the Super Bowl title. The deal reunites Shockey with Saints coach Sean Payton, who was the Giants' offensive coordinator in 2002, when Shockey was rookie of the year"

"Jeremy Shockey has finally gotten his wish. The Giants have agreed to trade their disgruntled tight end to the New Orleans Saints for a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick, FOXSports.com has learned. The deal is pending league approval, according to a league source. Shockey must also pass a physical. The compensation is the same the Saints offered New York back in April prior and during to the draft ... and it was turned down."

"Giants GM Jerry Reese believes that after a somewhat rocky offseason, the Giants will be a happy and determined group in time for their opener on Sept. 4. But will that group include the unhappy Jeremy Shockey? That apparently remains to be seen, even as the start of training camp looms in just three days. Reese would not say if he expects his enigmatic tight end to report to camp at the University at Albany with the rest of his teammates on Thursday morning. And he appeared to leave open the possibility that Shockey won't be part of the Giants at all."

"WHAT'S DIFFERENT? They're wearing Super Bowl rings, which is a big reason Michael Strahan won't be there, and part of the reason why Jeremy Shockey might not be. Shockey feels jilted by the team after missing his chance to be a part of the title run, and the situation might not heal in time -- if at all. Shockey's situation gives the Giants a headache on offense. Replacing Strahan remains the biggest issue to be resolved on the other side."

"Everybody has questions. How soon can quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco start in Atlanta and Baltimore? Where does Brett Favre play in 2008, if he plays at all? Is there another team such as the New York Giants that will come out of the shadows at playoff time to seize the Super Bowl? There are no ready answers in July and August. Training camp is a time to grind, but it's also a time for optimism. Let's set the stage for the NFL's 89th season."

"Yes, the Bears have some issues as they head into training camp this week. But they are not alone. Each of the 32 teams in the NFL will be trying to answer deep questions, tie together loose ends and bury ghosts of the past. Here is a look at the other 31:"

"The Post's Steve Serby caught up with the recently retired Giants defensive end, who will now suit up on the "FOX NFL Sunday" pregame show. Q: You retired; Jeremy Shockey's unhappy; Plaxico Burress wants more money. Can the Giants repeat? A: Yeah, I mean anything's possible. It's all about your focus and your commitment to doing what's best for the team, and not as an individual. Q: Do you think Shockey is underutilized in the passing game? A: Well, I think Jeremy is a special talent, and sometimes as a tight end, it's required for you to block. But I think for him, he's so competitive . . . he wants the ball every time. I can't fault him for that."

"Never before have the Giants arrived on the campus of the University at Albany as Super Bowl champions, and they've been heading upstate for training camp since 1996. As the start of a new preseason arrives, what, pray tell, can the Giants do for an encore? "Let's get better," Eli Manning said. Indeed, improvement is on the minds of the Giants as they report Thursday and hit the field Friday morning for their first practice."

"Brandon Jacobs and Giants may have Super Bowl champs on their resumes, but going into 2008 training camp, many players say they still feel they're not getting respect they deserve. The hangovers from the Giants' Super Bowl victory party were still fresh when the newly crowned champs sounded the first alarms for 2008. Somehow, just hours after their incredible, improbable win in Super Bowl XLII they had convinced themselves that the world had already dismissed them as a fluke"

"A little more than three weeks ago, Dave Kmetz of West Harrison got a letter from John Mara and Steve Tisch, the owners of the Giants. It was an announcement about the personal seat licenses, or PSLs, the team will soon foist upon its loyal season-ticket holders, if they want to continue to buy tickets to the new stadium in 2010. "It just bothers me that the letter sounded a little bit like they're building the state-of-the-art stadium, the best around, and we need to help them pay for it," Kmetz said. "That just didn't hit me right.""

"Giants fans who buy seats in the lower level of their new football stadium — even in the end zones — will have to pay a one-time fee of at least $4,000 per seat for the right to continue buying season tickets in 2010, under a new Giants pricing plan unveiled today. Fans with upper deck seats will face less sticker shock, with about 90- percent of those seats featuring a $1,000-per-seat personal seat license fee, or PSL. The other 10 percent — the first few rows in the upper deck between the end zones — will have a $5,000 PSL. Club officials expect the PSL fees to raise about half of the $750 million in construction costs the Giants are covering for the facility they will share with ..."

"The Giants are steadily bringing their draft picks into the fold. They signed receiver Mario Manningham to a four-year contract yesterday, leaving only first-round pick Kenny Phillips and second-round pick Terrell Thomas unsigned. Five of the seven picks have now signed with training camp starting July 24 in Albany."

"Mario Manningham, the Giants' third-round pick, officially signed a four-year deal with the team Tuesday, leaving just two of their seven picks unsigned with training camp still nine days away. Manningham, a receiver out of Michigan, was a controversial selection due to drug-related issues in his past. But the Giants felt he was worth the risk with the 95th pick and they expect him to compete for playing time as the fourth receiver with third-year pro Sinorice Moss. Financial terms were not available."

"Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, a late sensation as a rookie last season, was released from Southwest Virginia Regional Jail yesterday after serving a 30-day sentence for what has been termed a violation of his probation. According to Bradshaw's representation, the offense took place when Bradshaw was a juvenile. If that is the case - that is what the Giants say they've been told - then Bradshaw has not run afoul of the law since he's come into the NFL and thus would not be in danger of punishment by the Giants."

"Ahmad Bradshaw's jail sentence is up, but the NFL may still weigh in. Ahmad Bradshaw is out of jail, but his punishment might not be over. Bradshaw, the Giants' 22-year-old running back, was released from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail on Sunday after serving nearly all of a 30-day sentence for an undisclosed probation violation. However, the NFL is still investigating whether the violation was also a breach of the league's personal conduct policy."

"Steve Smith, the former Taft High of Woodland Hills and USC receiver, who won a Super Bowl as a rookie with the New York Giants this past season, returned to Taft on Thursday and delivered a pep talk."

"One of the potential problem spots on the Giants roster was their depth behind starting offensive tackles David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie. That issue was resolved yesterday in an interesting way, as the Giants agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Shane Olivea, a talented player with a troubled past. Olivea, 26, is in the prime of his career but the Chargers released him in February, even though he started 57 of 60 games in his four years in San Diego. The NFL last month suspended Olivea for the first four games of this coming season for violating the league's substance abuse policy."

"Justin Tuck knows things will be different both on the field and off for the Giants now that Michael Strahan is a broadcaster. "You can't just replace Michael Strahan," Tuck said. But that doesn't mean he's not going to try to fill some of the void - actually, quite a bit of it. "I know the coaches are looking at me, and a lot of other guys, too, to do more, but I feel like it's my time to really take that next step," said Tuck, who along with the Jets' Brad Smith, was at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens yesterday."

"Plaxico Burress did plenty of signings yesterday for people who had just bought his new book. Burress hopes to put his name on something else very soon - a contract extension. He seemed optimistic about that after this appearance. "I hope so," he said when asked if he thought the Giants would extend his deal. "That's the goal. I don't want to go anywhere. I just want to finish my career here and end up being a New York Giant and I think it's going to happen.""

"To make sure there are no more signal-stealing scandals like the one involving the New England Patriots last season, the NFL has hired Pennsylvania's police chief. Col. Jeffrey Miller was appointed to the new post of director of strategic security today and begins work Aug. 18. His job will involve overseeing everything from pregame security screening for people entering stadiums to ensuring that team signals are not intercepted by opponents through electronic bugging or other devices."

"Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora arrived in Iraq yesterday as one of the two players NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell picked to accompany him on a history-making seven-day, three-country summer USO tour, led by the Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen. Umenyiora and Saints quarterback Drew Brees shook hands with hundreds of troops, signed autographs and tossed around a football in 110-degree heat."

"Back on June 11, the towering receiver shocked the Giants by declaring he made a "business decision" to not take the field for the mandatory mini-camp until he received a new contract. He also strongly insinuated he would not work during training camp unless more money came his way. No deal has been signed just yet, but Burress anticipates something in the next two weeks. "I'm getting good feedback," he said. "I think it's going to get done. I'm not concerned about it. I don't want to go anywhere. I'm happy here in New York. I just want to make sure I'm here for a long time.""

"The late Wellington Mara never instituted PSLs during his time as Giants owner. On Thursday, Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch notified season ticket holders via e-mail that personal seat licenses - the dreaded PSLs - will be sold in the new $1.6 billion stadium that will be shared with the Jets. For financially strapped families, many of whom have been ticket holders for decades, the e-mail amounts to a termination letter. The good old days are officially over."

"Less than five months after winning the Super Bowl, the Giants said Thursday that they would charge their fans one-time fees, called personal seat licenses, for every seat in the stadium that they were building with the Jets. John Mara, the president and co-owner of the Giants, said fans would have to pay $1,000 to $20,000 each for the licenses — the rights to purchase season tickets at the stadium, which was scheduled to open in 2010. The Jets have not decided on their seat license plan."

"Giants season-ticket holders better prepare to dig deeper into their wallets just to keep their seats. The Super Bowl champions will slap fans with one-time fees of up to $20,000 for the right to buy season tickets at the team's new Meadowlands stadium starting in 2010, the team announced yesterday. The fees - known as "personal seat licenses" - will apply to all sections in the 82,500-seat stadium and are the first of their kind charged by a New York sports team, said Giants co-owner John Mara."

"Needing no arm-twisting from father-in-law Tom Coughlin, Chris Snee signed a six-year, $43.5 million extension ($17 million guaranteed) yesterday that will keep the Giants' right guard under contract through 2014. The signing bonus is $13.5 million. "I am just happy to have it done before the season and really just have peace of mind and not worry about it and go out and play," said Snee. "I had faith that it would be done.""

"With Plaxico Burress unhappy with his contract and Jeremy Shockey upset with just about everything, the Giants took care of another potential headache yesterday by continuing to invest in their offensive line. As first reported by The Star-Ledger on NJ.com, the Giants and right guard Chris Snee have agreed in principle to a six-year extension through the 2014 season, according to two people familiar with the progress of the negotiations. The people, who requested anonymity because the deal hasn't yet been signed and announced by the team, didn't provide financial specifics but said Snee will be among the five highest-paid guards in the NFL, which means the contract is worth about $7 ..."