New York Giants Giants Fire Bill Sheridan

New York Giants Giants Fire Bill Sheridan: The Giants fired Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan yesterday. No replacement has yet been named.

Sheridan was promoted to the defensive coordinator position last offseason after Steve Spagnulo left the Giants to become the head coach of the St. Louis Rams. From 2005-2008, Sheridan was the Giants’ linebackers coach.

John Mara Publicly Slams Giants: Whether it was part of a public relations ploy or legitimate anger, Giants’ President/CEO John Mara publicly slammed the effort of his team and coaches yesterday.

New York Giants 2010 Opponents Set: The New York Giants will face the following teams in the 2010 regular season:

Home:

• Dallas Cowboys
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins
• Carolina Panthers
• Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Tennessee Titans

Away:

• Dallas Cowboys
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Redskins
• Green Bay Packers
• Minnesota Vikings
• Houston Texans
• Indianapolis Colts
• Seattle Seahawks

The NFL schedule will be announced in April.

Giants to Select 15th in First Round of 2010 NFL Draft: The Giants currently hold the 15th spot in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Giants Make Sign Eight Players: The Giants yesterday signed eight players to reserve/futures contracts for the 2010 season. All of the players, except for DE Tommie Hill, were on the Giants’ Practice Squad or Practice Squad/Injured List. Hill was with the Giants in training camp last year as a rookie free agent.

The players are:

• OT Jacob Bender
• OG Rueben Riley
• DE Tommie Hill
• DT Dwayne Hendricks
• DT Anthony Bryant
• LB Kenny Ingram
• CB Londen Fryar
• S Vince Anderson

Feagles Not Sure If He Will Retire: P Jeff Feagles, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, has not yet decided whether he will retire or not.

“Physically, I am fine,” Feagles said. “I came out of this season feeling really good with no injuries and my knee held up this year. I just have to sit back and reflect on what the future looks like, talk to my family, talk to the team and go from there.”

Article on DE Justin Tuck: NY Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck Admits Shoulder Injury Hurt His Play And His Ability To Be A Leader by Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger

Notes: The Giants’ losses to the Panthers and Vikings are the first time in team history that the Giants have lost consecutive games by at least 32 points each.

The Giants allowed at least 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1971.

Giants gave up at least 40 points five times this season, the highest number of 40-point games by their opponents since 1966.

Total points allowed by the Giants in 2009 was 427, the second-highest total in franchise history. The 1966 Giants surrendered 501 points.

QB Eli Manning finished the season with 317 completions in 509 attempts (62.3 percent) for 4,021 yards, 27 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a passer rating of 93.1. The completions, percentage, yards, touchdowns, and rating are all career highs.

Manning is the third quarterback in Giants’ history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season, joining Kerry Collins (4,073 in 2002) and Phil Simms (4,044 in 1984).

Manning is the only quarterback in Giants’ history with five consecutive 3,000-yard seasons and five consecutive seasons with 20 touchdown passes.

WR Steve Smith finished the season with 107 receptions, 25 more than the franchise’s previous single-season record-holder (WR Amani Toomer had 82 in 2002).

Smith’s 1,220 receiving yards were the second-highest total in franchise history. Toomer had 1,343 in 2002. Smith joins Toomer, WR Plaxico Burress (1,214 yards in 2005),  and WR Homer Jones (1,209 yards in 1967) as the only Giants with 1,200-yard receiving seasons.

PK Lawrence Tynes finished the season 27-for-32, an 84.4 percentage that is the sixth-best in a single season in Giants’ history.