Feb 102018
 
Kevin Stefanski, Minnesota Vikings (August 9, 2015)

Kevin Stefanski – © USA TODAY

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REPORT – VIKINGS DENY GIANTS PERMISSION TO INTERVIEW KEVIN STEFANSKI…
ESPN is reporting that the Minnesota Vikings have denied the New York Giants permission to interview Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski. The Giants were interested in Stefanski as the team’s new offensive coordinator. The 35-year old Stefanski has served in various assistant coaching capacities for the Vikings since 2006.

Media speculation is that the Giants may now turn to former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell or Philadelphia Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley. However, the Eagles could also deny Staley permission to interview with the Giants.

REPORT – DAVE GETTLEMAN HIRES DRAFT CONSULTANT…
The New York Post is reporting that New York Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman has hired Mark Koncz as a scouting department consultant. Koncz worked with Gettleman with the Carolina Panthers as director of pro scouting, a position that Koncz had held since 2000. Gettleman promoted him to director of player personnel in May 2017 before the Panthers fired Koncz in July after Gettleman was also let go.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Exclusive Giants.com interviews with the following players are available at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

Dec 272017
 
Eli Apple, New York Giants (December 24, 2017)

Eli Apple – © USA TODAY Sports

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GIANTS SUSPEND ELI APPLE…
The New York Giants announced Wednesday afternoon that they have suspended cornerback Eli Apple for the final week of the team’s season, including the season finale against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. Apple’s season is officially over.

“We have suspended Eli for a pattern of behavior that is conduct detrimental to the team,” said Interim General Manager Kevin Abrams.

Apple, the 10th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, has had a troubled year both off the field (family issues and conflict with teammates) and on the field (injuries and being benched by the Giants).

On Tuesday, safety Landon Collins took a harsh shot at Apple during his weekly interview with ESPN Radio. “There’s only just one corner that… needs to grow, and we all know who that is,” said Collins. “That would be the only person I would change out of our secondary group. Besides, the other two guys, (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) and (Janoris Jenkins), I love those two guys. They play hard. They love what they do. But that first pick… he’s a cancer.”

This was the continuation of an escalating feud between Collins and Apple that began two weeks ago when Collins originally defended Apple and said he had privately talked to Apple, offering him advice and counsel. Apple denied that Collins had done that, initiating a conflict inside the locker room (one press report saying Collins had to be restrained when confronting Apple) and publicly on Twitter. Last week on ESPN Radio, Collins said Apple needed to “grow up.”

On Wednesday, Collins tweeted, “I met with Coach Spags and Eli this morning and I apologized for the things I said yesterday. I never stop supporting my brother/teammate Eli and the rest of my teammates as we move forward. Just want him to know I’m always here for him (100 percent).”

“Listen, I think Landon has already addressed what happened the other day,” said Interim Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo after practice and before Apple was suspended. “Just real quickly – I love Landon. We had a quick conversation this morning and then I had a quick conversation with Eli (Apple) and then all three of us had a really good conversation and it was very productive and I’ll just leave it at that. It’s between them and they were really great. I’ll just leave it alone.”

For his part, Apple did not address the media on Wednesday other than to let them know he had to “take a shit” on his way to the bathroom. Shortly after that, Apple was suspended. The NFL Network is reporting that Apple’ suspension was “due in part to his refusal to take the field with the scout team” and that “he then got into it with a coach.”

GIANTS PLACE B.J. GOODSON ON INJURED RESERVE…
The New York Giants have placed linebacker B.J. Goodson on Injured Reserve with a high ankle sprain that has nagged him much of the season. Goodson missed two games in September with a shin injury, returned to the starting lineup in October, but then missed six of his next eight games with the ankle issue. In all, Goodson started seven games and finished 2017 with 53 tackles, two pass defenses, and one forced fumble.

To fill that roster vacancy, the team signed wide receiver Marquis Bundy from the Practice Squad. The 6’4”, 215-pound Bundy was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Arizona Cardinals after the 2016 NFL Draft. The Cardinals waived him in August 2017 and the Giants then signed him.

The Giants have also signed wide receiver Canaan Severin and defensive lineman Kristjan Sokoli to the Practice Squad.

The Giants signed the 6’2”, 205-pound Severin in August 2017 and waived him before the season started in September. Severin was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season on Injured Reserve with a shoulder injury. The Steelers waived him in August 2017.

Sokoli was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. The 6’5”, 300-pound Sokoli has spent time with the Seahawks (2015), Indianapolis Colts (2016), and New Orleans Saints (2017). The Albanian-born player has played both on the offensive and defensive lines.

DAVIS WEBB PROMOTED…
With one game left in the 2017 regular season, Davis Webb has replaced Geno Smith as Eli Manning’s primary back-up at quarterback.

“Davis Webb will be the second quarterback going into this game,” said Interim Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo. “Having said that, that’s no reflection on Geno. Last week I told you all that we were going to try to get Davis Webb ready in case we could get him in the game. There’s no guarantees that we will get him in the game, but he will be the number two on Sunday.”

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (neck0, wide receiver Tavarres King (concussion), tight end Evan Engram (rib), and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (finger) did not practice on Wednesday.

Wide receiver Roger Lewis (ankle), offensive tackle Ereck Flowers (groin), offensive tackle Bobby Hart (ankle), and defensive end Avery Moss (hip) practiced on a limited basis.

INTERIM HEAD COACH STEVE SPAGNUOLO…
The transcript of Steve Spagnuolo’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants practice on Thursday at 11:35AM. Interim Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo, Offensive Coordinator Mike Sullivan, Special Teams Coordinator Tom Quinn, and select players will also address the media after practice.

Nov 272017
 
D.J. Fluker, New York Giants (August 26, 2017)

D.J. Fluker – © USA TODAY Sports

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GIANTS PLACE FOUR ON INJURED RESERVE, INCLUDING D.J. FLUKER…
The New York Giants have placed right guard D.J. Fluker (toe), linebacker Curtis Grant (knee), linebacker Deontae Skinner (hamstring), and cornerback Donte Deayon (fractured forearm) on Injured Reserve.

Fluker injured his toe in the November 19 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The other three players were injured during the Thanksgiving game against the Washington Redskins.

The Giants also claimed linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong off of waivers from the San Francisco 49ers and signed free agent linebacker Jeremy Cash.

Armstrong was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the St. Louis Rams after the 2013 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Rams (2013-2014), Oakland Raiders (2014-2015), and San Francisco 49ers (2015-2017). The 49ers waived him in November 2017. The 6’3”, 220-pound Armstrong has played in 58 regular-season games with ten starts, five of which came in 2017 with the 49ers.

Cash was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Carolina Panthers after the 2016 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Panthers (2016-2017) and New York Jets (2017). The 6’0”, 230-pound Cash has played in nine NFL games with no starts.

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Select New York Giants players will be available to the press on Tuesday. The Giants return to practice on Wednesday in preparation for Sunday’s away game against the Oakland Raiders.

Oct 242017
 
Jerry Reese, New York Giants (August 27, 2016)

Jerry Reese – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE ADDRESSES THE MEDIA…
New York Giants Senior Vice President and General Manager Jerry Reese addressed the media on Tuesday. Video of the press conference is also available at Giants.com:

Opening Statement: Good afternoon to everyone. I’ll start with, we’re 1-6. That’s not where we want to be obviously, but this is where we are. This roster – it’s my roster. I’m responsible for everybody on the roster and I’ll take ownership to where we are right now with this 1-6 start. I do believe that we still have good players on this roster. I do believe that. I do believe we have to play better, though. We splashed, you know, big plays at different times. But, in this league it’s almost like we came out of the gate, there was a lot of chatter about how good the team looked and how good it looked on paper and we also talked about the Super Bowl and just things like that. But, in this business, the 11 games we won last year – that’s over with. You have to start over every time and you have to earn wins and you have to do it the right way. You have to put in the preparation and you can’t walk out there and think people are going to just lay down for you because people are saying good things about you. You have to earn wins in this league and I think we bought into some of the hype of this is a good looking football team. But, again, I do believe we have good players on the roster. I do believe that during this off time that we can make some adjustments and we have nine games left and I feel like we have the coaching staff and the players with the pride to be a New York Giant in this organization and nobody is going to lay down. We’re going to come back after this break and we’re going to leave everything out there. I’ll open up for questions.

Q: What is your opinion of where things have gone wrong in the first seven games?

A: Well, it’s a lot of different things. You can point to a lot of things I guess where things have gone wrong. We just have to play better. We have to put players in a better position than we have and then players when we put them in that position, they have to make plays. So, you can point to a lot of different things. There were a few close games where the defense could have closed some games out. Some tight games that last year we closed some games out. This time, we let some games go that we could have closed out. Offense could have closed a game or two out late in the game when we’ve been ahead. So, you have to do the little things. We’ve beat ourselves, not taking anything from anyone that beat us, but a lot of things are self-inflicted that happened to us and we have to clean those things up. It’s pro football. You have to do the little things right and it starts with preparation. You have to prepare during the week. You don’t win the game on Sunday. You win the game during the week when you practice. That’s where you win the football games. You don’t win on Sunday. So, those type of things. I think we have to, again, I think we bought into the hype. We just didn’t go out and strain as hard as you have to strain to play in this league and you have to do it every Sunday. Every Sunday you have to do it and we just didn’t come out. That fight that I saw from us last year and I have seen it at times, but it hasn’t been consistent enough for us to win games.

Q: Did you overestimate what you had on the offensive line in the tackle spot?

A: No. I think our offensive line – we have some young players. I think they have improved. We’ve run the ball some, a little better than we have in the past. But, you have to be consistent doing it. You have to commit to running the ball some. I think our offensive line is comparable. Do we want to upgrade our offensive line? Of course we do, but is our offensive line comparable to a lot of teams around the National Football League? Absolutely, it is. Whatever we have to do to manufacture wins, you have to do it and we felt like we had some young players in our offensive line that had a lot of snaps together. They flashed some good play at times, but obviously if you’re not winning, a lot of things get pointed at. People like to point at the offensive line. It’s totally not all on the offensive line. We win as a team. We lose as a team. It’s a whole team effort that’s caused us to be where we are right now.

Q: Why didn’t you upgrade your offensive line?

A: Well, the starting five we felt like had a lot of snaps together and we felt like those guys, when you have some continuity in your offensive line, that’s a help. We brought (D.J.) Fluker in. We drafted a young kid we felt like the offensive line – and there weren’t a lot of choices out there to go out there. We looked at a lot of different situations, but there just weren’t a lot of offensive line help out there from our perspective and we had an opportunity to get somebody, but we looked at some different situations and it didn’t work out for us.

Q: T Ereck Flowers was a top ten pick and most former players analyze him and say he’s not a developing player. How do you evaluate him and do you think you missed out on a high pick?

A: Well, again, I think Ereck has improved, first of all. I think he works hard and I think everybody has an opinion about where players should be played and what their development is. All young players do have to develop. I do think he’s developed. Is he going to be our long term left tackle? We don’t know that, but if you look at him compared to a lot of left tackles around the National Football League, there’s a bunch of comparables around. But, if you put Flowers on some of these guys’ jersey and you’d be like, ‘Wow.’ So, I do think that he gets pointed out unfairly a little bit at times. But, it’s the National Football League. If you can’t take criticism, you should quit. If you’re a general manager of a football team, if you’re a player, if you’re a quarterback or you play any position, if you can’t take criticism, you should quit. Ereck is a big boy and there’s been guys that have been picked higher than him in the offensive line who have struggled. Different positions struggle at different times and I do think he’s working hard and I do think he’s improving and we’ll continue to support him and hopefully he’ll continue to improve and be a good player.

Q: Why were the various options at offensive line in the offseason not a fit for this team?

A: Well, again, we want to be a younger football team and everybody has an opinion about who was available and who wasn’t. To us, it didn’t make sense for us and that’s what we went with. We want to be a younger offensive line. Again, do you want to try to develop a 23-year old guy, or do you want to bring in a 36-year old guy? We chose to go with the young guy.

Q: Doesn’t the whole paradigm of your team say to go with the older guy, having a 36-year old quarterback?

A: Yeah, well, again, we want to be a younger football team. We looked at all different situations with all the offensive linemen available. We stayed with what we have.

Q: Did you think this past offseason that the team was only a few pieces away from being the Super Bowl contender that you started to look like last year?

A: Yeah, well, the team starts over every year. What happened last year, the 11 wins, that goes away. You have to start over every year, you have to prepare the right way, you have to get good players, your coaches have to put them in good positions and the players have to make plays. So, everything’s different, the dynamics are different every year, every team. You never know what you’re going to get. We felt good about our team going into the season. Again, the season’s not over yet, we have nine games to play. We’re going to prepare just as hard as we always do and our players and our coaches are super proud people and I still believe in them.

Q: Shouldn’t you know by year three whether or not Ereck Flowers is your long-term left tackle, or is he still too young to determine that?

A: Yeah, well, you would like to know. Again, Ereck Flowers – it seems like this is a common theme, everybody wants to beat up on Ereck Flowers. Ereck Flowers is not the reason we’re 1-6, okay? He’s still a young player, he’s been a starter for us for three years, I still believe he will develop and get better. He’s gotten better as the season has gone on, so far. But again, it’s a common theme for people to take swipes at Ereck. Ereck is not the only reason that we’re 1-6.

Q: Is the offensive line the reason the team is 1-6?

A: No, I said it when I first came out here, okay? This is the roster that I put together, I’m the reason we’re 1-6. But we do have to play better as a team. So, again, we lose together, we win together, I believe everybody is accountable here for what goes on. Our coaches are accountable, our players are accountable. We’re 1-6 together, but you can put it all on me.

Q: Do you feel that you are on notice?

A: Yeah, well, you’re always on notice. I’ve been doing this over 10 years now and every single time – I’ve been left for dead a lot of times since I’ve been doing this job and that’s just part of the business, it comes with the territory. It’s a high performance business. I’d love for us to have won 10 Super Bowls in my 10 years as the general manager of the Giants, but we haven’t. I wish we could have. We’ve won some games, but I sure believe we could have done better than we have.

Q: When you said that the team ‘bought into the hype’ before the season, whose feet does that fall on?

A: It falls on all of our feet. Again, there was a lot of chatter, a lot of good things were being said about the team. But again, when you have a young team – which we have, a relatively young team – you have to protect against winning. And when you win 11 games, then you’ve got a little bit of a swagger about you, you come back and say, ‘Well, this is pretty easy, we won 11 games with a rookie head coach.’ So, you come back and think, well, ‘We already got 11 wins,’ that’s just not how it works. So, you have to protect against winning. That’s all I can say, you have to protect against winning, you have to start over, you have to put in the work, you’ve got to play with some passion out there. So, that’s what I’m trying to say.

Q: Is that on the head coach if that message did not get through?

A: No, it’s not on the head coach, it’s on all of us. When I said, ‘Guys, we lose together and we win together,’ it’s on all of us. It’s every single body in this organization.

Q: Where do you see quarterback Eli Manning at this point of his career, and what kind of job do you think Head Coach Ben McAdoo has done this year?

A: Well, Eli, just like everybody else on the team, Eli needs to play better. Every position needs to play better. As far as Ben, he won 11 games last year as a rookie. It’s been a little bit tougher, you can’t sneak up on anybody in this league, he has to do better at what his job is and I think he will and here’s why I think that, is because, it’s important to him, number one. He’s a hard worker, he’s smart. He’s smarter than all of us in this room, I can tell you that. It’s not even close, all of us together, he’s smarter than all of us. So, it’s important to him, it means something to him. He’s not a guy that you can’t talk to and give suggestions to. He’s going to do whatever is best for this football team.

Q: What do you see from the defense?

A: Well, I think I said this to somebody during the preseason, some of the preseason interviews that I had, that, what does a defense have to do? I said, ‘The defense has to stay hungry.’ I don’t think we had that hunger when we first came out during the season because, again, we could’ve closed some games out defensively. So, the hunger from the defense, but the hunger from the entire team has to be there as well. But the defense in particular, I saw a hungrier defense last year than I’ve seen – I’ve seen it at times, but you have to be consistently hungry every week and get the job done.

Q: Do you think that Eli (Manning) should remain the starter for the rest of the year or is it worth taking a look at Davis Webb?

A: Right now, we have nine games to play and I feel like, don’t count us out yet. We’ve been left for dead by a lot of people, but don’t count us out yet. We’re going to go into the second half of the season, give it everything we have, do some self-evaluations and figure out what we can do better, what things we have done good, what we’ve done bad, how can we manufacture and win football games. That’s where our focus is moving forward right now.

Q: At some point, is it worth looking at him?

A: At some point, but when is that some point? It’s not right now because we’re going to fight with everything we have with these nine games left and hopefully we can turn our season around.

Q: What would your response be to people saying there should be a change after missing the playoffs in five out of the last six seasons?

A: That’s up to the owners of the New York Giants. You can ask them that if you’d like. I just know that I come to work every day and I know people come in here and they work their behinds off every day. So that’s a question I think you should ask ownership.

Q: Are you concerned the team needs to improve in the second half of the season in order for your future to continue here?

A: I come to work every day. I do what I do every day and try to help this football team be the best football team that we can be moving forward and that’s what I’m going to do.

Q: When you say things like, “we didn’t have the hunger” is it the coach’s job to get the team mentally ready to play?

A: Again, it’s all about the team. It’s my job, it’s Ben’s (McAdoo) job, it’s the players’ job, it’s all of our jobs to be professionals and be ready to play. Again, we have a pretty young football team and you have to protect against winning. We won 11 games and that was, wow we won 11 games. But still, you have to earn wins in this league and sometimes you have to learn that the hard way. I think this is a hard lesson for us to learn to go out and figure out the right way to do the things it takes to win football games.

Q: Can you name any examples on how the team bought into the hype?

A: Again, I don’t think we played as hungry as we did last year. I think that’s evidence for me. I don’t see any of the hunger coming out of the gate. I thought we played hard in some games, but there’s a difference between playing hard and having that hunger that you have to have to win in this league.

Q: Did you bring that up with the coach after the first game?

A: We talk about everything, yeah.

Q: Does Odell’s (Beckham) injury show you anything about his value here and has your thinking of his future here changed?

A: Really all I need to say about Odell is we need him to get healthy and that’s what’s most important right now, is that he’s healthy moving forward. He is a terrific football player and it hurts anybody’s football team if you lose a player of his caliber.

Q: Are you under the impression that he can be 100% though?

A: We sure hope so, that’s the plan. We sure hope that he can come back from this setback with the injury and be even better than he was before.

Q: Sitting here at 1-6, are you frustrated? Angry? What’s going on inside of you?

A: If you guys want me to get up here and have a tantrum, I’m not going to do that. It’s frustrating. Anytime you lose football games and you’re 1-6, there’s some frustration, but I’m not going to get up here and fall on the floor and kick and scream. I’m not going to do that. But of course, we’re all frustrated, but we can fix that by playing the game the right way and you do that by the preparation that you put in and you win the games during the week. You get out there and you play with some hunger and passion and the playmakers have to make plays when we get out there. So there is frustration, but again, anybody that’s not winning, there is going to be.

Q: Do you have enough playmakers to be competitive?

A: Yeah, we have to be. It’s funny, I was talking to another GM this morning and he was kind of down about some injuries and things, and I was like, ‘man, no crying in football.’ And he was like, ‘you know what, Jerry, thanks for saying that.’ But there is no crying in football. We have some young players that we have a great opportunity for them and we have to put them in positions to make enough plays. We have to run the ball, we got to play complementary football, we got to win the kicking game and we got to win field position. That’s nothing abnormal from any football game, no matter who’s on your roster. You have to play complementary football to win, to win games. The kicking game has to be better, we run the ball pretty good at times offensively, but when they put eight, nine guys in the box, you got to be able to throw some passes out to the guys. We have some guys that are capable of doing that, we have receivers that are capable of doing that. And our defense has to play well. We can’t give up scores late in games to lose games. So it’s a combination of a lot of things and we’re going to take these last nine games and we’re going to give it everything we got.

Q: How were you expecting the offense to make strides and why do you think it hasn’t happened?

A: That’s a good question. We thought we upgraded the offense in some different positions and it didn’t take off. The continuity wasn’t there like we wanted it to be at the beginning of the season. But again, it’s a work in progress. Our backs are against the wall. Our backs are firmly against the wall. It’s a bad formula to use, to wait until your back is against the wall. But we are where we are right here, right now and we’re going to give our fans every ounce of what we have. Let me say, I do appreciate our fans because our fans were out there Sunday. They were giving it all they had and we owe that to them to give it all we have as well and we appreciate them for their efforts to try to cheer us on no matter what, real Giants fans.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants are on their bye week. There is no media availability to the team until Monday, when the players return to practice.

Oct 112017
 
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, New York Giants (October 8, 2017)

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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GIANTS SUSPEND DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE AFTER HE LEAVES TEAM…
In a bizarre turn of events, New York Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo announced on Wednesday that cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (DRC) has left the team and will be suspended by the Giants.

“DRC came in yesterday,” said McAdoo. “We had a conversation that was personal upstairs and he came in today. Decided to leave. We will suspend him.”

When asked, McAdoo would not answer how long the suspension would last.

Rodgers-Cromartie told ESPN that he and McAdoo had an argument on the sidelines during the Giants-Chargers game last Sunday when the team decided to pull him out of the game. The argument apparently continued on Wednesday. “I handled it the wrong way, but to sit me a game had me hot so I left,” Rodgers-Cromartie told ESPN. “I was suspended way before I left. I left because I felt what (McAdoo) said was BS.’’

ESPN is reporting that Rodgers-Cromartie walked out of last Friday’s “recovery day” session. In addition, according to multiple press reports, the Giants were upset that DRC left the bench area and went to the locker room during the second-half of the Giants-Chargers game, although he later returned. ESPN is reporting that the incidents on Friday and Sunday led to a meeting on Tuesday where McAdoo informed DRC that he would be inactive on Sunday night against the Denver Broncos and fined. ESPN says DRC cleaned out his locker and left team facilities on Wednesday.

Rodgers-Cromartie told ESPN that he would return to the team on Thursday.

INJURY UPDATE…
Running back Paul Perkins (ribs), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (ankle), center Weston Richburg (concussion), defensive end Olivier Vernon (ankle), linebacker Jonathan Casillas (neck), and safety Landon Collins (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (see story above) also did not practice.

HEAD COACH BEN MCADOO…
The transcript of Ben McAdoo’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday at 11:20AM. The team’s coordinators and select players will also address the media after practice.

Sep 292017
 
Olivier Vernon, New York Giants (August 21, 2017)

Olivier Vernon – © USA TODAY Sports

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INJURY UPDATE…
Running back Orleans Darkwa (back), offensive lineman Brett Jones (hip), defensive end Olivier Vernon (ankle), and linebacker Jonathan Casillas (ankle/wrist) are officially “questionable” for the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Running back Shane Vereen (calf), right tackle Bobby Hart (ankle), linebacker B.J. Goodson (shin), and cornerback Janoris Jenkins (ankle) are unofficially “probable” for the game.

SHANE SMITH SIGNED TO PRACTICE SQUAD…
Rookie fullback Shane Smith, who was waived by the Giants on Thursday, has been signed to the Practice Squad.

THE COACHES SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following coaches are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
There is no media availability to the New York Giants on Saturday. The Giants play the Buccaneers in Tampa on Sunday afternoon.

Sep 062017
 
Keenan Robinson, New York Giants (August 27, 2016)

Keenan Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports

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INJURY UPDATE…
Wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. (ankle) and linebacker Keenan Robinson (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday.

“(Beckham) got some treatment,” said Head Coach Ben McAdoo. “He’s getting all of the work in he can get and we’ll see how he progresses… We are just going to take it day by day. If he is cleared medically to play in the game, we will play him. If not, we won’t… if it is safe for the player to play and he is not going to do further harm to himself physically, then we would think about playing him, but I have never put a player out there who would do further damage to himself physically… It’s a medical decision.”

“I feel better,” said Beckham. “It’s a new day. So just taking it day to day… Whenever they clear it, then we’ll be cleared. So, it’s just kind of – it’s really a day to day thing. I feel better than I did yesterday. I feel better than I did the day before yesterday. So, it’s progress… I’ve done some running and cutting… I wouldn’t count (me playing on Sunday) out… If I have to wear a brace or tape it, then I’m probably not going to play.”

Fullback Shane Smith (quad), wide receiver Tavarres King (ankle), defensive tackle Jay Bromley (knee), cornerback Eli Apple (ankle), and cornerback Michael Hunter (concussion) fully practiced.

HEAD COACH BEN MCADOO…
The transcript of Ben McAdoo’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday at 11:20AM. The team’s coordinators will also address the media after practice.

Aug 242017
 
Valentino Blake, New York Giants (August 11, 2017)

Valentino Blake – © USA TODAY Sports

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ROSTER MOVES…
The New York Giants have placed cornerback Valentino Blake on the Exempt/Left Squad List. To fill that roster spot, the team signed defensive Tim Scott.

“(Blake) is dealing with some personal issues right now,” said Head Coach Ben McAdoo. “We are going to give him some time and space to deal with those.”

The 5’11”, 195-pound Scott was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent time with the Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and Washington Redskins in 2015, but he did not play in a game and was out of the NFL in 2016.

The Giants signed  Blake as an unrestricted free agent in March 2017. Blake was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2012 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Jaguars (2012), Pittsburgh Steelers (2013-2015), and and Tennessee Titans (2016). In five seasons, Blake has played in 78 regular-season games with 18 starts (16 of which came with the Steelers in 2015 when he was credited with 12 pass break-ups and two interceptions).

INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. (ankle), wide receiver Brandon Marshall (shoulder), wide receiver Dwayne Harris (upper body), wide receiver Tavarres King (ankle), linebacker Keenan Robinson (concussion), and cornerback Michael Hunter (concussion).

“(Beckham) is working through some treatment,” said Head Coach Ben McAdoo. “We will see how he responds to it tomorrow.”

Cornerback Eli Apple (ankle), linebacker Mark Herzlich (stinger), and linebacker J.T. Thomas (knee) were limited.

HEAD COACH BEN MCADOO…
The transcript of Ben McAdoo’s press conference on Thursday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
There is no media availability to the Giants on Friday. The team plays the New York Jets on Saturday at 7:00PM.

Aug 232017
 
Marquis Bundy, Arizona Cardinals (August 28, 2017)

Marquis Bundy – © USA TODAY Sports

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ROSTER MOVES – VALENTINO BLAKE LEAVES TEAM?…
The New York Giants have waived offensive linemen Michael Bowie and Corin Brooks. They also waived/injured wide receivers Darius Powe (hamstring) and Andrew Turzilli (hamstring).

“We are short on receivers,” said Head Coach Ben McAdoo. “We think highly of Darius. He’s been a good, productive player for us in the offseason and for camp. It is simply a numbers issue at this point.”

To fill those roster spots, the Giants signed guard Matt Rotheram and Richard Levy, and wide receivers Marquis Bundy and C.J. Germany.

Though not officially announced by the team, the NFL transaction wire is also showing that cornerback Valentino Blake has been placed on the Exempt/Left Squad List.

The 6’5”, 325-pound Rotheram was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Green Bay Packers after the 2015 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Detroit Lions. The Lions waived Rotherman last week.

The 6’6”, 315-pound Levy was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers as a rookie free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft. The 49ers cut him on earlier this month.

The 6’4”, 215-pound Bundy was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Arizona Cardinals after the 2016 NFL Draft. The Cardinals waived him last week.

The 5’11”, 180-pound Germany was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Los Angeles Rams after the 2017 NFL Draft. The Rams waived him last week.

Michael Bowie was signed by the Giants to a reserve/future contract in January 2017. Bowie was originally drafted in the Seattle Seahawks in the 7th round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played in nine games with eight starts as a rookie. Bowie was waived in August 2014 and claimed by the Cleveland Browns. Bowie had shoulder issues in Cleveland and did not play in a regular-season game. The Browns placed him on the reserve/retired list in August 2016 and cut him in September 2016.

Corin Brooks was signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent in August 2017. Brooks was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2017 NFL Draft but waived in June.

The Giants originally signed Powe as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft and he spent his rookie season on the team’s practice squad.

The Giants signed Andrew Turzilli in August 2017. Turzilli was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Tennessee Titans after the 2015 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Titans (2015), San Francisco 49ers (2015), and Detroit Lions (2016-2017), but he only played in three NFL games. The Lions waived him in May.

The Giants signed  Blake as an unrestricted free agent in March 2017. Blake was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2012 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Jaguars (2012), Pittsburgh Steelers (2013-2015), and and Tennessee Titans (2016). In five seasons, Blake has played in 78 regular-season games with 18 starts (16 of which came with the Steelers in 2015 when he was credited with 12 pass break-ups and two interceptions).

INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. (ankle), wide receiver Brandon Marshall (shoulder), wide receiver Dwayne Harris (upper body), wide receiver Tavarres King (ankle), linebacker Keenan Robinson (concussion), cornerback Michael Hunter (concussion), and cornerback Valentino Blake (unknown) did not practice.

“(Beckham has) got an ankle. He is in there getting treatment,” said Head Coach Ben McAdoo. “We are just taking it day by day.”

Cornerback Eli Apple (ankle), linebacker Mark Herzlich (stinger), and linebacker J.T. Thomas (knee) were limited.

HEAD COACH BEN MCADOO…
The transcript of Ben McAdoo’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday at 11:20AM.

Aug 122017
 
Geno Smith, New York Giants (August 11, 2017)

Geno Smith – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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PITTSBURGH STEELERS 20 – NEW YORK GIANTS 12…
In what amounted to not much more than a glorified scrimmage, the New York Giants fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-12 in the preseason opener for both teams at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday night. The Giants chose to sit quarterback Eli Manning, wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The Steelers also did not play quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Aside for a a couple of breakdowns in the secondary, the Giants defense played well for most of the game, but the offense struggled for most of the night. Pass blocking up front was very shaky and the Giants were unable to consistently run the ball. The Giants gave up seven sacks, while sacking Pittsburgh quarterbacks three times.

The Giants were held to 242 total net yards (73 rushing, 169 passing) and 19 first downs. The Steelers were held to 226 total net yards (124 rushing, 102 passing) and 10 first downs. Seventy-two of the Steelers 102 passing yards came on two plays, with wide receiver Cobi Hamilton beating cornerback Valentino Blake deep, including once for a touchdown.

The Giants also had issues in the red zone (0-for-2) and all of team’s scoring came on field goals. Aldrick Rosas converted on kicks of 27 and 52 yards while Mike Nugent converted on kicks of 30 and 45 yards. Cornerback Donte Deayon muffed a punt, leading to one Steelers’ touchdown right before halftime.

All three quarterbacks behind Manning played, including Josh Johnson (5-of-10 for 31 yards), Geno Smith (10-of-16 for 114 yards and one interception), and Davis Webb (8-of-16 for 67 yards). Tight end Jerell Adams was the leading pass receiver with three catches for 28 yards. Running back Orleans Darkwa (3 carries for 18 yards) was the leading rusher.

Defensively, safety Landon Collins (5 tackles), defensive tackle Jay Bromley (3 tackles including one short-yardage stop), defensive end Kerry Wynn (3 tackles, 1 sack), and defensive end Delvin Taylor (one interception) all flashed.

Video highlights/lowlights are available at Giants.com.

INJURY REPORT…
Not playing in the game were running back Shaun Draughn (PUP – ankle), linebacker J.T. Thomas (PUP- knee), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (ankle), wide receiver Tavarres King (ankle), wide receiver Kevin Snead (lower body), defensive tackle Robert Thomas (“sore”), linebacker Keenan Robinson (concussion protocol), linebacker Mark Herzlich (stinger), and safety Ryan Murphy (lower body).

The only player who appeared to get hurt in the game was safety Duke Ihenacho (hamstring).

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Ben McAdoo and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…