Jul 272016
 
Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants (January 3, 2016)

Hakeem Nicks – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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GIANTS REPORT TO CAMP ON THURSDAY…
New York Giants players report to summer training camp on Thursday. The first training camp practice will occur on Friday. (A complete schedule is available at Giants.com). Head Coach Ben McAdoo and a number of players will address the press on Thursday.

HAKEEM NICKS SIGNS WITH SAINTS…
New York Giants unrestricted free agent wide receiver Hakeem Nicks has signed a 1-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.

Desperate for veteran wide receiver help, the Giants signed then 27-year old Hakeem Nicks off of the street in November 2015. Unfortunately, the results were not good. Nicks played in six games with two starts, but finished with only seven catches for 54 yards. It’s been a precipitous decline for Nicks ever since his stellar 2010 and 2011 seasons when he compiled 155 catches for 2,244 yards and 18 touchdowns in 28 regular-season games.

Nicks was originally drafted by the Giants in the 1st round of the 2009 NFL Draft. After two disappointing seasons in 2012 and 2013 when Nicks’ production fell to 109 passes for 1,588 yards and three touchdowns in 28 regular-season games, Nicks departed in free agency for the Indianapolis Colts. Nicks’ production in Indianapolis was disappointing too as he caught 38 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. He tried to catch on with the Tennessee Titans in training camp in 2015 but did not make the team. Nicks’ demise has largely been attributed to injuries, including compartment syndrome in his lower right leg in 2010 as well as a broken right foot and a poster cruciate ligament (PCL) tear in 2012.

DANIEL FELLS RETIRES…
Although not officially announced, it appears New York Giants tight end Daniel Fells has retired. Fells was placed on Injured Reserve in October 2015 after multiple career-threatening surgeries were required to address a life-threatening staph infection that developed in an injured ankle. He only played in two games in 2015 and finished with six catches for 60 yards.

Fells said on his Instagram account, “Although playing the game is no longer in the cards for me I’m grateful for the 10 year career that I was blessed to experience.”

Fells was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Atlanta Falcons after the 2006 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Falcons, Raiders, Buccaneers, Rams, Broncos, and Patriots. The Giants signed Fells to a reserve/future contract in January 2014. He played in all 16 games for the Giants in 2014 with nine starts, accruing 16 catches for 188 yards and four touchdowns.

TOM COUGHLIN ACCEPTS JOB WITH NFL…
According to press report, former New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin has accepted a full-time position with the NFL’s football operations department. His exact role has yet to be announced by the League. Coughlin was de facto fired in January by the Giants after serving with the team since 2004.

GIANTS.COM INTERVIEWS…
Video clips of exclusive interviews with the following coaches and players are available at Giants.com:

  • Offensive Coordinator Mike Sullivan (Video)
  • Special Teams Coordinator Tom Quinn (Video)
  • TE Will Tye (Video)
  • DE Olivier Vernon (Video)
  • DT Damon Harrison (Video)

GIANTS.COM PLAYER Q&As…
Transcripts of Q&A sessions with the following players are available at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

This picture of me and my baby girl was taken a little over a year ago at Quest Diagnostic. I wish I was heading into battle with my brothers as Training Camp starts up this week but I also believe that everything happens for a reason. Although playing the game is no longer in the cards for me I'm grateful for the 10 year career that I was blessed to experience. Thank you all for the phone calls, text messages, emails and well wishes that I've gotten over the last few months. I'm working hard to accept my physical limitations and the mental struggles that go along with them. I know that I'm lucky to be alive so I'm determined to make the most of everyday that I have. Looking forward to cheering for my G-men and all of my former teammates on different teams around the nation this year #onceagiantalwaysagiant

A photo posted by Daniel Fells (@danielfells85) on

Oct 202015
 
Cooper Taylor (30), New York Giants (November 10, 2013)

Cooper Taylor returning a blocked punt for a TD – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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GIANTS WAIVE COOPER TAYLOR…
The New York Giants have waived safety Cooper Taylor. No other roster move was made immediately to fill Cooper’s roster spot.

Taylor was selected in the 5th round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Giants. Taylor missed six games in 2013 with shoulder and hamstring injuries. He played in 10 games that year, serving almost exclusively on special teams. Taylor missed the entire 2014 season with a semasoid bone issue in his foot that required surgery. He was active for three games this years.

VICTOR CRUZ REPORTEDLY IMPROVING…
According to The Bergen Record, there has been recent improvement in wide receiver Victor Cruz’s calf injury. Cruz supposedly is no longer experiencing pain in his left calf and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday to reassess his status. The Record says that if all goes well, Cruz could receive clearance to begin running again and then practice, perhaps as early as this week. It is unlikely that he would be able to play this weekend against the Cowboys.

Cruz has not fully practiced since August 17 due to the calf issue. He attempted to practice on September 30 but suffered a setback and received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on October 1 to help quicken the healing process.

WILL BEATTY UPDATE…
Offensive tackle Will Beatty, who has not been able to practice since teaning his pectoral muscle in a May weight lifting accident, is eligible to return to practice this week if he is healthy enough to do so. Beatty is current on the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform (PUP) List.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin said on Tuesday that when the determination is made that Beatty will practice, the team will take it slowly. “We’ll first start with individual (drills),” said Coughlin. “When exactly that happens, I’m not sure if that’s going to start this week or when. But when we do, it will be with the idea of bringing him back slowly…He hasn’t done (football work) for a long, long time. And he’s got to get used to his pads. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him.”

Once Beatty begins practicing, the Giants will have a three-week window before they must move him to the 53-man roster.

DANIEL FELLS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL…
Tight end Daniel Fells, who has been hospitalized for almost three weeks with a life-threatening MRSA infection (staph), was released from the hospital today. Fells has undergone seven surgeries with at least two more scheduled. Fells did have an infected bone removed from his foot, but the foot did not have to be amputated as was once feared. ESPN reports that additional surgeries in the future will be required to further clean out the infected area and likely will include plastic surgery. It is believed Fells career is over due to permanent damage to the foot.

JASON PIERRE-PAUL TO MEET WITH GIANTS ON WEDNESDAY…
According to ESPN, the Giants will meet with unsigned Franchise Player defensive Jason Pierre-Paul on Wednesday. This will be the second time the Giants have met with Pierre-Paul since he permanently-disfigured his right hand in a July 4th fireworks accident. The first meeting occurred in early September when the Giants determined that Pierre-Paul was physically not ready to return to the playing field.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media by conference call on Monday:

Good afternoon. I’ll just start out by summarizing the frustration of, I think, the first quarter, and that pretty much sums up the way I feel about the whole day. We take the first drive and go 80 yards in eight plays and score. They go three and out, we get the ball back, we take it the length of the field, we get down in there. They call it an interception, it’s really nothing but a strip of the ball that we’ve got two hands on, they’ve got one hand on—they strip the ball out, rip it away. Then they start their drive from the minus-22, they get a third and 10. We get a roughing the passer, which is no question a good call on the officials’ part, which gives them the continuation of a drive that they still have to go 60 yards, but they do. At the conclusion of the drive, they have a 32-yard pass for a touchdown which we’ve got a player in a half-field coverage right there for the ball and just doesn’t play the ball. The safety from the other side of the field comes over and almost gets a hand on it, but the person who’s back in that deep-half does not defend the ball in the air. It probably should have been intercepted, to be honest with you.

Then you go on and you get the running into the punter call and they still have to go 72 yards after that. But in those situations it is the idea that you’ve stopped them and you’re out. And it’s a good stop and it’s something that you work hard, it’s not an easy thing to do. And yet, then they take the ball and they go and score. The frustration on the part of our inability to take, if you can believe, four turnovers and have nothing to show for it—no points. To have some opportunities as we got the ball into position, only to go backwards with the foolishness of the penalties, the bizarre nature of the penalties—12 penalties for one team and eight for the other. And we’re the team with 12. We constantly, constantly harp on knowing full well that the team that we were going against led the league in forced fumbles, and yet to have that happen a couple on different times in the game in obvious circumstances. Then you add to it the second and one, third and one, and fourth and one, which had we been able to put the ball out there on the second and one just a little bit further, the ball was a little bit underthrown, I think that ball would have been caught. And then to have a third and one and fourth and one and not make the necessary yardage when you know that north-south is the answer to it. Let’s get ourselves in position where it couldn’t have been more than three or four inches that was the difference. And I thought we had an opportunity with regard to both times to get it, to pick it, but it didn’t happen. I’ll always take the responsibility for that and for everything else that happens on the field.

The frustration of the day continues with some of the penalties that were recorded for intentional grounding which, quite frankly, I thought we were through that. We’ve opened that can of worms again. We’ve got to do a better job with that. Protection, we had protection breakdowns as the game went along. We did have some good runs. I thought at the beginning of the game and sporadically throughout, we did have some opportunities with runs that gave us the chance, I thought, to have a good mix and have good balance. And we did have early on, and it did hold the rush in check. Then as the game got on, the rush did an outstanding job against us. Many times it was a four-man rush, too. Our ability to rush their passer to force them to throw the ball when they didn’t want to wasn’t quite as good as we had hoped it would be. We went over there, I thought we had a good week, we were really into this game and look forward to playing it. We knew what to expect from the big crowd, loud crowd, in the division—all of that. It did not turn out the way we wanted it to. I’m sure that knowing in our locker room the number of people that take great pride in what they do and the way we felt about it afterwards, we’re going to have to come bouncing back. It’ll have to happen really fast as it is a short week. Hopefully we have a limited number of things to deal with in terms of the injuries, but I’m not quite clear on any of that today, it’s a little bit early.

Q: Do you have an update on where things stand with Will Beatty? He’s eligible to come off the PUP list.

A: Yeah, when that is decided it will be slow going. We’ll first start with individual. When exactly that happens, I’m not sure if that’s going to start this week or when. But when we do, it will be with the idea of bringing him back slowly.

Q: What are the challenges? What needs to be done to get him up to speed?

A: Well naturally, you have to put him on the field. You have to put him in football work. You’ve got to do all those kinds of things. He hasn’t done that for a long, long time. And he’s got to get used to his pads. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him.

Q: Can you trust Damontre Moore to be on the field and not make the kinds of penalties that he made last night?

A: I can’t honestly really say that. He’s obviously of a high-energy, he does give outstanding effort, there’s no question about it. But with regard to that, there’s absolutely no excuse for anyone for the unnecessary roughness penalty that he committed last night. Not knowing and being aware of the fact with what the down and distance was, and I realize he may not have known what’s going on behind him, but clearly, clearly to understand the way in which the quarterback is protected and rightfully so, and what can and can’t be done from a standpoint of his position. There’s no excuse for that. You used the word trust, I don’t know. That’s a good word.

Q: Did you have to sit down and talk to him? Is that something that you plan on doing or have done?

A: There’s been a lot sitting down and talking. I certainly will do more of it and he is very good about listening etc. But we’ve got to see whether it can hold true on the field.

Q: Given all the penalties and mistakes, did you feel heading into this game that the team had maybe started to turn the corner and you were just surprised maybe a little bit by the setback?

A: Oh, for sure, I was. We had played our way into three wins, we had gotten ourselves into a position we wanted to be in. We had created a big opportunity for our team, Philadelphia had done the same thing with their start and then where they had come. I was confident that our team was going to play hard and to be play in the same style and fashion that we had been. The number of things that occurred in the game just weren’t anything that we had been doing. We hadn’t done that, we hadn’t just carelessly given the ball away. We hadn’t really had an outbreak of the kind of penalties that took place. We played hard, as I mentioned last night. We didn’t play balanced, we didn’t help each other at all. We didn’t do the things necessary in order to complement each other on offense, defense and special teams. We put ourselves in a bad position, didn’t accomplish what we needed to, didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were there for us—all those things which I really felt we were on our way, we were growing into the type of team that can handle those things and those situations in very important games. It was a disappointment to me, no doubt.

Q: When you had a chance to look at the offensive line and the pass rush that they got, did you see one-on-one guys just getting beat or was it mental breakdowns?

A: When there was pressure or whatever, there were occasions where people were beat and some occasions where the pressure was coming and we really didn’t have the opportunity to get rid of the ball yet. So the timing was such that the rush got there before we had an opportunity to declare who was going to be running free or if anybody was going to get open. There’s a combination of things, as there always is.

Q: Despite having the three turnovers, you were plus-one in the turnover margin. Was this kind of an uncharacteristic game for you to win the turnover battle and force the Eagles into so many turnovers but really not capitalize on their mistakes?

A: Well, I think you just said it all. What more can be said? I started out by saying we had four turnovers and nothing to show for it. I think that’s a very, very unusual circumstance in any game. Usually when you do have an opportunity for those things to take place, and quite frankly, there probably could have been more. We could have had another, at least one more interception. We didn’t take advantage of anything and that’s disappointing. Momentum, the ebb and the flow, teams are going to surge, teams are going to have their plays, people are going to make plays, there’s going to be things that come up in the course of the game that give you an opportunity to take advantage of.  I was just disappointed we didn’t do any of that no matter when they came.

Q: You mentioned the lack of pressure you got on him. There weren’t a lot of blitzes in the game. How much was that the plan and how much was it the way it unfolded? What can you do moving forward to improve that pass rush?

A: Well first, there’s always a plan for pressure, without a doubt, but other things have to be taken into consideration as well. So you can add one, two to the list. When you do rush more than five, you obviously have some issues where you’re locked in and on the back end you’ve got to do a superb job of covering for that amount of time—you better get to the quarterback. You’re always going to have your pressure game. The extent of which it gets called has to do with a lot of things. You can always say you’re going to add to it, but you’ve got some other considerations as well. So aggressiveness, you want to maintain it, no matter how it comes about. It will all be looked at again going forward.

Q: Do you have an update on JPP? He’s supposed to be coming in this week for a re-check.

A: We’ll know more about that when it happens. I don’t really have a lot to talk about there.

Q: Do you just treat this as a bad game and move on from there or do you sit there and say, “We’ve got to change immediately?”

A: Well, it’s a bad game, it’s a bad production. We’ve got to be able to handle the big games. The games where things don’t go our way, we’ve got to handle them better. You’ve got handle those situations better. You’re going to always have your little adjustments to adapt to the team that you’re going to play that you may add something to or you may not do something as much of. But you are who you are, and you do have your scheme in hands and you’re going to stay within that scheme as you plan and go forward. You’re going to try and make the players understand how different this could have been had some things been taken advantage of, had we been able to score the second time we marched down there. Just the little teeny things that happen that each play becomes so monumental when you’re playing against a good football team. The third and one, the fourth and one, the opportunity to catch the ball, put it away and not let someone take it from you—all those things add to the winning and the losing and the ebb and the flow that take place during the game. So you’ll make some adjustments. For example, I thought we had some good runs. We had some good runs going for us and our balance might have been better had we been able to do something with the ball to make first downs, not shoot ourselves in the foot so often, there may have been even better balance. Frustration? Yeah, no question about, you can sense it in my voice. Especially when you’ve got a day where you don’t have your team around here. You’ve got tape to look at and the coaches to talk with, but at the same time, because of the nature of the week, you’ve got to move on to the next opponent. You’ve got to get moving.

Q: What about the scenario where, obviously, this year and last are so similar in a lot of ways?

A: That was last year, this is a new year. What am I worried about? I’m worried about getting our team ready for the Dallas Cowboys. Forget about last year. Last year was last year.

Q: You mentioned about keeping your chin up and not dwelling on the loss. How do prevent things from snowballing and preventing the turnovers when you play Dallas next week?

A: Well, you’ve got to shut the turnovers down, there’s no doubt about that. I think the conscientious effort on the part of everybody here will be directed at that. The players have definitely got that message, there’s no doubt. At the expense of anything else, both hands have got to go on the ball and you just can’t be careless, you just can’t. Especially when you go into a game with a team that is leading the league in forced fumbles. I just shake my head sometimes because we’re not aware of, and that’s an area of frustration as well. But remorse, the players will be remorseful because of the opportunity that we had. But let’s not forget there’s a long way to go, we are 3-3.

Q: Do you have any update on Victor Cruz? Any change in him?

A: No. I don’t have any update for you there.

Q: Has he been doing anything? Is it still just running underwater and stuff?

A: Yeah, he’s been on the treadmill, the underwater treadmill, yeah.

GIANTS ON WFAN
The audio of Tuesday’s WFAN Radio interviews with the following players available at CBS New York’s website:

NOTES…
The Giants are 3-12 in their last 15 regular-season games vs. Philadelphia.

The Giants have lost four consecutive NFC East road games.

The Giants fell to 23-36-1 on Monday Night Football, including 15-27-1 on the road, 1-7 vs. the Eagles, and 1-6 in Philadelphia.

The Giants have not rushed for at least 100 yards in any of their first six games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time the Giants have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in six consecutive games. They are the only NFL team without a 100-yard rushing game this season.

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players return to practice on Wednesday to start preparing for Sunday’s home game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Oct 202015
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (October 19, 2015)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 27 – NEW YORK GIANTS 7…
The New York Giants’ woes against the Philadelphia Eagles continued on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field as the Giants were dominated by the Eagles 27-7. With the loss, the Giants fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the NFC East.

Odell Beckham, New York Giants (October 19, 2015)

Odell Beckham – © USA TODAY Sports Images

The game started out well for the Giants and then went downhill after that. New York received the ball to start the game and drove 80 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Quarterback Eli Manning finished the possession with a 13-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Odell Beckham.

The Eagles went three-and-out and the Giants had a chance to put Philadelphia in a bigger hole by driving from their own 37-yard line to the Eagles’ 23-yard line. But on 1st-and-10, Manning’s pass to tight end Larry Donnell was ripped away from Donnell for an interception at the Eagles’ 22-yard line. Then the Giants had a chance to force another three-and-out, but defensive end Damontre Moore was flagged with roughing-the-passer after a 3-yard completion on 3rd-and-10 should have resulted in a punt. Given a reprieve, the Eagles would go on to tie the game on this possession by driving 78 yards in seven plays, culminating with a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Bradford to wide receiver Riley Cooper.

New York moved the ball once again on their third drive, reaching the Eagles’ 41-yard line, but the Giants could not pick up a first down on three successive tries after facing a 2nd-and-1. On 4th-and-1, running back Rashad Jennings lost two yards and the Eagles took over on downs.

The Giants’ defense held and the Eagles punted. However, Philadelphia went up 14-7 when Manning’s pass intended for wide receiver Dwayne Harris was intercepted by cornerback Nolan Carroll and returned 17 yards for a touchdown.

The Giants’ fifth possession ended at the Eagles’ 38-yard line when Jennings fumbled the ball away after catching a pass. Thus, after the fast start to begin the game, the Giants next four drives ended with three turnovers and a turnover on downs. The Giants had come into the game with only three turnovers on the season. Manning, who started the game 10-of-10 for 87 yards was just 14-of-28 for 102 yards the rest of the game. Manning was not helped by very shaky pass protection that gave up three sacks and multiple hits and pass pressure.

The Giants’ defense kept the team in the game for a while. The Giants got the ball right back after Jennings’ fumble when cornerback Jayron Hosley picked off Bradford at the Giants’ 25-yard line and returned the ball 17 yards. But the Giants went three-and-out after Manning was sacked on 3rd-and-7. The Eagles and Giants then each exchanged punts twice. With 1:12 left before intermission, Philadelphia drove 47 yards in eight plays to set up a successful 37-yard field goal. At the half, the Eagles led 17-7.

The Eagles received the ball to start the third quarter and drove to the New York 31-yard line. But on 3rd-and-8, linebacker Uani ‘Unga forced wide receiver Jordan Matthews to fumble which Moore recovered. The Giants picked up one first down, but Manning was sacked again on 3rd-and-10 and the Giants punted.

The Eagles then took a commanding lead by driving 85 yards in 11 plays with running back DeMarco Murray scoring from 12 yards out. This possession was kept alive when defensive tackle/fullback Nikita Whitlock ran into the punter on 4th-and-2 from the Eagles’ 23-yard line.

Landon Collins, New York Giants (October 19, 2015)

Landon Collins – © USA TODAY Sports Images

The Giants went three-and-out on their next three possessions. New York only had one first down in the second half until late in the game. Bradford threw two more interceptions on Philadelphia’s next two possessions, one by safety Brandon Meriweather and the other by safety Landon Collins. The Eagles did manage one last scoring drive in the fourth quarter, kicking a 39-yard field goal after a 10-play, 40-yard possession. But the game was all but over at that point.

Offensively, the Giants were held to 18 first downs and just 247 total net yards (81 yards rushing, 166 yards passing). The team turned the football over three times (two interceptions, one fumble), was 4-of-13 (31 percent) on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down. Manning was 24-of-38 for 189 yards. Beckham caught seven passes for 63 yards and a touchdown but was shut out in the second half. Jennings carried the ball 13 times for 63 yards while Andre Williams and Shane Vereen rushed nine times for a total of six yards. Manning was sacked times times and officially hit seven other times.

Defensively, the Giants allowed 24 first downs and 425 total net yards (155 yards rushing, 270 yards passing). The Eagles were 6-of-16 (38 percent) on third down. The Giants did force four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble). The Giants only managed one sack (by Moore) and three quarterback hits.

Video lowlights are available at Giants.com.

INJURY REPORT…
Linebacker Jonathan Casillas left the game in the 4th quarter with a neck injury and did not return. Safety Brandon Meriweather also sprained his knee in the 2nd quarter but he returned.

POST-GAME REACTIONS…
Video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Tom Coughlin and the following players are available at Giants.com:

  • Head Coach Tom Coughlin (Video)
  • Quarterback Eli Manning (Video)
  • Running Back Rashad Jennings (Video)
  • Wide Receiver Odell Beckham (Video)
  • Tight End Larry Donnell (Video)
  • Defensive Tackle Cullen Jenkins (Video)

POST-GAME NOTES…
Inactive for the Giants were WR Victor Cruz (calf), DE Robert Ayers (hamstring), LB Devon Kennard (hamstring), CB Prince Amukamara (pectoral), CB Trumaine McBride (groin/illness), DT Louis Nix, and OT Bobby Hart.

DANIEL FELLS UPDATE…
According to NFL.com, tight end Daniel Fells, who has been hospitalized for almost three weeks with a life-threatening MRSA infection (staph), has improved and he could be released from the hospital this week. Fells has now undergone seven surgeries with at least two more scheduled. Fells did have an infected bone removed from his foot, but it is believed that his foot will not have to be amputated. NFL.com is reporting that at one point the infection spread to his lungs, and NJ.com is reporting that the infection spread to his thigh. ESPN says that the additional surgeries are to further clean out the infected area and include plastic surgery on the areas of the foot damaged by the infection. It is believed Fells career is over due to permanent damage to the foot. “Long road ahead for him,” a source told The New York Post. “If you saw a picture of his foot, you wouldn’t believe it.”

ARTICLES…

Oct 142015
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (October 11, 2015)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY UPDATE…
Although the New York Giants did not practice on Wednesday, Head Coach Tom Coughlin addressed the Philadelphia media by conference call. The full transcript is available in The Corner Forum. Coughlin provided the following injury updates:

  • WR Odell Beckham (hamstring): “Well, it’s day to day. The trainers seem to think he’s making good progress. He wouldn’t practice today, no, but hopefully we’ll get some work in before the end of the week.”
  • WR Victor Cruz (calf): “He’s rehabbing, working indoors primarily, working with the trainers, he’s in every meeting. However, he has not been cleared to be on the field.”

Coughlin was not asked about WR Rueben Randle (hamstring), LG Justin Pugh (ankle), LB Jon Beason (concussion), or any other player who was inactive last week.

NJ.com is reporting that while an MRI showed no serious tears in Beckham’s hamstring, he has been experiencing some swelling in the muscle.

DANIEL FELLS UPDATE…
ESPN is confirming previous reports that tight end Daniel Fells has undergone five surgical procedures, with more scheduled, in an effort to stop the life-threatening MRSA infection that began in his foot. ESPN reports that the procedures were to scrape the infection out of the bone, which has resulted in some bone loss. Apparently the infection also spread to the tibia in his leg, and as recently as Sunday, there was concern that his foot may have to be amputated. That no longer appears to be case as Fells is now responding to antibiotics and is improving. As others have already reported, ESPN is stating that Fells’ playing days are likely over.

ELI MANNING NAMED “NFC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK”…
Quarterback Eli Manning has been named the “NFC Offensive Player of the Week” for his performance against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday night. In the game, Manning completed 41-of-54 passes (both career highs) for 441 yards (third highest total of his career), 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception for a QB rating of 110.2. Manning also completed 15 consecutive passes spanning the third and fourth quarters and led the Giants to the 27th fourth-quarter regular-season comeback of his career. This is Manning’s third “NFC Offensive Player of the Week” award of his career, the others being against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006 and 2011.

ELI MANNING CONFERENCE CALL WITH PHILADELPHIA MEDIA…
The transcript of quarterback Eli Manning’s conference call with the Philadelphia media on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY…
Among those who worked out for the New York Giants on Wednesday included wide receivers Terrelle Pryor, T.J. Graham, and A.J. Jenkins. Pryor worked out with the Giants in October 2014 as a quarterback.

PRINCE AMUKAMARA ON WFAN…
Audio of Tuesday’s WFAN Radio interview with cornerback Prince Amukamara is available at CBS New York’s website.

GIANTS-49ERS: SIGHTS AND SOUNDS…
A sights and sounds video from the Giants’ 30-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers is now available at Giants.com.

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players return to practice on Thursday to start preparing for Monday’s game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Oct 122015
 
Odell Beckham, New York Giants (October 11, 2015)

Odell Beckham – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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REPORT: DANIEL FELLS’ NFL CAREER OVER…
According to the BleacherReport.com, TE Daniel Fells’ career is over due to the life-threatening MRSA staph infection. BleacherReport.com is reporting that one of the five surgeries performed on Fells removed part of his foot. The New York Daily News says that while Fells’ foot remains intact, he career is likely over. At one point, there was a fear that the entire foot would need to be amputated in order to save Fells’ life. According to some media reports, Fells contracted the infection after receiving a cortisone shot to treat an ankle injury.

“We dedicated the game to Daniel Fells,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin on Monday afternoon. “On Skype in our team meeting today, we handed or showed him the game ball that he will receive. Everybody was able to cheer him on and try to make him feel better. He was very nice in saying that he watched the game and he was very proud of the way that we finished it.

“I think he’s pretty much having a third day in a row where the progress is being made and he feels better than he has. He’s gotten two or three straight nights of good sleep. I think that’s helped…I don’t believe he’s out of woods. I think these three straight days are really a wonderful sign, but there’s more tests to be done. And again, the response to the antibiotic is critical.”

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY UPDATE…
Both starting wide receivers Odell Beckham and Rueben Randle injured hamstrings during the game on Sunday night. “Well, we’re going to have to see,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “They’re going to have to treat. They’ve got a couple days when they can be treated as Thursday will be a Wednesday. So we do have a couple of days and we’ll take full advantage of that. I did tell our team that the important thing on a weekly basis, week in and week out, is to play these really tough physical football games and come right back and do it again the next week. We need more of our guys on the practice field, we need some consistency with our weeks. I’m hoping that we can get Odell and Rueben at least on a limited basis for the entire rest of the week. I know that’s (optimistic), but I would hope we could do that…But we’ll see, we’ll see how fast they can respond.”

“It’s fine,” Randle said of his hamstring after the game. “It’s not bad. Actually I was going to come back into the game until Larry (Donnell) scored that touchdown. Just going to take a couple of days and I will be fine.”

Linebacker Jon Beason suffered a concussion in the game. “I think (the extra day off) will (help him),” said Coughlin. “He seemed to be in pretty good spirits and pretty good shape this morning.”

Left guard Justin Pugh missed the final two offensive plays of the game with an ankle injury. “I tweaked my ankle,” said Pugh after the game. “I am going to be fine. I feel good.”

Cornerback Trumaine McBride did not aggravate his previous groin injury. Safety Brandon Meriweather sprained his knee in the game but returned to the contest. There was no word on his status.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media by conference call on Monday:

Good afternoon. I looked at the tape today, the coaches did, and we got together and talked about it. Just had our meeting, at least I had my meeting with the team, they’re still downstairs looking at the tape. I think the drive at the end of the half, the drive at the end of the halves were just outstanding. The play that gave us the touchdown was obviously something that was extremely exciting. We all went crazy on the sideline. Just to think that we had actually taken the ball and won the game at the end of the game, we had a couple of situations earlier this year where the other guy had the ball and they won the game. So it was really an exciting time for us. The locker room was great. There were very good vibes, very good language coming from the players in terms of what it meant to win a game of that nature. I don’t think it was our best game in many categories. I don’t think we obviously played as well defensively as we’d like to have played. We did not rush the ball the way that I would want to. And I did tell our team that we pretty consistently have this 50 percent thing going in the green zone and it’s not going to improve until we can rush the ball with some degree of confidence. And I do believe that. The numbers, there were lots of numbers—Eli played extremely well. Made a lot of great decisions, got us into a lot of outstanding plays, the exception being the last play before the half where with 11 seconds left we elect to throw the ball into the end zone. If you don’t like it, you throw it away. He had to move a little bit there and therefore I think it took a little something off his throw. If he would have had it higher or further away where Odell would have been the only one that could have got it.

The TV people asked me at halftime and I said, “Look, that’s behind us. We certainly would have liked to scored right there, we didn’t, so we’ve got to move on. That’s all we can do.” And we did. The second half, San Francisco did a good job offensively, without a doubt, against our defense. Put some points on the board, 21 points on the board. But we were able to come up with the key drive at the end of the game to win the game. There were many outstanding players’ performances in the game. There was no doubt that Josh Brown had a big night—three for three field goals, five of six touchbacks. Eli with his numbers and a 110 quarterback rating. Shane Vereen with a big night, eight receptions 86 yards, a touchdown, the big screen at the end of the game there. Odell with seven for 121, 17.3, a long of 49, and a touchdown. And of course the catch by Donnell. I thought, defensively, Damontre Moore had two sacks, three tackles, and a caused fumble. And DRC had a nice game. He was physical on the rocket screen, which we needed to turn away, and he does continue to turn away on his side. Five tackles, two caused fumbles, so he played well. I think for us to win a game of that nature, we knew that the 49ers would play in a very loose fashion, that they would have the attitude that they have nothing to lose. And, of course, the one thing that came out of it was Kaepernick’s game was elevated. Here’s a guy that had a 16 quarterback rating against Arizona, came in here and had a 107, threw the ball well, did not throw an interception. Another disappointing thing for us was on special teams and defense, we did not get a takeaway. We’ve done an outstanding job with takeaways, in terms of converting them to points. Not to have those last night was a real issue. We did have the ball on the ground a couple times, didn’t get it back. The Kaepernick fumble would have been an ideal opportunity for us with DRC knocking it out and us going down and getting the ball would have been denying them points. It didn’t happen. We’re pleased to win, we’re excited about the way we won. It was great for the fans to hang in there with us and be ecstatic at the end of the game.

I really enjoyed the fact that we could come through for four great Giants that were inducted into the Ring of Honor last night. I really wanted to honor those four gentlemen by playing well. Two of them are our own, Chris Snee and Osi Umenyiora, those are our guys. We wanted to be able to do that. I really was pleased to be able to go and give them a hug at halftime. And we also wanted to win the game, and we dedicated the game to Daniel Fells. On Skype in our team meeting today, we handed or showed him the game ball that he will receive. Everybody was able to cheer him on and try to make him feel better. He was very nice in saying that he watched the game and he was very proud of the way that we finished it. Anybody have a question? I doubt if you do, this thing ran on and on.

Q: What was Daniel’s reaction to getting the game ball and how is he feeling?

A: I think he’s pretty much having a third day in a row where the progress is being made and he feels better than he has. He’s gotten two or three straight nights of good sleep. I think that’s helped. As I said, we dedicated the game to him. So in a win, he was very gracious about receiving a game ball, was excited about that happening. Just told his teammates what he felt about them based on their game. It was nice.

Q: What’s the status of the hamstring issues with Beckham and Randle the day after or is it too soon to know?

A: Well, we’re going to have to see. They’re going to have to treat. They’ve got a couple days when they can be treated as Thursday will be a Wednesday. So we do have a couple of days and we’ll take full advantage of that. I did tell our team that the important thing on a weekly basis, week in and week out, is to play these really tough physical football games and come right back and do it again the next week. We need more of our guys on the practice field, we need some consistency with our weeks. I’m hoping that we can get Odell and Rueben at least on a limited basis for the entire rest of the week. I know that’s (optimistic), but I would hope we could do that.

Q: Did they go take MRI’s?

A: Oh yeah, they’ve done it all. But we’ll see, we’ll see how fast they can respond.

Q: Victor Cruz was supposed to meet with the doctors today to go over the progress of the injection last week. Have you heard anything on that?

A: No. No I haven’t heard. You know more than I do, I didn’t know that was happening.

Q: Is it your understanding that if Fells continues to make progress that he’s going to get out and make what is hoped for, a full recovery?

A: Oh absolutely. Yeah, for sure. That’s my understanding, for sure.

Q: There was some speculation that he was facing some pretty grim possibilities there.

A: Well, I don’t believe he’s out of woods, I didn’t say that. I think these three straight days are really a wonderful sign, but there’s more tests to be done. And again, the response to the antibiotic is critical.

Q: I know you mentioned it in the postgame locker room, we saw the video, last year being 3-2 and going to Philadelphia. How is the team handling the situation now from what you’ve seen so far?

A: Well, we finished playing at quarter to twelve, and we brought them in here because we knew that they’d want to have the same kind of schedule basically—we pushed it back an hour. They’re reflecting on last night and listening to the comments and watching the tape of last night’s game. So they haven’t gone much further than just the locker room comment post game to get their minds right and make them understand what’s in front of us. We’ll know more when we see them on Thursday.

Q: What’s different, in your estimation? You won three in a row last year, you were 3-2 also. Going into this game, what’s different for you with this team now?

A: Well, the grit, the way in which we play, the energy that is spent, the scrappiness, the will, the ability seemingly to have people miss games and others kind of step up and help us win. So those would be the things right off the top of my head. Last night, every guy that was dressed had to make a contribution and they did. (Geremy) Davis, look at the catch he made, a 16-yarder on third and one. And that was a critical part. Myles (White) is out there running around and gave a good performance and accounted for himself. Will Tye played well. These guys are coming up with some games that are helping us.

Q: Have you ever had a guy quite like Shane Vereen and what his versatility has meant to your team?

A: Well, this is as we go along and get further into the season, we see and develop more in terms of how we can utilize his talents best. Last night was a great example of some of the things that he can do in certain situations when the defense may in fact think they’ve got you in a position where they have the upper hand. And someone like Shane can determine that might not necessarily be so. Have we ever had a player like this, to be able to utilize his talents? Probably not to this degree. So we’re just looking forward to continuing to utilize his talent and his ability along with the other players that we have offensively.

Q: The running back rotation changed; Shane, obviously, and Rashad Jennings took most of the snaps. How much of that was the game plan and did the situation dictate it? How much of that was a concerted decision to go with those two guys?

A: It was just the way the game unfolded. There’s an order sometimes, but it became more of a zebra game and that’s why you saw it the way it was.

Q: What’s the story with Jon Beason? I know he’s in the concussion protocol. Do you hope the extra day might help him?

A: I think it will. Yeah, I think it will. He seemed to be in pretty good spirits and pretty good shape this morning.

Q: What happened with Jonathan Casillas? He wasn’t able to go yesterday. Was that a decision that was made before warmups or did he go and it wasn’t good enough in warmups so you guys decided to go the other way?

A: Well, the part of the trainers and the medical people and Jon himself, in trying to get ready to go, had limitations. In the final hour, in my opinion, it wasn’t something that was worth a calculated risk, so we just dressed a healthier guy. And then Cooper Taylor, we got a lot of things done on special teams. Cooper took a lot of special teams snaps last night and did a good job. It was unfortunate that Jon wasn’t ready to go, but we did get some good play out of Cooper.

Q: Did Trumaine McBride reinjure his groin?

A: No, I think he came out of it okay.

Q: Why was Trevin Wade in at the end?

A: Because he’s a good football player and we decided to give him an opportunity there.

Q: Is there a scenario for Monday night where you just wouldn’t have enough personnel at receiver and might have to address that this week?

A: Well, we’ll see. I would think if you try to look at the different things that can happen, that certainly would be something that’s within the realm of possibility. I hope it doesn’t, but we’vegot a little bit of time here to see how that’s going to stack up.

Q: He obviously caught the game-winning touchdown, but what did you think of Larry Donnell’s overall performance? Blocking wise and catching?

A: Well, he made a good contribution in terms of receiving. The yards per reception weren’t necessarily great, but the last play was. And as a blocker, he does a good job knowing full well what he does best and trying to ask him to do that. So his contribution, I was just mentioning this morning that he certainly is playing better and he does look like the year’s experience has benefitted him. That was a heck of a play that he made last night.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts or audio of Monday’s media sessions with the following players:

RING OF HONOR CEREMONY…
A video of Sunday night’s New York Giants “Ring of Honor” ceremony for new inductees trainer John Johnson, end Jack Lumus, offensive guard Chris Snee, and defensive end Osi Umenyiora is available at Giants.com.

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off Tuesday and Wednesday. They return to practice on Thursday to start preparing for Monday’s game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

Oct 122015
 
Larry Donnell, New York Giants (October 11, 2015)

Larry Donnell – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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NEW YORK GIANTS 30 – SAN FRANCISCO 49ers 27…
The New York Giants rallied late in the fourth quarter to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 30-27 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night. The victory improved New York’s overall record to 3-2 and first place in the NFC East.

All looked lost when the 49ers drove 80 yards to score the go-ahead touchdown with just 1:45 left in the game. At this point, San Fransisco led 27-23. But quarterback Eli Manning orchestrated an 8-play, 82-yard drive that culminated with a dramatic, game-winning 12-yard touchdown throw to tight end Larry Donnell with 21 second to play.

The 49ers received the football to start the game and moved 55 yards in eight plays to set up a successful 43-yard field goal. The Giants tied the game on their first possession by traveling 76 yards in nine plays to set up a 22-yard field goal as the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line. Manning found wide receiver Odell Beckham for a 49-yard gain on this initial possession.

Shane Vereen, New York Giants (October 11, 2015)

Shane Vereen – © USA TODAY Sports Images

After forcing San Francisco to punt on their second possession, the Giants put together a 14-play, 81-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Manning to running back Shane Vereen on 3rd-and-goal. The big play on the drive was a 31-yard pass to Beckham on 3rd-and-7. Giants 10 – 49ers 3.

After another San Fransisco punt, the Giants moved the ball 43 yards in 10 plays to set up place kicker Josh Brown’s second successful field goal, this one from 41 yards out. Giants 13 – 49ers 3. However, the 49ers cut into that lead by driving 76 yards in 11 plays and kicking a 22-yard field goal late in the first half.

The Giants blew an opportunity for more points before intermission as New York drove 66 yards in less than a minute to reach the 49er 14-yard line. But Manning was picked off in the end zone on an ill-advised pass with five seconds to play. At the half, the Giants led 13-6.

The Giants received the ball to start the second half but punted after picking up one first down. The 49ers then tied the game on their initial possession of the second half by driving 88 yards in 10 plays. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick found wideout Anquan Boldin for a 3-yard score. Giants 13 – 49ers 13.

After the Giants and 49ers exchanged punts, New York drove the ball 61 yards in seven plays near the end of the third quarter and Manning found Beckham for a 17-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. Giants 20 – 49ers 13. However, the Giants defense could not hold the advantage as San Fransisco responded with another long touchdown drive, this time 80 yards in 11 plays with Kaepernick hitting tight end Garrett Celek for a 5-yard score on 3rd-and-goal.

The Giants responded with a long scoring drive of their own, marching 74 yards in 14 plays. However, the Giants had to settle for another short field goal, this time from 24 yards out as the Giants went ahead 23-20 with 4:29 to play.

New York’s defense fell apart again, as the 49ers scored their third long touchdown drive of the second half. In just seven plays, San Fransisco went 80 yards with running back Carlos Hyde scoring from two yards out to put the 49ers up 27-23 with 1:45 to play.

Then came the dramatic game-winning drive. Manning scrambled for 11 yards and then threw to Vereen for 11 and 16 yards. Disaster almost struck on 1st-and-10 from the 49er 44-yard line when Manning’s deep pass initially appeared to be intercepted, but replay overruled the pick as the ball hit the ground. Two plays later, on 3rd-and-10, Manning hit Vereen for a 24-yard gain. After an 8-yard pass interference penalty was called on the 49ers against Beckham, Manning found Donnell for the game winner from 12 yards out with 21 seconds to play.

Offensively, the Giants accrued 30 first downs and 525 total yards (84 rushing, 441 passing). The team was 9-of-14 (64 percent) on third down, but only 3-of-6 (50 percent) in red zone opportunities. Manning finished the game 41-of-54 for 441 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. His leading receivers were Vereen (8 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown), Beckham (7 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown), wide receiver Dwayne Harris (6 catches for 72 yards), and Donnell (6 catches for 35 yards and a touchdown). Running back Rashad Jennings carried the ball 11 times for 46 yards and Vereen five times for 24 yards.

Defensively, the Giants allowed 22 first downs and 380 total yards (124 rushing, 256 passing). The 49ers were 8-of-14 (57 percent) on third down and 3-of-4 (75 percent) in the red zone. Defensive end Damontre Moore had both of New York’s sacks, but the Giants rarely pressured Kaepernick. The Giants did not force a turnover.

Video highlights/lowlights are available at Giants.com. A video of the locker room celebration is also available.

INJURY REPORT…
WR Odell Beckham (hamstring), WR Rueben Randle (hamstring), LG Justin Pugh (ankle), LB Jon Beason (concussion), CB Trumaine McBride (possible aggravation of groin injury) all left the game with injuries. Beckham returned to the game.

“Sure, I was (reluctant to put Beckham back in the game),” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “We were trying to win a game. He wanted to go. The medical people said let him go. I let him go. We’ll see what he is like tomorrow.”

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

POST-GAME NOTES…
Inactive for the Giants were WR Victor Cruz (calf), TE Jerome Cunningham (knee), DE Robert Ayers (hamstring), DE George Selvie (calf), LB Devon Kennard (hamstring), LB Jonathan Casillas (calf), and OT Bobby Hart.

The Giants broke a three-game losing streak on Sunday Night Football and improved their Sunday night record to 20-26-1, including 10-12 at home.

QB Eli Manning’s 41 completions and 54 pass attempts were career highs. Manning’s 41 completions were a franchise record. His 441 yards were the third-highest total of his career. Manning completed a career-high 15 consecutive passes over three series spanning the third and fourth quarters.

The victory was the 102nd of Manning’s career (94 regular season, eight postseason). That is a franchise record. Manning had been tied with Phil Simms (95 regular season, six postseason).

This was the 27th time that Manning has rallied the Giants from a fourth-quarter deficit or tie to win a regular-season game. He’s also done it five times in the postseason, including two Super Bowls. It was Manning’s first game-winning drive since October 5, 2014 vs. Atlanta.

DANIEL FELLS MRSA UPDATE…
According to an NFL.com report on Sunday, tight end Daniel Fells’ health situation had become far more serious. Fells, who has been hospitalized with a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) staph infection since last weekend, was moved to the Intensive Care Unit on Friday. He has undergone five surgeries to treat the infection with additional surgeries planned. There is a chance that Fells’ foot may need to be amputated.

However, NJ.com is reporting that Fells has responded better this weekend to a new antibiotic and FOXSports is reporting is reporting that his fever has dipped.

“We dedicated the game to Daniel Fells and his family, and thank God we were able to give him the game ball,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin after the Giants’ 30-27 victory over the 49ers. “Fells has had two very good days in a row…His MRI came back without any issues. Thank God and hopefully he will just continue in that direction and have this cleared up so he can go home and see his kids.”

ARTICLES…

Oct 072015
 


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GIANTS PROMOTE MYLES WHITE TO 53-MAN ROSTER…
The New York Giants have signed wide receiver Myles White from the team’s Practice Squad to the 53-man roster. White fills the vacancy created when tight end Daniel Fells was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve with a MRSA staph infection.

The Giants signed White to the Practice Squad after he was waived by the Green Bay Packers in September 2015. White was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Packers after the 2013 NFL Draft. White played in seven games as a rookie, catching nine passes for 66 yards. He spent the 2014 season on Green Bay’s Practice Squad. White led the Packers with 16 receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the 2015 preseason. He is an average-sized receiver with good speed.

“A young guy who knows the system very well,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin of White. “Can play in the slot, play on the outside. He’s been used with our first group in the last couple of weeks, we’ve only had four receivers that can participate. So we get a guy who is sharp, who’s had a good preseason, who knows the system well, can adapt to all the positions, knows the signals when we’re in the no-huddle. And I think we kind of just keep going with a multiple position guy.”

The Giants also re-signed wide receiver Julian Talley to the Practice Squad and added tight end Dominique Jones to the Practice Squad.

Julian Talley, New York Giants (August 14, 2015)

Julian Talley – © USA TODAY Sports Images

Talley had been released from the team’s Practice Squad on September 30. Talley was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Giants after the 2012 NFL Draft. Talley spent most of the 2013 and 2014 seasons on the team’s Practice Squad, although he did play in two games each season. He does not yet have an NFL catch. Talley is a tall, thin receiver with good overall athletic ability. He lacks ideal speed, but is smooth and fluid with good hands. Talley has gotten better each year.

Jones is a well-traveled journeyman who has spent time with the Sacramento Mountain Lions (2011), Reading Express (2012), Indianapolis Colts (2012 and 2013), Miami Dolphins (2012), Kansas City Chiefs (2013), Buffalo Bills (2014), Denver Broncos (2014–2015), and Baltimore Ravens (2015). He has played in 13 NFL regular-season games with three starts, accruing just three catches for 42 yards. Jones has good size (6’3”, 270 pounds).

WORKOUT TUESDAY…
As normal, the New York Giants held workouts for a number of unsigned players on Tuesday. Those who worked out for the team included quarterback Cody Fajardo; tight ends Adrien Robinson, Cameron Clear, Dominique Jones, and Brian Leonhardt; and defensive end/tight end Jake Bequette. Jones was signed to the Practice Squad.

MRSA UPDATE…
At the request of both the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the Giants held a team meeting on Wednesday to address player concerns about the MRSA staph infection that has ended tight end Daniel Fells’ season. The Giants had their team facilities professionally scrubbed to contain any possible spread to other players and team officials.

“We had (Senior Vice President of Medical Services) Ronnie Barnes, we had team doctors, we had the person in charge of our facility in here to talk about the way the cleaning process is normally underway, and what we have done in addition to that, as well,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “So the players asked a couple of questions, very good questions…We still do not know the reason for the infection or where it came from…I think most of the questions got answered this morning. The guys seemed to be able to go right back to work.

“We know how serious it is, and we are taking every precaution and doing everything we possibly can. They are very, very thorough in what they’ve done in terms of cleaning. The basic health priorities were gone over again this morning – washing of the hands, calling attention to any type of cut or anything, anything that looks like what they call a spider bite or anything of a boil nature. Anything where the skin is turning red, those types of things. With Daniel, it was a different story, there was no surface injury that anybody knows of. It was an acute joint problem along with a temperature.”

INJURY REPORT…
WR Victor Cruz (calf), LT Will Beatty (pectoral – on PUP), DE Robert Ayers (hamstring), DE George Selvie (calf), LB Devon Kennard (hamstring), CB Jayron Hosley (concussion), and CB Trumaine McBride (groin) did not practice on Wednesday.

“It’s day to day,” said Kennard. “I’ve probably iced it 100 times since our last game, and I’m just trying to get it right and doing whatever the trainers tell me, and hopefully I’ll be back soon.”

TE Jerome Cunningham (knee) was limited to individual drills.

LT Ereck Flowers (ankle) and DT Markus Kuhn (knee) fully practiced.

Meanwhile, Head Coach Tom Coughlin provided the following update on TE Daniel Fells (staph infection), who was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve on Monday: “They’re thinking Thursday he’ll be able to get out (of the hospital). I talked to him on the phone, he sounds good on the phone. He’s very disappointed, obviously, but we all wish him well. He understands, as well as we do, he has a wife and family, he’s got to get better, period.”

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
The transcript of Tom Coughlin’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video of player media sessions on Wednesday are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

The audio of Tuesday’s WFAN Radio interview with LB Jon Beason is available at CBS New York’s website.

ARTICLES

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday and hold physical recovery cycles on Friday in advance of Sunday’s home game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Oct 052015
 


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DANIEL FELLS HAS STAPH INFECTION, SEASON OVER…
The New York Giants announced on Monday that tight end Daniel Fells has developed a staph infection, which was discovered during treatment of what the team is calling a “chronic ankle condition.” According to NJ.com, Fells reportedly underwent multiple surgeries to treat the infection. He will be placed on season-ending Injured Reserve.

“It was very unfortunate with Daniel,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “It went from early in the week being a junkie ankle to a serious situation. I just talked to him a little while ago, he feels upbeat about it. He’s just looking forward to getting things under control so he can get out of the hospital.”

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media by conference call on Monday:

Good afternoon everyone. We were certainly pleased to look at this tape because I thought our demeanor, the effort, the enthusiasm with which we played, the excitement—I thought the stadium there in Buffalo was electric. I liked the way that we responded to it. We worked well, particularly late in the week. Because of the nature of the Buffalo team, a very good team, their sophisticated defensive scheme, outstanding special teamers, outstanding returners with a very good offensive team that had scored 32 points on New England, that was the number one rush team in the league etc…

We had a lot of very sophisticated adjustments within the nature of the game plan on offense and I liked the way the approach was. I liked the way they focused, I liked the way the players prepared themselves. I think defensively we definitely set the tone with a number of three and outs in the first half. Offensively, the first half was pretty much the way we would want it to go, as well. I thought the interesting thought there was the objective on special teams was to do an outstanding job at coverage, punt coverage and kickoff coverage. And we did. And on defense, to first of all stop the run and, of course, all that falls in line there. Try to win the physical battle and the turnover battle. So our defensive team held Buffalo to a very low percentage on third down. We did not do much better on the offensive side. But as I said, we were plus-one and we won just by a little bit the time of possession. So we were pleased to be able to go on the road and to play against a very good team and to come away with a win.

Q: How impressed were you with the offensive line given the early injury to Ereck Flowers and how formidable the Bills pass rush is? Can you talk a little about their performance on Sunday?

A: Well, I will. I will say this—they did perform well. They’ve done a nice job with that. We pass protected well, we did end up with one sack. Quite frankly, that should have been picked up as well. We did have some occasions to run the ball. We rushed for 92 yards, they rushed for 55 yards. So we had more yards there. Again, we prepared well, there was an awful lot that went into it from a cerebral standpoint in the game. The guys did a good job with it. You would like to have the third quarter, maybe come back and do a better job there. Obviously the penalty on the screen really knocked us out of some opportunities there because the ball was down way deep into their territory. But we did do a good job, and we did protect the passer. The ball did come out quickly and that was the nature of the game.

Q: How has Marshall Newhouse done in particular in your estimation?

A: He’s done a good job, he’s done a good job. He’s come in and he’s worked hard and he’s been very good up front in terms of communication. He’s a smart guy. So he’s worked himself in very well.

Q: A lot of your players last night and a couple guys today talked about, it seemed like after the 0-2 start your energy level rose a little bit higher. Is that a conscious thing that you did, stay upbeat and stay the course?

A: Yeah, the obvious. Whether the energy level came up from whatever level it currently is, I don’t know about that. But I do know that it puts a fire in our belly without a doubt to be 0-2 and I didn’t think we were an 0-2 team. We needed to do something about it. So we tried to inspire our guys to believe in themselves and come together as a team, to play the four quarters. Forget about the score and play each play as hard as you possibly can and don’t let any of the circumstances get into your head. And the coaches all did a great job of, again, continuing to express the feelings that I had and keeping the energy level very high and coaching the heck out of them and being excited about it. Trying to surround ourselves with guys that are excited to compete and believe that we can win. All of those things went into it, without a doubt.

Q: Tom, you used this word to your team last night after the game and the word keeps coming out. “Relevant.” Why that choice of word?

A: Well, it’s always good to be, at this point in time in a season, looking at our start and to know that you’re in the mix, you’re in the hunt. I chose that word to make them understand it’s a word that puts you in position, but you’re not there. You’ve got a long way to go and that’s the significance of that term.

Q: You put Fells on I.R. Do you have a corresponding roster move? When did that happen?

A: Well, we’ll see about that, the move. It was very unfortunate with Daniel. It went from early in the week being a junkie ankle to a serious situation. I just talked to him a little while ago, he feels upbeat about it. He’s just looking forward to getting things under control so he can get out of the hospital. With that being the case, we would have a roster move, but we’ll make sure we take our time, do our due diligence on that.

Q: Eli threw his first interception on Sunday. What did you see from that play? Was it more a product of maybe trying to force the pass or could Rueben Randle maybe have fought a little bit harder for the ball?

A: Well, you can look at it any way you want to. The error goes to me, because I wanted to score. I wanted to be in a position at that point to score a touchdown. And then on fourth down, if we didn’t score, we would kick the field goal. But there’s different ways to play that. I asked Rueben about it, he said when the contact came from the corner, he was kind of knocked back a little bit and wasn’t able to completely finish. And I’m sure if you really bore down on him, he could have maybe run the route just a little bit better. I think Eli had thrown a similar type of pass to him for a touchdown earlier in the game. The ball had been thrown low and in a spot where Rueben was going to get it and nobody else was going to get it. I’m sure Eli would probably say something to that effect as well. Give some credit to the corner. The corner played that pretty well.

Q: Getting a chance to look back on it, do you regret throwing the ball there in that spot?

A: No, I don’t regret the call, I regret the result. I do understand completely the consequences of the decision that you could make or couldn’t make there. However, as I explained, I was looking for an opportunity on third down to score a touchdown. If we didn’t, we would kick the field goal on fourth down. That was the entire concept.

Q: Right now, you two rookie tight ends and Larry Donnell, who doesn’t have a tremendous amount of experience himself. Is this somewhere you feel you need a veteran in that spot in some way, shape or form?

A: Well, it would be nice, but that type of a player may or may not be available. We’ll have to see where that exactly stands. Larry has played a significant number of snaps here in the early part of the season and he seems to have grown into that role. We’d like to be supportive in other ways. If we can do with what we have here, fine. If there is something that we can look into that will improve us in other areas, then so be that, too.

Q: I know he dropped the pass, but what did you see from Will Tye?

A: Well, I thought it wasn’t too big for him. I thought that he did a decent job of blocking. There was a couple of decent, good plays and probably one poor play. He did have the drop on a second and one, which would have converted to a first down, no doubt. But for the first time out of the box, he went out there and handled it well in terms of emotion and that type of thing.

Q: Owa Odighizuwa played 40-something defensive snaps in his first NFL game. How do you think he did?

A: You know what, he obviously hasn’t played in quite some time and that was a factor there. But he got in there, he mixed it up. He made a really nice play on the quarterback where he kept the ball on the option. He got himself in position a couple of times where he could have been able to apply some pressure perhaps with a little bit better movement to the quarterback and the passing game. He got in there, he got his feet wet.

Q: Do you have an update on any of these injured guys—Devon Kennard or Jayron Hosley and maybe how Ereck Flowers came out?

A: Well, Flowers seemed to come out okay. This morning, he looked very good when he was here in the building. The trainers and the doctors felt that he was actually a little bit better about the position that he’s in right now than he was a week ago. So that was good. The other guys, I do not have anything on.

Q: How about Victor Cruz? Victor said that Monday was going to be a big day for him to come in and see how that injection went?

A: I don’t think we have anything to update on Victor.

Q: Is there anything with Jason Pierre-Paul? Is he scheduled to come in any time soon?

A: I have no knowledge of any such information.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts or audio of Monday’s media sessions with the following players:

NOTES…
The Giants are 8-1 in regular-season games vs. AFC East opponents under Tom Coughlin and 2-0 in the post-season.

QB Eli Manning increased his career total passing yards to 40,731. That moved him past Hall of Famer Joe Montana (40,551) and into 13th place on the NFL’s career list. Former Giant Kerry Collins is 12th with 40,922.

WR Odell Beckham has now played in 16 NFL games or a full season. He owns the records for catches (115) and receiving yards (1,612) in the first 16 games of a career.

ARTICLES…

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday to start preparing for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Sep 222015
 


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GIANTS CUT PRESTON PARKER, RE-SIGN KENRICK ELLIS…
The New York Giants have terminated the contract of wide receiver Preston Parker, who has struggled in the first two games of the regular season with dropped passes. To fill his roster spot, the Giants re-signed defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis, who the team released on September 6th.

The Giants originally signed Ellis as an unrestricted free agent from the New York Jets in March 2015. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Jets. In four seasons with the Jets, Ellis played in 47 games with five starts. He accrued 53 tackles and only one sack during that time.

Parker joined the team in January 2014 and became the team’s primary slot receiver last season when Victor Cruz was lost for the season. Parker played in all 16 games with seven starts. He finished 2014 with 36 catches for 418 yards and two touchdowns. Parker had five catches for 43 yards this year but he also dropped five passes.

“Preston Parker, for the majority of time he was here, was a very tough, physical football player who made plays when called upon,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “That hasn’t been the case necessarily this year. We thank him for his service.”

INJURY REPORT…
Not practicing on Tuesday due to injuries were WR Victor Cruz (calf), TE Jerome Cunningham (knee), LT Ereck Flowers (ankle), LT Will Beatty (pectoral – on PUP), DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa (foot), DT Markus Kuhn (knee), and CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (concussion).

The good news is that Cruz was spotted running agility drills on the practice sidelines for the first time since mid-August.

“Felt good,” said Cruz. “Felt good to be on the grass a little bit, get out there and run around a little bit, so it felt good…Obviously the short week leaves you a little handicapped (to be able to play on Thursday), if you will. But we’ll see. We’ll see how it continues to progress, how I feel in the morning, and we’ll go from there.”

“I’m closer (to returning),” said Cruz. “There’s no pain in there anymore, so it’s just a matter of getting the confidence back to running on it and cutting on it, things like that. And then we’ll go from there…Hopefully I can be out there shortly, help this team win.”

DE Robert Ayers (hamstring) and DT Jay Bromley (knee) practiced on a limited basis.

TE Daniel Fells (foot), RG Geoff Schwartz (illness), DE/DT Cullen Jenkins (hamstring), and LB Jon Beason (knee) fully practiced.

“I feel pretty good, I feel fresh,” said Beason.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
The transcript of Tom Coughlin’s press conference on Tuesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video of player media sessions on Tuesday are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
There is no media availability to the Giants on Wednesday as the team prepares for Thursday night’s home game against the Washington Redskins.

Getting back right. #90PC

A video posted by Jason Pierre-Paul (@iamjasonpierrepaul) on

Jul 132015
 
Adrien Robinson, New York Giants (June 16, 2015)

Tight End Adrien Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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With New York Giants training camp beginning in late July, BigBlueInteractive.com breaks down each of the team’s positional groups until the players report at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

FIND A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL BREAKDOWNS HERE

POSITIONAL BREAKDOWN: Tight Ends

2014 YEAR IN REVIEW: As the New York Giants entered training camp in July 2014, the tight end position appeared to be a pending disaster. The Giants had parted ways with the disappointing Brandon Myers and jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none Bear Pascoe. The only returning players were Larry Donnell (16 games, 3 catches in his two NFL seasons) and Adrien Robinson (3 games, no catches in his two seasons), both of whom had demonstrated very little to date. The Giants had added Kellen Davis (unrestricted free agent from the Seahawks), Daniel Fells (who was out of football in 2013), and Xavier Grimble (undrafted rookie free agent). Late in training camp, the Giants also signed Jerome Cunningham (who was out of football in 2013).

Few predicted correctly that Donnell would win the starting job followed by Fells as the #2 tight end and Robinson as the #3 tight end. Cunningham was also signed to the Practice Squad.

Overall, while the tight end was not a position of strength for the 2014 New York Giants, it certainly was not the mess many had expected. Donnell had a breakout year as a receiver. He finished tied for 9th in the NFL among tight ends in terms of catches (63), 13th in terms of yards (623), and tied for 7th in terms of touchdowns (6). Blocking is not a strength of his game, but Donnell appears to be an ascending player with enough physical talent to get better. Fells proved to be less dynamic, but was more reliable as a blocker. And he did chip in with four touchdowns. Robinson remained buried on the depth chart, but at least he finally saw some playing time and caught his first NFL touchdown pass.

ADDITIONS/SUBTRACTIONS: The Giants signed undrafted rookie free agents Matt LaCosse and Will Tye after the 2015 NFL Draft.

TRAINING CAMP STORY LINES: The main focus will be on Larry Donnell and whether or not he can take another major leap forward in his development. He jumped from a career 3-catch target to the NFL’s 9th-leading receiving tight end in one season. But Donnell needs to improve his consistency, blocking, and ball security. The good news is he knows that and has been working hard to improve his overall game. A potential fly in the ointment is that Donnell missed most of the spring work with Achilles tendinitis.

Assuming Donnell gets and stays healthy, the other story line is which tight ends will round out the unit. Fells is the steady but unspectacular leader of the group. Cunningham really flashed as a receiver during spring practices. Robinson also made some noise in the spring and LaCosse and Tye appear to have more talent than your typical rookie free agents.

ON THE BUBBLE: Ideally, the Giants would probably like to carry four tight ends, but three is more likely. Barry injury, the only sure bet is Donnell. Fells, Robinson, Cunningham, LaCosse and Tye are probably fighting for two roster spots.

FROM THE POSITIONAL COACH: Kevin M. Gilbride on Adrien Robinson: “Adrien has made tremendous progress this spring. He’s the one who has made the most progress as far as his understanding and grasping of how to get his job done. He could always tells you what his assignment was, but he didn’t necessarily know how to go about doing it. Or he had been taught how to do it, and then moved onto something else, taught how to do that, and then lost what he had learned. He’s made a lot of progress and it’s showed up more this spring than it ever has before. And I’m not talking about making catches because he could always make catches or get open on a particular route. We’re talking about how to execute when he is working with a tackle on the front side of a zone scheme and when to come off on the backer and the angle to take and where to place his hands and how he should pressure his hands and things like that. He’s made the most progress in that area. It’s good to see because we need him to come around.”

Gilbride on Jerome Cunningham: “What stands out is his effort. He is going to give great effort, no matter what. Whether he knew what he was doing or not, he was going to be going 100 miles per hour, whether he knew what block he was supposed to make or not. He was going to be doing it as well as he could. That gives them a chance. It gives every person who plays this game a chance to be successful, or at least to be noticed as far as staying on the squad in some capacity, which certainly he did. He has carried it over throughout the season and then now through the spring where he has made some good strides.”

Gilbride on Larry Donnell: “It is technique and confidence (with his blocking). Having him miss this offseason was not good for him in that regard. He is going to have to come into training camp and pick up where these other guys have left off in the improvements we have made in that area. We focused on certain things this offseason in the run game. It really started to show towards the end of the spring, which we were happy about. Happy to see. Still have a ways to go overall, but much improved. We were happy with where it went. We just want him to be a part of it.”

Gilbride on Will Tye: “Talented kid. He has very, very soft hands. He can run straight-line very well and for as tall as he plays – because he doesn’t play with great bent knees all the time – he can get in and out of breaks very smooth. What he needs to improve is his quick-twitch and his true effort at the snap to the end of the whistle…It’s not instinctual for him to play fast…He’s got a ways to go as far as learning the offense…He has made too many mental mistakes, but that doesn’t mean he won’t eventually get it. We’ve thrown a lot at all of them.”

Gilbride on LaCosse: “Different skillset. He’s a linear guy, a long-legged guy who can get down the field. Very, very bright. Talk about Will (Tye) making too many mistakes, Matt didn’t make many mistakes, which is impressive. We had him in a role where we moved him around all the time as far as motioning and shifts.”

PREDICTIONS: I like this group of tight ends more than most. If Donnell’s Achilles tendinitis isn’t a problem, I truly think he has the ability to develop into one of the better receiving tight ends in the NFL. He looked like a budding star in his Week 4, three-touchdown performance against the Washington Redskins. Donnell can do it. He has an excellent combination of size (6’6”, 265 pounds), athletic ability, and hands. I love the way he adjusts to the football for a big man. He’s a match-up problem for linebackers. So is Jerome Cunningham, but for different reasons. Cunningham is smaller (6’3”, 250 pounds), but even faster and more athletic. He can be a match-up problem for safeties. There were whispers about him being pretty darn good as a Practice Squad player last year and his performance in the spring was impressive.

What the group seems to be lacking is someone who excels at blocking. Fells is the most consistent and reliable. But he may be pressed by Robinson, provided Robinson finally “gets it” in his fourth year.

I also have a feeling that the Giants are going to like what they see in LaCosse and Tye.

FINAL DEPTH CHART: Donnell remains the starter, but Cunningham is going to press for serious playing time as more of an H-Back type tight end. Ben McAdoo will find a role for him in his TE-centric offense. The difficult decision here for me is Robinson versus Fells. I think Robinson will do enough in camp to convince the Giants to keep their 3-year investment. But if Robinson continues to falter, Fells retains his job and provides leadership. While the Practice Squad may be the most realistic option for both LaCosse and Tye, if one excels at blocking, he has a shot at the 53-man roster.