Osi Umenyiora Doesn’t Believe Simeon Rice Would Be a Good Fit for the Giants: DE Osi Umenyiora told the press yesterday that he does not believe DE Simeon Rice would be a good fit for the Giants. Rice is schedule to visit the Giants today and take a physical for them tomorrow in Manhattan.
“What position is (Rice) going to play over here? Left defensive end? He’s not a run player,” said Umenyiora. “Everybody knows he’s not a run defensive player and that’s where they run the football at. The only other option would be to move me over there and I’m not moving over there. There’s nowhere for him to play unless he’s going to be a linebacker or something. So we have a little bit of a situation here if they decide to bring him in.”
“I’m not going to move to left defensive end because Simeon Rice is coming in,” said Umenyiora. “I won’t do it.”
Umenyiora would prefer the Giants give a shot at left defensive end to Justin Tuck or William Joseph. He also said he would not mind seeing Mathias Kiwanuka moved back from linebacker to defensive end.
When General Manager Jerry Reese was asked what the team’s plans were for Rice and Umenyiora, he responded, “I’m not participating in any soap opera talk today.”
Interestingly, Umenyiora says he has spoken to DE Michael Strahan every day since the All-Pro defensive end has been holding out. However, the Giants have not been able to reach Strahan. Umenyiora and Strahan also share the same agent. And Strahan and Rice have publicly feuded in the past over who is the best defensive end in the game, with Strahan contending that Rice is a poor run defender. Hmmm “Obviously Jerry is not blinking, and from talking to Michael, he’s not blinking, either,” Umenyiora said.
One thing is clear: it didn’t take long for one of the Giants’ cornerstone players to ignore the head coach’s demand that the players stop creating more distractions with the media. And so much for the team’s new t-shirts imprinted with the words “Talk is cheap. Play the game.”
Memo to Osi Shut the f*ck up! You and Strahan are not more important than the team.
New York Giants Begin Fining DE Michael Strahan: The Giants have begun fining DE Michael Strahan $14,288 per day, retroactive to Friday, for being absent from Giants’ training camp without approval.
Strahan’s agent insists that his client is not holding out for more money. “I’ve never asked (the Giants) for money,” said the agent. “We haven’t talked money since March, when we discussed extending Michael’s contract. That has not been the issue here in this situation.”
“The fines are all part of the business,” said the agent. “We understand that part of it, but that’s not going to make him decide any quicker. He’s going to take his time to try to figure this out.”
