The next phase of minicamps will be popping up all over the NFL landscape in the next few weeks.
And with the mix of returning veteran holdovers, free agent signees, and high-round bonus babies, there’s also a batch of aspiring NFLers who will either get post-draft tryouts or have officially signed unrestricted free-agent contracts after being bypassed in the recent NFL Draft to join the fray.
Monday’s News, Notes & Quotes edition highlighted one such entry: safety Jordan Bowman, who was offered to tryout with the New York Jets’ recent rookie minicamp. And while his dream is likely on pause for now, considering the Jets drafted safeties with their first two picks, Bowman is talented enough and persistent enough to latch on somewhere else. The California University of Pennsylvania product reportedly impressed enough that weekend for Jets coaches to keep his name fresh on their minds should a roster spot open during training camp, so there’s still hope he could one day don the green and white.
Another player to get a minicamp tryout was linebacker Dakota Cox. Coming out of the University of New Mexico, the 6-foot, 240-pound Cox is hoping to latch on with the Minnesota Vikings.
Bowman’s Vulcan teammate, fellow defensive back Aaron Terry, also scored a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with hopes of bucking the longshot odds. Terry joins defensive back Terrish Webb, who received a little bit more security than a tryout, as the Steelers signed him to an undrafted free agent (UFA) deal shortly after the draft. Webb, from the University of Pittsburgh, was a three-year starter for the Panthers and registered five career interceptions. Pitt’s secondary as a whole struggled some, last season, but Webb has a wealth of college experience that he hopes to lean on as he tries to translate his skill set to the next level.
Of all the aforementioned, perhaps the best odds to stick will be Lewis Neal, a defensive lineman who can play up and down the line. The former Louisiana State University star actually led the Tigers with eight sacks as a junior in 2015, but had his responsibilities change when the Tigers shifted to a 3-4 (three defensive linemen and four linebackers) alignment in his senior season. His career game film, though, was enough to get a UFA deal with the Dallas Cowboys, as the undersized tackle (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) will try and duplicate his collegiate success. Funny how perception sometimes leads reality when it comes to NFL front offices — and this past draft was no different. Number 1 overall pick Myles Garrett of Texas A&M was lauded as the definitive best prospect in the draft. But the one criticism of his was that he rarely stacked his numbers against some of the elite programs. Neal was the exact opposite, last season, as his best game was against Alabama when he recorded 11 tackles and was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week. And as a 4-3 defensive end (four defensive linemen and three linebackers) during his junior year, Neal showed why he’s a better fit there when he tallied three sacks against the University of Florida. Fortunately for him, the Cowboys are a 4-3 front, so it’ll be interesting to see how he shakes out in Big D.
Notes & Quotes:
- Of course Neal wants to achieve his NFL dream, but if not, he’s compiling quite an off-field portfolio just in case. He’s made money day trading on the foreign exchange market and then started his own investment firm, becoming the first African-American athlete to start an investment firm on the foreign exchange market. Neal also has a fall back in the coif business, as he’s a co-owner of a hair salon near the LSU campus.
The Jets’ rookie minicamp has come and gone, and with another round of offseason workouts around the corner, now is a good time to look back at the weekend — and also what’s next for the neophytes.
Sure, these minicamps are annually filled with guys who will most likely join the rest of us working stiffs as future 9-to-5ers, but for some of the lower-round guys and undrafted free agents, the dream will last well into the summer — and hopefully culminate with a spot on the opening weekend’s 53-man roster.
One of those guys could be Jordan Bowman, who definitely feels like he was overlooked during the NFL Draft after coming out of California University of Pennsylvania.
The 6-foot, 210-pound defensive back said he got invited to the Jets’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis shortly after the NFL Draft and by all accounts, had a very solid showing. The Jets weren’t the only team after Bowman’s services, as the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Green Bay Packers all came calling after the draft. But with Gang Green’s secondary undergoing a youth movement and overhaul, following the releasing of future Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis — and perhaps more of a facelift if/when the Jets decide to part ways with disappointing safety Calvin Pryor — Bowman accepted the Jets’ offer to compete.
“They called and just said, ‘Come in, and we will see what you got,’” Bowman said when asked about his conversation with the Jets.
One of his representatives, Glen “G” Wallace of Peterson Sports Mangement, noted that following Bowman’s weekend at the Florham Park, New Jersey facilities, the safety was confident that he impressed the coaches and told he did “very good.”
As an undrafted free agent who is trying to make his mark on a team that already drafted two safeties with its first two picks (Jamal Adams of LSU with the sixth-overall pick and Marcus Maye of Florida with the 39th-overall pick), Bowman knows the chance is a longshot. He wasn’t offered an unrestricted free-agent deal, but according to Wallace, Bowman “turned a lot of heads and the coaches liked him” and will be high on the Jets’ priority list, meaning he could be brought back during training camp should a spot open due to injury or a player being released.
Despite the long odds, Bowman knows he’ll need to attack this opportunity with the same fervor that fueled him at California University of Pennsylvania.
“I was just hoping to get my foot in the door, and that is what I got,” he said. “Now it’s up to me.”
GANG GREEN NOTES:
- Bowman, who is nicknamed the “Hidden Gem,” had some very solid pre-draft workout numbers. Wallace reasoned that they were certainly good enough to get drafted: 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash; 4.31 seconds in the shuttle run; 6.82 seconds in the three-cone drill; 22 bench reps of 225 pounds; 36-inch vertical jump; 10-foot broad jump;
- The Jets recently worked out running back Stevan Ridley, who was with them in 2015. While he’s still working to get right following a serious knee injury he suffered the year prior to joining the Jets, he ‘s still garnering interest from a few teams. It’ll be a tough road for Ridley, however, considering he’s been released by three teams in the year since he left the Jets. He’ll never regain the status he once held as a legit 1,200-yard, 12-touchdown guy (New England, 2012), but he could still be of use for Gang Green should he check out and get signed.
Leave it to the Atlanta Hawks to be more relevant and newsworthy when not in the postseason than when they’re actually still playing.
Fresh off the news that there’s a shakeup within their front office, comes leaks that star center Dwight Howard is “pissed,” with the current state of his hometown team.
Someone with their ear close to the ground and totally in tune to the situation in Atlanta informed me that Howard is “having doubts about being a Hawk … This hasn’t been what was sold to him [last] July.” My source also noted that Howard is “pushing ownership to fire him.” The “him” in the equation is head coach Mike Budenholzer, who fell on his sword to try and save friend, General Manager Wes Wilcox, by relinquishing power as the team’s President.
Wilcox, who’s been on thin ice, survived for at least another day with Coach Bud’s decision, but not all is well for the embattled Wilcox, as he will no longer hold the title of general manager. Budenholzer’s gesture saved Wilcox from the unemployment line, but not from his former post. Wilcox will now become a special advisor to ownership after resigning as general manager. The uncertainty continues in Atlanta, as my source told me, “it’s still so fluid right now.”
The source also noted that “Wes and Bud were killed during exit meetings. … Guys were mad with Bud [because] he messed up the chemistry with his rotation decisions and caused discord among guys and an uneasiness [of] not knowing if they’d be playing or not.” Despite the playoff appearances in three-straight seasons, this definitely provides insight on the amount of unrest there appears to be within the franchise.
Budenholzer and Wilcox have been essentially attached at the hip since they were both promoted within the Hawks’ front office after the dismissal of former president and general manager Danny Ferry two years ago. Despite the recent criticism, they have actually done a nice job stockpiling 11 picks over the next three seasons. That creates maneuverability on draft night and roster flexibility. But with the shakeup, things are indeed fluid.
Howard, 31, could be moved. But even if the Hawks wanted to truly blow up this franchise and start over, the hulking pivot won’t garner much in return as far as assets. Per ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz, Atlanta would only be garnering a second-round draft pick and some much-needed salary cap relief. That’s likely because the one-time franchise center is no longer a must-have commodity. Thought to be the answer for the departed Al Horford (more on him in a minute), Howard’s return to his hometown franchise hasn’t been the greatest of reunions. His fully-guaranteed three-year, $70.5 million free-agent signing last summer now seems like signer’s remorse. And not just from Howard’s end, as people tend to forget that the sometimes brooding big was a part of exploratory talks with the New Orleans Pelicans in January. Talks never really progressed, and the Pels ended up nabbing DeMarcus Cousins in a trade deadline heist instead.
Howard just ended one of his least productive seasons of his career by posting just 13.5 points per game — the second-lowest output of his career, while averaging a career-low 29.7 minutes per. The guy brought in to be the anchor, held down his team when it mattered most. Howard only netted more than 10 points once in the team’s six-game opening-round series loss to the Washington Wizards, and saw more than 30 minutes of action just once in the series. Certainly nowhere near the albatross of a return in investment of say a Joakim Noah, but also certainly not what the Hawks were hoping for when they brought Howard home.
The Hawks won 48 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, last season, but regressed some this season and won just 43 games before being bounced by the Wiz. It was an uneven season for the Hawks, who teetered between trying to make a deep postseason run or gutting the roster and shedding itself of potential high-priced pending free agents like Paul Millsap, who is looking at a hefty raise in the offseason — upwards of $200 million.
My Hawks source noted that the cool and laid back Millsap is growing weary of all the drama that surrounds this team.
“He despises chaos,” my insider said, refreshing my memory about a proposed early-January deal that had Millsap being traded, but ownership nixed at the 11th hour. “It makes me think Millsap may walk. Other than that [the pending free-agent deal], there’s no reason [to stick around]. … It’s always something with this team.”
The same insider lamented the way Atlanta has gone about its business in player personnel, noting they’re stuck in neutral — always good enough to make the playoffs and early-round exits, but never bad enough to be in the Lottery and build via the draft.
“They should’ve rebuilt and retooled rather than get cold feet after a five-game winning streak after the [Kyle] Korver trade,” said the in-tuned source, who rattled off ill-fated personnel moves — specifically “insulting” Horford with their feet dragging and “low balling” offers to him. Horford, who “never really wanted to go to Boston in the first place … he was pissed at the Hawks for making him go,” ended up taking less with the Celtics, but is getting the last laugh by enjoying a lengthy playoff run.
“Just everything they’ve done lately. Throw in the Korver trade [to Cleveland], signing Dwight, and letting [DeMarre] Carroll walk [to the Toronto Raptors] The Hawks have signed up for the NBA purgatory,” the insider said. “Just need to pick a direction and stick to it … This [the mishandling of contracts and unsettled front office] is gonna set the franchise back to pre-ISO Joe days of the early 2000s.”
More notes & quotes:
- While the insider has respect for what Coach Bud has accomplished in his four seasons as the Hawks’ head coach, the thinking around the facilities is that Bud still has a ways to go in building up the same kind of equity his former boss in San Antonio has garnered: “The original idea was to have Howard, Horford, and Millsap [play together], but when Al balked at the less-than-max [Hawks offer], it blew up in Bud’s face … He [Bud] can’t sell like his boy Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] can. He thinks he’s Pop Jr., [but] he hasn’t won to justify being that way just yet.”
- Hawks owner Tony Ressler will reportedly still allow Budenholzer to have a significant voice in player personnel, even with the coach relinquishing his power. Should be an interesting summer for the Hawks.
There were plenty of names that were called during the recent 2017 NFL Draft, but for ASA College, no one registered with the Avengers’ family with more pride and joy than Joe Williams.
The Utah running back was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with their No. 121 pick, a certain steal when Williams’s measurables are considered. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Williams runs the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds and was one of the most prolific running backs in the nation, last season, despite playing in just nine games. The Allentown, Pennsylvania native averaged 27.5 touches per game and had 22 runs of 15-plus yards, which was the 10thmost among draft-eligible running backs last season – and despite seeing 19 other running backs have more rushing attempts.
49ers rookie general manager John Lynch spoke to Williams on the phone prior to making the move up the draft board and admittedly came away confident that the Utah/ASA product could help the team.
“We got really comfortable with the kid and [had] a better understanding of what his story was,” Lynch said of Williams, who missed four games last season as he temporarily retired at the start of the season to tend to family issues.
Lynch said 49ers running backs coach Bobby Turner spoke with Williams regularly — to the point where they communicated on a daily basis — and steadily became convinced that the running back should be considered. Turner should know greatness, as during his decorated 22-year NFL coaching career, he’s mentored greats – most notably Terrell Davis, who is entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
First-year head coach Kyle Shanahan was also impacted by speaking with Williams and flipping on the game tape.
“He has the ability to make all the cuts, [and] the ability to be a very good back in this league,” Kyle Shanahan said. “Now he’s got to do it and be consistent. And after talking with him … we feel very good about the guy. We know there are things we do have to help him with, but I think he can have a very bright future for us and for himself in the NFL.”
Williams ran for 1,407 yards and 10 touchdowns, including a 332-yard performance against UCLA and a 222-yard game against Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl at Levi’s Stadium – which is hopefully a sign of things to come, as it’s the home of the 49ers.
Lynch hopes for the same success to translate, and noted that talking to both Williams and his head coach at Utah, Kyle Whittingham, is what sold him on the prospect.
“Before I drafted a young man like that, I wanted to talk to him,” Lynch said of his Saturday morning phone call. “He [Joe] mentioned to me that throughout that process he kind of addressed some things that had been bothering him for some time and feels like he came out a different person. I think it’s a wonderful story.”
The Joe Williams story has just begun, with everyone in the ASA family rooting for a happy ending.
More notes:
– Williams’s football journey began at Allentown where he starred in both football and track. He then went to Hargrave Military Academy in the fall of 2011, followed by attending the University of Connecticut the ensuing year, where he had six yards on three carries in nine games. Following a muddled stint at UConn, Williams moved on to ASA for the 2014 season, where he rekindled his passion for football. During his year at ASA, Williams was named second-team NJCAA All-American after tallying 1,093 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in seven games. Brooklyn was soon bid adieu and he signed with Utah, playing behind current Denver Bronco running back Devontae Booker and starting twice when Booker was injured. He tallied 490 rushing yards on 140 carries with seven touchdowns and added another 11 catches for 84 receiving yards.
– While he was projected as a sixth or seventh round selection, Lynch thought so highly of Williams that he traded up to nab him. San Francisco traded pick No. 143 in the fourth round and No. 161 in the fifth round to the Indianapolis Colts to move up to pick No. 121.
– Some scouts compare Williams to former NFL running back Jerick McKinnon for his speed and big-play ability.
– Said one NFC scout about Williams during the pre-draft evaluation: “The more tape you watch, the more you become impressed with Williams’s ability to keep runs alive that other running backs couldn’t. His ability to create yardage for himself is a necessary piece of the puzzle for NFL runners.”
The Giants ended their season 6-10 and out of the playoffs once again. And to add misery to insult, they ended their campaign with a shootout defeat to their NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles, which also ended their three-game winning streak.
While head coach Tom Coughlin is likely safe, there will undoubtedly still be changes made, both on the roster and with the other coaches.
Here’s some news, notes, and quotes from Monday’s locker clean out day at the TIMEX facilities.
BIG BLUE notes:
– This season is the team’s first double-digit loss season since they had the same record in Tom Coughlin’s debut season in 2004.
– The Giants finished 3-5 both at home and on the road. It was their first under .500 home record in five seasons in MetLife Stadium and their first since they were 3-5 in 2007. The Giants’ regular-season home record in MetLife is 22-18 (plus 1-0 as visitors).
– The Giants were swept by the Eagles for the first time since 2010.
– Big Blue allowed 400 points this season. It was just the fifth time in franchise history they gave up at least 400 points.
– Quarterback Eli Manning finished the season with a Giants’ record 601 pass attempts. He held the previous mark with 589 in 2011. He also completed a franchise-record 379 passes. He owned the previous mark of 359, set in 2011.
– Manning finished the season with 4,410 yards, which is the second-highest total in franchise history. He passed for 4,933 yards in 2011. This was his fourth career 4,000-yard season.
– Manning also had “just” 14 interceptions — a feat considering he racked up a league-high 27 last season.
– His completion percentage wasn’t exactly 70 percent, as new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo wanted, but Manning’s completion percentage (63.1) was a career-high. His passer rating of 92.1 was the second-highest of highest of his career (93.1 in 2009).
NOW, A BRIEF PAUSE IN GIANTS NOTES SO WE CAN FAWN OVER ODELL BECKHAM, JR.!!!
– Beckham on what he learned this season regarding the physical play against him: “Pick your battles. You have guys where if you put a target on your back, sometimes it may not be exactly what you want to do. Learning to control my emotions and control some of that energy, that I use it in a productive manner.”
– Beckham’s 12-catch, 185-yard performance in the finale was his second 12-catch game of the season. He is the first rookie in NFL history and the first Giants player with two 12-catch games in a season.
– *Beckham is also the first NFL rookie with four-consecutive games with at least 130 receiving yards and a touchdown. He was also the first rookie with three.
– His 185 yards against the Eagles was a Giants’ rookie record. The former record of 176 was set by tight end Mark Bavaro at Cincinnati on Oct. 13, 1985. The team rookie wide receiver record had been 169, set by Earnest Gray vs. San Francisco on Oct. 14, 1979. Beckham’s previous best was 156 yards vs. Indianapolis on Nov. 3.
– The rookie joined Hall of Famer Michael Irvin as the only players in NFL history with at least 90 receiving yards in nine consecutive games.
– Beckham finished the year with four consecutive 100-yard games and seven for the season. The Giants’ rookie record entering the season was three. Beckham’s seven 100-yard games are the highest total by an NFL rookie since Houston’s Bill Groman had nine in 1960.
– His season totals were 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns — all franchise rookie records. He is the first wide receiver in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards after missing the season’s first three games (he missed the first four with a hamstring injury).
– Beckham set NFL records for most catches and yards in the first 12 games to start a career.
– Beckham’s 91 catches were the second-highest total in franchise history, topped only by Steve Smith’s 107 receptions in 2009.
– His 91 receptions are tied with Denver’s Eddie Royal (2008) for the second-highest total in NFL history for a rookie. The most was Arizona’s Anquan Boldin, who caught 101 passes in 2003.
– Beckham’s 185 yards were the highest total by a Giant since Hakeem Nicks had 199 receiving yards vs. Tampa Bay on Sept. 16, 2012. The highest by a rookie, however, was by Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, who had 209 yards on Nov. 16 at Washington.
– The 1,305 yards by Beckham were the third-highest total in Giants history — surpassed only by Victor Cruz’s 1,536 yards in 2011 and Amani Toomer’s 1,343 yards in 2002.
– Beckham averaged 108.8 yards a game, obliterating Cruz’s previous Giants record of 96.0, set in 2011. Beckham’s 108.8-yard average is also an NFL rookie record, topping the old mark of 105.2 set by Groman in 1960.
– He’s also just the fourth player in franchise history with at least 12 touchdown receptions in a season. Homer Jones set the record with 13 in 1967. Plaxico Burress (2007) and Del Shofner (1962) also had 12.
– Beckham and Evans each had 12 touchdown catches this season, the highest total by an NFL rookie since Minnesota’s Randy Moss had 17 in 1998.
– The rookie’s 12 touchdown catches are a Giants’ rookie record. He also tied the franchise total rookie touchdown mark set in 1943 by Bill Paschal (10 rushing, two receiving).
– Beckham and Miami’s Jarvis Landry, who led the Dolphins with 84 receptions, were college teammates at Louisiana State. They are the first rookies from the same college to lead their team in receptions in the same season since the 1970 merger.
OK, NOW BACK TO BIG BLUE NOTES…
– OK, just one more OdB note: Rookie running back Andre Williams, who had team-high totals of 217 attempts, 721 yards, and seven touchdowns, teamed with Beckham to be the first rookie duo to lead the Giants in rushing and receiving yards in a full season since 1950, when Eddie Price ran for 703 yards and Bob McChesney had 380 receiving yards. The last NFL team with rookies leading in both rushing and receiving yards was the 2012 Cleveland Browns. Trent Richardson rushed for 950 yards and Josh Gordon had 805 receiving yards.
– Williams is the first rookie to lead the Giants in rushing since Joe Montgomery in 1999 with 348 yards. Williams’ 721 yards are the highest total by a Giants rookie since Ron Dayne had 770 in 2000. His seven rushing touchdowns were also the most by a Giants rookie since Brandon Jacobs had seven in 2005.
– Kicker Josh Brown finished the season with 24 successes in 26 attempts (one of the misses was a block in St. Louis), a 92.3 percentage that is a Giants single-season record. The former mark of 92.1 (35 of 38) was set by John Carney in 2008.
– Brown’s 116 points were the third-highest total of his career; he scored 127 points for the Seahawks in 2007 and 125 for the Rams in 2010.
– Big Blue finished with 47 sacks, their highest total since they had 48 in 2011. It’s a huge improvement from last season when they had just 34 sacks.
– Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul finished the season with 12.5, the highest total by a Giant since JPP himself had 16.5 in 2011.
– The defense finished 29th in yards allowed per game.
– Safety and defensive captain Antrel Rolle on his future: “I’ve been through this process once before and I think you just have to take it…If this is my last game as a Giant, I am very appreciative, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I have had a wonderful five years here and I gave the team every single inch that I have. I gave them every single thing I had. We will see once the offseason comes, once we figure out what it is we need to do. Hopefully we can come to an agreement and get something done and I can remain a Giant. I want to stay here. I definitely want to stay here. I feel like we are building something, although we haven’t had the season that we wanted to have. We are still building something. I think there is a lot of room for us to grow with what we have accomplished thus far. I would love to be a part of that. I think I am a huge part of it and I will love to stay a part of that and keep things going.”
– Coughlin said the season was “disappointing,” but spoke glowingly on a couple of subjects.
– Coughlin in Manning: “I think he got much better. I think he really got to perform in this scheme well. I think he understands it. He has the ability to adjust pretty much everything, including the protections and placing personnel and snapping the ball, and having all these things going. I think it suits him to a tee. That’s how he plays his best and that’s what he wants to do. I do believe that he’s worked his way through the system, he’s playing well within the system right now, and let’s face it, we didn’t win the game, but I think that’s two 500-yard games in a row. Something was being done. Now was the percentage the way you’d like it? Probably not. But there were some deep shots that we wanted to take. We wanted the one-on-ones and we wanted to take some shots and we did. Unfortunately, most of them were not completions and they go in the book as incomplete. But it was part of what we wanted to do.”
– The coach on Beckham: “I think he’s an outstanding young player with a bright career and future. There’s a lot that goes into it. His first year and first time out on the field, as he’s learning, you can only anticipate bigger and better things.”
– Manning’s self-evaluation: “I played better than last year. I felt good in the offense. I felt we had opportunities to win a lot of games, but we’ve got to win those games. We’ve got to win some of those close games. There were some moments where I needed to play at a higher level that I didn’t in those crucial moments. I’ve got to play better; the team and the offense has got to play better in those moments to win those games.”
– The offense is heading in the right direction and will only improve, said Manning: “Offensively, we made great strides from the beginning of the year where a lot of things were different. The timing from me and the receivers was off. We struggled and yesterday and the last few weeks we were doing some really good things – making big plays and moving the ball. Next year and being in the same offense… if we can come back and start where we are right now and continue to make progress, I think we’re just kind of scratching the surface of where we can get to.”
– Manning on Coughlin and his likely return: “I’m very pleased [that Coughlin will return]. He’s been my only coach. We’ve had great success and we’ve had some tough years where we bounced back. I think we’re on the right steps to making that progress, to making that leap from being an average team to being a playoff team. … He loves what he’s doing. He loves the preparation part of it. He gets us prepared to play each game and there’s no doubt about it. We are very well prepared for what to expect and what’s coming. We have great opportunities to make the plays and to execute and we’ve just got to do it. We’ve got to execute better. When you have mistakes or you have holding or blocked punts – those types of mistakes are on the players. That’s the players’ fault. The execution is there. Those touchdowns and big plays either happening against us or to have it taken away from us because we didn’t mentally or physically do our job. That means the preparation is there. The plays are there. The opportunities are there and we’ve got to do our job better.”
– Defensive back Walter Thurmond III, who barely played in his lone season with the Giants due to injury: “I played a game and a half, really, during the regular season. That was pretty weak, to say the least. I really want to be out there. It’s tough watching from the sideline and having them go through the different things that they went through, other guys getting injured in the line of duty and everything. It is always tough. You never want to see anyone go down, including myself, but all I can do is rehab and get back stronger and get faster, and get ready for the season.”
– Thurmond, on whether he thinks the team will re-sign him for next year: “I think so. You can never have too many corners. You see that this year, we went through four corners. That shows how much depth we had before everyone started getting injured here. Everyone is a great, quality player and like I said, hopefully we can work something out.”
– The final words go to ownership…
– Steve Tisch, the Giants Chairman and EVP: “Like [owner] John [Mara], [general manager] Jerry [Reese], and Tom [Coughlin], I am disappointed in how this season played out. None of us ever expects to be 6-10. Our objective is always to play in the postseason. Clearly, John and I believe in the leadership of Jerry and Tom to reach that objective. We appreciate their ability to work together and in the best interest of the organization. I am encouraged by the outstanding young players we have, combined with the team’s veteran leadership. Our players showed tremendous character by how they finished a difficult season. I am looking forward to the growth of this team and achieving our objective in 2015. Our fans, whose loyalty and enthusiastic support we appreciate, deserve it.”
– Mara on the state of the team: “Obviously I am very disappointed about this past season. Sick about it, as a matter of fact. Certainly not what I expected or what any of us expected. 6-10 is an embarrassment. With that being said, I do think there is some reason for optimism going forward. We had some young players really develop who we are excited about. We have had two pretty strong drafts in a row that we feel good about. We were still 6-10, so obviously we have a lot of work to do. Steve Tisch and I still feel very strongly about Tom Coughlin as our head coach. That is why, as many of you have already reported, we have asked him back for next season. We still believe in him. I believe the players still feel very strongly about him and the one thing that struck me during the season, even as bad as things got during that seven-game losing streak, they still played hard for him. There was no lack of effort there. They were still very attentive during practice and on the sidelines and their effort never waned, even though the results were not what we had hoped for.”
– Mara criticized the recent draft classes prior to the very good 2013 and 2014 classes: “I think that one of the things that really hurt us this year is we obviously have a couple draft classes here that have been largely unproductive for us. When you combine that with the number of injuries we had, particularly with certain key positions, that is a deadly combination in the National Football League.”
– The injuries, Mara noted, were a killer, too: “I am very frustrated about the number of injuries that we have had. It has been two years in a row now that we have led the league in putting players on IR [injured reserve] and number of games lost by starters. We spent so much time last offseason addressing that and talking about how we are going to fix that going forward. We made adjustments to what was being done in the weight room. We had the GPS tracking system. For some reason, here we are again leading the league in that category. We cut down the number of soft-tissue injuries and then, all of a sudden, we get all these broken bones and torn tendons and torn biceps. I just don’t have an answer for that right now. Obviously we will spend a lot of time on it this offseason, talking about that and looking at ways that we can improve upon that … but this is the NFL. People are going to get hurt. Why it happens to us in such extraordinary numbers, I don’t know. I am just hoping that we are due to have a change in luck in that area, and hopefully that will happen next year.”
– Mara said he still believes in Reese, but added the pressure is on to continue to stack good drafts together: “I still believe, very strongly, in Jerry Reese and our organization. We have a lot of quality people working here. We have had two very strong drafts in a row. We need to have another one. I think with that and with another year under this new offense, we have a chance to be a good team next year. Obviously, that is a tough sell right now when you go 7-9 and 6-10, but I still have a very strong belief in this staff and in this organization. I think we are going to be a good team next year, but we need another strong draft. We need to make certain improvements on both sides of the ball, which we will address this offseason and then we will move forward.”
– Mara on recent failed drafts: “Jerry has been here a long time and I have watched him run our draft for many years. I always had that belief in him, but certainly there were a couple drafts in there, 2011 and 2012, where we didn’t quite get the production that we want out of it. We needed to do well in 2013 and 2014. I think we did. We need to do it again, obviously, because when you are 6-10, you obviously have a lot of holes to fill.”
– Whether there are any changes on the coaching staff is mostly up to Coughlin, said Mara: “That is a discussion we are going to have going forward, but that will be Tom’s decision … We will discuss that with him. I will give him my opinion, but it has always been the case in this organization that the head coach makes the final call on assistant coaches and whether he needs to make any changes, contrary to popular belief. I am glad you brought that up. Tom was not forced to part ways with Kevin Gilbride last year. That was a discussion that Tom and Kevin had. The first discussion that Jerry and I had with Tom after the season, we walked into Jerry’s office and Tom came in and said to us that Kevin was going to be retiring — before we said anything to him. This notion that we forced him to fire Kevin Gilbride is absolutely not true.”
– As far as having a “lame duck” coach, Mara said, to that will also be up for discussion: “I have to talk about that with him. I am not so sure that will be the situation anymore. I need to talk to him about that first. We haven’t had that discussion yet. … I think about that [Coughlin’s long-term prospects] all the time. Listen, I am certainly aware of who is out there, but right now, I think Tom gives us the best chance to win going forward. How long that is going to last for, I don’t know. He is going to be our coach next year.”
– Super Bowl rings are a great ace in the hole, said Mara, when asked about Coughlin’s past success and how that saved his job: “There is no question that was a big part of the decision. More importantly than that, I still believe we can win with him. If I didn’t believe that, then it wouldn’t have mattered how many Super Bowls he won in the past. It would be senseless to go forward with him. I look at how hard the players played for him and how attentive they still are. I look at his energy level and how much he still wants to win and how driven he is. That is what convinced Steve and myself to move forward with him. We have some talent deficiencies at certain positions. There is no question about that and that needs to be addressed and we will address that going forward.”
– Mara noted that the Jacksonville loss was “embarrassing” to him and the players and coaches were lucky he didn’t react impulsively then: “To be honest with you, when I am sitting on the bus after the Jacksonville game, I wanted to fire everybody, from the people in the equipment room through upstairs, because that was a low point for me. We had that three-game streak there – San Francisco, the Dallas loss was a gut-wrenching one for me, and Jacksonville was an embarrassment. That is why I learned a long time ago that you don’t make those judgments during the season. You try not to make stupid comments during the season or give votes of confidence or anything like that. I was just happy that none of you approached me in the locker room after the game because I may have said something that I would have regretted for a long time after that. That was a low point for me, but again, I learned a long time ago that you have to wait until the end of the season and look at the whole picture in a more rational frame of mind before you make decisions. That is what we try to do.”
– McAdoo acquitted himself nicely in his first season, according to Mara: “I thought he did a nice job for us. We had kind of a slow start where we didn’t really move the ball very well. I thought towards the end of the season our offense started to come alive and I am excited about that going forward, but we still have some work to do there. No question that they made improvements this season. The quarterback certainly played better, especially towards the second half of the season.”
– Mara added that McAdoo was not brought in as a head coach-in-waiting: “Absolutely not. I laugh when some of you write some of that stuff. A year ago, I didn’t know Ben McAdoo from Bob McAdoo. Some of you have written that we brought him in here and anointed him as the next head coach. The first time I met him was after Tom had hired him and I went down and introduced myself and welcomed him here. Tom interviewed a number of candidates last year for the offensive coordinator position, but the final decision was always going to be his. I think he made a good choice.”
– Mara really likes the previous two draft classes: “It is not just Odell. This last draft class, I thought, was pretty productive this season. I think [Weston] Richburg is going to be a good player. Andre Williams showed some great promise. Devon Kennard. I think [Jay] Bromley is going to be a good player and I am probably leaving guys out. The [2013] draft class is going to be a very productive class for us, too. We’ve got some good, solid, younger players to build off of right now, and if we can have another strong draft and just get back half of the [unrestricted free-agents] that got hurt this year and make it through a season, I think we have something to build on. If we get all of them back, then we really have something to build on.”
– He may not have wanted to single-out Beckham, but it was obvious to see that Mara gushed the most about him when it came to discussing the rookies: “It was exciting to me. The energy and passion that he brought to our team was pretty startling. I was very frustrated for a while. He missed all of training camp and then he is missing the first four games of the season and we haven’t even seen him on the field. I have no idea what we have. Then, all of sudden, he starts making plays and it was pretty exciting. For me, you would have to go back to 1981 [Lawrence Taylor] before we were that excited about a rookie coming in and what he could possibly mean to this franchise. I hesitate to say that because I do not want to put that much pressure on him, but he certainly has brought a lot to this organization.”
– Mara on Manning: “He certainly had a much better year this year. I think he can still get better with another year under this new offense and we need to give him a little bit of help, particularly on the offensive line, I believe. I still think we can win a championship with Eli. There were some games where he didn’t play as well, but by in large, his body of work over the course of the season, I thought, was pretty good. He gives us some reason for optimism next year.”
– The fate of maligned defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will be up to Reese and Coughlin, noted Mara, who added that the defensive deficiencies weren’t entirely on Fewell: “We lost some of our best defensive players during the course of the year. There is no question about that. Some guys may be getting a little older that need to be replaced. We certainly need to put some better players out there. I am not going to say our schemes were unsound or anything. It looked to me like we were prepared to play every week. I think if you ask the players that, they felt like they were prepared to play every week, but the results weren’t there for a number of different reasons. We are going to have to have that discussion going forward.”
– Mara on JPP and Rolle’s fate: “We would certainly like him [JPP] back, but it would have to be at the right price, something that makes sense for us. He certainly had a great finish to the season and showed the type of player that he can be and that he will be going forward. I would be very surprised if he was not a Giant next year. [The franchise tag] is certainly one of our options and we really haven’t fully discussed that yet. I have no idea what his agent is going to do. Actually, I do I have a pretty good idea of what his agent is going to be asking for and whether we want to do that or franchise him is something we will have to fully discuss. … We would like to have him [Rolle] back, too, but again, at the right price. I could say that about anybody. We would like them all back at the right price. What that is, depends on the circumstances.”
– Manning will enter the final year of his contract in 2015, and Mara is hoping they can get that done, too — at the right price: “He has another year left and I assume we will have a discussion with his agent at some point. Again, it would have to be at the right price for us. … We would like him to retire as a Giant. That is where he should be. We still think we can win a championship with him and he is still playing at a high level. Of course, we would like to keep him.”
– Mara’s final words were his most poignant, as he was asked if next season is a “win or else” season: “I do not think that is an unfair statement.”
– The Giants hold the 9th pick in next year’s NFL draft.
– Their 2015-16 season includes matchups against the AFC East and NFC South: HOME dates with the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, New York Jets … and ROAD dates at the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins.
The Giants (7-9) are essentially out of the playoffs — and will finish 7-9 (at best!) for the second-straight season — but head coach Tom Coughlin is still soldiering on, despite the buzzards circling the Big Blue carcass.
Here are some G-Men notes from Sunday’s choke-job to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars…
The Blues:
– With nine defeats, the Giants, who were 7-9 last year, are assured of finishing under .500 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2003 and 2004, when they were 4-12 and 6-10. That ’03 squad is what led the Giants to the No. 1 overall pick in the ’04 draft, which they used the Philip Rivers selection to use as a trade chip in acquiring Eli Manning. Giants’ everywhere can only hope they can recreate that magic for the ’15 draft — Marcus Mariota, anyone?!
– The Giants lost their seventh-consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NFL, and fell to 3-9. The seven-game losing streak is their longest since they lost eight in a row in 2004, Tom Coughlin’s first season as head coach. The 3-9 record is their worst after 12 games since 1995, when they had the same mark.
– New York has lost its last three games in which they led at the half – 17-14 at Seattle (where they lost, 38-17), 21-10 last week vs. Dallas (lost, 31-28) and at Jacksonville. Prior to this streak, they had won nine consecutive games in which they held a halftime lead.
– The Giants led in the fourth quarter, 21-16, and again at 24-22. It was the second game in a row they didn’t hold a fourth-quarter lead. Last week vs. Dallas, they took a 28-24 lead before losing, 31-28.
– Big Blue scored 21 points in the second quarter, their highest-scoring period since they scored 21 in the first vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 30, 2012. That was also the last time the Giants jumped out to a 21-0 lead.
– This was the third time the Giants held a 21-point lead and lost in Tom Coughlin’s 11 years as head coach. On Nov. 26, 2006 at Tennessee, they led 21-0 in the fourth quarter but lost, 24-21. On Dec. 19, 2010 in MetLife Stadium, they led Philadelphia, 24-3 and 31-10, but lost 38-31.
– The Giants led at halftime, 21-3, their largest halftime lead since they were ahead of the Eagles, 35-7, on Dec. 30, 2013. Their largest previous halftime lead this season was 17 points (24-7) at Washington on Sept. 25. The 18-point halftime lead was their largest on the road since Sept. 20, 2012, when they led at Carolina, 20-0, on their way to a 36-7 victory.
– The 18-point lead was the largest the Giants had in a game they went on to lose since Dec. 19, 2010, when they led the Eagles at halftime, 24-3, but lost, 38-31.
– The Jaguars were the first opponent to score touchdowns on two Giants’ fumbles in a game since Oct. 25, 1964, when Paul Wiggin and Charlie Scales of the Cleveland Browns did it. The last NFL team to score touchdowns on two opponent fumbles in a game was New England at the Jets on Nov. 22, 2012.
– Tom Coughlin coached his 300th regular-season NFL game, the 13th coach in league history to reach that plateau. Coughlin is 161-139 (93-79, .541, with the Giants and 68-60, .531, with the Jaguars), who were a first-year expansion team in 1995.
– Coughlin’s career record against rookie quarterbacks is now 11-8. Manning’s is 5-4.
– Right tackle Geoff Schwartz, who missed the season’s first 10 games with a dislocated toe, sprained his ankle and did not return. He was in the bench area in the second half using crutches and wearing a walking boot. Coughlin said after the game that Schwartz had tendon damage in the ankle.
– Defensive lineman Robert Ayers Jr. tore a pectoral muscle and is out for the year.
Blue thoughts…
- Linebacker Jon Beason (toe) and punter Steve Weatherford (ankle) both fully practiced on Wednesday.
- Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (back/hamstring) did not practice.
- Linebacker Spencer Paysinger (hamstring) was limited.
- Rashad Jennings (knee) has already been ruled out for the game, as Coughlin noted he hopes his running back can return after the Week 8 bye.
- Rookie wideout Odell Beckham Jr. has slid into the starting lineup, sans Cruz. The last time he and former LSU teammate Rueben Randle started a game together was in college during the 2011 season.
- Coughlin noted that the entire team and staff have “been briefed” about the Ebola scare in preparation of their trip to Dallas.
- Cruz briefly visited the facility’s training room on Wednesday, but did not attend practice or visit with his teammates. He was seen on crutches exiting the building. The wideout, through the team’s public relations staff, declined to speak publicly to the media. He declared that he’ll likely speak later this week or next.
- The Giants have been shut out four times in their last 26 games – a rate of roughly once every six weeks. That’s obviously not a recipe for sustained success.
- The Giants promoted cornerback Chandler Fenner from their practice squad. They also signed veteran wideout Kevin Ogletree, and placed cornerback Trumaine McBride (thumb surgery) on season-ending injured reserve. Cornerback Bennett Jackson was placed on the Giants’ practice squad/injured list, while linebacker Carlos Fields, wideout Chris Harper and cornerback Victor Hampton were added to the team’s 10-man practice squad. Receiver Travis Harvey was released.
- Cowboys star running back DeMarco Murray, who leads the league in rushing, has never scored a rushing touchdown against Big Blue. His 328 rushing yards in four career games against the Giants, though, is his second-highest total against an opponent.
- Rookie guard Weston Richburg said he’s already been notified that he’ll be fined for his unnecessary roughness penalty in Sunday’s game, but added he’ll appeal.
- The Cowboys’ defense allows the second-most yards per play. The offense, however, likely helps mask that deficiency because their ball-control offense keeps opposing offenses off the field, as opponents average the lowest amount of plays per game (56).
Big Blue thoughts:
– The Giants placed wideout Victor Cruz and cornerback Trumaine McBride on injured reserve (IR) today and signed veteran wideout Kevin Ogletree and cornerback Chandler Fenner to replace them on the roster.
– Big Blue also released wide receiver Travis Harvey from their practice squad, while cornerback Bennett Jackson (knee) has been placed on practice squad/injured.
– Three players were signed to their practice squad: wide receiver Chris Harper, cornerback Victor Hampton and linebacker Carlos Fields.
Quick blurb on today’s main transactions:
Cruz and McBride were both injured Sunday in Philadelphia and underwent surgery yesterday. Cruz’s torn patellar tendon was repaired by team physician Russell Warren at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. McBride, who had been the nickel corner since Walter Thurmond was injured in Week 2, had surgery to repair a fractured thumb. The operation was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Ogletree, 6-1 and 198 pounds, is a six-year veteran who spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, whom the Giants play Sunday in AT&T Stadium. He has played in 62 regular-season games with four starts. His career totals include 78 receptions for 999 yards (12.8-yard average) and six touchdowns. In five games against the Giants, Ogletree caught 18 passes for 143 yards and two scores, all career-high totals against an opponent. He scored both of those touchdowns in the Cowboy’s season-opening victory against the Giants on Sept. 5, 2012, when he had eight catches for 114 yards.
In 2013, Ogletree played in 16 games – four with one start for Tampa Bay and 12 with one start for Detroit. He totaled 21 catches for 269 yards and two touchdowns, one for each team. Ogletree was listed as the Lions’ No. 3 receiver throughout the preseason. But he was inactive for the first two regular-season games and was released on Sept. 20, a day before Detroit’s Week 3 game vs. Green Bay. Ogletree, a native of Queens, entered the NFL in 2009 as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys out of the University of Virginia. In his first three seasons, he caught 25 passes. But in 2012, Ogletree played in 15 games and had career-high totals of 32 catches for 436 yards and four touchdowns. He was signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay on March 14, 2013. The Bucs released him on Oct. 1 and the Lions signed him two days later. Ogletree had two receptions for 29 yards in the Giants’ victory in Detroit last Dec. 22.
Fenner, 6 feet and 200 pounds, is on the roster for the second time this season. He was signed off the practice squad on Oct. 4, and made his NFL debut on special teams the following day in the Giants’ victory over Atlanta. He was waived the following day. Fenner first joined the Giants on Aug. 1. He was first waived on Aug. 30 and signed to the practice squad the following day.
Fenner spent the 2013 season on the Seattle Seahawks’ injured reserve list with a knee injury. He was waived by the Seahawks on July 29. Fenner entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012 out of Holy Cross. He had six tackles in the preseason – including five in a game vs. Green Bay – before being waived by the Chiefs in the final roster cutdown. Fenner was signed to Seattle’s practice squad on Dec. 6, 2012.
Lots going on with Big Blue — mostly good. But there are a few concerns on the horizon — specifically with player injuries.
Here are some pertinent news from the last two days…
- Running back Michael Cox was signed off the practice squad to the team’s 53-man active roster.
- Cornerback Jayron Hosley, who came back to the team after serving his four-game suspension, was activated on Monday.
- The Giants waived wideout Julian Talley and cornerback Chandler Fenner to make room for Cox and Hosley.
- Running back Rashad Jennings has a sprained MCL. The once little-known understudy in Oakland and Jacksonville has carried the ball 91 times, which is already roughly 56 percent of his single-season career-high tally of 163.
- Linebacker Spencer Paysinger, who injured his hamstring in the third quarter of Sunday’s game and never returned, underwent tests.
- Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie also underwent tests for his injured left ankle and hip.
- The Giants will release wideout/kick returner Trindon Holliday from injured reserve via an injury settlement.
- Sunday’s win was the first time the Giants won as many as three-straight since Week 9 last season, after starting the season 0-6.
- The 10-point second-half deficit was the largest Big Blue has overcome since Sept. 16, 2012.
- Manning has continued his efficient play, as it was his second time in his last three games in which he didn’t throw an interception.
- Manning is now the winningest quarterback in September, in the modern-day Super Bowl era with 30 wins.
- Sunday was also the 26th regular-season game in which Manning engineered a 4th-quarter comeback.
- Odell Beckham Jr.’s long-awaited debut made him the last first-round pick to make his maiden appearance.
The Giants may be unbeaten in the preseason, but it’s come at a price, with valuable pieces dropping at an alarming rate — particularly along the one unit where health and continuity are at a premium, the offensive line.
Prized free agent guard Geoff Schwartz was the latest to sustain an injury as he suffered a dislocated big toe in the second quarter of the Jets game, Friday night. Schwartz, who came over from Kansas City and was a plug-in starter at left guard, will visit a foot specialist in Charlotte, North Carolina and all signs point to him missing multiple weeks of the regular season.
Head coach Tom Coughlin likes to use the phrase “next man up,” and according to the team’s ever-changing depth chart, that man figures to be rookie Weston Richburg. The former Colorado State star, who was a college center and has battled assumed starter J.D. Walton this offseason at center, as well as seen some time as a swing guard, stepped in for Schwartz during the Jets game and acquitted himself nicely.
While he obviously doesn’t want to see a teammate go down with an injury, Richburg said he’s had plenty of experience rotating reps between all three interior line spots this summer and is ready to accept the challenge of being Schwartz’s fill-in for however long he’s needed.
“I’m always striving to get better and feel I’m finishing blocks well,” said Richburg. “I’ve made some mistakes along the way and in the Jets game, obviously, but now is the time to get better and correct mistakes because I want to get better.”
The Giants will need Richburg to get better — along with everyone else on the re-worked offensive line — as quarterback Eli Manning is still struggling with the nuances of the new offense. As much hardware and accolades that Manning has accrued, he has looked less than ordinary this preseason. The loss of Schwartz and the revolving door on the line certainly won’t help the maligned signal caller.
Big Blue has not only lost the services of Schwartz, but several other linemen have been in and out of the lineup, which is certainly not a good sign for a quarterback who already has lots to prove due to a league-high 27 interceptions last season — and that was in an offense he knew.
Brandon Mosley missed part of Sunday’s practice and all of Monday’s session, as well as players who were already missing time in James Brewer and Charles Brown. John Jerry, who had offseason knee surgery and missed all of the spring program and most of training camp, finally returned to limited action. But one has to wonder how ready he is to step right into the offensive line rotation.
Jerry, who was involved in Ted Wells’s bullying inquisition last season as a member of the Miami Dolphins, said he’s ready to contribute wherever the coaches need him.
“I feel like I’m definitely back to where I need to be,” said the veteran who started all 16 games for the Dolphins last season. “If I’m called upon to play, I feel like I’ll be ready to play and contribute.”
While Jerry is a known commodity and has actual game experience, he’ll be coming in as an obvious backup to Richburg and whomever else the Giants might bring in to patch the recurring holes. The confident Jerry said he’s fine with whatever role as he’s happy to just be in a situation where there are no controversies and personal maladies of which to contend.
“I’m feeling great and back to playing again, so I’m not worried about all of that,” Jerry said when asked about backing up a rookie. “At the end of the day, we’re all out here trying to push each other to get better in practice and perform [in games] so we can win some games. All that other stuff isn’t my concern. We’re just trying to get better … That’s what it’s all about.”
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