New York Giants

Rueben Randle - © USA TODAY Sports Images by Eric from BigBlueInteractive.com May 24, 2013 Everyone knows that the Giants two studs at wide receiver are Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. But there has been a changing of the guard behind these two each of the last two seasons. In 2011, the #3 receiver on this team was Mario Manningham. That season, Manningham had 39 receptions behind Cruz (82 catches) and Nicks (76 catches). In 2012, Cruz (86 catches) and Nicks (53 catches) still led the way again despite Nicks’ injury woes. Interestingly, Domenik Hixon had the same number of receptions as the #3 receiver as did Manningham the year before with 39. Manningham (free agent to 49ers in 2012) and Hixon (free agent to Panthers in 2013) are gone. The leading contenders to replace Hixon as the #3 wideout are Rueben Randle, Jerrel Jernigan, and Louis Murphy. Rueben Randle: Randle, the team’s second-round draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, is probably the favorite to win the job. Randle had only 19 receptions for 298 yards and three touchdowns his rookie season. His best games were against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 (six catches for 82 yards) and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17 (four catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns). But Randle, who just turned 22 in May, has an excellent combination of size, athletic ability, and hands. Randle is not a burner, but he is fluid and smooth with just enough speed to threaten a defense vertically down the field. In that regard, he’s similar to Nicks. Like most young players, Randle needs to continue to improve his route-running and realize that professional football is indeed a serious business that requires a heightened level of commitment. With Nicks recovering from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Randle has been getting work with the first team. “It’s a lot better to get a feel for how things are going to be,” Randle said of lining up with the first team. “You get on the same page with Eli, so it’s a fun thing. But also it’s work. You’ve got to continue to go out there and get better and just do the best you can. I’m a lot better than where I was last year. I’m a lot more comfortable with what I have to do and understanding the offense. I’m out there playing a lot faster and making a lot more plays.” Jerrel Jernigan: With Cruz still unsigned, Jerrel Jernigan has also been getting reps with the first team. Jernigan was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Giants. Because Jernigan is diminutive in size (5-8, 189lbs) and has been unproductive in his first two seasons (three catches total), he has drawn unfavorable comparisons by Giants fans to a previous draft bust, Sinorice Moss. Jernigan does lack size, but he is a quick, fluid athlete. In college, Jernigan was an extremely productive receiver who was dangerous with the football after the catch. Jerngian’s development may have been hampered by his college offense at Troy. Receivers in spread offenses usually do not run the full route tree so it was a much bigger mental jump for Jerngian than it was for Randle. Regardless, the Giants are expecting Jernigan to step it up in 2013. Right now, he’s the number one back-up in the slot position behind Cruz. “I’m looking forward to seeing Jerrel Jernigan and what he can do inside,” said Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride this month. “I think it’s about time that he steps up and I think we feel he has enough ability and he’s been here now long enough. Until Victor (Cruz) gets back, he’ll be the main guy inside at the slot position. It’s a chance for him to shine and step forward and do the things that we believe he can do…It’s going to be a great opportunity for him.” “Jerrel’s also got to be able to help us,” said QB Eli Manning. “He has speed, he has skills, been in the system now a number of years so hopefully he can step up and fill a role for us.” “I’ve been here three years,” said Jernigan. “I know the offense and it’s time for me to go out there and make some p

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What can the New York Giants expect from defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul in 2013? Much has been made of Pierre-Paul's decline in quarterback sacks from 16.5 during his All-Pro 2011 season to 6.5 during a good, but not dominant, 2012 season. Where will Pierre-Paul's numbers fall in 2013? Pro Football Focus analyst Ben Stockwell recently took at look at Pierre-Paul's work the past two seasons and concluded that JPP "is an elite edge defender but not an elite pass rusher." Stockwell contends that Pierre-Paul is a better inside pass rusher (one pressure for every 26.5 rushes to the inside) than outside (one pressure every 31.5 pass rushes). In 2011, Stockwell reported that Pierre-Paul had an outside pressure once every 24.5 rushes. He writes: Part of what lets Pierre-Paul down in regard to really maximizing inside pressure is his ability to consistently get outside of opposing pass protectors. In simple terms, he can’t get outside of pass protectors frequently enough to force them to over-compensate to that outside pass rush, opening up the inside moves. The most efficient inside pass rushers almost all get pressure to the outside of pass protectors at a far better rate than Pierre-Paul manages. That Pierre-Paul only averaged outside pressure once per game this season, and only converted three of sixteen pressures into a hit or sack on the quarterback, tells the story of a pass rusher who lacked that burst to really threaten the corner and worry tackles about reaching him. In 2011 Pierre-Paul had far better balance in his pass rush. It was the outside sacks and hits that were missing from his game this past season. Valentine's View: Perhaps the fact that Pierre-Paul spent so much more time on the left side where my belief is he is less natural affected his burst to the outside. With Osi Umenyiora gone to the Atlanta Falcons via free agency perhaps Pierre-Paul will spend more time on the right side in 2013. Last season, Pierre-Paul spent only 57.9 percent of his time at right defensive end. The fourth-year defensive end was hardly awful in 2012 despite going from 16.5 sacks to 6.5, from 93 tackles to 66, from 72 total quarterback pressures to 55, from nine passes defensed to six. In fact, he was very good. He finished with a +23.7 overall score from PFF, including +18.4 vs. the run. Pierre-Paul is ranked No. 55 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013 list. "He's a specimen, man," said Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman Donald Penn. "He's one of those beasts. His arms are so long he can scratch his knee standing straight up without bending down. That causes a lot of problems for a tackle. You've gotta get your hands on him first." Dallas offensive lineman Derrick Dockery doesn't line up against JPP, but he knows what kind of player he is. "Tyron Smith I believe is going to be a great player. He literally picked him up and dumped him into the quarterback's lap," Dockery said. "He's a really good player. One of the top three defensive ends in the National Football League." Still, no matter how you slice it the Giants would like to get more than 6.5 sacks out of their best pass rusher

Henry Hynoski was to undergo surgery today to repair the knee injury he suffered Wednesday during an OTA at the Timex Performance Center. The New York Giants fullback said Thursday that returning for the Sept. 8 season opener vs. the Dallas Cowboys is "not an unrealistic goal." Is that true, or is that simply an athlete hoping that's the case? Dr. Kyle Flik, an Albany area orthopedic surgeon who did his residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery under Giants team physician Dr. Russell Warren, said Friday that Hynoski's target date is realistic. If the MCL and chip fracture of the lateral tibial plateur are the only injuries the third-year Giant suffered. "My concern is that usually when we see a little chip fracture like that it often signifies a bigger injury like an anterior cruciate ligament tear," Flik said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we hear in the next couple days that he had an ACL injury. That's possible." Flik, of course, has not examined Hynoski or seen his X-rays or MRI results. His commentary is based solely on his prior experience with the injury. "If you just see a set and x-rays and you see a little chip fracture of the lateral tibial plateau ... you almost assume there's been an ACL injury," Flik said. "When you tear your ACL the knee buckles and when the knee buckles it's such a high impact to the lateral tibial plateau there that you often get a little chip." Flik said the chip fracture will heal on its own within roughly six weeks and reiterated that if the MCL injury is all that Dr. Warren finds today when he performs Hynoski's surgery that a Week 1 return is possible. "That's not unreasonable if they are repairing his MCL. That repair should be healed in a couple of months and then it's a matter of rehabbing and getting his strength back," Flik said. "The MCL repair is the main issue, and if that's all he's having done that seems to be a very reasonable return to play in my opinion. But if, again, if there's something more, if there's an ACL then he's going to be looking more towards the middle of the season." Dr. Kyle Flik Bio Dr. Flik graduated from Dartmouth College where he earned 8 varsity letters as a member of both Division 1 ice hockey and lacrosse teams. Before starting medical school at the University of Vermont, he further pursued his athletic interests by playing professional ice hockey in Europe. Dr. Flik attended the Hospital for Special Surgery, long considered one of the top orthopaedic training hospitals in the country. His interest in sports medicine led him to Rush University where he completed a fellowship and served as assistant team physician for the Chicago White Sox (MLB), Chicago Bulls (NBA), and Chicago Rush (Arena Football League). Since coming to the Capital Region, Dr. Flik has served as head team physician for the Albany Patroons and Legends (CBA), Albany Buzz/Sportimes (World Team Tennis) and the Albany Academies teams.

Mark L Baer- USA TODAY Sports The New York Giants‘ situation at wide receiver has become as dismal as its been since the infamous Plaxico Burress incident of 2008. Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz were no-shows for the start of OTA’s. It is needless to say that the two wideouts encompass the Giants’ offense. Or, as Bill Belichick put it, Super Bowl XLVII was a “Cruz and Nicks game”. Cruz’s situation is — knowingly — his contract. However, Nicks’ absence is due to an injury; while his contract is set to expire after the 2013 season, he is also still recovering from an ailment. Surely, the latter is what Giants head coach Tom Coughlin prefers. If the Giants don’t get Nicks into camp soon, then they will be practicing without a receiver who has 255 receptions, 3,726 yards and 27 touchdowns since his rookie 2009 NFL season. In comparison, Ramses Barden — who the Giants signed to help create depth in the absence of the missing duo — has 29 receptions for 394 yards, and still has yet to score an NFL touchdown. With Nicks and Cruz missing, the Giants started OTA’s with Reuben Randle, Barden, and Louis Murphy as the teams top three receivers. Adding up the three aforementioned receiver’s totals, their collective 2,399 career receiving yards is still bested by Cruz’s 2,628 career receiving yards — a total that only accounts for his two full NFL seasons. Admittedly, Randle, who is still brimming with potential, just completed his rookie season, so his numbers wouldn’t be comparable. But the point still stands: Nicks and Cruz’ level of vitality to the Giant’s offense is of the utmost importance. Ever since Earth, Wind, and Fire went defunct after the 2008 NFL Season, the Giants have relied more heavily on Eli Manning’s arm. Since 2009, Manning has trumped all passing yardage totals from his years that were previous to 2008. In layman’s terms, before 2009, Manning’s highest passing yardage total came in 2007 when he threw for 3,336 yards. Since 2009, when the Giants began passing more often, Manning’s highest yardage count for a season was during 2011, when he passed for 4,933. A veteran quarterback like Manning will make receivers better, but there is no substituting the chemistry between a quarterback and his two favorite targets. Jeff Nelson  is a New York Giants writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JNelson53_12, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

We all have a story as to how we were lucky enough to become New York Giant fans. Let me preface this story by telling you that I truly believe we are lucky to be Giants' fans in the way that Joe DiMaggio thanked the Lord that he was a New York Yankee. Some people are born into being a New York Giants' fan. Children are literally welcomed into the world by being placed into a Giants' blanket and their blood begins to run with the Giants' blue. Others have season tickets passed down generation to generation since the days at Yankee Stadium. While others around my age were a product of the dominant run the Giants had under head coach Bill Parcells in the mid to late 1980s to early 1990s. I was none of the above. My family had no allegiance one way or the other. Richard Todd posters hung next to cut out Sports Illustrated pictures of Dan Fouts on my teenage brother's wall. Joe Klecko was as celebrated as George Martin in my house. We were football fans first and foremost without a true rooting interest. My father never told us which team to support. He let us decide for ourselves. My father's theory on sports teams and their importance mirrored Chazz Palmenteri's from 'A Bronx Tale.' My Giants fan journey began as any other summer day does for a 5-year-old during the 1980s. I was playing by myself in the backyard when a very large man jumped over the fence to ask for directions. I know what you're thinking. This story sounds like an after-school special and not the typical "How I became a Giant Fan" story, but remember this was the summer of 1983 -- well before " I Know My First Name is Steven" made every parent in America a nervous wreck. The man needed directions to the local high school and I needed a playmate. A bargain was struck and four short years later I was watching Phil Simms set Super Bowl records with a joy that chokes me up to this day. My brothers headed home in between double session football practices to try and eat some lunch and rest their weary legs before heading back to school for another round of sprints in 90-degree weather. They weren't concerned when they weren't met at the door by their precocious little brother. They were focused on re-hydrating and trying to see if my mom had baked any cupcakes. My brother Tom walked out on the back deck to hang his practice clothes to dry when he heard a mans voice say, "Okay this is the last one." I called back,"Okay" and wham a wiffle ball was slammed from one side of the yard to the other. My brother peeked over the deck and saw Bruce Kimball of the New York Giants chasing a wiffle ball across the yard as I was pretending to round the bases with my over-sized plastic bat. Dumbfounded my brother asked me what I was doing, and I said I was playing with my new friend. Mr. Kimball was just passing through my yard trying to get to the high school to rehabilitate his injured leg when he made a Giant fan for life. His Giants career consisted of exactly one game before a broken leg derailed his career. His chance meeting with me has given me 30 years of being a very lucky Giant fan. I thank him during every draft, every opening day, and especially after all four Super Bowl victories I have witnessed. I have chosen to raise my girls the right way and that's to be a Giant fan from Day 1. Luckily I am spending their formative years with them, and they will know Lawrence Taylor's career sack totals (132.5, btw) before they know the Pledge of Allegiance. Just to let you know a little about me and why I am sharing my Giant fan introduction story. I am a former high school football coach who is now a stay at home father of triplet girls. When I am not setting world speed records for diaper changes and having imaginary tea parties you will find me writing about all aspects of fantasy sports. My passion has led me to become the newest contributor here at Big Blue View, where I will be writing a weekly column forecasting the Giants' pl

Good morning, New York Giants' fans! Here are your Friday morning links. You can forget about the injury to Henry Hynoski leading to a return to the Giants by Brandon Jacobs. The 265-pound former Giants running back tweeted Thursday night that "I ain't playing no damn fullback." So much for doing whatever it might take to continue a career. Hynoski, remember, undergoes surgery Friday. A pair of Giants have finally made the NFL.com list of the Top 100 players of 2012. Jason Pierre-Paul landed at No. 55 and Victor Cruz at No. 58. Ernie Accorsi not convinced Brian Urlacher is a Hall of Famer | ProFootballTalk "I think he’s a borderline Hall of Famer," Accorsi said. "I don’t know that he’s a definite Hall of Famer. I think there is a host of them, like Willie Lanier, that were dominant players. He was good, but I wouldn’t put him in that level." Asked if he’d put the "guaranteed Hall of Famer" label on Urlacher, Accorsi said he wouldn’t. Instead, Accorsi said, Urlacher was a somewhat limited player who doesn’t deserve to be mentioned among the all-time greats. "I definitely wouldn’t," Accorsi said. "That’s my opinion. I don’t think he’s a guarantee. I mean, he may get in because he got a lot of publicity and he was a hard player. But his span that he covered was really restricted. Now a lot of those middle linebackers were in those days. They didn’t have three or four wide receivers so they stayed on the field for three downs. They might be off today. But, no, I certainly don’t have him in [Dick] Butkus or Ray Lewis [category]. And I don’t think he should be in there, really with [Joe] Schmidt and [Ray] Nitschke and those guys, either."

TE Brandon Myers - © USA TODAY Sports Images New BBI Salary Cap Article: Potential Issues Signing the Giants’ Remaining Unsigned Draft Picks by Optimus-NY of BigBlueInteractive.com Surgery for Hynoski: As previously reported, FB Henry Hynoski was carted off of the practice field on Wednesday after injuring his left knee. The Giants revealed yesterday that Hynoski suffered an injury to his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a chip fracture to the lateral plateau. Hynoski will undergo surgery on Friday to repair the ligament and the fracture. “I am going to set my mind to being ready for the first game of the regular season,” said Hynoski. “They said that is not an unrealistic goal, and I will do everything in my power to be ready for the start of the season.” Hynoski later tweeted, “Thank you everyone for all the tremendous support…just a bump in the road…I will come back stronger than ever from this!” Nicks’ Absence from OTAs Not Tied to Contract: According to Yahoo! Sports, the absence of WR Hakeem Nicks from the Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice on Wednesday was not due the receiver’s desire to receive a higher-paying contract from the Giants. Nicks’ agent declined to explain Nicks’ absence from the OTA practice on Wednesday. But he did strongly deny that Nicks was not there because of his current rookie contract, which is set to expire after the 2013 season. The agent told Yahoo! Sports that “Nicks takes his place in the community very seriously and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that reputation.” Yahoo! Sports initially caused the commotion on Wednesday by reporting that Nicks did not attend the OTA practice as part of a contract negotiating tactic. That erroneous report was apparently based on a Giants team source who said Nicks may be unhappy with his contract situation. That unidentified team source told Yahoo! Sports that Nicks was sending “the team a little message by not showing up for practice Wednesday.” Aside from his absence this week, Nicks has been participating in the Giants’ offseason program although he has been limited due to an offseason arthroscopic procedure on his left knee. Giants Re-Sign WR Ramses Barden: The Giants have officially re-signed unrestricted free agent WR Ramses Barden. The contract is reportedly a 1-year deal. “I’m happy to be back,” Barden said. “This is where I wanted to be and now I’m here. I was out there listening to the calls, getting back into the rhythm of the cadence, enjoying the camaraderie and absorbing everything. I remember everything; I’ve had four years to soak it all up. I’m happy to be back on the field. I feel great. I expect the best.” Because of this move, we have updated the Transactions, Free Agent Signings (with scouting report), Free Agent Scorecard, Roster, and Depth Chart sections of the website. Giants Complete Second OTA: Although it was not open to the media, the Giants completed their second Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice yesterday. The Giants have eight remaining OTAs: May 29-31 and June 3-7. OTA practices are voluntary but participation is encouraged. The Giants are currently in the final phase of their offseason workout program. During this final phase, no live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permissible.

Ramses Barden sure sounded as if he was making sense when he declared in late February leaving the Giants was a smart move. After all, in four years, he never produced much and never convinced the coaching staff that, despite his towering size at receiver, he could be a vital...

The race to beat the clock is on for Giants fullback Henry Hynoski, who will undergo knee surgery today and hopes to be recovered in time for the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Cowboys. Hynoski went down on the second play in Wednesday’s first organized team activity practice...