New York Giants

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."

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...

Jim O’Connor- USA TODAY Sports According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com, New York Giants fullback Henry Hynoski is set to have his knee repaired — he is determined to return before the Giants’ season opener at the Dallas Cowboys. While only a fullback, Hynoski’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield has proven to be beneficial for Eli Manning during tough situations. In 2011 — while never rushing the ball — he caught 12 passes for 83 yards. One of said passes was during a Giants’ drive in a Week 17 matchup versus the Cowboys; wherein Hynoski made highlights after leaping over Terrance Newman. Moreover, Hynoski also qualified for one of the more humorous touchdown dances of 2012 — when he used his brow-placed hand to emulate a rhinoceros horn. Hynoski proceeded to buck like a rhino after scoring his only touchdown of the season during a final week demolishing of the Philadelphia Eagles. It was in 2012 where he carried the ball five times for 20 yards. Hynoski’s position is — for better or worse — considered among the more interchangeable in the NFL. After the 2010 season, Hynoski — then an undrafted rookie — replaced the former Giant Madison Hedgecock as the team’s fullback. But, an effective fullback can help the Giants’ offense going into 2013. The Giants rushed for a league median of 116.4 yards per game in 2012 — 14th in the NFL. Moreover, the Giants converted 40.6% of third downs in 2013 — a stat that isn’t terrible, the New England Patriots converted a league-best 48.7% of third downs, but it could be improved upon. If Hynoksi can make a full recovery by the opener, then it will be his job to lead block for David Wilson and Andre Brown so that the two aforementioned backs can help the Giants’ offense achieve a higher third down conversion rate. Hynoski is, by many people’s standards, a quintessential blue-collar football player — a tough fullback who works hard, and has earned the namesake “Hynoceros”. He has recovered from past injuries, such as the one that caused him to go undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft. Time will tell if he is ready for September. 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.

Jim O’Connor — USA Today Sports In all likelihood, the absence of New York Giants’ WR Hakeem Nicks means that his agents have gotten to him, and he’ll be demanding a new contract before the start of the season. This is a legitimate concern for the Giants as they already are dealing with contract negotiations for free agent WR Victor Cruz. Nicks’ absence forced the Giants to re-sign WR Ramses Barden. Barden was a disappointment in his tenure with the Giants. However, his familiarity with the offense and QB Eli Manning makes this a smooth hire. However, these organized team activities are voluntary, so Nicks isn’t really obligated to be there. Cruz isn’t there because he isn’t on an official roster until he signs a deal. Nicks, however, is not a free agent and has gotten head coach Tom Coughlin upset. Manning enjoys continuing to build chemistry with his wide receivers, so Manning isn’t thrilled about this either. However, Manning knows this is a business, so he isn’t complaining. Who knows how long Nicks’ absence will last until. Nicks was in North Carolina with Manning and Cruz when they were working out at Duke University with a couple of players from the Denver Broncos as well. Nicks didn’t give any indication that the contract situation was on his mind. However, we all know that Nicks will probably be looking for a little more than what Cruz will receive. All Manning will do in Nicks’ absence is develop chemistry with WR Reuben Randle and newly acquired WR Louis Murphy, among others. It could only help as they try to get regular playing time. Manning will not be fazed at all.

QB Ryan Nassib - © USA TODAY Sports Images by Optimus-NY for BigBlueInteractive.com May 23, 2013 As a precursor to this article, I recommend reading A Primer on Some Rookie Contract Negotiating Sticking Points, by Jason Fitzgerald at overthecap.com. Jason’s site is the premier source for information on the salary cap. ***** Now, on to Giants business. Five of the Giants’ seven draft picks from last month’s draft have signed contracts with the Giants. They are as follows: 2nd round pick, Johnathan Hankins, DT (Ohio State) 3rd round pick, Damontre Moore , DE (Texas A&M) 5th round pick, Cooper Taylor, S (Richmond) 7th round pick, Michael Cox, RB (Massachusetts) 7th round pick, Eric Herman, OG (Ohio) The players who remain unsigned are as follows: 1st round pick Justin Pugh, OT/OG (Syracuse) 4th round pick Ryan Nassib, QB (Syracuse) What are the issues with the Giants? We should see a quick resolution to remaining unsigned players since their salaries are basically slotted. Jason Fitzgerald points out in the article above that picks 17 to 22 will have only a partially guaranteed salary in the 4th year of their deals. This is applicable to Justin Pugh since he was the 19th overall pick in the first round. The issue with 4th round pick Ryan Nassib will be salary splits. Salary splits are essentially protection for the club if the player in question winds up on Injured Reserve. What happens is that players get paid less than their base salary of $405,000 if they get hurt. It applies differently to players in rounds 3 through 7. The players drafted in round 3 will have less of an issue to deal with regarding splits than their counterparts drafted in round 7. Players drafted in round 7, like Eric Herman (who signed on May 22nd), will have to deal with salary splits for both the full 2013 and 2014 seasons, whereas a player drafted in the 3rd round, like Damontre Moore, will probably only deal with the possibility of a salary split for the preseason of his rookie year, in 2013. Basically, a guy like Moore is in a better position to deal with getting his full salary if he’s injured than a guy like Herman. If a player like Herman gets hurt in the regular season of his rookie year, like last year’s 7th round pick did (Markus Kuhn), the salary split would be in effect. This would mean that he’d get less than his base salary. Jason points out the figure of $288,000 in the article above as the number that a salary would be reduced to if a split is in effect. This is cut and dry with a guy like Herman, which is why his deal didn’t take long to get reached. Herman really had no ground to stand on when it came to negotiating his rookie contract; however, 4th round pick Ryan Nassib, is another issue. Jason points out in the subsection of the article above titled “Split Salaries” that players drafted in the 4th round, like Nassib “should fight hard for only having a split salary in 2013 rather than both years. This doesn’t mean it will happen but it’s worth an extra day or two of “fighting with the team.” This is probably why he hasn’t signed yet. The idea that Nassib probably thinks that he should have been picked in a higher round might also play into his agent’s negotiating with the Giants’ Kevin Abrams regarding salary splits for 2013 and 2014. Nassib’s agent will probably only argue for 2013, whereas the Giants might argue for both 2013 and 2014, or something along those lines. Either way, none of this should linger. I’d be surprised if Herman and Nassib aren’t signed in the next couple of weeks, unless they have issues at school. Pugh’s agent might wait a little before his client signs on the dotted line (sometime in June at the latest), but that shouldn’t be an issue either, especially since he has a good chance to start on this year’s offensive line. Optimus-NY is a self-taught student of the ins and outs of th

My fellow Giants fans worldwide, I have returned from my travels and I am here to comment on the state of our New York Giants. And I say that we are strong. Strong, and we are getting stronger. Why do I make such a bold statement? Because I am drunk. Drunk on that sweet, sweet nectar of ocean blue KoolAid, no doubt spiked with a "not so little" amount of rum. It is May, and we are dragging our feet through the swamp of the offseason. This is the time when every undrafted FA signing is big, where each time an unknown catches a pass in a rather meaningless, padless OTA is the next Victor Cruz. Yes, my friends, it is May. That means that what we think now is assuredly going to be wrong. There will be triumphs and tribulations. So all of this hand-wringing and prediction making is more or less useless. But hey, it is what it is. For me, this means that nothing can stop me from looking at a 16-0 season. Nothing. It's May, what is there to lose? The homer in me is in full bloom. I know that this is likely to not be the case, and there will be troubles, but let's be honest here, we've got enough things to worry about as it is. So drink up, there's enough kool-aid for everyone! DRAFT REVIEW Every year, I do a draft review. A little late this year, but I figured I'd just add it right into the SOTU. Round: 1 Pick: OT Justin Pugh My Grade: C+ How He Fits: I gave this a grade of C+, but consider that I'm grading on a scale where a C is average. So this, for me was an above average pick, but only slightly. I do believe from a pure value standpoint, this is a reach. I had graded Pugh in my final big board as a projected mid 2nd round selection. I don't like reaches. He doesn't make terrible sense in terms of a financial standpoint. RTs don't make that much money. So my first reaction was to be puzzled. However, this selection definitely grew on me. Pugh is probably the 3rd most gifted pass protector in this draft, nipping at the heels of Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher. The one thing that Eli Manning desperately needs on the right side is pass protection. And yes, I project him to be our RT. More on that later. Pugh is also a decent enough run blocker. Check out Nfpdawg's awesome highlight video on him to check out some of the blocks he can dish out. I'm honestly not too worried about his run blocking. David Wilson does an uncanny job of squeezing into the tiniest of windows. Finally, Pugh has that versatility the Giants crave. C, G, T, you name it, he can play it. That will save the Giants both money and roster spots in terms of finding utility linemen. Also, consider this: Pugh is a bit of a finesse lineman. He uses opponent power and momentum to redirect them as opposed to imposing his own will on the defenders. The upside to that? He's going to be quite fresh in the 4th quarter. He'll be playing at a high level because he'll be playing efficiently, and that can only help burgeon Eli's capability to perform heroics at that stage. Round: 2 Pick: DT Jonathan Hankins My Grade: B How He Fits: Big Hank was a nice pick. Another need pick to be sure, but this time the value was right there. The Giants have made sort of a habit of selecting defensive tackles in the 2nd round with mixed results. But Hankins looks like a good one to be sure. He's a powerful, powerful man that can anchor. Probably only he and Mike Patterson are the only good anchors on this team. He'll play 1 tech and can slide into the nose or even 5 tech (played all 3 at OSU) in certain schemes. He's a space eater and a two gapper. He's a pure run stopper with the upside to give you something in the pass rush. His first step is very quick for a man his size, and it allows him to win the leverage battle quite easily. He's an instant upgrade at the backup 1 tech spot and will allow Joseph to take some plays off. That's huge for a team that was beyond awful in run defense. Hankins is, as Reese said, someone who "enjoys doing the dirty work." In my opini

Here are a few links from around SB Nation for your enjoyment this Thursday evening. Robert Griffin III: Redskins Quarterback Hopes to be Ready for Training Camp - Hogs HavenRedskins quarterback Robert Griffin III says explosive sprinting and cutting will come in the next couple of weeks, and that he hopes to be ready for training camp on July 25. Ron Jaworski says Chip Kelly's offense won't work - Bleeding Green NationRon Jaworski was a guest of 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week and talked about his level of optimism for the Chip Kelly era. Prepare yourselves... it's not very high. Cowboys 4-3 Defense: Which Players Are The Worst Fits? - Blogging The BoysAs the Cowboys begins OTAs, reports are coming out about certain players who pundits think will excel in the new scheme. This begs the question: which holdovers on defense are least likely to excel? Who are the worst fits for the new scheme? Michael Crabtree injury: How would a major injury affect Arizona Cardinals WR corp? - Revenge of the BirdsWith Crabtree down for the Niners, how would things look if Larry Fitzgerald were to suffer a similar serious injury? Brian Urlacher retirement: Is he a first-ballot Hall of Famer? - SBNation.comBrian Urlacher called it a career on Wednesday and his next stop should be Canton, but will he make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot? Mark Sanchez: Anonymous Player Says 80-90 Percent of Team Wants Somebody Else at Quarterback - Gang Green NationOur old friend, anonymous, has popped up again with comments about Mark Sanchez per Mike Freeman. This from a Jets player, who asked not to be identified: "Everyone on the team likes Mark personally but there's a general feeling among some of the players that maybe it's time to give someone else a chance." The player went on to say that he estimates that 80-90 percent of the team feels the same way he does. Sean Payton surpasses Bill Belichick as highest paid U.S. coach - SBNation.comBill Belichick might be the best coach in the NFL, but he's no longer the highest paid, according to Forbes.

Henry Hynoski is set to undergo surgery Friday on his injured left leg, but he plans to play in the New York Giants' season opener. The fullback injured his MCL and suffered a chip fracture in his knee.