17
Dec
2011
Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz aren’t even on the Pro Bowl fan ballot
(Photo: NYDailyNews.com)
If you’d like to add your vote for this year’s Pro Bowl (one of sports’ least exciting all-star games), fans can do so through this Monday, 12/19 via the official ballot at NFL.com. And if you’re a Giants fan (or a particularly astute fantasy geek) you might notice two glaring omissions from the candidates at defensive end and wide receiver … namely, DE Jason Pierre Paul and WR Victor Cruz, who have each had breakout seasons at their respective positions for New York.
Pierre-Paul is currently 5th in the NFL with 12.5 sacks, while Cruz is 3rd in the league in receiving yards with 1,150, but neither are eligible for your votes to go to Hawaii. According to the Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News, JPP and Cruz are victims of an antiquated voting system, and both were left off the ballot by the Giants organization, who were forced to make some difficult decisions based on the sheer volume of talent they have at certain positions:
Teams are only allowed a certain number of players at each position – two defensive ends and two receivers, for example. In some cases, there are other categories, such as a “flex” spot for either a running back or a receiver.
Since the Giants had to submit their players before October 25th, they put Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora as their two DEs, and Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham as their two WRs. For the flex position, they chose Brandon Jacobs after giving the RB slot to Ahmad Bradshaw.
26
Dec
2010
Giants fall apart with SIX turnovers in Green Bay
Yes Eli, something does stink ... hint, it's you (Photo: NJ.com)
Well, I guess we know how last week’s loss to the Eagles – now being referred to as “The Crumble” – affected the New York Giants. With a chance to clinch a wild card spot in the NFC, Tom Coughlin’s club unraveled today in Green Bay, committing SIX turnovers (2 fumbles, 4 INTs) en route to a 45-15 beating at the hands of the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers was the star of the day with a season-high 404 yards and 4 TDs, as the Packers QB found receivers running free in the Giants defensive secondary all day long. Once praised as one of the best coordinators in the league, Perry Fewell‘s defense has been exposed in the past few weeks. And today New York followed up last week’s collapse by allowing over 500 yards to an opposing offense for the first time in 30 years. There was almost no pressure on from the vaunted Giants defensive front, and with time to find his receivers, Rodgers made it look easy out there. It really felt like Green Bay could move the ball down the field and score at will.
But for New York, the story of the game was the turnovers. Led by Eli Manning’s four interceptions, the Giants seemed to shoot themselves in the foot every chance they got. Both Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw chipped in with a fumble a piece, but Manning set the tone with a bad interception in the first quarter that helped Green Bay jump out to an early 14-0 lead. From there, it was a comedy of errors for the Giants, who essentially crapped the bed with their playoff destiny in their own hands.
Despite all this, the 9-6 Giants still have a chance to make the post-season (with a lot of help from other teams) … but let’s face it, this team is dead in the water. For the second year in a row, Tom Coughlin’s team got off to a great start in the first half of the season and fell apart when it mattered most. Meanwhile, with the victory, the Packers (also 9-6) can clinch a wild card berth with a win at home against NFC North champion Chicago next week.
20
Sep
2010
Brandon Jacobs will ask Giants to be traded; apologizes for helmet toss
Brandon Jacobs somehow managed to lose the Manning Bowl by himself (Image via KissingSuzyKolber)
In the aftermath of last night’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Giants are dealing with a cloud of controversy surrounding RB Brandon Jacobs.
First off, during the third quarter of the game, Jacobs became a center of attention after his helmet somehow ended up ten rows deep in the Indianapolis stands (image above). Now this morning, reports suggest that Jacobs is meeting with Giants management today to ask to be traded. Possibly so he can go to Indy to be reunited with that raven-haired beauty who nearly got hit by his helmet.
This could signal quite a fall for the short-tempered Jacobs, who started the last 3 seasons at starting RB for the Giants, but was relegated to the back-up slot behind Ahmad Bradshaw for last night’s game. His performance (4 carries, 8 yards), along with a poor decision to try and bounce a run to the outside, resulted in a shouting match with coach Tom Coughlin on the sidelines. Afterward, Jacobs tried to throw his helmet toward the wall behind the visitors’ bench … he missed and it ended up sailing into the stands. Afterward, Jacobs apologized:
“I was a little mad, but to be honest with you, it was a mistake,” Jacobs said. “It got caught onto the sticky leather of my gloves.
“I did not mean to do that and everybody who knows me knows I did not mean to do something like that. The whole world could fall down on me and I wouldn’t have done anything like that. I apologize to Indy, first of all, and their fans, our organization. It’s just something that happened that shouldn’t have happened.”
Regardless of the helmet issue, Jacobs is clearly unhappy with his diminishing role in New York. But he can complain all he wants, because it’s not likely that Jacobs – who is in the second year of a new 4-year contract – is going anywhere soon. That contract is scheduled to pay Jacobs $4.65 million in 2011 and $4.9 million in 2012, so the Giants will have a hard time finding teams willing to take that on. Jacobs should worry more about running north-south and using that big body of his to drive a pile … if he does that, the rest will take care of itself.
More of this, Brandon ... and less of the helmet tossing
VIDEO OF JACOBS HELMET IN THE STANDS AFTER THE JUMP
22
Dec
2009
VIDEO: Brandon Jacobs vs Albert Haynesworth
Last night’s Giants/Redskins game was pretty much over before it started, with the Giants dominating from the opening kickoff to remain in contention for the final NFC wild card spot.
One of the more contentious moments of the evening came at the start of the 4th quarter, when most people had probably already stopped watching. The teams got into a bit of a fracas, ultimately ending with punches being thrown by both Giants RB Brandon Jacobs and Redksins DT Albert Haynesworth. Predictably, the fight starts when DeAngelo Hall goes at Jacobs after the whistle (hmmm … where have I seen that before?). After Hall gets dumped to the ground, Haynesworth runs in to defend his teammate, swinging wildly at anyone who gets in his way. Meanwhile, Jacobs takes a boxers stance and squares off with both Hall and Haynesworth.
Enjoy the MMA action:
Now, clearly both players should have been penalized (not just Haynesworth), and there’s no doubt that Jacobs will receive a fine from the NFL. But these are two of the biggest, baddest men in the game today, and there was definitely something thrilling about watching them go toe-to-toe with one another.
It’s too bad that was the most fight the Redskins showed all night.
6
Dec
2009
Brandon Jacobs tip-toes his way to 74-yd TD
The New York Football Giants finally showed signs of life in completing a season sweep of the Dallas Cowboys, and put themselves right back into the playoff hunt with a 31-24 win at the Meadowlands this afternoon.
During the Giants’ recent slide, Giants RB Brandon Jacobs has been criticized for tip-toeing at the line of scrimmage, and not running with the straight-ahead power that he’s known for. And while he only had 39 yards rushing, Jacobs reached the end zone twice, including on this critical play toward the end of the 3rd quarter. Manning hits Jacobs in the flats and he goes 74-yards to the house for a go-ahead score. Watch the burst of speed in the open field, and then watch Jacobs use those very same tip-toeing skills along the sideline to keep himself in bounds and finish off the run:
21
Sep
2009
Jerry Jones picks a loser, Giants spoil Cowboys Stadium debut
The Giants WRs don't scare anyone, but Mario Manningham sure enjoyed the new Cowboys Stadium (Photo: NFL.com)
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said he hand-picked the Giants to be the first team to christen his new $1.2 billion dollar stadium. Ummm … that might have been a mistake. The opening night of “Jerry World” was spoiled in grand fashion last night by the New York Football Giants, who defeated the Cowboys 33-31 on a last-second FG by Lawrence Tynes.
It was a back-and-forth contest, in which Dallas QB Tony Romo was intercepted 3 times, and New York won the turnover battle 4-0. But the Giants stalled inside the red zone repeatedly, settling for FGs instead of TDs and making the score much closer than it could have been. But in the end, Romo was completely out-played by Eli Manning, who found his WRs in Mario Manningham (10 catches, 150 yds, 1 TD) and Steve Smith (10 catches 134 yds, 1 TD), and calmly led the Giants on a last-minute drive to win the game.
And while everyone has been talking about the Jumbotron (which was a non-factor last night), perhaps the more intriguing in-game entertainment option provided at Cowboys Stadium is the presence of cage dancers at one end of the stadium. Apparently the dancers are positioned right above the standing-room-only “Party Plazas”, to give those tickets more of a strip club feel to them. So that’s classy.
Unfortunately for Jerrah, fancy stadiums and exotic dancers don’t win football games, and their golden boy QB failed miserably once again when put to the test in a big game.
In other news, Justin Tuck is scheduled to get an MRI today to check out his injured shoulder, but says that he’s “fine”, and will play next week. The All-Pro DT was hurt when Flozell Adams blatantly stuck out his foot and tripped Tuck, after being beaten at the line of scrimmage.
12
Sep
2009
Reminder: Pro Football is a violent sport
Here we sit on the eve of the first Sunday of the 2009 NFL season, and we’re as giddy as kids on Christmas eve. So, to help everyone get in the right frame of mind, we present the hardest hits in NFL History for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy:
Complex.com was also good enough to compile their list (w/videos) of the 50 Most Brutal NFL hits. While the list features some shaky video quality, has some notable omissions, and is heavily weighted toward recent years (probably due to video availability), we highly recommend taking the time to scroll through the videos to get yourself fired up for the season. (WARNING: There are quite a few videos of graphic injuries included)
Here are a few more of our favorites:
Brandon Jacobs – NY Giants
MORE NFL HARD HITS AFTER THE JUMP
11
Jun
2009
Brandon Jacobs gets into boxing … as a manager
Brandon Jacobs would not be pleasant to face in the ring
Tim Smith of the New York Daily News tells us that Giants RB Brandon Jacobs has been pursuing one of his other passions in his free time: boxing.
Jacobs, who is known for pummeling defenders on Sundays in the NFL, spent time as an amateur boxer in his home state of Louisiana, and has never lost his love for the sport. But rather than enter the ring himself and risk his primary source of income, Jacobs will be getting into the business side of the sport as a manager:
“I’ve been wanting to get into the business after I was done playing,” Jacobs said. “If I didn’t fight, I wanted to get into the promotion business, but I hear from people that’s a lot of headaches. So I wanted to do something that was more personable with the fighters.”
Jacobs’ first management client is his long-time friend, and former WBO junior welterweight champion, Kendall Holt. Showtime recently did a feature of Jacobs & Holt, as a preview to one of Holt’s championship fights. Pretty good stuff:
Jacobs and Holt
Interestingly enough, not only did Holt lose his title to Timothy Bradley in that match (bringing his record to 25-3), but since then he plead guilty to a money laundering charge in New Jersey. The laundering charge stemmed from drug deals made by his previous manager, Henry Cortes, so if nothing else, Jacobs should at least be a better influence on Holt’s career than Cortes was. As you can tell from the clip, the man loves his money!
Despite Holt’s issues, Jacobs has developed ties with Top Rank Promotions, who – as the vulture boxing promoters they are – see the potential income from an NFL tie-in.
From the Daily News piece:
Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions said if Jacobs helps the Giants get to another Super Bowl this upcoming season he will do a boxing promotion the day before the game.
“I’d love to play in the Super Bowl and then I’d love to fight for a (boxing) title the next day,” Jacobs said.
Allow me to just say that I wouldn’t want to face Jacobs in the boxing ring.
26
Apr
2009
Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!
New Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno and family enjoy a relaxing draft Saturday. Photo: Kissing Suzy Kolber
And so it continues. Day 2 of the NFL Draft. From 10am-6pm ET we’ll get rounds 3-7, and then the Free Agency feeding frenzy will begin. These later rounds are loaded with impact players, and since the price tags are so much more reasonable, this is where teams really build out their roster. As Trey Wingo so cleverly said yesterday, “Day 1 is the Sizzle, Day 2 is the Steak”.
Need proof?
Here’s our list of the Top 10 Late-round Draft Gems:
Colston was a final round pick in the 2006 draft
- Tom Brady – 6th Round (199th overall)
- Hines Ward – 3rd Round (82nd overall)
- Adalius Thomas – 6th Round (186th overall)
- TJ Houshmandzadeh – 7th Round (204th overall)
- Asante Samuel – 4th Round (120 overall)
- Marques Colston – 7th Round (252 overall)
- Steve Smith (CAR) – 3rd Round (74 overall)
- Brian Westbrook – 3rd Round (91 overall)
- Marion Barber III – 4th Round (109th overall)
- Brandon Jacobs – 4th Round (110th overall)
And here are a few more links to get you ready for the action today:
- NFL.com’s Gil Brandt lists the top-ranked players still available for Day 2
- ESPN.com’s John Clayton lists 10 things we learned on Day 1 of the NFL Draft
- Kissing Suzy Kolber has an awesome video of Jets fans freaking out over the Mark Sanchez pick, along with some great Day 1 screen shots.
- Blatant Homerism picks their Day 2 Steals of the Draft.
