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.
4
Oct
2010
Hit Of The Week: New York Giants Defense sacks Bears (VIDEO)
Jay Cutler got knocked into next week by the Giants D (Photo: Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
We’ve started a new tradition every week here at ReadAndReact by bringing you the Hit of the Week! We’ll find the most brutal tackle (or block) from each weekend of NFL games, and present it for your viewing pleasure.
We don’t need to wait until Tuesday for this … the New York Giants defense showed up in a big way Sunday night, collecting 10 sacks en route to a 17-3 win over the previously unbeaten Bears. Chicago QB Jay Cutler was taken down 9 times in the first half alone, leaving the game at halftime with a concussion (and probably wet pants). A lot of the sacks were due to blanket coverage from the New York secondary, with Cutler hanging onto the ball far too long, especially in Mike Martz’ rhythm offense. His replacement, Todd Collins, was knocked out later in the 4th quarter as the Giants put the game away.
The Bears managed only 110 yards of total offense with 6 first downs in the game, and were shutout completely on 3rd down, going a pathetic 0-for-13. Cutler passed for 42 yards in the first half, but lost 55 yards on sacks, giving the Bears only 22 yards of net offense for the first 30 minutes. But the stars of the game were the NY front seven, who dominated up front, sending the Bears quarterbacks running for their lives and eventually the training room. Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora each collected 3 sacks as the Giants improved to 2-2 (tied for the NFC East lead), and saved Tom Coughlin’s job for at least another week.
One other interesting point was made by Shutdown Corner, who noted that perhaps Cutler’s bad night was a touch karmic fate. As you’ll notice in the highlights, neither he nor the Bears O-lineman were wearing Pink on their uniforms as part of the NFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. Shame on you, boys for not supporting second base. Karma is a sonofabitch, huh?
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GIANTS vs BEARS AFTER THE JUMP
7
Dec
2009
Flozell Adams is an unqualified “dirtbag”
Cowboys OT Flozell Adams and Giants DL Justin Tuck have a long and heated rivalry, as two pro-bowl players who face off twice a year in the fierce NFC East. Earlier this season in the teams’ first match-up, Adams injured Tuck when he blatantly tripped him after getting beat, prompting Tuck to say that he would “punish” Adams the next time they met. And there’s no doubt that he and the NY defensive line came to play … but within the rules.
Yesterday, Adams continued to prove himself as a classless punk when he took a cheap shot on Tuck while his back was turned at the end of the first half, which sparked a sideline altercation when the Giants stepped in to defend their teammate. Strangely, Adams went un-penalized, but the play is now under review by the NFL, who will undoubtedly be handing out a fine.
Here’s video of the incident, including Adams’ previous indiscretions along with Tuck’s post-game comments, in which he pulls no punches in calling Adams a “dirtbag”:
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.
