27
Apr
2012
Giants Fans: check out this David Wilson highlight reel (VIDEO)
The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants surprised some people by selecting Virginia Tech RB David Wilson with the #32 overall pick, to finish off the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.
(AP Photo/Dave Martin via CBSNews.com))
After saying goodbye to Brandon Jacobs after the season, and with Ahmad Bradshaw‘s nagging foot problems, GM Jerry Reese said it was “a pretty easy pick for us” in selecting Wilson:
“He’s a terrific football player,’’ Reese said. “This guy loves to play football. He can do anything you want him to do. He’s a good piece to add to our running back stable.’’
Tampa Bay had jumped ahead of NY to snag Boise State RB Doug Martin with the 31st pick (who many had projected as going to NY), but Reese said Wilson was the number two running back on their board, behind only #3 overall pick Trent Richardson.
Wilson – who rushed for a school record 1,709 yards last season – brings tremendous speed and game-breaking ability to New York. He is expected to contribute right away as a kick returner, and split time with Bradshaw in the backfield, where he sees himself as a “mix of Ray Rice and Arian Foster”.
DAVID WILSON 2011-12 HIGHLIGHTS AND BACKFLIP CONTEST AFTER THE JUMP
3
Apr
2012
New Nike NFL uniforms look pretty much the same (PHOTOS)
After much hype and build-up, the NFL unveiled new uniforms from Nike for all 32 teams today … and aside from the Seattle Seahawks, your favorite team will pretty much look the same next year.
(Photo: Nike)
There had been some concern among fans that Nike was going to redesign every team’s uniform to look like the Oregon Ducks, but in general the changes are barely perceptible.
The biggest change across the board is to the collar, where Nike added their “Flywire” design which supposedly helps keep the collar flat against the pads, and some teams have included a two-tone color scheme to go along with it. There are some other updates to the construction, fit, fabric and color shadings that I’m sure are huge differences to the uni-geeks over at Nike, but nothing the average fan would really notice.
The fine folks at uni-watch.com have a detailed team-by-team breakdown of changes to the uniform, and you can VIEW UP-CLOSE PHOTOS OF ALL 32 NEW UNIFORMS HERE.
It turns out the Packers, Raiders, Eagles, Falcons and Panthers passed entirely on the opportunity to update their unis, essentially rejecting Nike’s proposed modifications. But the Seahawks decided to go for it, re-vamping their color scheme to include neon green and updating the helmet logo for a completely new look. You can check out more detailed photos of the Seahawks uniform at this gallery, but it’s not nearly as bad as some people are making it out to be (photo below).
29
Mar
2012
Check out the Giants new Super Bowl Ring (Photo)
UPDATE: Justin Tuck tweeted that the ring design is not final yet … so this might not be the finished product.
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Via back-up linebacker Clint Sintim, comes this image of the Giants Super Bowl XLVI Ring, featuring all 4 Lombardi Trophies the franchise has won:
Not too shabby. Apparently Sintim jumped the gun with his Twitter post, and an official statement from the team is expected later today.
27
Feb
2012
Giants fans, re-live the 2012 Super Bowl run with these awesome highlight packages (VIDEO)
Jacquian Williams entered Giants history with this forced fumble (Image via Sportsgrid.com)
Earlier this year, we posted a tremendous NY Giants 2011 regular season highlight reel from Youtube user gocolts123456789100, that stood head and shoulders above the average fan-made video. And ever since the Giants wrapped up Super Bowl XLVI, we have been anxiously awaiting his follow-up installment, prior to posting any post-season wrap-up videos.
Well, the new highlight reel of the Giants Super Bowl run is up, and once again our man didn’t disappoint, with another superbly-edited piece, set to perfectly apropos background music – this time, “NY NY” by B.o.B. It’s a great way for Giants fans to re-live the emotion of the team’s improbable yet impressive run through the NFC playoffs, with emotional wins over the Falcons, 49ers and Packers, and ultimately defeating the Patriots to hoist the Lombardi trophy.
And if you’re looking for something more in-depth, we also found this remarkable, 44-minute highlight package covering the entire playoff run in chronological order (starting with the Week 15 victory over the Cowboys) and with painstaking detail, which we’ve embedded below as well.
VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP
23
Feb
2012
Watch Eli Manning cheat at pick-up football as a kid (VIDEO)
An early version of the now-classic Eli Manning face
This Manning home video - in all its 80′s VHS glory – has been on YouTube since 2009, but we hadn’t seen it until recently, and it’s a pretty fantastic slice of football history.
Watch young Eli Manning playing a game of pick-up football at his home in New Orleans, with his family looking on. It appears to be a birthday party of some sort, with Eli and his friends participating in one of the least-organized games you’ll ever see. Father Archie is the cameraman, brother Peyton is the ref, and mother Olivia is barely paying attention as Eli refuses to play two-hand touch, and cheats his way around the football field.
But it’s worth noting the two-time Super Bowl MVP’s preternatural leadership qualities on display at an early age (he’s clearly the one in charge out there), as well as the play where Eli goes down on the concrete part of the driveway, and simply brushes himself off as he gets back up and resumes playing. And then there’s the now-infamous Eli Manning face, as seen in the banner pic above. Some things never change.
Eventually, Archie steps in at all-time QB to bring some sanity to the proceedings (with Peyton taking over camera duties), delivering a touchdown strike to Eli before the video cuts out. But not before we get a small taste of what life growing up in the Manning household was like.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
14
Feb
2012
Read Ernie Accorsi’s 2002 scouting report of Eli Manning, in its entirety
(Photo: Getty Images via SI.com)
The run that Eli Manning and the New York Giants put together this post-season was nothing short of remarkable, and after earning his second Super Bowl MVP, Manning has officially entered the pantheon of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks. For Giants fans, Manning’s success is vindication for the now-legendary 2004 draft day trade that brought Eli to New York instead of guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers … it’s like we’ve watched him grow up before our very eyes and finally become the franchise quarterback we always hoped he could be.
But even the most pro-Eli fans in the world would admit to periods of doubt while watching Manning struggle through his early growing pains. The most memorable example was after his fourth NFL start as a rookie against the fearsome Baltimore Ravens, when Ray Lewis and Ed Reed turned young Eli into a quivering mess on the field, going 4 of 18 for 27 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions: a 0.0 passer rating. Many people thought it would be the end of little brother, but he ended up bouncing back the following week in a showdown against Big Ben, earning is teammates respect, and leading the Giants on what would become the first of many 4th quarter comebacks in the final game of the season against Dallas. There was something about this kid, after all.
Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi – the man who pulled the trigger on that fateful draft day trade – saw something special in Eli all the way back in 2002, when he was just a junior at Ole Miss. That November, Accorsi went to Oxford, Missisippi to watch Manning take on Jason Campbell and the heavily favored Auburn Tigers … and what he saw on that day changed Giants franchise history forever.
From Accorsi’s summary:
Throws the ball, takes the hit, gets right back up… Has courage and poise. In my opinion, most of all, he has that quality you can’t define. Call it magic. As [former Baltimore Colts defensive back] Bobby Boyd told me once about Unitas, “Two things set him apart: his left testicle and his right testicle.”…
Read Accorsi’s entire scouting report from the game below, as re-printed from Tom Callahan’s book The GM: The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares That Go With It.
Manning's poise under fire helped lift NY past the 49ers for the NFC Championship (Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images via NBCSports.com)
With the benefit of hindsight, and after watching Eli pull out comeback after comeback for his team as a pro, Accorsi’s assessment of Manning from almost ten years ago is insanely accurate and prescient. The traits he identified during one college game – courage, poise, toughness and that indefinable “magic” – are exactly what have allowed Eli to succeed in the NFL, almost down to the play (like the streaking pass down the left sideline, dropped perfectly over the shoulder of his receiver … sound familiar?).
It’s a report that will go down in Giants lore as a treasured historical document, to be marveled at by generations of football fans to come. And it makes Accorsi look like a freakin’ genius.
READ THE FULL SCOUTING REPORT AFTER THE JUMP
10
Feb
2012
New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI Graphic Novel (PICS)
As a tribute to his beloved New York Giants, user Chris in Philly of BigBlueInteractive.com has taken to creating graphic novels representing each of the team’s recent playoff wins. A few weeks ago, we posted parts 1 & 2 of the novel which presented the Giants victories over the Packers and 49ers in the form of Eli Manning‘s comic book-stylized journal.
So ever since their impressive victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, we’ve been patiently waiting for CiP’s next masterpiece … and he didn’t disappoint, delivering not one but TWO new pages representing both the championship game and the parade that greeted the Giants upon their return home (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
(Artwork: Chris in Philly via BigBlueInteractive)
FINAL CHAPTER AFTER THE JUMP
9
Feb
2012
Super Bowl XLVI is even more thrilling mic’d up (UPDATED w/VIDEO)
Manning makes the throw of his life (Photo: NFL.com)
As always, the NFL Films crew was in full force at Super Bowl XLVI, capturing all the sights and sounds of the world’s biggest game as only they can. For this game, the Sound FX team had WR Victor Cruz and LB Michael Boley mic’d up for the Giants, and QB Tom Brady and DT Vince Wilfork wired for the Pats. And the result is every bight as insightful and exciting as you’d expect it to be.
Here are the links to watch the entire Sound FX program on NFL.com: PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4
A few of the more interesting moments from the broadcast:
- Justin Tuck’s pre-game speech inspiring his teammates who have yet to win a Super Bowl to reach for their ring (which possibly inspired the team’s now-famous post-game “I got a ring” celebration)
- Patriots owner Robert Kraft asking to look into Tom Brady’s eyes before the game to see if he has “the look”, and Brady responding “I got it today. I’ve had it for three days”
- Victor Cruz pre-game: “Super Bowl 46 … I used to think it was all about me, and what I could do. It’s all about this team, man.”
- Wes Welker: “I’m open on every play.” Brady: “I know you are, man. I know you are.”
- Brady, following the intentional grounding call that resulted in a safety on the first offensive play of the game
“I looked at Gronk, I looked to Wes, he dropped, then I felt him, I had no place to throw it away. I threw it over his head. I didn’t want to throw an interception.”
- On Cruz’ fumble/non-fumble in the first quarter, when the Patriots were flagged for 12 men on the field, the Giants saw it all the way, urging Manning to snap the ball to catch New England for a free play
- After Jason Pierre-Paul knocks down a Brady pass, the QB says to Welker on the sideline: “It’s like throwing in a forest, dude, those f*ing guys arms are like…”
- When Giants Kevin Boothe was called for holding Vince Wilfork in the 2nd quarter, nullifying a big first down and ultimately killing the drive. Immediately, the referee asks the official who thew the flag “You’re good with it? I thought he spun off of it”, which Wilfork later confirms, saying “That was a bad call”.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
8
Feb
2012
Watch these Giants fans react to winning the Super Bowl (VIDEO)
So it seems that the trend of fans recording themselves while watching the final moments of a championship game continued on Sunday, with Giants fans everywhere looking to preserve their viewing memories of Super Bowl XLVI – good or bad – for all the internet to see. Fortunately for these fans, Brady’s last-second hail mary fell harmlessly to the turf, sealing New York’s fourth Super Bowl championship in franchise history, and sending legions of Giants fans around the world into fits of hysterical joy.
This compilation of reaction shots goes on a bit long, but it’s still fun to re-live the final seconds (as well as the emotional post-game celebration) through the eyes of these passionate fans.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
7
Feb
2012
Jimmy Kimmel challenges viewers to unplug TV during their Super Bowl party, with predictable results (VIDEO)
(Image via Youtube.com)
Jimmy Kimmel has gained some internet notoriety recently by challenging his viewers to pull cruel and unusual pranks on their children, video tape the results and post them to YouTube. The resulting “I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy” and “I gave my kids a terrible present” were hilarious. Downright mean, but hilarious.
Well, for Super Bowl Sunday, Kimmel set his sights on the adults of America, challenging folks to unplug their television set during a crucial moment of the game (preferably at a large viewing party), and record the reaction for our viewing enjoyment. Predictably, the prank was not very well-received … but surprisingly, no severe beatings or hospitalizations were reported:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
