GIANTS RELEASE ANTONIO PIERCE

Courtesy of The Huffington Post:
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One of the worst defensive seasons in New York Giants history claimed another victim – middle linebacker Antonio Pierce.

The Giants on Thursday released the 31-year-old veteran who quarterbacked the defense for the past five years in a tenure that included four trips to the playoffs and a Super Bowl victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots in February 2008.

Pierce's status with the team was put into question this season when he suffered a neck injury, forcing him to miss the final seven games of the season, a year in which the Giants surrendered 427 points.

Defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan and defensive line coach Mike Waufle were fired after the season and Pierce, who signed a $26 million contract as a free agent in 2005, was let go a month later.

Pierce also had one major off-the-field problem with the Giants. He drove a wounded Plaxico Burress to the hospital in November 2008 after the star receiver shot himself in a New York City nightclub and then took Burress' unlicensed gun back to New Jersey.

A grand jury opted not to indict him this past summer, but the incident, which led to Burress being sent to prison, was a burden for Pierce and the team for almost a year, even though Giants president John Mara openly defended Pierce.

For most of his time, Pierce was an outstanding football player for the Giants. He led the team in tackles three times, was a three-year captain, a Pro Bowler in 2006 and one of the inspirational leaders of the squad that did not have a losing season in his five years.

"When we brought him in here we were interested in A.P. for all of the dimensions he brought to the table his leadership qualities, his natural charismatic ability to rally the troops, he loved football, he's a very smart football player he took great pride in studying the tape and knowing what everybody did on defense," Coach Tom Coughlin said, adding Pierce "has worn that Giant uniform very, very proudly."

Pierce talked to Coughlin on Wednesday and met with general manager Jerry Reese on Thursday, when he was told that he was being let go.

"I appreciate everything the Giants organization has done for me," Pierce said. "I told both Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese when I sat in front of them that I have no animosity, I have no anger. It's nowhere near that kind of situation. You might not agree with everything that's said, but you understand how the game is. It comes and goes."

Second-year pro Jonathan Goff started at middle linebacker after Pierce was hurt, although Chase Blackburn has also played the position for New York.

Pierce said winning the Super Bowl was his proudest moment from a team standpoint, while having the respect of his fellow players was his personal highlight.

"When I came to New York I wanted to be a dominant player and help this organization win a championship, which we did in Super Bowl XLII," Pierce said. "I wanted to be a leader and I did that and was voted a captain for three years and another two years when we didn't have captains and I was still out there. I wanted to be a guy who always led by example, a guy you could count on every day. You never had to worry if A.P. was going to be at practice or if he was going to show up for the game. I was going to be there."

Pierce still feels he can play, adding his neck injury should not be a problem if he wants to play a 10th NFL season.

"A.P. came right in and took the bull by the horns from day one and was very instrumental in helping the New York Giants win a lot of games and accomplishing a lot of our goals during his time here," Reese said. "He has been an outstanding Giant and we wish him nothing but the best for his family and future."

Pierce finished his final season with the Giants with 51 tackles (31 solo), three tackles for losses, a sack, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. His five-year totals with the Giants were 537 tackles (322 solo), seven sacks, six forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and four interceptions. Pierce also had 44 postseason tackles (28 solo).

An undrafted free agent, Pierce played his first four seasons with the Washington Redskins.

"I have nothing but very strong love for the New York Giants," Pierce said. "Obviously, I wanted to end it when my contract ended, but it didn't. It ended a year early. But I have no regrets. I have nothing to look back on and wish I had done it differently. Now it's time to look forward at the possibilities that I have."

GIANTS: WE'LL BE BACK IN 2010...

Well, the Saints defeated the Colts last 31-17 in the Super Bowl 44, and now the flukiest season in NFL history if finally , completely over! When I say "flukiest", im not just saying that because im a New York giants fan and they didn't make the playoffs, im saying that because its the truth. I say it as a football fan, not a Giants fan.

2009 gave us a NFL season where the Jets made the AFC Championship after beating the Bengles and Super Bowl favorite Chargers in the playoffs, the Patriots lost to the Ravens in the playoffs, The Steelers, probably 1 of the top 3 teams in the AFC, missed the playoffs, Giants miss the playoffs after Eli Manning passed for 4000 yds for the first time, and Steve Smith was the franchise's first Pro Bowl receiver, after 44 years, one of the NFL's most historically terrible teams, the Saints, beat the heavily favored Colts to win the Super Bowl, and last AND least, the Cowgirls won a playoff game! Now, show me 1 non-fluke event on that list...didn't think so!

So now that the Super Bowl has been played, and all the fake bandwagon fans found the Saints' dicks to ride until next year, this season is over and every team is 0-0 with a clean slate.

My New York Giants are regrouping, fixing the defense and coaching situations, and preparing to once again stomp their way back to the top of NFC, and then ultimatley the top of the NFL mountain! God, I can't wait! These 7 months of no NFL football will suck.

And on a final note, you fucking fake-ass, dick riding, so-called fans that are NOT from louisiana, STOP saying "who dat''! You sound SO fucking retarded!!!!!!!!!

GIANTS 4 LIFE!

UMENYIORA SAYS HE'LL QUIT IF HE DOESN'T START NEXT SEASON

COURTESY OF BIGBLUEINTERACTIVE.COM

Umenyiora Says He Will Quit Football If He Doesn’t Start: DE Osi Umenyiora said yesterday on WFAN that if he does not start in 2010, he will quit football.

“I’m not going to be a back up player, I can promise you that,” said Umenyiora. “I’ll stop playing football before I do that ever again. This has been just the worst offseason of my entire life. I can’t even think of a time when things were this bad during the offseason. You’re supposed to be relaxing, but I can’t relax because all I can think of is the things that took place last season, you understand? So for me it’s not something that I’m going to do. If I’m asked to come back there and do that then I’ll just stop playing football.”

Umenyiora was benched during the 2009 season in favor of DE Mathias Kiwanuka. After the season, one of Umenyiora’s biggest supporters, defensive line coach Mike Waufle, was fired. It’s obviously been an emotional period for the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end who struggled last season.

Umenyiora said he has wondered if his time with the Giants is over. “Did it go through my mind? Obviously, yes,” said Umenyiora. “Obviously you come through a situation where you’ve been here for a long time and you’ve won Super Bowls, you’ve been to the Pro Bowl a couple of times, then things like that start happening, you start being benched and they say you’re coming in on the third down rush, I think it almost seemed like the writing was on the wall at that particular time. I felt like I had worn out my welcome, because for certain people, no matter what happens, they’ll never take them out of the lineup, you understand what I mean? So I felt that way. I felt like maybe it was my last year because of that situation. But you never know man. I hope it’s not. I hope things can be rectified and things can be resolved. But we’ll see.”

According to The Daily News, unidentified Giants’ team sources have said the Giants have no intention of trading or releasing Umenyiora, who is currently signed through the 2012 season.

Umenyiora’s old teammate, Michael Strahan, thinks Umenyiora and the Giants will be fine. “He’ll be back, he’ll be a Giant, he’ll play extremely well next year, I have no doubt in that. Because I know he has too much pride and he has too much talent not to,” Strahan said. “Next season will be a year in which I expect him to do big things because now that knee injury will really be behind him and he can make the mark that he’s made in his previous seasons.”

“I have a lot of love for the team,” said Umenyiora. “I love the Giants. I’ve been there my entire career and I’d love to stay there. I’m under contract with them until 2012 so I can’t sit over here and say with any degree of confidence that I’m not going to be there next year.”

Umenyiora continues to insist he did not have a problem with former Giants’ defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, who was fired after the season. “Me and Bill had that one problem, we talked about it, we figured it out,” Umenyiora said. “Throughout the whole season, me and Bill didn’t have another problem at all. It’s surprising to me sometimes when I read some of these things that we butted heads throughout the whole season and we were at odds, because after that one incident me and him didn’t have one problem the rest of the season…You can’t blame the defensive coordinator. Obviously he made some bad calls, but if he had the players in place I think you can make up for that. But as team we just didn’t play well at all.”

MONSTERS OF THE MEADOWLANDS: A SHORT LOOK BACK

Now that I look back, it seems like every defensive player for the New York Giants was a pro-bowler. Yeah, maybe im being a tad bit bias, but those 80's & 90's Giant defenses were good, and in a few of those seasons, great!

To this day I still have the majority of the starter's names, weight, height, number, and college permanently embedded in my brain. It comes in handy for a lenghty Giants football conversation, or for remaking the squads on Madden.

Just say the names to yourself and notice how "all-proish" they sound... Harry Carson, Pepper Johnson, Carl Banks, Gary Reasons, George Martin, Leonard Marshall, Jim Burt, Mark Collins, Greg Jackson, Everson Walls, Myron Guyton and of course (I saved the greatest for last) Superman himself, the legendary Lawrence Taylor!

After experiencing the disaster that was this '09 Giants defense was, these names sound even better. But I still think this season was a fluke, and our New York Giants' defense will bounce back to being a superpower it once was. I posted a few videos to relive some classic moments that this past defense has blessed us fans with. If you're a TRUE New York Giants Fan like me, I challenge you not to cry a little bit.

GIANTS - JETS 2010: CLASS vs CRASS

by
John Fennelly

In the never-ending press conference that has become the new Jets culture, someone is bound to say the wrong thing sooner or later.

The Colts were not happy with the loquacious nature of the Jets this past week and made it known to the world after the game (illustrated by the comments made on the victory podium by Jim Irsay, Jim Caldwell and Peyton Manning).

But even those not-so-subtle hints and a sound thrashing apparently cannot stop the garbage-laden diatribe of Rex Ryan. Yesterday he took a swipe at the Giants, who are innocent bystanders in this Jet whirlwind.

“Let’s play this game in front of our fans and our stadium, the new Jets stadium,” Ryan ranted. “I can’t wait. We get our own stadium and we are not visitors in our stadium. This is our stadium. We are the biggest show in town, and that’s what it’s going to be.”

Most old-time Giant fans refuse to get dragged in to this sophomoric exercise of trash talking. The Giants themselves are taking the high road. They have too much class.

When asked about Ryan’s comments, Giants’ VP Pat Hanlon simply said: “The Jets had a very good season, and we congratulate them.”

It’s crass vs class at the Meadowlands these days. Ryan is an excellent bovine scatologist. He is drawing a line in the sand where one does not need to be drawn.

The Giants and Jets are not rivals. They are co-tenants and business partners. They rarely play each other and when thy have, the game has been for menial stakes.

Ryan does not understand that the Giants are not the enemy. The Giants are not the reason why the Jets have not been to the Super Bowl for the past four decades.

Had he done some research, he would know that the Jets were up against teams with Hall-of-Fame caliber coaches (Don Shula, Bill Belichick, Marv Levy, Jimmy Johnson, Chuck Knox, Bill Parcells) over that period.

The Giants had nothing to do with the hiring of Joe Walton and Rich Kotite; the drafting of bust after bust; taking Ken O'Brien over Dan Marino etc. etc etc.

The Giants had their own problems. They managed to overcome them, much like the Jets are doing now. But Ryan is crossing a line here that should not be crossed.

As a student of New York football for 45 years, I believe he will one day be eating his words if he dosen't tread more lightly in New York.

COWGIRLS MAKE HATING THEM SO EASY!

I've never rooted for Brett Favre so much or so hard in my life! Actually, I've never rooted for Brett Favre period. But on Sunday, I was jumping around excited, "Jersey Shore" pumping my fist as if my Giants were destroying those Cowgirls!

What a JOKE Tony Homo and those Cowgirls are. Hey, you know why Tony Homo went back to snap holding? So he could practice his fumbling, LOL! A message to you Cowgirl fans, the Tony Homo you saw Sunday against the Vikings IS the real Tony Homo. Cowgirl fans need to stop letting ESPN hype them up into thinking they have a "championship QB/team. If you really think that "special ed student", Wade Phillips and Tony Homo are ever going to lead Dallas to a championship, please do the sports world a favor and kill yourself.

Damn I LOVE hating those Cowgirls! They make hatint them so easy and fun. at the end of the day, they're guranteed to fuck up! If you're not from Dallas, I dont see how a non-retarded person could be a fan of that team. And on that note, I hope all you Cowgirl fans from Memphis put the pistol in your mouths after that blow-out loss sunday!

Give me Eli Manning and my New York Giants any lifetime over Tony Homo and those Cowgirls, AND Donovan McChoke and those Eaglettes. I would'nt trade this NY Giants '09 season for those teams or their fraudulent playoff berths for anything in the world!

Cowgirl, Eaglettes, & Skins fans, BOW TO A TEAM GREATER THAN YOUR LIVES.......................................GIANTS 4 LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'SOME DIE HARD'

by David Jacks on Dec 24, 2009 11:40 AM EST Courtesy of: Big Blue View.com

I sit at my computer scouring the Internet to find out if there's any chance the lowly Seahawks can beat fantasy god Aaron Rodgers (who destroyed two playoff runs for me - I know you're all interested in my fantasy life) and the Green Bay Packers. I have Google searched, made 7 phone calls and texted two doctors inquiring about DeAngelo Williams's ankle injury. I have played four Play Station 2 (I know it's sad, one day i'll upgrade) versions of the Dallas at Washington (all losses for Dallas by the way) game and it's only three days after the Giants dismantled the Washington Redskins, which led to this post-game exchange with my girlfriend:

Girlfriend - Wow, you seemed tame tonight. Did you even break a sweat? (Sadly it's true, I work up a lather during games).
Me - Nah, I'm turning a new leaf, no more ball throwing or yelling at the TV (side conversation - one time I threw a baseball through my brand new 37-inch Vizio flat screen - sad thing is the Mets (I know, I know) were up by 7).
Girlfriend - So it has nothing to do with the fact that the Giants won by 33 points?
Me - Well…..no. I mean….. maybe….. a little. Wait, since when did you start paying attention?
Girlfriend - Since you ruined every Sunday for the last three years.
Me - I love you.
Girlfriend - Yeah, yeah.

I have ruined Sundays for the last three years, but it goes back further and then it dawned on me, I am not a fan, I am not a player, I am not an analyst, I am not an announcer, I am not a coach and yet I am convinced that I care more, I read more, I prepare harder and I literally live and cry with my team.

I am standing in front of a room full of strangers who sit in a circle with foam fingers, LT jerseys and blue painted faces and I say proudly "HELLO BIG BLUE VIEW, I AM DAVID JACKS AND I HAVE BEEN A DIE HARD FOR 31 YEARS PROUD," and perhaps you are too. I give you my guide for "understanding whether or not you may be a die hard." If you answer yes to any of these questions you may in fact have a problem, or as I see it, you may be the luckiest person alive.

1) Has the mentioning of the names Vai Sikahema or Joe Pisarcik ever made you want to light your face on fire or caused you to stare at a blank television for 35 minutes?

2) Have you ever performed a mundane task, like running on a treadmill, and performed that much better in hopes that it would help the Giants win that week?

3) Are you constantly pointing out to other fans who players are? Great example Monday night, did you turn to friends as I did and say "That's Bear Pascoe. He was signed off the practice squad on December 4th, 6th-round pick of the Niners, decent blocker but not much of a receiver" while your friends stared at you like a retarded monkey staring at a ferris wheel?

4) Do your moods completely change based on a win or loss that Sunday? Wait, that's not die hard, that's just a fan. Let me clarify, do you tumble into a deep Britney Spears-like depression until the following Wednesday when you can finally focus on the upcoming opponent and the days practice (of which you will not participate because YOU DO NOT PLAY FOR THE GIANTS)?

5) Win or lose, have ever been sad just knowing the game was over and you wouldn't get to see those 11 blue helmets line up for another seven days?

6) Do the terms "wide right" and "the escape/ the catch" still give you goose bumps? Does Gary Reasons hit in the snow of Denver make you smile? Does Mark Bavaro's one man march in San Fran force the hairs on your neck to stand up? Does Mark Ingram's third-and-impossible Super Bowl effort make you fist pump like an animal (my Jersey Shore reference for the week)? Does "cover 0" make you think of Plaxico's game winning Super Bowl grab? Does every number 56 in the league make you disgusted for even thinking they could wear Superman's cape? DO YOU BLEED BLUE?

7) Have you, at one time or another, been convinced that every NFL announcer hated the New York Giants? I am fairly partial in this category, but during a loss I can be convinced of any conspiracy theory against Big Blue, and my hatred for Tony Siragusa is unmatched. Go ahead try and match me … see, can't be done.

8) Have you ever been convinced that a ritual you performed has won a game for the Giants? Example: 2007 Super Bowl, long time Die Hard and friend Shep stands up behind my couch right before Kevin Boss breaks a 45-yard catch and run. Shep is then instructed not to move from his spot or he will be killed, as a good Die Hard he accepts this offer and remains standing behind the couch for the remainder of the game. Giants win, 17-14, and all credit goes to Shep, and maybe some to Tyree/Eli/Tuck, but mainly to Shep. (Some other notable mentions - Jets Die Hard and friend Faz once ate Subway sandwiches for two straight weeks during the 2002 playoff run. I have listened to Rage Against the Machines"Testify" before every game for six years, and I have convinced myself the Giants do the same. Playoff beards/ jerseys/ mustaches are always welcome.

9) Have you ever flipped out on a family member who tried to force you to an event during game day. As a teen I missed several bar-mitzvah's for this very reason, and I considered ducking out as a best man once, but was convinced by my buddy (nicknamed the Neck) that our friendship meant more then the game. To this day I'm not so sure he was right. Giants lost to the Panthers, 23-0, said friend makes up for his miscue two years later as he eats a McRib pre-game every Sunday for 20 weeks. Which lead to this exchange after Big Blue's miraculous Super Bowl win;

Neck - The McRib has magical powers Jacks.
Me - You're a great man.
Neck - I'm gonna throw up.
Me - You realize you have to do this all next year?
Neck - Just let me enjoy tonight man…(then 30 seconds of silence as we sat in complete disbelief, and then the loudest most joyous noise I have ever heard. Think of William Wallace yelling freedom!) MCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBB!!!!!!

The ritual ended the following year as his wife was pregnant and told the Neck that the McRib made her want to vomit, and if he ever ate one again she would put his genitalia in a salad shooter. Giants lose to the Eagles first round, need I say more.

10) Have you ever cried after a loss? I have never had this experience but after the Giants lost to the Ravens in the Super Bowl (How could you hold, Keith Hamilton?) I didn't speak for several hours. Then I called my mom and allegedly said "it hurts mom, how could they do this to me?"

Remember, if you said yes to any of these 10 questions you may have a problem, but I would assume since you are here at Big Blue View we already know the answer to that. You don't have a problem, you are the luckiest people alive. You are Giants Die Hards, and nothing could be better. Ok I have to run and get three McRib's, run on a treadmill at exactly 8.1 for 30 minutes and convince my girlfriend that watching the Giants vs. Panthers is far more important then her grandfather's 80th birthday.