Open Thread, chat with Patricia Traini

To begin, I guess we should ask Patricia to tell us a little about herself and about ‘Inside Football.’ So, Patricia, when you get here and when you’re settled in the floor is yours.

Thanks for having me here tonight Ed. I’m the editor of Inside Football (www.insidefootball.com). We’re an independent, accredited publication that has covered the Giants for more than 30 seasons. Like the daily papers and radio stations, we’re right there in the locker room trying to get our readers the latest news and scoops. We’re at all the practices, the games and the off-season events. I have a blog, “Train-a Thought” which is accessible via the Inside Football web site. Hope you guys will want to check it out.

We’ll start easy……whaddya hear on Brandon Jacobs?

The last I heard was that Jacobs planned to play Sunday. He might be limited in practice and might not even practice tomorrow. But remember, he’s in a contract year, and one of the sticking points between him and the team has been his inability to stay healthy. So I think that unless his leg is falling off, he’s going to give it a go.

We are currently voting on a nickname for this group. Which do you like — New York Block Exchange or Big Blue Paving Crew?

Talk about why you think that unit is so good?

Tough question. The New York Block Exchange is clever, but it reminds me too much of the old nickname for the Jets "New York Sack Exchange." Big Blue Paving Crew at least is similar to big Blue Wrecking Crew. So I think I like that one better.

I think they’re good because they’re very detailed oriented and extremely athletic – ever see how many time they pull the guards or make downfield blocks?. There’s not a single ego on that line, and I think if you throw in the job done by Hedgecock, the fullback, that goes a long way to helping them get the job done.

Well, I’m not really a football fan – you can’t be a fan and be a reporter. And while it’s a good job, it has its share of problems, just like any other job on the face of the planet. 

Who From this years Giants do you think has a case to make it to the Pro Bowl?

(1) Looks like he has sort of “settled down” recently and any word whether someone behind the scenes (eg Toomer?) had a sit down with him to discuss his behavior?

(2) Any inside word on Eli’s recent “slump”? Just wondering if it is a function of game conditions (windy last week) or if he has seen a few looks he hasn’t been comfortable with – anything like that?

Great question. I did an article on that in fact for this last issue. I think Snee, Manning and O’Hara have a good shot. I also think Hedgecock and Webster have an outside chance. And I’m hoping that Tuck and Feagles get the recognition they deserve.

Pat, why would Tuck not be the first name you mention? Is it that ‘reputation’ thing, where he just hasn’t been doing it long enough?

1) I have heard from one of the veterans that someone on the team did sit down to chat with Plax about his behavior.

2) They really don’t think Eli is in a "slump." If you go back and break down his passes, he actually doesn’t throw many bad balls – a lot of his problems come from errors made by the receivers.

As someone who has been on the Tuck bandwagon from Day 1, no one wants to see him make it as much as I do. I just randomly picked the names, trying to remember what I wrote in that article that ran yesterday. I think I got them all.

One other comment on why being a reporter has its ups and downs — deadlines and the travel. Yeah, it’s fun at first, but who amongst you would like to be sitting up at 2 in the morning trying to write three stories that have to run the next day and which you basically have to edit?

Fromt he press box or from the comfort of his own home? :)

The system’s part of it, but you also have to give credit to them for having the talent to get the job done. As a former player once said to me, you can have the most idiot-proof system in the world, but if you don’t have the skills to run it, what good is it?

When you are around the team do you get the feeling that they think they should win the Super Bowl again? We have been debating whether or not they have raised the bar so high that they have to for this season to be a success.

I’m a huge Brandon Jacobs fan and i have been since he was at Southern Illinois (I went to High School there.) So do I have to worry about him leaving the Giants and going to a different team, or is he pretty safe?

Care to speculate on the ongoing (or upcoming) contract negotiations? I’m most concerned with Jacobs and Webster.

Any chance Reese gets them wrapped up before the season is over? Or do you think both guys want to hit the open market to open up max contracts? CB is a glamour position that demands max $$ and with the way Webster is playing, if Reese is able to lock up Webster and Ross, defensive backfield will be a major strength for this team going forward and will allow the team to continue to generate great pressure on the QB – so I almost view CB as more important than RB. Any thoughts on that?

They take it one game at a time Ed and don’t think that they are worthy of anything. I think one of the reasons they stumbled against Cleveland is because they began to believe their press clippings, and they learned a valuable lesson from that. Right now there’s a lot of smoke but it’s starting to clear up and if they take it one game at a time, and stay focused, they should be okay.

I think Jacobs wants to stay. I’m not sure the Giants want to pay him the kind of money he’s supposedly seeking. I also think if they don’t get a deal done before FA starts, he will look to leave and won’t give the Giants a chance to match, though I hope that changes.

Right now I’d say Webster has the best chance of getting done unless soemthing unexpected changes.

I think it’s safe to say that the Giants have a fabulous 3-headed rushing attack, but with both Ward and Jacobs free agents at the end of the year, will they try to bring them both back, or just target one of them?

I strongly suspect Ward won’t be back. They want to get Danny Ware into the mix, remember.

Jacobs is looking for money he won’t get in a rotational back system. I think he fancies himself like a Tiki Barber – the guy who carries the load. Unfortunately, that’s not how it is.

I think we’ll see Ware only if there’s an injury.

It’s not a matter of confidence. It’s more r less which guy to you hang onto that fits your future plans? Right now I think Jacobs is the guy they want, but the two sides are WAY apart on money last I heard.

Does Coughlin have a retirement plan? Is Spags the heir apparent?

you said that Jacobs fancies himself as a Tiki Barber guy who can carry a whole workload. Do you think he would be able to, or would his body break down again, as it has in the past? Some guys seem to get more durable as they get older, and others are just flat out injury prone, so I guess I’m asking which you think Jacobs is?

If he does, he hasn’t hinted. And I’d like to think Spags is the heir apparent. My greatest fear is that the Eagles fire Andy Reid and Spags goes back to them. I thin that’s probably the most likely scenario, unless he has something in his contract that blocks such a move.

What do you see as the biggest draft need for the team next year? From the outside.. it looks like they have few weaknesses

I think Jacobs has adjusted his running style over the years, but he sometimes reverts back to old habits that if he’s not careful could end up hurting him.

Well I would be shocked if he goes to the Raiders. Only Jim Fassel seems to want to coach that team.

Really hard to say right now because again, you don’t know what free agency is going to bring. I’d probably guess LB, DB (figure they’ll trim Madison and McQuarters and butler will probably leave). Maybe RB becomes a need too if they lose Jacobs and Ward…

As much as I don’t want to think about it – I’d like to know who do you think poses the biggest threat of an upset in the coming 6 games?

All of our division rivals will be out for revenge (especially the Boys and Eagles), and Arizona and Carolina are good teams, sitting atop their respective divisions.

Right.

Well, any team can win, mind you, but the one that scares me the most is Carolina.

Any reason why you think he has not been able to get another head coaching job? A lot of guys with lesser qualifications have gotten jobs instead.

There’s a lot of talk and speculation Ed. Let’s just say that the loss against the Ravens in in the Super Bowl didn’t help his cause.

Maybe so, but I sure would feel a little better if they lost the same week the Giants won — if we have to do playoffs, I want them all to go through East Rutherford!

Nope. That didn’t help.

Price was too high and they felt that Boss was starting to turn the corner.

What’s going on there? I know Coughlin has said that he will be deciding between the two on a weekly basis – but who do you think will end up with the job full time?

Do you see any right now? Or, do you get the sense anything really concerns the coaching staff?

True, but who has more upside, the 20 something Boss who’s salary cap friendly, or the 30-something Gonzalez, who isn’t so salary cap friendly?

I think Tynes. He’s younger and he’s signed to a long term deal. Carney can’t kick forever sadly, and he came in with the understanding that this was a temproary gig.

how long is this guy going to punt for? If I had my way, he’d be here until his leg falls off, but I’m reading Coughlin’s book right now and it mentions that Feagles almost retired before last season, so you have to figure he’ll hang them up eventually.

The offense is working great as it is, but what are the chances they do something like the wildcat that miami runs?

Any word on how his rehab is going, and does he spend much time around the team during the recovery process, or is it mostly done on his own? I know I’ve seen him on TV a few times, so I’ve been curious as to how involved he was with the rest of the guys in the locker room.

Random question – but any chance Carr sticks around?

Would a QB hungry team take a shot on him and would he leave for somewhere that he can challenge for the starting position?

Any chance Hixon replaces Bradshaw on kickoff returns?

Any Chance they have DeOssie do snaps for both punts and field goals? Alford scares me to death

Pat, do you see the Giants taking advantage of the good weather in the desert on Sunday and opening things up a little, or will they maintain the status quo? Personally I think they should keep the ball on the ground, shorten the game, keep the Cards offense off the field, curious what you’re thinking is.

any idea what’s gonna happen with him? He had that one great game against Seattle, and then he’s disappeared back to the bench again. I know Plax was suspended and Hixon got hurt, which was why he was out there in the first place, but he was pretty impressive in that one chance.

Let’s wrap this up. Patricia, go ahead and answer anything that you still haven’t gotten to, then we will let you go. Thank you for doing this. We got good participation, and I hope you enjoyed it.

I think I answered all the questions — I hope I did. I just want to thank you for inviting me and thank everyone who came tonight — there were some great questions. If I didn’t answer you, I apologize. Also you guys are more than welcome to drop by our site where I do a daily Letters to the Editor column as well as a blog.

Go Giants!

to do another live chat with us from Tampa in February

LOL

Thanks again for the questions.