It is a day off for the New York Giants, there isn't a whole lot of news to discuss this afternoon, and my attention is pretty divided today. I am getting ready to make the trek from Albany to East Rutherford Wednesday morning, where I will spend the next few days attending training camp.
Oh, and you guys can thank JimmK -- yes, an Eagles fan -- for my ability to spend some time at camp. I will be crashing at his house -- imagine that, Eagles and Giants writers cooperating and sharing space under one roof.
Anyway, I have something dramatically different for you right now. I received an e-mail containing an actual conversation between a father and son who are both Giants fans. Questions from a worried father, and answers from a more optimistic son. This conversation is re-printed with their permission -- and maybe their encouragment.
Check the jump for the conversation.
Frank Bruskewicz, in an e-mail to his son, Dan:
The Eli snub of Plax was completely wonderful and a sign that he is coming along as a leader. He wasn't vocal about it in the press but you could tell he didn't want or need Plax back and by the time Tuck interviewed on ESPN NY radio after Plax signed with the jets you could sense a certain respect for the way Eli kept his cool AND made his presence known quietly and confidently. I happen to agree with Eli and think that everyone was panicking a tad bit around the league and sort of blowing up Plax's value. The team didn't offer Plax any real guaranteed money and had to know someone else would offer more so basically Coughlin and Reece wanted some closure with the situation, which I admire, and brought him in to settle the differences and just kick the tires on whether or not he was in the frame of mind to give them the old home team discount and get back out there in Giants blue looking for redemption. He wasn't and the team didn't panic, and quite frankly he's 34 and at least a year away from being able to play at full speed and make a real contribution so I see nothing wrong with their handling of the situation.
The Osi situation is more a problem with the NFL as a whole then the Giants specifically which is why he wisely brought it out during the labor negotiations and not during the season last year (which he could have and others probably would have). Basically the team made a wise business move, just like they did with Tuck, in that they signed him to a second contract a year before he was about to break out as a player and I think two years before his rookie contract was up. So his monetary value was not yet sky high. Essentially it's Osi's fault for signing that contract, as it was pretty obvious what the Giants were doing. But he does have valid points if Reese promised him a renewed deal after face to face discussions. Again, Osi could have done things through the press but instead it seems like Reese and he talked and Reese never fulfilled the terms of the discussion. Teams like New England and Philly do this all the time, all good teams do it. It's unfortunate that life can't be fair and value sometimes gets lost but that's the business side of things. And also the Giants just don't have the cash to sign him to the contract he deserves and have wisely been stockpiling good DE's since his break out seasons. I think Reese needs to be a little honest here and state these facts and actively try to find a good home for Osi and a good deal for them and if he does that and nothing worth wile shows up then at least he and Osi can bury the hatchet for this year and Osi can try again next season. Luckily, Osi is pretty professional, in my opinion at least.
They just signed a TE from Arizona who doesn't have great stats but hasn't gotten a lot of playing time either and is thought could be sorta like Shaincoe.
I love the O line moves. It's exactly what a savvy team would do, cut the fat and let the kids you have confidence in prove themselves. We both agreed last year that the Giants looked far and away a better offense with Ohara on the sideline. It's a shame what happened to Seubert again because he was playing really well. But again, I think they could get him back at a cheaper price since he's hurt and not many teams would wanna chance it. I expect the O line to be back to where it was last year during that great stretch in the middle of the season. Remember Boothe played great, Koets played great. And we have two players drafted the last two years as well. PLUS the new center they signed is a great player and they got him cheap. So there ya go.
Of course Super Bowl 42 was a perfect storm, that's what it was gonna take to stop that Patriots team. It HAD to be that way. Play that game 10 times, New England wins 8 at least. But Eli is a great quarterback. I thought he was gonna be like Simms, in that he did the job but wasn't GREAT, would be streaky, have his ups and downs but could lead a GREAT team. I'm surprised to say it but I think he has outplayed that prediction and though he has been streaky at times I believe he has it in him to be a true GREAT. You can see it in the way he's made Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks and even at times Mario Manningham and even even at times Kevin Boss look like super stars. I mean, Boss, a sixth or seventh rounder from Oregon who's way too skinny and can't block, would not have the same value in this league if it wasn't for Eli. Same goes for all of those receivers in my book. I think we should credit him more for how good Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks have looked so early in their careers, not to mention the fact that he's made the playoffs 5 of the 8 years he's played the game and one year had a 10-6 record and did not make the playoffs. YES he doesn't play well against the Eagles at times, they are his nemesis for some reason and that's frustrating but otherwise there's no team and no situation that affects the guy and he's great in the fourth quarter. So yeah, he's good.