Here are a few stories of interest to New York Giants fans on a lazy Sunday morning.
- ESPN's 'Outside The Lines' is airing a special today at 9 a.m. ET about Florida safety and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle. If it is already too late for you to see it, you can read about Rolle here. This is a fascinating look at a young man who is much, much more than a terrific football player.
It is a looooong story. Bu, hey, it's Sunday. Act like you are sitting down and spending some time with the Sunday paper, like you -- or your fathers -- used to. It will be worth the time.
I know what most of you really want to know about Rolle is what kind of player he is, and whether he should be on the list of safeties the Giants should consider in the April draft. I will do a Prospect Profile on him at some point. For now, though, read this and learn about the life of a young man with seemingly endless opportunities.
Here's Clayton: "I honestly think that too many teams are making the switch to the 3-4 and that there aren't enough good nose tackles or five-technique defensive ends to make the 3-4 work well."
My take: These things are cyclical in the NFL. Right now, the 3-4 is "in." Five years from now, the 4-3 will probably be "in." Makes no difference, really, as long as you have the right players and the right coach. The Giants may benefit from all these teams switching to 3-4 simply because the type of players they will be looking to add will, in some cases, be different than the ones being sought by the 3-4 teams. Thus, maybe players the Giants otherwise would not be able to get will slide to them.
-- 'Kudos' to Arrowhead Pride
With an uncapped year seemingly looming, though, Cofield is expecting to be a restricted free agent — and said "odds are" he’ll be with the Giants for the 2010 season.
"The teams have the leverage," Cofield said Saturday afternoon at 6th Avenue Electronics in Paramus, where he was helping the store and Sony Electronics support the YCS non-profit children social services agency. "They have the opportunity to tender guys, keep them for cheap, and I expect them to do that. They’re businessmen, this is a business, so that’s what I expect."
Cofield said there has been "a little talk" between the Giants and his agent, in which the team "pretty much made it clear" he would be tendered in an uncapped year. There hasn’t been official notification from the team nor was a specific level identified, but Cofield said he assumes it would be a second-round tender."Fewell's job is clear: Restore the Giants' defense to what it once was, which was a formidable unit that won ballgames by squeezing the pocket. The resurrection of Umenyiora is one project. He was a non-factor last season. The return of Justin Tuck as a premier player is another. And getting something, anything out of Chris Canty and Michael Boley and shaping up the secondary is yet another.
"The Bills last season ranked 19th in overall defense but second against the pass. They also had 28 interceptions, second in the NFL and 15 more than the Giants. What's more, when Fewell coached Chicago's defensive backs in 2005 the Bears led the NFC in interceptions with 24. When you're in a division with Donovan McNabb and Romo it's probably a good idea to find someone who can teach players how to defend the pass. Fewell may be that guy."