Say goodbye to David Carr.
The veteran backup quarterback has signed with the San Francisco 49er, per various reports. Exciting news for the 49ers? Well, over at Niners Nation they don't seem to think so. The word they used to describe the signing? "Lame."
Well, the Giants may or may not miss Carr. And 49ers fans may not be excited. But, Mike Garafolo is a tad bummed this morning.
With Carr gone, will the Giants be saying hello to former Indianapolis backup QB Jim Sorgi? The Giants will be working him out today, so we will see what happens. Does anyone really know if Sorgi can play? Backing up Peyton Manning, which is sort of like backing up Cal Ripken Jr., Sorgi threw only 156 passes in six seasons.
Ralph Vacchiano reports that Jeff Garcia and Mark Brunell are also on the short list of potential replacements for Carr. I don't care how talented he may be, I can't stand Garcia and I want him in a Giants uniform about as much as I'd like a root canal without Novacaine.
- Very interesting note from Vacchiano via Twitter. Former Carolina Panthers kickoff specialist Rhys Lloyd will he at the Timex Performance Center for a Giants tryout on Tuesday. Also via Twitter, Patricia Traina notes that Lawrence Tynes has studied film of Lloyd in an effort to improve his own kickoffs.
Kicking for the Panthers in 2009, Lloyd had 21 touchbacks and 71.8 percent of his kickoffs were returned, fifth in the league per Pro Football Focus. He has 51 touchbacks in the last two seasons. Tynes had just six touchbacks and 94 percent of his kickoffs were returned. Only two kickers had a worse return percentage.
The Vikings also seem interested in Lloyd. If you read this from SB Nation's Panthers blog, Cat Scratch Reader, you get an idea why. From CSR:
The Panthers looked towards Europe when they were looking to solve their kickoff woes, the Panthers only had 2 kicks reach the endzone for a touchback in 2007, worst in the NFL. Rhys Lloyd came over to the Panthers in 2008, an Englishman from the bankrupt NFL Europa seeking a career and a paycheck in the NFL as a kickoff specialist. He did not disappoint.
The Panthers improved from worst in the league in kickoff coverage to one of the best. The Panthers rode Ryse Lloyd, watching him faithfully boot ball after ball into the stands game after game. Our special team woes became a non-factor, because the other team would never have to touch the ball to begin with. Hopefully we'll see him back this year, but the Rhys Lloyd will get to test free agency and he will look for a deal above the NFL minimum of $545,000.
He is well worth it. You can't do too much to the other team if you don't touch the ball.
My take: I know Tom Coughlin hates to carry two kickers, but I don't care. If the Giants can bring this guy in, they need to do it. Kickoffs have been a problem for three seasons now, and the 27-year-old Lloyd would likely have more of an impact than any other 53rd mman on the roster you could find. - Gary Myers of the Daily News says Ben Roethlisberger's stupid behavior should close the argument over whether or not the Giants did the right thing by obtaining Eli Manning back instead of Big Ben back in 2004.
My take: When it is all said and done I don't know who will be considered the better quarterback. I do know that as the face of a franchise I will take Manning any day.
[Note: A quick reminder to play nice. Easy on the sarcasm and the yelling. We're all friends.]