Like many NFL coaches, Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants admitted recently that with the NFL Lockout in full swing he misses the normal off-season routine of OTAs and the regular interaction with players.
"You walk through and it's empty," Coughlin said. "Everything is all neatly folded up and put in position. You know how they are; they are like little kids, their stuff is all around (when players are there)."
He misses the contact and the supervision.
"I've always done that," he said. "That is my thing. I know when each group starts. I will come down and do the locker room routine, the weight room routine and try to see everybody the best I can. Encourage them, make them understand that I know what they are up against.
"A lot of them are rehabbing and that type of thing. I like to go in there. The clang of the weights and the sounds of the weight room when guys are grunting and groaning and working. I like that. That is a big part of the off-season for me. Quite frankly, until we started this business, I would go down in the morning to see the guys that were in the training room."
Coughlin, of course, is a meticulous planner and a creature of habit. He is the league's oldest coach, and not having the ability to conduct a normal off-season program has to be driving him nuts. Of course, I also believe that Coughlin's meticulous nature and ability to plan will be a huge asset to the Giants whenever the NFL gets back to actually playing football.
I have never understood why there is such a divide between the NFLPA and the NFL Alumni Association. Current NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith seems unwilling to even talk with Alumni leader and former Giant George Martin. I get the fact that the Alumni Association is funded by the league. Every player, though, eventually becomes an alumni. You would think it would benefit both groups if they could find a way to get along.
The NFL apparently wants testing of players for human growth hormone added to the new collective bargaining agreement. I don't know about you, but I have no problem with that. Players will always look for an edge, but I want the game as clean as it can possibly be.
USA Today recently ran a nice profile of Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich. If you have followed draft coverage you know the Herzlich story, howe he beat cancer to return to football. You also know he is a player who could interest the Giants if he is still available in the third or fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. This is a guy I would love to see the Giants take a chance on.
NOTE: There was a banning here Sunday night. Those of you who read the comments on the Sunday posts (before I deleted a slew of them, and a Fanpost). I simply will not have this place turn into a forum for haters and spewing immature venom that does nothing to enhance this community. I just mention it as a reminder to all of you that we're looking for comments that add to the conversation.