Good morning, New York Giants fans! The NFL will release its regular-season schedule Tuesday night, and a match-up between the Giants and New York Jets will be on it. There is talk that the Jets and Giants will meet in the season opener, which marks the anniversary of 9/11.
That would be pretty nice, and it seems almost like a no-brainer. On Twitter Tuesday night, most of the NFL writers seemed to agree.
Of course, the league and the players have to reach a labor agreement first. No matter how much sniping there is between the two sides, however, I still believe a deal gets done in time for the season to go an as scheduled. Neither side is dumb enough to leave all that money on the table.
The NFL held a conference call Tuesday to discuss just how far it has come in the treatment of concussions. Largely, the league is taking the decision as to whether or not a player can play out of the coaches hands and putting it in the hands of the medical staff.
"Taking it out of the coaches' hands is the way it always should have been," Madden said. "I go way back and it was a lack of education when I was coaching. I am not proud of it, but it's true. I remember saying (about an injured player), 'What happened to him? Good, it's not a knee or an ankle, it was his head. They will give him smelling salts, and he will be back in. Your head will clear up in a couple of minutes, and he will be back in.'
Giants trainer Ronnie Barnes said the most difficult issue right now is getting players to be honest with them.
"I think the big challenge for us is we have to continue to educate our players, because they haven't always gotten it," Barnes said. "I think they're beginning to get it, but as athletic trainers and doctors in the trenches, we're always fighting the ‘Superman Warrior' and the competitive mentality of the athletes. And I can tell you it's a tough path to remove a player from the game. But we'll do that."
I have had the opportunity recently to speak with a couple of NFL Draft prospects for stories that were posted over a SB Nation New York. Former Syracuse linebacker Doug Hogue is a Yonkers native drawing some interest from the Giants. Utah center Zane Taylor is among the late-round draft possibilities at that spot.
Also over at SB Nation New York I am working my way through a position-by-position analysis of the Giants' draft needs. If you are here regularly, the analysis probably isn't news to you. Still, I haven't done a breakdown that specific here at BBV.
Ourlads has released a seven-round Giants mock draft. It includes some interesting names.