Good morning, New York Giants fans. We have to start with some of the reactions to Monday night's decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to side with the owners, leaving the NFL Lockout in place until the current appeal is completed.
- Without doubt, this is a victory for the owners.
- NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith was not exactly gracious in defeat.
- Here are the statements issued by both sides following the ruling.
Now let's talk about some non-lockout football stuff.
- I posted an interview with Giants' seventh-round draft pick Da'Rel Scott on Monday morning. Well, Scott talked to ESPN New York after working out Monday at Hoboken High School with Eli Manning.
- Is Rex Ryan's book a flop? I doubt Giants fans are buying it.
- A tiny bit of Xs and Os for you. NFL.com has a piece detailing how most big pass plays are the result of communication breakdowns in the secondary, something which could be exacerbated by the lockout. On that same topic, Matt Bowen of the National Football Post looks at why Cover 2 has to be a staple of every defense in the league. I always learn stuff from Bowen, a former NFL defensive back.
- Let me leave you with this tremendous quote from Giants' General Manager Jerry Reese while addressing the Class of 2011 Saturday at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee-Martin.
"If you are the general manager of an NFL football team, 99.9 percent of people can do what you do. I get e-mails, letters, phone calls from people telling me how they can do my job better than me. But it's the 5 percent that you do, that you bring to the table, that unique 5 percent -- that's what we're asking from you. That's your contribution. I believe there is someone sitting here today with the last 5 percent that can find a cure for cancer.''