So, a quick -- relatively meaningless -- confession. I started out to write your daily New York Giants notebook this morning and ended up writing a full-blown Osi Umenyiora post instead. So, this afternoon you get a notebook. Which works out better, anyway, since a few interesting items floated through the Inter-Google that I would not have had at 7 a.m.
Yes, the Eagles are in the Giants' heads - NFC East Blog - ESPN
We know, we know. And if you want to argue about it you are talking nonsense. The Eagles have beaten the Giants six straight times, and Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas told ESPN's Dan Graziano "We keep coming close, but we haven't been able to beat them, and it bothers us a lot." So, yes, the Eagles are in the heads of the Giants' players.
Here is more from Graziano:
The streak doesn't make a lot of sense. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Giants' record is 30-19 and the Eagles' record is 32-20-1 (counting playoffs). It's not as if the Eagles are winning 12 games every year and the Giants are winning six. They are comparable teams, rivals familiar with each other, and if you asked somebody who didn't know, they'd probably guess the two teams were playing each other about even over that span.
But they are not. The Eagles have the Giants' number. And Thomas is right that it has cost him and his teammates dearly. The Giants were 11-1 and thinking about a second straight Super Bowl title when the Eagles beat them in the 2008 Week 14 game that began the streak. Five weeks later, they beat them in a divisional-round playoff game to end the New York title defense. They beat them twice during the Giants' epic collapse in 2009, and if the Giants had won just one of their two games against the Eagles in 2010, they'd have made the playoffs and Philadelphia would have been fighting out a wild-card spot with the Packers.
"It's just so tough, because this year we gave one away at their house and then we definitely gift-wrapped them a Christmas gift at our house," Thomas said. "And we know. We talk about it a lot. We know that's the only team that's stopping us from getting to the playoffs and getting to the Super Bowl."
This has been the most annoying thing about being a Giants' fan the past three seasons. The Eagles are not better than the Giants. For that matter, the Giants are not better than the Eagles. They are in many ways mirror images, teams with similar head coaches, quality organizations and pretty much equal talent. The results on the field, though, have not been equal and the Giants need to change that.
Chris Cooley would like to play with Plaxico Burress | ProFootballTalk
Cooley said on NFL.com’s Cover Two Podcast that he thinks Burress will be a great teammate where ever he ends up this season. Cooley also offered an interesting contrast between Plaxico Burress, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, saying that of the three, Burress is the one who will be the best to have in a locker room.
"It’s tough when you get guys like T.O. or Chad, who have been what they are in the NFL for so long," Cooley said. "In my opinion, Plaxico Burress probably is a guy that’s humbled such as Michael Vick was, a lot, in the same situation. If you were going to take a risk on a guy that’s a good player, he’s probably the guy you’re going to take a risk on. He’ll probably step in a locker room, keep his mouth shut, work hard and try to earn his way back into the league the first season."
NFL lockout: 'Fruitful' talks continuing in Boston, source says - ESPN
The NFL labor talks are continuing for a second consecutive day in the Boston area, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told ESPN Thursday.
Another source said the talks on Wednesday were "very fruitful" and the expectation is that they will continue until a deal is reached.
"We are headed in the right direction," the source said. "There is a desire on both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later."