New York Giants' news, 3/1: Defending Eli, talking screen passes, more

Good morning, New York Giants' fans! Let's check the Inter-Google for stories about your favorite team that are making news this morning, the first day of March.

Appearing on NFL.com, former Giants' offensive lineman David Diehl defended quarterback Eli Manning. By the way, I doubt I'm the only one who thinks Diehl has a bright future in television.

NFL.com is doing team-by-team offseason forecasts. The offseason look at the Giants includes a video interview with coach Tom Coughlin. Interestingly, when asked about the offense and new coordinator Ben McAdoo, Coughlin said the thing he is really looking for on offense is "a spark. I'm looking for a little fire in the butt, if you will for everybody on the offensive side of the ball. ... I'm looking for a little more energy and fire than I thought we saw last year."

When McAdoo spoke to the media on Thursday he was asked about screen passes, an area where the Giants have struggled mightily in recent years. He said screens "will be a focal point" for the revamped offense. Veteran guard Chris Snee was asked Friday why the Giants have been so ineffective in the screen game in past years.

"We've never really ... ... been a good screen team," he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio's Opening Drive. "We have kind of a horror film that Coach (Pat) Flaherty once put together of screens from five and 10 years. Just a lot of whiffs and open spaces. (Former Giants center Shaun) O’Hara was the king of them. He would fall down half the time just running out there. We would always laugh and chuckle about it. "But it’s not like we don’t practice it. We practice it all the time. We have screen periods once a week during the season and in training camp all the time. I wish I could answer that for you, but I can’t. We try."

Speaking of McAdoo's Thursday conference call, Jordan Ranaan of NJ.com has taken what McAdoo said and 'interpreted' what the new offensive coordinator really meant. In all honesty, Ranaan's post is one I wish I had written myself.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame says the 'fake' Eli Manning helmet was never displayed as a Super Bowl XLVI item. The Hall says it was simply displayed as having belonged to the Giants' quarterback.

When former Giants' defensive end Michael Strahan is enshrined into the Hall of Fame this summer, he wants his bust to display his gap-toothed smile.