Month: October 2018

Giants’ Backup QB Arrested En Route to Practice

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

As if this Giants’ season couldn’t get any worse.

Backup quarterback Kyle Lauletta was arrested Tuesday morning for a traffic violation on his way to practice. He reportedly failed to obey the police officer’s orders and almost hit the officer with his car.

“We were made aware of the situation this morning and we have been in contact with Kyle,” coach Pat Shurmur said at practice. “We are still in the process of gathering information. This is obviously very disappointing.”

Lauletta, selected by the Giants in the fourth round of this year’s draft, has become the fans choice of starting QB rather than Eli Manning in hopes of making this season a little less dreadful.

The Giants currently stand at 1-7 on the season, coming off a loss to the Washington Redskins. They share the worst record in the league with the San Francisco 49ers, who they meet next on Nov. 12 after their bye week.

“We’ll see,” Shurmur said of keeping Manning as the starter. “But, yeah, I think Eli is our quarterback. I did say, again I know what you’re all trying to tease a headline out of, at this point Eli is our quarterback and we’re looking at all areas to improve. So that is where it’s at.”

This bye week comes at a perfect time where the organization can really evaluate everything.

However, we’ll have to wait and see how the organization handles the unexpected Lauletta incident.

 

Rihanna Declined Super Bowl Halftime Show

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

One thing is for sure, Rihanna stands for what she believes in… no matter what.

News broke that the singer had declined the NFL’s offer to perform at the 2019 Super Bowl Halftime Show in Atlanta. Her decision is reportedly in support of Colin Kaepernick.

“The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta,” a source told Us Weekly. “They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.”

Kaepernick was the first NFL player to take a knee during the national anthem in protest of racial inequality and police brutality. He started the movement in the 2016 season and he has been an unsigned free agent ever since.

In November 2017, he filed a grievance against the league and its owners that accused them of colluding to keep him off the football field.

There was a similar report last year that suggested Jay-Z had also turned down the gig in solidarity with Kaepernick. According to The Source, an insider close to the rapper said that Jay-Z “really has no plans to do the halftime show.” He then showed his support of Kaepernick by giving him a shout out during a performance in New York City.

If the reports about both artists are true, that really says a lot about what they stand for. While the Halftime Show isn’t a paid opportunity, you can’t get bigger exposure anywhere else. Rihanna and Jay-Z apparently didn’t want it, but for good reason.

 

Giants to Release Ereck Flowers

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

In a move appreciated by many fans, the New York Giants have placed tackle Ereck Flowers on waivers.

The ninth-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft never hit it off in New York. He started 46 games at left tackle in his first three seasons. Last season, Flowers ranked 90th with a Pass Block Win Rate (PBWR) of 74% – the average for tackles is 79%. Before his release, he ranked 72nd among tackles with a tally of at least 60 pass blocks.

“I think it’s just kind of run its course,” coach Pat Shurmur said Monday to ESPN. “We appreciate Ereck’s efforts, and we just wish him the best. Sometimes a change of scenery is good for a person, and we’re just hopeful he can go out and continue to have a good career.”

The Giants needed Flowers to take over the starting left tackle position during his rookie year after Will Beatty tore his pectoral muscle that spring. Flowers would stay there until this offseason when new general manager Dave Gettleman signed left tackle Nate Solder.

Under Gettleman’s lead, the season did not start well for Flowers. He was a no-show for the beginning of offseason workouts. Then, he was put into the role of starting right tackle. He started the season with two poor performances and then was benched for Week 3, where Chad Wheeler replaced him.

Offensive tackle Brian Mihalik will take over Flowers’ roster spot.

 

 

NY Rangers to Have Five Alternate Captains

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In a bit of an unusual move, the New York Rangers announced Wednesday that they will start the 2018-19 without a captain. Instead, they will have five alternate captains.

Marc Staal and Mats Zuccarello served as the two alternates alongside former captain Ryan McDonagh before his departure at the trade deadline last season. When alternate captain Rick Nash was traded, a handful of players took turns wearing the third ‘A.’

For the 2018-19 season, Staal and Zuccarello will keep the ‘A’ and Jesper Fast, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider will have one as well.

Head coach David Quinn discussed it further after practice, as teams can have a captain and two alternates or three alternates. Staal will wear the ‘A’ for all 82 games this season. Kreider and Fast will wear the ‘A’ for road games and Zibanejad and Zuccarello will for home games.

While this isn’t the first time the Rangers have done this, I’m not sure if it’s the best move. It’s great for the development of these players and the team altogether, but sometimes you really need that captain voice — not five.