New York Giants

Giants Trade Odell Beckham Jr.

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The New York Giants have traded star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. Yes, you read that right.

In a shocking move that broke Tuesday night, the Giants agreed to send OBJ to the Browns in exchange for safety Jabril Peppers and the Browns’ first (No. 17 overall) and third round (No. 95 overall) picks in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft.

Trade rumors had become a speculation around Beckham and the Giants these last couple of seasons. After another poor Giants’ season and more incidents regarding Beckham’s behavior, the team listened to offers in exchange for their top receiver.

Just last month, however, Giants’ general manager Dave Gettleman said, “We didn’t sign Odell to trade him. OK?”

The Giants had just resigned Beckham, 26, less than a year ago to a five-year worth up to $98.5 million. The contract made OBJ the highest-paid receiver in the NFL at the time, seemingly setting his place on the Giants’ roster.

Now, the Cleveland Browns have become a threat in the league as they work toward playoff contention for the first time since 2002.

Beckham will join former LSU teammate Jarvis Landry in Cleveland and coach Adam Henry – current Browns’ receiver coach.

The receiving duo of Beckham and Landry might have just become the top one-two in the league – with second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield under center.

Meanwhile, the rebuilding New York Giants have to make smart draft decisions to prove that this trade was a success for them. Right now, it’s hard to grasp that this is a win.

 

 

Giants’ Backup QB Arrested En Route to Practice

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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.

 

Giants to Release Ereck Flowers

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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.

 

 

Giants’ GM Diagnosed With Lymphoma

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Dave Gettleman, general manager of the New York Giants, announced Tuesday that he will begin treatment for lymphoma.

He released a statement that it was discovered in a recent annual physical. He underwent tests to determine the best course of treatment, which will start “in the very near future.”

“The doctor’s outlook for the treatment and the prognosis is positive, and so am I,” his statement read.

Gettleman was hired this past December as the fourth GM in the franchise since 1979, taking over the role from Jerry Reese. Gettleman was previously in the Giants’ personnel department for 15 years. He served as the Carolina Panthers’ GM for four years.

He stated that he will work as much as the treatment allows him to. When he’s not working, he’ll be in “constant communication” with head coach Pat Shurmur, assistant GM Kevin Abrams as well as the rest of the Giants’ staff.

“I am thankful to John Mara and Steve Tisch and our organization for their support and encouragement, and to Ronnie Barnes for his guidance and assistance,” he stated. “And, of course, to my wife Joanne and our children for their love and support.”

“And I want to thank you in advance for respecting my privacy and that of my family as we work our way through this. I look forward to being back at full strength and devoting all my energy to helping make this 2018 New York Giants team the best it can be.”

This article was originally posted on Small Teaser Sports

Giants Release WR Brandon Marshall

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After an underwhelming debut season, the New York Giants announced Thursday that they’re releasing veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall struggled from the start of last season with Big Blue. He suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 5. In his five games, he caught 18 passes for 154 yards and no touchdowns. He also had some key dropped passes.

In what seemed to be a great duo of Marshall and Odell Beckham Jr., the addition did not live up to expectations.

General manager Dave Gettleman said the release was due to a failed physical. While the move wasn’t really a shock, it will be interesting to see what the Giants do next.

Would they sign Dez Bryant?

After the eight-year veteran was cut by the Cowboys, Bryant told Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that he wants to play against his former team twice this upcoming season, which indicates signing with an NFC East team.

Fisher wrote an in-depth piece on 247sports.com about where Bryant could land and it mentioned various teams. However, it seems that the Giants may be Bryant’s top pick.

“The Giants got a helluva defense,” Bryant told Fisher. “They’re going to pay [Odell Beckham Jr.]. Playing with him, Sterling Shepard… the tight end [Evan Engram], [Eli] Manning? Crazy. They draft (Penn State running back Saquan Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick)? That’d be crazy!”

Ironically, a day before Marshall’s release, he showed his displeasure of Bryant coming to the Giants on Instagram with a screenshot of an article featuring Bryant and a caption of ‘Sorry baby bro, no room.’ He quickly deleted it but screenshots were captured and circulated.

Bryant caught 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns for the Cowboys in 2017.

When asked about the possible Bryant signing, Gettleman said “I have interest in everybody. We’ll do our film work and you never know.”

This article originally appeared on Small Teaser Sports.

Giants Improve Offensive Line With Nate Solder Signing

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In their first major move so far in free agency, the Giants have finally given their disastrous offensive line a boost with the signing of left tackle Nate Solder.

The former New England Patriot has been protecting Tom Brady’s blindside since being drafted in 2011. Now, the 6-foot-8, 325-pounder will be the blocker Eli Manning has been in desperate need of.

Solder has played in 98 career regular-season games, 95 starts, and 16 career playoff games. He has one Pro Bowl invitation in his career so far as an AFC alternate in 2017. He’s spent his whole career with the Patriots, which includes four Super Bowl appearances.

With the signing, it is unclear what will happen to current left tackle Ereck Flowers. To say Flowers has been inconsistent in his time at left tackle would be an understatement.  However, the Giants implied they have no plans of getting rid of him yet. He will likely move to right tackle or could become a backup.

New Giants’ general manager Dave Gettleman knew he needed to improve the offensive line – one of his team’s biggest weaknesses – as soon as possible.

After losing out on top guard Andrew Norwell to Tom Coughlin’s Jacksonville Jaguars, Gettleman landed the best left tackle on the market. Although he paid a big price to get it done, it was a move that needed to be accomplished.

Solder is now the highest paid offensive lineman in the league with a four-year, $62 million contract and a whopping $34.9 million guaranteed.

Get ready Giants fans, this is just the start of free agency.

 

 

 

 

The Giants Shouldn’t Draft a QB First

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This will most likely qualify as the unpopular vote, but I really would love to see the Giants draft a running back first this offseason.

All of the talk has been about getting a new, young quarterback in this upcoming draft. Yes, that’d be great considering the candidates in this draft pool and that Eli Manning isn’t getting any younger.

But what about Davis Webb?

The rookie has been inactive on the sidelines all season… A season that went downhill quick and never recovered.
Looking at the horrendous offense, there came a time where it was pointless for Manning to continue to play, let alone start games at all. He was just risking an injury at that point. There was nothing left to play for.

Yes, after the whole start streak debacle with former head coach Ben Mcadoo, Manning deserved to be back at starting QB.

But…

Davis Webb deserved to see some play time – any kind of play time. Whether there was a potential to win or they were down by 20+ points, Webb deserved to see some pro action.

He was gaining knowledge while watching from the sideline and from one-on-ones with Manning, sure, but the Giants failed their rookie QB who could have grown and gained some valuable experience.

 

https://breakawaybutterfly.weebly.com/blog/the-giants-should-draft-a-running-back-first-not-a-quarterback

Giants Will Start Eli Manning This Sunday

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The New York Giants are finally making all the right moves this week.

After firing both head coach Ben Mcadoo and general manager Jerry Reese following the starting quarterback debacle and their 10th loss of the season, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that #Eli Manning will be back under center this Sunday (Dec. 10) vs. the Dallas Cowboys.

Many debated what would be next [VIDEO] for the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo was left to clean up the recent mess and choose who he wanted as his starting quarterback.

“Eli has always impressed me,” Spagnuolo said last week to NJ.com. “We’ve been together through a lot of good things and I respect him a great deal. I really do.”

It is no secret that this has been a season of turmoil for the Giants. Yes, injuries have plagued the team, but it is more about the drama surrounding the team off the field.

Last week, the Giants simply wanted to start evaluating their younger quarterbacks. According to co-owner John Mara, McAdoo wanted Manning to start the game and then test-run Geno Smith in the second half. Manning declined [VIDEO] to do this, not wanting to taint his historic start streak. Mara took the blame for not doing more to take control of the situation.

After an unimpressive outing by Smith and yet another loss, proving that Manning was the scapegoat, McAdoo and Reese were both fired Monday (Dec. 4). A day later, the interim coaching staff put their veteran QB back in the starting spot.

The Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at Metlife Stadium and let’s just be honest, it wouldn’t have been right to keep Manning on the sidelines. Through everything, Manning has been nothing short of classy and he deserves his job back.

Fox’s Jay Glazer reported Sunday (Dec. 3) that former Giants players were discussing a plan to attend the matchup against the Cowboys in Manning jerseys on the sidelines. After Manning’s benching, several former players spoke out in disgust. Former defensive end Justin Tuck was frustrated enough to not want to go to another game this season.

“Not sure if I’ll go to another game this season,” Tuck told the Daily News via text. “Haven’t decided.”

Manning has had the support of the former players, current players on opposing teams, and the fans. A Dick’s Sporting Good Jersey Report shows that his jersey sales have jumped 50 spots in the last week – up to number 29 in the league.

There was a Facebook group started in support of Manning since his benching happened. The group, called “Outside for Eli,” currently has 984 members and was made to reach out to “all season ticket holders, Cowboys-Giants ticket holders, and Eli Manning fans.” The group made plans to boycott their seats in the stadium and stay outside in the parking lot for the game.

After the firings of McAdoo and Reese, longtime fan Matt Meyer, who was leading the protest, told the New York Post that the fans in the group do understand that this is a lost season and that they do want to see what rookie Davis Webb has to offer. However, they still want to show support for Manning.

“It’s going to be more of an ‘inside for Eli’ [theme] if he returns,” Meyer said to the Post. “But after everything that just happened, the fact it’s the Cowboys, we all want to be there for Eli.”

There is no doubt that Giants fans will be cheering for their star quarterbackwhen he takes the field Sunday.

http://us.blastingnews.com/sports/2017/12/giants-will-start-eli-manning-this-sunday-002213493.html

Eli Manning Declines to Start, Geno Smith in at QB

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The New York Giants continue to make headlines – and not for good reasons.

In a shocking move announced Tuesday, the team will start Geno Smith at quarterback and not Eli Manning.

Manning has started a total of 210 consecutive regular-season games since his first start on Nov. 21, 2004. He holds the second spot in NFL history behind only Brett Favre at 297.

With the Giants standing at 2-9 in a disastrous season, this is the first major change to happen, and it is no secret that head coach Ben McAdoo has been hinting at it. After calling out Manning multiple times in his press conferences, something is finally being addressed.

While Manning is not the one who deserves to be called out for the team’s struggles, this change may jump-start the organization to make moves that will actually benefit the team.

Manning was able to continue his streak. However, he declined because he felt that continuing to play in this unsuccessful season just taints it. The offense has been a mess and is 30th in the league in points with just 16 per game. Manning has completed 167-of-260 passes for 1,600 yards behind an underactive offensive line.

“My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them,” Manning said to Giants.com. “Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak.”

General manager Jerry Reese told Giants.com that in the midst of this horrible season, it is time to evaluate every position. You can argue whether or not this is the right move, but at least something is finally being done.

“Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed,” Manning said. “I will help Geno and Davis [Webb] prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”

Smith is now getting the chance to show the Giants what he can do for them. He has not started a game since Week 7 of the 2016 season, while with the New York Jets. Smith made his NFL debut in 2013 with the Jets and was with them until signing with the Giants this past March. He has 28 career passing touchdowns, 36 interceptions and a 72.4 rating.

Rookie quarterback Davis Webb will also get a chance this season, according to McAdoo. Webb was taken in the third round by the Giants in this year’s draft. He threw 37 touchdowns in his last season at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Over the last five games, we will take a look at Geno, and we will also give Davis an opportunity,” McAdoo said in a statement.

Get ready for some hard change Giants fans. We haven’t seen someone start at QB besides Manning since 2004.

http://us.blastingnews.com/sports/2017/11/eli-manning-declines-to-start-geno-smith-is-in-at-qb-002141055.html

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Suspended Indefinitely

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This week continues to get worse for the New York Giants.

After losing to the winless L.A. Chargers, going 0-5 and losing four wide receivers to injury in one day, the drama continues. The team announced Wednesday that veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was suspended for “leaving the team.”

“He came in today, decided to leave. For that we will suspend him,” McAdoo said in his Wednesday press conference.

It took the organization a day to declare the length of the suspension. After DRC returned to the facility and met with both head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese, he was informed that he is suspended indefinitely.

NFL Insider Ian Rapoport tweeted out Thursday morning that the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) maximum is four weeks.

What happened?

In his weekly press conference Wednesday, McAdoo told reporters that DRC was suspended for his actions during the week. He said that he and DRC had a conversation Tuesday that was “personal” but he did not go into detail.

When reporters asked the reason for the suspension and the length of it, McAdoo responded with “That’s all I have for you.”

However, Giants’ safety Landon Collins claimed Wednesday that Rodgers-Cromartie didn’t leave but was suspended by McAdoo following an argument. Collins said that the disagreement started Sunday before halftime of the Giants and Chargers matchup.

Sure enough, reports have come out that there was a “heated argument” between DRC and McAdoo on the sidelines during Sunday’s loss. Rapoport reported that the blowup was due to DRC being pulled from the game.

Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reported that McAdoo and DRC’s “personal” conversation on Tuesday was McAdoo telling the cornerback that he’d be inactive for Sunday night’s primetime game in Denver due to the incident on the sideline during game five.

Leonard reported that DRC was not happy with his coach’s decision and that is why he left the facility – which resulted in the suspension.

DRC tells his side

After the news broke of the suspension, ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweeted quotes from her conversation with Rodgers-Cromartie. He told Anderson that he “handled things the wrong way.”

The texts between Anderson and DRC continued with her asking if he will return to the team. He responded, “Yes I am. Tomorrow.”

He did return, however, he most likely was not expecting the indefinite suspension.

What’s next?

DRC can appeal his suspension through the player’s union if he chooses to.

In the meantime, the Giants tweeted that they signed rookie cornerback Donte Deayon from the practice squad to take over DRC’s place on the 53-man roster.

Deayon impressed in the preseason  with six tackles – four solo – and an interception returned 36 yards for a touchdown against the Jets.

Whether or not DRC appeals, McAdoo needs to gain control of his team before things get worse, both on the field and in the locker room. They have to go up against a Broncos team coming off a bye on national TV no less.