Tom Coughlin wired at rookie camp

It’s kind of cool to see what a coach does in rookie camp. I’m getting flashbacks of playing in high school.

Since the last one was relatively successful, I figured we’ll try round 2. This from the draft. Hit ‘em up:

Osi and Tuck at the NFL Draft

Justin Tuck on Mike and Mike - ESPN

Who knew Osi was a freestyle rapper? Tuck seems like a genuinely fun guy to be around and a good guy in general - another reason to like one of the best DEs in the league.

What are these guys looking at?

This photo was snapped on Day 1 of the offseason conditioning program. What are Eli Manning and the boys looking at? Create a funny caption and you be the judge! Winners will receive a personal seat license behind the endzone.

…all right, we can’t promise that…but we’ll give you an e-high five.

The lovely blue-eyed, steel-jawed face of Mr. Sheridan himself

Sheridan to run similar defense to Spags

In case any Giants fans were concerned about Bill Sheridan changing styles from his d-coordinator predecessor Steve Spagnuolo, have no fear. Sheridan says he’s basically going to keep the same style with a few tweaks. Here’s a quote from the article:
“Sheridan says he will keep the system Spagnuolo imported from Philadelphia and make minor adjustments, mainly making the schemes less multiple — be more effective with less — and asking his pass rushers to drop in coverage less frequently than the past.”
That works for me - this team has more than enough pass rushers that they can stay fairly fresh while rushing the passer. I’m not a big fan of DEs dropping into coverage anyway…I understand it works as part of a zone blitzing scheme but the Giants really don’t need to go crazy with zone blitzes and alike…just straight-up rush the passer. They’ve got more than enough quality players to do that.
Another interesting tidbit: Sheridan will coach from up in the press box, unlike Spags who was right on the field. This probably won’t make a difference, although I like the energy and emotion that Spagnuolo brought while down on the field. I like coordinators to be as interactive as possible…but of course I won’t fault Sheridan for staying upstairs.

What do you think, Giants fans: will Sheridan be an effective replacement? Or does the fact that he’s never been a coordinator scare you?

Before I say anything else, let it be known that Ramses will be named the Pharaoh and stay that way from here to eternity.

USA Today’s Larry Weisman has called Barden the Giants’ best draft pick, and so far people have been raving about the 6′6″ WR from Cal Poly. But forget anything I have to say, why don’t you take a look and see for yourself?

Ramses Barden Highlights

Thanks so much to Ralph Vacchiano for making his 2nd appearance on the NYGiantscast. He’s an incredibly well-informed and well-spoken person, so make sure to listen. After, Kevin and I talk a bit about the interview and about our thoughts on the draft as well.

If you haven’t seen it already, which I’m sure most of you have, check out his blog The Blue Screen. It’s an excellent source of information. He updates it multiple times a day, with a ton of info. It’s the first place I look for Giants news, totally serious there.

Comment here and let us know what you think.

Hey everyone! Just to let you know, I’m going to be doing a live chat during the NFL Draft. The draft starts at 4, so be here then. If Kevin is around, I’ll have him help out with the chat too.

Hope you can come and participate!

According to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, the Giants are now considering the Braylon Edwards trade talks with the Browns dead. The Giants’ final offer was a 2nd and 5th round pick this year, but the Browns are insisting on aquiring Mathias Kiwanuka, and the Giants are calling him the deal-breaker.

Good for the Giants in my opinion. I’m really glad Jerry Reese is making a stand to keep Kiwanuka. Not only does it make me happy that he’s not ready to weaken one position to strengthen another, because the strategy has always boggled my mind, but this really should instill a lot of confidence in Kiwanuka, because clearly the Giants love what he brings to the table.

Now here’s the interesting part. Paolantonio continues to say the following:
“The Giants are now…focusing on taking a wide receiver with the 29th pick, perhaps Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina, or jumping ahead of the Jets at No. 17 to take Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland.”

There is no mention of a) where he got that information, or b) Anquan Boldin. Who knows where that situation is right now, but knowing Jerry Reese, in the past he’s often publicly said one thing to keep everyone derailed, and then whatever he’s actually working on he doesn’t say anything about until it happens. So probably with him no news is good news.

Bottom line: I can’t wait for this weekend. The suspense is killing me.

Sunday, Sept. 13 vs. WASHINGTON, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 20 at Dallas, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 27 at Tampa, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 4 at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 11 vs. OAKLAND, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 18 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 25 vs. ARIZONA, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 1 at Philadelphia, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 8 vs. SAN DIEGO, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15 BYE
Sunday, Nov. 22 vs. ATLANTA, 1 p.m.*
Thursday, Nov. 26 at Denver, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 6 vs. DALLAS, 4:15 p.m.*
Sunday, Dec. 13 vs. PHILADELPHIA, 8:20 p.m.*
Monday, Dec. 21 at Washington, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 27 vs. CAROLINA, 1 p.m.*
Sunday, Jan. 3 at Minnesota, 1 p.m.*
*Times subject to change due to NFL’s flexible scheduling system.

Ralph Vacchiano pointed out a few things about this schedule, including this interesting point: Last year, the Giants also opened with the Redskins, and closed with 3 NFC east games followed by a home game against Carolina and an away game against Minnesota. Why would they do that again? No idea. But it’s definitely interesting.

Also: The Jets are playing the last game in Giants Stadium. That makes me angry.

A week 10 bye is a nice break in the middle as opposed to last year’s week 4 bye.

Other things of note: The Giants will christen the new Dallas stadium, which could turn out to be a real kick in the mouth for the Cowboys if everything goes as planned
Also, the Giants will play Denver on Thanksgiving.

Let us know what you think of the schedule.