FEBRUARY 2008 NEWS ARCHIVE

FEBRUARY 27, 2008
FREE AGENCY UPDATE. The Giants have tendered restricted free agent safety James Butler and quarterback Jared Lorenzen.  They have opted to not tender DE Adrian Awasom.

FEBRUARY 26, 2008
ROUNDING UP THE NEWS. DE Michael Strahan, in attendance last night at the premier showing of the Giants' championship DVD, said he has delayed his decision about whether to return to the team in 2008 until before the NFL Draft. Strahan had originally planned to inform the team of his plans by March, when free agency begins; however because the Giants post season ran as long as it did, the defensive end hasn't really had time to mull it over. Strahan does continue to deny that money is the one and only reason on which he will continue to make his decision.

Strahan said he plans to take a vacation to think things through.

Meanwhile DE Osi Umenyiora, who is rumored to want a new contract, was non-committal of his future plans, said, "In this game we play, everybody always wants more money," Umenyiora said. "I'm not saying I'm one of them, and I'm not saying I'm not one of them. I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations."

FEBRUARY 22, 2008
REESE SPEAKS. GM Jerry Reese addressed the media today at the NFL Combines.  | Written Report

FEBRUARY 21, 2008
GIANTS SEEKING TRADE? According to a report in the Star Ledger, the Giants might be interested in making a trade for Atlanta CB DeAngelo Hall. The report states that the Giants, who own the 31st pick in round one of this year's draft, might be looking to part with that pick in exchange for Hall, a two-time Pro Bowler.

COUGHLIN TO SPEAK TODAY. Here is a rundown of what Giants head coach Tom Coughlin had to say to the media at the NFL Combines this morning. 

RECAPPING YESTERDAY'S COMBINES NEWS. Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has reportedly re-upped for two more seasons. Giants COO John Mara has indicated that all of Tom Coughlin's assistants were offered new two- or three-year deals with raises, but he wasn't sure if all had signed. 

The Giants and head coach Tom Coughlin are close on a new four-year deal worth a reported $20M. The delay has apparently been a result of John Mara's involvement with league matters and Coughlin's vacation, but a new deal could be announced as soon as Friday.

Rumors continue to persist that the Giants will open the 2008 season on Thursday night at home. Giants COO John Mara told reporters at the Combines that the team was attempting to work out an arrangement with the local office buildings which provide off-site parking to Giants fans. “I think we’re going to be able to do it. But I told the league it’s a one-time thing,” Mara said.

The Giants will also likely draw several prime time games, but they will most likely be on the road given the on-going construction of the new stadium.

During last year's well publicized training camp holdout, the Giants were adamant about renegotiating DE Michael Strahan's contract. However, the team seems to have softened its stance on the matter if just a bit.

Strahan, who's entering the final year of his latest deal at a base salary of $4M, is supposed to inform the team of his immediate future plans by next month. Should Strahan seek more money to stay on, John Mara said the team hasn't ruled out possibly negotiating with the defensive end. "We'll have to talk about it and see," Mara said.

For those hoping to see the Giants make a splash in free agency, that doesn't appear to be the team's intentions. COO John Mara told reporters at the scouting combines that he didn't think the team would be very aggressive in the free agent market. That doesn't mean the team won't look to bring in some new faces, but if they follow true to last year's strategy, they'll bring in middle-of-the-road guys who fit their system rather than the big names. 

GIANTS PASS ON TAG. The Giants opted to not apply the franchise tag on any of their upcoming unrestricted free agents.

FEBRUARY 20, 2008
ROSTER MOVES. The Giants have waived three players who were on their season-ending injured reserve list at the conclusion of 2007: safety Craig Dahl, OL Todd Londot and DL Dek Bake. Also, the Giants are not expected to use the franchise tag on any of their primary free agents, which include safety Gibril Wilson, linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor and running back Derrick Ward. The team does have until 4PM ET today to apply the tag if it should change its mind.

NEW BLOG ENTRY. Pat offers some thoughts on the upcoming NFL Scouting combines.

FEBRUARY 19, 2008
TRANSACTIONS. The Giants have signed two additional free agents, LB Keith O'Neill and DB Chad Johnson.

REPORT: GIANTS TO EXTEND COUGHLIN. No surprise here, but several reports are claiming that the Giants are getting close to announcing a four-year contract extension for head coach Tom Coughlin at a reported rate of $5M per season though the 2001 season. According to a source, the deal could be finalized as soon as this week, as Coughlin and GM Jerry Reese are both said to be planning to attend the scouting combines which start later this week.

FEBRUARY 18, 2008
MEMORIES OF MOBILE. Inside Football's draft expert, Gail Bahr, offers up her impressions of the players during Senior Bowl week. | Read

PROPOSED NCAA RULE CHANGES. The Ref has a write-up on the proposed NCAA rule changes (for those of you who follow college football).

FEBRUARY 15, 2008
CONTRACT EXTENSIONS ANNOUNCED. The Giants have signed the following three players to one-year contract extensions: WR Michael Jennings, FB Robert Douglas, and DE Dave Tollefson.

FEBRUARY 14, 2008
GIANTS TERMINATE FINN'S CONTRACT. The Giants have officially terminated the contract of FB Jim Finn, who spent all of last year on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

GIANTS WAIVE PK ANDRUS. The Giants have also waived PK Shane Andrus, who was signed last month to a futures contract.

FEBRUARY 12, 2008
REPORT: GIANTS, TYNES CLOSE ON A NEW DEAL. Ernie Palladino has reported that the Giants are close to signing PK Lawrence Tynes to a five-year, $7M deal. Tynes, acquired in a trade with Kansas City last spring, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month.

FEAGLES SIGNS TWO-YEAR EXTENSION. The Giants announced that Giants punter Jeff Feagles has signed a two-year contract extension. 

“I still have some years left in me and I think I proved it this year,” Feagles said. “And I just love being on this team now. I can’t say enough about the organization, either. The decision was really a matter of if the team wanted to sign me back, and they did, and I wanted to play, and then it was just a matter of getting together, working some numbers, and then doing it.”

“We are happy to have Jeff back for a couple more years,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “He is a tremendous person and football player. Jeff is the captain of our special teams and has great leadership ability. He really did a special job handling the two rookie snappers and the young kicker.”

FEBRUARY 11, 2008
READER POLL: SUPER BOWL MVP. We have the results of our reader poll in which we asked readers to tell us who we thought the Giants Super Bowl MVP should have been. 

FEBRUARY 9, 2008
AND THE WINNERS ARE... Congraulations to the following Inside Football "Guess the Giants 2007 Record" contest winners:

• 1st Place: Eddy Lunden ... wins a $200 NFLshop.com Gift Card
• 2nd Place: Archie Gallup ... wins a $100 NFLshop.com Gift Card
• 3rd Place: Gary DelPiano ... wins a $50 NFLshop.com Gift Card

Congratulations and thank you to all who entered. Be sure to watch for details on our 2008 contest.

ROSTER TRANSACTIONS. The Giants have signed several players to their main roster, including WR Todd Lowber, and all seven players who finished the year on their 2007 practice squad: HB Kay-Jay Harris, WR Brandon London, TE Marcus Freeman, OT Na’Shan Goddard, OT Brandon Torrey, CB Darren Barnett, and S Andrew Shanle.

SALARY CAP REPORT: GIANTS IN GOOD SHAPE. The Giants are said to be at least $20M under the 2008 salary cap. We're currently working to compile as much data as we can on this to see where the team might actually stand.

FEBRUARY 7, 2008
SPAGS TURNS DOWN REDSKINS. Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will be staying with the Giants in 2008 and possibly beyond, according to numerous media reports. Spagnuolo, who interviewed with Washington for their head coaching job, was reportedly not offered the position.

The Giants have reportedly offered Spagnuolo a three-year extension worth an average of $2M per season, a contract that would make him the league's highest paid defensive coordinator.

FEBRUARY 4, 2008
FROM IMPROBABLE TO UNSTOPPABLE. The Road Warrior Giants did it a gain, knocking off the "perfect" New England Patriots ns a tight 17-14 Super Bowl Super Bowl victory. | Story | Hits, Misses, & Musings | The Official Review

FEBRUARY 2, 2008
Saturday Practice Report

FEBRUARY 1, 2008
NYC PARADE BEING PLANNED. The City of New York is planning a tickertape parade for the New York Giants should they win the Super Bowl this Sunday. The parade would stage Tuesday at the U.S. Customs House at Battery Park at 11 am. and then follow a route up lower Broadway to City Hall Plaza, where there will be seats for about 5,000. A recognition ceremony will cap the event at approximately 1 pm.

AWASOM ARRESTED. Giants reserve defensive end Adrian Awasom, who arrived in Arizona on Thursday to be with his teammates for the Super Bowl, was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of drunk driving. Awasom, who was released by Phoenix police, has since been sent home by the team.

SHOCKEY SHOWS UP. TE Jeremy Shockey has arrived in town to be with his teammates on Sunday. Shockey was also listed as a headliner for one of the numerous Super Bowl parties going on all week.

On the Road With The Giants: Super Bowl Edition | Final Injury Report | Friday Practice Report | Highlights from Coach Press Conferences | Inside Football's Pick 'em | What They're Saying in New England | Bob Folger's Big Game Preview | Super Bowl Special: Focus on Giants Special Teams | Pat's Super Bowl Pick | I on Strategy