Tag: New York Giants (Page 10 of 55)

      Fade Material: 2011 NFL Week 4 Predictions

      October 2, 2011 /
      Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton passes on the sidelines as the Panthers play the Green Bay Packers in an NFL football game in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 18, 2011. UPI/Nell Redmond .

      Two weeks ago I was a flaming pile of horse dung. Last week, I went 3-1 as the Raiders, Seahawks and Bears/Packers under all hit. My lone loss was the Patriots, who choked away a 21-0 lead in Buffalo.

      What does all this mean? I’m ready for my first 4-0 Sunday! Or, more than likely, another 0-4 day. Either way it’ll be fun…

      Lions @ Cowboys, 1:00PM ET
      Something’s fishy about this line. The public is all over the 3-0 Lions, especially with how poorly the Cowboys played on Monday night in a win over the Redskins. Yet Detroit goes from +1 to +2.5 the night before the game? Give me the Cowboys, who are 7-3-1 against the spread in their last 11 games. (The home team is also 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these two teams.)
      THE PICK: COWBOYS –2.5

      Panthers @ Bears, 1:00PM ET
      Cam Newton has been a big-time surprise so far but I think the Bears’ Tampa 2 will give him problems today in Chicago. That defense is designed to take away the big play, which has been a staple of Newton’s game early on. The Bears have always played better at home and I like the fact that the spread is below the key number of 7. The Bears are 4-1-1 against the spread in their last six games as a favorite, while the Panthers are 0-4-1 ATS in their last four road games.
      THE PICK: BEARS –6.5

      Giants @ Cardinals, 4:05PM ET
      Eli Manning and the Giants looked fantastic against the Eagles last Sunday in Philadelphia, so it’s only natural that he and New York will struggle against a 1-2 Cardinals team today. This is another spread that doesn’t make much sense. The Giants opened as a 3-point favorite and despite a public backing, it’s dropped to New York –1. Kevin Kolb is familiar with the Giants’ defense from his days in Philadelphia and I think that experience will play out today in an outright Arizona victory.
      THE PICK: CARDINALS +1

      Broncos @ Packers, 4:15PM ET
      I don’t like this spread either. The Broncos are vastly inferior to the Packers and yet the line continues to drop. The spread opened at Green Bay –13.5 and is now down to 12. Who on earth is taking Denver in this matchup? Better yet, who is betting against Green Bay? The line movement doesn’t make sense and when that happens, I like going against the grain. A week after winning an emotional back-and-forth battle against the Saints, the Packers found themselves down 10-0 to the Panthers and didn’t cover. Now they’re coming off a physical road win against a divisional opponent (the Bears) and face a non-conference team that’s 1-2. I think this one stays within 10 points.
      THE PICK: BRONCOS +12

      Last Week: 3-1
      Season: 5-7

      Check out Bullz-Eye.com for a complete list of NFL Week 4 odds.

      External Sports, NFL

      2011 NFL Week 2 Point Spreads & Preview

      September 14, 2011 /
      Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick throws a pass during the first half of their NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams in St. Louis, Missouri September 11, 2011. REUTERS/Sarah Conard (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Eagles (1-0) @ Falcons (0-1), 8:20PM ET
      Outside of Chargers-Patriots or maybe Bears-Saints, there isn’t a juicer matchup on the schedule this week. The Falcons should be embarrassed by the way they performed last week in Chicago but they have zero time to wallow in self pity because Michael Vick and the Eagles come storming into the Georgia Dome this weekend. Andy Reid has had major ownage on the Falcons over the years, as Philly is 9-2-1 against the spread in its last 12 games against Atlanta, which includes a 4-1-1 ATS mark on the road. With defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux set to miss over a month with a knee injury, the Falcons’ defense is in major trouble. An 0-2 start for the defending NFC South champions is a big-time reality.
      THE ODDS: EAGLES –1.5

      Chargers (1-0) @ Patriots (1-0), 4:15PM ET
      Two teams picked by many to win their respective divisions will square off in New England on Sunday when the Pats host the Chargers at 4:15PM ET. These two teams met in San Diego last October and despite dominating the first half, the Bolts fell to the Pats, 23-20. The underdog is 6-2 against the spread in the last eight meetings between these two teams, while the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings. That said, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings in New England and after watching Tom Brady dissect the Dolphins on Monday night, it’s hard to envision a low-scoring game this Sunday at Foxboro.
      THE ODDS: PATRIOTS –7

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      External Sports, NFL

      What exactly is Osi Umenyiora’s game plan?

      August 5, 2011 /
      Washington Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman is hit by New York Giants Osi Umenyiora during second half of their NFL football game in Landover, Maryland January 2, 2011. The Giants failed to make the playoffs due to the Green Bay Packers victory over the Chicago Bears. REUTERS/Molly Riley (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Are Braylon Edwards and Osi Umenyiora in a competition to see which one could destroy his own value more? Because if so, there’s some major sister-kissing going on, although Umenyiora is threatening to take the lead.

      Umenyiora, who is pissed at the Giants for not giving him a new contract or trading him to a team that will, is now claiming that he is sitting out of practice due to a sore knee. But the story gets better because according to the Wall Street Journal, the injury may require surgery.

      Something tells me that if Umenyiora was traded to Seattle on Monday, his knee would be strong enough for him to do flips in training camp. But because he’s stuck in New York and those good-for-nothing Giants have the audacity to ask him to play out the remainder of his contract, all of a sudden his knee is bothering him.

      Either way, what he or his representatives don’t realize is that they’re sinking his trade value. He thinks he’s hurting the Giants with this stunt, but he’s actually hurting his overall goal, which is to be traded so that he can land a long-term contract.

      The Giants are cap-strapped right now. Whether they promised to pay Umenyiora like a top-5 defensive end or not is rather moot because they can’t pay him due to lack of cap room. Period, end of story.

      If Umenyiora wants to hold out in order to force the Giants’ hand in hopes that they’ll reduce their asking price of a first round pick, so be it. But the bottom line is that a) the Giants aren’t going to pay him more money because they can‘t, b) no team wanted him at the price of a first round pick and c) no team is going to want him period if he has to have surgery. Thus, if the goal for Umenyiora is to receive a long-term contract, faking a knee injury isn’t helping. In fact, it’s rather detrimental to his overall cause.

      If the Giants promised Umenyiora more money and they’re now reneging, then shame on them. But clearly no agreement was in writing and once again, the Giants can’t pay him because of they’re salary cap situation. So the smartest thing for Umenyiora to do is to avoid taking a shotgun to his own value. He has to remain attractive to other teams and the only way to do that is to stay healthy. Plus, the fact that the Giants don’t have any cap room is actually a bonus for Umenyiora because they may ultimately feel they need to trade him to free up money. (It’s not like they need the defensive end depth.)

      Umenyiora would benefit from going back to the drawing board and coming up with a new game plan. Because as the situation currently stands, he’s working backwards from his main goal.

      External Sports, NFL

      Osi Umenyiora: Giants lied to me about contract

      June 16, 2011 /
      New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (72) sacks Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) in the first quarter of their National Football League game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, October 3, 2010. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      It wouldn’t be a NFL offseason if defensive end Osi Umenyiora weren’t upset at the New York Giants.

      In a sworn affidavit, Umenyiora plans to tell a federal court in Minnesota that the Giants reneged on a promise to renegotiate his contract. The affidavit will be used in the players’ antitrust suit against the owners.

      In this sworn affidavit, Umenyiora says (via ESPN.com): “(GM Jerry) Reese told me that two years from the start of the 2008 league year, if I was currently playing at a high level, we’d either renegotiate my current contract so that it would be equal to that of the top five defensive ends playing or I would be traded to a team that would do that.”

      Umenyiora goes on:

      “After about an hour of discussing my current contract, as well as the contracts of other defensive ends currently playing in the National Football League, Mr. Reese told me that two years from the start of the 2008 league year, if I was currently playing at a high level, we’d either renegotiate my current contract so that it would be equal to that of the top five defensive ends playing or I would be traded to a team that would do that.

      “Before leaving the meeting, I asked Mr. Reese twice if he was absolutely sure that would be the case. He then told me that he was an honest and church-going man and that he would not lie, which I believed to be the case. Under the penalty of perjury these statements are true and accurate.”

      It wouldn’t be right for me to comment on whether or not Reese and the Giants screwed Umenyiora out of a new contract because after all – how would I know? I wasn’t in the room, hiding behind the big fake plant in the corner taping the entire conversation. If Umenyiora says Reese is an honest church-going man who lied to him about his contract situation then so be it. Let the courts figure the mess out.

      But what I do know is that this isn’t good for the Giants. The last thing they want is for one of their players to question the credibility of the general manager. Umenyiora is essentially calling the general manager a liar, which doesn’t exactly bode well for a team that will try to recruit free agents when the lockout lifts. And considering Umenyiora has an inflated sense of his worth, it’s going to be hard for the Giants to find trade suitors this offseason if they wind up deciding to trade him.

      Furthermore, it’s not like Umenyiora has much leverage here. He’s 29, he still has two years remaining on his contract and he just had hip surgery. With 2010 first round pick Jason Pierre-Paul ready to assume a starting position in the next year or two, the Giants aren’t going to oblige and give Umenyiora a new contract – especially not now given all this sworn affidavit hoopla. Umenyiora’s pass rushing ability speaks for itself but he’s a one-dimensional player and one-dimensional players don’t command top-5 money at their positions.

      It’s clear that Umenyiora wants a new contract or wants out and quite frankly, he may want both. With that in mind, it may be time for the Giants and Umenyiora to officially part ways.

      External Sports, NFL

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