Arizona the underdog against Pittsburgh
LAS VEGAS (AP) -Las Vegas oddsmakers aren’t buying into the Arizona Cardinals, no matter how many times they win as underdogs this postseason.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were favored by 6 1/2 points in most sports books to win the Feb. 1 Super Bowl after beating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to set up the showdown for the NFL title, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
“Beating Baltimore is a little more impressive,” oddsmaker Jason Been said.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants provides betting lines for roughly 90 percent of sports books in Nevada.
The Cardinals – 45-1 longshots to start the season and 40-1 to win it all when the playoffs started – aren’t getting much respect from oddsmakers but seem to be building a last-minute fan base among bettors, said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the race and sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton.
“I’m not sure how big this bandwagon can get, but it’s growing by the minute,” Kornegay told The Associated Press. “The history of losing can really appeal to a lot of fans.”
Kornegay set the Hilton’s line at 7 points, meaning Steelers bettors would need their team to win by more than one touchdown in order to collect.
The Cards – a No. 4-seeded NFC team playing in its first Super Bowl – are the first nine-win team to reach the big game since 1979, when the Rams lost to the Steelers. Arizona beat Philadelphia 32-25.
But even though the Cardinals have scored at least 30 points in each of three playoff wins against the Eagles, Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, oddsmakers largely feel they have yet to beat a defense as good as the one they face in two weeks.
“The AFC has a little more respect as far as the way they play power football,” said MGM Mirage Inc. Race and Sports Books Director Jay Rood, who set lines in his books at 7. “They just seem to be the better league at this point.”
Pittsburgh, which started the playoffs as the No. 2 AFC team behind the Tennessee Titans, had a first-round bye before beating the San Diego Chargers and Ravens.
“You got one of the more popular teams in the NFL versus a true Cinderella team, and that makes for a very intriguing Super Bowl this year,” Kornegay said.
Super Bowl XLIII Betting
LAS VEGAS – Super Bowl XLIII doesn’t just pit Arizona against Pittsburgh. It’s also a matchup of the single biggest betting event in North American against tough economic times.
Every year, it seems, Nevada bookmakers predict the state will have its highest bet Super Bowl. Not this year, though.
“It will be interesting to see if the Super Bowl can overcome the economic times we’re facing,” said Jay Kornegay, race and sports book director for the Las Vegas Hilton. “It’s a question I can’t answer right now.”
Of the four possibilities with Sunday’s title matches, sportsbooks probably got the best matchup with the Cardinals and Steelers.
“No doubt we needed the Steelers in there,” Kornegay said.
The Steelers are one of the most public teams, hugely popular with recreational bettors. The oddsmakers at Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Pittsburgh minus seven with a total of 46 ½. The Hilton also opened the game at those numbers.
However, several places, including the Palms hotel, were down to 6 ½.
“I think seven is kind of an automatic take (with Arizona),” said Dan O’Brien, a linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. “I think 6 ½ is the dividing line. If the line would drop to six that would be an automatic lay (with Pittsburgh).”
Early Sunday night money was on the Cardinals. This could be from sharps wanting to make sure they got at least a full touchdown. O’Brien didn’t anticipate the line climbing to 7 ½.
It remains to be seen if the public backs the favorite, which they often do. The Cardinals, though, have started to attract a following with their three-game playoff roll and exciting quarterback/wide receiver combination of Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald.
“We’re trying to project the popularity of the Steelers versus the appeal of the Cinderella team,” Kornegay said. “This is the one time where the line is made for the public and most of the time the public bets favorites.
“But from what I’ve seen, a lot of people are jumping on the Cardinals’ bandwagon.”
Despite a close proximity to Las Vegas, Arizona has never been popular with bettors in this town. The San Diego Chargers are, but not the Cardinals. This is just the Cardinals’ second winning season since 1984.
“It’s just because of their lack of success,” Kornegay said when asked why the Cardinals have never been a hit in Las Vegas. “The Cardinals have never been a winner.”
That may change if the Cardinals continue to get takeaways and Fitzgerald keeps making big plays. Arizona is 11-0 this season when winning the turnover battle. The Cardinals had a plus 26 turnover differential in their victories, compared to a minus 17 turnover differential in their last seven defeats.
Fitzgerald has been sensational in Arizona’s three post-season wins catching 23 passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns. Warner has been sacked just three times in the playoffs.
Of course, the Cardinals haven’t had to go against Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense. The Steelers finished No. 1 in most of the key defensive categories, including scoring defense, total defense and pass defense. They also placed second in run defense and second in sacks with 51.
Given Pittsburgh’s dominant defense and Arizona’s high-flying aerial attack, making a total wasn’t the easiest thing.
“The total was tricky” O’Brien said. “But Super Bowl inflation mitigates Pittsburgh’s defense.”
The Steelers hadn’t had a total listed above 39 in their past eight games. They could be without star wideout Hines Ward, who suffered a knee injury against Baltimore in the AFC title game.
O’Brien said oddsmakers recognize Ward’s importance to the Steelers, but did not make an adjustment on their opening number because of his injury.
Rex Ryan gets 4 year deal
The Jets agreed to terms Monday on a four-year contract with former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, according to a league source.
Ryan likely will land a deal in the $11 million to $12 million range, based on the contract former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo signed Saturday with the Rams. Spagnuolo received $11.5 million over four years.
Ryan will be formally introduced Wednesday at a news conference. His agreement was in place late Sunday night, not long after the Ravens’ loss to the Steelers in the AFC championship game.
Ryan will be the Jets’ fourth head coach since 2000.
Polamalu puts best safety tiff to rest
PITTSBURGH — There was a column in one of the local papers here Saturday that pronounced Baltimore’s Ed Reed the NFL’s best safety.
Which means Reed is better than Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu.
Reason for Steeler Nation to boycott the paper? Nah. Polamalu admitted Reed was better.
Reed may be the best safety, but let the record clearly show Polamalu plays safety on the better team. The Steelers beat the Ravens for the third time in three games this season, winning Sunday’s AFC championship 23-14.
“I think without a doubt this is the best defense I’ve ever played on,” Polamalu said.
Better than the 2005 defense that beat the Broncos in the AFC championship?
“This team had to rely more on the defense to win games this year,” Polamalu said. “We had to make more big plays. We caused and forced a lot more turnovers than we have in the past.”
Trailing all game, the Ravens rallied to within 16-14 and had the ball, third down at their own 29 with 4:39 left. Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw a pass near the sticks intended for Derrick Mason. Polamalu, though, was reading Flacco’s eyes.
Polamalu intercepted the pass, made a terrific 40-yard runback to the end zone and gave Steeler Nation reason to exhale.
“When you have a great pass rush and your responsibility allows you to freelance in a way, it’s the easiest thing to do — where- ver he looks, you just drift that way,” Polamalu said. “Sometimes it doesn’t work. I can tell you a lot of times throughout the season I messed up plays like that. You get lucky every once in a while.”
Mike Klis, The Denver Post
Deactivation in NFC title game is a slap to Eagles receiver Reggie Brown
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Reggie Brown, inactive. It has happened before to the Eagles’ receiver, but it is still stunning when the announcement is made before a conference championship game, the clearest of messages from the organization toward a second-round draft choice who once was going to be a star. Once.
At this point, they prefer Greg Lewis to him.
“It hurts,” Brown said, in the losing locker room after the Eagles were beaten by the Arizona Cardinals, 32-25. “I’m a competitor . . .
“To sit on the sidelines in the championship game, a place that you dreamed of as a kid, it’s hard. And for your team to lose, to get this close to the Super Bowl and not be able to do anything to help, it hurts.
“All I can do is swallow it right now,” he said. *
- Rich Hofmann
Eagles’ confidence turns to disbelief
by Martin Frank
There was no doubt in the huddle when the Eagles got the ball back with slightly less than three minutes to go that they would get the touchdown they needed to tie the score.
And there was no doubt when they reached the Cardinals 47-yard line with a first down and a little more than two minutes remaining.
“We were going to send it to overtime,” receiver Kevin Curtis said. “There was no question. As an offense, we believed that was going to happen.”
It didn’t, and the Eagles were left with a 32-25 loss in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
On first down, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw incomplete. On second down, he threw a deep pass over the middle that was too high for DeSean Jackson, his intended receiver, and too short for Curtis, on a deeper crossing pattern.
On third down, McNabb threw a short pass over the middle that was a little behind Hank Baskett, who couldn’t hang onto the ball.
The Eagles were left with one final chance. McNabb looked for Curtis on a pass near the sideline, past the first-down marker. There was some contact with Cardinals cornerback Rod Hood, and Curtis couldn’t hold the ball. The pass fell incomplete, and the Eagles were finished.
The Eagles, especially Curtis, wanted a pass-interference penalty. There was no call.
“It’s hard to say from my perspective what happened,” said Curtis, who had four catches for 122 yards. “I’m running my route, and I know there was contact, and it’s a tough position for the ref. I was on my break, and he (Hood) threw me to the ground. I have no control over those calls.
“What’s most disappointing to me is regardless of what happened, you have to find a way to make the play. I had my hands on the ball. I just didn’t make the catch.”
The Eagles had every reason to think they would score the tying touchdown.
They had scored touchdowns on their three previous possessions, furiously rallying from an 18-point deficit to take a 25-24 lead with 10:45 remaining when Jackson caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from McNabb, juggling the ball twice but holding on. But they knew their work might not be done.
“We knew they (the Cardinals) had a very potent offense, and they had done a good job of moving the ball up and down the field all day,” running back Brian Westbrook said. “So we didn’t think the game was won.”
The Cardinals regained the lead on the ensuing drive, but the Eagles still had 2:53 left.
“I thought we were moving the ball well,” said tight end Brent Celek, who had 10 receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns. “But we just died on those four plays. We have to execute a little bit better.”
Patrick Crayton: T.O.’s a great teammate whose relationship with the coaching staff is ‘a little rocky’
by Tim MacMahon
Patrick Crayton, as you would expect, stuck up for his pal T.O. during a live appearance on SportsCenter.
Crayton said the chemistry in the Cowboys’ locker room was “just fine,” although he contradicted that statement later in the interview. He raved about T.O. being a “great influence” who makes the players around him work harder.
“He pushes you,” Crayton said, “because you see greatness and you want to get to that level.”
After some harping about Ed Werder’s unnamed sources, the interview really got interesting when Crayton was asked about T.O.’s relationship with the coaching staff.
“By the end of the season, I would say maybe a little rocky,” Crayton said. “A little rocky because I think sometimes when you sit down and you have man-to-man talks, I know Terrell is one of those guys who is not going to bite his tongue, and if you’re not going to be straightforward with him, there’s not going to be a respect there. If you’re not going to shoot him straightforward when he’s shooting you straightforward and being honest …
“He’s one of those guys, like several other players, we wear our hearts on our sleeve. When it comes time to get business done on the field, that’s what we’re about. If you’re not going to be straightforward, you’re going to lose some respect there. They always say respect is earned; it’s not given. You have to earn the respect of a player like that.”
Does T.O. respect Jason Garrett?
“I think he respects him to a degree,” Crayton said. “I’m not sure exactly. You really have to ask him how much he really respects him totally. I’m not sure if he respects him totally because of some of the comments and some of the things that happened throughout the season.”
Can T.O. and Garrett work together again?
“Yeah, I think you could definitely see them working together,” Crayton said. “But, like I said, that’s going to have to be a man-to-man sit-down talk. It’s going to have to be no sugarcoating. Everything has to be laid out on the line. You can’t be afraid to hurt somebody’s feelings, because it’s going to have to be said in order for us to move on and be back to the form we had in 2007 when we were 13-3 and we were on the brink of making history again.
“This past season was just really, really disappointing, just because we had all the talent but we didn’t have that one thing we needed to get us over the hump, and that was some togetherness.”
Most folks can agree with Crayton’s last statement. The debate is whether getting rid of T.O. would help the team’s togetherness.
Crayton clearly doesn’t think so. Too bad ESPN couldn’t get Tony Romo to make an appearance.
Brady’s rehab progressing as expected
However, league sources and sources close to Brady quickly dismissed the report as inaccurate. They said the infection appears to have cleared and Brady’s rehab is progressing as expected, though the infection caused a lengthy initial delay.
Brady is having some range of motion issues, common in patients who suffer an infection. Fighting an infection causes a greater buildup of scar tissue, which makes it difficult to fully bend and extend the leg. As a result, Brady may need to undergo arthroscopic surgery to clean up scar tissue to improve mobility.
NBCSports.com reported yesterday that Tom Brady is “well behind schedule” in his rehab from October surgery to repair his torn left ACL and MCL. The article also cited a league source who said the ACL and MCL remain “loose” and could require a second surgery that could force Brady to miss the 2009 season.
The removal of scar tissue, however, would help Brady rehab more effectively and not cause any significant delays. Typically, an athlete can resume his regular rehabilitation a couple of weeks after such a procedure.
Pioli explains N.E. success
By Mike Reiss
One question often asked over the nine years in which Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli teamed up to turn the Patriots into consistent winners was how the balance of power worked.
After being introduced as Kansas City Chiefs general manager yesterday, Pioli detailed the mechanics.
“Bill had the final say in everything,” Pioli said. “However, it was a collaboration. I’m not sure I can think of many players that ever came into the program that Bill and I didn’t completely agree on. The amount of respect that he and I had for one another, if there was a disagreement, the respect for the other person led us away from that player.
“It was never a battle over ego with Bill and me. We were more honed in on coming up with the right answer, rather than his answer or my answer. It was more about the right answer. It was a true collaboration.”
Pioli said he was excited about the opportunity to help rebuild the Chiefs, but indicated it wasn’t easy to leave the Patriots.
“I’m coming into a family here, and leaving another family of very, very special people,” he said after thanking Robert Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, Dan Kraft, and Belichick. “It’s been a privilege to work for the Kraft family for the last nine years. I learned an awful lot from them as a family. I learned a lot about business. I learned a lot about football. It’s a special environment.”
Pioli, who donned a red tie and Chiefs pin on his dark sportcoat, was emotional as he mentioned his 17-year working relationship with Belichick.
Pioli said he spoke with Robert and Jonathan Kraft as he went through the interview process, and both spoke highly of the Chiefs, specifically in regard to the respect they have for chairman Clark Hunt and his family.
“They told me they weren’t happy to see me go, but if there was a place they wanted to see me go, it was to Kansas City,” he said.
Pioli explained that part of what made the Chiefs a good fit for him was “the history, the Hunt family, and the opportunity.
“Any time I make a decision, there needs to be a confluence of beliefs and values, and everything from the beginning of this entire process has led me to believe this is the right situation for myself and my family,” he said.
Echoing many of the same words he spoke along with Belichick in 2000 when both arrived in New England, Pioli talked about his plans for building the Chiefs.
“My job is not to collect talent, it’s to build a team,” he said. “Individuals go to Pro Bowls, teams win championships. That’s our goal here – to build this team with the right kind of people and the right kind of players, and consistently compete for championships.”
Pioli added that while he spoke with Herm Edwards yesterday, no decision has been made regarding the coach’s future. Pioli plans to continue speaking with Edwards and provided no timeline for when he might make a decision.
“The only promise that I’ll make today to the Kansas City Chiefs and to the Kansas City Chiefs’ fans is that there will be no one in this league working harder than me to get this done,” he said, noting that he hopes to implement some of the “Patriots Way” in Kansas City.
“The ‘Patriots Way’ starts with hard work, discipline, and creating a culture where everyone is on the same page, everyone knows their role, everyone believes in the system, and everyone does their job,” Pioli said.
Pioli won’t say it yet
Scott Pioli is not saying it but Herm Edwards is 2-23 in his last 25 games. With so many coaches with proven track records available(perhaps Bill Parcells), Edwards is as good as gone.
Titans go with Schwartz
The Lions announced the hiring of Jim Schwartz of the Tennessee Titans.
Schwartz,42, just finished his 10th season with the Titans and eighth as defensive coordinator.
Prior to joining the Titans, Schwartz spent three years as an assistant/quality control coach with the Baltimore Ravens. While in Baltimore, Schwartz also coached the Ravens’ outside linebackers. Prior to the Cleveland Browns moving to Baltimore, he spent three years in the Browns’ personnel department, serving as both a college and pro scout. He also assisted the defensive coaching staff with film breakdowns and scouting reports. Schwartz began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Maryland, tutoring the Terrapins’ linebackers from 1989-90 and then served as graduate assistant at the University of Minnesota (1990-91). He became a position coach in the secondary at North Carolina Central (1991-92) before moving to Colgate (1992) as linebackers coach.
A native of Baltimore, Md. (6/2/66), Schwartz was a four-year letterman at linebacker for the Hoyas of Georgetown University, where he earned his degree in economics. He also received Distinguished Economics Graduate honors at Georgetown and earned numerous honors in 1988, including Division III CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-America, All-America, and team captain.
Saints hire Williams as defensive coordinator
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints hired Gregg Williams to fill their vacant defensive coordinator’s post, hoping he’ll shape up a unit that allowed 339.5 yards per game.
Coach Sean Payton announced the hiring Thursday, a little more than a week after the Saints fired former defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs.
New Orleans ranked 23rd in the NFL in total defense during the 2008 regular season, Gibbs’ third season with the Saints.
Williams, who spent three seasons as a head coach in Buffalo earlier this decade, spent 2008 as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive coordinator, but it was a down year by his standards. Jacksonville’s 331 yards per game ranked 17th in the league. The unit allowed 22.9 points per game, which was 21st in the NFL.
In five of the last nine seasons, however, Williams’ defenses have ranked in the top 10 in the league, including three top threes.
“A lot has gone into this decision, and we targeted Gregg as the coach we’d like to hire after our first interview because he was so impressive and prepared,” Payton said. “As an offensive coach, I have game-planned against his defenses in the past, and I know the problems they create. He’s an aggressive coach, but his units are always sound fundamentally. We have some pieces in place for him to work with, and I know he’s excited to get started.”
Williams spent four seasons as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins (2004-07). Before that, he was the Bills’ head coach for three seasons (2001-2003) and defensive coordinator in Tennessee for four seasons (1997-200).
In his first season with the Redskins, Williams’ unit ranked third in the NFL and first in the conference. The next season, Washington’s defense ranked ninth in the NFL and sixth in the NFC.
In 2003, Buffalo’s defense was second in the NFL with Williams as head coach. In 2000, when Williams was defensive coordinator for Tennessee, the Titans’ defense ranked first in the NFL.
“Gregg is a tremendous addition to our coaching staff,” general manager Mickey Loomis said. “We were looking for a coach with experience, a proven track record of success and a clear philosophy on where the improvements needed to be made on our defense and that process.”
The Saints’ defense has been a weakness since Payton, a former quarterback who calls the team’s offensive plays, took over in 2006. In 2008, the Saints led the NFL in total yards per game (410.7), passing (311.1) and points scored (28.9), while Drew Brees became only the second player in league history to pass for more than 5,000 yards. But New Orleans finished 8-8, missing the playoffs for a second straight season in large part because of a defense that gave up too many big plays in the late stages of close games.
The Saints’ defense was hampered by injuries. By mid-November, the unit had lost starting cornerbacks Mike McKenzie and Tracy Porter, as well as starting defensive end Charles Grant, to season-ending injuries.
Still, the Saints are hopeful that all three players will come back next season, solidifying a unit led by defensive end Will Smith, standout rookie Sedrick Ellis and middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
Vilma is a free agent, but has said he would prefer to stay in New Orleans, where he never missed a defensive snap in 2008 and led the team in tackles. The Saints have said they intend to re-sign him.
With no glaring needs on offense, the Saints also could choose to use top picks on defensive players in this spring’s NFL draft.
Reid: McNabb ‘better and better with age’
PHILADELPHIA – Moments after Sunday’s 23-11 divisional playoff win, a reporter asked Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid if Donovan McNabb had improved with age.
One day later, after further reflection, Reid acknowledged the question again.
“Donovan keeps getting better and better with age here,” Reid said Monday in his day-after news conference.
“He’s really doing a nice job. He’s upped his game in which you normally don’t see this late in a player’s career.”
This late?
McNabb celebrated his 32nd birthday Nov. 25. Two days earlier, he had been benched against Baltimore for the first time in his career.
Questions about McNabb’s age had surfaced one year earlier, after he stopped running as frequently as he did before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.
Now, after leading the Eagles from the edge of playoff elimination into the NFC title game, McNabb’s age once again came up.
“Fine like wine, baby,” McNabb quipped.
The 10-year quarterback clearly doesn’t think he’s entering the twilight of his career.
“I think the cop-out at times is people saying, ‘He’s getting too old,’ or ‘He’s not able to do the things he was able to do back five years ago,’ ” McNabb said.
“None of us can do the things we did five years ago, including you guys (in the media). Some of you are writing slower than you did five years ago. The stuff you talk about in the paper just doesn’t make sense.
“But you know what? That’s just something that people can just cling on to and everyone goes with it.
“Thirty-two years old is really not old; that’s almost at the prime of your career.”
Recent NFL trends back McNabb’s claim.
His counterpart Sunday, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, passed for nearly 5,000 yards and finished among the top three in three major passing categories. He also received an MVP vote.
Jets quarterback Brett Favre passed for 3,472 yards and threw 22 touchdowns this season.
Kerry Collins, who threw his first touchdown pass more than 13 years ago, completed 58 percent of his passes this season and led the Titans to the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Warner is 37. Collins just turned 36. And if Favre returns for another season – which would be his 19th – he’ll be playing at 40.
The Cardinals signed Warner in 2005 but drafted Southern California star Matt Leinart 10th overall in 2006 and immediately handed Leinart the job.
Five games into 2007, the job was Warner’s again. He hasn’t relinquished it since, putting up numbers similar to his MVP years with St. Louis in 1999 and 2001.
“As a personnel (evaluator) or organization, when guys get up there, you’re always looking and saying, ‘OK, that number is coming soon. He’s getting up there,’ ” Warner said.
“So instead of thinking, ‘Well, I think he’s got three good years left,’ you start thinking, ‘Well, OK, it’s going to happen pretty soon. Maybe it’s this year.’
“Guys start thinking more on the negative. You have a bad game when you’re older, well, ‘Maybe he just hit the wall, maybe he can’t do what he used to.’ “
McNabb was only 30 when questions about his age surfaced. He was coming off his second major surgery in two years, and he couldn’t maneuver in the open field like before.
Reid had drafted Kevin Kolb in the second round that April, sparking talk that McNabb’s successor had arrived.
Now he has taken the Eagles this deep into the postseason for the fifth time in eight years.
Warner said he sees the same McNabb from four years ago, when he led the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Running back Brian Westbrook said his quarterback’s at the top of his game.
“I have seen Donovan do some incredible things,” Westbrook said, “and this (playoff run) ranks right up there.”
Arizona vs. Philadelphia
Cardinals (11-7) vs. Eagles (11-6-1)
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium
TV: Fox-HD (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)
Line: Eagles by 4
Noteworthy: The Cardinals are 7-2 at home, while Philadelphia is 5-4-1 on the road. The Eagles have won five of the past seven meetings, including a 48-20 win Nov. 27 at Philadelphia.
Maybe Giants’ Manning should backload new contract
by Tom Rock
Eli Manning might have a decision to make: riches on the field or off.
The Giants quarterback is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2009 season and the team, understandably, would like to prevent him from hitting the open market. Although sources familiar with the situation said no deal is imminent, the team will likely try to get something done by the time they show up in Albany for training camp in July.
But if, as has been speculated, Manning becomes the highest- paid player in the NFL, would it handcuff the team’s possible pursuit of a top-shelf wide receiver?
Manning might have to choose between big cash and a big target.
If the season’s final month showed anything, it’s that the Giants need a game-breaking receiver. With Plaxico Burress’ future with the team, the NFL and freedom up in the air, general manager Jerry Reese said he would like to have someone for Manning to rely on in tight spots.
“Everybody would like a big Spider-Man out there that you can throw balls up to and he can bring them down,” Reese said.
Barring a surprising return by Burress, the Giants would have to look outside the organization for such a player. That will come with a hefty price tag, and will likely mean some financial sacrifice by Manning.
It’s not unheard of for a quarterback to make contractual changes in order to bring in a receiver. Chad Pennington did it a few years back when the Jets reacquired Laveranues Coles. Tom Brady restructured so the Patriots could trade for Randy Moss.
This time, though, Manning is expecting to get a new deal. There’s no restructuring, just structuring. If the Giants want to make a move on any of the high-priced receivers who will be free agents or available through a trade-and-sign, they’ll need to convince Manning to have most of the gaudy final numbers his contract will contain spread out and backloaded. The tradeoff for Manning would be a few less bucks now, maybe a few more rings down the road.
Meanwhile, there is uncertainty in the NFL community on whether Manning is worth the biggest contract in the league, or even a modest nine-figure deal (by Super Bowl champion quarterback standards), especially after Sunday’s performance against the Eagles.
“The Giants will have to take some time to forget that game and swallow hard before they start talking about that kind of money,” one league insider said.
Money aside, the Giants do have options in acquiring a receiver. T.J. Houshmandzadeh is atop the free-agency list, but reports say he is likely be franchised by the Bengals. Bryant Johnson of the 49ers, a 6-3, 211-pounder, will be on the market, along with the Steelers’ Nate Washington and the Bucs’ Antonio Bryant.
On the trade front, Anquan Boldin wanted out of Arizona last year and could force his way out this offseason. Braylon Edwards also has voiced a desire to leave the Browns and does not appear to be an Eric Mangini-type player. The Giants were willing to give up a fourth-round pick in midseason for tight end Tony Gonzalez. With a new regime in Kansas City – and a new need for the Giants in the wake of Burress’ situation – those talks could resurface.
The draft is also filling up with talented young receivers such as Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech, Jeremy Maclin of Missouri and Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina.
“Kevin Abrams is one of the best cap people in the league,” a source said yesterday of the Giants’ assistant general manager. “He has a plan.”
There may need to be some concessions from Manning to put any of those plans into action.
Irvin unharmed after being threatened by gunman at stoplight, chatting about Cowboys
DALLAS (AP) — Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin says he calmly chatted with a gunman in another vehicle after the armed passenger turned out to be a Dallas Cowboys fan.
Irvin, who was not harmed, says he was “very afraid.”
A Dallas police report says Irvin was stopped at a red light Monday night when two men in a truck pulled up next to him.
The driver rolled down his window, so Irvin did the same, thinking the two men recognized the radio talk show host and television commentator.
The passenger flashed a gun. Then the retired NFL star heard one of them call out his name and mentioned being a “huge Cowboy fan.”
Irvin says he began talking with the men about the team’s disappointing 9-7 season and Dallas not making it to the Super Bowl.
The pair eventually drove off.
Former NFL player David Meggett faces rape charge in SC; has history of sex-related arrests
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Several months after he was charged with raping a South Carolina woman, former NFL running back David Meggett was in jail Wednesday on allegations of another sexual assault.
Meggett, 42, was arrested and charged with raping a 21-year-old woman in her North Charleston home, authorities said.
The woman told police she woke up at 1 a.m. Tuesday and found a man she knew as “Mike” sitting on her bed, according to an incident report. The man demanded that she repay $200 she owed him and raped her when she said she didn’t have the money, police said.
Afterward, the man told her he was sorry and that she didn’t have to repay him. The woman drove herself to the hospital, where Meggett later met her and was arrested, according to police records.
Meggett, who is listed as living in North Charleston, had been out on bond in connection with another sexual assault charge.
In September, he was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct after a 17-year-old North Charleston woman told authorities she was raped by a man she knew as “Michael,” according to police records.
Both South Carolina arrests occurred while Meggett was serving out two years probation for a 2006 sexual battery charge in North Carolina. Authorities there allowed the Charleston native to serve his sentence in South Carolina and have been notified about both of Meggett’s recent arrests, said Pete O’Boyle, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
North Carolina probation officials did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday.
The running back played for the New York Giants, the New York Jets and New England during his 10-year NFL career.
He was denied bond Tuesday night on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree burglary, said Spencer Pryor, spokesman for the North Charleston police. He was being held Wednesday in the Charleston County jail, and it was unclear if he had an attorney.
Meggett has been acquitted on sex-related charges in the past. In 1990, while he was with the Giants, Meggett was found not guilty of soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in Baltimore. Eight years later, he was charged with assaulting a woman in a Toronto hotel room after she refused to continue having sex with him, but that charge was dropped.
The Patriots released Meggett in 1998 after the Toronto charge.
Giants’ star Burress told police he wasn’t involved in 2005 shooting that got loaned car seized
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — Plaxico Burress told police that he had no knowledge of a 2005 shooting incident in the Bronx in which two people were seen firing off rounds from a sport-utility truck the New York Giants star borrowed from a dealer. The oft-troubled wide receiver arrived at the Lebanon County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon for a civil trial to decide a dispute with the dealer over what the player should pay for damage to the 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche.
According to New York City police, officers saw two men firing off rounds from inside the truck on a Bronx street early on Aug. 20, 2005. It did not, however, appear that they were targeting anyone, police said.
Officers recovered two 9-mm pistols at the scene and arrested two people, one of them a cousin of Burress, police said.
Investigators contacted Burress, who came in with a lawyer more than two weeks later for questioning. Burress signed a statement saying he had loaned the car to a cousin, but that he had no knowledge of the incident and was at practice at the time of the shooting.
Burress’ attorney Benjamin Brafman says he was told that at the time of the incident Burress was with the team at a New Jersey hotel because the Giants had a home preseason game later that day.
Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon declined to discuss Burress’ exact whereabouts at the time of the shooting.
Charges against Burress’ cousin were dropped. The other person in the car pleaded guilty in March 2006 to criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
Police said they released the car to the dealer in January 2007.
The car dealer, Frederick Laurenzo, said he allowed Burress to borrow the vehicle worth more than $36,000 in exchange for Burress agreeing to sign autographs at promotional events.
But Laurenzo filed a civil complaint in September 2006 seeking restitution and accusing Burress of breach of contract because he never showed up to sign autographs and let someone else drive the vehicle. Laurenzo said Burress made no effort to help him get the damaged vehicle back.
After Laurenzo put a lien against Burress’ house in Virginia, the sides agreed to an arbitration. A three-lawyer panel awarded more than $22,000 to Laurenzo last year, but Burress appealed.
Burress’ lawyer in the vehicle dispute, Matthew T. Croslis, acknowledged Tuesday that Burress is responsible for some damages. The jury will have to decide how much, Croslis said.
The star receiver who caught the game-winning pass in last year’s Super Bowl has been embroiled in controversy for months. Burress was charged with two counts of illegal weapons possession after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh at a Manhattan nightclub on Nov. 29.
Burress, who received a five-year, $35 million contract extension from the Giants in September, turned himself in on the weapons charges and was released on $100,000 bail. He is due in court March 31.
After the self-inflicted shooting, the Giants suspended Burress, 31, for the remainder of the season.
In December, Burress was sued in Broward County, Fla., for an accident last May in which he allegedly drove his $140,000 Mercedes-Benz into the back of a woman’s vehicle. The woman’s attorney later said that Burress had failed to pay the premium on his car insurance, which had lapsed three days before the wreck.
