The fat bellies and big heads of defending champions. The loss of Michael Strahan to retirement. The likelihood of David Tyree catching another pass with his helmet.
The New York Giants were going to have a hard enough time defending their Super Bowl crown as it was. Now Big Blue has lost arguably its best player to a knee injury. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is gone for the season, and with it, so are the hopes of the Giants repeating.
To win a Super Bowl, a team must be dominant in at least one regard. For the Giants, the pass rush was their only dominant unit last year ? and Umenyiora was at the center of it. The 26-year-old had a team-best 13 sacks on a squad that led the league with 53. Take those away, along with Strahan (nine sacks last season), and the sack attack starts to look very average. The Giants also lost Kawika Mitchell (4.5 sacks in 2007) to free agency.
Justin Tuck (10 sacks in 2007) now becomes the team's top pass rusher, though his success is sure to decline with the loss of two of the game's best ends, creating a trickle-down effect through the entire defense that will expose New York's sub-par secondary.
The options for Umenyiora's replacement ? veteran free agents Renaldo Wynn and second-year pro Dave Tollefson ? are certainly nothing to get excited about. The most sensible move would be to shift strongside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka back to end, his natural position.
Don't hold your breath for Strahan to return, either. The guy has his ring and a new broadcasting deal with Fox.
It seems the Giants used up all their positive juju during their amazing Super Bowl run last year. Without Umenyiora, it's hard to see the 2008 Giants as much more than a .500 ballclub.
Found August 25, 2008 on
Hot Stove New York:
PLAYERS:
Osi Umenyiora,
Michael Strahan,
Mathias Kiwanuka,
David Tyree,
Kawika Mitchell,
Justin Tuck,
Renaldo Wynn,
Dave Tollefson
TEAMS: New York Giants
TEAMS: New York Giants
Original Story:
Yardbarker aggregates the latest sports news, rumors and gossip from around the web. We use proprietary algorithms to automatically categorize stories and associate photos with articles. If you feel an article was miscategorized, please email tagging@yardbarker.com.
THE BACKYARD
AROUND THE WEB
RELATED ARTICLES
Breaking News - Osi Joins Merriman as OUT FOR ENTIRE SEASON!
Now two of the biggest trash talkers in the NFL can play Madden together for the next twelve months: Osi Umenyiora joins Shawn Merriman on the devastating injury list and it appears neither will play a down in the 2008-2009 season.
Giants' Osi Umenyiora out for season - will Michael Strahan get a call?
Via The Scores Report
|
August 24, 2008
The New York Giants suffered a massive blow to their hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champs, losing defensive end Osi Umenyiora for the entire season.
Here's a question: Will Michael Strahan come out of retirement to help the G-Men if asked? The man hated training camp and guess what? Training camp is over. The Giants would surely welcome the veteran sack master back with...
|
August 24, 2008
With Reason to Worry, the Giants May Turn to Strahan
Here we go again! Could it be true? Yet, another player to come out of retirement to play in the NFL. Well, Michael Strahan, may have $8-million and as many reasons to come back and play for the New York "Football" Giants, this season since Osi Umenyiora is out for the season with a knee injury.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning has become known for seeming, shall we...
Giants moving Kiwanuka to DE to replace Umenyiora
The New York Giants moved Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end to replace the injured Osi Umenyiora on Monday, a decision that decreases the already slim chances of the Super Bowl champions needing to make a push to get seven-time Pro Bowler Michael Strahan out of retirement.
''Obviously this is not the way you want it to happen but it's an opportunity for a lot...
Monday morning rehab
Via The Hazean
|
August 25, 2008
This is the excerpt of your first post template...
|
August 25, 2008
Strahan to G-men. "I'm staying RETIRED."
Michael Strahan has told the Giants that he will remain retired and move into the next chapter of his life. Who can blame him? He put in 15 long seasons with this franchise and went out on his own terms with a championship win in probably the greatest Super Bowl of all time. He has nothing left to prove. As a Giants fan I would love nothing more for him to come back and save the...
Five Things Michael Strahan will be doing instead of playing football
Now that we know for sure that Strahan has some time on his hands, let's look at some things he will be doing with his free time...
Will (And Can) Strahan Put FOX Analyst Gig On Hold To Rejoin The Giants?
As soon as Osi Umenyora went down with a knee injury on Saturday everyone in the Sports Media world began searching for Michael Strahan's cell number. And that was even before it was announced that the DE was lost for the year. Strahan, who was vacationing in Greece, told multiple sources that he'd listen to the Giants yesterday and the rumored amount to get him back in...
Osi's out for Season!!!! Giants fans cry!
a lot of people got hurt yesterday. Jason Taylor, Carson Palmer, Maurice Jones-Drew, Drew Carter, and Now the only threat on the Giants defense. Osi Umenuoya!!
do you think this will affect the Giants season? I hope so!!
Giants DE Osi Umenyiora To Have Season-Ending Surgery
Via GridironFans.com
|
August 24, 2008
Giants DE Osi Umenyiora suffered serious ligament damage last night against the Jets and will be forced to undergo surgery, which will probably knock him out for the entire season. There was some talk about whether to do the short-term rehab or the surgery. In the end, they opted for surgery to make sure Umenyiora will be better off in the long run.
|
August 24, 2008
Breaking: Giants Reach Out to Strahan
Ladies and Gentlemen, let the games begin!
According to a report by Ralph Vacchiano of the the New York Daily News, the New York Giants have reached out to retired defensive end Michael Strahan and talks about a possible return are "currently underway."
Although it is unclear who within the Giants' organization reached out to the seven-time Pro Bowler, friends...
New York Giants: Osi Out...Strahan In?
In Saturday night's game, New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora's left knee locked up forcing him to leave the game in the second quarter. The New Giants announced today that Osi Umenyiora has suffered a torn MCL, which will require surgery, forcing Umenyiora miss the entire 2008 season. The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th. During his college career at...
Should Strahan Stay or Go?
Michael Strahan could very well have his own "the hall of fame quarterback who shall not be named" moment.
That's right. Strahan is considering a return to the New York Giants for one last farewell season. What is it about the lure of "just one more?"
Strahan WILL NOT return to the Giants, will enjoy retirement
I don't have a link yet, but I was just working with ESPN on in the background and they reported that Michael Strahan and the Giants have come to a decision and it will not result in Strahan re-joining the Giants. Strahan says he is enjoying his retirement so far and is not in game football shape and the season starts soon, so it's just not going to happen. Guess the Giants...
Giants Begin Negotiating With Michael Strahan
According to a source close to Michael Strahan, the former Giants DE received a call from a Giants official Monday to gauge his interest in coming back to replace injured DE Osi Umenyiora. It was reported earlier today that Strahan is willing to come back if the Giants make a "sincere effort" to woo him and make an offer of $8 million for the year.
Earlier Monday, Tom...
NFL Forum Discussions
20 replies,
2 hours ago
3 replies,
5 hours ago
1 replies,
8 hours ago
26 replies,
1 day ago
17 replies,
2 days ago
33 replies,
2 days ago
2 replies,
3 days ago
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Best Stuff |
For BloggersJoin the Yardbarker Network (YBN) for more promotion, traffic, and money. |
Company Info |
Help |
What is Yardbarker?Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond. |
He is never gonna me like Peyton, and there is nothing he can do about it cause that's a big shadow to get out off. The only thing the giants had to keep them in the game was defense and even now that's gone. i can easily see them going 6-10 realistically
Your just an idiot! How could you say they weren't as good as they looked? Argue all you want about the past seasons with the Patriots, but you can not argue what the Patriots did last seasons. There is NO CHANCE they were not monitored more heavily than any other team in the league so there is ZERO chance they could even 'cheat' as you were insinuating and they made NFL defenses look like a division 1-AA team.
Look at their offensive display the first half of the season which was nothing short of amazing but expecting a team to do that for 16 weeks is very unrealistic especially being in the Northeast, where weather becomes an issue.
Is it really a coincidence that Sammy Morris went down with injury in week 6 and the Pats offense had a steady decline after that. The importance of the 2 RB rotation was very important to them just as it is to most teams in the league now. Also, the Eagles did a hell of a job slowing down the Patriots as Tom Brady threw for close to 400 yards on them. and only scored 31!!!
I love fair-weather fans more than any other in sports. It absolutely amazes me how ignorant a person can be by twisting facts and how one single thing can supposedly change the history of the game.
Perhaps, you wouldn;t be so biased if Donovan McNabb could of been more like Tom Brady and not choked errr Threw up in the huddle.. Damn pressure just kills people and makes others very bitter!!!
One more thing before I go, I think the SF 49ers should be banned from the NFL for all their wrongdoings in the past and admitting that stealing signals was more common than most people even can fathom! Also the Dolphin players who admitted to stealing the Patriots line signals in 2006...