T-Rock's Take on the Giants

There isn't anything Giants-related happening right now, so I'll chime in with something related to another team some of you like too.

My first pro beat at Newsday was covering the Rangers, starting in the 2001-02 season. About a month into the season, I was leaving a morning skate at MSG and Brian Leetch ended up in the elevator with me. He had one of those other city papers under his arm, a Yankees hat on his head and we chatted for the short ride and as we walked out into the street.

He headed to the subway, I headed downtown. I watched him walk into the subway -- the best player at his position in team history, in U.S. history -- and no one said a word to him. Maybe that's New York, maybe it was just an odd time of day; I like to think that was the essence of Brian Leetch, just a regular New Yorker who happened to be the second or third-best player to ever wear a Rangers jersey.

I wish him well in retirement.

OK, I'm out until next week. If we could keep the name-calling to a minimum while I'm gone, that'd be tremendous. Don't make me have to stop this blog right now, young man.

Enjoy the holiday, folks.

One who's at least kicked in the NFL... And thanks, John, for the update.

The Giants acquired Lawrence Tynes from the Chiefs for a conditional draft pick today, giving them a cold-weather kicker who has excelled at times in tough conditions. Tynes, 29, spent three seasons in KC, hitting 78.2 percent (68-for-87) of his field goals, including 6 of 11 from over 50 yards.

GM Jerry Reese: "“We feel better about having a veteran kicker coming in and competing for the job. We’re not bringing him in to give him the job. He has to earn it. We feel like we have a strong young guy vs. a veteran kicker and the best kicker is going to win the job.

“We wanted a guy to come in here and put pressure on (rookie Josh Huston), who we really like a lot. Huston has a really strong leg. But we feel better about having a guy that’s kicked in the league to come in and compete for the job, because we were basically handing it to (Huston) without a lot of competition. We want to put pressure on him to earn the job. And we want to earn the job as well. One of our goals is to have competition at every position.”

The Giants cut Marc Hickok, whom they signed after a tryout in March. So it's Tynes and Huston, the Ohio State grad whom they signed in January and were so excited about that they essentially told Jay Feely to take a walk.

The only odd thing from this perspective is that Tynes was on his way out in KC, with rookie Justin Medlock reportedly having the edge after the Chiefs' minicamp. So Tynes was going to be cut eventually. Reese couldn't wait until everyone had a shot at Tynes, it seems.

Thanks for your kind words, Big BB. I'll be out of town next week, so I hope y'all can scrape by until I return. Keep up the debates over Eli, the Giants' 2007 prospects and anything else you can think of.

But, more importantly, let's welcome back Big BB! Nice to have you back, my friend. And I'm sorry I ducked out before the end of rookie camp, but you'll get all the blogs out of me you'll want when veteran camp rolls around.

So... on to the business. Ross, 34, was the Bills' national college scout for the last three years, and the Eagles' college scouting director from 2000-04, after spending three years as Philly's eastern regional scout. He started in the NFL as a Giants' training-camp PR intern in 1995.

GM Jerry Reese had been director of player personnel; that job no longer exists. Jerry Shay had been director of college scouting for the past 30 years; he is now assistant director. Veteran scouts Joe Collins, Jeremiah Davis and Steve Verderosa are now executive scouts and have increased responsibilities.

Ross will run the draft, which was Reese's primary job as player personnel director.

You follow?

Here's what they said:

Reese, on Ross: "We liked Marc’s skill set. He has been a college scouting director. He was the youngest college director in the league when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles. So he understands the management and the dynamics of the department. Marc is an outstanding scout himself. We like that about him. All of the references that we called were very high on him. We think he is going to be a perfect fit for us.”

More Reese, on Ross: "You never want to get stagnant in any department, including the personnel department. So we look forward to Marc’s new ideas. He has some new ideas and energy. He impressed us with some things that he talked about in the interview process. So we are all looking forward to some new ideas. I don’t want Marc to come in and try to reinvent the wheel. I think we can implement some of our old things that we do well along with some of the new things that he brings to the table for us so we can move forward. We don’t want to get stagnant and sitting still.”

Ross, on his new gig: "“I think that is why Jerry hired me, to get a different point of view and a different perspective. I have been in a couple of places that do things entirely different. This is a traditional organization, but I think it is still progressive. I hope to add a different point of view and enhance everything that’s going on.”

And more Ross, on being much younger than most of the scouts: "That’s no problem. I have been scouting in the league since I was 23. I have always had to work with older guys. I was a director at 27 and I had to work with older guys underneath me. If you treat people fairly and with respect and do you your job efficiently and do it well, then age shouldn’t be a big factor.”

Bears college scouting director Greg Gabriel was among other candidates interviewed.

It's a funtastic time here at Giants Stadium... There are 51 rookies and first-year players attending the two-day camp (they only lift weights tomorrow) -- eight draft picks, 21 tryouts and the rest free-agent signees.

Two guys of note: Hofstra QB Anton Clarkson and Hofstra OL Jed Prisby. Clarkson played in 10 games as a senior with the Pride, throwing for 1,881 yards; Prisby was a four-year left tackle.

Clarkson is one of three QBs at camp -- Wisconsin's John Stocco and Andy Collins from Occidental College are also here -- and Clarkson is hoping to at least catch some attention, if not a job.

"I'm just trying to play football as long as I can and stay out of a shirt and tie," he said. He was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, though he grew up in Souther California. The Canadian Football League is an option if no NFL teams call.

Prisby was literally the last man into camp -- his agent called him last night to tell Prisby that the Giants were short an O-lineman because undrafted free-agent signee Joel Clinger, a guard out of Missouri, failed his physical. So Prisby hopped in his car from Hempstead at 4:30 this morning and got out on the field.

He's trying out at left guard here after trying out for the Bucs last week at center. "I think having the experience last week helped. I know how vital it is to have that playbook down and assimilate what they give you real fast," Prisby said.

That's the local update. As for the on-field stuff this morning, it's always the skill position guys who get noticed -- RB Ahmad Bradshaw showed nice explosiveness, WR Steve Smith made a leaping catch that caught TC's attention, and UDFA WR Brandon London used his size well. He's 6-4, 210, out of UMass.

Smith and first-round pick Aaron Ross lined up against each other in a few sets. Smith said he wants to reminisce with Ross about the USC-Texas national championship game from two years ago.

LB Zak DeOssie and DT Jay Alford worked on their long-snapping. Alford did some short-snapping at Penn State, according to Coughlin.

Ross and Bradshaw fielded punts and got a good taste of the winds around the stadium -- Ross muffed one and both had trouble judging the ball.

That's all for now. They're back on the field at 3:20.

Giants waived four players today and announced the signing of 13 undrafted rookie free agents.

The four waived:

DB Claudius Osei
C Matt Tarullo
TE Jason Randall
RB James Sims

The 13 added:

TE Michael Matthews, Georgia Tech

WR Brandon Myles, West Virginia

WR Brandon London, Massachusetts

WR Marco Thomas, Western Illinois

T Gabe Hall, Texas Tech

T Rob Austin, Troy State

T Justin Jones, Central Arkansas

T Joel Clinger, Missouri

G Ryan Keenan, Northwestern

DE Marquise Gunn, Auburn

DE Charrod Taylor, Georgia Southern

DB Travonti Johnson, Central Florida

DB Craig Dahl, North Dakota State

And he ran out to start running drills with the other WRs and QBs about 20 minutes after he pulled into the parking lot.

He'll be chatting with us in a bit.

That'd be Chief Osi Umenyiora, who read this hand-written statement aloud to the group of reporters who assembled in the Giants locker room today:

"I, Chief Osi Umenyiora, have officially declared myself to be the best defensive end in the NFL. To prove that fact, I will have one of the best seasons ever by a defensive end. If not, I will jump off the George Washington Bridge. I do not want to jump off the George Washington Bridge because it would be detrimental to my health. Thanks for listening."

After we dispensed with that bit of hilarity, it was on to some other tidbits:

-- No Burress and no Shockey, still.

-- Barry Cofield is among the many on defense looking forward to a new approach. He was strictly a nose tackle last season, but said he's been working on being a right tackle in Steve Spagnuolo's more interchangeable system, where the tackles will be more fluid in their roles.

-- Mathias Kiwanuka is on board with the move to SLB, mostly because he wants to play... Not a surprise, really. He's been working on the move for two months and had no trouble keeping it a secret from us.

-- Kawika Mitchell said WLB suits him a bit better than SLB, primarily due to his size. Can't argue with having the 6-5, 255-pound Kiwanuka cover TEs.

We'll head back in shortly to get Eli's 5,000th comment on Burress and Shockey...

I'll just give you all a quick rundown on the day's chats with various coaches... I'll be paraphrasing, since things just wrapped:

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo

-- Wouldn't really say just yet what style of defense he'll run, but said it will certainly have some of what he did with the Eagles. Also was quick to point out the Giants' D did some good things last year and that he'll see what he can mix of the two.

-- Isn't familiar enough with his new players to give real assessments, and didn't seem as if he would do so anyway.

-- The Mathias Kiwanuka-to-LB switch was in the works when he interviewed for the job in January.

-- Compared Kiwanuka favorably to Carlos Emmons -- the Emmons who was the Eagles' SAM for several years and was productive, not the guy the Giants cut.

-- Likes the Aaron Ross pick for selfish reasons -- always happy when the top pick is a defensive guy. Also likes Ross' maturity, being 24. Thinks Ross can step in right away and pick up the defense.

-- Likens being on the other side of the Eagles-Giants rivalry to "playing one-on-one against your brother." He's looking forward to the competition.

-- Very familiar with the Giants' offense, obviously, so he gave his scouting report to Kevin Gilbride. "Talent," he said when asked what he saw most of from the Giants.

-- Looks at Antonio Pierce as the type of leader that Trotter was with the Eagles. Said Pierce came in to see him initially to discuss the defense, and they've had several discussions since.

LBs coach Bill Sheridan

-- Will be working closely with Kiwanuka on making the transition. Said that Kiwanuka would go back to being a down lineman in passing/third down situations.

-- Relying on Pierce a lot as pretty much the one guy who's been consistently there through all the LB changes the past couple seasons. "He'll probably get a little neglected the next few months, with guys learning the position and new guys coming in to learn our scheme," he said. "But Antonio coaches himself so well, it won't be a problem."

-- Has known Spagnuolo for going on 20 years -- Sheridan interviewed for an assistant's job at Maine that went to Spagnuolo, and when Spagnuolo left for UConn the following year, Sheridan got the Maine job. Never worked together, though.

Safeties coach David Merritt

-- Said Gibril Wilson started overthinking on the field the last two seasons, and that both Wilson and Will Demps were scared of making mistakes last season. "When you're on the golf course and you've got to hit a shot over water," Merritt said, "if all you're doing is thinking about the water, you're gonna hit it right in there." Merritt has told Wilson to think less -- the "Bull Durham" approach, if you will (that's my interpretation, not Merritt's).

Secondary coach Peter Giunta

-- Looks at the season as a fresh start for Corey Webster, and hopefully a healthy start -- said Webster was hurt for much of the season, much longer than anyone knew.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride

-- Didn't think the offense would change all that much, other than looking to get Jeremy Shockey involved in the vertical passing game more.

-- Tiki is irreplaceable, but doesn't think many teams have the size and strength at RB that the Giants do. Said the stretch play and the misdirection play, both huge parts of the Giants offense when Barber was able to break free for big yards, will still be in the base offense. "Will they go for the same yards? That's what we have to see," he said.

-- Absolutely feels Shockey and Plaxico Burress should be here when Eli Manning starts to throw to moving targets in a week. Went back to his Oilers days, recalling that Warren Moon would know the slightest body movements of his receivers and know when to throw to them. "You can't try to learn that stuff during the season," Gilbride said.

WRs coach Mike Sullivan

-- Talked to Burress yesterday -- they talked mostly about the upcoming Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight -- but did say that Burress would be here next week. Also said we have to wait and see if Burress will indeed be here.

QBs coach Chris Palmer

-- Has had about 14 hours of film study with his QBs, and noted that Eli wasn't entirely comfortable with the breakdown process at first, but said by the most recent session, Eli was more vocal, more comfortable.

-- Wouldn't ask Eli to be a different kind of leader. "A guy has to be himself," Palmer said.

That's about all... Thanks for sending in questions. After I transcribe the tape tonight, if there's any major stuff I missed, I'll post.

Good to see everyone coming out and posting their thoughts on the draft.

I would say to my man Turkeyleg that Whimper was drafted because of his athletic ability -- he'd played D-line in college and bounced around a lot, so JR obviously felt and still feels this guy has a future at LT. Coughlin may be a tougher sell, but it's not his call just now. Maybe once they get into camp, TC will have more of a say.

I think the reason they didn't select a kicker was simply value. You may not see any difference-makers up and down this list of draftees -- except for Smith, who I think will have the biggest impact this season -- but these are all guys who can contribute in some way immediately. If Mason Crosby didn't beat out Josh Huston or whatever veteran the Giants bring to camp, it was a wasted pick. They can't afford those.

I'll be back tomorrow when we get to chat with the assistants. Questions for Spagnuolo or Gilbride, anyone? You've got til 10 AM tomorrow to send em in...