As the annual weeklong Super Bowl event wraps up, I put together a patchwork of thoughts. Also in this piece, Molly’s final pick for 2009, a LTTE, and more.
Osi-No.Nearly three months after being demoted from the starting lineup, giants DE Osi Umenyiora is still fuming. And he won’t stop until he receives some sort of reassurance from the team that his situation will change.
If he doesn’t get that reassurance, Umenyiora said he’s willing to walk away from the game.
“I think obviously I believe I can help the New York Giants win,” he said this week at a Super Bowl media event. “ I love the team. I love the organization, there's no quest about that. And I'd much rather be in New York than anywhere else on planet Earth,” he said during a media session on Thursday at the Super Bowl media center.
"But just sitting down on the bench, coming in on third downs,” he added, “I can't help them win at all. I'm not able to make an impact. I just won't be able to do that for a whole season."
Maybe it’s just me, but I am having trouble with Umenyiora’s sentiments. He’s saying that he loves the Giants organization and wants to be here, but only if certain conditions are met.
Isn’t love supposed to be unconditional and a two-way street or do I have this whole concept backwards?
When a player’s love is conditional, that could develop into a problem because he ceases to be a team player and morphs into an individual. And on a team that stresses the concept of team, that can’t be a good thing.
Look, I understand Umenyiora’s feelings were hurt, but he’s not the first player to be reassigned to new duties (yes, let’s call it a reassignment instead of a demotion). WR Domenik Hixon, who entered the 2009 season as the Giants’ #1 receiver, was reassigned to different duties as the team’s fourth receiver and return specialists, and I don’t ever remember him complaining about the loss of status on or off the record – and he’s in a contract year, unlike Umenyiora.
The last time I checked, being part of a defensive lien rotation isn't necessarily a bad thing, sort of like not being the nickel back in that you play almost as much as the starters. Ina defensive line rotation, I’m sure whoever is the third defensive end will see a lot of snaps. And if you have a special skill such as Umenyiora does with rushing the passer, how can he sit there and say that he can’t help the team?
Umenyiora said it’s into about the money, but with all due respect, I don’t’ believe him, at least not after he uttered these words: “For me, this is going on my eighth year in the NFL now. I don’t have that many years left. So I must, right now, start to do what’s in my best interest. You expect me to put up numbers. I expect myself to put up numbers. But obviously I need to be on the football field to do that.”
Numbers, of course, translate into dollars, dear readers. And as the late George Young used to say, “It’s ALWAYS about the money.”
Twitter Topic.I asked my Twitter followers what they thought about Umenyiora’s latest outburst. Here’s a sampling of what folks had to say
- Schwabcycler: Disagree on Osi - trade him before he proves he a second ranker.
- TeamMalespin: He shouldn't be guaranteed a starting position! If you play like a starter . you will be a starter.... Point Blank!!
- jrosenberg33 He didn't just get few sacks this season- he got run at and over repeatedly. Was probably much easier with 92 taking on 2.
- UpperWSGuy: AdioOsi !!!
- LadyBlueICU: About Osi all I gotta say is: Money Money Money. Osi honey, it's pretty clear, it's about the money.
- jscottjones: I'm so sick and tired of the me-first attitude. He needs to go before he becomes a cancer like Shockey.
- GMEN10: The only frustrating part is Osi having as many sacks as you and me this season. Start getting to the QB end of story!
- madgreek65: Performance matters, not talk. Osi should prove it on the field not in the media.
Jacobs Reveals More About His Injury. RB Brandon Jacobs revealed that he first injured his knee back in the first week of the 2009 season – and expressed regrets that he didn’t get the injury taken care of sooner.
“I would've got it done in Week One, missed four or five weeks and came back and played,” Jacobs said. “As the year went on I thought it was going to get better, it was going to get better, it was going to get better. But when I figured out it wasn't going to get better, it was too late.”
Speaking at a promotional event at the Super Bowl, Jacobs said that he’s on track toward a full recovery from his torn meniscus. However moving forward, he said that if he ever has a similar experience with an injury, he’s going to get it taken care of instead of waiting.
“If something happens to you, go and get it taken care of, no matter what it is. Because things aren’t going to get better.”
Eli’s Foot is “Feeling Good.” QB Eli Manning said that his injured foot is doing well and that he’ll have a MRI sometime next week to assess its progress.
“The foot feels good,” he said. “The rest has felt good this past month or so. It shouldn’t be a problem … I’ve been working out and training a little bit. I took time off. I’m just trying to let it heal up and not put too much strain on it.”
Manning has also been providing the Giants with input on the team’s next quarterbacks coach. The retirement of Chris Palmer, a decision the Giants quarterback said “blind-sided him.
As for what he’s hoping to get in his next position coach, Manning said, “You just need somebody who will have good drills, will get your mechanics and footwork back, will watch all the film and just continue to grow in decisions in our offense and what we need to do for certain looks, whether it’s protections or certain plays and just giving ideas and tips.”
Labor Pains.I’ve been following the latest chatter about the upcoming labor dispute, and the more I read from NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, the more convinced I am that things are going to get very ugly in the coming weeks.
Witness what Smith said when asked about the chances of a lockout in 2011:, "On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 14. It's that serious."
But what’s even more serious, in my opinion, is Smith’s insistence that if the salary cap does go away, it will be "virtually impossible" for the union to go back to a capped environment.
Never say never, especially when it comes to negotiating. The salary cap wasn’t introduced until 1994 when free agency was implemented. For all those players who are crying about how underpaid they are, let’s see how they react when there’s a work stoppage in 2010 that forces them to scrimp and save
I realize that being asked to take an 18% pay cut – heck any pay cut –isn’t going to be well-received by anyone. But there has to be some give and take here otherwise you can mark it down in ink that things are going to get VERY ugly a little over a year from now.
But I’m optimistic that they’ll get something done in the 11th hour, because as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Friday, business owners can’t make money if they close down shop.
Random Musing. Don’t expect a wild free agency period this year given the changes brought about by the uncapped season. As was initially reported, 212 players who otherwise would have been unrestricted will be restricted, as in 2010, players will need six seasons to reach unrestricted free agency. Moreover, considering a player reaches his peak after about four seasons, which means the talent pool is not going to be as rich as it’s been in past years.
That’s why this year I think the draft is going to be more important than ever. Further, I would not be surprised if the Giants try to swing a couple of trades at some of their excess positions tin the hopes of getting more draft picks. Whether they’re successful is another story, but right now if I had to guess, I would say the giants probably aren’t going to log the same amount of activity they did last year, instead focusing on the draft instead.
Letter to the Editor.I’m cleaning out my e-mail box for the weekend and had this lone letter, received from Jimi D. sitting there. He wrote, “One thing that was not mentioned in your response to Frank C's letter was the fact that, as far as I can remember, never claimed to be the best, even after his 22.5 sacks. He always worked harder than everybody else and talked plenty, but not puffing himself up like Osi is. I don't think you'd expect any real pro to be talking like this coming off two lost seasons, the last being of poor performance and the previous to injury.”
Jimi, every year I remind myself to be ready for anything and not to let my jaw hit the ground. Every year, however, I learn something about someone that floors me.
Am I shocked about Osi’s ramblings? No. Disappointed? Yes. Do I think this will have a happy ending? That remains to be seen, but I will say this much -- just once I’d like to see this team go through a season without a controversy, regardless of the size.
Molly’s Super Pick. Ok, we’ve finally come to the final football pick for 2009, so without further delay, Molly’s pick is a bit of a shocker: the Saints.
When she made the pick, I was at a loss for words to describe it, so because, as my husband theorized, the Saints are the underdogs, so because Molly is also a dog, she's supporting her "kind".
For the record, we both don’t agree with her pick. But then I remembered how the last time Molly picked the Saints in a game – the Giants-Saints game earlier in the season – and how I looked at her in disbelief and questioned the pick only to be proven wrong.
The pooch has a better record than I do, so who am I to question her?
Enjoy the game, everyone.
