A glimmer of hope?  Terrell Thomas is getting another medical opinion on his knee, and rumors are circulating that he will have a chance to return from injury this year.  This contrasts with the earlier prognosis that Thomas was not only done for the year but that (the rest of) his career would be in doubt.  According to this report from Garafolo, the extent of the injury is unclear.   

As we stated in the previous post, the goal for Thomas is really to be healthy and effective in 2013 and beyond.  2012's target for the Giants team was always modest.  Getting back on the field, competitive or otherwise, was going to be more than adequate.  At this point the Giants and their fans will be thrilled as long as TT's playing days are still ahead of him.  2012? great.  2013? fine.  TT and football? Whenever and wherever we can get it.     

The Giants lost Terrell Thomas.  Again.  The range of emotions at this moment for this player, his teammates, the organization and its fans are wide and strong.  Thomas was such a big contributor to the team, so when he went down last preseason, it was a difficult loss.  Yet the Giants won a Super Bowl without him, a tremendous testament to the accomplishments of the rest of the team.  But to lose Thomas again is painful and sad on so many levels.  Why?  Because a healthy Thomas was going to be helpful to the defense in defending its title here in 2012.  More importantly, this CB was going to make the team that much more competitive in 2013, when Thomas would (more likely) get back to the form he had in 2008-2010.  His career is now threatened by this injury.

UltimateNYG loves the "steak" of its second round draft picks.  No glamour.  Just consistently solid play from great players who generally don't get the attention of the R1 picks.  Guys like Webster, Thomas, Umenyiora, Sehorn, Toomer, Strahan, Jumbo Elliott, Snee... the list goes on and on.  Terrell Thomas led the team in tackles at CB for two consecutive seasons before getting hurt in August of 2011.  Injuries are a part of football, and the Giants will now count on Amukamara to pick up the slack.  Thomas may never have been a "star," but Giants fans know that he was a key defensive player.  Remarkably, Thomas was not a part of XLII or XLVI, getting drafted a year after the 3rd title and missing the Super bowl run with the first ACL tear.  But make no mistake, a healthy Thomas would have made a difference for the team and he will be missed.   

The last time we heard about the Giants' new free agent TE acquisition, Martellus Bennett had gone up to 296 lbs.  That was not a good sign, to say the least.  A You Tube video (loaded yesterday) has updated us with the latest on Bennett, and it is very good news: Bennett is down to 275 lbs and his personal trainer is targeting 265 lbs.   


Professional football players get paid millions of dollars to be professional athletes.  We go to work each day, and they go to the office too- it is to work out and have their bodies in the best possible shape so that they can compete at the highest level.  The linked video is ~33 minutes and gives us a good glimpse into what these men have to do to win games and win championships. 

Listen to the trainer working on Bennett's hand strength.  The trainer did his homework on Bennett and heard about his dropped balls. "By the time he leaves, they are not going to question his hands, because we are going to work on that..."     

It was during the offseason of his 3rd year that Amani Toomer began taking karate.  The difference in his strength, athleticism, professionalism, dedication and confidence were evident.  We are reminded of this when putting into perspective the efforts of all of these players to bring their game to the next level.  No one was a harder worker than Jerry Rice.  Victor Cruz raised the level of his dedication and attention to work when WR Brandon Stokley woke him up to the fact that he was out the door if he did not perform.  If Bennett is serious about making the most of his opportunity with the Giants, it starts right here in the gym with a lot of hard work.  It is a reminder to all of us (see the UltimateNYG book "Bounce") that genes and ability are not enough in any career- hard work separates the best from the rest.      

If you think that there is perfect bliss between a Head Coach and his General Manager, you certainly haven't been a Giants fan for very long.  My awareness began in the 80's when Bill Parcells and George Young would go at it on which players to draft etc..  After leaving the Patriots, he uttered the famous quote: ""They want you to cook the dinner; at least they ought to let you shop for (some of) the groceries."  And therein lies the rub between every front office and every head coach.

Coughlin was a little bit more than displeased ("very disappointed") upon hearing that Ballard was lost.  Coughlin worries about what is in the trenches, not about the dollars. Given the terseness of Coughlin's remarks, he probably thought the "calculated" risk was greater that Ballard would be claimed than what others thought.

TE Jake Ballard was picked up by the Patriots off of waivers.  Jerry Reese made a calculated risk, and there was one team out there that called him on it.  This is a money and roster spot issue. The link contains the more detailed explanation of what the Patriots had to do in order to secure his services.  The way that I understand it, he takes a roster spot and essentially costs the Patriots $1.17M total in (2012 AND) 2013, because he is not going to be playing in 2012.

Do we second guess Reese on this one? Were the Giants penny-wise and pound-foolish? So much of this is a medical question.  His ACL was a mess.  He also required microfracture surgery too.  His recovery is far more lengthy and involved than Beckum's, as an example, because there was more damage.  Ballard was, in the limited time we saw him, an injury-prone player.  And of course, he was terrific when he was healthy. 

TE was a huge hole for the Giants last year, and Ballard filled it big time.  Whether or not Reese knew about how capable Ballard would be for him or not, he saved the Giants in so many ways.  Can any of us think that realistically the Giants would have made it into the playoffs without this player's contributions?  I for one do not.  And if Ballard was healthy in the playoffs, the Giants would have won their games more easily, especially against SF and NE.

But all of these elements have to be weighed against the medical.  All else equal, I would not have risked it.  But I do not know how bad the medical was, and that is not "equal." The Giants signed Martellus Bennett to a 1 year deal, partially predicated (imo) on Ballard being back in 2013.  So if you operate under this assumption, then the Giants clearly made a mistake in their calculus.  It feels like a relatively cheap medical option for the Patriots, given how well Ballard was able to play when he was healthy. 

Of course we all know how Ballard roasted the Patriots in their Week 9 game.  NFL organizations have a memory for that sort of thing.  This type of thinking was definitely a part of why the Giants signed Canty, who seemed to kill the Giants when he was with the Cowboys.

Before anyone crucifies Reese, let's remember that we were all pretty upset when they botched the Steve Smith negotiations and he signed with the Eagles.  That was a medical issue too, to some degree.  The two situations, Ballard and Smith, have a similar ring to them- both were about a roster spot (for a year of recovery where the player was going to be ineffective) and money.  I felt that the Giants needed to protect Smith then, and I feel that the Giants probably should have protected Ballard now.  But Smith is with the Rams now, so that should tell us that the Eagles did not get anything and the Giants could have gone after him a year later as well but did not.  Let's not sentence the Giants as losers and the Patriots as winners. (XLII and XLVI have a difference of opinion on that one too!)  I think the Patriots did well for themselves, as the risk was not great. For the Giants' part, maybe that extra roster spot helps them uncover another gem. Let's remember that Victor Cruz was really close to being cut, so roster spots are really important. 

Summary: It sux that the Giants lost such a wonderful contributor.  The Patriots grabbed what looks like a relatively cheap option.  Between the roster spot and the medical issues, we have to appreciate that this was not a slam dunk decision one way or the other.