[Note by Ed Valentine, 03/28/12 9:32 AM EDT : Fun stuff here from 'Larry Soprano.']

So I had flight for business down south today. When I got to the gate moments before boarding at the Philadelphia Airport I recognized NFL Analyst Mike Mayock was waiting for my same flight to Columbia, SC.

Poll

Why are the New York Giants selecting at #32?

8%

Luck

70 votes

81%

They won the freaking Super Bowl!

687 votes

2%

Cowboys stink

21 votes

5%

Eagles blow

49 votes

2%

Redskins...lol

20 votes

847 votes | Poll has closed

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Stupid people.

So I went to the game against the Redskins this past Sunday. It was the 5th regular season game I attended this year and the team posted a 1-4 record with the sole win coming against the Dolphins. Needless to say I haven’t witnessed a good game in person all year. Lucky for all of you, I am not attending any more games this year. I turned down tickets to the Dallas game, and if for some miraculous reason they win the Division and earn a 1st round home game I will be watching it from the warm confines of my family room.

But I digress…

Poll

The Giants will win the Division?

100%

Yes

65 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed

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My fellow Giant’s fans I would like to bring to your attention a theory of mine regarding football:

There are God(s)* that control the fate of football games…

and

you don’t want to piss them off!

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and I don’t think people are fired up enough. 

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Much better showing this week gang.  Congratulations to Free and j-man for getting the high score of 15 out of 16.  Big kudos to j-man though, as the only one of us to correctly predict the Titans upset over Baltimore.  And a big Wet Willie to espnsucks for bringing up the rear with only 8 correct selections.

-I think we determined that someone new would take care of this post each week.  Time for someone new to step up this week.

-PLEASE back me up and check your tally against what I have posted here.

Week 2 results:

15- FreeBradshaw, j-man

14- 1GiantLion, Larry Soprano, Simms-McConkey, Giants_fan4life

13- LostinJersey, DaddyZander, wangstu13, Tito, TelcoChik

12- jcalafiore, BrooksBridges11, brisulph, Troy O, Plaxico Burress, WillGFass, Giants56, tommy d., GiantRB27, Blood of Eli

11- sv1031, Master Ov Brutality, njGiant

10- Amsterdam Admirals, NetsAreBoss

8- espnsucks

We didn’t get picks from Semsemma, just J, or Maculis.  Not sure what you guys want to do, but I think we need to come to a consensus on whether they can proceed, whether it’s with a 0 for this week or give them a one-time pass and award them the low score for the week like we did the late-comers this past week.

Totals after Week 2:

25- FreeBradshaw

24- LostinJersey, 1GiantLion

23- jcalafiore, DaddyZander, Larry Soprano

22- sv1031, BrooksBridges11, wangstu13, Simms-McConkey, Giants_fan4life, j-man

21- Master Ov Brutality, brisulph, Troy O, Plaxico Burress, Tito, TelcoChik

20- WillGFass, Giants56

19- Amsterdam Admirals, tommy d., GiantRB27, Blood of Eli

18- NetsAreBoss, njGiant

15- espnsucks

And, if these guys want to continue here’s their week 1 scores Semsemma (9), just J (9), Maculis (7).

Here is last week's post:  BBV Pick'em Week 2

Week 3 games:

JAX @ CAR
DET @ MIN
SF @ CIN
MIA @ CLE
NE @ BUF
NYG @ PHI
DEN @ TEN
HOU @ NO
NYJ @ OAK
BAL @ STL
KC @ SD
ATL @ TB
ARI @ SEA
GB @ CHI
PIT @ IND
WAS @ DAL

Good luck all, please have picks posted by midnight on Saturday.

  
 A "fan favorite" will not make the 53 man roster.

 

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Do you hear that?  The silence is deafening!  The draft has come and gone and the lockout still looms.  Normally we would be discussing our new draft picks, free agent signings, UDFA rookies, upcoming OTA’s and looking forward to camp opening in just a few short weeks.  Now I feel like I am constantly refreshing BBV waiting for anything, just anything that Ed can post that is Giants or football related.

 

 via blog.nj.com

 

So,I figured I’d take this opportunity to give ya’ll an update on myself as well as try to find out a little bit more about our fellow BBV readers.

 

 

I’m in the process of separating from the Navy and actually just went on terminal leave to start my new job.  I was previously stationed down in DC and had the pleasure of rooting for my beloved Giants knee deep in Skin’s country.  To be honest it wasn’t all that painful.  In fact, it was quite comical having the pleasure listening to the local DC sports talking heads argue and rant about the disarray that is the Washington Redskins.  Jim Zorn, Vinny Cerrato, Clinton Portis’ different personalities, Jason Campbell, Chris Cooley’s junk, Albert Haynesworth, Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb, Dan Snyder, Dan Snyder’s desk, Dan Snyder’s lawsuits, and Dan Snyder’s ego...ah some fond memories. 

 

 

 

 via www.officialpsds.com

Watching the Gmen wasn’t that big of an issue either.  I couldn’t get DirecTV (damn tree line behind the house!), but in the DC market if the Giants were playing at a different time than the Skins they typically aired the Giants game.  If they didn’t, than I would just go invest in the local watering hole and catch the game there.  I also had the pleasure of making to the Giants at Skins games the past 2 years.  Luckily I timed my purchase for tickets just right (usually after the Skins season was down the crapper) and was able to get lower levels behind the Giants’ bench both times for under $100!

 

 

 

 

 

But, my time in the service is about to end and I took a great opportunity with a promising company and am moving back to Jersey and closer to the NY market.  Just not close enough though.  The job is in South Jersey in self-proclaimed Eagles country. I am familiar with the area since my in-laws were transplanted here a few years back so I know what I am getting myself into.  I’m fairly certain I can handle Philly fans, the Eagles paraphernalia everywhere, and the constant news coverage gushing over there great regular season victories. 

 

I’m just going to have to ignore it as much as I can.  I am hoping my 4 year old can too though… he sees me with a Yuengling in my hand, points to the label and tells me boooo Eagles! I’ve got him trained well.  I’m probably gonna have to have him tone that down before he starts school next year.  But we’ll see.  Hopefully our next house will be DirecTV compatible, however it won’t be as big of a deal since I found my way into some tickets for next year. 

 

Dear God please let there be a season! 

 

 via cdn.bleacherreport.net

 

 

So that’s my story.  Feel free to share yours…do you cheer for the Gmen in enemy territory, down the street from the Meadowlands, or from across the globe?

Poll

Where ya root from?

23%

New York

32 votes

17%

New Jersey

23 votes

2%

Connecticut

3 votes

2%

New England

3 votes

8%

Eagles country

11 votes

8%

Skins country

11 votes

3%

Cowboys country

5 votes

10%

Southeast

14 votes

1%

Midwest

2 votes

2%

Southwest

4 votes

5%

West coast

7 votes

2%

Canada

4 votes

0%

Mexico

0 votes

9%

Overseas

13 votes

1%

Mom's basement

2 votes

134 votes | Poll has closed

 

I started to respond to Ed’s post on the Positional Reviews for TE but it started getting too long.

 

Kevin Boss had arguably his worst season as a Giant this year.

 

-only 35 receptions (magnified by the depleted WR corps)

-11 dropped passes (magnified by the ones on 3rd down and the absence of SS12)

-1 fumble

-the failed fumble recovery attempt against the Pack

-missed 2 games with injury.

 

via assets.nydailynews.com

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via assets.giants.com  

After having a discussion with Tito over our thoughts of Beatty's performance against the Skins, I decided to go back and review the game.  With the help of my DVR, I watched each of the offensive plays and I specifically focused on Beatty for each play (don't worry, it didn't take as long as you might think).  Utilizing the same grading system that I was subjected to in college, I believe I came up with a fair analysis of his performance this Sunday. 

Poll

Assuming Andrews and O'Hara are still out, and with Diehl returning from his injury soon, which O-line combination would you prefer to see. (LT, LG, C, RG, RT)

66%

Beatty, Diehl, Seubert, Snee, McKenzie

430 votes

17%

Diehl, Boothe, Seubert, Snee, McKenzie

114 votes

6%

Beatty, Boothe, Seubert, Snee, McKenzie

43 votes

8%

Bomar, Diehl, Seubert, Snee, McKenzie

57 votes

644 votes | Poll has closed

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After sleeping on yesterday’s loss (not really since my two kids were up sick most of the night) and reading some of the reactions to the game... I have come up with few conclusions that I would like to share with our brethren (and sisters?) here at BBV.

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Someone had mentioned an over/under in another post so it got me thinking about the year-end over/under’s for some of the Giants’ statistical categories.  I’m sure this post would be better at the halfway point of the season instead of the 3/8 point, but I’m bored.  So let’s take a look at some of the Giants, where they are now, what they’re projections are, and your over/under guesses…

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I was going to respond to long time listener’s recent post "here's a poll question I'd like to see," but it started getting too long.  So here are my thoughts…

 

 

1) "In 25 years, the NFL will no longer exist. True or false?"

• False.
• In 25 years the NFL will continue to exist because like any highly desirable commodity, Americans will still want it.
• Baring nuclear Armageddon, I do not conceivably see how the NFL will cease to exist.  As long as people are still passionate about it and people are making tons of money off of it, it will continue.
• Now, will there be changes and differences than the game being played today? I’d say there’s about a 99% chance that yes, it will be different.  Different rules will be tweaked, different styles of offenses and defenses will be played, but overall it will still be football.
• 25 years ago, nobody heard of the Wildcat. Zone blitzes were not yet being implemented and LT had just started to revolutionize his art and change the game.  25 years from now, I am not saying it will resemble the game played in Starship Troopers, but it will be different.

2) "I wonder if parents are going to stop allowing their kids to play football out of fear of the long-term consequences of concussions."

• Dear Lord, I hope not.
• I played football from 7th grade until my senior year in College and I am a better man today for it. 
• Football teaches you real life lessons that your children will not learn by taking an hour of gym class or participating in soccer or gymnastics or most any other activity.  I am not saying that kids shouldn’t do those activities, because there are a lot of benefits in participating in them, but they are not the same as football.  
• Not everyone can play football, at least not at the higher levels of High School Varsity, College, or the pros.  If your children can’t, get them in other extra curricular activities.  Get them in extra curricular activities in addition to playing football.  In addition to playing football in Middle School, High School and College, I played in the band, played ice hockey, played baseball, played lacrosse, rowed crew, was a member of the national honor society, and was a big brother in the Big Brother and sisters program.  All great extra curriculars, but not the same as playing football.
• Football taught me discipline and hard work.  It taught me how to win and how to lose gracefully.  It taught me how to be a leader and a follower.  It taught me the value of teamwork and preparation.  It taught me wonderful clichés like "practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect."  But they are all true.  I know what its like to lose by a missed extra point in OT or by 45 points.  I also know what its like to come from behind down 3 scores at halftime.  Football is a full year sport.  You lift weights in the spring, study the play book, go through two-a-days in oppressive August heat, practice in a sleet/snow storm in October, just so you can put it all together for 60 minutes on that Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
• I dislike soccer.  It’s the most popular sport in the world, but its not as popular here in the U.S. for a reason.  In soccer, a kid learns that the game can end in a tie and that’s ok because everyone will get to enjoy brownies and punch at the end and all is merry.  In football you can only win or lose.  The only way to win is to kick the snot out of your opponent and that is the American way.  That’s the way most of America is hardwired and that’s why we are passionate about football.
• Are concussions a bad thing? Absolutely, and proper precautions should be taken to ensure that they don’t happen and to prevent multiple ones.  Should a parent keep their child from playing football because of the threat of a concussion?  I would say that that is an extreme over precaution.  I would argue that your 10, 13, 15, or 18 year old kid is just as likely at sustaining a concussion by playing soccer, baseball, ice hockey, or most any other sport.  I never sustained a concussion in all my years of playing football.  I also played 4 years in college on old style astro turf and amazingly didn’t suffer a single knee injury.  Am I the rule or the exception?  Probably a little of both.  That’s not to say I was never injured; I have broke bones, dislocated an elbow, and sprained my ankles.  Some injuries are apart of the risk you take when strap em on.  
• What we are witnessing are the greatest athletes in the world using improper form in order to deliver highlight reel hits in order to make highlights.  I was always told that if you play timid you will get hurt.  It is also true that if you play with reckless abandon that you will probably get hurt or hurt someone else.  It is being able to use proper form and controlled rage between whistle to whistle in order to play the game right.  Proper enforcement of the rules and strict disciplinary action will straighten this out.
• I have two small boys.  My wife and I want them to play football.   I will not force them to play.  I hope that through proper parenting, full awareness, and subtle encouragement that they will want to play the game. I will not prevent them from playing because of a sudden on slaught of news coverage and revelations about concussions in the game.

 

That’s my rant.  I hope it was coherent enough.  Feel free to poke holes in my logic if you would like, but I’m sticking to my opinion.

Poll

Would you prevent your kid from playing football because of a threat of a concussion?

5%

Yes

4 votes

81%

No

56 votes

13%

Maybe

9 votes

69 votes | Poll has closed

With the season about to start in a few days, I started to think about how I plan on watching the Giants this season.  I typically sport my Manning jersey and get my wife and my kid dressed in theirs.  We have a recent addition to the family (9 months) so he will be wearing his brother's old Manning jersey.  We are out of market so we don't get all the games played at home.  Thanks to the large tree line in my backyard DirecTV is not an option either.  Luckily there are a plethora of bars/restaurants in the area that play the game, including a local dive that is owned by a NY transplant and Giants fan.

 

I don’t consider myself a very superstitious person because I do know that it is complete nonsense.  I did, however, used to wear the same rotty old t-shirt under my uniform during college during winning streaks.  And I made sure to change it out whenever we lost.  While I am watching the Giants I do find myself staying in one position when they are playing well.  Or I find myself going back to that position if they start playing poorly or catch a bad break.  

 

This also got me thinking about a Dateline special I remember seeing from a few years ago that chronicled football fans and their silly superstitions and how it affected their marriages.  They taped this one Giant fan that forced his wife to not move if the Giants were doing well.  

 

I also remember this guy I met on February 3, 2008.  I was stationed up in Groton, CT, home to both NY and Boston sports fans.  I ran out to the local Chinese Take-out to grab some soup for my wife while she was making the pick-ems for the big game.  I happen to catch a Pats fan returning the meal he had just bought, disgusted that they messed up his order.  In his thick New England accent he complained that they got his order all wrong and that each Sunday for the past 18 weeks he always ate the Chicken Lo Mein and Fried Rice.  He looked at me and said “I hope this isn’t a sign.”  Sucks for him.

 

So what kind of rituals or superstitions do you guys practice when watching the Giants?

 

via bengals.enquirer.com

As I am watching this crappy preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons I am listening to Troy Aikman and Joe Buck talk about the NFC East.  I know what you are all thinking, why on earth is he watching the game with the volume on while those two are announcing?  Not really sure myself, but anyways, to my amazement Troy actually gave the Giants some props...

"The Giants are little bit like the Patriots in that nobody is talking about them.  And I think that they will step up and really surprise some people..." 

Is his perceived bias against the Giants a fabrication?  Or did he just have a lapse in his normal hate and disgust towards Big Blue?  Has he realized the error in his ways and come to the realization that the Giants are a legitimate contender?  It was a brief bit of "praise" for the G-men, however he did go onto say some nice things about the Eagles and Redskins too.  So it may have just been him playing nice.  Needless to say, I was shocked and I figured I would share with you all.

(Update: Giants will be picking 15th after what transpired yesterday.  I suppose that is the only silver lining to that miserable game they played.)

 

Well, with the season coming to an unofficial end this past Sunday, I have turned my attention and focus to the Giants next major milestone: The 2010 Draft.  I know its early, but I need something postive to look forward to.  Apparently I missed the announcement that it is going to be a primetime event starting with the first round starting on Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET

 

The Giants needs have been argued here as well as many other “inter-Google” sites.  I personally believe that they are (in no particular order): Safety, DT, Inside LB, O-line depth, Punter, and Kicker.  That being said, you don’t draft kickers and punters.  Rookie free agents and regular free agency will fix those needs.

 

Right now the Giants are scheduled to have 1 pick in each of the 7 rounds.  Their order in the draft is still up in the air due to the pending outcomes of the games this weekend, however they will pick no worse than 20th and no better than 14th.  

 

What should their draft strategy be?   Sit or move up or move down? 

 

Who would you like to see them take?  Don’t say Suh or Berry or anyone else that is a top 5 pick unless you have a good strategy for trading up to get there (which is highly unlikely).

 

Do you draft the most talented guy on the board (which I think has been Reese’s strategy in years past) or draft for your needs?

The Newark Star Ledger just reported that the Giants have placed Antonio Pierce on season ending IR and I saw it on the NFL network just now.  Now the question is who are they going to pick up to fill his spot on the roster?  Who is out there?  Do they pick up another MLB or go for another position in need?  Also, is this the last we see Antonio Pierce in a Giants uni?

NY Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce placed on injured reserve with neck injury

Looks like Hinske and Bruney are in, and Guzman and Cervelli are out.  This is what I anticipated with a bat needed to come off the bench and pinch hit in the NL park, and some bullpen help as well.  Tough to see Cervelli not on the roster, but I never anticipated him catching one of these games.  With Guzman gone, does this mean we don't see Gardner start in CF to maintain him as a pinch runner?

Yankees add Bruney, Hinske to series roster