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A glance at Giants' receiver battle
Domenik Hixon (Photo by Getty Images) It’s one of the burning questions heading into training camp: Who will emerge as the Giants’ starting wide receivers?
Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are now gone, leaving five wideouts legitimately vying for two starting jobs.
Here’s a quick look at what is sure to be one of the league's more intriguing position battles this summer. Camp opens Aug. 3 at the University of Albany.
Steve Smith
The third-year player caught 57 passes last season, albeit for only 574 yards and one touchdown. This possession receiver has probably the best chance of any wideout to land a spot in the starting lineup – but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll end up as the Giants’ leading receiver.
amNY odds to start: 2-to-1Domenik Hixon
If the season began today, Hixon would likely line up as a starter. While he is the early front-runner to replace Burress, he also must stave off Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss and first-round draft pick Hakeem Nicks.
amNY odds to start: 3-to-1
Hakeem Nicks
As the new guy in the mix, the rookie will be watched closely in training camp. Nicks is 6-foot-2 and runs decent speed (4.49 in the 40-yard dash). However, few rookies deliver in their first seasons. It might be unfair to expect big things out of Nicks this year.
amNY odds to start: 8-to-1
Sinorice Moss
Many Giants fans have already labeled the former second-round pick a bust. But Santana Moss’ little brother reportedly impressed coaches in offseason practices. The third-year player is most likely in competition for the No. 3 job.
amNY odds to start: 20-to-1
Mario Manningham
He’s the sleeper in this competition. The second-year player is a big-play threat who put up huge numbers at the University of Michigan.
amNY odds to start: 30-to-1
Tags: nfl, clavicle, domenik hixon, plaxico burress, steve smith, amani toomer, sinorice moss, hakeem nicks, mario manningham, giants
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Giants' Jacobs: Plaxico saga cost us championship
By Ryan Chatelain(Photo by Getty Images) If Plaxico Burress didn’t accidentally shoot himself, the Giants would be bathing in champagne Sunday while celebrating back-to-back Super Bowl championships, star running back Brandon Jacobs said.
“If we have Plax on our team, we go 15-1, and we win the Super Bowl,” Jacobs said. “I'm not afraid to say that, and I'll say it to anybody on any team.”
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Tampa, Fla., where the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will compete in Super Bowl XLIII, Jacobs said the team’s chemistry changed with Burress gone.
“We had a different identity with him, and we didn't have enough time to change our identity to be effective at what we wanted to do.”
Burress was arrested in November after he shot himself in the leg while at a Manhattan nightclub. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of criminal gun possession. Days after the incident, the Giants suspended Burress for the rest of the season.Big Blue had a 9-1 record with their star receiver in the lineup, but was 3-4, including a divisional playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, without him.
But Jacobs insisted he hopes Burress will return to the Giants in 2009 and that he had no feelings toward his teammate.
“A lot of people don’t know anything about what happens or how targeted we are,” Jacobs said. “I'm not going to blame him from protecting himself, but in the end he harmed himself.”
The Giants wouldn’t comment on Jacobs’ remarks Thursday.
Tags: giants, plaxico burress, brandon jacobs
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Amani Toomer speaks up, shows concern for his future with the Giants
Photo by Getty Amani Toomer has never been one to speak out against the Giants. But after Big Blue's dismal end to the season, Toomer chimed in, offering his two cents on why the Giant's couldn't recover after Plaxico Burress was removed from the lineup.
"The last couple of games I wasn't a big part of the offense and we lost a big percentage of the games [four of the last five]," Toomer said. "I feel like you can't tell me [that] didn't play a big role in [the losing]. I think it did."
But not wanting to seem too hasty, the 13-year veteran receiver decided to clear the air a little on his Web site, posting a few interview excerpts about the previous day's comments.“I absolutely did not intend to criticize nor did I criticize the coaching staff’s game plans," Toomer said in the posted interview. "What I did say was that I thought the team as a whole had less focus this year than they did last year and that I almost could see this [Eagles] loss coming.”
However, on a new Giants deal, Toomer spoke frankly about his future.
“Based on how my role declined near the end of the season, I just don’t know how the Giants view my role ... If I were to come back and not really have a chance to compete, then I’d rather go someplace else where I would have a chance to compete. So, I guess it’s fair to say I am conflicted.”
— amNY
Tags: amani toomer, plaxico burress, giants, nfl
