NFL Hot Stove!

The Buffalo Bills have re-signed K Rian Lindell to a contract extension. Terms were not immediately disclosed. He played well until a shoulder injury in November sidelined him for the season. This deal helps the Bills, bringing back a quality kicker early, letting them focus on more important positions and players to re-sign.

They have also hired former Colts assistant Pete Metzelaars as their Tight Ends Coach.

Former Ravens RB Ricky Williams has announced his retirment.

And finally, New York Giants TE Travis Beckumtore his ACL during the Super Bowl. It is unknown if he will be prepared for next season.

Notable NFL Free Agent QBs

Now that the NFL season is over, it is time to talk about the free agency period. This offseason will be FAR less hectic than last year's, and so it will be more beneficial to teams with many key free agents.

The market for quarterbacks this year will be solid. Headlined by Pro Bowlers Drew Brees and Alex Smith, the list also includes:

Richard Bartel – ARI
Chris Redman ATL
Jake Delhomme - CLE
Kyle Orton - DEN
Brady Quinn – DEN
Shaun Hill - DET
Drew Stanton – DET
Matt Flynn – GB
Tyler Palko – KC
Chad Henne – MIA
Brian Hoyer – NE
Chase Daniel – NO
Drew Brees – NO
Sage Rosenfels - NYG*
Mark Brunell – NYJ*
Kevin O’Connell – NYJ*
Kyle Boller – OAK
Jason Campbell - OAK
Charlie Batch – PIT
Byron Leftwich – PIT
Dennis Dixon – PIT
Charlie Whitehurst – SEA
David Carr – NYG*
Alex Smith – SF
A.J. Feeley - STL
Josh Johnson – TB
Vince Young – PHI
Rex Grossman – WAS
David Garrard - JAC

Of the four starred quarterbacks currently in New York, I feel that David Carr is the only one who will be here next season. Carr will sign a 1-year deal for a small ammount to return to the G-Men for 2012.

Carr fills in for Eli Manning in 2009.

Giants 2011: A Season In Review

The Superbowl XLVI Champion New York Giants have a talented group of players that led them to their fourth championship. Now, they must deal with who to re-sign and who to let go.

Offense
While there is no question that they have a starting quarterback for the next number of years to come, backup QB David Carr should return on a 1-year deal. He is a proven backup who knows the system and even though he doesn't play much, if at all, if Manning ever was unable to play, whether from injury, illness or whatnot, Carr would be comfortable in that role.

Wide receivers Domenik Hixon, Devin Thomas, and Mario Manningham should all return. Manningham had 39 receptions for 523 yards in 2011. They work well with Eli and provide a DEEP receiving core. Of the Giants 3 free agents receivers, however, Hixon is the most likely to be let go.

Manningham MUST return!

With Jake Ballard's injury, as well as the evolving position of the tight end, Bear Pascoe is likely to return on a short term deal.

Steve Weatherford is likely to sign a long term deal this offseason.

Offensive Tackles Kareem McKenzie and Tony Ogoh could be re-signed, but Ogoh is the most likely to be let go though.

Guard Stacy Andrews, however, is probably gone. After his diagnosis with a pulmonary embolism, with his career and even life in danger, he will not be back in 2012.

With the Giants defensive woes last season, Rocky Bernard will be gone, but Jimmy Kennedy, the troubled defensive tackle, will return on a 1-year deal unless his legal issues get in the way.

Defensive End Dave Tollefson is likely to be back on a short-term deal.

The linebaking core struggled in 2011, and as a result, ILB Jonathan Goff, who spent the entire season on IR, will not return in 2012, as Greg Jones and Mark Herzlich filled in admirably in Goff's absence. OLB Chase Blackburn, who was cut once and barely returned this season, proved he CAN turn around, and while it is not certain, he may receive a 1-year tender.

Now, the cornerbacks last season were AWFUL. They couldn't make a stop or a catch, and therefore, Aaron Ross, Michael Coe, and Brian Jackson will probably all be gone in 2012. However, Will Blackmon may sign a tender, Justin Tyron should be kept, and Terrell Thomas, who spent the entire season on IR but is progressing quickly and will be ready for training camp, MUST return!

That brings me to the safteies. The most criticized position all season, (at least by me). Stong saftey Deon Grant should not return in 2012, instead being replaced by Tyler Sash. Derrick Martin, however, may return on a short-term deal or tender.

Deon Grant cannot intercept Ryan Fitzpatrick and surrenders a touchdown.

A Super Finish!

The New York Giants have done it! They defeated the Patriots 21-17.

The game began with a saftey by the Giants on Tom Brady after an intentional grounding penalty. They followed this with a long drive ending in a 2 yard touchdown to Victor Cruz. 9-0 G-Men.

2nd Quarter
A short Patriots drive ended on a 29 yard field goal by Gostkowski. 9-3 G-Men. After this, a long Patriots drive ended in a 4-yard touchdown from Brady to Danny Woodhead. 10-9 Pats.

3rd Quarter
A long Patriots drive gave them a 17-9 lead with a touchdown to Aaron Hernandez. But, Lawrence Tynes kicked a 38 yard field goal with about 7 minutes left. 17-12 Pats. With 40 seconds left, Lawrence Tynes kicked a 33 yard field goal. 17-15 Pats.

4th Quarter
The fourth quarter was a long, non-scoring game until Bradshaw ran for a 6 yard touchdown. 21-17 Giants.

The Pats tried in vain to put themselves back on top, but in the end, the Giants proved a formidable foe once again.

Bill Parcells- The Hall of Famer

The Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot has been announced. The induction will take place in August 2012 and among the many notable names is former Giants coach Bill Parcells.

Parcells officially retired in 2006 with a record of 183-138-1. He led the Giants to Super Bowls XXI and XXV. "The Big Tuna" was a 2-time coach of the year and the image of his gatorade dunking after Super Bowl XXI, the first coach to be so "honored" is immortal in Giants and NFL history.

In 1990, he led the Giants to a 10-0 start before losing Phil Simms to injury. Despite this, they narrowly defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-19 to capture another title. After this he retired due to health problems, however, he un-retired and returned to coach the Jets and after retiring again, came back to coach the Cowboys after Jerry Jones convinced him to pull a Brett Favre again, and he coached the Cowboys. He finally retired in 2007 and accepted a position as Executive VP with the Dolphins, earning him the nickname "Football Czar", until 2010.

Parcells is a no-doubt, first ballot Hall of Famer.

Super Bowl Sunday!

At last, the long-awaited day is upon us. On Sunday, the New York Giants will face the New England Patriots in Superbowl XLVI...

The New York Giants will have everybody ready for the biggest game of the season, including RB Ahmad Bradshaw, LB Mark Herzlich and TE Jake Ballard. The Patriots only question mark is TE Rob Gronkowski, and everyone expects him to play, including myself.

The Giants offense has stood the test of time. QB Eli Manning and RBs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs provide stability and balance between the running and passing game, so the issue here will be which style of play will be more effective against the Patriots.

Their defense, meanwhile, has been the most remarkable turnaround of the season. With the Core Four of Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Matthias Kiwanuka playing extraordinarily well, and the offensive line as healthy as ever, facing the Patriots, whose defense has been terrible all year, and has forced the offense to make them come back in many games.

The only thing the Pats have going for them is that their offense, led by Tom "Terrific" Brady, Wes Welker, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Rob Gronkowski, albeit injured. Their defense has been bad all year, even with DE Shaun Ellis, one of my favorite players, playing okay.

The Giants also have an edge in special teams, as weird as that may seem. Patriots have a rookie LS in Danny Aiken, K Stephen Gostkowski, and P Zoltan Mesko led the special teams for New England. The Giants have an exceptional punter (one of the best in the league) in Steve Weatherford, the best long snapper in football in Zak DeOssie, (who can also double as a linebacker if absolutely necessary), and the most UNDERRATED kicker in football in Lawrence Tynes.

The Patriots are favored, they have a bad defense, and are facing (what is now) a great defense. Their offense may be bad, but the Giants are, all-in-all, the most complete, and therefore, I feel, the better team.

This analysis seems to suggest only one outcome:

I will be watching the Giants parade down the canyon of heroes on Tuesday.

Hot Stove

The Nationals have agreed to a 1-year deal with RHP Edwin Jackson. He went 12-9 last season, won a game in the NLCS, but got hammered in the 2011 World Series. For a team that needs to rebuild, this move is pretty solid, but if Jackson isn't able to hold up his accuracy, he will be in for a very early retirement.

RHP Livan Hernandez has signed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros. The former Met was 8-13 with a 4.47 ERA in 2011, the first year he failed to pitched at least 200 innings in his career. This move keeps Hernandez, one of the greatest hitting pitchers of the deignated hitter era, in the National League.