ESPN is reporting that the New York Giants have reached a deal with six-year veteran, Jerome McDougle:
The Giants, according to a source, reached a one-year, $1 million agreement with defensive end Jerome McDougle, whom the Eagles released Saturday. Andy Reid entered camp with seven defensive ends who could rush the quarterback, including McDougle, a former first-round pick.
A lot of people thought this would be the move after the Giants lost Osi Umenyiora and failed to bring Michael Strahan back into the fold.
McDougle, is largely considered a first-round bust.  He failed to capitalize on a strong collegiate career, tallying [...]

The five steps of grief have run their course.

Denial: It’s not possible Osi Umenyiora could miss the year. He was our anchor; our bridge from one era of defensive line dominance to the next. Our team’s success was predicated on a strong pass rush, this could not be happening.
Anger: Why was Osi in the preseason game that long? He knows how to play football; he doesn’t need to be out there risking injury!
Bargaining: We’ll take the old Eli back if Osi will play this year.
Depresssion: I miss Osi so much.
Acceptance: Osi is going to miss the season. [...]

I just found this breaking news from RotoWorld.com:
NFL Network’s Adam Schefter reports that Osi Umenyiora will need surgery on his injured knee and miss the entire 2008 season.
This is a crushing blow to a team that already lost one Pro-Bowl defensive end this offseason. The loss Umenyiora puts added pressure on Justin Tuck, and could force the G-Men to line Mathias Kiwanuka up as an end. The Giants live and die by the pass rush, and there are really no words to describe how much Osi will be missed.

I guess replacing Michael Strahan just got a bit harder.  As anyone who watched tonight’s preseason game knows, Osi Umenyiora hurt his knee.  They claim that there was no ligament damage to the knee, but officials are unsure how much time he will miss..  From the NY Daily News:
No ligament damage would be good, but a “locked up” knee – – which is how a Giants spokesman described it – could be an indication of several other things, including a torn meniscus. Depending on the size of the tear, that could mean an absence of anywhere from 2-8 weeks, depending [...]

The battle for New York begins tonight. While the Jets have recieved the bulk of off-season attention, one fact remains: The Giants are the reigning Super Bowl champs, and the Jets didn’t even make the playoffs. The lack of attention may have even helped us–people still like Plaxico despite the fact that he’s refused to play all offseason. With tonight’s game in mind, let’s take a look at the news:
Over at the NJ Star Ledger, Mike Garafolo outlines three things to watch in tonight’s preseason game. Garafolo talks about backup kicker, Josh Huston, which brings us [...]

A report over at the NY Post says Lawrence Tynes may miss the entire 08-09 season. Tynes, the hero of the NFC Championship Game, will have exploratory surgery on his knee this afternoon.  If the results are negative, Tynes will be watching the game from the sideline.  
Currently, the Giants have a backup in Josh Huston, an undrafted free agent from Ohio State. The Giants originally signed Huston as the heir apparent to Jay Feely in 2007.  When the Giants traded for Tynes, Huston was cut.  Huston is not considered a long-term solution if Tynes misses the upcoming season.  
So who [...]

Exciting to see Monday Night Football again! Pardon the Interruption is off this week, and its nice to still get my Tony Kornheiser fill. I’ll be watching the game with some friends and throwing mine and their observations up on the blog.
Is Eli growing a mustache: I really thought Eli turned a corner last year, and now I know it. Nothing says new man like a mustache.
My friend sitting next to me, an ardent Cowboys fan, suggested Eli was pulling a Giambi. I hope that’s the only thing Eli takes from Giambi…
The mustache has apparently put [...]

Here is Tom Coughlin’s Sunday Night Conversation from yesterday’s Sportscenter:
The interesting part for me is, with around 6-7 minutes left in the video, Coughlin talks about how close Plaxico Burress came to missing the Super Bowl.  I’d imagine the Giants had this fear literally every week, but the big game would have been very different if Plaxico had not played.  Overall, the interview is interesting, and Coughlin is surprisingly candid.  

A NJ Star Ledger report outlines some of the plans for tonight’s game.  Some of the highlights:

Eli Manning and the starters (despite the fact that ten of them won’t play), will play only about 25 plays tonight
Anthony Wright, not David Carr will be the second quarterback in tonight’s game.  Carr will only enter as a fourth QB if there are enough snaps for Wright, and third-stringer Andre Woodson.

No surprise with the information on the starters, but a bit of a shocker with the Carr decision.  Carr and Wright performed equally as well last preseason game.  One would think Carr’s upside [...]

An NBC Station in Philadelphia is reporting a man threatened to blackmail Tom Coughlin earlier this year. The man, Herbert Alex Simpson wrote two letters last month, supposedly by females Coughlin has sexual encounters with. The story reads as follows:

The first letter claimed the encounter happened while the Giants were in Philadelphia and it threatened to expose the fictional event unless Coughlin paid between $20,000-$30,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Simpson’s letters also threatened that if Coughlin did not pay the money, his life would be made “a living hell by doing something to [his] family,” according to [...]