Giants Countdown to the Hall of Fame Game: Six Days

Aug 2, 2013; Canton, OH, USA; NFL former head coach Bill Parcells and New York Giants former player George Martin post with the bust during the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Fawcett Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Hall of Fame Game Countdown: 6 Days

No one in Giants Nation will ever claim to know too much about Ali Haji-Sheikh. If they do it’s probably from reading Ed Valentine’s Giants by the Numbers series, where the post declared: 6 is for.. Ali-Haji-Sheikh, who Ed decided was ‘actually not very good’:

"Haji-Sheikh was the Giants’ placekicker for two seasons and parts of a third from 1983-85, and he actually was not very good.He had a good rookie year, making 35-of-42 field goals (83.3%) and being named All-Pro, but made an atrocious 17-of-33 (51.5%) his second season and was released after two games of the 1985 season."

Four years later, the Giants roster possesses another number six, Corey Washington, who played receiver for the Newberry Wolves in college. The most interesting thing about Newberry is that it’s turning into a regular NFL factory, according to this post titled: NEWBERRY’S COREY WASHINGTON AGREES TO FREE AGENT DEAL WITH ARIZONA CARDINALS —

"Washington joins two other Newberry players in the NFL: Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Ron Parker and Green Bay Packers tight end Brandon Bostick."

Yes, that says Cardinals, but the Giants claimed him off waivers on May 29th. This speaks to this historical value of Corey Washington in terms of great Giants that wore the number six, as Washington didn’t even spend an entire month with his first team. But now he’s a Giant, so that doesn’t matter. At Newberry, Washington made an impact (granted it was Newberry) but at least he left the school doing stuff athletes haven’t done for a century:

"He became just the second Newberry player in 100 years to score 100 points in one season with 16 touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions."

For a lifetime pass to GMEN HQ with unlimited commenting privileges, who was that other Newberry player 100 years ago?

Regardless of that answer, the Giants are stepping onto the Canton, Ohio gridiron to play the Buffalo Bills in the annual Hall of Fame football game. Corey Washington will be among the Giants on the field, proudly wearing number six, a number with the history and heritage of number eight — a number so great in Giants history, we kicked it out of our Hall of Fame Game kickoff countdown. Unless you really wanted to read a breakdown about Matt Bryant and a Giants back-up QB from the 1990’s named Stan White with some clever word play utilizing the Beatles Eight Days a Week song and Santa’s GIANT eight reindeer. No one wants to read that post anymore than we wanted to write it… though it makes for a good segue back to ‘one of Division II’s most electric players’:

Washington was one of Division II’s most electric players at the receiver position ~ NewberryWolves.com

Can the Giants count on someone from Newberry?

NFL: Corey Washington already making impression w/ @giants. See No. 6 make RIDICULOUS catch in 2nd play of video: http://t.co/Upxt727Bvb
— Newberry Wolves (@NewberrySports) July 25, 2014

The Newberry Wolves think that Washington is making an impression with ridiculous catches in training camp, and he was featured on Giants.com for doing such:

"3. An undrafted rookie made the play of the day, perhaps camp, so far. With one hand, wide receiver Corey Washington out of Newberry College pulled in a deep ball from Curtis Painter through two defenders during the team portion of practice. Was it the best play of training camp so far? Watch and decide."

It may not be the best play in camp, but we’re pretty sure it was better than any reception Ali Haji-Sheikh ever had in camp. Making it a safe bet for the best play ever in training camp by a number six. But who knows who has auditioned for the Giants donning that number… they might have impressed in camp, who knows. What is known, is that in season, the Giants have had less than nothing in terms of production from the number six.

So, not only does Corey Washington have a chance to shine in six days at the Hall of Fame Game — possibly even scoring six in a Giants six jersey — this young man also has a chance to make the Giants roster and become the best number six in the history of the Giants organization. Which isn’t saying much, but Corey Washington won’t know as much if you afford him that compliment.