It is no mystery to anyone who reads this site that I thought DeMaurice Smith was the wrong choice to represent the players from day one.  A man who never stepped on the field, and a man who was going to get paid and applauded no matter how the fight went down last off season.  My choice was Harry Carson,a Hall of Fame Player,  a man of principal, a man who had been fighting for players rights since the 70′s, and a gentleman respected by the owners, players, and the fans.

The players say they got what they wanted on their end……which after review amounts to less practice time, less contact, and less meeting time. And yet we hear of “Special Players Traing Camps” held privately.  Mark Sanchez and his Jets West, and other guys getting together on their own to get more time together. I thought you wanted LESS practice?  Yes, teams like Cleveland, and Buffalo must now spend 90% of their cap money instead of pocketing it, but that turns out to be a small victory.

The players did not get any sort of guaranteed contract situation.  You get hurt in the NFL, you get cut.  You want to sit out while renegotiating your deal, your fines are double what they used to be.  The players are also now finding out that The Office of The Commissioner, a position held by Roger Goodell, and hired by the owners, has absolute power.  The Office is now judge, jury, and executioner.  Sorry fellas….but you signed it.

“Obviously we don’t want Roger Goodell having absolute power,” Winston told Nate Davis of USA TODAY. “In a lot of this process, it seems like he does. It’s unfortunate. It seems like he’s running amok with it and deciding to do what he wants and it really doesn’t matter what the evidence says. Unfortunately, we don’t have an alternative option to appeal to.”

The sad part is that not many players took a minute to ask questions, to maybe leaf through the document, to inquire as to what are we getting, to ask their agent advice.  The rank and file were told it’s a good deal, we did the work, now sign it and move on.  Players complain constantly about the amount of fines…guess what guys…it’s written into the agreement.  The fine schedule is part of the new CBA, negotiated and agreed to by your representative.  Players complain that discipline is solely in the hands of the commissioner, which we know is not true.  There are committees of ex-players and yes lawyers that recommend the discipline to the Commissioner, and he announces the decision.  The appeal process is again written into the agreement.

My advice is to look a little more internally at your representation, and maybe ask your agent about what exactly the new CBA that you signed includes.  I think you might be surprised.

Eli stated last week when asked how he was preparing?  ”We were 9-7, and that isn’t good enough.”  How nice is that?  Two Super Bowl victories, Two Super Bowl MVP’s, and this guy wants to work harder to improve their regular season record and make the playoffs in better fashion.

The Giants don’t have short memories.  The Giants aren’t delusional.  The Giants know full well they put themselves in a tough spot last year needing to win two divisional games in prime time to simply make the playoffs.  With the schedule they have this year, they need to be better.  I don’t just mean the teams on the schedule either, but the craziness of playing a Wednesday, Sunday, Thursday to start the season.  Tom Coughlin, who might be the most organized man in the world, will need to figure a way to practice and teach his team in the first month of the season while not violating any of the new CBA rules.  This in itself will be a challenge.

But, when you have a leader like Eli, who will make sure everyone knows last year is over, and they weren’t all that good last year, it will make it easier to get the team focused on the task at hand.

Jan 25, 1987; Pasadena, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants receiver Stacy Robinson (81) runs with the ball ahead of Denver Broncos defensive back Mike Harden (31) and Tony Lilly (22) during Super Bowl XXI at the Rose Bowl. The Giants defeated the Broncos 39-20. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-US PRESSWIRE

Former Giants WR Stacy Robinson died Tuesday at age 50. The cause of death was not announced. The Giants 1985 second round draft pick played in the Giants first two Superbowls. Robinson retired in 1990 with only 48 catches for 742 yards and seven TD’s over that period. He did have 6 catches for 62 yards in Superbowl XXV. After Stacy retired in 1990 he went on to work for the NFLPA, most recently as their director of player development, helping players prepare for their post NFL careers. Giants co-owner John Mara said in a statement “we are deeply saddened by the passing of Stacy Robinson. He was a good man who was loved and respected by his teammates and everyone in this organization.” My Prayers go out  to Robinsons family and friends. Always a member of our beloved Big Blue.

For more please check http://nygblogjt.blogspot.com

On Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 1pm ET, TXN Sports and Big Lead Sports organized a conference call with NFL Analysts, Chris Collinsworth, Howie Long and Boomer Esiason. A select group of reporters were invited to join, myself included, to discuss the upcoming NFL Draft that will take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City from April 28-30 2011.

The call was also organized to promote TXN, a newly formed website (txnsports.com) that will launch this coming Tuesday. TXN, “The Experts Network” will introduce a new way to interact with analysts such as the panel above and the launch of their site is highly anticipated. It was a round robin type of discussion with no shortage of Q & A from the media and experts alike. Click below for transcription of the key topics that we discussed.
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