Farewell Until Camp
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- June
- 18
I’m out at Yankee Stadium in the spring’s latest entry in the Noah and the Ark saga—and just for the record, I can’t believe they’re intent on playing this thing—but I have some notes for you on the final day of minicamp.
Justin Tuck wasn’t there to say farewell until the Aug. 2 reporting date in Albany because of a family issue, and Chris Snee missed because he had to attend his uncle’s funeral. But the rest of the Giants were there to hear Tom Coughlin send them off with an 18-minute speech about how they should behave and what they should be doing in the interim.
“You can go with the idea of the summer and what they have to be careful of,” Coughlin said. “It is a longer stretch than normal for us.
“I gave them some notes about the number of practices up there and how it is reduced. Let’s face it, we don’t get the same number because we play the Monday night game. So we have to make things count when we get them.
“I wished them and their families, ‘God bless them for the summer.’ But they need to think long and hard about the disappointment of January in terms of what we have created for ourselves and how badly we want to prioritize our 2009 season.”
Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride just hoped his players were listening.
“ That is exactly what you are saying,” Gilbride said. “I thought he spoke from the heart, I really did. And I thought he addressed the things that needed to be said. I kind of like when he does that because I’m thinking, ‘You know what, he is hitting – he is right on the mark with some of the things that he is saying.’”
“All of the potential in the world means nothing if you are not out there practicing and doing it. So he talked about being confident but also understanding the work that is necessary to deserve that confidence.”
Coughlin is most concerned over a growing injury list. At least a dozen players stood on the sidelines on Wednesday, including Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Barry Cofield, Fred Robbins, and second-round inebacker Clint Sintim.
“I am disappointed in the number of injured guys,” he said. “It’s not their fault. I’m not pointing the finger at anybody. I’m just saying for our team to have that many guys standing around watching practice in training would be a real setback. We couldn’t function the way we want to if that was the case.”
The rookies stay on another week. Until camp starts, the front office will be busy signing the draft picks, none of which have been locked down as yet. But a few are close to agreements.
UPDATE: My guy Ralph at The Blue Screen reports that sixth-round corner DeAndre Wright has agreed to a four-year deal worth approximately $1.6 million, with escalators that can push it to $4 million. DT Dwayne Hendricks was cut to make room for Wright. Also, the Giants are reportedly close to signing seventh-round DB Stoney Woodson.
EP
This entry was posted
on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 12:28 pm by Ernie Palladino. 
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Ernie Palladino
