Saturday Roundtable

Saturday, June 6, 2009

New Facility Will Help Open Up Passing Game

According to Paul Schwartz of The Post, the new training facility will help the Giants' deep passing game. The old 'bubble' was only 55-yards long and quarters were cramped. Receivers were relegated to shorter routes and had to slow up near the goal for fear of running into the back wall. The roof was also too low for the quarterbacks to fully unleash deep passes. As a result the Giants could not practice many deep routes.

The new space has 3 full-length football fields and so far Eli Manning, David Carr and Andre Woodson have been airing it our with impunity. In addition, Sinorice Moss has begun to look like the player the team though he could be - he's been flying. So has Mario Manningham.

Ramses Barden has shown more speed than than scouts had originally given him credit for. It appears he's full-service wideout after all, not just an end zone threat.

Pierce Putting '08 Behind Him

Tom Rock of Newsday wrote an interesting piece on MLB Antonio Pierce in yesterday's addition. He reported that Pierce looked thinner and is ready to redeem himself after a disappointing 2008 season - both on and off the field.

Pierce said that "the past is the past" and that with all the new faces that the Giants have built "a new team". He also has vowed to keep the Giants' defense in the top 5 of the league. "If you're in the top five, you have a chance to play in February".

Plaxico Lawyer Seeking Deal To Allow Him To Play This Year

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reported yesterday that Plaxico Burress' attorney, Ben Brafman, is working with the Manhattan District Attorney's office on plea deal that will allow Burress to play on 2009.

The deal would delay any hearing until next March, essentially freeing up Burress until then. The DA and the judge would have to agree and then the NFL would have to clear him to play as well. The latter seems like the hardest of the three hurdles since delaying pleas and trials in NYC are quite common.

Fassel Optimistic About UFL Success

Former Giants head coach Jim Fassel, who has agreed to coach the Las Vegas / Los Angeles franchise in the new United Football League, is upbeat about the league's chances for success. He is happy to back coaching and believes that the league's model will not fail like other fledgling leagues have in the past.

The commissioner of the UFL is former Jacksonville Jaguar president Mike Hugyhue, who is determined to make the four-team league work. The four franchises - Las Vegas / LA, New York / New Jersey / Connecticut, Orlando and San Francisco / Sacramento - will play a 6-game schedule in the fall ending with the championship game Thanksgiving weekend.

The UFL can certainly work: LA , Orlando and Vegas do not have professional football. Those markets just might support teams. Tickets will be $20 per game. The Versus network has signed a deal to televise one game a week on either a Thursday or a Friday night.

Along with Fassel, the other 3 head coaches are Dennis Green (SF/Sac), Jim Haslett (Orlando) and Ted Cottrell (NY Metro).

There's more: The labor war in the NFL can lead to a stoppage on 2010 leaving the country with just UFL football. There is no longer a developmental league for NFL teams to send their players to. The UFL could just work because they are not shooting for the moon like the other leagues did.