He started his NFL career as an undrafted free agent who sat out the majority of his rookie season with a leg injury.  When his second year came around, he became one of the better wide receivers in the league.

New York Giants’ Victor Cruz is shaping out to be one of the best in the league, and he’s only entering his second full year.  In all of my 20+ years as a Giants fan, this is by far my favorite story.  And I don’t think I’ve seen Giants fans become this excited over a player quickly since Lawrence Taylor.

I went to the very first football game at New Meadowlands Stadium, which was a Giants and Jets preseason opener in 2010.  The game started off kind of slow, but what got Giants fans on their feet for the first time was Cruz.

Cruz caught three touchdowns and tallied 145-yards.

He wore number three that night….

Cruz is from Paterson, New Jersey and played football for the University of Massachusetts.  When he came into the NFL scene everyone wondered who the heck this kid was.

Cruz is by far, in my opinion, the next best thing in the NFL.  Coming out of nowhere and exploding onto the field and capturing the attention of NFL fans all across America.  It’s truly been an amazing thing to witness.

If you don’t believe Cruz is the next best thing among NFL WR’s, maybe this highlight reel will change your mind…

…Steve Smith who?

And his salsa dancing is having an effect on his teammates.

I will be salsa dancing every Sunday next season in my brand new jersey!

Yes…that is a Giants shower curtain in my bathroom.  Yes…I am a nerd.

I tip my cap off the Victor Cruz.  Cheers to a further amazing NFL career that is yet to come.  I won’t be shocked if Cruz will one day be remembered as one of the best WR’s in the history of the game.

CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!

The last three seasons seemed like a never-ending saga of contract disputes between Osi Umenyiora and the New York Giants.  He wanted an extension and more money, but GM Jerry Reese could not reach agreement on a deal with the DE.

Last week, Umenyiora put an end to the fighting when he fired his agent and accepted the best offer Reese could give him.

I wouldn’t exactly say that Umenyiora gave up, but he did come to the realization that he was never going to get the big bucks he was asking for.  Now that the fighting is over he seems at peace and is happy he can get back on the field.

The key to getting Umenyiora in the right football state of mind is making sure he is happy.  If he’s happy, he’s stronger.  When he’s stronger, he helps make the Giants’ defensive line the most dangerous in the league.

Think about all of the numbers Umenyiora’s put up over the years.  14.5 sacks in 2005.  13 sacks in 2007.  11 sacks in 2012.  Not to mention 2007 was also the year the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.

Last season when they won Super Bowl XLVI, Umenyiora ended the year with 9 sacks.  Considering me missed weeks with some injuries, I say that’s not too shabby.

Lastly, the support of his teammates gives him a huge edge.  The New York Times quoted Umenyiora’s praise for his teammate’s support:

“What I’ve heard from Kiwi, and Tuck, and JPP, I’ll never forget as long as I live. That’s exactly why we are champions. Because we have each other’s back. These days you hardly see that kind of loyalty from anybody. I appreciate it, and honestly it makes things that much harder for me. Because those are the people I need to be around.”

When Umenyiora was fighting for money, he felt the world was against him.  Now that he sees the support, he’s happy.  And to have that mentality that teammate support is what makes you a champion tells me that he’ll be more than ready to defend the title going into the 2012 season.

A happy Osi, makes a stronger Osi.  A strong Osi makes a stronger makes a strong defense.  When the Giants defense is on, they are super.  If you thought last year’s defense was huge, wait until 2012.  We haven’t seen anything yet.

Giants Guard David Diehl Photo: Richard A. Brightly/Icon SMI/Corbis

Even though the New York Giants ended their season winning the ultimate prize they were not able to hide the fact that their offensive line needed a lot of work.  Eli Manning was being sacked multiple times per game due to lack of protection.  Manning’s tough, but even the toughest QB’s in the league can only take so many hits.

The Giants decided to let Kareem McKenzie go.  As the right tackle was aging, it became more obvious he didn’t have the same reflexes to protect Manning.  The Giants have not re-signed him and added Sean Locklear instead.  Locklear is an eight year veteran and will provide a lot of depth in the tackle position.

In the fourth round of this year’s draft the Giants selected Brandon Mosley, the OT from Auburn.  He recently signed a four-year deal with the team and is making an impression in OTA’s.  We could be seeing him on the field next season and will play a solid backup role.

David Baas will still control the center position.  The Giants were able to nab him last offseason with high hopes of having a big year, however injuries have prevented him from fulfilling expectations.  Baas staying healthy can play a huge role in strengthening the offensive line.

And finally, David Diehl.  Say what you will, but he has proven himself in all of his years with the Giants.  He has played a role in every position except for center and has two Super Bowl rings.  I see the Giants playing Diehl in the right tackle position.  They need him to be a leader for the rest of the tackles to help build better protection for Manning.

The Giants are slowly rebuilding their offensive line.  This is key if they want to repeat.  Like I said earlier, Manning is a tough QB, but you can only take so many hits.  As long as the tackles get better and Baas is healthy, they will have a strong o-line.

Early Friday morning it was reported that New York Giants’ DE Osi Umenyiora has parted ways with his agent.

Later Friday afternoon the Giants and Umenyiora finally, after debating for two seasons, agreed to reconstruct his contract.

According to the New York Daily News, it was the support of his teammates that helped him make the push to want to stay in New York and work a new deal:

I’m just happy, I’m happy it’s all over with…It’s time to get back to work.  It was definitely frustrating (not being on the field this spring), but hearing some of the things they said, whether it was Kiwi [Mathias Kiwanuka], [Justin] Tuck or JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul] or Antrel [Rolle]–hearing the way they supported me, it made me want to come back even more and be around them.  Those guys really stepped up for me.  I appreciate it and I’m happy to be here with them.

Umenyiora has made it known in the media for the last few seasons that he wanted to rework a contract and get an extension.  It became quite a saga as the DE isn’t shy and is willing to speak his mind.  He was unhappy with his six-year, $41 million extension he signed in 2007.  He was to make just under $4 million this season.

Last season Umenyiora attempted a hold out, and Giants GM Jerry Reese gave him the opportunity to seek a trade.  When they could not find a team willing to trade a first round pick, Umenyiora decided to end his hold out, but opted for knee surgery after a few practices.

Umenyiora did not practice with the team until he and the Giants came to some sort of agreement and lock in his status with the team.

Details of what was agreed on are not known at this time.

The New York Giants will be sidelining WR Hakeem Nicks for the next three months.  It was reported Thursday afternoon that Nicks fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during OTA.

He is scheduled to have surgery on Friday to have a screw placed in the bone.  Recovery time could take up to 12 weeks.

Last season Giants’ first round CB Prince Amukamara fractured his fifth metatarsal in August during training camp.  He did not return to the team until November 20, 2011 and didn’t look 100% during the rest of the season.

It’s a good thing there is still a few months until training camp.  Losing Nicks during the season would be huge.  They do have some depth with Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon, Ramses Barden, and rookie Rueben Randle, but Nicks is the leader and veteran of the position.

If they do lose Nicks for a couple of weeks into the season, the WR position will hold up.  However, at the end of the day, Nicks is one of the top WR’s in the league.  They’ll want him to come back as soon as he can, but healthy.

Jason Pierre-Paul (Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.)

Another edition of my New York Giants power rankings list is here!  With the 2012 NFL draft done and over with, there are some additions to the rankings.

Offense:

1.  Eli Manning
No need to get into deep specifics.  You know the numbers, you see his leadership, you know how clutch his is in the 4th quarter.  That’s enough said right there.  Manning will continue to do great things for this offense.

2.  Victor Cruz
My last power rank list had Cruz in the third slot, but I changed it up this time.  I think Cruz will bring even more power and speed next season.  If you think you’ve seen everything Cruz can do, you haven’t seen anything yet.  I see even bigger plays and more magic from this kid next season.  The Super Bowl ring will only lighten the fire and more salsa dancing touchdowns.

3.  Hakeem Nicks
Nicks is one of the most athletic players on the team.  He’s able to jump high and make some of the most incredible and acrobatic catches.  He makes some of the hardest catches look so easy.  He finished the 2011 season on a very high note and had some of the biggest highlights in the postseason.  This will give him a lot of motivation going into the 2012 season.

4.  Ahmad Bradshaw
Bradshaw was the starting running back last season and still holds that position.  I probably would have ranked him a little higher had he not injured himself for four weeks.  Bradshaw is recovering from a stress fracture in his foot, but his mindset is on training camp.  He’s not picking up a football until he is fully healed and positive vibes are through the roof.  I’m expecting big things from him.  Hopefully he can stay healthy.

5.  Rueben Randle
Yes, he’s only a rookie.  Yes, we haven’t seen him on the big stage yet.  Yes, he wasn’t drafted number one.  How he was still even available in the second round for the Giants second pick I will never know.  Randle has everything a WR prospect can have:  speed, agility, and major athleticism.  Jerry Reese believes he’s NFL ready.  Tom Coughlin believes it.  I believe it.  Randle will be the perfect fit for the WR trio with Nicks and Cruz.  With no disrespect to Mario Manningham, Giants fans will not miss him.
Defense

1.  Jason Pierre-Paul
There’s only one word that describes Pierre-Paul:  MONSTER.  All opposing quarterbacks better hope their lines protect them.  They will not want Pierre-Paul running in their direction.  His power and speed is unbelievable and he will not back down.  Pierre-Paul will run right through the quarterback until he is down on the ground.  I don’t expect anything less from him in 2012.  Now having a Super Bowl ring in his young career, I see more power, aggression, and hunger for another one.

2.  Mathias Kiwanuka
Kiwanuka got a major bump up on this list.  The Giants just handed Kiwi an three year extension before the draft.  Well deserved, by the way.  Kiwanuka was a defensive-end-turned-linebacker and proved his worth last season.  Health was a question going into 2011, but it’s not a question going into 2012.  He’s going to be a big weapon for the defense.

3.  Justin Tuck
My hero.  Tuck is the definition of leadership.  Tuck is one of the main reasons why the defensive line is as good as it is.  He’s a motivator.  Not to mention he too is an absolute beast.  You let Tuck through your line, you will pay.  He will get to the quarterback, and he will sack him.

4.  Osi Umenyiora
I think a more quiet Umenyiora is a more powerful one.  The last two seasons he was complaining about the Giants not paying him enough money.  He wanted more.  His results on the field were good.  However, he could be better.  Yes, in 2010 he led in sacks, but it was a strangely quiet year for him.  He vowed to stay quiet this offseason.  I only hope that means he’s going to bring his talk onto the field instead of to the media.  If that’s the case, he will not be stopped.

5.  Terrell Thomas
True, Thomas did miss the entire 2011 season with an ACL tear.  But let’s look at what he was able to do in 2010.  He led the entire team in interceptions and tackles that year.  Yes, a corner led a football team in tackles.  There’s no denying that Thomas is one of the better corners in the league, even if his paycheck doesn’t say so.  He will bring those defensive backs to where they need to be.  I expect him to come back with full training and healthy legs.  Thomas will remind all Giants fans why he’s so valuable to this team.

Like always, power rankings will change as the offseason continues.  If the team were to take the field today for Week 1, these are the stars.  These are the players that will make key differences between winning and losing.  We’ll see what happens as the months pass by.

Former New York Giants former LB Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring is up for auction.  However he was not the person who decided to do so.  His son was.

According to the bid page on SCP Auctions, the ring currently has 23 bids and is up to $98,525.

Taylor is one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the game and won the ring in 1991.

Lawrence Taylor has had his ups and downs, but I think it’s really sad to see this happen.  Seeing the look on all the Giants players’ faces this week when they received their rings, it truly is something special.

If you want Taylor to have his ring back, just give Osi Umenyiora a follow.   Here are his tweets below.

Followed by

That’s right.  Umenyiora says that if he reaches 1,000,000 followers he will buy the ring and have a random follower give it to L.T.

We want one of our legends to have his treasure.  Let’s get this done!

There is one player on the New York Giants that I have looked up to for years.  A player with a big heart on and off the field.

That player’s name is Justin Tuck.

I look up to Tuck for his leadership and heart.  Don’t believe he has it?  This pre-game speech at Super Bowl XLVI begs to differ:

Yea, if that speech doesn’t make you want to run around, flip over some tables, and just own every moment in your day, then I don’t know what does.

Growing up in a family of Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans, I was extremely excited when the Giants drafted Tuck in 2005.  It wasn’t the numbers he put up for Notre Dame that I loved about him.  He displayed a mental toughness in the NCAA that I thought would transition well in his NFL career.

And that it did.

Tuck’s passion for the game and winning spills onto his teammates and makes him a good leader.  He knows how to bring excitement to the field and camaradeire to the locker room.

One of the best things I’ve ever read about Tuck was just in the 2010 season.  The Giants played a home game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Giants were losing to a terrible Jaguars team 17-6 going into halftime.  As the team left for the locker room, the crowd booed them off the field.

A completely different Giants team came onto the field that second half, and took total domination to eventually win the game.  Maybe Tom Coughlin chewed these guys up?  We didn’t know what the motivation was.

Then I opened the paper the next morning to find out that the inspiration came from Tuck.

In a transcript at Giants.com, defensive tackle Barry Cofield said:

I give Justin Tuck a lot of credit, he gave a halftime speech for the ages.  I was teary-eyed running back on the field.  I was just ready to get back out there.  I can’t repeat it, but a lot of it was about how we have to protect our house.  You don’t let a team come in here and run the ball like that.

Given the above video of the Super Bowl speech, I can only imagine the inspiring words Tuck gave his teammates that day.

That’s what a leader does.  That’s what a player with heart does.  They inspire.

Tuck inspires me to own each and every moment that comes my way.  A professional athlete has to have a lot of great qualities to help affect my life.

Thank you, Justin Tuck, for being my inspiration.  Keep doing what you’re doing.  You make a huge difference on this New York Giants team.  Long live big blue.

Justin Tuck was ranked No. 62 on the 2012 NFL Top 100 Players list on Wednesday night.  He is the second player to be ranked this year (WR Hakeem Nicks ranked No. 90)

Cue the Andre Brown song!  The Giants got their rings!

The New York Giants received their rings Wednesday night from Tiffany and Co. in Manhattan.

Players were posting pictures of their rings and party on Twitter, including the below from punter Steve Weatherford:

The Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI and this ring ceremony marked another celebration of that victory.

Orlando Sentinal

It was reported earlier Monday afternoon that former Florida S Will Hill signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants.

Hill left Florida after his Junior year in hopes to be drafted, but no team took him.

A New Jersey native, Hill was considered the top player in the when he played for St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City.  He had high hopes when he entered college, but has had on and off the field issues that have concerned UF coaches and eventually NFL ones.

More on this story as it develops.