Mark Herzlich

New York Giants’ GM Jerry Reese and Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell have mentioned that the likely starters at middle linebacker is Chase Blackburn.

Blackburn did not play most of the 2011 season for the Giants when he was not called back during training camp.  When injuries limited the middle linebackers, Blackburn was brought back to save the day.

Forgotten fact:  It was Mark Herzlich‘s injury that prompted the Giants to call Blackburn.

It was reported on Giants.com that Herzlich has been at the Timex Center in the Meadowlands for four days a week on his own and plans to keep up this training until the Giants report to camp.  This is the point in summer when players spend the time off with their families before beginning the season, but Herzlich is on a mission.

Fewell said that Blackburn is the guy at middle linebacker, and Herzlich is looking to change that:

“I definitely think I can – that’s my goal,” Herzlich said. “That’s why I’m here every day working, to try to get that job.  It’s all a competition. I think the good thing about the Giants is they want to win and I think whoever gives them the opportunity to win will be able to start at that position.  For me right now, it is just learning the plays and knowing them, as well as I can so that way I can go in and let my play speak for itself.”

Here’s a little background on Herzlich just in case some of you are wondering who the heck this guy is:

Herzlich attended Boston College and played linebacker during his years there.  He played in all 13 games in his freshmen season and was named Freshmen All-American honors by College Football News.  He recorded 42 tackles, one interception, one sack, and two forced fumbles during that season.

Herzlich’s stats stayed consistent over the next two years at Boston College, but in 2009 everything came to a sudden halt.  On May 14th that year Herzlich announced that he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Disease which is a rare form of bone cancer.

On September 29, 2009 Herzlich announced that he was cancer free, but he sat out for the entire football season.

When it comes to battles, Herzlich knows how to face them.

Herzlich played in all of the beginning 11 games of the 2011 season, and started the last two of those, but an ankle injury forced him on the sideline for the remainder of the season which prompted the Giants to recall Blackburn.

“It was frustrating,” Herzlich said of his prolonged absence. “As awesome as it was going through the playoffs and winning all the games and winning the Super Bowl – obviously it was a dream come true. There’s still something left on the table for me, personally, because I didn’t get to play in those games. So it pushes me even harder right now, because I don’t want that to ever happen again. I don’t want to be watching those games and not playing in them.”

I’ve repeatedly said over and over again that the battle for linebacker was going to be an interesting one.  Like mentioned above, Fewell believes Blackburn is the guy to start at middle linebacker, but it’s not set in stone.

Aside from Herzlich, other guys battling for the spots are Michael Boley, Greg Jones, and Keith Rivers.

I think Herzlich has the biggest chance against Blackburn for the middle linebacker spot.  I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot of updates from Fewell during training camp about these guys.

Herzlich has had his battles both professionally and personally, battles that a lot of us may not fully understand.  In the end, he is working hard to win this one and won’t stop at anything until he does.

New York Giants QB Eli Manning

Before we know it, we will blink and NFL training camps will start.  The New York Giants have been pretty quiet for the most part this offseason.  That is, they have been compared to last.

Here’s a look, position by position, at the current Giants offensive roster before it heads to training camp.

Quarterbacks
Obviously there’s no worry here.  Eli Manning will of course head to position and responsibility of leading the Giants offense.  Now that he has two Super Bowl MVP’s, there are no doubts whether or not he can handle it.  His back-up is David Carr, whose press conference for his re-signing we are still waiting for (snicker).

This will be Carr’s third season with the Giants as the second-string QB, and has only seen one stint of playing time with the team.  It was in 2009 when the Giants blew out the Oakland Raiders and decided to give Manning the rest of the day off.  Carr may not see much playing time…again…but if heaven forbid something happens to Manning, I believe the Giants have a solid back-up in Carr.  He knows the Giants playbook and studies it every week.

Wide Receivers
Last season, the Giants had an unstoppable trio of receivers in Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Mario Manningham.  No matter where opposing defenses forced Manning to throw, there was a reliable receiver ready to catch the ball.  That trio is currently broken up.  Manningham left New York for San Francisco, and Nicks is recovering from a fractured foot.  Nicks is expected to recover in time for the start of the season, but until then, what?  There’s still one spot left to be that third guy.  That guy that will make the third down catches.

Luckily for the Giants they have some depth.  Domenik Hixon is returning from missing his second straight season with a second straight ACL tear.  He’ll be used, but should be with caution.  Ramses Barden, who was drafted by the Giants in 2009, is looking to redeem himself of three miserable seasons.  In three years he has 15 catches and 174 yards.  Ouch.  If he has game in him, then this is the opportunity to show it.  If he still can’t prove his worth, then the Giants need to move on.

Finally, there is the rookie Rueben Randle of LSU.  There is a lot of hype around this kid, especially from GM Jerry Reese.  Reese claims him to be “NFL ready” and a lot of analysts called this Giants pick a steal.  NFL ready or not, he is young and still need to develop.  I can see the Giants using him for some of those third down catches, but he may not necessarily be the “third down guy”.

Tight Ends
Yes, the Giants made a mistake when they lost Jake Ballard to the New England Patriots.  But there’s one thing everyone needs to remember:  With or without Ballard, the TEs are limited.  Ballard had a bad ACL tear to his right knee and was ruled out for the entire 2012 season after he failed a physical.  Travis Beckum also tore his ACL.  It’s possible Beckum could be available for the season, but he obviously would be limited.

The Giants have two key players to turn to.  Bear Pascoe has the most experience with the Giants of all the TEs on the roster.  He was the second man to go to after Kevin Boss in 2010 and Ballard in 2011.  Unless another player steps up to the plate as the starting TE, Pascoe will be the guy.

That player that could possibly be Martellus Bennett.  The Giants signed Bennett after he played his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.  He went from being the number two guy behind Jason Witten to now hopefully getting a starting role with New York.  In his career with Dallas, he has 85 receptions for 846 yards and four touchdowns.

Rookie Adrien Robinson can also have a chance to show what he’s capable of, but he has to outshine a ton of TE’s that saw no playing time last season.  I think the show for TE’s this training camp will be an interesting one.

Running Backs
Like the WR situation, the Giants lost veteran Brandon Jacobs when they could not reach a new contract agreement.  Jacobs is now with San Francisco.  Who do they have left?

The Giants have some depth, but it’s not as deep as the WRs.  Ahmad Bradshaw will continue to assume the starting role responsibilities, however he is recovering from a fracture in his foot.  He’ll be healthy to participate in training camp and start the season off, but he’s injury prone.  The Giants need to finalize some reliable backups.

First round draft pick David Wilson from Virginia Tech would be an easy choice, but like Randle he’ll need to develop enough in time to play a key role.  I don’t think he’ll have much of an issue making a statement in training camp, but it’s the question of transitioning onto the regular season field that is always the up in the air for rookies.

The Giants also have DJ Ware who is, in my opinion, pretty underrated.  I’m a little surprised he wasn’t used more, especially when both Jacobs and Bradshaw were battling injuries.  Ware had 46 carries for 163 yards and averaged 3.5 yards per carry.  He showed last season that he has the speed to break through the defensive lines.  I think he should be used more in 2012.

Offensive Line
In 2011, the offensive line behind Eli Manning was pretty horrific.  Manning was sacked 28 times during the regular season.  He’s a tough QB, but no one should have to take that many hits.  Kareem McKenzie failed to do his job of protecting Manning, which probably explains the reason why he’s not back with the team.

The key behind the Giants becoming a strong offensive line is a healthy David Baas.  Baas was brought to the team in 2011 hoping to hone his skills, but he was riddled with injuries that sidelined him for most of the season.

The tackles have a highly important role this season.  They really need to step up and provide better protection for Manning.  David Diehl and Will Beatty will be the go-to guys to protect, and hopefully Sean Locklear can bring a verteran and leadership presence to make the position stronger.

Special Teams
The special teams played a huge role in the Giants run for the Super Bowl.

Their kicker Lawrence Tynes made the crucial FG that put them in the big game, but it was the work of punter Steve Weatherford that made a huge difference.  Weatherford punted for 3,745 yards in the regular season average 45.7 yards.  In the postseason he managed to put the ball deep into the opposing teams end, making it extra difficult to come back down the field.

Overall the New York Giants offense is almost, just almost a match to last year.  A few tweaks here and there and they’ll be better.  The biggest challenge will be getting the offensive line a lot stronger.  A strong o-line gives more freedom to Manning.

Mandatory minicamps have begun and before we know it training camp this coming summer will begin.  The New York Giants are coming off a championship season and are looking to work in every way possible to defend their title.  Here are the top five keys the Giants need to work on in order to accomplish this goal:

5.  Eli needs to stay elite
I don’t think there’s anything to worry here.  However, to insure victory, you need Eli Manning.  You need this guy to be the QB he was last year:  tough, clutch, and a leader.  Manning has already talked about what he needs to work on personally.  The number one stat he needs to improve is lowering his interceptions.  He led the league in 2010 with 25 and cut them down to 16 in 2011.  Even with his best season on record, Manning is bothered by the stat and wants to make sure it gets better.  Even with the 16 interceptions, Manning was the best clutch QB in the NFL bringing his team to come-from-behind victories almost every week.  When you played the Giants, the game wasn’t truly over until the clock was 00:00 after the fourth quarter, and it’s all because of Manning.  As long as he stays clutch, and continues to be a tough QB, he will have no problem leading his offense down the field.

4.  Find the perfect WR trio
In the 2011 season Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Mario Manningham were an unstoppable trio of receivers.  It didn’t matter who the opposing defenses forced Manning to throw to.  All three were trustworthy and were at their spots to make catches.  Right now that trio is broken up.  Manningham left New York for San Francisco and Nicks is out with a broken foot.    The Giants hope to have Nicks ready in time for Week 1, but until then what do they do?  There is still one spot open to be that third guy.  That guy that will be there to make third down plays.  Domenik Hixon is returning from his second ACL tear and was used last season as a receiver.  His best catch last year was what caused his injury against the St. Louis Rams.  There is also rookie Rueben Randle from LSU.  Jerry Reese is all about this kid and has claimed he is “NFL ready”.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Randle is the go-to guy in third downs.

3.  Defensive backs need to step up their game
Last year, the Giants lost their best CB Terrell Thomas to an ACL tear during a preseason game.  The regular season started off very rocky for the backs and it showed that Thomas was really missed out there.  They had their moments of glory, but also very shaky moments of distress.  Corey Webster had a solid year for the CB’s with six interceptions and Antrel Rolle got more physical with 82 tackles.  Last year’s first round draft pick Prince Amukamara missed most of the season with a broken foot.  Now that he’s returned healthy he will have high expectations coming his way in 2012.  Thomas will also be back with a healthy knee and will remind New York why he’s so valuable.  In 2010 he led the team in interceptions (5) and tackles (81).  The Giants have also acquired Antwaun Molden from the New England Patriots who will be used as a solid backup.  It is a must for the CB’s to work twice as hard as they did last year, especially with the difficult schedule ahead of them.

2.  Protect your QB!
It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to protect your QB.  After being sacked 28 times in 2011, the Giants are lucky they have a tough QB in Manning.  The team did not offer a new contract to Kareem McKenzie, whose job it was to provide protection which didn’t really happen.  David Diehl will most likely serve as the top tackle for Manning and the line will have a healthy David Baas back.  The key right there is Baas at center.  He has the talent and the potential to give the Giants a strong offensive line.  He was riddled with injuries last year and was prevented from proving so.  If Baas stays healthy, you have a stronger line and a better chance at protecting the QB.

1.  Be the best defense in the NFL
The Giants have the talent and the experience the have the best defensive front line in the NFL.  There were some injuries and distractions that prevented it from being so in 2011.  This year, however, is shaping up to be a lot different.  There is a healthy Justin Tuck, a healthy and (key word) happy Osi Umenyiora, and a young, hungry, and powerful Jason Pierre-Paul.  If these three are on their A-game and attacking the QB every single week, it’s game over.  Let’s not forget the potential first string linebackers in Mathias Kiwanuka, Michael Boley, and Chase Blackburn that are showing their worth coming off 2011.  After about three seasons it looks like the LB position has finally been solidified for the Giants.  They need to do everything they can to stay healthy and give 110% every single week and they will be the best defensive front line in the NFL.

To be honest, there really isn’t much of a transition the Giants have to make in order to chase a repeat.  All they need to do is take what they did in 2011 and make it better.  Manning told the media during the first team workouts that his main concern is for the team to find a way to improve.  If they were successful last year, then how do they make it better?  As long as they head in that direction, they have a great chance at defending their title.

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 seemingly never ending saga that is Osi Umenyiora’s contract woes has a new chapter.  I title it:  Greedy pig, or angry boy?

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reported Monday morning that the Giants DE was upset when GM Jerry Reese told the media that they offered him another contract extension that he turned down.  Umenyiora, in an email to the NYDN, said Reese was distorting the truth and that it wasn’t much of an offer at all:

Last year I was offered incentives.  This year they offered me in guaranteed money, HALF of what they just gave Kiwi guaranteed.  HALF…I’m not making that up.  Then Jerry tells the world they offered me an extension and I turned it down.  And I look like a greedy pig for turning it down.  Hilarious.

After reading the news last week about Mathias Kiwanuka’s three-year contract extension, the first thought that ran through my mind was, “Osi is going to be pissed.”  I think it’s safe to say I was right.

Kiwanuka was offered a $10.95 million guaranteed three-year extension worth up to $21.75 million.  I find it very hard to believe that Reese only offered Umenyiora half of $10.95 million.

Umenyiora is entering the final year of a seven-year $41.5 million contract and has been asking for an extension for the past three offseasons.  After the lockout last summer, he refused to practice and held out.  He even accused Reese of being a liar about promising an extension.  Toward the end of camp Umenyiora opted for surgery on his knee and missed a few weeks of the season.

Even with missing weeks, he ended the season with 9 sacks and in 2012 he had 11.5.  I do think Umenyiora is one of the top DE’s in the game, and I know Reese thinks so, too.  Reese wants him to stay.  Reese has an entire payroll to look at, but he knows how much money Umenyiora is worth and will pay it.

What really annoys me is the feeling I get in my stomach that Umenyiora just doesn’t want to be in New York anymore.  He says he wants to be a Giant, but I don’t believe him.

If this is the way it’s always going to be, Reese giving him an extension and then in five years demands another, then go.  I don’t want you here.

And my favorite part was at the end of the email, Umenyiora says that he will stay silent and not talk about the matter anymore.

Osi:  You said that after the Super Bowl.  You didn’t keep your promise then, and I don’t see you keeping your promise again.

I don’t see Reese looking for trade offers to dish out Umenyiora.  He’ll finish up his last year in New York.  At this point I’m done reading about this.  I’m done with him whining and crying about wanting more money.  I don’t care how much money he makes.  I wish he would care a  little more about focusing on 2011.  On finding ways to get 15 sacks in 2012.

When someone else gets a new contract…I don’t want to have to think about you.

Do us all a favor, Osi, and quit whining.  We don’t want to hear about it.

The 2012 NFL draft finally came and is already gone.  The New York Giants wasted no time addressing a lot of their biggest needs to help the team march toward defending their Super Bowl title.

In the first round on Thursday night, the Giants selected David Wilson, the RB out of Virginia Tech.

Brian Spurlock/US PRESSWIR

I was surprised the Giants went with a RB in the first round.  However, Wilson is a great player.  He is 5’9″ and 209lbs.

Everywhere I read talks about Wilson’s off-field personality.  How he’s a well dressed young man that always has a smile on his face.  However, the Giants did not draft him for his smile or personality.

In 2011 he rushed for 1,709 yards, won the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, and ran the 40 yard dash in 4.49 seconds at the combine.

Despite the Giants winning Super Bowl XLVI, their rushing game finished last in all of the NFL.  Ahmad Brandshaw and Brandon Jacbos both suffered injuries and missed a few weeks and DJ Ware had to pick up the slack.  The Giants released Jacobs and Bradshaw is recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.  Wilson will be a great addition to the depleting RB position.

He recently posted a YouTube video of himself doing 21 backflips.  The Giants now how two extremely athletic, backflipping athletes in Wilson and Jason Pierre-Paul.

http://youtu.be/hLUHG2mWhEQ

With Wilson’s height and speed he is going to have a great advantage against defenses.  It’s going to be very hard to catch him.

John McCusker / The Times-Picayune

Friday night in the second round, the Giants selected Reuben Randle, the WR out of LSU.

I really love this pick.  The Giants originally considered picking up Randle in the first round before choosing Wilson.

Randle is 6’3″, 210 lbs and GM Jerry Reese believes that Randle is NFL ready.  Randle is going to be a perfect fit alongside Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.  No disrespect to Mario Manningham, but I believe Randle eventually is going to have an even bigger impact on this Giants team.  Whether it’s next season, or the one after.

Randle wasn’t a stand-out wide receiver in 2011, due to the fact that LSU threw an SEC low of 279 passes. However, when opportunity came, Randle didn’t pass it up.

He finished the 2011 season with 917 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.  He has five career 100-yard receiving games, four of which were in 2011 alone.

In the third round Friday night the Giants selected Jayron Hosley, CB from Virginia Tech.

Hosley is 5’10″ and 178lbs.  He has a great physically presence about him that the Giants love.

Sam Sharpe/US Presswire

Hosley did, however, fail a drug test at the combine after testing positive for marijuana.  The Giants were well aware of the situation and have talked with Hosley about it and plan taking it professionally when he arrives at Giants camp.

In 2010 Hosley led all college players with nine interceptions, and fell three short of that mark in 2011.  However, coach Tom Coughlin believes that it was because of his big year in 2010 that quarterbacks started to avoid throwing in his direction.

Hosley will be a great addition for the Giants secondary, which was riddled with injuries last season.  Terrell Thomas,Prince Amukamara, and Cory Webster are all coming off injuries that sidelined them throughout the season.

Hosley finished 11th 2011 in punt returns with a 12.67 average.  Domenik Hixon is coming off his second season in a row recovering from a torn ACL.  Hosley can be a big help with returning punts and kickoffs and provide a lower risk for Hixon reinjuring his knee.

In the fourth round the Giants selected Adrien Robinson, the TE from Cincinnati.

Despite what other analysts were predicting, I still didn’t think the Giants were going to

The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

select a TE in the draft.  Even though they did lose both Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum to ACL injuries, they still have Bear Pascoe and acquired Martellus Bennett from Dallas.

Robinson is 6’4″ and 264lbs and ran 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine.  His speed and athleticism caught the eyes of the Giants scouts.  Speed is something the Giants were lacking in the TE position.

The Giants had a second pick in the fourth round and drafted Brandon Mosley.  An OT from Auburn.

Mosley is 6’3″ and 318lbs.  He was the backup OT for Auburn at the start of 2010 and was the started by the time the season ended.

Vasha Hunt / Opelika-Auburn News

It doesn’t look the like the Giants are planning on resigning Kareem McKenzie after the signing of Sean Locklear.  Mosley will have time to work with guys like David Diehl and Will Beatty and developing into a solid tackle.

What Eli Manning was missing from his offensive line last season was protection from his OT.  McKenzie did not provide that protection.  Hopefully one day Mosley will.

The Giants drafted a second OT in the sixth round.  They selected Matt McCants from UAB. He started 42 games for UAB last season.  McCants will only work to try and strengthen the OT position that was very weak last season.  The Giants still have James Brewer, who was drafted last year, but did not play.

The Giants made their final pick in the seventh round, and that pick was Markus Kuhn, the DT from NC State.

Kuhn is from Weinheim, Germany and is the third Euro-trained player to be drafted in NFL history.  He is 6’4″ and 303lbs.

Kuhn was introduced to the game in Germany and played for a the club Weinheim Longhorns before he came to the United States in search of a college scholarship.  He finished the 2011 season with 45 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

Kuhn’s size and power gives him an advantage and can really solidify the DT position if there are injuries to starters.

Overall, my grade for the Giants in this year’s NFL draft is an A.  I think they were able to collect some of the best players available and were able to address current issues the team was facing.

They Giants pretty much have the same team they had that won the Super Bowl, and even with losing some players they have gained valuable replacements.  Giants fans should be very excited going forward toward the new season.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The New York Giants kept very busy this week and signed some players to return for the 2012 season.

A source confirmed last night that middle linebacker Chase Blackburn came to terms with the team to return.  Blackburn was a major contributor to the team in 2011.  His most notable play of the season was in Super Bowl XLVI when he grabbed an interception off Tom Brady while covering TE Rob Gronkowski.

With linebackers like Mathias Kiwanuka and Michael Boley, Blackburn will only help strengthen the position.

Blackburn wasn’t even on the roster at the start of the 2011 season.  He was called to rejoin the team before Week 13 due to injuries that benched players.  He was a key contributor to the Super bowl run and of course the championship.

The Giants really need to hold on to Blackburn for as long as they can.  He has more talent than they originally thought.

The Giants also traded a fifth round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for Keith Rivers.  Rivers has the talent to be a powerful linebacker for the Giants…that is if he stays healthy.  He missed all of 2011 with a wrist injury.

The Giants signed offensive linemen Sean Locklear and cornerback Antwaun Molden on Wednesday.

Locklear will give a verteran presence for the line and should be a key contributor to help protect Eli Manning.

Molden was a part of the 2011 New England Patriots team and joined the team that denied him a ring.  However, he is reportedly “glad to be a Giant”. Molden was a big contributor in the Super Bowl for the Patriots and will help strengthen the Giants weak secondary.

All the moves the Giants have made this week are going to be very key.  They strengthened the linebacker position and already started to build a strong offensive line.  This will bring more anticipation for the upcoming draft to see how much further Jerry Reese can build for 2012.  It should be a fun season.

Simmons/New York Daily News

After the NFL lockout of 2011 came to an end and free agency officially began, teams were signing players left and right.  The Philadelphia Eagles seemed to get to a fast start when they took in Nnamdi Asomugha to improve their defense.

New York Giants fans waited to see what Jerry Reese had up his sleeve.  They waited.  They waited.  They waited.

….Nothing happened.

Instead of gaining, they lost.

Giants former tight end Kevin Boss left for the Oakland Raiders, and fan-loved wide receiver Steve Smith left for the Philadelphia Eagles.

All fans, myself included, all thought the same thing:  What in the world was Reese doing???

All we did was shake our heads, while fans of the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys pointed and laughed.

After all the complaints Giants fans and media had surfaced, Reese went public and announced that he believed very highly that the 2011 Giants team as it stood was more than capable of winning the Super Bowl.

At the time, he seemed to be the only one that believed it.

I wasn’t even thinking about the Super Bowl.  I just wanted them to make the playoffs.  I couldn’t bear to watch them miss the playoffs for a third year in a row.

Even all the way up to Week 15, after they lost a second time to the Washington Redskins, I had a lot of trouble believing they were playoff bound.

Well, they proved me wrong.

The Giants immediately went into playoff mode and won every single one of their games and eventually won Super Bowl XLVI.

I didn’t start to believe they would win the Super Bowl until they reached the playoffs.

Reese believed it before the season even started.

So, Jerry Reese, I think I owe you an apology.  I said a lot of bad things about you before the start of the season.  Things I won’t dare to repeat on here.  I was angry.  I was upset.  I didn’t think you did your job.  I was wrong.  I’m sorry.

If there is ever a moment were I don’t agree with a move you make, I will keep my mouth shut.  I trust my general manager.  I believe in Jerry Reese.