HEADLINES

Eli Manning

NFC Links: Eagles, Falcons, Manning

November 24th, 2014 at 7:49pm CST by Ben Levine

The Vikings lost another key member of their offensive line today, as Phil Loadholt is finished for the season with a torn pectoral. Despite the injuries, coach Mike Zimmer isn’t panicking (via Craig Peters of Vikings.com)…

“I think Phil is a great person,” Zimmer said. “He’s very conscientious, works hard, he’s got a great heart. So, that’s just part of football. Obviously we’ll miss him but we’re not going to let it hold us back from what we’re trying to get done.

That’s just the way it goes. That’s how things happen and you’ve just got to keep playing.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC…

  • While it would appear that rookies Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff have cut into Riley Cooper‘s playing time, the wide receiver joked that Jeremy Maclin‘s contract situation has played a role, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Maclin signed a one-year deal with the Eagles in February. “Maclin’s trying to get a contract so he’s probably not going to try and come out of the game,” Cooper said, with sarcasm.
  • The Falcons have continued to struggle, compiling only eight wins since their 13-3 record in 2012. At this rate, Peter King of SI.com can’t envision coach Mike Smith sticking around past December.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap examines the decisions the Giants will soon have to face, particularly in regards to quarterback Eli Manning. The writer believes the team has four courses of action: stay their usual route, spend on veteran free agents, move on from Manning or build young around Manning.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

East Notes: Manning, Shurmur, Ryan

November 23rd, 2014 at 10:53am CST by Rory Parks

Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post takes an in-depth look into how the Giants can be contenders again in 2015 as they play out the string in 2014. The good news, Hubbuch writes, is that New York will be in great shape vis-a-vis the salary cap after being in “cap jail” not too long ago. The Giants figure to have just over $118MM in cap commitments next season, and thanks to highly-lucrative television deals, the salary cap could reach over $140MM for 2015. That leaves New York plenty of room to quickly fortify their roster, especially considering next year’s free agent class looks to be especially deep.

There is, of course, one caveat to all of this: Eli Manning. Hubbuch quotes former NFL agent and current salary cap guru Joel Corry, who noted that “I would think the next six games will decide where the Giants go with Eli. It’s probably going to be a big stretch for him. I know the Giants pride themselves on loyalty, but you can’t have your quarterback out there throwing five interceptions.” However, as Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com tweets, the Giants do not really have a choice when it comes to their 34-year-0ld signal caller next season; his contract makes him virtually untouchable at this point.

So it appears as though New York will have to rebuild around Manning and hope that their vast amount of salary cap room, which could continue to grow if the team decides to part ways with players like Mathias Kiwanuka and Jon Beason, will allow them to acquire the talent to return to relevancy in the NFC East.

Now for several more items from the league’s east divisions:

  • In the same piece, Hubbuch suggests five specific moves that would help turn the Giants around, which include hanging onto Manning for one more season while turning 2015 into a contract year by not extending his current deal and drafting his potential replacement in May.
  • Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) released a list of top head coaching candidates for 2015, a list that includes former head coaches in the Patriots‘ Josh McDaniels and the Eagles‘ Pat Shurmur.
  • Mike Pouncey, although he has agreed to play guard for the Dolphins this season, wants to return to his natural center position after the 2014 season and Miami is aware of that desire, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
  • Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com believes a Jets loss to a “displaced and distracted” Bills squad this week would be “the final nail in [Rex Ryan‘s] coaching coffin.”
  • We looked at Robert Griffin III‘s uncertain future in Washington earlier today.

 

New York Notes: Manning, Coughlin, Jets

November 19th, 2014 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets, Giants quarterback Eli Manning said today that he wants to retire as a Giant, and it sounds as if the team has interest in extending the relationship as well. Giants owner John Mara believes Manning is still in his prime and “has a lot of good years left,” as he told Newsday’s Tom Rock last week. Even though Mara made his comments before Manning’s disastrous five-interception showing on Sunday, that one game is unlikely to significant alter the franchise’s perception of Eli as its quarterback of the future.

Here’s more on the NFL’s two New York teams:

  • Speaking of Manning, he was asked today about his former teammate Tiki Barber, who suggested earlier this week that the Giants should fire head coach Tom Coughlin. “It’s good to hear from old Tiki,” Manning quipped, according to Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record (Twitter links). Asked how it feels to hear a former player call for a coach to be fired, Manning replied, “I think it depends on your opinion of that player,” hinting that the Giants locker room probably isn’t taking Barber too seriously.
  • Much has been made of the potential departures of head coach Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik if the Jets’ season continues to head south, but Seth Walden of the New York Daily News points out that those aren’t the only notable names who could leave the team in the offseason. Walder identifies Percy Harvin, Geno Smith, Michael Vick, and coordinators Dennis Thurman and Marty Mornhinweg as others whose futures in New York are uncertain.
  • While the firing of Ryan at season’s end has seemed inevitable over the last few weeks, Brian Costello of the New York Post outlines a scenario in which it makes sense for the Jets to keep their head coach for at least one more year.

NFC Notes: Cutler, Lynch, Ingram

November 16th, 2014 at 12:39pm CST by Rory Parks

Jay Cutler‘s future with the Bears has grown quite murky over the course of his shaky 2014 campaign, and David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes that the league’s highest-paid player this season also looks like its worst bargain. Haugh adds that if Chicago replaces head coach Marc Trestman or GM Phil Emery in 2015, Cutler’s stability vanishes completely. Furthermore, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes, the Bears could trade Cutler after this season and save $12.5MM. The team is therefore not financially tethered to the quarterback it hoped would be its franchise savior, and Schefter reports that there would be a fair amount of interest in Cutler if Chicago were to make him available via trade.

Now for some more links from the NFC:

NFC Links: Giants, Lions, Packers

June 30th, 2014 at 2:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Eli Manning was the most overpaid NFL player during the 2013 season, at least according to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus (ESPN Insider subscription required). The Giants’ 57.5 accuracy percentage was the second-worst in the league (behind the Raiders‘ Matt McGloin), and his 27 interceptions were the most by a quarterback in nearly ten years. The writer utilized the “Jahnke Valuation Model” – a formula that measures a player’s potential salary based on production – and came to the conclusion that Manning deserved about $5.4MM. That’s a far cry from his 2013 cap hit of $20.8MM.

Second on the list also came from the NFC, albeit on the defensive side of the ball. Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis earned this honor, even though he compiled 116 tackles last season. Jahnke points to the player’s 13 missed tackles and estimates he should have earned about $1.3MM – a more than $11MM difference from his $12.4MM cap hit.

Three other NFC players – Falcons wideout Roddy White, Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson – made this list. For the AFC, Jets linebacker David Harris led the way, followed by Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub, Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph, Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor and Bills defensive end Mario Williams.

Let’s see what else is going on around the NFC…

  • Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. and Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson were previously represented by the Morgan Advisory Group’s Ryan Morgan & Zeke Sandhu. However, as Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen points out (via Twitter), the two players are now unaffiliated with MAG and are only represented by Sandhu.
  • History suggests that Lions head coach Jim Caldwell will only carry two quarterbacks, writes Justin Rogers of MLive.com. In his ten seasons with the Colts, Caldwell carried a trio of quarterbacks four times, including the 2011 season when he held on to an injured Peyton Manning. The competition is likely between veterans Dan Orlovsky and Kellen Moore, as well as rookie James Franklin. As Rogers notes, Franklin could stick around on the practice squad.
  • 12 linebackers were taken ahead of Packers rookie Carl Bradford, and Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel writes that the player won’t forget about those taken in front of him. “I keep track of it, man,” Bradford said. “And I use that as motivation…We’ll see where I land at the end of all this.”

NFC East Notes: Manning, Freeman, Allen, Smith, Melton

May 31st, 2014 at 9:18am CST by Matt Feminis

After having arthroscopic knee surgery on April 10, Giants quarterback Eli Manning is participating in OTAs with no limitations. That’s two months ahead of schedule, notes Giants.com Senior Writer/Editor Michael Eisen, who quoted head coach Tom Couglin: “He’s so far ahead. When we started out I didn’t think I would have him for anything. We’re about two or three days into the phase two (when the offense and defense worked separately) and he’s running around. I’m trying to slow him down but he feels good. I’m not surprised at all.”

In other NFC East notes…

Giants Done Spending For Offseason

March 23rd, 2014 at 8:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have been rather busy this offseason in an effort to put a dismal 2013 behind them. However, as we head into April, it appears that they’re just about tapped out. Owner John Mara told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (on Twitter) says the Giants are “pretty much done” signing veteran free agents after their recent spree.

This winter, Big Blue added several impact free agents this winter, headlined by cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who got a five-year, $35MM deal (~$14MM guaranteed). Other big pickups included offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, cornerback Walter Thurmond, running back Rashad Jennings, and linebacker Jameel McClain. Between those signings and retaining linebacker Jon Beason, Big Blue feels as though they’ve done enough to return to the playoffs in 2014.

Mara went on to say that the club “won’t rule out” reworking Eli Manning‘s contract this year but nothing is in the works at the moment (link). As shown at Over The Cap, Manning has two years left on his deal including 2014. The Super Bowl winning quarterback is set to earn base salaries of $15.15MM in ’14 and $17MM in 2015.