The Giants were right to let Nicks walk

And remind us of that one run in the playoffs. But I do agree he doesn't seem to have the mental make up for longevity in this league..

It's the physical makeup of his body. His legs are not what they once were. The explosiveness that once made him such a good reviver is gone.

regardless of his physical condition. He mailed it in last season. Missed practices, physical therapy and all around malaise.

Not practicing (and therefor being benched) the week prior to that Cowboys game may have been the last straw.

The Giants did not make Nicks an offer of any kind to retain his services.

he wanted a big contract, and as a fan I got the impression he took the year off in 2013. Management did nothing to dissuade me from that perception.

There were tons of great wr's coming out in the 2014 draft, and we got one.

easiest decision Reese may have ever made

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he looked very slow last night. his stats in that Andrew Luck offense are embarrasing.

In comment 11910632 eightshamrocks said:

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"her" is OK in this case.

damn shame, because he was a great one.

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Such a shame. I thought he would have gone to multiple Pro Bowls.

Reese to pick OBJ. May turn out to be a great turn of events.

In comment 11910629 mrvax said:

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regardless of his physical condition. He mailed it in last season. Missed practices, physical therapy and all around malaise. Not practicing (and therefor being benched) the week prior to that Cowboys game may have been the last straw. The Giants did not make Nicks an offer of any kind to retain his services.

Agree. If his attitude was right and he showed that he cared and was committed I think they would have made some effort to keep him.

It's a shame. He was a dynamic and clutch player

His injury didn't seem as if it were serious enough for him to go from a Pro Bowl caliber receiver to a scrub.

Unfortunately it had to be done. Really a bummer. Top level WR gets hurt and does not recover to become really a no 2.

Has it happened in recent memory to a WR that young.

that excuse was nice to cling to when he was with the Giants, now I just think he's lazy.

It looked like he was going to be one of the truly great WR's to play the game. Then it vanished as quickly as a fog lifting when the sun come out. I really don't know if I can think of any other player with a similar quick rise to greatness on the field and fall from that.

is still an animal though.

He looked just awful. And before people say its because he is the number 3 WR in their offense, he was getting plenty of looks. He would either catch them and go down immediately or make a terrible effort for the ball. He basically looks the same as he did last year.

And this is coming from a guy that called him a "Top 3" WR in the league just 2 short years ago. The decline was so rapid.

Definitely one of my alltime favorites. He embodies everything you want in a football player.

In comment 11910689 steve in ky said:

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I really don't know if I can think of any other player with a similar quick rise to greatness on the field and fall from that.

I think Steve Smith looked like he was moving in that direction after the '09 season.

Bradshaw has been a blast to watch this season. He's a nice fit in their offense. Makes me wonder what he'd look like in the Giants current offense.

In comment 11910664 Greg from LI said:

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His injury didn't seem as if it were serious enough for him to go from a Pro Bowl caliber receiver to a scrub.

Yeah it just did a 180 from where he was rising to. Seems to be all due to his head

Yeah, that is a good comparison but for me the difference is I thought Nicks could possibly end up being one of the all-time greats of the game and while I liked Smith I never saw that in him. IMO anyway Nicks was on another level entirely and had the type of talent that your rarely see. I was as impressed with him as I have been with anyone in a long time. Hard to believe that would disappear so easily.

the injuries took a toll on his body that he just can't overcome. He was always injured with nagging things from day one with the Giants and that had to do with his physical style of play IMO. He may have took it easy last year for a variety of reasons that have been discussed but, I really believe the Giants would have said goodbye or only offered a minimum contract strictly due to his injury history regardless.

Bradshaw is a stud football player no doubt and I really hope he makes it on the ring of honor one day...tuff to watch him run like that in another uniform but I understand why they had to part ways.

There was no mystery with him. Nicks' problems seem to lie elsewhere - work ethic, lack of desire to play, motivation, something like that.

In comment 11910724 Greg from LI said:

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There was no mystery with him. Nicks' problems seem to lie elsewhere - work ethic, lack of desire to play, motivation, something like that.

Yeah, it was like something inside of him was switched off.

Knee injuries will do that.

I can't think of a single player I've missed - and there were several that looked questionable at the time - Steve Smith, Kevin Boss, Jacobs, Manningham, Luke Pettigout, Shockey, Bradshaw, losing Ballard on waivers to New England, Kenny Phillips, Tuck and Osi!

I guess Barry Cofield counts. He had a very good career after leaving. Few others though.

Bradshaw would be the same deal as Nicks but he is not done yet and is so fun to watch. I miss him.

Nicks definitely had to go.

He left after 2006, so would you consider that the Accorsi era or the Reese era?

But I think Andrew Williams will be just as good. He reminds me of Martin from the Jets, back in the day.

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Martellus Bennett is the first that comes to mind

...considering how it was his best statistical game ever in the NFL. Hurt on a 50 yard reception no less. Sucks.

You could understand why he never got back to playing. His injury was decimating.

but Reese made the right moves with what he knew at the time.

I don't disagree. That's just the first name that came to mind. On the other hand, Nicks seemed to be injury prone. I don't think it's unreasonable to speculate that his steep decline could be perhaps be more physical than anything else.

has injury or still recovering from last year. It will be hard for him to get targets in that offense with Hilton and Wayne in that offense.

In comment 11910666 stretch234 said:

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Unfortunately it had to be done. Really a bummer. Top level WR gets hurt and does not recover to become really a no 2. Has it happened in recent memory to a WR that young.

Steve Smith?

There was s thread last week about Nicks. On it I compared his stats to Earnest Gray, a good Giant WR from the early 1980's. Very similar. He was a good player but not the standout people make him out to be, His best year he still only caught 1,190 yds. Conversely Bradshaw is special. One of the best 7th round picks ever for the Giants. While Nicks is "just another guy", Bradshaw is a stud.

In comment 11910951 PatersonPlank said:

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There was s thread last week about Nicks. On it I compared his stats to Earnest Gray, a good Giant WR from the early 1980's. Very similar. He was a good player but not the standout people make him out to be, His best year he still only caught 1,190 yds. Conversely Bradshaw is special. One of the best 7th round picks ever for the Giants. While Nicks is "just another guy", Bradshaw is a stud.

Don't EVER compare Nicks to Earnest Gray. That, my friend is an insult. Nicks was a dynamic player, a threat on every play whose was strong and tough, could go up and compete for balls against bigger CBs and Safeties. Gray sucked. Roberto Duran borrowed Hands of Stone from Gray. He compiled some garbage numbers in 1983 when the season was over.

without that monster postseason from Nicks

My mind wouldn't be on football that much anymore either.

a shell of his former self. He never had great speed but now he is just slow, and very slow in and out of breaks.

The ball has to be placed perfectly and at the right time otherwise the DB has just as good a chance as Nicks does to catch balls now. He still has those big "mits" to haul in back shoulders and stuff but good luck doing that very much.

He's done. We will always have 2011.

On the bright side, I have TY Hilton and Andrew Luck on my fantasy team, and man did they go off last night...

this year, he wishes the same thing. Giants probably thought his foot problems were permanent and degenerative. This was the first offseason for him with no foot surgery.

Nobody's talking about it, but I'm worried about rookie Williams taking on so much responsibility. Turnover, dropped passes, missed blitz pick-ups. And his yards/carry is 3.1.

No matter how good he may turn out to be, this is a high pressure situation to put him in.

In comment 11911459 FStubbs said:

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My mind wouldn't be on football that much anymore either.

Y'know, sometimes it works the other way around. Guys marry that beautiful girl, and for a while it's ecstasy, but then the passion cools down and they're bored and restless and, eventually, miserable.

Honestly, Nicks' last two years would fit with a guy who's clinically depressed over something. Maybe it's the falling out with the Giants (where Cruz overshadowed him); maybe it's a bad marriage; maybe it's other family trouble (his brother?). But he looks unfocused.

of all the people who said how much we would miss Nicks. There's such a gaping hole... hehe
Nicks status among other top WRs - ( New Window )

of the Division Playoff against the 13-3 Packers. It was a little short for a Hail Mary, and Nicks was tracking the ball in the air as he was running the last 10-15 yards to the end zone, just as if there weren't already eight guys already in the end zone waiting for the fall to come down.

Nicks, focused on the ball, ran right into and through the others in the end zone and plucked it out of the air with those big hands.

In comment 11910689 steve in ky said:

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It looked like he was going to be one of the truly great WR's to play the game. Then it vanished as quickly as a fog lifting when the sun come out. I really don't know if I can think of any other player with a similar quick rise to greatness on the field and fall from that.

Only the steroid guys like Shawne Merriman and Brian Cushing, although Cushing is still a starter in this league.

Are backups now...we would have kept them for 1mil...
they got more thats why they left....91 went to
raiders for little more than we offered.
Osi same....he wishes he was back

Mr. 7th round pick is outplaying Mr. 3rd overall pick.

Brad:
284 yards rushing
4.7 yard average
21 receptions, 176 yards, 5 TDs

Rich:
280 yards rushing
3.2 yard average
15 receptions, 132 yards

But I'm living in the past again.

in short order. Order your jerseys!

will extend a career.

These traits were questioned when Nicks was in the draft. NYG was fortunate to extract a few seasons where he rose above his habits, but he eventually slipped to the mean along with the leg injuries.

OB has great hands, and that was Nicks' best football trait.

The Giants ran him into the ground....the Colts give him a break with Richardson, even though Richardson sucks....this keeps AB fresh, and less stress on his body....the fact that the Colts are more of a passing team, than running team helps too....

As for Nicks, he certainly is not living up to that bold statement he made when he went to the Colts...

"I still view myself as the best receiver in the league," he said. That's a good attitude, but he was never the best receiver in the league...

He was even called out by his coach in preseason, by the effort, or lack of it, he was giving....they even questioned if he was in shape....

He said he would put up some awesome numbers, having Luck throwing to him, instead of Eli...17 catches(8.3 yards per catch) with 2 tds, projects to 46 catches for 381 yards and 5 tds, thus far....

Nicks complains that he is not targeted enough...the best receiver in the NFL is not being targeted by Luck? Must be a reason....

if the Giants wanted him to back up another RB, so it was better for both sides to let him go. Sometimes a player needs to start over with another team in order to accept the idea that they are not the man anymore.

In comment 11910847 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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You could understand why he never got back to playing. His injury was decimating.

Not to nitpick, but this isn't quite true. He had microfracture which is much, much different than a reconstruction. Reconstruction has a much higher return rate than microfracture which is still a newer procedure that hasn't had such great long term results(although getting slightly better). I(as does he) probably wishes he had a reconstruction as opposed to microfracture.

makes me sad that Nicks apparently fell apart at age 25...

One thing, he's still in the league, and at his age there's at least some chance of him having a significant rebound to form. He's now only 26...

We're willing to open the door to escort him out of town.

around from team to team for a few more years as a serviceable #3 receiver, but the potential career he had ahead of him when he first started with the Giants seems long gone. No team will keep him around very long once they find his attitude and effort sucks.

have made him ineffective, not just the injury last year.

Remember, he also suffered a compartment syndrome issue, which affects healing and other things in the leg long term. Then he had knee and ankle injuries.

For a WR that relied on shifty moves, speed and hands, he's only left with one thing now.