Monday Reading

Giants

Dunleavy NYP: Giants, Jets still sidelined as Andrew Cuomo allows New York teams to begin camps
https://nypost.com/2020/05/24/giants-jets-still-sidelined-as-andrew-cuomo-allows-new-york-teams-to-begin-camps/amp/

Inabinett Alabama.com: Joe Judge adds another Alabama connection to Giants staff

Joe Judge continues to add Alabama connections to his coaching staff with the New York Giants.
A special-teams assistant with the Crimson Tide from 2009 through 2011, New York’s first-year head coach has hired another staff member with Alabama ties with Nick Williams coming aboard for offensive quality control...”

https://www.al.com/sports/2020/05/joe-judge-adds-another-alabama-connection-to-giants-staff.html

Traina SI.com: ESPN Ranks Giants Off-season Moves in the Middle of the Pack
Is the ranking justified? Let's break it all down
https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/news/espn-ranks-giants-off-season-moves-in-the-middle-of-the-pack

Offense

Lombardo NJ.com: How does Giants’ offense compare to the rest of the NFL? | What Dave Gettleman got right and got wrong
https://www.nj.com/giants/2020/05/how-does-giants-offense-compare-to-rest-of-the-nfl-what-dave-gettleman-got-right-and-got-wrong.html

Pflum BBV: Summer School 2020: A glossary of offensive terminology
https://www.bigblueview.com/2020/5/24/21266270/summer-school-2020-offensive-terms-terminology-jargon-glossary

QB

Slater NJ.com: Here is Tony Romo’s ‘baby’-related advice to Giants’ Daniel Jones for improving ball security
https://www.nj.com/sports/2020/05/here-is-tony-romos-baby-related-advice-to-giants-daniel-jones-for-improving-ball-security.html

WR

Falato SI.com: Giants Player Profile: Alex Bachman, WR
https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/news/giants-player-profile-alex-bachman-wr

DL

Schwartz NYP: Giants’ defensive line cohesion starts with Leonard Williams
https://nypost.com/2020/05/24/giants-defensive-line-cohesion-starts-with-leonard-williams/amp/

PFF Giants: Dexter Lawrence had 4 games with an overall grade of 80+ last season, 2nd most among defensive rookies. Weeks 2,5,6,15

OLB

Pflum BBV: The Chris and Joe Show: Breaking down Carter Coughlin (Audio)
https://www.bigblueview.com/2020/5/25/21268970/2020-nfl-draft-ny-giants-the-chris-and-joe-show-breaking-down-carter-coughlin

CB

Schwartz NYP: DeAndre Baker’s armed robbery charges have Giants in flux
https://nypost.com/2020/05/24/deandre-bakers-armed-robbery-charges-have-giants-in-flux/amp/

Thompson SI.com: Giants Player Profile | DeAndre Baker, CB
https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/news/giants-player-profile-deandre-baker-cb

NFL

King FMIA: NFL Has A ‘Broken System’ For Minority Hiring. Here Is How To Fix It

“It’s likely the owners will vote to approve what the Competition Committee approved unanimously—experimenting with the eighth official upstairs during preseason games. Vincent said it’s also possible some form of the rule for an official upstairs will be put in place for the regular season. But that sounds like a rush job to me. Think of the mechanics. The NFL proposal says: “to allow for information to be requested and received in a manner than does not interrupt the normal flow of the game, any information must be provided to the referee when requested during a normal crew conference on the field, or prior to the play clock reaching :25 if the play clock is running.” That’s a lot to consider, especially asking the Sky Judge in 12 to 15 seconds to analyze a play on replay and buzz down to alert the ref that there’s a problem. What the league wants, I believe, is for the owners to give replay officials more leeway to communicate with on-field officials—at least for this year.
I called NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay, former NFL referee, to ask his take on the Sky Judge concept. “Finding 17 people who have the skills to do the job and then clearly defining which rules can be enforced and which rules cannot be enforced are extremely problematic” McAulay said. “Until there is a consensus on both of those issues, it would be difficult to imagine how this could be successfully implemented.” Unless the restrictions of the replay official’s power coming out of the preseason experiment are spelled out to a T.”

“Owners will vote on a proposal to allow a team up to twice per game to follow a scoring play by running one play and trying to convert on fourth-and-15 from the offensive 25-yard line. If the offense gets 15 or more yards on the play, the drive continues; if not, the defensive team takes over on a short field. The driving force for this is the recent futility of the onside kick, in the two seasons since teams have not been able to flood one side of the field to have a better shot at recovering the kick. (Onside-kick recovery rate, 2013-’17: 16.3 percent. Onside-kick recovery rate, 2018-’19: 10.5 percent.) Owners will vote yea or nay for a one-year trial. I think it could go either way.
In the past few days, I’ve heard a few people talk about the onside kick like it’s some sacrosanct play that must stay in the game. Please. I’d ask this question: Is the onside kick a matter of skill and athletic achievement? Or is it a matter of luck and chance? When the football is placed oblong on the tee, and the kicker tries to shtoink the ball off the turf so it bounces high into air so the 53rd guy on your roster can mug the 53rd guy on the other team, and your 6-5 backup wideout can go up for a rebound and try to grab the ball, or if he fails there’s a scrum for the ball on the ground and whoever can gouge the other guy’s eyes out first wins control of the ball . . . I mean, is that a test of skill?”

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/05/25/nfl-minority-hiring-rooney-rule-fmia-peter-king/

Breer MMQB: Sean Payton Talks Coronavirus and Saints Offseason; Gotham Chopra On Tom Brady Doc
Saints coach Sean Payton has been the NFL’s most prominent coronavirus patient. He opens up about what it was like, how his plasma donation has made a difference and what he likes about the Saints’ offseason plans. Plus, producer Gotham Chopra talks all about Tom Brady's upcoming documentary—and why it’s not The Last Dance
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/05/25/sean-payton-coronavirus-gotham-chopra-tom-brady-documentary

Schofield Touchdownwire USA Today: Ranking the NFL's offenses from worst to first

24. New York Giants

“Points Per Game: 21.3 (19th out of 32)
Yards Per Game: 338.5 (23rd out of 32)
Yards Per Play: 5.4 (20th out of 32)
Daniel Jones took over for Eli Manning early in the 2019 campaign, and in the eyes of many – myself included – he performed much better than expected. Jones was perhaps the ugly duckling of the 2019 draft class, with many evaluators saying he was not worth the first-round selection the Giants used on him. But the young passer seemed to make a smoother transition than most believed he was capable of.
That being said, there are still issues to address for the Giants offense in 2020. Andrew Thomas might be the piece the offensive line is missing, but that remains to be seen. Can Evan Engram finally have the breakout season Giants fans are hoping for? Can Jones himself overcome some turnover issues that plagued him as a rookie? How quickly can the team pick up a new offensive system under incoming offensive coordinator Jason Garrett? The pieces might be in place, but the product is far from complete.”

https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2020/05/25/ranking-the-nfls-offenses-from-worst-to-first/

Orr SI.com: To Beat Tecmo Bowl: One Man’s Modest Quarantine Quest
Before there was Madden, Nintendo had the ultimate NFL simulation. Stuck inside for the past couple weeks, our writer found a bootleg website and launched a goal to conquer the game—with a little help from a Tecmo Bowl expert and a new-found video-game legend
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/05/22/quest-to-beat-tecmo-bowl-with-help-from-expert

BALTIMORE
Shaffer Baltimore Sun: From Zambia to the NFL: How family and football helped Ravens rookie John Daka find his way
https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-john-daka-zambia-20200525-f5smyvyemvgbhnqc5l3ylrqqie-story.html

BUFFALO
Buffalo News: Frank Reich on Chad Kelly: 'He's been a 10 out of 10' on and off field
https://buffalonews.com/2020/05/24/frank-reich-on-chad-kelly-hes-been-a-10-out-of-10-on-and-off-field/

CAROLINA
Newton ESPN Charlotte: Rodney Smith well-seasoned to compete for RB job with Panthers
https://www.espn.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/33705/rodney-smith-well-seasoned-to-compete-for-rb-job-with-panthers?

CHICAGO
Morrissey Chicago Sun Times: Growth spurt: Bears coach Matt Nagy finally sees the light about the preseason
https://chicago.suntimes.com/platform/amp/bears/2020/5/24/21269002/growth-spurt-bears-coach-matt-nagy-finally-sees-light-about-preseason-nick-foles-mitch-trubisky

CINCINNATI
Sheeran CincyJungle: Bengals 2021 free agents: A.J. Green, Joe Mixon headline extensive list
https://www.cincyjungle.com/2020/5/25/21252008/bengals-2021-free-agents-nfl-a-j-green-joe-mixon-carl-lawson

CLEVELAND
Bielik Cleveland Plain Dealer: What Grant Delpit showed in the College Football Playoff -- This Week in the Cleveland Browns
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/05/what-grant-delpit-showed-in-the-college-football-playoff-this-week-in-the-cleveland-browns.html

QB Data Mine: Baker Mayfield was accurate on 10 of his 22 passes that travelled further than 30 yards downfield last season, the seventh-best rate in the NFL

DENVER
O’Halloran Denver Post: Small town success: Derrek Tuszka’s route to Broncos fueled by work ethic, family support
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/05/25/derrek-tuszka-broncos-rookie-north-dakota-state/amp/

GREEN BAY
Owaczarski Mil JS: Packers quarterback Tim Boyle's offseason: Travel the world and face another roster fight
https://amp.packersnews.com/amp/5209329002

MIAMI
Hyde Sun Sentinel: The story of Dolphins rookie Noah Igbinoghene starts with Olympic genes and harder work
https://www.al.com/sports/2020/05/joe-judge-adds-another-alabama-connection-to-giants-staff.html

NEW ENGLAND
Callahan Boston Herald: How the Patriots should be helped – and hurt – by the NFL’s virtual offseason
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/05/25/how-the-patriots-should-be-helped-and-hurt-by-the-nfls-virtual-offseason/amp/

Yang Boston Globe: Undersized, underrated and undrafted: Will Hastings hoping to catch on with the Patriots
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/24/sports/will-hastings-hopes-his-work-ethic-skill-set-helps-him-catch-with-patriots/?

NEW YORK JETS
Costello NYP: Jets’ cornerback group remains glaring weakness
https://nypost.com/2020/05/24/jets-cornerback-group-remains-glaring-weakness/amp/

PHILADELPHIA
Domowitch Phil Inquirer: No offseason practice means Eagles rookies will struggle to play key roles in team’s plans this season
https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/eagles-rookies-offseason-jalen-reagor-coronavirus-covid-19-20200525.html

Kempski Phillyvoice: 5 Eagles breakout candidates in 2020
https://www.phillyvoice.com/5-eagles-breakout-candidates-2020/

PITTSBURGH
Adamski Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Steelers rookies not necessarily falling behind yet … but clock ticking for Mike Tomlin
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers-rookies-not-necessarily-falling-behind-yet-but-clock-ticking-for-mike-tomlin/

SAN FRANCISCO
Cloninger Charleston Courier: Gamecocks alum Deebo Samuel ready to build on outstanding 49ers rookie season
https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/gamecocks-alum-deebo-samuel-ready-to-build-on-outstanding-49ers-rookie-season/article_279acdd8-9dc2-11ea-a455-c3c4e01b8f44.html

SEATTLE
Calkins Seattle Times: Could Seahawks sign Antonio Brown? It’s unlikely and maybe unadvised but not impossible
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/could-seahawks-sign-antonio-brown-its-unlikely-and-maybe-unadvised-but-not-impossible/?

TAMPA BAY
Romano TB Times: Even as the butt of jokes, Tom Brady can walk away smiling
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/05/24/even-as-the-butt-of-jokes-tom-brady-can-walk-away-smiling/

WASHINGTON
Carpenter Washington Post: Jennifer King has been a cop, a QB and a national champion. Next up: Redskins assistant coach
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/05/25/jennifer-king-redskins-assistant-coach-cop-qb-national-champion/

Paras Washington Times: Collins sees 2016 Giants parallel with Redskins' offseason. Here's why that would be a good thing
https://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/24/landon-collins-sees-2016-giants-parallel-redskins-/

Former Giants News

Robinson Heavy.com: Giants Legend Tiki Barber Reveals Why He Really Retired from NFL

“On the Scoop B Radio Podcast, I asked him if his relationship with Tom Coughlin had anything to do with it. “I mean, Tom was such a small part of it,” Barber told me.

“He was so hard on everybody and you felt unappreciated at times, but it was so much more than that. Maybe he was the last little straw that made me walk away from the game but, physically I was getting beat up man. And it would take me until Thursday to feel good again. I was getting massages on Monday and acupuncture, I would get this ART treatment and then another massage on Thursday, and then now I’m feeling alright on Friday; and it’s like a walkthrough practice and then you get beat up again and it starts over. And it was just getting hard.”
Barber says he wanted a change of pace. “The other thing, is my life,” he said.

“These experiences that were happening to me were just capturing my attention. Whether if it was going to Israel on the request of the late Shimon Peres and visiting the Knesset and it was a surreal world that I was living in. I was working at FOX News at the time and I met Tony Snow who was the House Press Secretary who introduced me to Condoleezza Rice and I had lunch with Condi Rice when she was Secretary of State Dept., all these things are just becoming more interesting to me than grinding. Being in the circle, developing relationships that were going to be so much more beneficial to me once, I retired than being a football player. Now I love being an NFL athlete. I loved doing it in New York and having success in New York because it granted me access to a rarified circle like these billionaires and hedge fund managers and the society in New York. I mean, I had no business belonging but because I was a good football player, I had access to it and I was able to develop and create a lot of relationships. And so, it’s come to the point that I want to explore this. I mean, football’s great, but I want to explore this; and it became more important and that’s why I walked away.”

: Is Eli Manning a first ballot Hall of Famer?
“Whoo, that’s a great question,” Tiki Barber, Manning’s former Giants teammate told me on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“He is a Hall of Famer. No doubt about it. The question about First Ballot is timing because, think about the peers that he’s going in around and I think he maybe has an advantage because he’s not going to align with his brother Peyton, who retired a couple years before. He’s not going to align with Drew Brees who is still playing or Tom Brady. And so, he might get fortunate because he is a Hall of Famer and coming into a class that doesn’t have a quarterback waiting, you know what I mean? Like, he doesn’t have a guy that is a guaranteed Hall of Famer waiting.”

Barber also dissects the issue of whether or not Manning is better than Tom Brady. “And it’s interesting because this conversation comes up all the time,” he tells Scoop B Radio.
“Is Tom Brady better than Eli? Yeah, you could say Tom Brady is better than Eli, but Eli beat him twice in the Super Bowls…Is Eli better than his brother? It’s debatable. They both had the same numbers of success; the Super Bowls, but Peyton Manning was this iconic player. And so when you start comparing Eli through his peers – the Peytons, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, you can probably put them all above Eli. But when it comes to the Hall of Fame, it’s all about timing and the narrative around your timing. You know, Eli might just be a First Ballot Hall of Famer because he hits the finalists list at the right time.”

Tiki Barber on why Odell Beckham didn’t fit with the Giants:

“When this trade happened a couple years ago, I was one of the first to think, ‘I think Odell wanted to be traded.’ I know it’s getting positioned as ‘getting rid of the headache’ , but I felt like Odell wanted out of New York because it was getting to be somewhat of a distraction and he felt and he even said this, “That the structure of the offense with an aging Eli, a compromised offensive line…” and he wasn’t going to reach his fullest potential with the Giants as they were currently constructed. Now the crazy thing is, if he would’ve hung on for another year and Daniel Jones comes in and you start to build some of these weapons around him, if Odell Beckham was with the Giants right now…forget it. Talk about skill. Him and Saquon and Daniel Jones, I mean it would’ve been sick! Sterling Shepherd, Darius Slay had a good season last year; it’s a shame. But also why it didn’t work is he got bigger; like his brand – it got bigger than the brand that was on the field. It becomes unwinnable.”

https://heavy.com/sports/2020/05/tiki-barber-new-york-giants-nfl-scoop-b-radio/amp/

History

Eisen Giants.com: Giants Now (5/25): Remembering Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lummus & Al Blozis on Memorial Day
https://www.giants.com/news/memorial-day-2020-medal-of-honor-jack-lummus-al-blozis-giants-ring-of-honor

Dan Daly: On this day in 1952, HOF QB Benny Friedman spouted off in the newspaper about pro football becoming "nothing but a game of pitch-and-catch." HIs solution? Bring back the fat ball he had to throw, which was "much harder to grip. Then let's see how much they'll pass."

Al Cartwright NY NEA (5-23-1952)

“Benny Friedman snorts at the way today's football professionals are using his old weapon. "Pro football now- is nothing hut a game of pitch and catch," says the one-time Michigan quarterback and one of the first great passers “You see virtually no line play at all. "I believe the most passes I ever threw was 24. “Now you get more than that in a half. "1'nless T have a special interest in an individual, I rarely go see the pros, hut I will say that I like to watch the Browns because in their way I see a great deal of coaching intelligence. “Paul Brown blends hts pass game by running Marion Motley. who reminds me ol Bronco Nagurski. “Brown would be foolish not to utilize Otto Graham as a passer as much as possible liecause he has two remarkable receivers in Mac Speedie and Dante Lavelli." Friedman has a suggestion for remedying the pass-crazy pro game. “Bring back the ball we used in the 1920s” he suggests. “It was a great deal fatter than the modern streamlined one, much harder to grip and control. Then
let’s see how much they'll pass" Benny coaching the first football team in the history of Brandeis University, the new school at Waltham. Mass., admits he and his brethren of Fielding Yost's day may have started football on the road to this “ridiculous” business "We were the first to ignore the hook when it came to passing,*’ he explains. “It used to he that you wouldn’t think of passing in certain parts of the field or on certain downs. “We changed that by throwing on early downs and from hack in our own territory.” The Michigan offense was predicated on three hints, discloses Benny, who later played so well professionally, “One” -, look over the defense. Two, play for position on the field. Use the plays that work best on the sidelines for instance. Three, take it for granted that Barnum was right, and look for his disciples the suckers—in the club’s defense.” The record book shows that Friedman was a real All-America in 1926 You recall him for his passing, hut he also was one of the fine field-goal kickers He heat Ohio State, 17-16, with a 35-yard placement. Benny’ Friedman was very definitely a Golden Era nugget.”

Chase Stuart Football Perspective: Here's the average rushing yards for a RB in each season, as a percentage of his best year. High peak from ages 25-27, with 24 to 29 being all part of a player's prime

https://twitter.com/fbgchase/status/1264592230272163843?s=21

Chase Stuart Football Perspective: John Henry Johnson
On his 32nd birthday, his career totals were 3,351 career rushing yards, 100 receptions, and 27 TDs.
Over the rest of his career, he had 3,452 rushing yards, 86 receptions, and 27 TDs.
He's the only RB with over half his career rushing yards coming after 32!

1970’s NFL: In 1975, the top two leaders in receptions were both running backs. Chuck Foreman was first with 73 and Lydell Mitchell was second with 60 (tied with Reggie Rucker of the Browns)

Giants Birthdays 5-25

Jerome Cunningham TE UDFA-Central Connecticut State 2014 NYG 2014-2015 5-25-1991

Keith Hamilton RDT/LDT/LDE D4-Pittsburgh 1992 NYG 1992-2003 5-25-1971

At the time Hamilton retired:

His 173 games with the Giants tied Harry Carson for sixth on the
franchise's career list.

He finished with 526 tackles, including
376 solo.

Hamilton had 63 career sacks, good enough for fourth in
team history.

Keith Hamilton Highlights (Video)
https://youtu.be/UlpjGdxE83M

Mario Manningham WR D3-Michigan 2008, W-SF 2014 NYG 2008-2011, 2014 5-25-1986

Giants.com: Top 5 Plays: WR Mario Manningham
Giants.com has launched a series of videos taking a look back at the top plays of Big Blue’s Super Bowl run in 2011. Here we review the best of wide receiver Mario Manningham.

https://www.giants.com/video/top-5-plays-wr-mario-manningham-7018911

Clifton McNeil WR TR-SF 1970 NYG 1970-1971 Born 5-25-1940

6-01-1970 NYT

“The New York Giants com pleted thier second trade in less than 24 hours yesterday by acquiring Clifton McNeil, a wide receiver and all league selec tion, with the San Francisco 49ers in 1968, for two high draft choices.
The exchange for the 6 foot 2 inch 208 pound McNeil, who led the National Football League in receiving two years ago with 71 catches for 994 yards, followed the Giants' loss of Tommy Joe Crutcher, an outside linebacker, to the Los Angeles Rams for two undisclosed draft choices.
There was no official word on whether the trade for the 29 year old McNeil would result in a round robin swap of draft selections. But a spokes man for the Giants said both deals involved at least one selection “in the top five rounds.”
McNeil, who will be starting his seventh N.F.L. season, played four years with the Cleveland Browns as an under study to Paul Warfield. He was traded to the 49ers in 1968.

Injury Sidelined Him
An injured shoulder kept the Grambling College product out of action for much of last sea son, although a contract dis pute did not further his cause with 49er coaches. McNeil caught only 17 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. “This is exactly the kind of guy we were looking for,” Coach Alex Webster said yes terday. “We have a lot of ends, but we don't have the ends with his speed or experience.”
The Giants traded Homer Jones, their fastest receiver, to the Cleveland Browns after last season. Presumably, the ac quisition of McNeil, whose shoulder injury has healed, will allow Webster to select a sec ond wide receiver from two second year players, Don Herrmann and Richard Houston; Joe Morrison, the 12year pro, or Aaron Thomas, who is expected to rejoin the club after a brief retirement.
The Giants were somewhat surprised by the announcement of the Crutcher trade, since it Was conditional on the result of his knee operation. The announcement was made in Los Angeles on Saturday, apparently after the Rams' doctor had examined and tested Crutcher’ s knee.”

1970 Profile: Clifton McNeil

Wide Receiver
No. 18
Grambling
"It was Y.A. Tittle who rescued Clifton McNeil from the 49ers, who had benched him last year and made the former 9.5 sprinter trade-bait. Clif found himself in the doghouse in '69 because he held out for 49 days, trying to get a big salary increase. He also suffered a shoulder injury. Overall last season he caught 17 passes for 255 yards.
Tittle came to the Giants from San Francisco last May to become New York's new quarterbacks coach and he let it be known that McNeil was worth getting despite the high price tag (two draft choices).
Clif started with the Browns but couldn't break into their pass catching corps. With the 49ers in 1968 he caught a league leading 71 passes for 994 yards and seven touchdowns. The six-year veteran looks to be the experienced receiver the Giants need to replace Homer Jones."

-Brenda and Jack Zanger, Pro Football 1970

01 CHI 2-29-0
02 DAL 3-32-0
03 NOR 5-65-0
04 PHI 5-70-0
05 BOS 1-28-1
06 STL 5-110-1

11-01-1970: Giants Defeat Jets in First Regular Season Meeting

“The culmination of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 made possible the birth of new pro football rivalries, perhaps most notably that between the teams located in New York City. On November 1, 1970 the long-established Giants met the younger league’s Jets for the first time in a regular season game.

While the Jets, coached by Weeb Ewbank, had experienced more recent success with back-to-back AFL Eastern Division titles in 1968 and 1969 and a victory in Super Bowl III, they came into the contest against the Giants as ten-point underdogs. The squad had been decimated by injuries, most notably the broken wrist suffered by star QB Joe Namath but also including the loss of both starting running backs HB Emerson Boozer and FB Matt Snell. As a result, their record was 1-5 as they prepared to meet their intra-city rivals.

Meanwhile the Giants, coached by former star running back Alex Webster, appeared to be on the upswing after six years of not breaking the .500 barrier. QB Fran Tarkenton (pictured above) was joined by HB Ron Johnson and WR Clifton McNeil to fuel the offense and, while the defense had its share of holes, it also had DE Fred Dryer, LB Jim Files, and FS Carl ‘Spider’ Lockhart to bring talent to the unit. After losing their first three games, they had won three straight to improve to 3-3.

A record crowd of 63,903 was in attendance at Shea Stadium. They saw the Jets score first on a pass from QB Al Woodall, the fill-in for Namath, to HB George Nock that covered eight yards. Still in the first quarter, Pete Gogolak booted a 25-yard field goal for the Giants. The score remained 7-3 at halftime. The Giants had difficulty on offense and Tarkenton completed just two of eight pass attempts in the first half.

The Jets added to their lead with a 31-yard field goal by Jim Turner in the third quarter. The game then took a significant turn, however, and oddly enough, the Jets were victimized by their own success on defense. The Giants, down 10-3, drove into Jets territory and had a third-and-goal situation at the one yard line but failed on two plays from there; the last with FB Tucker Frederickson coming up a foot short of the goal line - and had to turn the ball over on downs, although not before a bench-clearing brawl ensued between the teams.

Frederickson had attempted to lateral back to Tarkenton at the end of the fourth-down play, which was already blown dead, and the veteran quarterback was tackled by Jets LB Larry Grantham. Words ensued between Tarkenton and Grantham, and they were followed by CB Earlie Thomas of the Jets throwing a punch at Tarkenton. Both benches quickly emptied.

Once order was restored and the Jets took possession, two quarterback sneaks by Woodall failed to gain ground and then FB Chuck Mercein (an ex-Giant) was tackled in the end zone by Jim Files and Fred Dryer for a safety.

Losing by 10-5 and getting the ball following the free kick, the Giants struck quickly when Tarkenton passed to Johnson for a 50-yard gain to the Jets’ nine. The remaining distance was covered on the next play as Tarkenton passed to TE Bob Tucker and, with Gogolak’s extra point, the older club was in front by 12-10.

On the next Jets series, Woodall was picked off by CB Willie Williams who proceeded to return the interception 36 yards to the Jets’ 29. Three plays later, and helped by a face mask penalty on the Jets, Tarkenton threw another touchdown pass of 11 yards to Clifton McNeil. The Giants had scored 16 points in a period of six plays that covered less than two minutes of the third quarter to take control of the game.

After the flurry of excitement, the remainder of the contest was anticlimactic. Gogolak added a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and the Giants ended up winning handily by a score of 22-10.

The Giants barely outgained the Jets (240 yards to 237) while the Jets had the slight edge in first downs (16 to 15). However, the Giants sacked Woodall six times, to one sack of Tarkenton, and the Jets turned the ball over four times while the Giants suffered no turnovers.

Overcoming the rough first half, Fran Tarkenton ended up completing 11 of 22 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns with none intercepted. Ron Johnson (pictured below) rushed for 69 yards on 25 carries and also caught two passes for 52 more yards. Bob Tucker and Clifton McNeil each had three catches, for 41 and 35 yards respectively, and a TD apiece.”

https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2012/11/1970-giants-defeat-jets-in-first.html

07 NYJ 3-35-1
08 DAL 6-80-0
09 WAS 2-20-0
10 PHI 4-62-0
11 WAS 5-77-0
12 BUF 3-46-1
13 STL 1-41-0
14 LAR 5-69-0

50-764-15.3-4

1971 Profile: Clifton McNeil

Wide Receiver
No. 18
Grambling
"One thing Clifton McNeil has is confidence.
'When I'm going,' says the seven-year veteran, 'there's no defensive back who can stay with me.' Despite his self-esteem, McNeil failed to show the Giants much early last season. But midway through the campaign, the man who led the NFL with 71 receptions in 1968, when he was with the 49ers, caught fire.
'It just took Fran and myself time to get to know what each of us could do,' says Clift. Once that happened, the Grambling product got hot and wound up tied for fifth in the NFC with 50 catches for 764 yards. His patterns were the finest seen since Del Shofner's Giant days.
The only disappointment was his inability to click with the bomb, something the Giants were looking for in a man who ran a 9.5 100 in college. He still has the ability to get clear, but at 30 it could be that he's lost a step."

-Brenda Zanger, Pro Football 1971

Olen Underwood RLB D14-Texas 1965 NYG 1965 5-25-1942

5-07-2018 Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Olen Underwood as presiding judge of the Second Administrative Judicial Region for a term set to expire four years from the date of qualification

1-03-1965 AP

Texas' Defense Turns Tide 21-17 MIAMI

“Brilliant offensive play by Ernie Koy and Jim Hudson gave Texas three touchdowns, but it was the crashing defense of five Longhorns that gave the Texans their 21-17 upset of national champion Alabama In the Orange Bowl. The Texas defense rated the fifth best D in the land took the sting out of a brilliant passing performance by Alabama's great Joe Namath by coming up with the big plays. Clayton Lacy, Diron Talbert, Olen Underwood and All American Tommy Noblis stopped Ala- bama and Namath six Inches from the Texas end zone in the fourth period. Alabama marched to the Texas six-yard line with six minutes to play and four straight times lite Texas defense stopped the hard charging 'Bama backs.”

SI Giants Preview 1965: “There are two exceptionally alert and mobile first-year linebackers: Olen Underwood and Jim Carroll.”

1965 Deoth Chart vs Cowboys 9-19-1965

QB Morrall/Wood/Timberlake (R)
HB Thurlow/Koy (R)/Reed (R)
FB Wheelwright/Frederickson (R)/ Mercein (R)
FL Morrison/Thomas
SE Shofner/Jones
TE Thomas/Crespino
RT Lasky/McDowell/Case
RG Bolin/Case/Adamchik (R)
OC Scholtz/Adamchik (R)
LG O’Brien/Case/Adamchik (R)
LT Brown/McDowell/Case

LE Katcavage/Roosevelt Davis (R)
LT Roger Anderson/Lalonde
RT Bundra/Roger Anderson
RE Stynchula/Roosevelt Davis (R)
LB Carroll (R)/Hillebrand/Costello
MB Slaby/Swain/Hillebrand
RB Underwood (R)/Tom Costello
LH Lockhart (R)/Williams (R)
RH Lynch/Williams (R)
LS Carr (R)/ Childs
RS Patton/Childs

In Memoriam

Proverb Jacobs T/DT W-PHI 1960 NYG 1960 Born 5-25-1935 Died 4-18-2016

From the University of California:

“Proverb Jacobs (1935-2016) was born Proverb Jacobs Jr. in Marksville, Louisiana, on May 25, 1935. He was a year old when his family relocated to West Oakland as part of the great migration leaving the American South in search of economic opportunity. His father had been a ‘stump-barber’ in Louisiana, so called for the practice of using stumps for barber chairs, and was the first to break the color barrier at Moler Barber College. Jacobs attended Oakland Technical High School, where he became the school’s football and track star in the early 1950s, earning all-city honors in both sports.
After graduating Oakland Technical High School Jacobs played college football at Modesto Junior College under head football and track and field coach Stan Pavko, becoming 1954 Big Seven Conference Champion and receiving All-Conference and All-Northern California honors. In January 1956 he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, at the recruitment of head coach Lynn ‘Pappy’Waldorf to play as a starter. As one of five African Americans on the football team, Jacobs studied Physical Education and worked for the Associated Students of the University of California. In 1958 Jacobs was selected to play in the College Football All-Star Game under Pete Elliott’s Cal squad and named as a guard to the United Press All-Pacific-Coast Conference team.

He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive and defensive lineman in the second round of the 1958 National Football League draft. After his first season Jacobs was called to serve six months active duty at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was then recruited by the New York Giants, where he played during the 1960 season, followed by the New York Titans in 1961. In the spring semester of 1963 Jacobs was readmitted to the University of California, Berkeley, to finish his undergraduate degree and signed with the Oakland Raiders as a lineman.
On August 21, 1963, when the Raiders were scheduled in an exhibition game at Mobile, Alabama's segregated Ladd Stadium, Jacobs, along with Art Powell, was one of six players to take a stand against playing. Wide-receiver Powell had played alongside Jacobs with the Titans and had taken numerous boycotts against the segregation of African American players in the team's gameday housing. After raising objections with Al Davis, the Raiders’ coach and general manager, the preseason game was cancelled and subsequently moved to Oakland.

During the period of 1958-1964, Jacobs worked off-season as a group counselor for the Alameda County Probation Department at the Juvenile Reception Center. Due to his work with youth and inspired by coaches at McClymonds High School (Oakland, California), Jacobs decided to leave professional sports and work towards a Special Secondary Credential in Physical Education at San Francisco State University, beginning his teaching and coaching career in 1964. After receiving his degree at San Francisco State in 1968, Jacobs went on complete a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley. While there he wrote articles that appeared in Scholastic Coach Magazine, Track and Field and the Athletic Journal.

In 1968 Jacobs began working at Laney College as a physical education instructor and coach, serving as Director of Men’s Physical Education from 1970 to 1971, head Track and Field coach from 1975 to 1978, and becoming Athletic Director in 1982. He remained at Laney for more than 30 years teaching physical education, mathematics, political science, and the sociology of sports. As Athletic Director, Jacobs was instrumental in obtaining a women's track program for the school. Other career highlights at Laney included coaching James Robinson, dominant American 800 meters runner from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s. Robinson ran in the 1976 Summer Olympics and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that did not compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott protesting the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Other notable highlights included assisting with coaching the Northern California Semi-Pro Football League San Jose Apaches during the 1967 season, and scouting for the San Francisco 49ers from 1979-1985 under life-long friend and coach Bill Walsh. Jacobs was instrumental in helping develop the 49ers' winning roster during the 1982 XVI Super Bowl. Walsh would later dedicate his book, Building a Champion: On Football and the Making of the 49ers, to Jacobs.

After retiring from teaching in 2005 Jacobs began work on his memoir. Self-published in 2014, Autobiography of an Unknown Football Player, is a monumental, two-volume (1681 pp) autobiography answering his granddaughter’s question of where their family came from. The book follows Jacobs' life and accomplishments against a background of American history and the radical changes of the twentieth century. In it he relates the Jacobs family lineage and family biographies, the vast social changes that marked his youth in Oakland, his experiences as an African American professional football player, and his career coaching Laney College athletes and mentoring youth.”