New York Giants LB Michael Boley has been suspended without pay by the NFL for violating it's personal Conduct Policy. He will miss week one and be eligible to return in week two. What is going on with this guy? First the surgery and now this? How concerned are you about him now?
Understandable but this is still two things in a row with him. I hope he can put this behind him and get on the field. He needs to get his mental game up too now.
Spot on again, Joy-Z. Adam Schefter reported earlier that the Giants and Boley both knew it was coming prior to the contract being signed. Personally, I'm more worried about the hip. That's a 8-10 week recovery IF everything goes right. One bad infection and he's gone until mid-season. NY can't afford to lose LBs. Especially with Pierce being a HUGE question mark after last season's awful performances post-Plax's shooting. I'm hoping it was based on the fact that Pierce was looking at serious jail time if he didn't swing a deal with the DA's office and not that he's done. What I can't understand is why Reece won't bring Derrick Brooks in for a lookover. Sure, his best days are behind him, but I think he can still contribute in certain packages. The guy is one of the smartest LBs around and signing him to a one year, veteran's minimum contract I think would pay huge dividends. Can't hurt to give him a shot to show if he has anything left in training camp. Jerry should be a bit more aggressive with the LBs like he is with the DL.
hey dweez good analysis. I think we will see something this week if anything. it is getting a bit too close to the regular season to mess around with such an important position. We still have some depth at LB though.
My question is this. Apparently this suspension stems from an incident in May of 2008. This was over a year ago. So why is he being suspended now? Why not when the altercation happened with the team he was on at the time in the season in which it happened.
This is what is puzzling. He could have been suspended at the beginning of last season not now. Isn't this like Derrick Ward being suspended for a game this upcoming season because of an infraction which happened last season in minicamp? Why should Tampa Bay be penalized? This is only a made up example BTW. Is this a way for the NFL to get back at the Giants organization for it's alleged mis-handling of the Plaxico self inflicted gunshot wound? Hasn't the team paid enough for this?
I'm sure Mike is right. The Giants should have seen this coming and decided to get him anyway. He'll be a great player for us if he can get his hip healthy and we still have the same LB's as last season and we didn't self destruct until the end of the season last year so we should be fine..
Thats a very good question lukakaru. I'm not sure why they waited this long to do anything about it. Seems with his injury, nobody is complaining about the extra week off to heal though. Maybe there was an ongoing investigation or something. Look at what Ahmad Bradshaw had to endure with splitting up jail time over college issues. Hard to say in this case. I just hope he is ready to play well this year.
Well, lukakaru, if Scheftler's right, and he's usually is when it comes to the Commissioner's office (wonder if that will change now that's he no longer with NFL Network?), the Giants were informed PRIOR to signing him. So, it definitely was NOT punishing the Giants. Any team that signed Boley would have had to deal with the suspension. NY had the option of backing away. I would guess the delay had to deal with union appeals, the legal system, etc. Goodell has claimed he won't suspend guys until they have had their day in court. I think Plax gets suspended BEFORE his court date because it's so freaking obvious that he did it. Big old hole in the leg is pretty damning evidence. Boley's case wasn't so cut and dried. Now that it's settled, the Commissioner - and I think it's appropriate - gives him a suspension to drive home the point that there's a price to if you screw up. I like that Goodell is coming down hard on guys. It's a privilege to play in the NFL. Unfortunately, some of the players don't get that. Boley got rough with his woman and there's no place for that. As for Plax, I hope he gets a year suspension. It's not just that he committed a crime, it's not just that he endangered other people's lives, he actively tried to cover up his crime and destroy evidence. If you or I did what Plax did, we would be in a cell already doing hard time. Giants got VERY lucky that Pierce and the Giant's trainer that arranged for Plax to go to the hospital without the police being notified (breaking ANOTHER NYC law!) aren't being charged as well. Pierce could have been brought up on Federal charges for transporting a gun used in a crime across state lines. Plax really made a mess that night. Takes a special kind of jacka** to stick a handgun in the waistband of a sweatpants. Plax's is damn lucky "little" Plax wasn't blown off. The guy's a moron and whatever happens to him is far less than what any of us would have gotten.
Relax. The Giants new this was imminent when they signed him, its just the first week that he is suspended and besides realistically, he was not going to be ready to play in week 1 anyway because of the hip injury. So in the end nothing changes except he loses a week's salary to a charity. Issue closed.
The suspension is irrelevant, he's out 8 to 10 weeks with a stubbed pinkie toe anyway and probably wouldn't have played at all week 1. My problem with the guy is simply getting hurt in OTA's with a hip injury, something 80 yr old men get not 30 yr old roid head football players. Sorry to anyone who thinks I'm being too critical, but anyone who comes to our team after signing a big off season contract and breaks like a glass house the first time he hits the turf is garbage to me and doersn't deserve any respect from me at all. He's probably going to be less than 100 % all season which is going to leave us with the same group of LB's that were a weakness all last season. We are going to be watching Antonio Beer Belly running behind tight ends and running backs all season again, and there's suddenly a glaring hole in a defense we thought was Bears '85 esque. Getting constant pressure on the QB is futile if he's able to unlaod 5 to 10 yard passes all game, doesn't need very much time to do that.
IM - A torn labrum is about as far from a "stubbed pinkie toe as you can get. And it is DEFINITELY NOT just "an old man injury". It happens primarily to athletes and professional dancers. As far as I can tell, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, Boley has not had an injury history that would raise a red flag and/or chronic problems with his hip. So, how could Giants know this would happen before they signed him? Did the Giants doctors that gave him his physical prior to signing the contract miss something? Is it disappointing that the guy won't be available? Yeah, but it was disappointing to lose Osi last year, too. It's the NFL. Injuries happen. If this is the worse injury any Giant suffers all season long, I'll be grateful. Finally, it's hardly Boley's fault that LB is a weakness. That's Jerry Reese's department.
You all make some good points. At least we know what the Giants have to deal with now. That in itself will allow them to plan properly. Hopefully, Boley heals well and spends a lot of time studying the playbook and watching tape when he is not on the field.
I guess my only gripe is that the Giants have 17 starting defensive line-men and "Antonio-I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today-Pierce." What's the deal with that?
Don't get me wrong. I was down with the G Men picking up Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty but with already having Osi, Tuck, Robbins, Tollefson, Coefield and Alford did we need both? Couldn't we have scooped up another linebacker?
I can hear it now, Mathias Kiwanuka can play linebacker if needed and I agree. That said he wasn't great in coverage either and that's where we need the help.
I honestly don't think the Giants are that bad off at the LB position. Granted we don't have a Patrick Willis on the team but we do have some young talented LB's. If they don't make any more moves this year, I think it is clear we will hit the WR & LB positions hard next year. What we have now is good enough to get us into the playoffs and beyond.
Mock King "I think it is clear we will hit the WR & LB positions hard next year"
Don't forget the O line! Those guys are getting a bit long in the tooth and I think that's where NY is weakest backup wise. While I hope NY has an injury free season, I am more confident in David Carr filling in for Manning if he goes down than I am if, God forbid, O'Hara and Diehl go down and their backups come in. NY loses two starters on the O line and I think we're looking at a 8-8 season.
So, switching gears a bit - Who do you guys think will be the second RB and the third this year? I think it starts out Bradshaw and Brown with Ware being the odd man out and by the end of the season Brown being the number two RB. I think the kid is going to be a real pleasant surprise. Glad that the Giants got him signed early.
Hope all of you had a safe holiday weekend, and the families are doing well. On to the last month before we can all enjoy football again. Thannnnnnkkkkkk God!!!!! I understand everyone's frustration when it comes to injuries in football, but I really wouldnt look into too much of Boley not being ready for the start of the season. We all are aware that the guy will have plenty of time to rehab, with the training staff fully prepared to keep him in shape. He is better off getting it out of the way now, instead of in the middle of the season when we need him the most. The surgey was performed on June 24th, so after 9-10 weeks off, he should be ready to go by the end of August. Now that the Commish is suspending him for the domestic issue from 08 (like Bradshaw's prior's), this will give him an extra week to get back into football shape. As for the rest of our LB core. They will be only as good as our front line. That is how the entire league works. No pressure equals, LBs playing catch up. Same with the secondary. We have a nice group of young guys who have shown a huge amount of talent, mixed with a front line who should take a heap of pressure off the back 7. If any of our front guys go down, that is when I will start to worry. Hopefully Pierce can get back to jamming up that middle, with nothing being held over his head this year, and less responsibility on covering backs out of the backfield. That is his weak point. He is more of a vocal leader who knows the system, and gets the rest of the "D" in the right spots. That is where we need him.
dweez - I agree about getting our O-line bolstered. I was surprised to see them let rookie C Alex Derenthal go, as I was sure they were going to begin the grooming process on a young center this year. I think the center position would be in most need of depth. We have some young tackles developing so I'm not worried there.
I think Ahmad Bradshaw will earn the backup role to Brandon Jacobs. The interesting battle will be the third back spot between rookie Andre Brown and Danny Ware. Hard to call that one because both have gotten so much praise.
I think Ahmad Bradshaw will earn the backup role to Brandon Jacobs. The interesting battle will be the third back spot between rookie Andre Brown and Danny Ware. Hard to call that one because both have gotten so much praise. Hey Mock King U.......You are right on the $$$ with your statement above. Both Ware and Brown will most likely get 65%-70% of the pre-season snaps to determine what each respectively can do between the tackles and in the passing game. I believe all 4 Running Backs will remain on the team in 2009, but naming the 3rd RB position right now is a tough call. I believe Ware will look better between the tackles with Brown having the receiving edge. Knowing the Giants as well as I do.....whomever turns out to be more capable of picking up the blitz protections will probably win the job.
