NJ.com—“After a few meetings, Tiffany came up with several different options that they showed us and you kind of picked from there,” quarterback Eli Manning said in the press release the team sent out this morning. “We wanted it to be little different than the last ring.”

That ring was a “10-table” monstrosity that had no colored stones. This year’s ring is also white gold but more rounded and has blue sapphires on the top around the “NY” logo and four Lombardi Trohies to represent the four the franchise has won.

“The blue makes it a little different,” Manning said. “We wanted some blue – the Giants are Big Blue. We definitely wanted to get a little blue to spark it up a little bit.”

The lower palm of the shanks includes the years of the four Super Bowl seasons: 1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011.

“We wanted it to represent the four trophies and have that feeling that you made the best ring that you could have made,” Tuck said. “I think we captured that.”

A feature of the ring that hadn’t been revealed until today is the engraving of “Finish” and “All In” on the inside of the ring. Those were key phrases the team repeatedly uttered last season – the first a mantra Coughlin introduced in training camp and the second the words of Union City’s Gian-Paul Gonzalez, who brought the poker phrase to the players late in the season to inspire them.

“We wanted to get a few things that were significant to this season – (including) ‘Finish’ on the inside,” Manning said. “Things like that make the ring special.”

Bling bling, indeed. Time to go get another one.

Nothing makes me more irate than listening to professional athletes complain about money and their contract statuses. Hate it.

While most of their careers are short, the money made sets them up for life.  Given Osi Umenyiora’s current situation and subsequent complains, he’s no exception. Umenyiora is in the final year of a seven-year, $41.25 million contract. All things considered, Osi has been very productive. Osi has won two Super Bowls and collected 61 sacks over his first six years of the deal. However, Osi only appeared in nine games last year, leaving many questions about his durability and his age. 

Dating back to last summer, Osi has been very public with his comments regarding his contract status. After complaining about the lack of an extension, Osi failed to appear for the start of training camp. After showing up a few days later, Osi had arthosopic knee surgery and missed half of the regular season.  Osi and Jerry Reese have had an ongoing public spat about the details of his contract. Reese claims that multiple extensions have been presented to Osi, but Osi has scoffed at the offers. 

More recently, Osi has joined Twitter and hasn’t been too shy with his tweets. Osi has commented on Junior Seau’s death, claimed that he too will end up in critical condition after football, and even wished LeSean McCoy a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’. Big words for a guy that has disappeared during both Giant playoff runs. (Only two sacks in the six critical playoff games during 2008, 2011). 

The Giant Way has always been to handle these issues in a private fashion. Other notable players (not named Brandon Jacobs) have handled contract issues behind closed doors. The Giants can’t like all of this negative publicity. 

Cutting, trading, or releasing Osi simply isn’t an option. The NFL Draft came and went and Osi is still a member of the Giants. Plus, the Giants have no incentive to release him and let one of their rivals pick him up. Given the injury to Terrell Suggs, the Ravens may be interested in trading for him, but unless they cough up a first rounder, he’s not going anywhere. 

Going forward, the Giants have no reason to offer him an extension. Justin Tuck, JPP, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks will all need new deals in the near future. The Giants are clearly trying to get younger and Osi just isn’t a part of that plan. If anything, Osi needs to shut up and focus on this season. Post a big season and then hit free agency. Osi is the Giants’ third best defensive end, which is never a bad thing. However, his long-term future with Big Blue appears bleak. 

The Giants wrapped up their 2012 NFL Draft class on Saturday afternoon. Overall, the Giants added 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 CB, 1 TE, 2 OLs, and 1 DT. Given the departures of Brandon Jacobs, Aaron Ross, Mario Manningham, and the injury uncertainty surrounding the tight ends, the Giants had a nice draft. I highlighted the Giants first rounder, David Wilson on Saturday and today, I’ll touch on the other six players selected. 

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The Giants may have surprised a few people when they selected Virginia Tech RB, David Wilson in the first round. Wilson, a 5’9″, 200 pound running back, compiled over 1,700 yards for the Hokies last season. Of his 1,700 yards, 1,000 of those yards came after contact, the largest amount in college football. Wilson impressed the Giants by running a 4.49, 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Known and respected by many for gregarious demeanor at Virigina Tech, the Giants were impressed by his selflessness and professional attitude. Finally, Wilson can do backflips. Yes, he can do 13 more backflips than I have my entire life. It’ll be fun to see him square off against Jason Pierre-Paul in training camp.

Wilson’s arrival will help fill the void left by the departed Brandon Jacobs. Wilson will compete with DJ Ware, Da’Rel Scott, and other for reps behind Ahmad Bradshaw. Wilson may also play on special teams.

Overall, Wilson is a very intriguing prospect. He’s very explosive in the open field and he’s a tough running back. For the Giants to select him in the first round means they have very high hopes for him. I can’t wait to see him in action this fall.

For the third straight year, we’ve done a lot of NFL Draft stuff. To summarize our thoughts, the links below will take you to appropriate page for each topic. Enjoy tonight’s NFL Draft!

Giants

Three Areas of Need For NYG

Prospect Profile: Coby Fleener

Prospect Profile: Dwayne Allen

Propsect Profile: Harrison Smith

Prospect Profile: Mike Adams

Prospect Profile: Zach Brown

Jets

Jets Should Move Up For Trent Richardson

Three Areas of Need For NYJ

Draft Success Is Imperative

With the NFL Draft set to kick off on Thursday night, the Giants must wait for 31 other teams to make their picks before selecting their newest player. Since 2004, the Giants have hit home runs with each of their first round picks. All eight of these players (Eli Manning, Corey Webster, Mathias Kiwanuka, Aaron Ross, Kenny Phillips, Hakeem Nicks, JPP, and the Prince) have each won at least one Super Bowl championship and have been instrumented to the Giants success. How many other teams can boast such an impressive track record?

The Prince dealt with injuries last year and didn’t make a huge impact, but the raw ability is there and he’ll have this chance to set-up this season after Ross signed with Jacksonville. Outside of the Giants, the Ravens (Michael Oher, Ladarius Webb), Packers (Aaron Rodgers, BJ Raji, Clay Matthews, Randall Cobb), and Lions (Matt Stafford, Ndamukong Suh) have posted similiar success, but do not have the depth of talent that the Giants have obtained.

While it’s nearly impossible to predict who the Giants will draft, Mike provided some draft profiles here, here, here, and here. Of note, I really, really Stanford TE, Coby Fleener. Fleener kind of reminds me of Kevin Boss and his production is something the Giants sorely missed last year. However, the Niners pick ahead of the Giants and Jim Harbough recruited Fleener at Stanford. Granted, the Niners have Vernon Davis, Mario Manningham, Michael Crabtree, and Randy Moss but adding Fleener would give Alex Smith another target and blocker.

Ultimately, the Giants will likely stick to their guns and pick their best available player. Don’t be surprised if Jerry Reese drafts another high upside defensive end that turns into an All-Pro in two seasons.

Yesterday, we took a look at the Jets slate for 2012. Today, we’ll analyze the road the Champs will have take to start their title defense. In short, the league wasn’t too nice to Big Blue..

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Three weeks after being cut, long-time Giants running back, Brandon Jacobs signed a one-year deal with the 49ers. The 29-year-old Jacobs has been taking fewer and fewer carries over the last few seasons. Ultimately, the Giants will need to replace not only his 700 yards and eight touchdowns, but his toughness that he brought every Sunday. There are a few external options that the Giants could look into in order to complement Ahmad Bradshaw. 

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Just like David Tyree, Giant fans will always remember Mario Manningham for his historic catch in the Super Bowl. While Giant fans will enjoy Super Bowl memories for years to come, Manningham will move on and join the San Francisco 49ers. Manningham and the Niners agreed to a two-year deal last weekend, signaling the end to his era in New York. 

The Manningham departure was really no surprise. The Giants have two great wide receivers in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz and a plethora of internal options that will need to step up, just like Cruz did in 2011. Jerrell Jernigan and Ramses Barden will have the first crack to replace Manningham. In addition, the Giants may turn to the NFL Draft to fill the need. 

While the Giants will search for his replacement, Giant fans will always remember Manningham’s superb 2011 post-season. Manningham’s three post-season touchdowns and 39-yard reception Super Bowl reception will go down in Giant lure.  

ESPN–The New York Giants reached agreement on a contract with cornerback Terrell Thomas, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Thomas was viewed as a potential Pro Bowl cornerback before tearing his ACL in a preseason game versus the Chicago Bears last summer and missing the entire 2011 season. The Giants approached Thomas’ free agency much in the same way they did when they re-signed linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka last offseason.

For now, Thomas is back in the fold. Thomas was the Giants’ most productive cornerback in 2010, leading the team in tackles (101) and interceptions (5). He suffered his knee injury in the second game of the preseason after colliding with teammate Jason Pierre-Paul. This is the second time in his career he has had to come back from a knee injury after recovering from torn ligaments in his knee in 2005 while at USC.

If you’ve been reading NYSOS, re-signing Thomas was no surprise. We had this nugget on February 8th…

I don’t think the Giants will have any issue re-signing Grant, Goff, Weatherford, or  Blackburn. I think Terrell Thomas, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear early on, will be a relatively easy sign for the Giants. I think teams will be scared of his knee issue, allowing the Giants to ink him to a fair deal. Let’s not forget that Thomas is one of the Giants’ best corners, when healthy.

This news pretty much seals Aaron Ross’ fate. With Thomas returning and the Prince ready to take on a larger role next season, Ross will likely be too pricey for the Giants. Terms for the Thomas deal haven’t been disclosed, but it was probably a good, cost-effective move for the Defending Champs.