This Giants notebook is sponsored by Colgate Total....

Why you ask? Because it's great for "Plax removal"

It wasn't easy to find Giant notes not related to Number 17, but here are a few:

• This is actually a few days old, but Newsday had a funny story about "Hands" Hedgecock.
• Vinny DiTrani in the Bergen Record has a recap of Sunday's game.
• From the Bleacher Report, an Eagle fan says its time to give Eli Manning his due.

A few notes and quotes from around the Giants:

• Domenic Hixon caught 5 passes against the Redskins; each one of them resulted in a first down.
• WR Amani Toomer displayed the proper perspective on this season so far. "We are the defending Super Bowl champions," he said, "and we are the team all the others are chasing, so it is important that we don't let up and allow people to catch up with us." Toomer had five catches for 85 yards and a 40-yard TD in the first quarter.
• DT Fred Robbins missed his first game of the season with a jammed shoulder that bothered him two weeks ago and did not totally clear up. Alford, a second-year player, had two tackles and one tackle for a loss. Robbins, who has 51/2 sacks and 10 tackles for losses, is expected to play this week against Philadelphia.
• The Giants are 18-3 dating back to this day in 2007, including the playoffs. I went back over their history, and the only better one year run I can find is November 3^rd 1929 to November 3^rd, 1930, when they were on a 16-2 tear, but they did not win the 1929 NFL Championship, which was awarded to the 1^st place team in those days, and it went to the Green Bay Packers who were 12-0.
• The Giants can tie an NFL record on Sunday with a win over the Eagles. Only three other teams in NFL history have posted a streak of six or more wins, all against winning teams: the 1970 Vikings (7), 2007 Colts (6), and 1972 Redskins (6).

Parting Thought:

At the beginning of the season, I predicted the Giants would finish around 11-5. At this point, it certainly seems like they are going to well exceed that. But I can't help thinking that with the way this team is wired that it would benefit them greatly if they have one more "stinker" in them before season end. This team has shown time and time again that they bounce back well, and I just think a "come back to earth" game might be beneficial in the long run, it would just help serve as a reminder that they haven't won anything yet, and just help them "reset" their focus somewhat.

The Daily News has an update from about an hour ago. Antonio Pierce was with him, and apparently laid into Plax about carrying a gun into a nightclub.

Here is the statement from the Giants on the incident:

"We are aware of the fact that Plaxico was involved in an apparent accidental shooting last night. We have been in contact with Plaxico since shortly after the incident. Plaxico suffered a wound to his right thigh. Obviously, our primary concern is for Plaxico’s health and well-being, and given the circumstances, we are relieved to say he was released from a New York City hospital at approximately 2 p.m. today. We have been in touch with NFL Security on this matter. At this point, we are attempting to gather all the facts surrounding this incident. This incident could become a matter for law enforcement officials, and because of that, we have no comment on any of the details."

One of the more troublesome parts of the article:

Burress could face illegal weapons charges, a crime that carries up to five years in prison, sources said.

"He went for his gun and fumbled it. And now it will cost him," a police source said.

The state of Florida issued him a concealed weapon permit that expired in May. Even if it had been renewed, it wouldn't be recognized by authorities in New York or New Jersey.

Personally, I can't help but wonder if the Giants front office is gathered somewhere pouring over that new contract they gave Plax looking at out clauses. 

Here is the link to the story from the New York Daily News

[NOTE: Vote in our 'Plax poll' to the right to let us know what you think the Giants should do with Burress.]

Here are the pics from my trip to AZ for the game last weekend. Enjoy!

Trip to AZ

Since the Giants and Redskins have already faced off once this season, we will dispense with the normal Game Preview and give you some insight from around the league on the game this weekend.

From the Sporting News, Paul Schwartz and John Keim have a great look at the matchups and keys to the game for both teams.

• Kicker Shaun Suisham missed two of his three field-goal attempts from beyond 40 yards in Weeks 1-3 then made nine of his next 10 before missing his past two. "He mis-hit the ball," coach Jim Zorn said of Suisham's 43-yarder that hit the crossbar in Seattle. "If there is a little more wind against him, he might have to drive it a little bit more, but he's very capable of making those."
• Receiver Santana Moss could be fined by the NFL on Friday after ending a shoving match with Josh Wilson last Sunday by punching the Seahawks' cornerback. "Just got carried away," said Moss, who was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. "(It) really wasn't nothing. Sometimes you get in the heat of the moment and the heat of the moment gets the best of you."
• In apre-game ceremony, the Redskins will honor the late Sean Tayloras he is inducted into the franchise's Ring of Fame. It will be the first game following the anniversary of Taylor's tragic death at the age of 24, which occurred on Nov. 27 of last year in Miami.
• The Redskins are 3-3 in home games this season. They have lost two consecutive consecutive home games and three of their last four at FedExField.
• The Redskins-Giants game will be televised on FOX. Kenny Albert does the play-by-play with color commentary by Daryl Johnson. Tony Siragusa serves as sideline reporter.
• The Redskins ended their two-game slide last Sunday in Seattle by getting back to the run. After calling just 33 runs in the losses to Pittsburgh and Dallas, coach Jim Zorn had Jason Campbell hand off 41 times against the Seahawks. Washington controlled the ball for a season-high 38:27 as Clinton Portis rushed for 143 yards and moved back into the NFL rushing lead. Considering the potency of the Giants' offense and the battered state of the Redskins' front seven on defense, Zorn will try to play keep-away again on Sunday. Trouble is New York's sixth-ranked run defense is more akin to that of the Steelers (first) and Cowboys (10th) than that of the Seahawks (22nd).
• The Redskins and Giants have played each other every year since 1932, with the Giants leading the series 86-61-4. The two teams have played each other more than any other team in each club's history. In Washington, the Giants have a 39-37-2 edge in the series.

BY THE NUMBERS: 128 -- Difference in points scored by the Giants (329) and the Redskins (201). New York leads the league in scoring. Washington is 27th.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "This is the biggest game we've played since I've been here. We can talk about wanting to be a championship team and wanting to be in the playoffs. But if we can't beat one of the better teams at home, then we don't deserve to be there." -- Defensive coordinator Greg Blache on Sunday's game against the 10-1 Giants.

Good Morning everyone, it's time to take a look at some of the stories making headlines around the NFL. So here we go!

• The Vikings still believe they are a playoff team, and can win the NFC North.
• Lesley Visser from CBS Sports says Matt Cassel is going to be due for a huge raise next season.
• The seats are getting warm in Cleveland.
• Here are the latest power rankings from Pete Prisco at CBS Sportsline.
• Bill Cowher will be in demand at seasons end, according to The Sporting News.
• From the USA Today, Mike Hiestand says the Lions every Thanksgiving is one turkey too many.

Final thoughts from me:

• The Jets haven't won a playoff game since 2004, isn't a little soon to hand them the AFC Crown?
• The records for your Thanksgiving matchups:
• 10-1 at 0-11 (Titans at Lions)
• 2-9 at 7-4 (Seahawks at Cowboys)
• 7-4 at 5-5-1 (Cards at Eagles).....It's not the tryptophan that puts you to sleep, it's the bad football.
• The Giants went 4-0 against the NFC West, and outscored them 151-65.
• I wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving.

Here are a couple of pictures from this weekend, The Super Bowl MVP and "coulda been" MVP leaving the hotel. What I found funny was the Giants hotel was literally a hail mary from the Stadium, and the Giants put on suits to get on the bus and go across the parking lot. Look like a champ, play like a champ I guess.

I will have more to share as the week goes on, I have a lot of great pics from Game Day.  

Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

Since I am out here in Arizona for the game this week, I thought it would be fun to get together with some guys from Revenge Of The Birds, and put together a video talking about the game.

So last night, with the help of Intellectual Derriere and Murfdog from Big Blue View, and Noah and Matt from Revenge Of The Birds, we all sat down with a few beers, and talked about the game. Noah and Matt are great guys, and they did an awesome job.

Thanks to the guys at Revenge Of The Birds for helping me coordinate this, and thanks to Intellectual D and Murf for sitting in on this on short notice.

I've always maintained that "The Fumble" may have been one of the best things to ever happen to the Giants as a franchise. It helped the organization realize that it was time to change the way the team was run. Now 30 years later, Bob Glauber of Newsday takes a look back at that infamous moment in Giants history and how the organization turned it into a positive when you look back on it.

It's kind of funny how "The Fumble" over the years became the "November 22^nd" of sorts for Giants fans. Everyone remembers where they were when it happened. I was only 8 at the time, but my father has recounted the story many times of where we were when that ball hit the ground.

Giants have recovered after "the fumble" by Joe Pisarcik and Larry Csonka -- Newsday.com

Good morning Giants fans, it's Wednesday and for me it's "Getaway Day" so let's take a quick look at some of the stories making headlines around the NFL:

The Bleacher Report says the Eagles-Bengals tie on Sunday proves its time for the NFL to adopt the NCAA overtime rules.

Pete Prisco says that while it's fun to talk about a Titans-Giants Super Bowl, the reality is that one or both of those teams  may not make it. I guess he doesn't have much faith in the Titans.....

Mike Holmgren thinks the Seahawks may need major changes, but he has no answers.

For what has to be the umpteenth time this year, the NFL has admitted the refs blew the call on Sunday.

From the tongue-in-cheek department, the Lions in L.A.?

Cowboys coach Jerry Wade Jones Phillips says he doesn't expect Pacman Jones back with the Cowboys.

Instead of finishing with the usual NFL Notes, I just have one last thought:

A lot was made about how many bets were won and lost with that debacle in Pittsburgh on Sunday, and most of it was light-hearted, but I can't help but wonder this week how many rents didn't get paid, how many kids college funds took a hit, and how many limbs were broken, all on the turn of one bad call.    

Look for me and the boys on Sunday at the game, we'll be the guys in Giants jerseys with beers in our hands.

Today Big Blue View takes a look at the Ravens in preparation for their game against the Giants.

2008 Record: 6-3 (tied for 1^st place, AFC North)

Head Coach: John Harbaugh

Last time they met: In 2004, the Ravens beat the Giants 37-14 in Baltimore.

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Cam Cameron

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Rex Ryan

KEY ADDITIONS: QB Joe Flacco (1st Round, Delaware), RB Ray Rice (2nd Round, Rutgers), FB Lorenzo Neal (from Chargers), TE Adam Bergen (from Cardinals), G Adrien Clarke (from Jets), OL Oniel Cousins (3rd Round, UTEP), LB Brendon Ayanbadejo (from Bears), LB Tavares Gooden (3rd Round, Miami-Florida), CB Fabian Washington (from Raiders), CB Frank Walker (from Packers), S Tom Zbikowski (3rd Round, Notre Dame), S Jim Leonhard (from Bills)

KEY DEPARTURES: QB Steve McNair (retired), RB Musa Smith (to Jets), RB Mike Anderson (released), WR Devard Darling (to Chiefs), T Jonathan Ogden (retired), LB Prescott Burgess (injured/out for season), S Gerome Sapp (not tendered), RS B.J. Sams (to Chiefs)

NOTES AND QUOTES:

• Derrick Mason said he expects to play in Sunday's game against the New York Giants. Mason, who dislocated his left shoulder Sunday, is not expected to practice this week before the showdown against the defending Super Bowl champions. "I'm going to make the trip to New York and I expect to be on the field," said Mason, 34, who has played in 99 straight games. "My body typically responds well whenever I've had injuries. Just because I'm a little bit older doesn't mean it's going to respond well again." Ravens coach John Harbaugh was more cautious about Mason, who leads Baltimore in catches (46) and receiving yards (598). "He's going to be day-to-day," Harbaugh said. "It's going to be a game-time decision."
• The Ravens secondary will see a familiar face in the Giants' Plaxico Burress, a longtime receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 11 games against the Ravens, Burress has averaged 3.9 catches for 69 yards. He has scored just one touchdown in the past five meetings. "Eli (Manning) has got a lot of confidence in throwing it up there (to Burress)," Harbaugh said. "Sometimes when he's covered, he's not covered."
• The Ravens are also familiar with Burress' ability to push off and get away with it. "Yeah, he does the Vlade Divac sometimes," cornerback Samari Rolle said, referring to the former NBA center.
• After committing seven penalties for 55 yards in the first half of Sunday's game at Houston, the Ravens drew no flags the remainder of the contest."It was magic," Harbaugh joked. "We sprinkled magic penalty dust." Harbaugh got serious when he talked about the team's avoidance of incurring a personal foul for unsportsmanlike conduct or unnecessary roughness since Oct.19. "The personal-foul penalties have evaporated," Harbaugh said. "I'm proud of that, and I think they are, too."
• After converting four of four scoring opportunities inside the Texans' 20-yard line, the Ravens are 15 of 29 (51.7 percent) in the red zone and improved to 17th from 25th in the NFL in red-zone efficiency.

BY THE NUMBERS: 28 -- Consecutive games that the Ravens defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher, the NFL's longest current streak. The defense plays the New York Giants, the NFL's top-ranked rushing attack.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Maybe the one thing you don't anticipate is how much you're like a shepherd. You know, someone strays, and you have to pull him back in. Then another strays, and we pull him back. There's a little of that going on all the time." -- Ravens coach John Harbaugh, on his first season as a head coach.