Zak DeOssie retired on Friday. The New York Giants had already replaced the 36-year-old as the team’s longtime snapper and his career was believed to be over, but the timing of his announcement ended up being symbolic.
DeOssie’s announcement, just months after Eli Manning retired, meant there were officially no Giants left with ties to the 2007 or 2011 Super Bowl winning teams.
The announcement also came on a day when the media was able to speak to Sterling Shepard via video conference. At 27 and only entering his fifth season in the NFL, Shepard – surprisingly – is now the longest-serving giant.
“Maybe I should shake up the ‘young shepherd’,” Shepard joked of his status as an ‘elder statesman’. He added that he hoped to “set a good example for young men and kind of teach them some of the different rivalries that we have and the importance of these games to the New York Giants as an organization.
For years, the Giants seemed to be stuck somewhere in the middle, a virtual NFL no-man’s land. They got caught somewhere between knowing they had to build for the future while trying to honor the past by trying to win with Manning.
No more.
Look around you. The Giants have a new 38-year-old head coach. They have a 23-year-old sophomore quarterback at Daniel Jones. Their best player is 23-year-old running back Saquon Barkley.
Their future overlaps with these players. Oh, and guys like 21-year-old first-round pick Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, 22, Xavier McKinney, 22, Darius Slayton, 23, Jabrill Peppers, 24, 24 Will Hernandez, one, and a host of other players under 25.
The only connections these players have to the history of the Giants are all the pictures on the walls you see when you browse the Quest Diagnostics training center. Right now, with the team operating out of MetLife Stadium due to COVID-19, Giants players can’t even see them.
It is without a doubt a new era of Giants football. There are graying veterans like Golden Tate and Kevin Zeitler. However, there is not a single player on the roster who has won a playoff game as a giant.
During the offseason, the Giants even turned to “Kahoot,” a game-based learning software, to help teach players about the history of the franchise.
“I think it’s very important to know the story,” Shepard said. “You have to know what the guys before you did and how they played football, and keep playing that way because that’s what this organization was built on and that’s what it’s used to. I think it’s important and so do the coaches. “
Aside from the past few years, the Giants have a glorious franchise history. Four Super Bowl titles. Several championships in the pre-Super Bowl era. One of the original franchises in the league.
Friday, however, was a stark reminder that this is a new era for Giants football. The way most of the last decade has played out is not a bad thing. Not bad at all.
Shepard’s decision to play
No one should have been surprised by Nate Solder’s decision to withdraw from the 2020 season. We know his personal and family medical history. Another player who could consider retiring is Shepard, who has two young children at home and has already won a considerable amount of money from the game. I asked him on Friday about his decision to play. Here is what he said:
“I support all the players who have made [opt out]. Everyone is going to make a decision based on what is going on around them in their household and make the decision that is best for them. This is how we approached it as a family. We sat down and talked about it, and I made the decision that was best for my family.
The addition of Cockrell by the Giants is not yet official as there are COVID-19 nasal swabs to be processed first. Still, I really like this Giants move.
I hit the drum several times during the offseason for the Giants to hire veteran cornerback Logan Ryan, but honestly I didn’t give 29-year-old Cockrell enough consideration.
Cockrell has been on four teams, including spending 2017 with the Giants, during a six-year NFL career. He’s a better player, however, than this vagabond resume would indicate. Cockrell has never awarded a passer rating when targeted above 96.2. In 2017 with the Giants, he had a passer rating against 69.7. Last season with the Carolina Panthers, facing James Bradberry most of the time, his passer rating was 68.1.
Cockrell isn’t a guy you want to pit against the opposing team’s No.1 receivers, but with the Giants that job clearly belongs to Bradberry. He is a good player with extensive experience both outdoors and in the slot machine. Recalling the few times I spoke with him during the 2017 season, he is also a solid pro and a guy whose young corners like Corey Ballentine and Darnay Holmes should benefit from being there.
Reflections from training camp
The Giants are, technically, in training camp. Really, though, they’ve gone through what might be considered glorified OTAs. In a typical year, we would take a few weeks to give you training reports and player interviews, and the Giants would be days away from their opening game against the New York Jets.
This year, however, is very different due to the pandemic. Here are a few things I miss, and don’t miss, about a normal training camp.
The things that I miss
- Talk to players and coaches in person. Video conferencing is acceptable, but there is no personal interaction. No relationship established. No real impressions to be drawn. Oh, and after all these months, we still haven’t spoken to coordinators Jason Garrett or Patrick Graham.
- Chat in person with members of the media like AP’s Tom Canavan, Pat Traina, Emory Hunt and others.
- See the practices. We might not always have the best vantage point or not be able to see everything, but being able to watch full workouts is incredibly beneficial. You get a feel for who is performing well and who is not, how players might be used, how a coaching staff runs a practice and more. To be honest, it greatly improves the work I do here.
- Watch Brandon London urge fans to attend practices, leading them in a variety of chants.
- Watch players spend a few minutes with their family or girlfriends after practice on days when families are present. You see a different side of guys when they chase their kids on the court.
Things i don’t miss
- The 145 mile trip on the New York State Thruway from my home in the capital area of upstate New York to East Rutherford, NJ – 290 miles and five hours by car on the days I go and I come back.
- The Carlstadt Econo Lodge. When I stay in New Jersey for a few days at a time, this is often my place. It is half a mile from the MetLife Stadium, which you can see from the hotel perimeter. It’s cheap and clean. And that’s about it.
- Fight for space in the media room. I’m not one of the lucky members of the media who has a designated workspace. Hey, Pat Hanlon, why is that anyway? The hall is a madhouse during training camp, with writers fighting for work, people on TV sometimes doing their hair and doing it. makeup done in the middle of the room and NOISE! Much too much noise.
- Scramble for a good place in head coach press conferences and fight to ask questions. Part of the job, but boring nonetheless.
- Standing … and standing … and standing a little more while waiting and hoping that the player (s) you’ve asked to interview on any given day will consent to come out and talk.
