Osi Umenyiora to sign one-day contract, retire with Giants: Report

With no NFL teams seeking his services, Osi Umenyiora appears ready to call it an NFL career — but not before signing a one-day contract so he can retire a New York Giant.

The 33-year-old pass rusher, who spent nine seasons with the Giants before a brief stint in Atlanta, is in discussions with the team on a one-day contract that would allow him to bow out in blue, sources familiar with the situation told Around The NFL.

Report: Osi Umenyiora might sign 1-day contract with #NYGiants, ceremoniously retire. | http://t.co/loXcdZf06O #NYG

— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) July 27, 2015

Umenyiora was a key member of both Giants' Super Bowl runs over the past decade. He was a speedy threat in the team's NASCAR rush package, which twice beat great Patriots offenses.

But during contentious contract talks in 2011, Umenyiora called Giants GM Jerry Reese a liar for reneging on a promise to give him a raise or trade him. He finally became a free-agent in 2013.

Umenyiora had said that "whenever it is that I retire", I think it would only make sense for me to do that as a Giant." In the nine seasons, after the Giants drafted him in the second round out of Troy University in Alabama, Umenyiora recorded 75 sacks — fourth on the team's all-time list.

A few months ago Umenyiora still was planning to continue his NFL career, and he was really hoping to re-sign with his former team. At least sometime this summer he'll get his wish.

Even if it's only for one last day.

Martellus Bennett 'not feeling the love' from Giants

Martellus Bennett wants to remain a New York Giant, after a productive first season in the Meadowlands, but all indications point to the tight end becoming a free agent this spring — joining a growing list of players including Osi Umenyiora and Ahmad Bradshaw who are on the verge of becoming  former Giants.

Bennett — a habitual tweeter — vented his disappointment over a lack of progress with the Giants front office via (how else?) Twitter.

"Not feeling the love," Bennett wrote in a long series of rambling tweets.

"@giantswfan: @joegryffindor will you kindly NYG deal done so i can stop fielding Qs about you???? LOL" I dunno bro. Not feeling the love.
— Martellus Bennett (@JoeGryffindor) February 27, 2013

"They have other priorities that come before little ole me.  I'm just a small piece of what they're trying to do there.  I've come to the conclusion that we are just temporary investments to the owners.  Value money and growth over players. Just like any business, Employees aren't as valuable as we use to be. Everyone needs a job. Lol."

Dwight Freeney: Playing for Giants 'would be a dream'

Free agent Dwight Freeney said he can't see himself joining an NFL team that doesn't have a chance to win and yesterday couldn't contain his enthusiasm about hooking up with the New York Giants.

After 11 seasons and 107.5 sacks with the Indianapolis Colts, the defensive end said Wednesday on SiriusXM Radio that playing for Big Blue "would be a dream" given "I grew up a Giants fan, all my life."

Freeney, recently cut loose by the Colts, is looking for a new team and the Hartford, Conn native sounds like he might be a nice replacement for Osi Umenyiora if the Giants don't bring him back. A ready-set position and winning — two things Freeney thinks the Giants can offer him the 33-year-old, seven-time Pro Bowler.

"I think the biggest thing I’m looking for is a contender, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Super Bowl team, at least it’s a team that is contending for the Super Bowl, in the playoffs and fits the things that I do," Freeney said yesterday. "I played 11 years and I want to continue to win."

Freeney's numbers were down in 2012 — as he adjusted to a 3-4 defensive front after excelling 10 years in a 4-3 — but if he doesn't try to break the Giants' payroll, Freeny might rejuvenate Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck after their own disappointing seasons.

If Freeney can't work it out with the Giants, could their stadium mates, the Jets, be in the running for his services.

"We’ll see, obviously Rex [Ryan] is a great guy, I actually know Rex, I met him a few times," Freeney said. "Obviously playing in New York is obviously something that’s very attractive. Scheme-wise, I’m sure Rex knows how to free guys up. That would be a good fit, but a lot of teams would be a good fit. I’m an East Coast guy. It makes sense, it feels good but we’ll see the next few weeks who’s actually interested."

Like the man said, "I can't see myself going to a non-winner."

Sorry Rex.

Giants GM will reach out to Strahan to help JPP

Jason Pierre-Paul went from being one of the best pass rushers in the NFL last season to being just another body on the New York Giants seemingly overwhelmed defensive line in 2012.

Even after being selected to his second straight Pro-Bowl, JPP said he wasn't happy to see his production fall to 6-1/2 sacks in 2012 from 16-1/2 in a breakout season in 2011.

General manager Jerry Reese has sensed the 24-year-old defensive end's frustration at his drop in his numbers and says he plans to contact a former Giants star pass rusher for help in building the young player's confidence.

"I plan to reach out to Michael Strahan this offseason," Reese told WFAN Thursday. "To see if he can have some conversations with JPP.

"If he hears it from somebody like Michael Strahan, it will really encourage him."

Strahan recorded 141-1/2 sacks over his 15-year career —including a Brett Favre-assisted record 22-1/2 in 2001.  And the gap-toothed DE did it without the benefit of a premium defensive line for the most part.

Reese sounds convinced a motivational speech from the future Hall-of-Famer will help JPP break out of his funk.

"After Michael became a superstar defensive end, he was getting double-teamed, he was getting chipped, but he was still getting sacks," Reese said.  "So the great ones still get through there and make plays."

It's wasn't hard to see that offenses focused on Pierre-Paul this past season and the added abuse from offensive linemen wore him down. No sacks in the final seven games of the season will attest to that.

"I'm not having that fun I'm used to," he admitted about the high expectations after last year's Super Bowl went down with the Giants pass rush.

Reese hopes Strahan — who altered his own type of pass rush to fight through the double-teams — can get JPP to follow suit.

"You have to have the heart to do it," said Reese. "He [JPP] can't give up, like 'Wow, they're double-teaming me, they're triple-teaming me, they're high-lowing me.'  That's frustrating to a young player.  But to be a superstar defensive end , a pass rusher in this league, you have to beat those double-team blocks."

Strahan never shied away from the spotlight and probably thought of triple-teams as an audience.  The former Giants team leader  is probably the busiest guy in show biz right now — outside of Ryan Seacrest —  co-hosting "Live with Kelly and Michael" during the week and the "NFL on FOX" Sundays.

I'm sensing a special episode of Live.

If anyone could cheer up the despondent JPP it's Strahan's perky co-host Kelly Ripa.

Antonio Pierce has doubts about Giants' mental toughness

The New York Giants are coming off one of their worst losses in recent memory — a humiliating 34-0 beatdown by the Atlanta Falcons — and have fallen into a three-way tie looking up at the Cowboys and Redskins for first place in the NFC East.

Nevertheless, the team still insists it is at its best when their backs against the wall.  At least that's what they publicly say citing last season's playoff run and Super Bowl victory as proof.

Now former Giants linebacker and current ESPN analyst Antonio Pierce says the Giants past success had to do more with their heads than their backs.

"I really think they are a team that's mentally drained right now," Pierce said of the Giants team that will look to save its season with a must win against the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday.

"Coach [Tom] Coughlin  is preaching mental toughness, and I don't know if they can say that have that right now.  They are a team that is not as strong as in years past, as far as being mentally tough."

Pierce says Big Blue might be relying on last season's playoff run, after they reeled off a six-game win streak culminating with the victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, as some sort of blueprint for doing it again.

In September, Pierce said the Giants were basically overlooked last season because they came out of nowhere.  This season they have a shiny Lombardi Trophy as a bullseye on their jerseys.

The "we can turn it on when it counts" philosophy doesn't jive with Pierce.

"My concern with the Giants is them constantly talking about what they've done in the past," said Pierce, who played on the 2007 Super Bowl championship team.  "They are looking in the rear-view mirror, thinking they can always rely on that.  Our backs re against the wall, this is the way we like it, and after [Sunday's] performance — an embarrassing, slap-in-the-face loss — I didn't see any players out there that played like everything really mattered at the time."

Pierce pinpointed the once ferocious defense as the main culprit for the Giants' shortcomings and named names.

"Opponents studied and figure out ways to block these guys and slow them up," he said.  "So, I don't see the defensive coordinator [Perry Fewell] being as creative, coming up with different designs to free them up."

The ex-Giant didn't go easy on his former teammates either.

"Honestly, [Justin] Tuck has not been Tuck for three years now.  and Osi [Umenyiora] is a situational pass-rusher.  He comes in on the third down and he makes plays.  But, for the most part as a group, they are being asked to make plays without any more creativity."

The Ravens are in the same boat as the Giants and looking to regroup after collapsing in the second half of the season.

"You come off back-to-back years without being in the playoffs and then you win a Super Bowl and things change," said Pierce.  "Every year with coach Coughlin we had a different slogan.  This year's team has to stick to that and not regurgitate what they've been able to do in the past."

Osi praises Brees despite teammate Rolle's lecture

The other day Antrel Rolle went on a mini-rant scolding his New York Giants teammates for gushing over opponent Robert Griffin III before the team played the Washington Redskins.

Yesterday, despite Rolle's call for his team to get "back to being nasty," Osi Umenyiora was downright complimentary towards Drew Brees — the quarterback the Giants will face this Sunday.

Drew Brees "is one of the best quarterbacks in the league," the Giants defensive end wasn't afraid to say out loud — whether or not Rolle liked it or not.

It may not exactly be the pregame "hugs and kisses" that Rolle believed was showered on RG3, but it didn't sound like the "nasty attitude" he was hoping for either.

Rolle jumped all over his teammates after the Giants critical 17-16 loss to the Redskins and was under the impression that the Giants had lost their edge by being nice to Griffin III before the NFC East showdown.

Umenyiora, on the other hand, doesn't any correlation between praising a player before the game and what takes place on the field.

"There's definitely no carryover for that," said Unenyiora.  "I think a lot of times you like to build somebody up only to tear them down.  You don't want to give anyone bulletin board material.  You don't want to say, 'Oh, these guys suck' and he comes out and throws for 13 touchdowns on you.  So if anything you want to err on the side of caution and say how good he is and then go out there and knock his head off."

Asked what he thought about Rolle giving notice that the Giants "need to start giving more credit after the game as opposed to before the game," Umenyiora was diplomatic.

"That's Antel's opinion," said Umenyiora.  "But at the end of the day, if a guy's a good player I'm going to call him a good player, period."

Rolle might have only been trying to compel his team to introduce rookies like RG3 to the rough and tumble NFC East, and not be the division's version of the Welcome Wagon.

Brees is another case.  The New Orleans Saints quarterback in an NFL veteran with a Super Bowl ring.  He has earned the respect of defenses around the league.

"We're playing Drew Brees," said Umenyiora.  He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league.  I'm going to say he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

"If anybody has a problem with that, I guess they can take it up with me in private."

Osi Umenyiora hits on Miss Universe

The New York Giants are in the midst of a modest one-game win streak and — considering the team's history of second half season swoons — they'll take it.

Better yet, if it's because of Osi Umenyiora's new good luck charm — Miss Universe Leila Lopes — we'll take it.

The Giants defensive end was seen "hiding out" in the back of Manhattan's Empire steakhouse with the   world-class beauty on Monday during a party to say farewell to her title.

Lopes, the first Angolan to ever win the title, was seen with the Giants two-time Pro-Bowler the night after Osi's team pounded the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium.

Insiders are hoping she sticks around New York until after the playoffs "to keep his good luck coming," reports Page Six of the New York Post.

Giants fans might just want the 25-year-old Lopes to hang around anyway.

Teen battling illness spurs Giants to rout over Packers

A nervous 15-year-old young man battling cancer sat in the New York Giants locker room after Friday's practice and suddenly became the biggest person in the room full of ... well ... Giants. 

After the final practice before the Giants faced the Green Bay Packers, Adam Merchant had the huge task of offering a few encouraging words to his favorite team.

Merchant, wearing a Jason Pierre-Paul jersey and Giants ski cap, was personally asked by head coach Tom Coughlin to address the Super Bowl champions after the NFL team had lost two consecutive games. 

The nervous teenager's simple message: "Go out there," he told them, " and play like the world champions you are."

The emotional words hit the team harder than a JPP quarterback sack and the Giants went on to rout the Packers, 38-10, Sunday night.

With his Burkitt's Lymphoma in remission, Merchant was able to travel to East Rutherford from Barre, Vt., thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, after the Giants had fallen into their November swoon.  

Being asked to speak to the players was a dream come true but the young man was understandably overwhelmed by the moment.  The Giants players understood.

"It can be kind of nerve-racking to come talk to your favorite team," said Eli Manning — who seemed to return to his old self and even plowed into a defensive back instead of sliding on one play.

That's a toughness Merchant can relate to.  He was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma — a rare and aggressive B-cell lymphoma that affects children — in March and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment since.

While the Giants took his message to heart, young Adam was awed by the reaction of the players after he was done talking — "They freaked out" — and could take pride in the knowledge that his words played a big part in the victory after he watched the game from the sidelines with his brother and father.

"Certain people can say that," his new pal Justin Tuck said later.  "But when you see this innocent kid say you've got to play like a champion ... I told him he needs to get into motivational speaking because he inspired us."

After the game, the experience got even better.  Merchant was invited into the locker room and was part of the celebratory team huddle.

"He could have gone anywhere in the world (with his wish)," said Osi Umenyiora.  " But he chose to come here."

Jason Pierre-Paul: Giants defensive ends not having 'fun' this season

If Jason Pierre-Paul thought every season was going to be like his breakout campaign last year, the New York Giants defensive end is finding out not every one is always fun and games.  The operative word here being "fun."

After only four games, Pierre-Paul is unhappy with his own performance (1-1/2 sacks) and and the inefficiency of the Giants defensive ends to pressure opposing quarterbacks.  The vaunted "NASCAR" defense — Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Unmenyiora — has recorded only 3-1/2 sacks through the first quarter of the season.

"I'm not having that fun, I'm used to," said the 23-year old Pierre-Paul on Thursday.  "I've just got to go out and run around like a little kid — just be happy that you're out there and make plays.  Have that energy that I had last year."

It sounds like Are you down with JPP? just took on a whole new meaning.

"And that'll go for the other guys, too," he continued.  "You could see it in their eyes that they're not having fun with the game.  They've got to find themselves and I've got to find myself."

All three defensive studs would like to get back to last year's mirth-making performances that lead to a Super Bowl title but have been hindered this season by double-teams and key injuries to defensive unit — particularly the secondary.

Kenny Phillips joined Antrel Rolle and Corey Webster with injuries that kept all three defensive backs off the practice field this week.  Phillips was on trainer's table in the first quarter against the Eagles after spraining an MCL.  Tuck said the safety's absence in the final three quarters of last week's loss made him "gun-shy."

"I'm not having that much fun, either," added Tuck. "I pretty much suck."

The Giants (2-2) had a full week to prepare for the Cleveland Browns without Phillips.  Now, the defense's task will be to adjust.

"Sometimes you just have to whip somebody's (butt) and make a play," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said.  "And we need to do that."

Pierre-Paul — who many expect someday to break former Giants DE Michael Strahan's single-season sack record* ( *Brett Favre) — has to learn to block out the fans' high hopes and remember there's a Super Bowl bulls eye on each Giants player's back in every game this year.

"People have high expectations of me, so it kind of brings me down a little knowing I've got to live up to that," Pierre-Paul said.  "But I have to have fun too.  I can't just go out there thinking I'm Jason Pierre-Paul.  It doesn't work that way."

Could facing a Browns (0-4) team — spear-headed by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden and first year running back Trent Richardson — be the cure for the Giants blues?

"We aren't living up to the way we expect to around here," said Pierre-Paul.  "We're not going to make excuses about it.  We haven't played the way we're capable of playing.  That's why I haven't had the same amount of fun."

Are you depressed with JPP, yet?

Vick warns Giants defense: 'I can switch it up'

Michael Vick may have 32-year old legs and his coaches are telling him to resist scampering down the field at the first white of a defensive lineman's eyes. But that doesn't mean the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback still can't run.

The Eagles' scrambler has a warning for anyone who thinks his best days as an athlete are behind him and he can't make a big play with his legs.

"Any time, I can switch it up," Vick told the New York Daily News on Thursday.  "I can put on them light shoes and run around still. And you never know when.  It could be this week."

Those words sound like they are directed straight at the vaunted defensive ends of the New York Giants — who take a ride down the Turnpike into Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday night.

It's curious that Vick — a quarterback who's been sacked nine times and endured 27 QB hits — would tempt fate by running with the ball.

The 10-year veteran insists he can still take a pounding.

"I take care of my body," he said.  "I'm careful what I put into it.  The hits don't hurt any more than they used to."

Vick might be in for more than a pounding from the Giants front line.  Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck will go full force at their familiar No. 7 target that is protected by an offensive line that will start backup left tackle Demetress Bell and second string center Dallas Reynolds.

The Giants can almost taste blood already.

Vick says he is hardly concerned that he is on pace to throw 32 interceptions, fumble 11 times and get sacked nearly 50 times.  This is a game that could set the tone in the NFC East early in the season.

"We have the same record as the team we're going against," he said.  "We're playing for the division."

Vick should do the math.  Ten years as a scrambling NFL quarterback is like 70 as a pocket passer.

Giants JPP still not down with replacement refs missing holding calls

The New York Giants have had 11 straight days — since their opening night loss to the Dallas Cowboys — to make adjustments for improvement.  One thing that hasn't changed during that layoff is the fact that replacement referees will still be calling this Sunday's game.  So Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is preparing to play the game without the benefit of getting holding calls he feels he deserves.

"If they're not going to call holding, you got to find another way to get there," Pierre-Paul said.

JPP might be making a valid claim or it might be just a major case of sour grapes.

The vaunted trio of Giants defensive ends — Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora — were blanked in the sack department during the disappointing loss to Dallas.  The three-headed monster didn't even record a single quarterback hit on Tony Romo.

While the three All-Pros didn't come out and blame the refs for their lackluster performances, they did mention that the novice NFL officials weren't making many holding calls.

"The replacement refs, you never know what calls you're going to get, so you just go out there and handle your job," Pierre-Paul said.  "Even if they are replacement refs, they are referees, otherwise they wouldn't be on the football field."

Maybe JPP thinks the rookie refs need a dunk into a tub of ice water in order to alert them to the overlooked holding calls.  But the second year star is aware that the replacements are just going through growing pains.

"They're not going to call every single thing, they're looking for the most particular thing," he reasoned.  "That's probably what they've been taught.  You can't blame them."

Will we see any holding calls go JPP's way against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?  Don't hold your breath.

Giants ready to unleash 'NASCAR' defense on Romo

The New York Giants arguably have what could be called the NFL's best defensive line and, from the looks of things, it just got a little better.

The Giants won their second Super Bowl in five seasons — in no small thanks to the defensive front — which carried the team to a season-closing six-game winning streak during which they held opponents to an average of 14 points and recorded 23 sacks.

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has a over-abundance of defensive linemen and isn't afraid to mix and match his wealth of talent. And — at least for now — he has his big dogs healthy.

Fewell is the creator of the four defensive end scheme — he calls his "NASCAR package" — that pits three All-Pros Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre Paul, Osi Umenyiora — and Mathias Kiwanuka (the linebacker who becomes a defensive end) against opposing quarterbacks on passing downs.

This is the same group who sacked Dallas Cowboys' signal-caller Tony Romo six times in the Giants New Year's Day division clinching win last season.

If Fewell made a resolution that day, it was to keep his foot to the pedal — and he hasn't stopped since.  It is running on all four cylinders again.

"When you talk about putting the four guys out there it's hard to find out who's the quickest and who's the fastest," Fewell said Sunday.  "Some days I look and I say, 'Boy, JPP looked great today, he looked awesome down there,' and then Osi comes flying off the end and I'll say, 'Oh boy, that's pretty fast.'  And then Tuck , he makes a move and I'm saying , 'Wow man, I'm scratching my head.'  And then Kiwi does something."

Add rookie tackle Markus Kuhn and end Adewale Ojomo to three solid tackles — Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty (currently on the PUP list) — and you have a a D-line that will give opposing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks a lot of sleepless nights.

Last season, the fearsome four rarely played together because of injuries.  It was even hard to get three of the players to line up together.  Tuck battled neck and shoulder pain throughout 2012 and Kiwanuka missed a lot of the season.

"It was just tough to get us all three on the field together," said Tuck.  "I think those last games you saw us playing at the height of what it could have been the entire year.  Hopefully we get there for 16-plus games this year and not have guys in and out, especially like I was last year."

The Cowboys and Giants open the 2012 season Wednesday night at MetLife Stadium.  Big Blue has dominated the Cowboys in recent seasons, winning seven of the last nine games over Dallas, and it remains to be seen if Romo can come back from his beatdown by the high-flying front four.

"They definitely want to come here and ruin our opening night, celebrating the Super Bowl, blah blah blah," said Tuck.  The All-Pro DE just wants to set the tone for the season in front of a national audience.

"Everyone knows that when we [defensive ends] play well, this team, this defense plays well," he said.  "A lot of pressure is on us, but we like it that way."

When Romo sees the Giants' NASCAR defense lining up, he might want to start looking for the yellow caution flag.

Osi Umenyiora defends locker-room 'culture' in NFL

Osi Umenyiora said he knew the reaction to the Prince Amukamara cold-tub video would be "bad" but the New York Giants defensive end is standing up for the incident which he claims is part of NFL locker-room "culture."

In a tweet he sent to Steve Weatherford— which has apparently been deleted— Umenyiora says if Weatherford is apologizing for his video then HBO should apologize for "Hard Knocks."

Umenyiora's take on Jason Pierre-Paul's dunking of Amukamara may make head coach Tom Coughlin cringe but he is a locker room insider and has a good perspective into the way players co-exist.

"It happens.  I hate it got out there like that but when you look at it on the video, it looks a whole lot worse than it was actually was," Umenyiora told The Star Ledger.  "If you had seen the whole thing, they'd know it was just playing around and it's stuff that just happens.  But it was nothing worse then what you see on that show."

Asked if he thinks people would be shocked by a lot of the things that go on in the locker room that players consider mundane Umenyiora answered, "Absolutely.  I think so. But that's the way it is.  If you grow up in this culture or whatever, there are certain things ... I mean, you probably play around with your cousins and brothers and stuff like that in a way you wouldn't normally in a public place.  It's the same thing here."

He also knew there would be hell to pay for the hazing stunt after Umenyiora admitted he knew it looked bad to the media.

"Honestly, I was just sticking up for my teammate because when I saw it, knowing what I know about the way it actually was, I was like, 'Oh, that's bad.'  I promise you I said that," Umenyiora said when asked about the tweet to Weatherford.  "But as a team, we always have to stick together.  It was the truth, but I still have to stick up for my teammate."

Umenyiora knows the video can be decieving.

"Because of the way it looked.  Some of the language and, even though JPP and Prince were good friends, from the outside looking in, you'd think, 'Man, JPP's a bully.'  It's not like that," said Umenyiora.  "Everybody loves Prince.  I just know it didn't look the way it ever was."

Umenyiora also hinted that he might have been more than just a spectator while Weatherford was aiming his camera.

"I was right there," he joked.  "They didn't catch me on camera, but I was there egging the whole thing on."

Osi has message for NFL players: Be more like Tebow

Osi Umenyiora returned home from a trip to Nigeria last week and was shocked at the image his fellow NFL players had been displaying.  The New York Giants defensive end was so disturbed by the rash of arrests compiled by them Umenyiora felt he had to speak out.

"I go to Nigeria for a week, and when i come back, half the NFL has been arrested," he tweeted on July 20.  "What happened???"

Upset and tired of the criminal behavior plaguing the NFL, Unenyiora told reporters Tuesday that the New York Jets new quarterback Tim Tebow is a good role model for the NFL.

"I think if more people would focus and try to be like him and carry themselves the way he does, I think the league could be better," he said at M&M's World in Times Square while doing a promotion for the candy company.

It sounds like Osi is pretty sweet on Tebow.

"I know everyone likes to make fun of Tim Tebow, talk about him, but he sets an outstanding example," said Umenyiora.  "I think if more people would focus and try to be like him and carry themselves the way he does, I think things would be better."

Tebow— a devout Christian with a clean-cut image— clashes with the public's perception of what a lot of NFL players making headlines seem to portray.

A British-born Nigerian, Umenyiora thinks the recent accounts of too many NFL players' escapades— complete with mugshots and police rap sheets— making the sports pages is overwhelming and said the highly-paid NFLers should be grateful for what they have.

"Coming from where I came from (his trip to Nigeria) and seeing what I saw, all that poverty and people who have nothing, they would literally cut off both legs to have the opportunity these people have," said Umenyiora.  "And to be messing around like that, man, it's really unfortunate."

Umenyiora also had Roger Goodell's back.  He said the NFL Commissioner's heavy-handed brand of disciplinary actions to punish any law-breaking NFL players is a good start.

"You can't blame the Commissioner," said Umenyiora.  "He's bringing down the hammer every time.  But obviously people don't like to listen.  They'll learn sooner or later."

Amani Toomer: Romo is 'best quarterback in NFC East'

Amani Toomer can expect to get a lot of boos the next time he steps foot in MetLife Stadium this season— big time. Yesterday, the former New York Giants receiver  came out of nowhere and said Tony Romo, not Eli Manning, is the more elite quarterback.

Toomer called Manning— his former teammate and the guy who lead him to a Super Bowl XLII championship in 2008— the second best quarterback in the division while pumping up Romo's credentials at Manning's expense.

"Tony Romo is probably— if you look at him statistically— he's probably the best quarterback in the NFC East," Toomer said as co-host with Tim Ryan on 'Move the Chains' on SIRIUS radio.  "I mean, you look at Eli Manning and what he does in the fourth quarter.  But you talk about consistency . . . talk about 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.  That guy can play."

Before Giants fans start comparing Toomer's comments to former Giants running back— and current Giants' pariah— Tiki Barber's diss of Eli a couple of years ago, remember Toomer is a radio analyst who is looking to give his unbiased opinions of the game.  Barber was just a disgruntled broadcast wannabe looking to lay his shortcomings on someone else.

Even after Ryan agreed with Toomer's adulation of Romo, he tried to throw his co-host a lifeline by stating the fact that Manning has two Super Bowl MVP trophies and championships to show for his career while his rival's mantle has zilch.

Toomer still wouldn't let go of his love for Romo.

"OK, that's fair," Toomer acknowledged.  "But I'm talking about for me, if I wanted a guy that is going to throw fewer interceptions and be more productive, higher completion percentage, I'm going to go with Tony Romo."

"I want a guy who is dropping dimes at crunch time," responded Ryan.

"At crunch time he's not as good as Eli but every other time he's pretty damn good," said Toomer.

Later, Toomer acknowledged he forgot Manning played in the NFC East (?) but wouldn't back down, "I stand by what I said."

Toomer's comments got Twitter abuzz with comments from the Giants camp.

Giants PR executive  Pat Hanlon tweeted: "QB or golfer?"

Giants defensive back Terrell Thomas posted: "Man toomer my dog and a great giant, helped me a lot as a young rook but aint no way romo better than Eli...both good QB's but...Well"

Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora prepared Toomer for the inevitable: "They will be Booing my guy toomer at Giants stadium.  That we can agree on"

You have to love that the DE still calls it Giants Stadium.

Manning finished the 2011 season with a QB rating of 92.9— still less than Romo's 102.5— but, after it's all said and done, the Giants quarterback was the one holding his second Lombardi Trophy over his head last February.

The two quarterbacks had one face-to-face meeting in the post-season.  In 2007, Manning's Giants defeated the No. 1-seeded Cowboys in Irving, Texas.

The Giants and Cowboys open the 2012 NFL season with a rare Wednesday night game on Sept. 5.

Strahan calls Giants treatment of Umenyiora 'flat-out robbery'

Former-New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan found out what the team is paying his current protege Osi Umenyiora and thinks his friend is way "underpaid."

"To be honest with you, it's flat-out robbery," Strahan told The New York Post.

"If it were me, I would have sat at home and I wouldn't have played," said Strahan.  "That's just me.  I've threatened to do that in my time and I ended up getting what I wanted.  Osi's a different mindset than.  I'm probably a little more, 'I don't care what people think.'"

What Strahan seems to forget is that the last time he held out for more money, he piled up over $500,000 in fines and penalties.  When Strahan did return, he didn't get the increase in his $4 million salary.

Umenyiora was unhappy with the contract he signed in 2005 and— earlier this month— agreed to a restructuring that will pay him about $7 million this season— up from $3.975 million— before he becomes a free agent.

For Strahan to criticize a jump in pay like that is kind of funny— especially if Umenyiora seems content.

"For him, it works out, he's going to be fine, he's going to play well," Strahan added.  "If he played well under the previous situations of being unhappy to being somewhat happy now, I'm sure he'll do great."

Still, Strahan thinks his old teammate should have taken a harder stance with the Giants.

"He just didn't take advantage of it at the times when he should have," said Strahan.  "I think Osi has a good heart.  He expects for people to do as what he would do, you expect people to treat you the way you expect to be treated.  Sometimes in the game of business it doesn't work out that way and you have to understand it as a player sooner rather than later."

Umneyiora lost his starting job in 2011 to rising star Jason Pierre-Paul but still had 12 1/2 sacks in 13 games.

It sounds like Strahan might have an ulterior motive for for Umenyiora's bigger paycheck.

"I think he'll play well and I think next year, contract-wise, will be a big year for him and I can get a loan from him," he joked.

Only Strahan— one of the most popular Giants players ever— might get away with criticizing the organization after a touchy situation had already been settled.

Giants' punter disses Mark Sanchez's 'maturation'

You know things are really tough when a guy who comes on to the field maybe half a dozen downs a game starts questioning the "maturation" of another team's quarterback.

That's exactly what punter Steve Weatherford suggested while speaking on an NFL.com podcast yesterday.  Weatherford— who was last seen flaunting his new New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI ring— was a teammate of New  York Jets Mark Sanchez in 2009 and 2010 feels the Jets signal-caller hasn't made any advancement as a leader since reaching the AFC Championship game both of those years.

"I like Mark— I think he's a very talented quarterback.  But from my standpoint, I haven't seen a lot of maturation," the punter said.  "When you're a quarterback and you come in, and you're expected to be the face of the franchise, and you're expected to lead the team, that's a lot to take on as a rookie."

"But as the years go on, I think you're expected to mature, skill-wise, and also mature as a leader. . . as much as I like the guy, I haven't seen that."

Wow!  It sounds like Weatherford and Darrelle Revis have been eating at the same lunch table as Tim Tebow.

After Weatherford made his comments, he quickly went to Twitter to diffuse a potential war of words if they ever encounter each other in a Manhattan hotspot.

"Dear bloggers, Mark Sanchez will make people forget about Tim Tebow, but the competition will sharpen him.  He has what it takes to be great," he tweeted.

Later, he wrote: "They definitely took it out of context.  I have a lot of respect for Mark Sanchez."

He also mentioned that he spoke with Sanchez to clear the air.

First, Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora takes back his mean tweet wishing LeSean McCoy a "Happy Mother's Day," now Weatherford whiffs on a verbal punt.  Hey guys, don't say it if you don't mean it.

Osi Umenyiora apologizes for calling LeSean McCoy a mother

Osi Umenyiora has apologized for offending women with his "Happy Mother's Day" tweet to Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy.

The New York Giants defensive end sent the apology via Twitter from Europe in response to an article on ESPN's website which criticized Umenyiora's insult to his NFL and Twitter rival by calling him a woman.

"Replace 'woman' with race, religion or sexual orientation and the reaction would be far different," wrote ESPN's Sarah Spain.  "Just imagine the response from the media and fans if Unmenyiora had tweeted McCoy 'Happy Gay Pride Day.'"

Umenyiora agreed with the writer's point of view and said: "@Sarah Spain is absolutely correct in her article.  I wasn't thinking about it from that perspective.  I apologize to any woman offended.  It won't happen again."

Umenyiora— who missed the Giants' Super Bowl ring ceremony on Wednesday night because he was in Germany— has insulted McCoy before— by referring to him in the feminine gender— after the running back started a Twitter war with Umenyiora last spring.  McCoy used Twitter to describe Umenyiora as "Overrated n soft 3rd best d-line on his team honestly" during contract talks with the Giants.

The defensive end responded by calling McCoy a "little girl, "Lady Gaga," and "a woman"— un-respectively.  He also called him a "Twitter gangster."

On Sunday, after a lengthy truce in exchanging tweets, Umenyiora surprised everyone by tweeting a message to McCoy which read: "Happy Mother's Day LeSean McCoy! Enjoy your special day!"

One person on Twitter thought Umenyiora's apology was an overreaction and told him it was "unfortunate" that people can't take a joke these days.

Umenyiora didn't see it that way and looked at the big picture.

"You have to look at things from other people's perspective sometimes," he responded.  "A joke to me and you might actually offend others."

Spain—via Twitter— told Umenyiora it was "so fantastic of you to actually read the piece and really think about the issue."

Responded Umenyiora: "I always try and look at things from someone else's perspective when it's called to my attention.  You article is the truth."

Maybe this will put an end to this Umenyiora -McCoy Twitter feud.  Settle it on the field guys.

Osi Umenyiora wishes Eagles' McCoy a Happy Mother's Day

The Umenyiora-McCoy family feud sounds like it's heating up once again.  The New York Giants defensive end took a swipe at the Philadelphia Eagles running back when he sent this message on Twitter to his rival McCoy: "Happy Mother's Day LeSean McCoy!  Enjoy your special day!"

Osi Umenyiora's days as a Giant may be numbered but his disdain of LeSean McCoy can still be counted on.

About an hour and a half later after Osi's 9:30 a.m. post, McCoy tweeted back: "Lol let the beef begin."

He must have meant let the beef "continue" because these two guys have been ripping each other since last year when McCoy teased Umenyiora during his contract dispute with the Giants last spring by calling him "Overrated n soft 3rd best d-line on his own team."

Umenyiora responded by calling McCoy "Lady Gaga," a "woman," and a "little girl."

"He ran his mouth," Umenyiora said at the time.  "He crossed the line that shouldn't have been crossed." He also called McCoy a "Twitter gangster."

Former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs— now with the 49ers— also joined in on Sunday's tweet-fest.

"omg hahah," wrote Jacobs.  "hahaha u know the beef isn't never over.  Never."

It sounds like Umenyiora won't let this Twitter war subside soon.  After someone tweeted to him to "be an adult and set an example for your son," the Giants player responded, "When someone attacks you for no reason, attack back, and never stop attacking."

Robert Griffin III: Giants pass rush doesn't scare me

Robert Griffin III has been the talk of New York this week as he makes his way around town before Thursday night's 2012 NFL Draft, but the future quarterback of the Washington Redskins might have picked his own words a little better last night.

The projected No. 2 pick says the prospect of facing the New York Giants ferocious pass rush of Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora does not scare him.

"I'm not going to play with fear," Griffin III said.  "I'm a talented guy and  I respect talent.  I respect Pierre-Paul, I respect Tuck, Umenyiora all of those guys, but I am not going to go out and play as if I'm scared they are going to sack me."

RG3, the headline player posed with former-NFL great Barry Sanders at EA sport's NCAA Football '13 Draft Party at Lavo nightclub on Tuesday.  He said he isn't going to change the way he approached the game in college.

"That's the one thing I've never done as a player," he said.  "Never play with fear, always play fearless but respect your opponent.  Those guys are so great, so use your strength against them."

The Heisman Trophy winner believes he can lead his team to victory without scoring a lot of points.

"From what I heard, you score 21 points in the league and you win 70 percent of your games," said the QB.  "I come from the Big 12, where if you score 56 points you might win a couple so I look forward to only having to score only 21 points and win, it's a great feeling."

The naivety of youth.  Hate to break this to you RG3, first, you have to score 21 points.

Griffin III attributes the evolution of quarterbacks— from pure drop-back passers to modern NFL signal callers who can play inside and outside the pocket— to some past and present Giants pass rushers.

"First and foremost, you have to blame guys like Mike Strahan, Reggie White, Justin Tuck for making quarterbacks more mobile," he said.  "The game always evolves, because defensive linemen are so mobile now, quarterbacks have to be able to move a little bit.  They don't have to be world-class speed guys but they have to be able to move."

It looks like RG3 is ready to work with Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and be embraced by the playoff-starved Hogs fans.

"The way I look at it, it shows that not only is a team aligned with its fan base, but also the team believes in you," Griffin III said.  "I love that, I wanted a team to fall in love with me and I can't be mad about that."

"It's not a knock on the Colts, but they never had a moment like that, it was always back and forth.  Washington made a decision and said, 'look, we want this guy,' I'm humbled by that."

Don't expect the same love from the Giants.