The Giants open their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday at team headquarters in Jersey. You do remember the Giants, don't you? Professional football outfit, won the Super Bowl less than two years ago, used to employ a wide receiver who tried and failed to make the sweatpants and gun look all the rage in the nightlife world ... ringing a bell?
You'd be forgiven if the team had slipped out of your memory in the last couple of months. Since the draft, the Giants have barely appeared on the radar screen, nudged out of the offseason spotlight by the Jets. Mark Sanchez's photo shoot and massive contract grabbed some headlines, Rex Ryan's oversized ego and mouth grabbed some more and there wasn't much of interest coming out of Giantsland.
That's just the way they want it. In the last two years, Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese have made it very clear that the players they want on the roster are the ones who are seen and not heard. As they gathered for this minicamp in 2008, the two most notable players on the team were Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey. They were notable because they were unhappy with contracts and roles on the team, and it is telling that both of them are now playing elsewhere.
Now, though, there's no drama off the field nor anything particularly interesting to report about the team. A few players are recovering from offseason surgeries, a few newcomers are learning the system and there's still that nagging issue of hoping that one of the wide receivers will step into the void left by Burress' departure.
Even that has been rendered boring, however, because the Giants have no interest in making a splashy move to bring in a bigger name. That name might want a new contract, or other considerations that don't fit in the placid world that the Giants have designed for themselves. Given Coughlin and Reese's track record, it's hard to argue with any direction they choose to take with their team. After all, better to be entertaining on the field rather than just off of it.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
