New York Giants Sign LB Chris Claiborne: The Giants have signed unrestricted free agent LB Chris Claiborne. Claiborne is a former first-round draft pick who has played with the Lions, Vikings, and Rams.
According to the Giants’ official press release, the team will announce additional roster moves tomorrow.
October 30, 2006 New York Giants Injury Report: WLB Brandon Short suffered a quad injury against the Buccaneers. “Short is going to have tests (Monday) afternoon,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin yesterday.
Coughlin said HB Brandon Jacobs (hyperextended knee) had “normal wear and tear,” but should be fine.
When Coughlin was asked about DE Osi Umenyiora (hip flexor) and CB Sam Madison (hamstring), both of whom did not play against Tampa Bay, he replied, “They’re better. They’re improving. Hopefully maybe the next 24 hours will tell us something different, but right now it would be questionable at best.”
Speaking of Umenyiora and DE Justin Tuck (foot did not play against Bucs), Coughlin said, “Both of them have made progress there’s no question. They’re much more comfortable and much more mobile, but as far as what their status will be, we’ll wait.”
Regarding WR Sinorice Moss (quad), who also did not play, Coughlin said, “For a week he’s been held out of everything again, having had a (another) setback (last week). Now he’s going to be returning to the individual part, at least, of practice, and we’ll see where it goes. I’d like to see him get through this progression and be able to keep going, rather than having the setback that has occurred.”
LB LaVar Arrington, who is on Injured Reserve, did have surgery on his Achilles tendon. “He had surgery on Friday,” said Coughlin. “He did very well. He came home Sunday morning. I talked with him on a couple of occasions. He’s very interested in what’s going on with the team. He wanted to come to the game and they decided that wasn’t such a good idea, but they feel good about the surgery.”
Quotes: CB Sam Madison on the defensive improvement since the bye week: “We really haven’t adjusted anything. Everybody had to understand what they needed to do and just get it done. Since the bye week, guys have gone out and played their positions instead of trying to play somebody else’s position and trying to make adjustments for somebody else. Everybody has learned…where they’re supposed to fit in the run game, where they’re supposed to drop in the pass.”
QB Eli Manning on what he learned about playing in the windy Meadowlands last Sunday: “What routes you can throw, what plays you can run and are easy to throw, what are some tougher things to do. As a quarterback you’re a coordinator of your offense, have to figure out what you can do. We threw a lot of curl routes, any throw when you can line-drive it and throw it hard and it comes out a spiral it’s not going to be affected too much by the wind. If you have to put some touch on it, throw it down the field, that wind will start blowing it, it will knock it down, it can make it go and they fly too far…You have to manage the situations and understand what’s going on in the game. Do you have to be aggressive and take chances? Do you have to play smart and conservative? You’ve got to understand the circumstances; how your defense is playing and how the conditions are. It’s a matter of not taking risks if you don’t have to.”
WR Plaxico Burress on changing his on-field demeanor when things do not go well in the passing game: “I was looking at tapes of myself (in the offseason), looking at my body language and evaluating myself. I said, ‘That’s something I need to get rid of.’ It showed me I was getting down on my quarterback. That’s something I don’t want to do. It’s something I’m trying to eliminate from my game. If I drop a ball or he makes a bad pass, we’ll go to the sideline and straighten it out over there. Don’t try to show him up. I don’t get frustrated any more with Eli. That’s over and done with. I come to the sideline and say, ‘Look at this if we get this look next time.’ I don’t get upset any more. It’s one of those things where I made an effort not to. He’s my quarterback. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I know he’s trying to get the football to me the best that he can. It’s an 11-man chain. Everybody is working together to be successful. If he makes a bad throw or I drop one, there’s pretty much the same from each other (we say), ‘All right man, I messed up, let’s get it next time.’ I think we have that respect for each other. Whatever happens, happens. We just go out and try to be successful.”