New York Giants wide receiver Steve Smith has been referred to as "the other" for the last 3 years.

In 2009 however #12 of the NY Football Giants has outshined the better known Smith from the Carolina Panthers, as a matter of fact he has outshined every WR in the NFL. He is ranked as the number one pass catcher in all of football as the season heads to week 5. It is still early in the season but Big Blue seems to have found an aggressive aerial attack led by a more confident Eli Manning. Anchoring the young receiving core and considered the veteran is Smith who is entering his 3rd year in the league..

The departures of long time Giants WR Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress opened the door of opportunity for all pass catchers in the team. General Manager Jerry Reese was adamant about keeping his core of young and unproven wideouts this past off season. He refused to get into a bidding war or trade talks for any proven veterans available throughout the league. The gamble has paid off and other players at the position have stepped up to fill the void. Mario Manningham has had a great start to this season and Hakeem Nicks has been impressive in very limited action due to injury.

Smith is still the standout for the G-Men and the league with 34 receptions, 411 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Compare his ranking at this time to "the other" Steve Smith from Carolina who currently ranks in the 40th position at wide receiver. The comparison for this 4 game stretch is not meant to diminish the accomplishments of the Carolina veteran who has been one of the best at his position throughout his long career. He is by far one of the toughest players in the league and has been a big play threat for the Panthers for many years.

NY Giants fans can only hope that their version of Steve can have a similar career to the Panthers version. There have been glimpses of such a possibility. Smith came out of USC and was considered a good wide receiver who was drafted by the Giants in the second round (51st pick) of the 2007 draft. He has always received credit for being a good route runner but this season he has been much more than a route runner. He has displayed toughness, speed and intelligence on the field. I have watched all the Giants games this season and have seen Smith take some very hard shots and somehow he has been able to keep possession of the football. His crisp and sharp cuts have left defensive players completely defenseless during coverage and Eli Manning has been able to take advantage of these opportunities.

When asked about his and the Giants success, he said "That is why everybody was here in the offseason workouts in the spring and we had some good days and some tough days in training camp and the preseason. We are just glad it's coming together now.".

The future looks bright and promising for New York and their standout pass catcher. I think the time has come to refer to him as The NY Giants Steve Smith instead of "the other", he has earned it.

Carlos Caicedo
GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009

In 1991 during the Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills, Ingram caught a pass and evaded several Bills tacklers and hopped his way to the most important first down in that game. I truly believe the NY Giants would have lost that game without his contribution.

Mark was a good wide receiver who played for the Giants, Dolphins, Packers and Eagles in his professional NFL career. He was drafted by New York as the 28th pick of the first round from Michigan State University in 1987. He was given a $400,000 signing bonus with a lucrative $1.285 million contract.

Ingram was also involved in another memorable play on November 27th, 1994 when his Miami Dolphins led by Dan Marino defeated AFC East rivals The New York Jets in the infamous fake spike play. With seconds left Dan Marino runs up to the line of scrimmage and motions to his team that a spike is coming up in order to stop the clock, instead he takes the snap and throws a pass to the corner of the end zone to Ingram who catches his 4th touchdown pass of the game.

Mark retired 1997 and that is where all his troubles began. He had several run ins with the law which resulted in arrests and legal issues. In 2001 Mark Ingram was arrested and convicted for possession of counterfeit money which totaled $3,290, his sentence for this offense was six months. In 2004 he was sentenced to one year in prison after an arrest for stealing a credit card in Michigan. In 2007 he was charged but not convicted on counts of breaking and entering and stealing a purse. There was not sufficient evidence in this case to convict. On September 16th, 2008 (exactly one year ago today) he received his longest sentence of seven years for committing bank fraud and laundering money.

This last sentence was rock bottom for Mark Ingram, he pleaded for lenience when he addressed the judge but his prior criminal record was not helpful. He was trying to buy some time in order to watch his son Mark Ingram Jr. play in the SEC Championship game with his Alabama team. The judge ruled he had until 12/05/08 to turn himself in. The date came and went and Ingram failed to show up at which point a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was finally tracked down and apprehended on January 3, 2009 in Flint Michigan. Mark Ingram now 44 years old faces additional charges for evading authorities and failure to turn himself in to serve his sentence.

His son is a very talented player and seems destined for the NFL. It is unfortunate that bad decisions and a lack of respect for the law will prohibit him from enjoying the special moments Jr. may have in his professional football career.

Carlos Caicedo
GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009

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After an impressive week one NY Giants victory over the Washington Redskins one thing was clear, Plaxico Burress was not missed.

I am not trying to be a hypocrite and act as if I didn't wish as a Giants fan that we had his talented services. After watching Eli manning spread the ball around to his young core of receivers I was not only impressed but felt at ease with this upcoming NFL season and it's potential. Mario Manningham scored a great touchdown where he displayed his big play ability and speed. The rest of the receiving core was solid as well lead by a young veteran in Steve Smith.

When I say that Plaxico will not be missed it pertains to several factors on and off the field. Again his talent is unquestioned. Burress is a very tall and strong wide out that creates all sorts of matchup problems for opponents. He also has the ability to catch any type of ball thrown near his wingspan. Sometimes Eli Manning throws flutter balls other times he will throw a nice spiral, no matter what is thrown Plax had the ability to go and get it high or low. Big Blue fans will always be thankful for his contributions especially during Super Bowl XLII.

With all that being said let us not forget all the baggage that came with this talented player. He was truly lazy not only during practice but sometimes on the field during a game. I watched Plax so many times take a play off when it was clearly not coming to him which would ofcourse tip off opposing players. He was always whining or complaining, not as bad as T.O. but still a distraction. The Giants rewarded Burress with a huge contract extension making him one of the highest payed wide receivers in the game and how does he show his appreciation? By not showing up to practice with an excuse that he had to drop his kid off somewhere. He began last season with much attitude and a sense of entitlement, which I guess came from becoming a mega star after his game winning catch in the Super Bowl. Even with all his talent his previous team the Steelers opted on letting him go to free agency instead of trying to retain his services. They knew what type of player he was and they were not willing to put up with it.

I was watching ESPN a few months back and Tim Hasselbeck a former Giant back up QB who played with Plax said he was a "disaster", his complete statement was:

"When you're looking at Plaxico Burress, there's no doubt that he can be a dominant receiver at times on Sundays," Hasselbeck said. "We've seen it. But with that being said, I played with the guy. I was in the locker room with him for two years. He's a disaster as a teammate. He's a disaster as a guy that you have to coach.

"And what do I mean by that? If you want to wait for a guy to show up to meetings, if you want to have to beg a guy to run full-speed in practice, if you want a guy that would disappear in games because he doesn't get the ball early -- then look, Plaxico Burress is your guy.

"But if you don't want those distractions, and you don't want to deal with the other headaches that come along with Plaxico Burress, then you better stay away from him."

Those are pretty strong words coming from a former teammate, just that quote alone should give us all some insight on what type of an overall distratcion he was for the team.

For people who say that he was being posecuted for being a celebrity, I say bologna. The minimum sentence in the state of New York is 3 years. He was carrying a loaded unlicensed handgun into a club. He shot himself in the leg but he could have very easily shot someone else and maybe even killed someone by mistake. I have zero sympathy for him, a pampered millionaire who had everything he could possibly want but that was not enough for him. I may be a little bitter due to the fact he probably cost us a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champs in 2008 but even if I put myself in a position of being open minded about the situation I still think he got what he deserved.

He did not want to do any jail time and his comments during the days after the shooting displayed his arrogance. He tried maneuvering his way into a no jail time sentence and wanted a slap on the wrist for his crime, at one point even stating that he would have his lawyer delay everything so that he could make a few millions before the proceedings. He actually thought he would play football and make money while he waited for the trial to start, but the NFL Commissioner was not playing to that tune. Roger Goodell quickly put out a statement informing all teams that Plaxico would be suspended a minimum of 8 weeks if not more if any team signed him.

All leverage was gone after that statement and reality seemed to have set in quickly as Burress took the deal offered by the prosecution on the very last day it would be available and on the table.

So now it is a new season, the drama from the past year is behind us and it is time to look forward. The NY Giants have a great team, the only question mark is the receiving core. It is too early to tell if they will become an elite group but yesterday they displayed the ability to move the chains and even to create a big play here and there. Big Blue has a very good team, strong offensive line, excellent running game, good quarterback and an awesome defense, with some small contributions from our wide outs we should be able to excel and go to the Super Bowl this year.

Carlos Caicedo
GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009

Super Bowl hero David Tyree is no longer with the team but that still leaves a cluster of unproven players which on paper have a ton of potential but have yet to be tested on a professional field. Steve Smith is the veteran of the group after the departure of Plaxico "I shot myself in the leg" Burress and Amani Toomer. Smith has been a good roll player for a couple of years but has yet to display number one receiver potential. Domenik Hixon also has some experience but last year proved he cannot be considered a number one. I also remember him for a clear touchdown drop on a perfect pass by Eli Manning versus the Eagles. Sinorice Moss has dropped to third in the depth chart on the right side which puts him behind at least 4 other players.

The rest of the core consists of talented college players some who are recently drafted such as Hakeem Nicks who seems to have a great work ethic and positive attitude. Ramses Barden who is a huge receiver standing 6'6", 227 pounds, he has shown some flashes of big play ability during training camp but still does not have a great grasp of the offense. Mario Manningham and Derek Hagan have also shown some potential but one thing is to do it on the practice field and another thing is to do it game day.

There is no doubt about the potential each one of these players has and Giants fans in New York can only hope for that potential to translate into success on the gridiron for the upcoming season. If these wide receivers cannot play up to their potential other teams will flood the box and have a better chance at stopping the powerful running attack.

There were several trade possibilities available which would have filled the need for a number one but the asking price from teams for these players were pretty ridiculous. On top of that the free agents demanded extensions or restructuring of their contracts in order to make them happy.

Management has been very good at evaluating talent and hopefully this year the evaluations were correct. The NY Giants have a great team and are pretty stacked at many positions, the only question mark is within the carouself or wide receivers. If they pan out there is no reason why Big Blue can't be Super Bowl Champs once again.

Carlos Caicedo - GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009

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The 2009 NFL season starts tomorrow and will begin without Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree.

His amazing catch which provided the key first down in the drive that brought the Championship to New York will probably be the highest point in his up and down career. David has had many obstacles and issues throughout his life and professional career. He has over come a drug arrest, injuries and even an exorcism during the last few years but getting cut was something that every one saw coming this season including Tyree.

David had a serious problem catching the ball all through training camp and did not distinguish himself among an already crowded NY Giants receiving core which included two high draft picks earlier this year. Tyree was quoted as saying "It's obviously a time of mixed feelings", he also said it was not a great day but he was still excited to see what the future had in store for him. As of now there is not much interest around the league but only time will tell where and if we get to see him play again. He will always be remembered and beloved by Big Blue fans for what is considered one if not the greatest catch and overall play in Super Bowl history. Farewell and good luck David Tyree!

Carlos Caiced0 - GiantsKickoff.com - Copyright 2009