Tom

Whoops! False start!

Giants' special teams 2nd only to Bills Giants' special teams 2nd only to Bills BY RICK GOSSELIN Dallas Morning News DALLAS - Special teams helped coach Tom Coughlin transform the Jacksonville Jaguars into an AFC power in the 1990s. Special teams are helping Coughlin turn the New York Giants into an NFC power again this decade. During his final seven seasons in Jacksonville from 1996-2002, the Jaguars posted top-10 finishes five times in special-teams rankings compiled annually by The Dallas Morning News. The Jaguars fielded the NFL's best special teams in 1997. Coughlin inherited a New York team in 2004 that hadn't finished in the top 10 in special teams since 1996 and hadn't been out of the 20s since 1999. But the Giants improved from 23rd to 17th in Coughlin's first season in 2004, then vaulted all the way to No. 2 in 2005 as the Giants won their first NFC East title since their Super Bowl season in 2000. The Giants finished with the best special teams in the NFC, second overall to the Buffalo Bills. The league's 32 teams are ranked in 22 categories and assigned points according to their standing - one for the best, 32 for the worst. The Bills became the first repeat winner in the 16 years The News has compiled the rankings. Buffalo won with a composite score of 217, 41 1/2 better than the Giants. New York was the only NFC team to finish in the top six. The Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers finished 13th, the Cowboys 14th. The reconstruction of New York's kicking game actually began in 2003, a year before Coughlin's arrival, when the Giants drafted wide receivers David Tyree and Willie Ponder with sixth-round picks and signed punter Jeff Feagles in free agency. In 2004, Coughlin hired a familiar face to coach the special teams - Mike Sweatman, who handled the kicking game for Bill Parcells in New York in the 1980s. The Giants also drafted linebacker Reggie Torbor in the fourth round. In 2005, the Giants signed kicker Jay Feely and return specialist Chad Morton in free agency and drafted defensive end Jason Tuck in the third round. New York also signed undrafted collegians Chase Blackburn of Akron and James Butler of Georgia Tech. Feely tied a Giants' season record with 35 field goals and finished second in the NFL in scoring with 148 points. Feagles finished eighth in the NFL with 26 punts inside the 20. Ponder returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Morton returned a punt for a score and Tuck and Tyree blocked kicks. Blackburn, Butler and Ponder recovered fumbles in the kicking game, and Tyree was selected to the Pro Bowl as the NFC special-teams player. Blackburn led the Giants with 22 tackles on special teams, followed by Butler and Tyree with 21 apiece and Tuck with 18. The Bills finished in the top 10 in 13 of the 22 categories and were the only team to rank in the top 10 in the four major return categories: kickoff (first) and punt return (fifth), kickoff (fourth) and punt coverage (seventh). The team that made the greatest improvement was the Houston Texans, who vaulted from 29th in 2004 to third in 2005. Rookie Jerome Mathis finished second in the NFL in kickoff returns with a 28.6-yard average and scored two touchdowns on his way to the Pro Bowl. 2005 NFL SPECIAL TEAMS RANKINGS The NFL's 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking-game categories and assigned points according to their standing (one for the best through 32 for the worst). Here are the team totals, crowning Buffalo as the special teams champion for the second consecutive season: 1. Buffalo 217 2. NY Giants 258.5 3. Houston 260.5 4. Miami 286 5. Tennessee 298.5 6. Cleveland 311 7. San Francisco 321.5 8. Jacksonville 334.4 9. Carolina 337 10. Washington 343.5 11. Chicago 358 12. Minnesota 360.5 13. Pittsburgh 362.5 14. Dallas 365 15. Atlanta 365.5 16. Cincinnati 367.5 17. St. Louis 376.5 18. Denver 379.5 19. Kansas City 380.5 19. Tampa Bay 380.5 21. New England 382.5 22. San Diego 387.5 23. Philadelphia 393.5 23. Baltimore 393.5 25. NY Jets 400 26. Oakland 406.5 27. Detroit 423.5 28. Arizona 428 29. Indianapolis 428.5 30. Seattle 429 31. New Orleans 437 32. Green Bay 442.5

Agreed......... Who was this tool Leavy anyway? I have DTV & watch a lot of games & never heard of him.

Sweet!!!!!!!!

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

Dick Jauron quotes

Not looking good..... Denver getting pushed all over the field.

Denver can't stop them on any down!

They had the idea for awhile........ Domain Name: BUYTHEBILLS.COM Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC. Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com Name Server: NS63.WORLDNIC.COM Name Server: NS64.WORLDNIC.COM Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK Updated Date: 26-dec-2005 Creation Date: 23-nov-2003 Expiration Date: 23-nov-2006

Collusion!

Lou Saban........

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Marge Schott?

Pretty strong "IF" there, Mr.Negative-Nancy..........

Why don't you tell him, Tough Guy........

Don't let it bother you..........

Imagine the 'Playhouse' sign above the field house......

Why would this make you so happy? Carr could be quite good & the Fish rid themselves of a RB they don't need & a 2nd round pick..... Big deal!

Another Pittsburgher?

Dump the Cowbell....... Then tell him to find a new team,

irregardless One entry found for irregardless. Main Entry: ir·re·gard·less Pronunciation: "ir-i-'gärd-l&s Function: adverb Etymology: probably blend of irrespective and regardless nonstandard : REGARDLESS usage Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that "there is no such word." There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead.

Ralph brought some 'youth' to the Bills! Marv is 81 years 'young' and sounds sharp as hell!

Too bad.......... I'd love to see Dwight back..