Re: Jints Boot 'Bachelor' (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/sports/giants/52896.htm<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>September 4, 2005 -- The handwriting became more indelible with each comment from coach Tom Coughlin. He had been Jesse Palmer's main ally with the Giants, and this summer, once Coughlin's support began to weaken, the signs went from ominous to obvious. Palmer, known more for his reality TV work as "The Bachelor" than his play on the field the last four years, was one of 18 players released yesterday as the Giants trimmed their roster to the 53-man limit. That means at least for now, first-year Jared Lorenzen, known more for his girth (293 pounds), colorful nicknames (J-Load, for one) and quick wit, is the No. 3 quarterback behind Eli Manning and Tim Hasselbeck. The Giants remain in the market for a veteran presence at that position. Letting Palmer go was hardly a surprise, but cutting Mark Jones was, considering he fared well in his lone punt-return action last Thursday night in Foxboro and the Giants did not have anyone else to handle that assignment. They went outside the organization and signed veteran running back Chad Morton, who was cut last Tuesday by the Patriots. Morton, entering his sixth NFL season, previously had stops with the Saints, Jets and Redskins and in 62 games has averaged nine yards on 79 punt returns and 24 yards on 174 kickoff returns. He played only six games last season in Washington, sidelined with a knee injury. Morton has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns, including two with the Jets in 2002, when he led the AFC with 1,509 return yards. "He's a playmaker, a guy that's done it in the past," Coughlin said. "Also, I think he can play some as the fourth back. I think we pick up a little bit of depth there." Picking up Morton made veteran running back Mike Cloud expendable and he was released. The greatest longshot to make the team is linebacker Chase Blackburn, undrafted out of Akron. Blackburn did not sign until June 22 and stuck on the roster for his work on special teams. The Giants released veteran linebacker Kevin Lewis, who started all 16 games last season, as well as linebackers James Maxwell and T.J. Hollowell, but kept Blackburn. The Giants signed Lorenzen a year ago but, overweight and concerned about his conditioning, he left the team and headed home to Kentucky rather than report to training camp. He's not close to being NFL-ready but the Giants like his extremely strong left arm. He made the club as much based on what Palmer didn't do than what he did. "He did some things that showed he's a guy that is improving all the time," Coughlin said. "I do think that we're better served to try to continue that development." All four of the Giants' draft choices made the team: Corey Webster, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs and Eric Moore. In addition to Blackburn, the other rookie free agents to stick are defensive end Adrian Awasom and safety James Butler. The other veteran of note released was offensive lineman Wayne Lucier, who started 20 games the past two years. The other cuts were OL Brandon Winey, OL Morgan Pears, OL Lewis Kelly, OL Myniya Smith, RB Ryan Grant, WR Ataveus Cash, WR Michael Jennings, TE Darius Williams, DL Jonas Seawright, DL Raheem Orr and S Curry Burns.</div>
Re: Jints Boot 'Bachelor' (NY Post) Isnt necessarily fair, if you ask me aside from the horrible INT in the Cleveland game he even outperformed Hasselbeck. Yes Palmer was playing against worse playesr than Hasselbeck, but Hasselbeck looked skiddish out there, kept overthrowing and underthrowing players as well.
Re: Jints Boot 'Bachelor' (NY Post) <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GoGiants98 @ Sep 4 2005, 09:01 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>Isnt necessarily fair, if you ask me aside from the horrible INT in the Cleveland game he even outperformed Hasselbeck. Yes Palmer was playing against worse playesr than Hasselbeck, but Hasselbeck looked skiddish out there, kept overthrowing and underthrowing players as well.</div> If he did better than Hasselback or not was not the point. Hasselbeck was already the #2 QB. Palmer had to compete with Lorenzen, and he lost the competiton. Therefore, he was cut.
