Giants GM Reese knows when it’s time to cut bait
Wellington Mara called it “a day of overwhelming sadness’’ as the Giants tossed Phil Simms onto the scrap heap, making him the first high-profile salary cap casualty in franchise history. This was after the 1993 season. While few, if any, of the player releases that followed have been as emotional, this latest barrage is a reminder of the NFL life cycle.
“It’s a machine,’’ Luke Petitgout told The Post yesterday. “Players think they have the power and the leverage. It’s the team. It never stops. It spits people out left and right.’’
The machine this week churned out linebacker Michael Boley, defensive tackle Chris Canty and, most cruelly, running back Ahmad Bradshaw, whom Giants fans might view the way Dorothy lamented Scarecrow, knowing she would miss him most of all. More could follow. Players who contributed to a Super Bowl championship and, in Bradshaw’s case, two of them, are always more difficult to send packing. Some may laud general manager Jerry Reese for his decisiveness, but the real trick is to find replacements because right now, today, the Giants aren’t any better than they were a few days ago.
“He’s basically getting rid of the guys before they expire, so to speak,’’ Petitgout said.
The man knows what time it is. Just as Simms was a first for the former general manager, George Young, Petitgout was the first for Reese back in 2007, the first big-ticket player to be shown the door not long after Reese took the baton from Ernie Accorsi. A reliable left tackle, Petitgout was a first-round pick from Notre Dame and he lasted eight years with the Giants. He still recalls he was “shocked’’ around Valentine’s Day in 2007 when he was summoned into Tom Coughlin’s office.
In the weeks that followed, Petitgout did not hide his bitterness, at the time claiming he was “basically kicked off the club” by Reese.
“I wasn’t exactly Mary Poppins on my way out,’’ Petitgout said six years later. “I think that’s just because I love the Giants. That’s really what the bottom line is. It hurts a player to the soul. It’s like back to the playground days of the last guy to get picked, that kind of deal.’’
Does Reese have a plan? Of course. He had a plan heading into the 2011 season, when he was accused of being asleep at the switch, seemingly oblivious as Steve Smith and Kevin Boss signed elsewhere, seemingly uncaring as the “Dream Team’’ Eagles were loading up in a free agent signing bonanza. No doubt, Reese would have preferred to gamble on Bradshaw’s toughness and retained Canty’s leadership but clearly, the GM doesn’t think either player has much left in the tank.
Reese is rarely wrong. As a former scout, his eye for talent isn’t confined to youngsters. Smith and Boss haven’t done a thing and haven’t stayed healthy. He traded away Jeremy Shockey. He did not re-sign Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward or Amani Toomer. He cut Shaun O’Hara, Rich Seubert and Kareem McKenzie. He didn’t think Antonio Pierce’s neck was sound enough to continue playing. He passed on bringing back Plaxico Burress. In the same purge that caught Petitgout, Reese also jettisoned Carlos Emmons and LaVar Arrington. Did any of these players prove Reese wrong?
“They’re always looking for younger, cheaper,’’ Petitgout said. “Just like getting new tires on your car.’’
There’s no malice in Petitgout’s voice. He broke his leg late in the 2006 season and knew he was delaying the inevitable by opting against surgery on his ailing back. He had two years left on his contract at $5 million a year when Reese showed him the door. Petitgout signed with the Buccaneers but played in only four games, first hurting his back again and then tearing up his knee.
“The Giants are a family,’’ Petitgout said. “It’s something tough to accept, like when a girlfriend dumps you. They know when your time is up. Some guys may buck the trend and have a good couple years after that but if you’ve been there a long time, they know your medical history, they know your aches and pains, they usually make the right decision.
“I basically had a time bomb in my back and when I went to Tampa it went off. The Giants knew what they were doing.’’
Back in the area after five years in Tampa, Petitgout lives in Bergen County and passes Metlife Stadium on his way to work. He’s the co-owner of a compounding pharmacy called ReadyScrip and when he visits the Giants he’s welcomed back with open arms.
“I was mad at the time, I harbored some ill will for a while,’’ he said. “Time has healed everything. My time with the Giants, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.’’
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Almost every player that reports us in one way or another still loves this organization. Canty, Bradshaw & Boley all had nothing but respect and gratitude to this organization.
One of the many reasons I'm proud to bleed blue.
This post was edited by xnozx. on Feb 8 2013 03:13pm