Mike Garafolo reports that Nicholas is still alive:

https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/438387929740627968

Who knows what was said in visitor's locker room, but whatever it was, it worked. The Giants defense, led by veteran Justin Tuck who bowed inside FedEx Field?four times last night, took over in the second half and held Washington to just 96 yards in the remaining two quarters.

A clutch play by Will Hill to strip Pierre Garcon in the late minutes of the fourth quarter would seal a victory for the Giants, pushing?their record to 5-7, two games behind the division leaders Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, while eliminating the Redskins from any chance of playoff contention.

Turnovers, which killed the Giants in their first meeting with Dallas, have reared their ugly head again. Victor Cruz was stripped of the ball by Dallas DB Orlando Scandrick. The ball was scooped up by Jeff Heath an taken to the house for a 7-0 Dallas lead.

A 10-play, 74-yard drive that stalled on the Dallas 3. Josh Brown hit a 21-yard FG to narrow the score to 7-3.

For the second straight day, the Giants had all 53 players out on the field and practicing. CB Corey Webster (groin, ankle) will be out tomorrow. RB Brandon Jacobs (knee) and WR Hakeem Nicks (abdomen) are listed as questionable but will likely dress.

RB John Conner (hip), CB Trumaine McBride (hip), DE Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder), CB Terrell Thomas (knee) are all probable and are expected to play.

The team is offering tickets to season subscribers and doing so in two games packs and selling the same number of seats that the season subscriber has a Madison Square Garden. The seats for both games in the pack are at the same location.

The team will offer all season subscribers the chance to purchase tickets but in different stages. Priority to purchase is based on "current seating levels and tenure to allow equivalent access."

The Chicago Bears had used all their picks but still wanted Cox, and were angling to sign him after the draft. They were on the phone with Cox talking turkey when another team cut into the call.

?I was literally about to sign (with Chicago). I had the paperwork ready and was about to set that all up,? Cox said as per Matt Vautour of gazettenet.com. ?They put me on hold for a second. That?s when New York called and it was Coughlin. He said ?we?re going to draft you in a couple seconds here.??

When the Giants traded up in the fourth round in this year's NFL Draft to select Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib, many fans and pundits scratched their heads and wondered what they were doing. They did not need a QB.

GM Jerry Reese said Nassib was the highest-rated player on the team's board at the time, something which was verified by CEO John Mara the other day. He showed the select few out at TPC today just why the Giants' brass thought so highly of him. ?He took the reins like a seasoned pro and appears to be on his way to validating their assessment of him.

What was it like when you first got the call from the Giants telling you that they were going to select you?

It was surreal. This has been a dream of mine since I was a kid playing tackle football in my backyard. I got the phone call and there was about four minutes left on the clock. I saw that 201 number and knew who it was. I turned the TV down, I got a big smile on my face and it was crazy. Coach Coughlin was like ?Welcome to the Giants.? It was amazing.

The Giants said they really liked your versatility. Would you be comfortable moving to right tackle after playing left tackle as a starter?

Tags: 2012 NFL Draft, 2013 New York Giants, 2013 NFL Draft, Justin Pugh, New York Giants

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Here is what Walter Football had to say about Justin Pugh:

With the six outdoor games planned for next season, that would $90 million each in HRR for owners and the players.

Glenn Healey said that the league is working on a three-year plan that will bring in an increase of $1 billion in HRR.

The official explanation from the league is as follows:

Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better?compensatory free agents?than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive?compensatory draft picks.

Maloney said that he thinks that it will go down to the final day of the season and "something funky" like Tampa Bay beating Carolina two seasons ago may need to happen for the Rangers to get into the playoffs.

Maloney also notes that 11 of the Rangers final 17 games come against teams who are in the playoffs right now:

The Rangers were heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup at 17 to 2 and favorites to win the Eastern Conference at 19 to 4.

Today, via KK, Bovada has released their mid-season odds and the Rangers are listed at 18 to 1 to win the Stanley Cup.

Gretzky, who correctly picked the Devils to represent the Eastern Conference last season, decided to pick one of his former teams, "I like the Rangers. The New York Rangers seem to be poised. They were a good team and got better. I think they will be a tough team to beat this year and it could be their year."

Gretzky's former teammate Brian Leetch was asked, by NHL.com, about the Rangers start to the season and responded by saying that the slow start is nothing to worry about,'Just relax, relax.' They're a good team and they're going to be fine. There is such a feel of expectation level now."

Hagelin responded that he was "starving."

Serby then asked how hungry the team was for the Stanley Cup.

?The ultimate goal is to compete to win the Stanley Cup and I think we?ve put ourselves in position to be able to do that as long as we don?t lose sight of our day-to-day responsibility."

Callahan said though that the team will continue to focus on one day at a time, but in the back of their mind they have loftier goals, ?we need to focus on the day and game in front of us, but we?d like to win our division, we?d like to get home ice and overall we?d like to build on what we started last year, but ultimately didn?t finish.?

Six of them have the Rangers winning the Atlantic Division while the other six have the Penguins winning.

Eight of them have the Ranger representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

They have the Rangers going through three seven-game series before beating the Kings in seven games.

The people at Strat-O-Matic though have a track record as they correctly picked the Heat to beat the Thunder in the NBA finals last year.

For the Rangers, they have:

[sny-table rowheader=true columnheader=true]

Del Zotto said that once they got a chance to play, the Rangers would show what kind of team they are.

[sny-box color=E6F1FF]"Last year we had a great year, kind of exceeded everyone's expectations of what we could do. Being a young team we gained a lot of experience from two game sevens and game six in the Conference Finals. Then bringing in such a big piece with Rick Nash, who is an explosive talent. We are built to do some damage. [/sny-box]

Brooks writes, "In New York, we expect our top athletes to make top dollar. All we expect in return is effort. That?s what this town is assured of getting from this group of Rangers that has evolved into a self-sustaining, self-governing body that quite cheerfully turned last week?s informal skates into a mini-Tortorella obstacle course in preparation for an accelerated camp scheduled to begin today."

Brooks spoke with Rangers GM Glen Sather who said "There are a lot of variables, a lot that can happen in a short season like this one, but one thing you can count on with this team is how much the players care.?

While answering the question, Mazzeo writes "why not." He adds "The Rangers appear to have all the ingredients needed to make a run at the Stanley Cup. They?ve just got to stay healthy and score consistently."

http://twitter.com/CraigCustance/status/289438683227107328

Teams usually change up their coordinators every few years, either by choice or attrition. The Giants have made changes. OC Kevin Gilbride took over for John Hufnagel in 2006, after Hufnagel was fired. ST coordinator Tom Quinn was elevated to the position after Mike Sweatman retired in 2006. Perry Fewell is the fifth DC in the Coughlin era, preceded by Johnny Lynn, Tim Lewis, Steve Spagnuolo and Bill Sheridan, all of whom have had peaks and valleys during their time with the Giants.

The following week (January 12-13), the Denver Broncos (Saturday, CBS, 4:30 PM ET) and New England Patriots (Sunday, CBS, 4:30 PM ET) in the AFC and the Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, FOX, 1:00 PM ET) and San Francisco 49ers (Saturday, FOX, 8:00 PM ET) in the NFC host the Divisional Playoffs. The Broncos and Falcons own home-field advantage for the Conference Championship Games (January 20) if they win their Divisional contests.

The 2013 Pro Bowl will be played Sunday, January 27 in Honolulu, Hawaii followed by Super Bowl XLVII on February 3 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

The Giants became the third team in NFL history with 650 regular-season wins (654).

Tom Coughlin (83) surpassed Bill Parcells (77) for the second-most regular-season wins in Giants history among head coaches, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Owen (153).

Here are this week?s picks. I?ll be using the point spreads from Yahoo! Sports. Feel free to include your picks for these or any other of the week?s games in the comments section. Good luck!

Week 17 Record: 2-2

They praise the combination of the Rangers scoring, grit, defense and goaltending with Henrik Lundqvist.

They do wonder though if Henrik Lundqvist will be able to handle a deep playoff run as "he?s gotten progressively more porous as the playoffs advance."

Even with the tough upcoming schedule, that lead appeared to be safe, with both the Cowboys and Redskins struggling and Eagles already out of contention.

But at the same time the Giants hit a cold spell before their bye week, the Redskins proceeded to get hot, and the rest is history.

Giants 2012 Nominees

http://youtu.be/5KyfNmBD-kY

Therefore, looking at how this team will retool heading into 2013, it may be difficult for a personnel standpoint to determine who stays and who goes.

If everyone played to their potential consistently, the Giants would be preparing for a playoff matchup today, not cleaning out their lockers.

-? The Bradshaw/Hynoski combination is still working well and the Giants may use the running game to finish off the Eagles.

- At this point more Giants fans are watching the Lions/Bears game than are watching this game. The Giants may not get the lucky breaks they were afforded last season. The late season lull that they have been accustomed to having has to change if they want to add more Super Bowls during this Eli era.

http://youtu.be/6v6evlsA_X8

?We understand exactly what we need to do,? he said. ?I think the pressure is off of us a little bit. We?ve just got to go out there and play football.?

Regardless of the other results, the Giants obviously need to defeat the Eagles in order to have any chance at a playoff berth. Even so, ending the year on a high note seems to be a popular theme among the players as well.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrk2x65X5p4&w=560&h=315]

From ESPN's First Take: Chris Mannix, Christian Fauria and Lomas Brown discuss who is to blame for the Giants' uneven season.

?We?re just not making plays that we?ve had some opportunities to make, and they?re there to be had,? Gilbride said. ?Whether it?s a misfire of a throw, or pressure on the quarterback, you got two big plays last week.?

The Giants need plenty of help in order to sneak into the playoffs, but Bradshaw is only focused on the upcoming game.

Here are this week?s picks. I?ll be using the point spreads from Yahoo! Sports. Feel free to include your picks for these or any other of the week?s games in the comments section. Good luck!

Week 16 Record: 1-3

Picture of Tuck about to go crazy

Eli Manning is aware of what his team must do to keep hope alive. It starts with winning at home against arguably the worst team in the NFC: the Philadelphia Eagles.

?I knew there was going to be a chance,? Manning said. ?I?m obviously disappointed that this is what we have to rely on now, but that?s the position we?re in now. If anything, you want to try to play, if the season is going to end, you want to try to end it on the highest note possible. At least go out there and play better football than we have over the last two weeks.?

1. Atlanta Falcons 13-2 (Last week, 1): The Falcons clinched home-field advantage with a win over the Lions.

2.?Seattle Seahawks 10-5 (Last week, 4): The Seahawks are pounding teams just in time for the playoffs. Watch out for Seattle.

And Corey Webster was one of the main defensive culprits for the Giants.

Play after play, Joe Flacco found Torrey Smith on Webster?s side. Granted, Flacco made some great throws, but for the guy who is supposed to be the Giants? best cornerback, Webster was downright terrible.

- 3rd downs are easy for the Ravens today. They could take a knee on the first two plays of each drive and still convert easily. This giants defense is a joke and they've lost all f what made them champions last season.

- The Ravens settle for a FG but take 6 minutes off of the clock with that drive. Their lead is now 23 points and the Giants must hope for a miracle collapse.