Tag: Aldrick Rosas

Giants advance to NFC Championship in BR’s Madden GOAT sim

The New York Giants have advanced to the NFC Championship Game in the Bleacher Report Madden GOAT sim.

With the sports world — and really the entire country — pretty much on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bleacher Report has been holding Madden simulations in a bracket-style tournament.

On Wednesday night, now-retired Eli Manning and the New York Giants (+2.5) faced off against the Los Angeles Rams led by former Giant Kurt Warner.

Big Blue was able to defeat the Rams, 23-21, and advance to the Final Four in the tournament and is are  one win away from representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Eli Manning was clutch for the Giants putting up 304 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Manning connected with one his favorite targets over the years, Plaxico Burress (six catches, 150 yards and a touchdown), to put the Giants ahead early and they didn’t look back from there.

Odell Beckham Jr. added a touchdown before the half to put the Giants up 14-0 going into halftime.

 

Early in the third quarter Aldrick Rosas connected on a field goal to give the Giants a 17-0 lead.

The Rams would get back in the game behind the rushing attack of Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk. L.A. cut the lead to 20-14 before the Giants put the game away.

Rosas all but sealed the game by hitting a 49-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game with under 3:00 remaining.

The Giants’ roster is loaded with star power, led by Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Carl Banks, Sam Huff and, of course, Lawrence Taylor. The Giants offense is also deep with Odell Beckham Jr., Plaxico Burress, Saquon Barkley, Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey and Frank Gifford.

The Giants defeated their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, over the first two rounds of the bracket. The Final Four of the bracket will feature the Giants, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots.

Big Blue will now have to go up against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. Hopefully Manning can have the same success he had going up against Favre in the NFC Championship in the 2007-2008 postseason.

If the Giants are able to advance, Manning and the Giants may get one more chance to beat the Tom Brady-led Patriots for old time sake — but this time in the virtual video game world.

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Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas signs restricted free agent tender

New York Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas officially signed his restricted free agent tender on Wednesday.

Kicker Aldrick Rosas officially signed his restricted free agent tender on Wednesday, which comes nearly a month after the New York Giants made a qualifying offer (second-round tender) on March 16.

Rosas was free to negotiate with other teams during that time, but did not generate much interest given the tender. Had a team signed him to an offer sheet, the Giants would have had the rights of first refusal and would have received a second-round pick from the signing team if they declined to match the offer.

Rosas entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Southern Oregon, originally signing with the Tennessee Titans in 2016 before landing with the Giants in 2017.

In 48 regular season games, Rosas has made 62 of his 75 field goal attempts (82.7 percent) and 86 of his 94 point after attempts.

In 2018, Rosas had one of the best seasons by a kicker in Giants history, connecting on 32 of his 33 field goal attempts and 31 of his 32 point after attempts en route to the Pro Bowl and being named a Second Team All-Pro.

However, things took a turn for the worst in 2019 as Rosas struggled, hitting just 12 of his 17 field goal attempts and 35 of his 39 point after attempts.

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Should Giants bring in Stephen Gostkowski as Aldrick Rosas competition?

The New York Giants like to provide competition for Aldrick Rosas, so might the recently released Stephen Gostkowski make sense?

The New York Giants are being called Patriots South these days after a slew of player signings this offseason of faces familiar with Joe Judge’s coaching staff.

On Monday, New England parted ways with their three-time Super Bowl-winning placekicker, Stephen Gostkowski, a four-time Pro Bowler who played under Judge when he was the Pats’ special teams coach the past five seasons.

The Giants have been looking for a kicker to challenge their own Pro Bowler, Aldrick Rosas, who has come back down to Earth after a stellar 2018 season.

Last week the Giants assigned Rosas, an unrestricted free agent, a one-year, $3.259 million tender, but he is a holdover from the Pat Shumur era. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGuaghey was retained, but Judge could convince general manager Dave Gettleman to give Gostkowski a look-see.

Gostkowski played for the Pats for 14 seasons and his teammate for all of that time was none other than Tom Brady, who is now in Tampa Bay.

Brady acknowledged Gostkowski on social media on Monday.

“An Amazing Player and Friend,” Brady wrote on his Instagram account.

Perhaps they’ll be reunited in Florida. Or perhaps the Giants kick the tires on Gostkowski and let he and Rosas battle it out whenever training camp begins.

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Report: Giants placing second-round tender on Aldrick Rosas

The New York Giants are placing a second-round tender on kicker Aldrick Rosas, who will become a restricted free agent on Wednesday.

The New York Giants may be on the lookout for another kicker this offseason, but they’re also not giving up on Aldrick Rosas, who was a Second Team All-Pro just two seasons ago.

Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports that the Giants will place a second-round tender on Rosas, who is scheduled to become a restricted free agent on Wednesday.

Rosas could still sign elsewhere, but with the tender in place the Giants would be given an opportunity to match any offer made and if they declined, would be awarded a second-round pick from the signing team.

The Giants could have gone with a lower/cheaper tender on Rosas, but it would have eliminated any potential compensation had he signed elsewhere.

An undrafted free agent out of Southern Oregon, Rosas spent a portion of the 2016 season in Tennessee before signing with the Giants in 2017.

In 48 career games, Rosas has made 82.7% of his field goals and 91.5% of his point after attempts.

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Giants have some decisions to make on their restricted free agents

The New York Giants have some decisions to make when it comes to a small handful of restricted free agents, including kicker Aldrick Rosas.

NFL Free Agency formally begins on March 18 at 4:00 p.m. ET, but teams will be busy doing some housekeeping before the floodgates open. The New York Giants may make several moves before the league’s March Madness period begins.

Firstly, they need to make decisions on their restricted free agents by assigning tenders to them. They currently have four RFAs in house they either need to tender or release: center Jon Halapio, fullback Eli Penny, linebacker Devante Downs and placekicker Aldrick Rosas. Another player, wide receiver Amba Etta-Two, is an exclusive rights free agent.

Long snapper Colin Holba was scheduled to become a restricted free agent, but the Giants signed him to a two-year deal in November.

Odds are they tender Halapio and Rosas and let the others walk. That is, if the new coaching staff believes in both players. The Giants have been inquiring about centers this offseason and Rosas, after a Pro Bowl 2018 where he made 97% of his kicks and PATs, fell off slightly in 2019.

Penny is a player the previous coaching staff liked but, as we said, there’s a new sheriff in town (actually a Judge) and they may opt to either go with a different player or no fullback at all.

As for the unrestricted free agents, it makes little sense to sign Leonard Williams to a deal before the new league year. That would make the 2021 pick they traded to the Jets a fourth-round pick instead of a fifth, so they’ll likely wait.

There’s also no rush to sign any of the others until after March 18. They want to go into free agency will every available penny and if they have designs on bringing any of these players back (Michael Thomas, David Mayo, Mike Remmers, Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, Scott Simonson, Corey Coleman, Cody Core), they’ll do it with the leftover money or not at all.

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5 kickers the Jets should avoid in free agency

Jets Wire takes a look at five free-agent kickers Joe Douglas should avoid.

Kicking was a disaster for the Jets in 2019.

Between Chandler Catanzaro retiring out of the blue, Kaare Vedvik missing two kicks on opening day and Sam Ficken being hit or miss the rest of the way, the Jets failed to kick with consistency last season.

Ficken, who only made 70.4 percent of his field goals for the Jets, going 19-27 in addition to going 23-26 on extra-point attempts. In total, he missed 11 kicks and hindered the Jets more than he helped. Ficken, an exclusive rights free agent, will likely be let go, as the Jets signed former Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher to a reserve/futures deal in December.

That said, the Jets still need to bring in kicking competition for Maher, whether it comes from free agency or the draft. However, there are some kickers the Jets should avoid at all costs. Let’s take a look.

Adam Vinatieri

(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Father time has finally caught up to the greatest kicker the sport has ever seen.

In 2019, Adam Vinatieri hit just 68 percent of his field goals while costing Colts three different games. For a team that finished 7-9, that was the difference between missing the playoffs and potentially winning the AFC South Division title.

Vinatieri has played 24 seasons in the NFL, only playing for two teams in the process. Although the future Hall of Famer has spent the past 14 seasons in Indianapolis, he will hit the open market. There is no guarantee he will return to the Colts for a 15th season.

With Vinatieri’s best days clearly behind him, he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Jets’ radar. Vinatieri may still want to kick, ending his storied career on his own terms. If that’s the case, it shouldn’t be in New York.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 41-35 victory over Redskins

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ victory over the Washington Redskins in Week 16?

For the second week in a row, the New York Giants came away with a victory.

It took them going into overtime, but the Giants went into FedEx Field and won against the Washington Redskins, 41-35, which got them their fourth victory this season.

However, the victory did drop the Giants a bit in the order for the 2020 NFL Draft, as they are no longer in the second spot. But at the end of the day, the Giants got a victory over a divisional rival and also got themselves out of last place in the NFC East.

The Giants have one game left, as they have the chance to potentially play spoilers against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in Week 17.

Whose stock up and down for the Giants in their overtime victory against the Redskins?

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Stock up: Daniel Jones

In his return to the field after missing the last two weeks with an ankle sprain, Jones had himself a game, throwing for 352 yards and five touchdowns.

With the game tied at 35, Jones and the Giants’ offense won the toss in overtime, marched the offense down the field and won the game by throwing his fifth touchdown pass of the game — the winner to Kaden Smith.

Jones did fumble the ball once, but he didn’t lose it and he was only sacked once in the game. Other than that, Jones played extremely well against a Washington defense that had trouble stopping him.

Stock down: Darius Slayton

For the majority of the season, Slayton has been extremely reliable in the Giants offense. But on Sunday, Slayton threw up a total goose egg. No catches. No yards.

Given how well the Giants offense played on Sunday and how they were able to put up 41 points, it was a bit of a surprise to see Slayton not come up with a single catch or yard even with his snap count limited (20) due to injury.

It’s a rarity to see Slayton not get anything and he’ll likely rebound next week with a strong game. But for this week, Slayton came up empty in a game where the Giants offense exploded.

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Giants drop Dolphins: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins in what may be Eli Manning’s final game. Here’s a look at the winners and losers.

In what may be Eli Manning’s final start as a member of the New York Giants, the team came up big and managed to get him a victory — Manning’s first win in over a calendar year and the team’s first win since Week 4.

It was ugly early on, but then the Giants began to roll and never looked back. There were some issues here and there, but all things considered, it was the team’s most well-rounded game all season.

Here’s a quick look at the winners and losers from Week 14:

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Winners

David Mayo: On a team — and specifically a defense — that does very little right, Mayo has been a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Yes, he’s been up-and-down at times and even had a few hiccups on Sunday, but overall he’s a very sound player who steps up and makes big plays at crucial times. It’s a shame his teammates actually drag down his play.

Saquon Barkley: Finally. Finally. Finally. Barkley had not had a 100-yard game since Week 2 and had not reached the endzone since Week 7. Both of those streaks ended with what was arguably Barkley’s best performance of the season. He finished the day with 112 yards on 24 carries, 31 yards on four receptions and two touchdowns.

Darius Slayton: Slayton didn’t put up huge numbers, but he came up big in a few big plays in key spots. He finished the game with two receptions for 31 yards and his eighth touchdown of the season.

Riley Dixon: Worth. Every. Penny.

Others: Dalvin Tomlinson, Leonard Williams, Michael Thomas

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Giants, Eli Manning snap historic losing streak, defeat Dolphins, 36-20

The New York Giants snapped their franchise-worst losing streak, getting Eli Manning a victory in what may be his final ever game.

The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins were hardly billed as must-watch football leading up to their Week 15 battle at MetLife Stadium, and they fully lived up down to those expectations on Sunday.

The first quarter was relatively tame, uneventful and, admittedly, downright boring at times. Neither offense could really get anything going, while sloppy play dominated throughout.

The Dolphins did have an opportunity to go up early, but kicker Jason Sanders was unable to connect on a 49-yard field goal in windy conditions.

Things picked up a bit in the second quarter as each team got their offense moving and the defenses began to get more physical. Still, the play was hardly anything to write home about.

Miami got on the board first, recovering from a failed fourth-down conversion on their previous series to drive the ball an impressive 89 yards on nine plays, capping things off with a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to wide receiver DeVante Parker.

The Giants immediately answered back in a big way, driving the ball 75 yards on just three plays, concluding with a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning to wide receiver Golden Tate, who did an excellent job fighting through a pass interference and staying with a ball that was bobbled.

After forcing the Dolphins to a quick punt, the Giants had an opportunity to execute a two-minute drive, but Manning inexplicably threw an interception into the waiting arms of linebacker Vince Biegel.

The Dolphins wouldn’t let that opportunity go to waste, connecting on a 24-yard field goal with just :44 remaining in the first half.

New York did little with what time remained, gaining short yardage on consecutive plays before Manning tossed a long pass incomplete along the sideline and then tossed another pick out of desperation, leaving the Giants with a 10-7 halftime deficit.

Opening the second half, the Giants came out on fire, taking the opening kickoff and driving the ball 70 yards and six incredibly effective plays, including a five-yard touchdown pass from Manning to rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton to give Big Blue a 14-10 lead.

On the ensuing series, linebacker Alec Ogletree and defensive lineman Leonard Williams went head-to-head with Fitzpatrick, who was attempting a third-down scramble for a first down, but the ball was punched loose and recovered by the Giants.

Not to be outdone, Manning promptly tossed his third interception of the day, immediately giving Miami the ball back and taking near-guaranteed points off the board.

Unlike the Giants, the Dolphins were able to capitalize on the turnover, connecting on a 47-yard Sanders field goal after 22 yards on five plays.

The Giants offense would again sputter after getting the ball back, but their special teams and defense apparently came to play. And following a beautiful booming punt by Riley Dixon and a series of penalties that downed the ball inside the one-yard-line, cornerback Sam Beal came up with a huge play, bringing running back Patrick Laird down in the endzone for a safety.

With yet another opportunity and solid field position following the post-safety drop-kick, the Giants offense would not be denied again. It took just three plays to drive 40 yards, highlighted by a 24-yard pass and catch from Manning to wide receiver Sterling Shepard, before running back Saquon Barkley plunged in for a touchdown from one-yard out, giving Big Blue a 23-13 lead.

After forcing Miami to a quick three-and-out, the Giants had the ball back and were in a position to put the game away — a precarious position for the team at other times in recent season. This time, however? The pedal went to the metal.

Turning the offense up to 100, Manning & Co. drove 66 yards on eight plays and made it look remarkably easier — easier than it’s been all season. That was additionally evident as Barkley casually walked in from 10 yards out to put the Giants up 30-13 in the fourth quarter.

After exchanging a series of punts and having the Dolphins turn the ball over on downs, the Giants put the icing on the cake with a five-play, 55-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run courtesy of Buck Allen. However, kicker Aldrick Rosas missed the PAT, leaving the score at 36-13.

With under 2:00 remaining, Miami got back on the board with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to Parker, but by that time, it was too late to rally.

The game essentially came to a close with Eli Manning being removed from the field to a rousing standing ovation and chants of, “Eli Manning! Eli Manning!”

With the win, the Giants improve to 3-11 on the season. They will travel to D.C. to take on the Washington Redskins in Week 16.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 31-13 loss to Packers

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 13?

10-34. That’s what the New York Giants record has been since the 2017 season. What does that equate to? A lot of losing and a lot of frustration over the course of three seasons.

And on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, it was no different as the Giants dropped their eighth straight of the season and lost, 31-13, which put them at 2-10 and in sole possession of last place in the NFC East.

With the loss, the Giants were officially eliminated from all playoff contention — not that many people thought that they were going to the postseason at this point anyway.

Now the focus shifts to where the Giants will land for the 2020 NFL Draft, as they are currently in the driver’s seat for the second overall pick and just one game back for the first pick. It’s not something the fan base wants to see, but when you’re 2-10, that’s what happens.

Following the loss to the Packers, whose stock was up and down for the Giants?

Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Stock up: Saquon Barkley

After facing repeated questions surrounding his health, Barkley really looked like the guy we all saw last year against Green Bay.

He ran for 83 yards and had 32 receiving yards, giving him 115 total yards and his first 100-plus yard game since the loss against the Detroit Lions back in October.

Whether Barkley will ever be fully healthy or not remains to be seen, but on Sunday, he sure looked healthy enough to be effective.

Stock down: Daniel Jones

Yes, it was the first time Jones was playing in the snow and in the elements of New Jersey in December.

But in the end, Jones struggled. While Aaron Rodgers was thriving in the elements at MetLife Stadium, Jones didn’t.

Aside from the one touchdown pass he had, Jones threw three interceptions and had another fumble, although he didn’t lose it this time.

All in all, it’s a learning experience for him and one he should strive to improve from.

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