Tag: Osi Umenyiora

Osi Umenyiora: Eli Manning a great player, teammate and man

Osi Umenyiora reflect on Eli Manning’s career, calling the New York Giants quarterback a “great player, great teammate and great man.”

It wasn’t a huge surprise when news broke on Wednesday that New York Giants great Eli Manning would be announcing his retirement. Nor was the reaction from players around the league, many of whom praised Manning as a warrior on the field and a first-class human being off of it.

One of the teammates that was with Eli for both Super Bowl runs was Osi Umenyiora. On Thursday, Umenyiora spoke about his former quarterback’s retirement.

Umenyiora went as far to call Manning a “class act, class human being” as well as a “great player, great teammates and great man” during his comments.

“He did everything the right way with that media scrutiny that is the New York Area and so he was a great player, great teammate, great man. He did everything that needed to be done.” Umenyiora added

The New York media can be tough at times. In fact, in the NBA, star players are often criticized for not coming to the Knicks and it is speculated that dealing with the media is a big reason why. Manning wanted to come to New York as he requested a trade when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. Manning handled the media like a pro during his career.

Coincidentally, Umenyiora recalled how Manning’s draft day went down and how he and Manning were connected in the trade negotiations.

“Me and him are intertwined because when San Diego was asking for the pick from the New York Giants, San Diego said they wanted me, but the New York Giants refused to trade me for Eli, so me and him have been really cool,” Umenyiora said.

Instead of being swapped in the deal bringing Manning to New York, Manning and Umenyiora ended up winning two Super Bowls together. Umenyiora talked about Manning’s key role in the Super Bowl Runs.

“He was an intricate part of winning those Super Bowls,” Umenyiora said. “Everybody likes to talk about the defensive line and the things that we were able to do, but if he doesn’t make some of those throws and some of those plays in crucial moments there’s no way we’re going to be able to win the Super Bowl. And so the fact that he did that, won two MVPs… Fantastic career, fantastic man.”

Umenyiora’s praise of Manning is no surprise as most of Manning’s former teammates have shown nothing but love for the two-time Super Bowl MVP.

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Osi Umenyiora: I don’t see Eli Manning as a broadcaster

Osi Umenyiora does not believe New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will get into broadcasting post-retirement.

Since the news came out on Wednesday that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning would be announcing his retirement, player reaction around the NFL has been pouring in.

One of the things about Manning that was downplayed during his career was his personality.

Whether it was stealing cell phones and changing the language setting to Chinese or playing pranks on his fellow teammates, Manning had a sneaky sense of humor. The two-time Super Bowl MVP certainly has the personality and football knowledge to stay involved in the game in his post-playing career on TV if he chooses.

However, Manning’s former teammate Osi Umenyiora doesn’t see that way. On Thursday, Umenyiora spoke at length about Manning’s retirement, heaping praise on his former teammate and speaking candidly about their relationship.

“I think he’s going to retire very well to be honest. We all know the finances he was able to make,” Umenyiora said with a laugh. “Besides that, his personality, he’s just going to sit down somewhere and chill. I don’t think he’s going to be in the media. I don’t think he’s going to be like a broadcaster, he’s just going to fade off into the background and just chill. That’s how I see him retiring.”

Manning probably won’t give us much in terms of his post-playing career plans during Friday’s press conference, but he will certainly have options. Manning will be able to do what he wants as he certainly doesn’t have to worry about money.

Manning struggled to transition into a backup quarterback role, saying it wasn’t fun for him. With the Giants fully invested in Daniel Jones, the retirement makes sense even if Manning likely still feels he can still play. Retiring now should also make Giants fans very happy as he will avoid wearing another uniform, like Michael Strahan and Lawrence Taylor, he will have spent his entire playing career with the Giants.

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Antonio Piece drawing NFL coaching interest, ex-Giants want team to hire him

Retired LB Antonio Pierce is drawing some NFL coaching interest and his former New York Giants teammates want the team to hire him.

Don’t look now, but retired New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who is currently serving as the linebackers coach at Arizona State after a stint as the Long Beach Poly (High School) head coach, is beginning to draw NFL coaching interest.

NFL Network insider and former Giants beat writer, Mike Garafolo, was the first to report the news.

Immediately upon that report hitting social media, several of Pierce’s former teammates, including Hall of Famers Michael Strahan, were quick express support for Pierce while openly pounding the drum for Big Blue to hire him.

Pierce signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona in 2001, and went on to play in nine years in the NFL, including five season with the Giants, where he won a Super Bowl championship in 2007. He also went to the Pro Bowl in 2006.

Well-respected among his teammates, Pierce was voted a team captain during his time in blue and was repeatedly lauded as a genuine old school leader. His smarts were never in question and he actually does make sense for the Giants as a potential assistant.

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