Happy Trails, David Tyree

If you've been following the New York Football Giants' offseason closely at all, then the fact that they've cut Super Bowl Hero David Tyree shouldn't come as much of a surprise. After missing all of last season with various knee and hamstring ailments which carried over into this year's training camp, Tyree didn't sound surprised either:

You get the call and obviously you have the inclination of what you’re going to hear. It’s not like I wasn’t prepared or didn't know it wasn’t a possibility. It kind of simplifies things for me and causes me to rejoice in the years that I’ve had here.

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I didn’t have a great camp. I had a very average camp. It started terrible and worked up to average.

It's unfortunate that with the Giants current lack of depth at wide receiver that Tyree wasn't up to at least making the 53 man roster for special teams and that he wasn't healthy enough to contribute when Plaxico Burress went down last year. Him failing to make the roster kind of represents the opposite of the way his catch in the Super Bowl played out; the opportunity seemed to be gift wrapped for him and he couldn't make anything out of it.

The catch, on the other hand, was a wounded duck, lobbed in desperation and held onto in a way that had scarcely been seen before, under the brightest lights of all. And then, just like Aaron Boone (whose jersey number represents the Yankees' magic number at the moment), after making the biggest play in the penultimate game you could play against a team from Boston, he was gone the next season to among other things, a knee injury.

It's possible that there is someone else who has made a bigger name for themselves in sports than David Tyree off of just one play, but I can't think of one off the top of my head.

Fortunately for Tyree, he's only 29 years old and still has a good window of opportunity to continue his NFL career. His agent says that Ravens and Chiefs have both "expressed interest" in signing him.

So, best of luck to you Dave. It might have been a little too brief, but thanks for the memories.

Brandon Jacobs: Marine Biologist

Via Ralphie V., Brandon Jacobs took some of the money he got from his new contract and went to Disney World.

This shot was actually taken at Discovery Cove "A Place Beyond Words":

Enjoy an all-inclusive tropical vacation designed to fit into one unforgettable day. All it takes is a reservation to get to a place where friendly dolphins and birds welcome you to their home in an exclusive, secluded tropical getaway.

"Exclusive", "Secluded". Both words I instantly associate with a 30 acre theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Then experience the high point of your day as you befriend a delightful dolphin who welcomes you to share a swim in a tranquil lagoon.

Unless you are Brandon Jacobs and you get paired with a racist dolphin who refuses to take you for a swim.

Blown Away

First via the National Football Post and with more details from Ralph Vacchiano, Derrick Ward (Wind of the Giants trio "Earth, Wind and Fire") has a new home.

It comes as no surprise, of course, since the Giants were prepared to let Ward (nickname: Wind) leave as a free agent, unless he was willing to come back and play for a deeply discounted price. Instead, he found a windfall on the market, agreeing to a four-year, $17 million contract, according to several reports.

That deal reportedly includes $6 million guaranteed, and he’ll supposedly make $9.25 million over the first two years and $13 million over the first three. The entire package is worth an average of $4.25 million annually, which is more than many people thought he was going to make.

They still have Cadillac Williams and just last year the Bucs signed Earnest Graham to a four year $11.05M contract, so it looks like Ward won't have to do all the heavy lifting in Tampa either.

Graham is actually pretty similar to Ward. They are both 29 and bloomed late in their careers. Ward broke his leg and was placed on IR before game 9 of the 2007 season, while Graham was shelved in week 11 last year because of an ankle issue. The Giants plucked Ward off the Jets' practice squad while the Bucs got Graham off the Rams'. There was a really good article on Graham from a while back in ESPN The Magazine, if you have the time.

Ward's bread and butter on the Giants was catching screen passes and dump offs effortlessly and stretching them into more yards that you thought he should. He's not incredibly fast, but agile enough to work his way through congested areas. He had over 1,409 yards from scrimmage last year as part of Earth, Wind and Fire. That's pretty impressive and was a lot of fun to watch.

We knew Ward was leaving when he switched agents, and it does appear that (according to RV) that Drouche got Ward more money than most had anticipated. Still up for kneeing him in the balls for me anyway?

Good luck, Derrick. You seem like an all around good dude and that overtime game against Carolina in Week 16 where you ended up with 266 yards from scrimmage and owned the extra quarter, will live on in Giants lore.