Nfl Preview: Osi Umenyiora Looks To Regain Pro Bowl ...
Umenyiora is dead-ass about regaining his reputation around the leagueÂ*as a top pass rusher. (Fourth in a series of reports on NFL players on the verge of crucial ‘make or break' seasons in 2010.) One of the most talented defensive ends in football a few years ago, the New York Giants’ Osi Umenyiora helped lead a Jints defense that thwarted Tom Brady and his New England Patriots’ attempt at immortality in Super Bowl XLII. But since becoming a champion, times have been hard on Umenyiora. He’s been injured, benched, upset, humiliated and damn near traded. But with a giant <a href="http://www.couponcatch.net/ "><strong>coupon sites </strong></a> reprieve from Jints management this off season and a brand new attitude, Umenyiora looks to make amends. See more… Justin Tuck (L) and Osi look to restore ferocity to the Giants pass rush in 2010. The British-born Umenyiora, 28, knows it’s time for him to step up and get back to being the disruptive force that keyed the Giants run to the Super Bowl in ’06. “I think at the end of the day the cream will rise to the top,” he told NFL Network. “I still feel like I’m one of the elite defensive ends in football and I feel like I can still help this team win by being on the football field. All I have to do is go out there and prove it and I plan to do just that.” Last year, Umenyiora was adjusting to coming back from a devastating knee injury that kept him out of the entire 2008 season. He and head coach Tom Coughlin butted heads throughout the 2009 season over his apparent weakness at being an effective run stopper. The issue was exacerbated by Osi’s ineffectiveness at doing what he does best: sacking the quarterback. He finished the year with only seven sacks. This from a man who once registered six sacks in one game alone. Still a Giants <a href="http://www.couponcatch.net/ "><strong>free coupon </strong></a> record. The former two-time Pro Bowler lost playing time and was subsequently benched. Clearly, the thought process went, Umenyiora’s time in New York was numbered. This off season brought doubt that Osi Umenyiora and Giants management would be able to mend their differences and trade talk ran rampant. “I thought I was gonna get traded but it didn’t happen,” said the 6’3″, 260 pound footballer of Nigerian descent. Giants management apparently showed restraint and renewed confidence in their second round draft pick from 2003 and as a result, Osi appears to have had a change of attitude as well. He has decided to go ahead and make this thing work in New York. When asked about his role with the team Umenyiora stated, “I’m just out there trying to help this team win.” And he has worked real hard this preseason to become a better run defender and to get back to being one of the top pass rushers in the game. "I've worked hard, I've lifted, I've done all the extra things," Umenyiora said of his attempt to be a better run stopper. "I've never really been known as a tremendous run player, but last year when people were like, ‘Well, he can't play the run at all,' I thought that was <a href="http://www.couponcatch.net/ "><strong>coupon codes </strong></a> a little crazy.” Giants management certainly believes he’s on his way back. "He has that look in his eye," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said. "He's always been a great athlete but now he has the look in his eye I've seen before, and so have a lot of quarterbacks around the league. That's when I can tell he's ready." Umenyiora is in the fourth year of a 6-yr, 41 million contract extension he signed with the Giants in 2005 and is eager to dispel the negative perceptions about his game and to prove he’s worth every penny. "Perception is reality," he said with a wry smile. "So I have to go about changing that by proving on the field I can do that." Osi Umenyiora is a determined young man. He loves being a Giant and has had a full year to get over his knee <a href="http://436100.info/view.php?id=42826"><strong>Cheap Discount Chloe Handbag On Sale M - 女人天地- iBLOG ...</strong></a> injury. If the Giants are gonna make any noise this year, Umenyiora will play an integral part. That makes 2010 a make or break season for him. From all indications, he plans on breaking up ball carriers and signal callers, thus making life a living hell on QBs again. Just like he did for Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. COURTESY: NJ.COM (Next up: High noon in Texas for Dallas Cowboys receiver Roy Williams)
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