Attention, shoppers.
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Armed with a tight budget and several items on their list, the Giants searched far and wide for bargains in the free agency signing period, knowing they would be priced out of the top-shelf merchandise. No executive is awarded anything three games into a season, but if they were, Giants GM Ernie Accorsi’s back would be sore from all the patting he’d have received for his work at the sales rack.
At 3-0 heading into Sunday night’s showdown with the reeling Redskins, the Giants are clearly and dramatically getting more from less, a stark contrast to the bloated spending of the 1-2 Redskins. As the Skins were making noise by acquiring stars from the sky, the Giants were quietly sifting through scraps left behind on the ground. Where are the Skins with Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith and Jeff George? Where would the Giants be without Lomas Brown, Glenn Parker, Dusty Zeigler, Dave Thomas and Mike Barrow?
“We went to the junkyard and pulled pieces off spare cars and they went down to the Ferrari and Porsche lots and took what they wanted,” said Parker, a key addition at left guard. “Until we get into a road course right now the dragster’s going to win. Guys who build dragsters, they go to the scrap heap, they pick the pieces they want and get it going. Ferraris and Porsches are awful nice out there, they look good. They look great sitting in your driveway. You’re afraid to drive them sometimes, aren’t you?”
The race is far from over, but the leader nearing the quarter pole is the Giants. Together, Brown, Parker and Zeigler, lumped together, did not come close this season to costing the $8 million Sanders received as a signing bonus. All the new linemen have done is spearhead a complete reversal in the fortunes of an offense that leads the league with 187.3 rushing yards per game.
Thomas has held up as the cornerback opposite Jason Sehorn, and while several tests remain before he can be labeled a legitimate find, the Giants know that Thomas will always provide a steady, professional demeanor, something not always found in Phillippi Sparks, the player Thomas replaced.
Barrow has yet to hit his stride as the middle linebacker, although he is coming off his best performance in Chicago, and his speed has already paid dividends.
“I’m not trying to be cute, but it’s so early,” Accorsi said. “You really can’t afford to feel good. It’s just too early. I wouldn’t even feel that good if we were in the ninth week. But I’m really pleased with the way our acquisitions are playing. Without them we wouldn’t be at the point where at.”
Without saluting themselves for public consumption, there is no doubt the Giant front office and coaching staff is more than pleased with the transformation that’s taken place and for the way the newcomers have blended in so seamlessly. No doubt, there is a sort of cheaper-is-better mentality the Giants are using to fuel their fire, especially this week, with the $100 million Redskins coming to town as a team in turmoil.
“They have the big names,” Thomas said, “but like they say, money can’t win you a championship.”
This past offseason, it was as if
someone in the Redskins’ personnel department fell asleep in 1990, woke up last February, scanned the free-agent list and shouted “Let’s get these guys!” And so, they did. The blasts from the past just kept on coming, and the dollars and sense, er, cents, just kept on going.
“They deserve what they get,” Barrow said. “Some of those guys are Hall of Fame type guys. They deserve all the attention they get. Me, on the other hand, I’m constantly like Cinderella. The clock hit 12 and they’re trying to find me. All you see is a glass slipper. I’m not a Hall of Famer, I don’t have the accolades they have.”
Knowing how salary-cap strapped the Giants were, Jim Fassel yesterday admitted he was slightly incredulous as the Redskins piled up trophies. “Where did they get all the money?” he recalled as his reaction. “I wanted to know if someone was cooking the books.”
Fassel added that he knew the Redskins weren’t breaking any cap rules, just as he knew he could not compete when it came to making a free-agent splash. “We can become so paranoid in this business,” Fassel said. “How many toys they got? All I cared about was fitting our guys in and I liked the moves we were making.”
For now, the Giants seemingly made all the right moves.