A 2007 Giants Retrospective

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We are rapidly approaching the 10th anniversary of the Giants victory in Superbowl 42 over the Patriots.  The 2007 Giants meant so much to me personally.  I was 24 years old, living at home, and football was my total passion.  The 10 subsequent years, coupled with marriage, a career, a home, and starting a family have eroded the amount of time I can invest in football.  I still remember feeling the similarities, if one could be so naive, between myself and that team.  We were young, we were inconsistent, and we had a level of arrogance only the young can possess because they don't know any better.  But we worked hard, and if we were directionless, we were still going 100 MPH in that direction.

Over the coming weeks I'm going to post a player retrospective - 1 player per day and discuss who they were, what they meant to the 2007 team, and what became of them after - I've always been a sucker for those still images at the ends of movies with a small blurb telling you what that person did later in life.  I encourage all to weigh in on the player of the day, their memories, and memories of the 2007 Giants in general.

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  Jay Alford was a rookie DT in 2007, Jerry Reese

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: Chase Blackburn was a 3rd year MLB out of Akron (signed as an undrafted free agent) who was backup to Antonio Pierce.  He played in all 16 regular season games and the post-season, mostly as a dedicated special teams player.  He finished the regular season with 22 tackles.
Memorable Plays and Notes:  Blackburn was a small piece of the puzzle in 2007.  With Antonio Pierce starting (and playing well) in front of him, Blackburn

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  Kevin Boothe was a backup interior lineman for the 2007 Giants.  He was a 2006 draft pick by the Raiders and let go after just one season (despite starting 15 games) before the Giants scooped him up as an insurance plan at guard. 
Memorable Plays and Notes:  Boothe was not an integral player in 2007 with guards Chris Snee and Rich Seubert garnering the lions share of time.  If I recall correctly he did get some playing time in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs with Seubert needing fluids (game was in balmy Tampa Bay), but I can

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: Kevin Boss was a rookie TE in 2007 after being drafted in the 5th round out of little known Western Oregon.  Boss was a backup for most of the season to Jeremy Shockey, and inherited the starting role when Shockey went down in Week 14.  He finished the regular season with just 9 receptions and 100+ yards.
Memorable Plays and Notes: Boss contributed very little in 2007, even as a starter he usually only had 1 or 2 receptions per game.  Boss is best remembered for catching a seam pass in Superbowl 42, out-maneuvering Probowl safety Rodney Harrison and chugging away to a 45 yard gain.  The drive ultimately lead to a touchdown, and was really the offensive catalyst the Giants offense needed after stagnating for much of the 3rd quarter.  Boss will also be remembered for what he DIDN

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  Ahmad Bradshaw was a rookie out of Marshall in 2007 (7th round) and before the season it was assumed he would have a very small role.  Ahead of him on the depth chart was Derrick Ward, Rueben Droughns and starter Brandon Jacobs.  After injuries to Ward and Droughns, Bradshaw saw increased time in the final games of the regular season and into the post-season.  He finished the regular season with just under 200 yards rushing but cranked out another 200 on limited carries in the post-season.
Memorable Plays and Notes:  Bradshaw had dropped in the NFL draft due to character concerns

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: Plaxico Burress was a 2005 free agent signing (under Ernie Accorsi) and one of 3 very successful free agents signed that year.  Burress and the Giants were almost an

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: James Butler was the starting Strong Safety for the majority of the 2007 season having joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2005.  He worked mostly as a backup prior to the 2007 season

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: Barry Cofield was drafted in 2006 out of Northwestern in the 4th round, an imposing nose-tackle who could dominate the line of scrimmage and disrupt the backfield.  He finished the season with 34 tackles and 1 sack, but his value was more of

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  Zak DeOssie was a rookie linebacker in 2007 having been drafted in the fourth round out of Brown.  While DeOssie was drafted to provide depth to the linebacking corps

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  David Diehl was a 6th round pick by the Giants in 2003, and he more than returned on that investment.  Diehl started at guard as a rookie for all 16 games, the first rookie to do so since Mark Bavaro.  In 2005 he moved to right guard, and also played right tackle.  With the unexpected release of Luke Petitgout prior to the 2007 season, the Giants moved Diehl to left tackle

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  Kevin Dockery was a 2nd year corner out of Mississippi State.  Having gone undrafted in 2006 Dockery fought long odds to secure a roster spot in 2007.  With a slew of DBs in front of him like 1st round pick Aaron Ross, 2nd round bust Corey Webster and free agent signings from the previous year (the accomplished Sam Madison and journey-man R.W. McQuarters).
Memorable Plays and Notes:  Due to some early injuries (Aaron Ross) and ineffectiveness (Corey Webster) Dockery saw quite a bit of action.  He played in 13 games, starting 6.  He played in the Wild Card round and the Superbowl.  I

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis:  If there ever was a definition of a journey-man, Droughns was it.  Droughns

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: Jeff Feagles was a 2003 free agent signing and 2007 was his twentieth season in the league.  Feagles was a deadly coffin corner punter even being as long in the tooth as he was.  In 2007 he was rapidly approaching (or had already broke) most career punting records and was closing in on most consecutive games played in a career.  In 2007 Feagles was instrumental for a team that

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A 2007 Players Retrospective
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2007 Synopsis: Hedgecock joined the Giants shortly after the regular season began (Week 2) after being put on waivers by the Rams.  The Giants were searching for a replacement for veteran fullback Jim Finn who had been lost to Injured Reserve in training camp and Robert Douglas was injured and ineffective.  Hedgecock proved to be a key piece in paving the way for the Giants