The 2009 New York Giants season was the 85th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). It was the team's final season in Giants Stadium; in 2010, the Giants moved into New Meadowlands Stadium. The Giants hoped to improve upon their 12–4 record from 2008, avenge their divisional round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and make the playoffs for the fifth straight year. Despite starting 5–0 to begin the season, they went 3–8 in their next 11 games and finished 3rd in the NFC East.
They were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2004 in Week 16, after the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys both won. They played teams from the NFC South and AFC West as per the schedule rotation, as well as their regular games with their NFC East rivals. For head coach Tom Coughlin, this was his 6th season as the coach of the Giants. This season also saw the Giants play on Thanksgiving Day for the first time since 1992. They lost to the Denver Broncos 26–6.
Players Movement The Giants signed free-agent defensive end Chris Canty, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, on March 1, 2009. Canty moved to defensive tackle in the Giants' 4–3 scheme. On April 3, 2009, the Giants released wide receiver Plaxico Burress.
Free agents Position Player Free agencytag Date signed 2009 team WR Plaxico Burress Suspended SS James Butler UFA March 9, 2009 St. Louis Rams PK John Carney UFA August 15, 2009 New Orleans Saints QB David Carr UFA February 9, 2009 New York Giants S Craig Dahl UFA March 17, 2009 St. Louis Rams CB Kevin Dockery RFA April 13, 2009 New York Giants DT Leger Douzable ERFA February 24, 2009 New York Giants RB Reuben Droughns Released RB Kay-Jay Harris UFA RB Brandon Jacobs Franchised February 25, 2009 New York Giants TE Darcy Johnson ERFA February 24, 2009 New York Giants FS Sammy Knight Released CB Sam Madison Released DE Jerome McDougle UFA CB R. W. McQuarters UFA OG Grey Ruegamer UFA DE Dave Tollefson ERFA February 24, 2009 New York Giants WR Amani Toomer UFA August 4, 2009 Kansas City Chiefs RB Derrick Ward UFA March 2, 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB DJ Ware ERFA March 26, 2009 New York Giants QB Anthony Wright UFA DE Renaldo Wynn UFA March 16, 2009 Washington RedskinsRFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent
2009 NFL draft
After finishing the 2008 season with a 12–4 record, the Giants held the 29th selection in the 2009 NFL draft. With the pick they closed the gap left by Plaxico Burress in the roster, selecting wide receiver Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina. Then in the second round, they selected linebacker Clint Sintim of Virginia with the 45th pick and offensive tackle William Beatty of Connecticut with the 60th pick. Early in the second day of the draft, the Giants traded picks 91 of Round 3 and 164 of Round 5 to Philadelphia Eagles for their pick 85 of Round 3. With this pick the Giants selected another wide receiver, Ramses Barden of Cal Poly. In the same round they selected tight end Travis Beckum of Wisconsin with the 100th pick of the draft. In the following rounds they selected running back Andre Brown of North Carolina State with the 129th pick in fourth round, quarterback Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State with the 151st pick in the fifth round, defensive back DeAndre Wright of New Mexico with the 200th pick in the sixth round and with their final pick in the seventh round they selected another defensive back, Stoney Woodson of South Carolina with pick 238.
2009 New York Giants Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 29 Hakeem Nicks WR North Carolina 2 45 Clint Sintim LB Virginia 60 William Beatty OT Connecticut 3 85 Ramses Barden WR Cal Poly-S.L.O. 100 Travis Beckum TE Wisconsin Compensatory pick 4 129 Andre Brown RB North Carolina State 5 151 Rhett Bomar QB Sam Houston State 6 200 DeAndre Wright CB New Mexico 7 238 Stoney Woodson CB South Carolina NOTES: Pick 100 is a compensatory selection awarded by the league. The Giants received the second and fifth-round selections of the New Orleans Saints for tight end Jeremy Shockey. The Giants traded Pick 91, Round 3 and Pick 164, Round 5 to Philadelphia for Pick 85, Round 3.
Undrafted free agents Following the 2009 NFL Draft, the Giants signed 9 undrafted free agents. They were: SS Vince Anderson (Webber International) C Alex Derenthal (Temple University) DE Maurice Evans (Penn State) DE Alex Field (Virginia) DT Dwayne Hendricks (Miami) DE Tommie Hill (Colorado State) OLB Kenny Ingram (Florida State) CB Bruce Johnson (Miami) FS Sha'reff Rashad (Central Florida)
Training Camp Roster
2009 New York Giants training camp roster Quarterbacks Rhett Bomar David Carr Eli Manning Andre' Woodson
Running backs Ahmad Bradshaw Andre Brown Madison Hedgecock FB Brandon Jacobs DJ Ware Dwayne Wright
Wide receivers Ramses Barden Taye Biddle Shaun Bodiford RS Derek Hagan Domenik Hixon RS Mario Manningham Sinorice Moss Hakeem Nicks Steve Smith David Tyree
Tight ends Travis Beckum Kevin Boss Darcy Johnson Michael Matthews Martez Milner Lee Vickers George Wrighster Offensive linemen William Beatty T Kevin Boothe G Andrew Carnahan T David Diehl T Adam Koets C Kareem McKenzie T Shaun O'Hara C Terrence Pennington T Rich Seubert G Chris Snee G Guy Whimper T
Defensive linemen Jay Alford DT Rocky Bernard DT Anthony Bryant DT Chris Canty DT Jeremy Clark DT Barry Cofield DT Douzable Leger DT Robert Henderson DE Mathias Kiwanuka DE Fred Robbins DT Dave Tollefson DE Justin Tuck DE Osi Umenyiora DE Linebackers Chase Blackburn Michael Boley OLB Danny Clark OLB Zak DeOssie OLB/LS Jonathan Goff ILB Bryan Kehl OLB Antonio Pierce ILB Clint Sintim OLB Kelvin Smith ILB Gerris Wilkinson OLB
Defensive backs Rashad Barksdale CB C. C. Brown SS Steve Cargile S Kevin Dockery CB Michael Johnson FS Kenny Phillips S Aaron Ross CB Terrell Thomas CB Corey Webster CB Stoney Woodson CB DeAndre White CB
Special teams Jeff Feagles P Lawrence Tynes
Final roster
Staff Staff changes On January 19, 2009, after 4 years as linebackers coach, the Giants promoted Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator as replacement to Steve Spagnuolo who was hired by the St. Louis Rams as their new head coach two days earlier. On January 22, 2009, the Giants hired Jim Herrmann as new linebackers coach. He spent the last three years at the same position in the New York Jets. Herrmann is the replacement of Bill Sheridan, who was promoted to defensive coordinator. On January 23, 2009, the Giants hired Jack Bicknell, Jr. as new assistant offensive line coach. He spent the last two years as offensive line coach for Boston College. Bicknell succeeds Dave DeGuglielmo, coach between 2005 and 2008, who left the Giants to become the new offensive line coach of the Miami Dolphins. On February 9, 2009, the Giants hired Al Holcomb as the new defensive quality control coach. He spent the last three years as defensive line coach in the Lafayette College. Holcomb succeeds Andre Curtis, who left the Giants to become the new safeties coach in the staff of Steve Spagnuolo at the St. Louis Rams.
Staff 2009 New York Giants staff Front office President/CEO – John Mara Chairman/executive vice president – Steve Tisch Senior vice president/general manager – Jerry Reese Vice president of player evaluation – Chris Mara Assistant general manager – Kevin Abrams Director of pro personnel – David Gettleman Assistant director of pro personnel – Ken Sternfeld Director of college scouting – Marc Ross
Head coaches Head coach – Tom Coughlin
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Quarterbacks – Chris Palmer Running backs – Jerald Ingram Wide receivers – Mike Sullivan Tight ends – Mike Pope Offensive line – Pat Flaherty Asst. offensive line – Jack Bicknell, Jr. Offensive quality control – Sean Ryan Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Bill Sheridan Defensive line – Mike Waufle Linebackers – Jim Herrmann Secondary/corners – Peter Giunta Secondary/safeties – David Merritt Defensive quality control – Al Holcomb
Special team coaches Special teams coordinator – Tom Quinn Assistant special teams – Thomas McGaughey
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jerry Palmieri Assistant strength and conditioning – Markus Paul
Schedule Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 17 Carolina Panthers W 24–17 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap 2 August 22 at Chicago Bears L 3–17 1–1 Soldier Field Recap 3 August 29 New York Jets L 25–27 1–2 Giants Stadium Recap 4 September 3 at New England Patriots L 27–38 1–3 Gillette Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Washington Redskins W 23–17 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap 2 September 20 at Dallas Cowboys W 33–31 2–0 Cowboys Stadium Recap 3 September 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–0 3–0 Raymond James Stadium Recap 4 October 4 at Kansas City ChiefsW 27–16 4–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 5 October 11 Oakland Raiders W 44–7 5–0 Giants Stadium Recap 6 October 18 at New Orleans Saints L 27–48 5–1 Louisiana Superdome Recap 7 October 25 Arizona Cardinals L 17–24 5–2 Giants Stadium Recap 8 November 1 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–40 5–3 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 9 November 8 San Diego Chargers L 20–21 5–4 Giants Stadium Recap 10 Bye 11 November 22 Atlanta Falcons W 34–31 6–4 Giants Stadium Recap 12 November 26 at Denver Broncos L 6–26 6–5 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap 13 December 6 Dallas Cowboys W 31–24 7–5 Giants Stadium Recap 14 December 13 Philadelphia Eagles L 38–45 7–6 Giants Stadium Recap 15 at Washington Redskins W 45–12 8–6 FedExField Recap 16 December 27 Carolina Panthers L 9–41 8–7 Giants Stadium Recap 17 January 3 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–44 8–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap
Standings
Regular season results Week 1: vs. Washington Redskins
The Giants' season began on a down note, as punt returner/running back DJ Ware dislocated his elbow returning the opening kickoff. The injury bug would later notably strike first-round draft pick Hakeem Nicks, who suffered a sprained foot in the fourth quarter and was carted off the field.Giant Youngsters Get Nicked Up, New York Post, accessed September 15, 2009.
Wide receiver Mario Manningham caught the game's first touchdown in the second quarter; the 30-yard strike was worth more yardage than Manningham had totalled in the entire 2008 season. Later in the quarter, Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora returned a Jason Campbell fumble 37 yards for a touchdown, his first major play since returning from the knee injury that benched him for all of 2008. Just before halftime, Redskins punter Hunter Smith ran a fake field goal into the end zone to bring the halftime score to 17–7. The Giants did not score a touchdown in the second half, but two Lawrence Tynes field goals ensured that Campbell's late touchdown pass to Chris Cooley would not spoil the Giants' final home opener at Giants Stadium.
The victory served as a sort of going-away party for the Giants, who now faced a rare three-game roadtrip for the first time since 1994.
Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys
In contrast to the teams' previous meeting, the grand opening of Cowboys Stadium (in front of the largest regular-season crowd in NFL historyCowboys break NFL attendance mark, ESPN.com, accessed September 21, 2009.) was a fast-paced shootout. The first points in the Cowboys' new home were scored by Tynes, whose 30-yard field goal in the first quarter was his first of four on the night. The Cowboys responded by scoring their first points on the ensuing drive—a 2-yard run by running back Marion Barber.