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EAST RUTHERFORD, N. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping .J. -- Mario Manningham attended his first NFL training camp in 2008 as a third-round draft pick of the New York Giants, basically secured of his place on the teams opening day roster. Six years later, Manningham is back in Giants camp after a two-year, injury-plagued stint with the San Francisco 49ers. This time, Manningham is still recovering from off-season knee surgery, his third in three years, so theres no guarantee of him being with the team when the season kicks off against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 8. Manninghams last knee surgery has prevented him from participating in any full drills as the Giants began their second week of training camp Monday. He has not been cleared by the teams medical staff to resume football activities, so he falls behind on the teams depth chart for every practice and preseason game he misses. "I dont have anything made here," Manningham said Monday before the Giants took the field for their two-hour practice session. "I have to be here like I have something to prove. I cant worry about what has happened in the past. Thats wasted energy. Its a new team, with new faces and a new coaching staff. I have to try to get out there and prove what I can do." Manningham was one of the stars of the Giants last Super Bowl victory, making an acrobatic 38-yard catch down the sidelines on third down to keep the game-winning touchdown drive alive in the 21-17 win over the New England Patriots on Feb. 5, 2012. Manningham had his best season as a professional with the Giants in 2010, catching 60 passes for 944 yards and nine touchdowns. After that Super Bowl-winning season, Manningham became a free agent and signed with the 49ers, but never reached the same heights he achieved with the Giants. He caught only 42 passes and one touchdown in 2012, and had only nine catches for 85 yards and no scores last season. Both years were cut short by injury. Manningham said he had no plans of returning to the team that drafted him out of the University of Michigan six years ago. "I really didnt think about it," Manningham said. "I hit free agency and it just turned out this way. I settled back here." Manningham knows that the clock is ticking on his chances to make the Giants final roster. "I know I still have to make the team," Manningham said. "Its frustrating not to be out there, but thats just part of the game. I have a couple of cobwebs, but Im getting there. I know my knee is fixed. Its just my confidence, knowing whether I can stick my leg in the ground and turn the right away. Every day, its getting better and better. "Theres not any pressure on me to get out there. But in the back of my mind, I know its up to me or them. Im preparing myself to make the team." Giants quarterback Eli Manning is glad to have one of his former targets back. "Mario enjoyed being a New York Giant and had a good thing going here," Manning said. "Sometimes, you leave and you realize what you had. He left on good terms, went off, had some injuries and now hes here. Im glad to have him back." Same goes for wide receiving partner Victor Cruz. "He was here when I was first coming through here," Cruz said. "Its a little nostalgic. He brings a lot of energy into the room again and its very beneficial for us." Manningham is not expected to see any preseason action until the fourth game in three weeks, giving him little time to make the final 53-man roster. "This is still training camp," said Manningham, who has caught 211 passes in his six-year career for 2,849 yards and 19 touchdowns. "You learn from mistakes. I just have to put myself in the best position to be on the field. Im pretty close now. NOTES: New Giants QB coach Danny Langsdorf said that he would like to see Manning "around 70 per cent" in his completion ratio this season, a number that Langsdorf realizes has only been reached nine times in the history of the league. "I want him to be able to spread the ball all over the field," Langsdorf said. "But I also want him to be able to push the ball down the field in big chunks." Manning has only reached 60 per cent four times in his 10-year career, with a career best of 62.9 per cent in 2010. His career percentage mark stands at 58.5 per cent, after completing 57.5 last season. Shoes From China Online . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. Cheap Nike Shoes Online .com) - The New York Jets have named Mike Maccagnan their new general manager.TORONTO -- Morgan Rielly probably wont read this. Already wise beyond his years at the age of 20, the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie defenceman learned during training camp that he cant check Twitter as often as he used to. That lesson has served him well during a season-ruining losing streak, but its still almost impossible to avoid the chatter in a hockey-mad city. "When youre out eating at Earls or something, its on a TV and theres people talking about (us), whether its the skid were on, trade rumours or how weve been playing," Rielly said Tuesday. "Playing here in Toronto there are people that arent afraid to have a chat with you if youre at the mall or something. Youve just got to learn to deal with that and cant worry about it too much." Roommate Jake Gardiner tries to take his mind off things by seeing movies, like "Noah" on the teams most recent off day. Coach Randy Carlyle doesnt try to put on sunglasses and a hood to hide from the attention because "thats not me." Even if the Leafs wanted to, theres no real way to escape the pressure -- something area natives and former players know all too well. "Its not fun for them right now, I know that," said Calgary Flames forward Joe Colborne, who spent the past three years in Toronto with the Leafs and minor-league Marlies. "Obviously theres a lot of attention, even out West, on the Leafs, so its well-documented, for sure. You definitely feel for those guys." Empathy was in short supply for Colborne with his Flames at Air Canada Centre seeking to extend Torontos season-worst skid. But even before his Detroit Red Wings sent the Leafs to an eighth loss in a row Saturday night, Mimicos Brendan Smith expressed some sadness at how friends Gardiner and Dave Bolland have to deal with the extra criticism that he called "nonsense." "I think for everybody its difficult," Smith said. "I feel bad for them with all that pressure. Its tough. Every professional athletes going to feel pressure in some kind of way, but its definitely tough here." Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson looked at the Leafs and recalled a "similar scenario" he went through in Toronto. That was the infamous run in the winter of 2012 that then-general manager Brian Burke compared to "an 18-wheeler going right off a cliff." Gustavsson went 0-3-11 during that 1-9-1 stretch that cost coach Ron Wilson his job. Wholesale Nike Shoes. . But as a Swede, he managed to avoid a lot of the negativity surrounding the team because he read coverage from back home, not in Canada or the United States. After experiencing that, hes quick not to make any blanket statements about how playing in such a big market affects players. "I think thats very individual," Gustavsson said. "I think some guys have no problem whatsoever with it because they dont really care about media and TV, things like that. Maybe some guys follow it more than others and maybe have tougher times with it." Flames forward Matt Stajan, who played five full seasons and parts of two more with the Leafs, brushed off the emphasis on the extra attention that comes with being in what some consider the centre of the hockey universe. "Its not easy. In Calgary if we lose eight in a row its not easy," Stajan said. "I think the pressure from the outsides one thing, but in the dressing room you have expectations as a team and you feel that pressure anyways. "People look too much at the pressure outside. I think youre in the NHL. As a team you have pressure on yourselves to win games and be at your best every night, and when it doesnt happen, youre feeling it." Theres no doubt the Leafs are feeling it, even if its not something players would like to admit. Assistant general manager Claude Loiselle said Tuesday on Toronto radio station Sportsnet 590 The Fan that players have been squeezing their sticks during this skid. In talking to reporters, players tend to shift the focus back to hockey and away from the white noise. "Its just a matter of keeping concentrated on just playing the game and not what everybodys saying," Rielly said. "You cant be too concerned about whats going on out there, you just got to worry about what youre able to control." No ones denying the talk is out there. Captain Dion Phaneuf conceded that in a results-oriented business, theres bound to be some heavy "scrutiny" on the Leafs. A losing streak like this in a place like this ratchets it up even more. "You look on Twitter or TV, its pretty much what everyones talking about right now," Gardiner said. "But were kind of used to that. ... You just got to have fun with it and try to ignore what people are saying." ' ' '
  • Created: Feb 27 '19
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