New York Giants Official Website

Six Giants named to Pro Bowl
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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DECEMBER 16, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - A year after sending just one player to the Pro Bowl in a Super Bowl-winning season, the Giants will be well-represented in Hawaii in this year's all-star game.

The NFL will announce later today that six players from the NFC East champion Giants have been selected to the Pro Bowl - guard Chris Snee, defensive end Justin Tuck, kicker John Carney, punter Jeff Feagles, quarterback Eli Manning and center Shaun O'Hara. That is the Giants' largest Pro Bowl contingent since the 1990 Super Bowl champions sent seven players to the game.

"You always want to be considered to be elite and play to the best of your abilities to be recognized across the league for what you are doing," Manning said. "It is such an honor having great players that are out there to be chosen by the fans and by the players and coaches. It is really a tribute to our whole team and how we have played in our offense for protecting me and making plays. I think whenever you have guys and a number of players, three guys from the offense make the Pro Bowl, it is just because your team is doing well and everybody is playing well."

"It is definitely an honor to be voted in, but I think the honor really stretches more for my group as an offensive line," O'Hara said. "I am honored on behalf of the group and really just as a team. I think the number of guys from this team that are nominated is a direct reflection of that team and winning."

Snee, Tuck, Carney and Feagles are starters.

"Obviously it is an honor," Snee said. "It is a weird feeling after growing up watching all your favorite players play in the game and now you are actually a part of it. I know that it is a reflection of the group that we have and the offense, but in particular all those guys on the offensive line who play around me.  It is a true honor for all of us."

"It is huge," Tuck said. "The Pro Bowl is kind of like that ultimate individual award, but it also lets you know that you have a lot of guys around you that really helped you become what you are. I just want to thank my coaches and the players around me that have helped me to get to this point."

It is the second Pro Bowl for both Carney and Feagles and the first for the other four Giants. Carney was first selected in 1994 as a member of the San Diego Chargers and his 14-year gap between selections is a record. Feagles went to his first Pro Bowl in 1995 with the Arizona Cardinals - a 13-year hiatus that is second to Carney's.

Feagles has played for the Giants since 2003. Carney joined the Giants on Aug. 30, five days before the season opener, because Lawrence Tynes was not ready to return from a knee injury. Now, at 44, Carney is the NFL's oldest player and he's with a division champions and going to the Pro Bowl.

"It's truly a humbling experience," Carney said. "I feel blessed and I thank God that this has happened and the Giants for their support and their faith in my abilities. And the support of the coaching staff and the team has been overwhelming. I'm still in shock and humbled by the whole experience."

Carney and the 42-year-old Feagles are the oldest teammates in NFL history.

"I was speaking with Jeff earlier today and I thought there was an age limit on all-star games," Carney said.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of him," said Feagles, who is Carney's holder. "Just seeing the type of person he is and looking at his career and comparing how many years we have been in the league (they are both 21-year veterans). I know how hard he works. It's great to be able to head over there and not have to worry about working with somebody that I don't really know. It actually buys a little extra time because we won't have to stay after practice now and practice our holds."

Eli Manning will join his brother, Peyton Manning of Indianapolis and the AFC squad, to become the first two quarterback-playing brothers to play in the same Pro Bowl.

"It should be fun," Manning said. "He has been before and I have heard the stories about what a great time it is and what a neat experience it is, so I am looking forward to enjoying that. Being there with him should be a neat experience and something that I am looking forward to when it comes up."

Eli Manning has never attended a Pro Bowl.

"Peyton has invited me before," Manning said, "but I wanted to go when I made it on my own."

He earned his way this year by completing 261 of 433 passes (60.3 percent) for 2,938 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a passer rating of 86.4. The completion percentage and rating are career highs. Manning has led a Giants offense that has been ranked among the top 10 in the NFL all season. The Giants have scored 374 points, the league's fourth-highest total.

Much of that success is due to the fine play of the offensive line, which has been intact for every game. In addition to Pro Bowlers Snee and O'Hara, the starters are left tackle David Diehl (a third Pro Bowl alternate), left guard Rich Seubert and right tackle Kareem McKenzie. The Giants are tied for first in the NFL in rushing with 148.7 yards per game and are first with a 4.8 yards-per-carry average. Manning has been sacked 23 times in 14 games (1.6 a game).

"Our offensive line has played tremendous this year, so O'Hara and Chris are very deserving," Manning said. "I am excited that they are being recognized for their great play. They definitely deserve it."

The offensive line is an extremely close-knit group and the two Pro Bowlers were quick to cite the efforts of the men they work with.

"In my opinion, all five of us were deserving of the honor," Snee said. "But it will be nice to have Shaun there and hopefully the other guys will tag along, too."

"I think Chris has been deserving of it for a couple of years and I am glad that he is finally getting the recognition that he deserves," O'Hara said. "I wish that all of us could go and I certainly think that being able to go with him is going to make it even more special. I certainly wouldn't be as good a football player if it wasn't for Chris and Rich both. I think in addition to those guys, a lot of the credit has to go to Pat Flaherty, our O-line coach, and our assistant coach, Dave DeGuglielmo. I think we are a direct reflection of those guys."

Tuck leads the Giants and is seventh in the NFL with 12.0 sacks. He is also first on the team with 18 tackles for losses and 11 quarterback hurries and is third with 15 quarterback hits. He also has three forced fumbles and an interception he returned 41 yards for a touchdown at St. Louis.

"Obviously, I think we should have more players going from our defense," Tuck said. "We have some alternates, so hopefully we can get some of those guys in also. But right now I feel real good as far as people starting to realize that this football team has some pretty talented football players and I just want to say congratulations to all the offensive guys and special teams guys that made it from this team also."

Carney has missed only two of 31 field goal attempts this season and both were blocked. His 122 points place him third in the NFL and fourth on the Giants' single-season record list. Carney's 29 field goals are the third-highest total in team history.

"It goes back to the basics of focusing on one kick at a time and focusing on your mechanics," Carney said. "I have a lot of trust, obviously, in Jeff Feagles and what he can do with holding. And Jay Alford has done a very good job snapping the ball. And a lot of credit goes to Coach (Tom) Quinn and Coach (Tom) McGaughey for the support and coaching and wisdom that they're provided this year for special teams."

Feagles is also proudly carrying the banner for the NFL's over-40 set. He is second in the NFC and fifth in the NFL with a net average of 40.1 yards on 55 punts, which will be a career high if he maintains it through the final two games. How many players set personal bests at age 42? In 2007, Oakland's Shane Lechler and San Francisco's Andy Lee became the first punters in history to have net averages of more than 40 yards.

"It is incredible - I want to keep it there," Feagles said of his net average. "That is one of my long term goals that I have always wanted. Nobody had netted over 40 yards in a season, so that has always been one of my goals that I had wanted to accomplish and we have a couple games left to keep it there."

Feagles is the NFL record holder for consecutive games played (334), punts (1,640), punting yards (68,213) and punts downed inside the 20-yard line (529).

"There are a lot of things that go into punting statistics," Feagles said. "Weather is part of it and your coverage teams are part of it, the personnel that you put on the field. We have great guys that are covering for me and making plays, and I just think that I am really healthy - knock on wood."

Manning is the first Giants quarterback to be selected to the Pro Bowl since Phil Simms in 1993. Snee is the first guard since Ron Stone in 2001 and O'Hara the first Giants center to go to the game since Bart Oates in 1993.

Before Carney, no Giants kicker had been selected to the Pro Bowl since Ali Haji-Sheikh in 1983. Feagles is the first Giants punter to be honored since Sean Landeta in 1990.

Tuck is the second Giants defensive end to be selected in as many seasons. Osi Umenyiora was the team's lone representative last year. He has missed the entire 2008 season with a knee injury. The Giants had two defensive ends play in the game in 2005 in Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, who went for the seventh and last time.

The Giants have a long tradition of Pro Bowl defensive ends. Andy Robustelli went to five in the 1950s and 60s, Jim Katcavage was selected to three and Jack Gregory and Leonard Marshall also went before Strahan began his run.

"It was important for me to continue the tradition and hopefully we can do it like the guy before me - Stray made it seven and I want to be the guy that makes it eight," Tuck said. "When (Strahan and Umenyiora) both made it in '05, the first thing they did when they got back was either call me or come see me to tell me all about it. In a way they were trying to rub it in my face to kind of like light a fire up under me to really go out there and try to make it myself. But they told me how great it was to be over there with the finest football players in the world. It really is a great time the whole week leading up to the game and the game itself is a lot of fun, too, so I am looking forward to it."

So are the teammates he'll be going with. Of course, there's the matter of this week's game against 11-3 Carolina and the opportunity to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

"I can still tell you this," Feagles said. "I would still rather be playing on February 1st (the date of Super Bowl XLIII) than February 8th." 

The Giants also had several alternates selected to the team: middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, tight end Kevin Boss, fullback Madison Hedgecock and special teamer Chase Blackburn are first alternates. Defensive tackle Fred Robbins is a second alternate. Diehl and running back Brandon Jacobs are third alternates. If a member of the Pro Bowl team has to drop out because of injury or personal reasons, the next alternate is given the first opportunity replace him.

The Pro Bowl will be played in Honolulu on Feb. 8.

*The Giants have not played a team with a record under .500 since defeating San Francisco on Oct. 19. Their final two games are against 11-3 Carolina and 9-5 Minnesota, a streak of 10 consecutive games against teams with winning records. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Giants will be the first team in NFL history to play 10 straight games in a single season against teams with a winning record entering the game.

*The Giants lost Sunday night in Dallas, 20-8. It was the first NFL game that ended in that score since Nov. 30, 1997. The Giants were also on the short end of the 20-8 score in that game, against Tampa Bay.

*The Giants today placed running back Reuben Droughns on injured reserve and signed wide receiver Derek Hagan.

Droughns injured his neck Sunday night in Dallas. He did not carry the ball from scrimmage this season but is tied with Zak DeOssie for second on the team with 11 special teams tackles. In 2007, Droughns led the Giants with six regular season rushing touchdowns.

Hagan, 6-2 and 215 pounds, was released by the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 4 after 2½ years with the team. With the Dolphins, Hagan played in 26 games with one start - Dec. 9, 2007 at Buffalo - and caught 53 passes for 643 yards and three touchdowns. He played in four games this season and caught three passes for 51 yards.

Hagan was the Dolphins' third-round draft choice (the 82nd overall selection) in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was born on Sept. 21, 1984.