Giants' Great Antonio Pierce Released

The New York Giants on Thursday released Antonio Pierce. The linebacker, signed as a free agent in 2005, had been the leader on the defense for since the 2005 season, and had helped the Giants reach, and win Super Bowl 42, against the undefeated Patriots. Antonio Pierce had seen his 2009 season end in injury when the New York Giants placed Pierce on injured reserve on November 30th with a bulging disk in the linebackers neck. While Pierce may not be known as a Giants great, like the recently retired Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber, Antonio Pierce holds a place in every Giants fans heart with his enthusiastic style of play, and his leadership provided in the locker room.

In a statement addressing the release of Antonio Pierce, Giants General Manager Jerry Reese had this to say: "A.P. came right in and took the bull by the horns from Day 1 and was very instrumental in helping the New York Giants win a lot of games and accomplishing a lot of our goals during his time here,". After starting the season 5-0 last year, the Giants finished with an 8-8 record (finishing third in the N.F.C East). Losing Pierce in November for seven games was a big part of the Giants woes, that had led a promising start of the season to a disappointing early offseason. In his five seasons with the Giants, Antonio Pierce had been the captain of the defense three of them years, and had led the Giants in tackles for three years.

While many Giants fans had taken his always reliable play for granted over the past five years, frustration had set in with the fans, on Pierce and the entire defense, as first year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan took one of the better defensive units in the National Football League, and ran it into the ground, finishing 13th in the league in total defense. Though Antonio Pierce may never be the guy that performs to the level that the New York Giants fans appreciated seeing step on the field back in 2005, he is one that will surly be missed. No one can question his ability to turn a team into a winner with his inspiration and competitiveness quite like A.P.