Osi Umenyiora was unhappy with the way his role had diminished with the New York Giants over the past couple of seasons, which is why the veteran defensive end seems thrilled to have signed a two-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Umenyiora played a significant role on two Super Bowl champion teams in New York, but those teams were not the best he has seen from a talent standpoint. You can probably guess which one is.
“This team is the most talented team that I’ve probably seen in my life,” he said during a press conference on Thursday, according to Around the League.
Is that so? Umenyiora comes from a team that featured a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback in Eli Manning. When healthy, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz make up one of the best receiving duos in football. On defense, New York has a front seven that boasts Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. If the Giants weren’t loaded with talent, Umenyiora probably wouldn’t have had an issue with playing time nor would he have had to accuse the team of making him look bad.
“They had some very good football players there (in New York),” Umenyiora said. “Obviously I wasn’t able to play as much as I’d have liked. There was just no way you could put all of us on the phone at the same time. Statistically, that definitely played a role. You’re only going to be able to produce as much as you’re out there on the football field. I wasn’t able to be out there on the football field as much as I’ve been accustomed to.”
Again, that was probably because the Giants had so much depth and talent. The Falcons are undoubtedly loaded with talented players like Roddy White, Julio Jones, Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez. Umenyiora’s comments are simply a bit strange in that he won two championships with that team he refused to mention by name. I believe the scientific term for that is “sour grapes.”
