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Yeah, look. There's no point in trying to deceive anyone. I'm checking out for the weekend. This is one of my very favorite weekends of the year, and I'm going to get it started early. This is the last blog post I'm writing today, and other than a phone interview on NFL32 at 6 p.m., work is over for me for the week. But before I go off to a weekend of char-grilled relaxation, I wanted to do a "one more thing" post. What's a "one more thing" post, you ask? Well, it's something I just thought up where I go through each of our four teams and raise one issue we haven't been discussing very much on the blog. They're all going to be positive issues, because I don't want anyone to go into the weekend upset. We'll do them in order of how close each team's home stadium is to my house, because I just decided that as well.

New York Giants

Corey Webster should get more love. The Giants have question marks at cornerback this year, with Terrell Thomas coming back from injury and 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara still learning on the job. But what doesn't get mentioned enough when we talk about those two is Webster, who had an absolutely incredible year in 2011. The Giants asked him quite often to play the Darrelle Revis role of the corner who just plasters himself to the other team's best wideout and keeps him from making plays. Webster was, far more often than not, up to the task. He's 30 years old now and doesn't get mentioned with the league's best corners, but he played like one of them last year, and another year like that will make sure he's on the national radar.

Philadelphia Eagles

I think the biggest thing working in Demetress Bell's favor as he works at the very difficult task of replacing Jason Peters as the Eagles' left tackle is the rest of the offensive line. Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Danny Watkins and Todd Herremans teamed with Peters last year to form maybe the best run-blocking line in the league. They are a confident, outgoing bunch of players who are eager to help, and Bell is certainly getting by-the-second lessons on Howard Mudd's blocking scheme from his new linemates. Bell doesn't have Peters' athleticism, and that's certainly likely to show up at times this year. But he's going to get a lot of help from some linemen who played extremely well together last year, and he's in a position to exceed expectations.

Washington Redskins

Don't rule out Pierre Garcon as No. 1 wide receiver material. No, of course he's never really been that traditional No. 1 we all think of when we think of guys like Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. But Garcon doesn't even turn 26 years old until August. He had 70 catches and 947 yards last year for a Colts team that was using Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky at quarterback. And after deciding that one of his top priorities this offseason was finding a No. 1 receiver, Mike Shanahan picked Garcon from among the available free agents. This was the guy he wanted. The Redskins signed him within the first five minutes of free agency. For his offense, Shanahan was looking for a receiver with the speed and athleticism to catch the ball on a slant route and take it the distance. In Garcon, he sees a young man who can be that guy. Garcon will play with a rookie quarterback this year, as you're all aware, but he'll also grow and develop along with that quarterback, and the Redskins believe they have plucked a future No. 1 wide receiver just as he's about to become one.

Dallas Cowboys

Sean Lee wasn't having a good year before his dislocated his wrist. He was having an eye-poppingly fantastic year. Wherever the ball was, there Lee seemed to be at critical moments, to make an interception, deliver a big tackle or break up a pass. He played fine after the injury, when he came back with that big old cast on his arm, but lost in the way the Cowboys' defense melted down at the end of 2011 was that Lee had been one of the best defensive players in the league for the first month. Assuming he's back to full health, Lee could be a monster player for the Cowboys in 2012 -- the kind of do-everything defensive leader they've lacked for so long. DeMarcus Ware is the best player on the defense (some say on any defense), and it's doubtful Lee will ever match him. But given Ware's preference for keeping to himself and out of the media spotlight, Lee's the kind of guy you can imagine emerging, assuming he plays the way he did early last season, as the face of the Cowboys' defense in the coming years. Last year's disappointment shouldn't dim the hopes Cowboys fans have for more great things to come from Lee.

And that's it for now. I really do mean it about this being one of my favorite weekends, and I hope it is for you too. Memorial Day is the day to remember the people who died fighting to protect us. People who literally died so that you and I could keep sitting here arguing about sports. I have no idea if I could die for my country, and as a result I am incredibly appreciative of the people who have done it and allowed me the time and freedom to keep wondering. Think about them as you enjoy the first weekend of the summertime, because we owe them that and much more.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Giants in 2012.

Dream scenario (12-4): The last time the the Giants won the Super Bowl, they followed it up with a 12-4 season and claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. It seems a fair bet that, this time, their top wide receiver won't shoot himself in the leg with an unlicensed firearm in a nightclub and severely damage their playoff chances. The Giants remain extremely strong at quarterback, wide receiver and pass-rusher in a pass-heavy NFL era, and for that reason they have reason to believe they can be a much better regular-season team than the one that went 9-7 and made the playoffs on the final day last season. In the Giants' dream scenario, Hakeem Nicks recovers from his broken foot in time to start the season, second-round pick Rueben Randle wins the No. 3 wide receiver spot and someone -- perhaps first-rounder David Wilson -- steps forward to be the running back who can spell Ahmad Bradshaw when he needs a rest. Terrell Thomas comes back healthy and continues along the career path that, this time last year, had him on track to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Keith Rivers solidifies the linebacker corps, and Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz build on their breakout seasons as the Giants get back into the playoffs and make a real run at defending their title.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): The Nicks injury is a reminder that the Giants did lose some depth this offseason. And although they are (a) very strong if their front-line starters are healthy, (b) very good at filling needs internally and (c) always at least in contention even when they miss the playoffs, the likelihood of the nightmare scenario is unimportant to this exercise. This is about imagining, and in the Giants' nightmare scenario their key starters -- such as Nicks, Cruz, Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Bradshaw -- struggle with injury or ineffectiveness. Eli Manning reverts to his interception-happy ways of 2011. Thomas struggles to get back to where he was, Prince Amukamara fails to take the next step forward, and they still can't find a reliable middle linebacker from among the crew they bring to camp. The nightmare scenario also sees the offensive line struggle, especially at the left tackle spot, where Will Beatty was a work in progress in 2011 before eye problems ended his season. Should these troubles come to pass, the Giants would have to lean heavily on their rookies, and it's unlikely that Wilson, Randle and Jayron Hosley could all emerge as successful starters in their first year in the NFL. Again, the Giants' nightmare scenario seems unlikely, but if it happens, it will have to do with depth issues behind the starters.

The winner of the how-to-order-the-Friday-links contest this week is Michael from Nashville, who suggested tying the order to fantasy sports. I went to the ESPN fantasy football page and looked up the points leaders from last year, and the links are hereby provided in order of each team's highest-scoring fantasy player from 2011.

New York Giants (Eli Manning, 273)

Tom Coughlin says "it's probably going to be close" when asked whether Hakeem Nicks will be ready for the regular-season opener. Nicks broke his foot in practice Thursday and is scheduled to have surgery today to insert a screw into it. The Giants' say the estimated recovery time is 12 weeks, which would be the middle of August, and Coughlin said Nicks is confident he can make that. We shall see.

As I wrote Thursday afternoon, if there's a positive to take out of the Nicks news it's that the Giants will be able to give more offseason and preseason reps to wide receivers Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle, and extended looks at those players will help them determine which, if any, is best suited to replace free-agent defector Mario Manningham as the No. 3 receiver behind Nicks and Victor Cruz. Hixon says he's feeling good and ready.

Philadelphia Eagles (LeSean McCoy, 270)

The concern with the Eagles is that Michael Vick's history says he's likely to miss at least a game or two due to injury this season. And if he does, there's very little in the way of experience among the backup options behind him. Jeff McLane breaks down the Eagles' backup quarterback situation, which should be Mike Kafka at this point.

As Sal Paolantonio reported the other day, second-year center Jason Kelce will be taking over the responsibility for making the protection calls at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles gave Vick that responsibility last year, and shifting it to Kelce will give Vick less about which to worry, and I think that's probably a good thing.

Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo, 265)

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that third-year wide receiver Dez Bryant has had a nice, blissfully quiet offseason and that he's on the verge of greatness. As we discussed many times last year, Bryant is a physical mismatch for almost anyone who tries to cover him, even at the NFL level. It's about committing to his own development and route-running, and once he does that he'll be as good as anyone.

And yeah, two from ESPNDallas.com this morning, as the crew there debates whether the Cowboys can beat the Vegas over/under of 8.5 wins for 2012. I bring this up as a preview to the "Dream/nightmare scenario" posts that are coming from each of our division's teams this morning. So, you know. Look forward to that.

Washington Redskins (Rex Grossman, 141)

In a bit of irony, the Redskins (and the Cowboys) are among the defendants in the NFLPA's collusion case against the league for the spending practices during the uncapped 2010 season. It's ironic because the union says the only way it found out about what it alleges to be collusive behavior was because the league punished those teams for not adhering to the secret agreement regarding 2010 spending. What you should take from this, once and for all, is the fact that the union's collusion case is in no way whatsoever aimed at helping the Redskins and Cowboys getting any relief of those cap punishments. That part of this case is over, they will pay the penalties and that's really it. I promise. No matter how nicely you guys ask.

The Redskins put Robert Griffin III's locker between those of London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo, which LaVar Arrington says could be crucial to the rookie's development. One of the Redskins' strengths as a team is the veteran leadership they have in their locker room, and they'll surely want to put Griffin in the best possible position -- literally as well as figuratively -- to benefit from that.

In a world and a sports scene increasingly full of self-aggrandizing phonies, New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is the real deal. He says what he feels, stands by what he believes and puts on no airs. He's refreshing for this, and the acclaim he's received after coolly and brilliantly coaching his Giants to a second Super Bowl title in five years has had the rare quality of being universally hailed as well deserved.

Coughlin's genuine away from the football field too, and that's a big reason why he was in Virginia on Wednesday night to be honored by the U.S. Army for his volunteer work with military personnel, veterans and wounded soldiers. Coughlin and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh were honored at the ceremony, and Coughlin said he was humbled to receive the Outstanding Civilian Service Award. Per Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post:

"When the general was standing there reading off that stuff about me, it was almost like I was saying to myself, 'Who's he talking about?'" Coughlin told The Post after the hour-long celebration overlooking the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.

"It was unbelievable to me," continued Coughlin, who was accompanied to the event by wife Judy. "The patriotism just came pouring out of me with all of the pomp and circumstance and standing there next to a four-star general. That's what you call humbling."

The Army honored Coughlin for allowing soldiers and the families to attend practices and games, for repeatedly visiting wounded soldiers at both Walter Reed Medical Center and other installations and for flying to Iraq in 2009 as part of a USO tour with John Harbaugh, Jeff Fisher, Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden.

Again, the real deal. Coughlin doesn't make a show of having military personnel at his games and practices. He'll drop a line here and there to make sure they're recognized and thanked for their service, but it comes from the heart. He feels this stuff deeply, and there's no doubt he means it when he says the ceremony Wednesday night ranked among his great professional thrills. The general who oversaw the ceremony, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Raymond T. Odierno, is a Giants fan from New Jersey. But he said that had nothing to do with the fact that Coughlin was honored.

"You're talking about someone who has really dedicated himself over a long period of time to caring about our soldiers and their families," Onierno told The Post. "His dedication to the military is quite significant."

Asked jokingly if the fact he also bleeds Giant blue had anything to do with Coughlin's award, Odierno smiled and shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing to do with that," he said. "Absolutely everything to do with what he's done for the military."

Not much more to say on this. I just really thought it was worth writing about, in case you guys missed it.

This is the kind of stuff you hold your breath and hope you don't hear about your team when it takes the field for offseason practices: New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks fractured the fifth metatarsal of his right foot Thursday morning while running a route during OTA practices, the team announced. Nicks is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday to have a screw inserted into his foot, and the Giants estimate that he'll need about 12 weeks to recover. Assuming no setbacks, that puts his return around the middle of August. But because you can't assume there won't be setbacks, Nicks' availability for the start of the regular season is at least in question.

Real rough break for the Giants, who lost No. 3 wide receiver Mario Manningham in free agency and likely can't afford to have their No. 1 wideout miss significant time. The good news, if there is any, is that it happened now as opposed to a month or two from now, and Nicks will have time to recover. Once he does return, there could be questions about how much he can handle and how soon without re-aggravating the injury, and it's possible he won't be his usual dazzling self right away. Nicks is one of the best wide receivers in the entire league, and he and Victor Cruz form the strength of the Giants' Eli Manning-led passing attack.

This will open up reps in the preseason for receivers such as Ramses Barden, Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan and rookie Rueben Randle, which could help the Giants better figure out which of those guys is the best bet to replace Manningham at that No. 3 receiver spot. That may be a side benefit of the unfortunate news, and last year's Giants obviously were able to succeed in spite of a rash of significant preseason injuries, so they surely believe they have coverage. But there's no one on the roster who brings everything Nicks brings to his position, and they'll surely hope his recovery will be on the short side and they'll have him on the field in plenty of time for their Sept. 5 regular-season opener.

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday the team isn't going to trade disgruntled cornerback Mike Jenkins. We didn't post on it here because we already knew this. Everybody already knew it. Even Jenkins, though he's let it be known he's unhappy with his contract and his new role as the team's No. 3 cornerback and would like to be traded, probably knew it too. He'd have to be blind not to.

Jenkins isn't making so much money that the Cowboys would want to dump him like the Eagles did with Asante Samuel. He's too good for them to trade for a late-round draft pick and not quite good enough to convince a team to offer an early-round pick. The result is that the team, as it tends to in NFL contract situations, holds all of the cards and is required to make no move at all in response to Jenkins' decision to skip offseason workouts. If he wants to stay home, he stays home. If he wants to skip mandatory workouts next month or part of training camp, they can fine him. If he wanted to sit out a whole season, they'd just run Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and Orlando Scandrick out there and take their chances. They're better with Jenkins in that mix and would like to have him, but they're not desperate enough to even consider granting him his wish.

Jenkins finds himself in NFL contract limbo, and if he's looking for a sympathetic shoulder on which to cry he doesn't even have to look outside his own division. The New York Giants' Osi Umenyiora is basically in the same situation -- he's unhappy with his contract, he isn't thrilled to be the No. 3 defensive end on his team, and he would rather play elsewhere. But he isn't getting traded either, because (stop me if this sounds familiar) he's affordable, he's too good to trade for peanuts, and he isn't going to bring back a first-round or second-round pick in a deal. The Giants are better off keeping an unhappy Umenyiora around than trading him for pennies on the dollar. It's the decision they made when he raised the same fuss a year ago, and they got 12.5 sacks out of him in 13 games (counting postseason) for their patience.

If either Jenkins or Umenyiora really wanted to push this, there are two somewhat extreme ways they could go. The first is that they could sit out the meaningful stuff, like training camp and regular-season games. If they prove that they're willing to do that, then circumstances could, theoretically, improve their leverage. Say Jenkins is sitting at home in late August and Claiborne gets hurt, or Umenyiora is sitting at home Week 2 and Justin Tuck gets hurt. In cases like those, the need for the player may become great enough to warrant a new deal. But that's a big risk to take because injuries are unpredictable, and in the meantime the player has allowed the team the chance to get used to life without him.

The second option in this case is to make a nuisance of yourself -- to show up, but put your contract situation into the spotlight in an annoying and disruptive way. The all-time visual symbol of this may well be Terrell Owens doing pushups in his driveway. Jenkins or Umenyiora could choose to simply continue being a pain, in the hope that the annoyance might prod the team into trading him for less than they think he's worth. But this carries risk, as well -- the basic one being the risk of giving the outside world (and potential future employers) reason to believe you're a jerk.

The Giants don't fear this from Umenyiora, because they trust their coaching staff and their veteran locker room to effectively ignore potential disruptions. And the Cowboys know Jenkins, and I think they're betting on the idea that he's not the pushups-in-the-driveway sort.

What these guys are doing now -- skipping voluntary workouts and letting it be known through third-party sources that they're upset -- is the simplest way to make their particular point. It costs them nothing right now to stand up for themselves, and they should.

If you're unhappy at work and you feel your bosses aren't treating you fairly, it's important to find a proper and effective way to let them know. That goes for you, me, NFL players and everyone else. But in the end, in the cases of Jenkins and Umenyiora, there's not going to be anything either one can do.

This is the nature of their profession, and the working conditions under which NFL players operate. It's not fair, because teams can end contracts on a whim and the risk of injury is incredibly high, but a history of players crossing picket lines and caving in on labor negotiations has constructed a system in which the teams hold all the cards and the player rarely finds himself in the position of strength. Unfortunately for NFL players, this isn't Major League Baseball.

Jenkins and Umenyiora are both eligible to be free agents next year, and I don't think either has to fear the franchise-player designation. The franchise numbers for cornerbacks and defensive ends are over $10 million, and it's unlikely that either the Cowboys or Giants would want to commit so much to their No. 3 player at those positions.

It's too far into the future to predict for certain, but the odds are they won't be in limbo again this time next year. Right now, all these guys can do is decide how much fine money (if any) they're willing to spend to make their point, and once they reach that number, show up, practice, hope they don't get hurt and play well enough to convince some other team to give them big contracts in 2013.

It may not be great. May not be fair. But for Jenkins, Umenyiora and so many others like them in the NFL, they unfortunately don't have much choice.

Working off of last Saturday's request from the immortal Justin from B-more, we have been varying the order of the daily breakfast links this week. We've had four days, and four different orders, with each of our division's teams taking a turn atop the list. We have become an unassailable paragon of fairness.

However, there are only four teams in the division, and we do links five days a week. This leaves a quandary: In what order do we do the links on Friday? I am, as I explained Saturday, leaving this up to you. Give me your ideas, either here, on Twitter or in the mailbag. I will choose one of your ideas. Could be the most logical one. Could be the most ridiculous one. Could be the one that makes me laugh the hardest. I honestly don't know how I'll decide. This is our first day doing this. But remember, no matter what I decide, it was someone else's idea, so ... you know ... blame them.

I await your most creative Thursday morning ideas for our Friday morning links.

A good Thursday morning to you all. In honor of Wednesday's failed Vokle experiment, we're not going to try anything new at all today. Regular stuff. Blog posts. Thursday column. And of course, links.

Philadelphia Eagles

Casey Matthews' second year has to be better than his first, if only because he's not going to have to be the Eagles' starting middle linebacker by default and in spite of being unqualified for the job. Now, Matthews can learn, develop and work his way into NFL playing time the way he was always supposed to. He spoke with Les Bowen, who also took a very up-close photo.

Ashley Fox spoke with Michael Vick, who told her he knows this will be "a critical year" for himself and for coach Andy Reid.

Washington Redskins

Stephen Bowen is still recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, but he plans on being ready to join his Redskins defensive linemates in time for training camp.

Santana Moss and Anthony Armstrong are well aware that the Redskins have added a lot of people at wide receiver, but that doesn't stop them from wanting (and working) to return to the larger roles they once occupied in the offense. Remains to be seen how the wide receiver situation shakes out, but either of those guys likely needs someone from the Pierre Garcon/Josh Morgan/Leonard Hankerson group to be injured or ineffective in order to get that opportunity.

Dallas Cowboys

So Jerry Jones answered a question about whether or not the Cowboys' Super Bowl window was closing in the vaguely affirmative, and because it's late May and it's the Cowboys this became a huge thing, and so people had to ask Tony Romo about it and he said not really and so you can expect a lot of people to be talking about this again today. Personally, I think it's all very silly, and that if the defense gets better the window will stay open and if it doesn't it will never open.

Bruce Carter and David Arkin were working with the starters at linebacker and guard, respectively, this week at OTAs. They're trying to get younger guys reps with the starters in the hope that it'll help their development. But while Carter is in a competition with free-agent signee Dan Connor at the inside linebacker spot opposite Sean Lee, it's likely that Connor and Mackenzy Bernadeau get those spots once the season starts.

New York Giants

The message for the Giants as they began their offseason workouts was that, as great as it was to win the Super Bowl in February and get their rings last week, it's time to move on and focus on 2012. As was the case when they reached the playoffs last year, the Giants are likely to benefit from the fact that their coaches and veteran players have been through this before.

Big disappointment for Giants cornerback Brian Witherspoon, who re-injured the ACL that cost him the 2011 season and, thus, would appear to be out for this season as well. Attrition injuries like this, in non-contact drills, are reminders of how fragile this all is for these players, and how close each one of them is to having it taken away.

Yeah, sorry about the Vokle chat. Sometimes our technology just doesn't do what we want it to do. There are plans in the works to try again. I hope you'll give us another shot if we try next week.

Anyway, back to the blog. As a twist on the usual Power Rankings, we had a panel of ESPN experts put together something called the NFL Future Power Rankings , basically projecting how the Power Rankings will look three years from now. It's Insider, so you have to pay to read it and I can't give it all away to you here. But if you are interested, the piece explaining how the panelists came to their conclusions is available to everyone and is here.

Here's how the NFC East teams fared, and partial explanations for why:

3. New York Giants

Trailing only the Packers and the Patriots, the Giants got a score of 81.13 out of a possible 100, with coaching, front office and quarterback their highest-scoring categories. Here's Trent Dilfer on the quarterback in particular:

He has the baby-brother look, but Eli Manning turns 32 this season, and since his 1-6 record as a rookie, has started all 16 games in seven straight seasons. He has had his INT issues, but is an elite passer when he gets comfortable with his targets. He has many good years ahead.

7. Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback was the only place where the Eagles didn't score high, as uncertainty about Michael Vick's age (32) and future in Philly pushed them down to a 5.75 in that category. They had an overall score of 74 out of 100, buoyed but very high marks in front office, draft and coaching. Mel Kiper on their drafting:

A remarkably good draft in 2012 could shore up the defense and make the Eagles Super Bowl contenders. If Vick has any health issues, is Nick Foles the next guy in line? You never know what they'll do at that spot. But they have a system, draft very well and, at least based on my board, maintain a really strong sense of value and how to maneuver.

14. Dallas Cowboys

The highest score the Cowboys got was their 7 in quarterback, and their overall score was 62.06 out of 100. Their lowest marks were for draft and front office, and this is Gary Horton on their roster:

Age is a concern. And unless they do a good job in free agency and the draft, the talent level will drop off in the next couple of years. They should remain fairly young at WR and RB, and they seem to be rebuilding their offensive line. Defensively, they are not very young and their best playmaker of the future will be rookie CB Morris Claiborne, but a lot of replacements are needed.

20. Washington Redskins

An overall score of 56.38 out of 100, with the highest mark their 6.75 in coaching. The panel gave them a 6.25 for quarterback, which is generous since their current starter has never played an NFL game. But the assumption is that he'll fit in well and that he has the talent to be a franchise quarterback. Dragging the Redskins' score down the most is the 4.75 for the current roster. Here's Horton on that:

Obviously, this future will be built around rookie QB Robert Griffin III. The challenge will be to surround him with talent on both sides of the ball with limited high draft picks. Washington doesn't have a lot of young, talented guys at the offensive skill positions. The Redskins tried to upgrade the passing game in free agency and TE Fred Davis is a solid player. On defense, age is a real problem and with the exception of young edge rushers Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, upgrades will be needed.

So like I said, Insider if you want to read it all. And remember, no one's saying this is definitely how it'll all turn out -- just the way it looks to those experts' eyes from here.

Let's have a little debate, shall we? With nearly four months still to go before the games start, a good, old-fashioned quarterback debate may be just the thing to wake everybody up and get the blood going.

Now, for the purposes of this particular debate, I don't much care which quarterback you think is "better" than the other. Fact is we can't trust you guys to have an unbiased argument about that anyway. Which is fine. You're fans. You're not supposed to be unbiased. I just feel like we can turn this debate a couple of degrees and ask a different kind of question, namely:

Which quarterback is under more pressure to perform in 2012? Michael Vick or Tony Romo?

Yeah, the poll has all four listed, because that only seemed fair. But Eli Manning's a two-time Super Bowl MVP and Robert Griffin III is a rookie in charge of a rebuilding project, so I don't think either of those guys faces the same kind of pressure as Vick faces in title-starved Philadelphia or Romo faces in perpetually unsatisfied Dallas. Go ahead and vote for one of those guys if you really think he's the right answer, but in the context of 2012 only, with Manning coming off a Super Bowl win and Griffin learning the league, I think the answer to this question is between Vick and Romo.

And if you've been reading regularly, you know my pick is Vick. I don't think any quarterback in the NFL this year will be under more pressure than Vick will be. The Eagles are in a must-win situation after their high 2011 hopes flopped, and they can't afford to flop again. Not that the Cowboys can afford to flop, mind you, but I just think Vick is in a higher-pressure situation.

Vick was far more responsible for his team's 2011 flop than Romo was for his team's. Vick has not demonstrated the same kind of year-in, year-out production that Romo has, so he has less of a track record on which to stand. And fair or not, Vick is always going to be judged against his own brilliant 2010 season. A lot of the Eagles' plans last year were based on the idea that Vick could do many things no other quarterback could do, and that that gave them an edge against the other good teams in the league. He may not have to be as incredible as he was in 2010, but he's going to have to show some of that ability in order to make teams fear him and the Eagles.

Vick is in a fascinating situation. He obviously has to mature as a quarterback and a decision-maker in order for the Eagles to succeed. But he has to do so without sacrificing too much of what sets him apart, athletically, from the others who play his position. It may well be an impossible balance to strike. But Vick is being asked to do it anyway, and I think that puts him under a different kind of pressure than Romo or anyone else faces in 2012.

What do you guys think? Play nice!

Remember the video mailbag? Well, we're upgrading it a bit. Or trying to, anyway. At 2 p.m. ET today on this blog, we will be doing a live video mailbag through something called Vokle. The fantasy baseball guys have been using it for live video chats, and we're going to try it here on the NFC East blog and see how it works. Ideally, you'll be able to join the chat (right from the blog, and I think you can sign in through your Facebook or Twitter account so you don't have to go to Vokle.com and set up a Vokle account if you don't want to) and ask me questions. You can type in the questions as you normally would during our Tuesday chats, and I'll read them and answer them aloud. Or, if you have a webcam and a headset (please, only if you have a headset, as without it the echo is really bad) you can ask a live video question and I'll answer it. It'll be just like when I talk to my mom and dad while they're in Florida, only it won't be 25 degrees here this time.

Anyway, swing by around 2 p.m. ET to try this out with us. Assuming it works, it could help us take the blog to unprecedented heights of technological glory. Also, should be fun. Links.

New York Giants

The Giants start their OTAs today, and it's a chance for guys like Matt McCants, a tackle the Giants took in the sixth round last month, to get at least some sense of what it's like to try to block some of the best pass-rushers in the league.

Paul Schwartz writes that Rutgers product Joe Martinek is hoping to make a case for himself as a fullback on the Giants' roster, kind of the way Henry Hynoski did last year when he was an undrafted free agent in camp with the Giants. I guess you never know.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles continue to move Jamar Chaney all around their linebacker rotation. With Brian Rolle and rookie Mychal Kendricks apparently battling for the strongside linebacker spot, it appears Chaney is now the favorite to start at the weak side with DeMeco Ryans in the middle. Chaney, who played the middle in 2010 when Stewart Bradley got hurt and in 2011 when Casey Matthews proved ineffective, continues to roll with it.

And yeah, the offseason storyline has begun to focus on quarterback Michael Vick and what he needs to change about his game in order to help the Eagles achieve their very lofty goals for the 2012 season. As I've written before -- not about changing style of play but more about changing his sense of responsibility about how he plays the position. Decision-making, study habits, things like that. As he has for the past three years, Vick is saying all of the right things. So we'll see.

Washington Redskins

Redskins.com is breaking down some position battles as the Redskins engage in OTAs this week. I like the rundown of the wide receivers especially, but you know it's a team website when you read something like, "the Redskins have arguably the best tight end duo in the league." I mean, they played the Patriots last year, right? So they know about those guys?

Mike Shanahan was back at work a day after being run over on the sideline by two Redskins players. The players who saw it happen said it was a scary sight, but apparently Shanahan is showing no ill effects.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones says the window may be closing on the time the Cowboys have to win with their current veteran core, including Tony Romo, Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware. Of course, lest anyone think this means trouble for the coaching staff, Jones is quick to assert that Jason Garrett feels the same way. Those two are BFFs, I'm telling ya.

Our man Herman Edwards says the Cowboys have "a Super Bowl offense," and I agree with him in terms of the talent at the skill positions. I think we still need to see Super Bowl-caliber performance out of positions like center and guard before we start talking that way, though. And of course, none of that matters if the defense doesn't improve. Which I'm pretty sure is part of Herm's point. You play. To win. The game.

We're going to chat at noon ET, because it's Tuesday and chatting at noon ET on Tuesdays is one of the things we do here on the NFC East blog. Way it works is you click on these little blue letters right here, any time between noon and 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday (which is today), and your computer brings you to a chat room in which I am picking through questions and deciding which ones to answer and which ones to make fun of strategically ignore. It's fun. As an experience, most people would tend to rank it somewhere on the vast spectrum in between mindless diversion and life-changing phenomenon, and that's fine. We're happy in our little corner of that spectrum. Please come and join us.

And we're back. Another Tuesday on the NFC East blog, which means I need to stretch my chat muscles so I don't pull anything. Let's get right to the links.

Dallas Cowboys

I wrote Monday about Mike Jenkins staying away from OTAs and assumed he was doing that to make some sort of statement. I was right, as it came out later in the day that he wants to be traded. As Tim MacMahon says, good luck with that, Mike. This isn't like the Asante Samuel situation in Philadelphia, where the Eagles just wanted to dump Samuel's salary and took a seventh-round pick for him. The Cowboys can still use Jenkins, even if he is now the No. 3 corner behind Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. And given his health issues of the past year and where we are on the 2012 calendar (i.e., after the end of the draft), it's impossible to imagine any team offering them enough to make it worth their while to trade him.

In the ongoing quest to say sillier and sillier things about Tony Romo, the latest apparently is that the Cowboys don't go to the Super Bowl because Romo is not enough like Michael Young, which I guess means he needs to get on base more.

New York Giants

On the topic of Giants players "under pressure" in 2012 -- a topic we discussed here on the blog last week -- Ed Valentine picks wide receiver Ramses Barden, for whom opportunity looms large. Barden will have to hold off Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan and second-round pick Rueben Randle if he wants that No. 3 wide receiver spot created by the free-agent departure of Mario Manningham. The Giants drafted him thinking he had the tools to do it. The question now is whether he can stay healthy enough and play well enough to take advantage of his chance.

Tom Coughlin is still big in Jacksonville, where he coached the Jaguars before coaching the Giants and where he still holds his annual charity golf tournament. While in town for that, he once again answered questions about his possible retirement by saying it's not even something he's remotely considering.

Philadelphia Eagles

You can blame Juan Castillo and the defense all you like, but the Eagles' coaching staff thinks the biggest problem last year was their 38 turnovers (second most in the league), and they're determined to work with Michael Vick to cut that number down in 2012. Reading this, it sounds as though part of the problem is getting Vick to understand that there is one.

Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg talked about the fine line between leaning on the franchise running back to whom the Eagles just gave a five-year contract and overworking him. LeSean McCoy will only be 28 years old at the end of his new deal, and the Eagles surely can get five good years out of him even if they don't worry about limiting his touches. It will be interesting to see which way they lean.

Washington Redskins

You have to pay attention when you stand on an NFL sideline during practice, and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan unfortunately was looking at the wrong set of drills Monday when a couple of his players slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. "A little woozy" seemed to be the diagnosis, as Shanahan's "toughness" after his knockdown impressed some of his players. Sheesh. It's only the first day of OTAs and already the coach is down. Take it a little slower down there, fellas.

In spite of all he's done as a Redskin, Chris Cooley knows he's in a position this offseason of having to show something. Specifically, he needs to show he's healthy enough to play effectively in a two-tight end formation with Fred Davis. The reports after the first day of OTA practices were encouraging on Cooley.

I was kind of surprised it look that long, actually.

There was maybe a two-hour window between the time Monday morning that the news broke about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shopping (and, more likely, cutting) tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and when people started asking me on Twitter whether he'd make sense for their team. Usually it's quicker than that. But I guess it's a rainy Monday, and maybe folks aren't feeling like themselves. I include myself, of course. Did you catch that Matthew Berry-style column lead up there?

Anyway, in response on Twitter I wrote that you could make a case for any of the four NFC East teams to pursue Winslow, to which four fan bases responded something along the lines of, "Really?", to which I said, "Yeah, really." But the limits of the 140-character Twitter world being what they are, I hereby expand:

Dallas Cowboys

They have been looking, since Martellus Bennett signed with the Giants, for a second tight end to replace Bennett. They drafted James Hanna, but he's not likely the solution right away. The issue here is that Winslow isn't really a blocking tight end, and it might be tough to convince him that he's not among the top options as a receiver.

New York Giants

They signed Bennett, but he only accounts for one of the two holes opened by the ACL injuries of tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum in the Super Bowl. There are reports that Beckum could be ready early in the season, but optimism sometimes gives way to reality, and the Giants may want to have coverage. As is always the case with the Giants, if they're interested, it would have to be for their specific price.

Philadelphia Eagles

There's been talk in Philly for a couple of years about Andy Reid wanting to use more two-tight-end sets. It hasn't come to fruition, but a re-energized Winslow paired with Brent Celek could open up some of those possibilities. Again, though, as in Dallas and New York, he wouldn't be among the top receiving options, given the rest of the talent on the roster.

Washington Redskins

This only makes sense if the Redskins decide to cut Chris Cooley loose for financial or injury reasons. If that happens, they don't have many (any?) real strong tight ends behind Fred Davis. Receiver Niles Paul and even linebacker Lorenzo Alexander have been mentioned as candidates for tight end snaps this offseason, so it's not as though the roster is currently teeming with options should Cooley be cut.

John Clayton has a preview of some of the hot issues teams face as organized team activities (or OTAs) begin this week. The only NFC East mentions in his piece are about the Philadelphia Eagles, and they are this one:

The Eagles signed Demetress Bell to replace left tackle Jason Peters, who is out for the season after tearing his Achilles twice. Bell was previously Peters' replacement in Buffalo but didn't stand out.

and this one:

Dream Team, take two: The Eagles were the winners of the 2011 offseason but losers when they underachieved last season and didn't make the playoffs. The key to OTAs is seeing whether they are going in the right direction on defense. Last year, they brought in man-to-man specialists Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and played them in zone. Andy Reid brought in secondary coach Todd Bowles to help defensive coordinator Juan Castillo sort out the plan in the secondary and see whether the Eagles can match up better with the talent on hand.

And yeah, as was the case when the 2011 season started, I think it's fair to say the Eagles will be the most compelling national story out of our division. Much is expected, and given the way they flopped last year, they'll be under even more scrutiny this year.

But we deal with all four teams equally here, so playing off of John's column, I figured it'd be a good idea to pick something to watch for each of our other three teams this week. Remember that these offseason workouts are voluntary, so not all of the players we're looking at will necessarily be on the field. The Redskins' OTAs begin today, the Eagles and Cowboys start theirs Tuesday and the Giants get on the field Wednesday.

Dallas Cowboys

Lining up the line: The injury that will keep free-agent guard Mackenzy Bernadeau out for the spring and summer deprives the Cowboys of a chance they were expecting to see Bernadeau at center. It also removes him temporarily from the offseason competition for one of the guard spots, and will give players such as David Arkin, Bill Nagy, Nate Livings and Kevin Kowalski a head-start on him as they get an early chance to show the coaches what they can do.

New York Giants

The replacements: The Giants have to figure some things out on the line as well, and they'll take a look this offseason at whether Will Beatty is making progress as the starting left tackle and whether veteran David Diehl is the solution at right tackle with Kareem McKenzie gone. But they also want to see whether first-round pick David Wilson can replace running back Brandon Jacobs, whether second-round pick Rueben Randle can emerge from the crowd hoping to replace wide receiver Mario Manningham, and whether Terrell Thomas and/or Prince Amukamara is healthy enough to replace cornerback Aaron Ross.

Washington Redskins

Here, catch! We know rookie Robert Griffin III is the guy who'll be throwing the ball for the Redskins -- now and, ideally, for the long-term future. But Washington still needs to sort out who's going to catch it. Free-agent signees Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan are obviously going to get the first shot at prominent roles in the receiving corps, and the coaching staff remains excited about 2011 rookie Leonard Hankerson. But veteran Santana Moss will also push for a role, and there are several holdovers at the wide receiver spot who will look to catch the coaches' attention this offseason so as not to get lost in the shuffle. And that doesn't even take into account tight end Fred Davis, who was the Redskins' best receiver last year.