Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Phillips

Don't look now, but the New York Giants' secondary is in crisis mode. The loss of safety Kenny Phillips for the season is a huge setback for a group that was already stretched pretty thin. The Giants signed safety C.C. Brown during free agency, but he's not in Phillips' league in terms of play-making ability.

Here's hoping that Phillips can bounce back from a knee problem known as patellofemoral arthritis, according to Bob Glauber of Newsday, who talked to an orthopedic surgeon about the condition.

"It doesn't bode well for a football player to have this," Dr. Michael Kaplan said. "It’s very unusual, and he may have had a traumatic injury where he got smashed in the kneecap. If it's severe enough to require microfracture surgery, it's a worrisome circumstance. It's not an overnight get-well situation, and the results are somewhat less predictable than ligament or cartilage tears."

Dr. Kaplan isn't Phillips' doctor, but it's still pretty sobering to hear him describe this type injury. I think coach Tom Coughlin really thought the Giants would be able to get Phillips through the season, but this doesn't sound like the type of injury someone can play through. Phillips had a firm grasp of what defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was trying to accomplish and he was starting to simply trust his instincts on the field. I think he was on his way to becoming the best safety in the division -- even surpassing the Skins' LaRon Landry.

Hopefully he'll still have the chance.