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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.

Welcome to the weekend, and to the weekend mailbag, where I try to round up some of your more interesting questions from the week and answer them the best I can. We shall get right to it.

Dave from Brookfield, Conn., would have picked left tackle Will Beatty for the New York Giants' entry in Friday's "Pressure Point" series. I went with Ahmad Bradshaw, as you can see if you click on that link.

Dan Graziano: That's a great call, Dave, and probably a better one than Bradshaw. The offensive line's play (particularly as a run-blocking unit) improved dramatically last year after Beatty's eye injury knocked him out for the season. And while that might have been a coincidence or the result of other factors, it did happen, and questions do still remain about Beatty after he struggled in his first season as the Giants' starting left tackle. The Giants still believe in Beatty and will continue to give him the opportunity to show he can do the job, but they're not convinced yet, and if he struggles again it could be a position they have to address moving forward beyond 2012.

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Matt from San Diego asks: "Assuming Fletcher Cox has a solid rookie year, could the Philadelphia Eagles have the best [defensive] line in the league?"

DG: There are some great ones out there, Matt, including the one that's up the highway in N.J. defending the Super Bowl title. But yeah, the Eagles have a remarkable depth of talent on their line. They have the great bookend pass-rushers in Trent Cole and Jason Babin, a versatile defensive tackle in Cullen Jenkins and plenty of depth behind the starters inside and out. They drafted Cox because they believed he could be an impact pass-rusher from the get-go at the defensive tackle spot, and they have their fingers crossed that 2010 first-round pick Brandon Graham can finally stay healthy and contribute to the defensive end rotation. If they get contributions from Cox and Graham, the Eagles will be in that discussion.

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David from Fairfax, Va., (and a number of other people) have challenged my repeated answers to the question of whether the Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III could have a rookie year similar to the one Cam Newton had for Carolina in 2011. I don't believe they're similar players, but part of my stock answer has been, "He doesn't have a Steve Smith in his wide receiver corps." David agrees, but thinks the overall talent level of the Redskins' wide receivers is better than what the Panthers had last year behind Smith.

DG: It is, David, and Griffin will have a wider array of options than Newton had last year. My point is that the Newton-Smith hookup provided the Panthers with a number of long, explosive plays that helped drive up Newton's incredible rookie-season numbers. Because of the lack of anything that approximates that, I don't see Griffin approximating Newton's rookie numbers. But Griffin could have a very excellent and successful rookie season without coming close to Newton's numbers, which were unprecedented. I think there are a number of differences between the two players, though, and the way they play. And I think you'll see what I mean once you watch Griffin operate a multi-faceted offense that isn't likely to rely on him to do quite as much as the Panthers relied on Newton to do last year.

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Daniel in San Antonio, Texas, disagrees with the notion that the Dallas Cowboys can replace No. 3 wide receiver Laurent Robinson with some sort of committee of what they have on the roster already. To make his point, Daniel asks: "How many games over the last two years have Miles Austin and Dez Bryant missed due to injury?"

DG: Well, Austin missed six games last year and none the year before. Bryant missed one last year and four the year before. So the answer to your question is 11, and your point is well taken. Robinson really exploded onto the Cowboys' scene last year because of how well he played in place of Austin during Austin's hamstring-injury problems. If Austin and Bryant and Jason Witten are healthy, there's really not much need for a No. 3 wide receiver in Dallas. But even if Austin (or Bryant) should have to miss games again, the Cowboys could surely get by with a replacement who doesn't produce the way the starter did. Most teams do, when it comes to injury. Robinson was a surprise exceptional case, and because of the way he played he got more looks. If he hadn't looked as good as he did, those looks likely would have gone to Bryant or Witten, as they likely will if similar circumstances arise in 2012.

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Finally, Justin from B-More has a procedural complaint. He thought doing the daily breakfast links according to the division standings during the season was fine. But as someone whose last name begins with Z, he has a long-held hatred of simple reversion to alphabetical order. He's also a Redskins fan, and doesn't like seeing his team listed last in the links every day.

DG: Your point is well taken, Justin, and in the interest of fairness, here is what I propose: From this point forward until the season starts and we do them in standings order again, I will change the order of the breakfast links every day from Monday through Thursday, so that each of the division's teams is listed first at least once per week. And I will devise some sort of reader contest to allow one reader to determine the Friday order each week. Something like, whoever sends me the best printable joke in the mailbag that Thursday, or whoever answers a trivia question first on Twitter. Details to follow, but the new system goes into effect Monday. We'll call it "The Justin from B-More Doctrine."

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks.

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the New York Giants and why.

This was a tough one, since the Giants are basically playing with house money after their second Super Bowl title in five years. Sure, they're expected to defend that title, but if they don't, how disappointed can Giants fans really be? After everything the Giants' players proved in December, January and February, the roster isn't exactly loaded with guys who have much left to prove.

So to answer the question of who faces the "most challenging" season, I'm going with running back Ahmad Bradshaw. He's proved he's tough by playing through pain. He's proved he's good by putting up big numbers when given the starting job. He's proved he has leadership qualities by calling out his offensive line early last year. But with Brandon Jacobs gone off to San Francisco in free agency and a group of very young backups behind him, Bradshaw in 2012 has to prove he can handle a full season's workload without breaking down.

This isn't going to be easy. He has said the procedures he had done this offseason on his chronically injured foot have corrected the problem and he's going to be 100 percent going forward. But there's no way to know that until we see (and he sees) how this particular season wears on him. Jacobs got about 40 percent of the Giants' running back touches last year, and unless someone like Da'Rel Scott, D.J. Ware or first-round pick David Wilson is ready to step in and assume Jacobs' share of the work, more is going to fall to Bradshaw. He has the ability and the will to be "the guy" at running back for the Super Bowl champs, and he may well be able to pull it off. He could be one of the breakout offensive stars of the NFL season -- a fantasy sleeper, even. But he heads into the season with less help than he's had in the past and without the safety net that's always been provided by his friend Jacobs.

So John Clayton has this piece on the 10 best position battles brewing this summer between rookies and veterans in the NFL. I scrolled through it, thinking it would provide me with some material for a late-Friday afternoon post, and to my shock and dismay there wasn't one NFC East mention in the whole thing. Come on, John! Help a guy out, will ya?

Anyway, it got me thinking: There must be some interesting position battles to keep an eye on throughout the offseason and training camps in our division, right? I mean, some situations where things aren't yet set in stone? There are, and here's one for each team.

Dallas Cowboys' inside linebackers: Sean Lee is set at one of these spots, but the other will be interesting to watch. The team drafted Bruce Carter in the second round in 2011, and they believe he's part of their future on defense. But he was coming off an injury when they drafted him and played in just 10 games as a rookie, and they can't be sure he'll be ready to hold down a starter's spot full-time in 2012. So they went out on the free-agent market and signed Dan Connor, formerly of the Carolina Panthers, to start next to Lee while Carter continues to acclimate himself to the pro game. The interesting aspect of this will be how good Carter looks in training camp and whether he can play well enough to demand to take reps and snaps away from Connor. The veteran, Connor, will start with the job, but Carter is the future there, and it's just a question of when he's ready.

New York Giants running backs: Ahmad Bradshaw is the unquestioned veteran starter, but he doesn't come without questions. Foot injuries have limited him over the past several seasons, and his good friend and veteran safety net, Brandon Jacobs, is off to San Francisco to play for the 49ers. Assuming Bradshaw won't be able to make it through the season fully healthy on a starter's workload, there are going to be plenty of snaps to go around. The question is how many of those snaps first-round pick David Wilson can steal from holdover youngsters like D.J. Ware, Da'Rel Scott and Andre Brown (who's suspended for the first four games for drugs).

Philadelphia Eagles safeties: The team wants Nate Allen and Jaiquawn Jarrett, its second-round picks from the 2010 and 2011 drafts, respectively, to be the starters. Of the two, they're more confident about Allen, who's had some injury issues but played well when healthy last season. They have him penciled in as a starter. Whether Jarrett can fight off Kurt Coleman for the other starting spot is one of the training-camp questions the Eagles will face. It's also possible they'll add a free-agent veteran to the mix, but they'd rather get the production they need from their young guys if they can.

Washington Redskins secondary: There are currently 15 defensive backs listed on the Redskins' roster, and it's safe to assume they can't all make the team. The question is which of them will play. Josh Wilson and DeAngelo Hall would appear to be set as the starting cornerbacks, but the team did sign free agent Cedric Griffin, and intriguing undrafted free-agent cornerback Chase Minnifield will be a name to watch in the summer. The more interesting questions are at safety, where the Redskins lost starters LaRon Landry and O.J. Atowge and things are wide open. The guy they like the best for the future is 2011 draft pick DeJon Gomes, but while they view him as a starter at some point, they don't know yet whether that point is this year. Their free-agent safety signing list is a fascinating one, including Brandon Meriweather, Madieu Williams and Tanard Jackson, any of whom c0uld emerge as a starter. Griffin also might have been brought in with an eye toward playing him at safety, and Reed Doughty was a valuable injury fill-in last season and could get a shot at more playing time in this crowded field. The Redskins appear to be installing an all-out competition for safety roles, and from here it's impossible to know who will play well enough to nail them down.

As we've mentioned a few times lately, there's not a lot of drama left with regard to the signing of first-round draft picks, but New York Giants fans will be interested to know their team has apparently come to terms with first-round pick David Wilson, the running back from Virginia Tech. Wilson would have been at the start of rookie minicamp today anyway, since unsigned rookies are allowed, but now the Giants know they'll have him for every part of the offseason program, in case they ever had any doubt.

What will Wilson be for the Giants? And when will he be it? They ranked last in the league in rushing offense last year during the regular season, and Brandon Jacobs, who had about 40 percent of their carries, left for San Francisco in free agency. So Wilson will get an opportunity, as will veteran backs Da'Rel Scott, Andre Brown and D.J. Ware, behind starter Ahmad Bradshaw (though Brown is suspended for the first four games for a drug policy violation). It's obviously extremely unlikely that Wilson is similar as a player to Jacobs, since no one is, and that the Giants' running game will operate differently this year no matter who gets Jacobs' carries. That might not be a bad thing, especially if Bradshaw can stay healthy for a whole season and handle a starter's workload while the Giants sort out what they have in the young guys behind him.

Incidentally, for those who decry the rookie wage scale, the Giants had the last pick in the first round four years ago, and Kenny Phillips got a $2.53 million signing bonus. The slot where Wilson was picked says he should be getting about $3.3 million. So it's not as though the new regulations are killing these guys. The only place where rookie salaries ever really looked to be getting out of control was up around the top five picks. And even that was overblown, if you ask me. But as usual, they did not.

The defending Super Bowl champions get back to work this weekend, as the New York Giants hold their rookie minicamp in East Rutherford, N.J. Repeating is hard work, though, and there are good reasons why only one team this century has been able to do it.

You lose players. You lose coaches. You become the No. 1 target for teams that have identified you as the biggest obstacle standing in their way of getting what they want. The people who run the Giants, and many of the people who play for the Giants, were in this position four years ago, and they know all about the challenges that face the defending Super Bowl champs.

But this year's Giants are not your ordinary defending champ. They were, speaking strictly in terms of winning percentage, the weakest Super Bowl champion in history. They didn't even secure their playoff spot until the final game of the regular season. With two weeks to go, they were 7-7 and in real danger of finishing under .500.

All of these things are facts, just as much as the title they won. So as they get back to work this spring and summer, the Giants face the seemingly incongruous dual task of maintaining the magic that brought them their title while also improving a 9-7 team.

They have some things going for them, and I'm not just talking about Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. The Giants run their franchise as one that's perpetually in transition.

Rather than wait for problems to present themselves, or roster holes to open, the Giants constantly churn the middle and the back end of their roster, developing players in their system so they're ready to step in when need arises. There are running backs and wide receivers on the roster who have been waiting for the opportunity created by the free-agent defections of Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham, and those players will get the chance to do what Cruz and Pierre-Paul did last year when presented with similar chances. The Giants never allow themselves to get so thin at any one position that they don't at least have options for replacing those who leave or get hurt or decide to sit out training camp.

That said, this Giants team does have holes to fill and problems to solve. They finished 32nd in the league in rushing offense -- a fact that, while mitigated by the improvements the run game showed in December and January -- didn't sit well with their running backs and their offensive linemen. They will need to get better there, and to do so they'll need Ahmad Bradshaw's feet to stay healthy for the first time in years. Plus, they must find someone to replace the 167 touches and eight touchdowns Jacobs contributed to last season's cause.

They'll need to shuffle the offensive line again. While Kareem McKenzie was not what he used to be, he was the starting right tackle on a team that won the Super Bowl, and they did not replace him. They hope that Will Beatty (a) comes back healthy from his eye injury and (b) plays better than he did at left tackle in the first 10 games of last season.

David Diehl isn't around to slide over and bail him out this time. Diehl's got to play right tackle in place of McKenzie. The Giants have some offensive linemen they like for the long-term, but this looks like another transition year on the line. While they have enough good veterans in place to pull it off, that's a tough tightrope act to try too many years in a row.

They have bodies at linebacker, with Keith Rivers brought in as a good veteran reinforcement and some of last year's promising rookies hopefully ready to take a next step, but they have no clear man for the middle. They have bodies at cornerback, but they have question marks there, too.

Corey Webster was awesome in 2011. Can he repeat that performance? Is Terrell Thomas fully recovered from the preseason knee injury that cost him the whole season? Will Prince Amukamara make more of a contribution?

Don't think for a second that GM Jerry Reese isn't concerned. He used each of his first three draft picks on positions at which he lost a player in free agency -- running back (David Wilson for Jacobs), wide receiver (Rueben Randle for Mario Manningham) and cornerback (Jayron Hosley for Aaron Ross). And he's smart to be concerned, because while these Giants rightfully consider themselves a championship team, they're also a team that won one less regular-season game in 2011 than it won in 2010. Had someone in the NFC East won 10 and the Giants missed the playoffs, their offseason narrative would have been that of a team moving in the wrong direction.

Instead, the Giants have a two-front problem to solve. They have a division and a conference and a league full of teams that saw what they did and now consider Super Bowl glory more attainable than ever. And they have an internal mandate to be better this year than 9-7, because they know first-hand that it's not usually good enough to get you the chance to make a Super Bowl run.

They're capable of doing it, and they'll deservedly enter the season among the favorites to win it all again. They have superstars at quarterback, wide receiver and defensive end, and in this day and age that can carry you a long way. But as far as defending Super Bowl champions go, these Giants have more issues than most -- and more work to do.

So every Tuesday at noon ET we open up a SportsNation chat room and we do this thing where you guys ask me questions and I answer them. We call it the weekly NFC East chat, and it's oodles of fun. Those who don't come and join in... well, they're beyond hope at this point. So rather than fill them in with the highlights, I present these chat highlights for those of you were there, so you can relive all the fun we had together.

Wesley from Woodstock, Va. believes that, due to his lofty draft position and the attendant hype, Robert Griffin III will be targeted by defensive players in 2012 for "welcome to the NFL" hits. Considering this, Wesley wanted to know if I thought the Washington Redskins' current backup plan of Rex Grossman and Kirk Cousins was sufficient.

Dan Graziano: I don't know how much better a backup QB situation can get, actually. Grossman is the exact right guy to be backing up RG3 right away -- a QB who knows the offense and can help with the new guy's education (as long as the rookie ignores the parts about throwing it to the other team 20 times a year). And Cousins is a well-regarded young guy who'll be learning along with the starter. I think they've backed him up just fine.

St8prop from Atlanta saw a rumor that the Baltimore Ravens had offered the New York Giants a third-round draft pick for disgruntled defensive end Osi Umenyiora and wondered, if the Giants don't trade him, whether it would be because they believed they could do better in compensation picks for losing him to free agency next year.

DG: I think if they don't move him it's because they determined the value of keeping him on their roster outweighed what was offered. They don't NEED to move him. They're not worried about his discontent affecting what they do, and he showed last year that he can still make a major impact when he does play. And he's cheap.

(Ed. note: Please also remember that, if the Giants lose Umenyiora in free agency next year, their compensation pick wouldn't come until the 2014 draft, and it would depend on who else they lost in 2013 free agency and which players they signed as well.)

DAN FAN from Florida asked who would lead the division in touchdowns in 2012 and offered Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo as a guess.

DG: You mean passing TDs? I'd go with Eli Manning there, taking everything into consideration including his weapons and the relative states of the Giants' and Cowboys' running games.

So then Talon from Muncie, Ind. asked me to "elaborate on the state of NYG & DAL running games."

DG: Well, the Giants were last in the league, Ahmad Bradshaw has chronic foot injuries and Brandon Jacobs had 40 percent of their carries and is now gone. I think it's fair to say the state of the Giants' run game is questionable.

Mark from Los Angeles said he thought Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick "started getting a little lazy" after signing his big contract last offseason and wondered what his state of mind is going into this season.

DG: I don't agree with "lazy" as a characterization of Vick from what I saw last year. I felt all along that the Eagles needed to see some development and maturation from him as a leader, and while he showed some of it late in the year, I don't think he showed enough of it early. I do not ascribe that to laziness, though. I think he works very hard. I just didn't feel that he showed enough improvement in his specific areas of weakness. That could be because he doesn't identify those areas correctly, or because more work needs to be done in them than he or we are willing to admit, or any number of reasons.

And Gavin from Maryland asked how much of an upgrade new Dallas Cowboys fullback Lawrence Vickers would be over Tony Fiammetta, who got a lot of press last year for his role in the run game once DeMarco Murray got hot.

DG: The folks I talked to around the time of that signing all liked Vickers a lot better than they liked Fiammetta. I think by the end of the year, the consensus was that the midseason success of the Dallas' run game was much more Murray than it was Fiammetta, in spite of what some believed while it was happening.

Enjoyed it, as always. Though we didn't hear back from our old buddy Jack from Raleigh. I hope we didn't scare him off.

We are in the eighth week of NFL free agency, and the position to which it has been most unkind is running back. Due to the ever-increasing emphasis on passing offense and the punishing nature of the running back position, teams see less and less value in investing big money in the position. So as the calender flipped to May, a number of veteran running backs with pretty good résumés remained on the open market.

All four teams in our division could conceivably still be in the market for a veteran running back. The Washington Redskins continue to negotiate with Tim Hightower, who was last year's starter before he tore his ACL, and would like him to come back to front an otherwise young running back corps that leaned on 2011 draft picks Roy Helu and Evan Royster over the final weeks of the season. The New York Giants, having lost Brandon Jacobs to free agency, picked David Wilson in this year's first round, but given the youth of their backup plans behind starter Ahmad Bradshaw, it wouldn't be ridiculous for them to bring a veteran back into camp.

The Philadelphia Eagles whiffed on Ronnie Brown as LeSean McCoy's backup last year and have plenty of intriguing youngsters at the position now, but they don't know what to expect from Dion Lewis or Bryce Brown or Chris Polk. And even the Dallas Cowboys, with DeMarco Murray as the starter and veteran Felix Jones as the backup, could stand to add some depth.

So here's a look at the top 10 remaining free-agent running backs and what they might bring if one of our division's teams were to sign them.

Ryan Grant. Rushed for a total of 2,456 yards in 2008 and 2009 as the Packers' starting running back, but an injury in the 2010 season opener cost him that whole season. Showed flashes of his old form in 2011, averaging 4.2 yards on his 134 carries, and he's 29 years old. Might be looking to start somewhere. He was talking to the Lions this week.

Thomas Jones. The graybeard of this group, Jones will turn 34 in August, and his days as a full-time starter are behind him. Might still be able to help in the passing game, but as a runner he'd be well down the depth chart. Well-regarded veteran locker room presence who might help the development of the younger guys who are getting the carries in a place like Washington.

Joseph Addai. Another 29-year-old who's struggled with injuries and probably needs a part-time role to better his chances of staying healthy. Even in his prime as an Indianapolis Colt, Addai was never a 20-carry-per-game guy. His value there was mainly as a receiver and as a blocker in the passing game. But there are some teams in this division that might be looking for a part-time guy who's good at that stuff.

Cedric Benson. He topped 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons as the workhorse back in Cincinnati. Some say he chafed at the part-time role that developed for him as the 2011 season wore on, but at this point in the market he must see that a part-time role is his only option. Has had off-field issues that could scare teams away, but aside from that he might be a nice fit with Bradshaw in New York.

Tim Hightower. The Redskins loved him as a runner, receiver and pass-blocker, and would have him back in a second as their starter if they were sure about his knee. But he hasn't signed yet, and a recent visit to New England indicates he's looking for more than the Redskins are willing to offer.

LaDainian Tomlinson. One of the best ever at the position and a possible Hall of Famer, Tomlinson could be looking at retirement as he comes up on his 33rd birthday next month. But if he wants to play and can approach the level he showcased in 2010 with the Jets, he's the kind of guy who'd get a young running back's attention.

Cadillac Williams. Another 30-year-old for whom injuries have been the dominant story in recent years. He can be a more than productive backup with starter potential if he can stay on the field, but he generally can't.

Ronnie Brown. Only twice in the past five years has the 30-year-old Brown had 200 carries in a season. He was never able to assert himself as the starter in Miami, and as the Eagles' backup last year he was pretty much a complete disaster. It's going to be tough for Brown to sell himself as a reliable backup with what he showed in 2011.

Justin Forsett. He's small and quick and doesn't have a lot of miles on him. He won't turn 27 until October. The question is how much you can get out of him, and in what role. He's not a power runner, but he's good at finding holes. He accelerates well but doesn't have great top-end speed. He catches the ball well but isn't much help as a blocker in the passing game. Someone will sign him, and if they find the right role he could be a good change-up back for someone. It just feels as though each NFC East team already has someone like him.

Maurice Morris. Morris is 32 but has never been a regular feature back. He's been under 100 carries in each of the past three years, and of all of the backs on this list he has the most experience in the kind of part-time role we're talking about. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and doesn't mind playing special teams. He will find a home.

Good morning, and welcome to May, which for those who can't remember back two years is minicamp month in the NFL. It's also the month that has Mother's Day in it, which means it's time to think about doing some shopping. I didn't even realize how soon that was until I flipped the calendar. Sheesh. Anyway, links.

Dallas Cowboys

Morris Claiborne said on the radio in Dallas that he'd love to be a two-way player in the NFL. Hey, I guess if he can play receiver as well as cornerback, then it turns out he was worth their first two picks in the draft! Ah, but I kid, I kid. In all seriousness, Claiborne was a much better pick than any of the ones the Cowboys made after him.

Josh Ellis thinks the fact that the Cowboys didn't draft pass-rush help until the fourth round might make it more likely that they end up giving Anthony Spencer the long-term deal he's seeking. I guess it's possible. Still think they're going to wait to see how Spencer plays this year before deciding on that, though as Josh points out, if he suddenly comes up with like 11 sacks, that'll mean he's going to cost more.

New York Giants

With his buddy Brandon Jacobs gone and the Giants having used their first-round pick on a running back, Ahmad Bradshaw says he's excited to be the veteran among the running backs and plans to make first-rounder David Wilson his "project." That's how they roll over there in East Rutherford. Lots of veterans say they hate it when their team drafts someone who plays their position. Giants players view it as an opportunity to do some teaching.

You may have read or heard, in the wake of the draft Saturday night, the quote where Jerry Reese called fourth-rounder Adrien Robinson "the JPP of tight ends." What he meant by that was that Robinson is very raw and, the Giants believe, has potential to develop into something he hadn't yet been as a college player, much like defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul when the Giants picked him in the first round two years ago. Part of the Giants' reason for hope is their faith in their tight ends coach, Mike Pope, as well as Eli Manning's track record of getting the most out of his receiving targets.

Philadelphia Eagles

Howie Roseman says the Eagles don't plan to add a veteran at safety or running back at this point. It's like I always say about the stuff GMs and coaches say publicly: Sure, he might be telling the truth. But he also might not, and it makes a lot less sense for a GM who has to go play the bargain-bin free-agent market to say, "Yeah, we desperately need to add a veteran to this mix" than it does to say what Roseman said. There's certainly be nothing wrong with adding a cheap, cuttable veteran for camp reps or competition at either of those positions, and the Eagles have several months to decide whether they really want or need to do that.

Jonathan Tamari checked in on special-teams ace Colt Anderson and his recovery from the knee injury that ended his excellent 2011 season prematurely.

Washington Redskins

The issue, such as it is, regarding the Redskins' decision to pick Kirk Cousins in the fourth round after taking Robert Griffin III in the first, is the possibility that Griffin could struggle, Cousins could show promise and a controversy could ensue in which people start to suggest that Cousins would be the better choice at starting quarterback. I could see it, sure. And the Redskins are naive if they think it couldn't happen. But I'm not as exercised about it as a lot of people are, and the main reason is this: That would be true no matter who the backup was, and the fact that the backup in this case would happen to be the fourth-round pick in the draft in which Griffin was the first-round pick only matters to the argument because it just happened. Had Cousins been the Redskins' fourth-round pick last year, I doubt anyone would care about this issue. My only problem with the pick was that I thought Washington could have used it to address a different position at which it had a need. Their counter-argument is that backup quarterback is a need, for every team in general and for them especially, and fair enough.

Have you wondered why the Redskins have taken three SMU players in the last two drafts? It's not entirely a coincidence. Brian Tinsman explains how the connection between Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and SMU coach June Jones had factored into picks such as Aldrick Robinson, Josh LeRibeus and Richard Crawford.

NEW YORK -- Man, did the New York Giants have some options with the final pick in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night. Wide receivers, offensive linemen and pass rushers still abound. They very well could have traded back into the early part of the second round, picked up an extra pick and still taken someone very useful, such as wide receiver Stephen Hill or tackle Cordy Glenn or even a pass rusher like Courtney Upshaw.

But the Giants, before they went on their magical run and won the Super Bowl, were the No. 32 ranked rush offense in the NFL in 2011. And that 32nd-ranked rush offense lost to free agency a back -- Brandon Jacobs -- who accounted for about 40 percent of their carries. So, while the Giants aren't a draft-for-need kind of team, it makes a lot of sense that they decided to take a running back.

The Giants selected Virginia Tech's David Wilson to be Jacobs' replacement, but don't expect a running back like Jacobs. Wilson is a little guy -- about 5-foot-9, 206 pounds -- whose scouting report says he has outstanding top-end speed but still needs to work on his inside running and his initial burst. He's every-down capable, having racked up 334 touches last year with the Hokies, and that matters, since Ahmad Bradshaw always seems to be battling those foot injuries. And he's an outstanding athlete who qualified for the NCAA championships in the triple jump in 2010.

My guess is that the Giants were looking at Boise State running back Doug Martin, and the Buccaneers traded up into the back end of the first round and took Martin one pick before the Giants' turn. But it's entirely possible, knowing the Giants, that Wilson was the guy on whom they had their eye all along. The Giants like to bring guys into their system and develop them under their coaching staff and among their veteran players. So if Martin isn't an impact guy right away in 2012 -- if he's merely in the mix of Bradshaw backups with guys like Da'Rel Scott and D.J. Ware -- that doesn't mean he doesn't have big-time potential down the road.

Ultimately, this is more of a "need" pick than the Giants tend to make in the draft, but if they thought someone like Hill or Glenn or Upshaw or Stanford tight end Coby Fleener was well ahead of Wilson in terms of value, I'm sure they would have taken him. The Giants clearly think highly of Wilson.

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has some thoughts on the free-agent departure of his friend and former backfieldmate Brandon Jacobs. As Ohm Youngmisuk writes, Bradshaw is very sad on a personal level to see Jacobs go. But having recently undergone a procedure in which bone marrow was removed from his hip and injected into his broken foot to help the foot heal, Bradshaw says he believes he can take on more carries. He'll be sitting out the offseason program to rest the foot post-surgery. But he says he feels great and plans to be 100 percent in time for training camp:

"I got the injection in February. I feel tremendous after a month. Right now I have a lot of confidence that I will be able to just be a pound-for-pound back and just hold my own. I probably can (run now) but I am not going to try for two or three months more. I just want to rest as much as I can. By the time training camp comes, I want to practice every week and start the season off right."

Hey, nobody likes minicamps and OTAs, so I doubt Bradshaw's crushed about having to skip that part of the year. It's the part that follows that matters anyway, to Bradshaw, his team and his fans. And while no one doubts Bradshaw's toughness or willingness to play through pain, I think it's pretty clear the team will bring in someone to replace Jacobs and take some of those carries away.

It's not a question of Bradshaw's will or even his ability. It's merely a question of health -- the health of feet that have been a problem for him for years now. At some point, it's fair to assume, Bradshaw's foot will fail him again. It's a matter of when, not if. As much as he may have been portrayed, over the years, as the smaller half of the backfield tandem, Bradshaw is not some shifty, elusive scatback. He's a big, physical back who runs hard, absorbs a lot of contact and gives his body up by blocking and picking up blitzes in the passing game. The NFL season wears on him, and while I don't claim to understand the extent to which an injection of bone marrow from another part of his body might help eliminate his chronic injury, it's no stretch to predict that Bradshaw will wear down.

The running backs still on the Giants' roster -- D.J. Ware, Da'Rel Scott and the drug-suspended Andre Brown -- likely don't provide the answer. Even if one of them emerges in training camp as a viable candidate for an increased workload, none has shown the ability that Bradshaw and Jacobs have shown to do the physical dirty work the Giants demand of their running backs. Jacobs will need to be replaced, for the team's sake and for Bradshaw's.

Back home in New Jersey after four lovely days in Palm Beach at the NFL owners meetings. Man, they had some good links there at the Breakers. But for today, these will have to do.

Dallas Cowboys

Even with free-agent Dan Connor in the fold, the Cowboys might not be done adding to their inside linebacker corps. But Jason Garrett did not make it sound as though free agents Bradie James or Keith Brooking are likely to re-sign.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will have a lap-band procedure to help him lose weight. Ryan's twin brother, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, had the same procedure done in 2010.

New York Giants

Ohm ponders what the Giants will do to replace Brandon Jacobs now that the longtime Giants running back has signed with the 49ers. I agree with Ohm that someone on the level of Carolina's Jonathan Stewart is not a realistic option and that they'll probably sign a cheap veteran running back to throw into the mix with Ahmad Bradshaw and the young guys they have.

Tom Coughlin says he doesn't care if Tim Tebow and the Jets are dominating the New York tabloid headlines, because he and the Giants won the Super Bowl, and he figures the folks reading those papers still remember that.

Philadelphia Eagles

Andy Reid was asked whether old pal Donovan McNabb would be an option for the Eagles at backup quarterback. He did not make it sound as though he would. Some people have asked me about McNabb, but I have no reason to believe he'll play again. For the Eagles or anyone else.

There's a report out there that the Tennessee Titans, who lost Cortland Finnegan to the Rams in free agency, might be one of the teams interested in trading for Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel. And there's a report out there that they're not. So we'll see. Won't be the last team connected to Samuel in this kind of report.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan isn't worried that the league might still penalize the Redskins over bounty programs that may or may not have been in place when Gregg Williams was their defensive coordinator. He's counting on Philip Daniels' recollection to carry the day.

Shanahan also said that left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Fred Davis would have to prove themselves to their teammates, in light of the drug suspensions that ended those players' seasons early.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Man, the San Francisco 49ers must have really been impressed with the New York Giants team that beat them in the rain in the NFC Championship Game back in January.

According to ESPNNewYork.com, former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs has agreed to a contract with the 49ers. He's the second Giants free agent to sign with San Francisco, joining wide receiver Mario Manningham.

I know some Giants fans had been harboring hope that Jacobs might not get a good enough offer elsewhere and might eventually return to the Giants, but that always seemed unlikely, and now it appears that those hopes have been dashed.

Jacobs was a two-time Super Bowl winner in New York and will always be remembered fondly by the Giants and their fans. Giants coach Tom Coughlin was talking just this morning about how difficult it is to lose players with whom you've won championships

"It's very difficult. It's not easy. The guys who have been with you the longest, that's a natural feeling," Coughlin said. "But the great thing about the experiences I've had, for example, with Brandon, Brandon makes it easier on you. There is some sentiment involved in it, but we don't say good bye. We just say, 'Next time.'"

The Giants will struggle to replace Jacobs. Sure, he'd slowed down a bit in recent years and hadn't been as much a part of the offense. But he still brings something that few if any other running backs in the league bring, in terms of the speed and athleticism he has at his remarkable size. They will need some capable veteran to team with Ahmad Bradshaw and his perpetually banged-up foot, and they've already been at work on finding one.

"It's kind of like the questions that have been asked about what it's like right after being world champions," Coughlin said. "We go to the parade, we come back from the parade, and the next day we're grading players, we're ranking players. The business just goes on. Enjoy it while you can, because you've got the next hurdle, and in order to get back on schedule, you've got to deal with these kinds of things."

Dallas Cowboys

ESPNDallas.com wants to know whether you're happy with what the Cowboys have done to this point in free agency. They tell you what they think -- Calvin Watkins calls it a success, Tim MacMahon says it's just a start -- but what they really want to know is what you think. So go read, and make sure to vote.

Josh Ellis thinks that the signing of fullback Lawrence Vickers -- especially if the Cowboys don't sign a second tight end or a quality No. 3 wide receiver -- could lead to more I-formation sets on offense in 2012. They had success in 2011 running behind fullback Tony Fiammetta and might look to replicate that with Vickers now that they've lost Martellus Bennett and Laurent Robinson.

New York Giants

Ebenezer Samuel offers some insight into the unusual procedure Ahmad Bradshaw had done to help heal his injured foot. It was not, apparently, a stem-cell treatment. The goal is to stop the foot from continuing to be an issue for Bradshaw throughout the remainder of his career, because as tough as he is, having to endure the pain he endured in 2011 isn't likely to lend itself to a long career at a very physically demanding position.

David Carr, who was a starting quarterback when he arrived in the NFL with the Houston Texans a long time ago, likes being the Giants' backup quarterback. Says it's the best locker room he's ever been a part of.

Philadelphia Eagles

Former Eagles defensive lineman N.D. Kalu, who now hosts a sports talk radio show in Houston, tells Les Bowen that the loss of linebacker DeMeco Ryans to the Eagles is hurting Texans fans more than the loss earlier in the offseason of Mario Williams to the Bills.

Though there is some tinkering left to do and a few additions that are likely to be made to the offseason roster -- a veteran running back, a veteran fullback, a veteran safety, maybe another linebacker or two -- the Eagles feel as though their roster is in fairly good shape right now, in the wake of addressing their biggest need.

Washington Redskins

There will be some competition at wide receiver this year in Redskins camp, Rich Tandler writes, and very little is guaranteed at this point in terms of anyone's role or status in the starting lineup. A lot could depend on health, too, for guys like Josh Morgan and Leonard Hankerson, whose 2011 seasons ended early due to injury.

Josh Johnson was an intriguing backup quarterback possibility, but he's a San Francisco 49er now. I wonder if, when he showed up for his visit on Wednesday in Ashburn, no one was there to open the door for him since they were all in Waco.

Man, running back really is a funny position these days in the NFL, isn't it? Last week, Mike Tolbert, who has 303 carries and 19 touchdowns over the past two seasons, signed a free-agent deal to be a fullback on a Carolina Panthers team that has two starting-caliber tailbacks. Thursday, Michael Bush, who had 977 rushing yards and 418 receiving yards in 2011, signed a free-agent deal with the Bears, who have designated star running back Matt Forte as their franchise player.

I have New York Giants asking me what all of this means for Brandon Jacobs, who was released a couple of weeks ago after he and the Giants couldn't agree on the size of the pay cut he would take in order to remain on the team. A lot of people think the slow and weird running back market means Jacobs is likely to return to the Giants, since it portends a lack of opportunity to find a better deal elsewhere. I think that's possible, but I don't think it's that cut and dried. I think it comes down to whether there's a team out there that has a specific role in mind for Jacobs.

Of the top 15 running backs (according to our Scouts Inc. grades) who hit the open market when free agency opened last Tuesday, Bush is just the fourth to sign. And all four have been backs who spent 2011 in time-share or backup roles. (Jacobs ranks No. 3 on this list, since I'm not counting the two guys at the top who got franchised and therefore didn't hit the open market.)

What's it all mean? Well, teams have come to realize that there's not much value in throwing big free-agent bucks at running backs when good ones can be found in the middle and late rounds of the draft. But it also shows that running back beauty today is very much in the eye of the beholder.

If you're a free-agent running back on this year's market, you need to hope some team has a very specific role or job in mind for you. The Panthers wanted Tolbert because they saw in him a fullback who could pick up big yards for them in short-yardage spots or at the goal line. The Bears wanted Bush because ... well, they always seem to want a high-profile backup behind Forte since they don't like to give Forte the goal-line carries. Also, it's possible Forte could hold out, demand a trade or refuse to sign his franchise tender. Forte's unhappy in Chicago, and the Bears helped their leverage by signing a guy who showed he could handle starter's duties last year in Oakland when Darren McFadden got hurt.

Jacobs wouldn't have fit either of those roles, which is why he's not a Panther or a Bear. But that doesn't mean there's not a team out there who sees Jacobs as a fit for what they need in their backfield. He brings some things other running backs don't bring. He's by far the biggest and most physical back on that Scouts Inc. list, taller and heavier than even the guys who are being signed for fullback roles. He's as physical a runner as there is in the league, and he's got open-field speed that befits a much smaller guy. No, he's not the same terrifying force he was earlier in his career, but he can help, as he did the Giants in 2011. He's also got two Super Bowl rings, which is something I'm fairly certain no one else on the list can claim. And yeah, that kind of thing does appeal to teams.

The Giants have a spot for him -- in the same championship time-share in which he spent 2011 with his buddy Ahmad Bradshaw. They haven't filled it yet, and as the central point of this post indicates, there's no rush for them to do so. If Jacobs decides he wants to go back and take the offer they gave him two weeks ago, there's a decent chance that spot will still be waiting for him. But he's not in any rush either. There are still teams with holes in their backfields, and one of those teams might just decide Jacobs is the guy they want. Running back is a strange and sl0w-moving market this year, and I don't think we can know anything just yet about where Jacobs fits into it, and whether he goes back to the Giants or not.