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New York Giants GM Jerry Reese took his turn at the podium Saturday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Our man Ohm is on the scene, and he reports that 2011 third-round pick Jerrel Jernigan keeps being mentioned as the Giants' favored candidate for the No. 3 wide receiver spot if Mario Manningham leaves via free agency. Reese also mentioned perpetually injured Ramses Barden as someone who could help replace Manningham and said, "We'll continue to look if we can't bring Mario back."

Reese discussed the tight end situation as well. With Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard both having suffered torn ACLs in the Super Bowl, it's unlikely either of those two will be ready to start the season. That leaves the position, right now, to Bear Pascoe and practice-squad player Christian Hopkins:

"We'll address it somehow, with the draft or free agency, but we'll definitely look to address that," Reese added. "And hopefully those guys [Ballard and Beckum] will be back at some point with the ACLs."

I can't imagine Reese, Giants fans or quarterback Eli Manning is overly panicked about these issues. After all, wide receiver and tight end were supposedly big concerns last offseason after the Giants didn't do anything to address the position. And you know. That worked out all right.

INDIANAPOLIS — The New York Giants already lost backup tight end Travis Beckum to a knee injury in the first half of Super Bowl XLVI, and it appears as though they have lost starting tight end Jake Ballard to a knee injury as well. Ballard injured his knee on a play in the fourth quarter. And while he walked off the field under his own power, when he tried to test out the knee by running on the sideline he fell down and had to be helped to the locker room.

Assuming Ballard can't come back into the game, the only tight end the Giants have for the final 9:24 is Bear Pascoe.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Lots going on here Wednesday as the New York Giants practiced in preparation for Sunday's playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Tom Coughlin talked, the players did a lot of talking, and we'll have plenty of it for you here and of course on ESPNNewYork.com. But I wanted to address something specific.

During Tuesday's chat, jbl429 from NYC asked whether the Giants had seen something on tape about Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman that told them they could jump over him. Tight end Bear Pascoe and fullback Henry Hynoski both added yards to key plays by hurdling Newman in Sunday night's game, and running back Ahmad Bradshaw tried to do the same but was unsuccessful. I asked Pascoe this question, and here's what he said:

"What corner his size wants to hit a 270-pound tight end up high? There might be a few, but I don't think there are too many. For me it was just instinct. If he goes low, you go high. If he goes high, you go low. I know a lot of people were surprised, but that's just the way it worked out. There was no book on him that says you're supposed to try and jump over him."

Hynoski said the same, insisting that "you don't plan things like that -- they just happen." He did, however, say that Bradshaw took a little bit of abuse in the film room Monday for being the only guy that didn't pull it off while less likely hurdlers Pascoe and Hynoski did.

"Yes, he did hear about that," Hynoski said. "We let him have it a little bit."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A few thoughts from the New York Giants' division-clinching victory over the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.

What it means: The Giants finish the season at 9-7 and win the NFC East. The Cowboys finish the season at 8-8, technically in third place in the division behind the Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants started the season 6-2, weathered a brutal second-half schedule and claimed the division title with two victories over the Cowboys in the final four weeks of the season.

Winning the energy battle: The Giants came out of the gate far more fired-up than did their visitors in this winner-take-all game. Thanks to high-energy plays by everyone from Mathias Kiwanuka to Victor Cruz to Bear Pascoe -- and thanks to a laundry list of Cowboys mistakes, especially in coverage -- the Giants were able to build a 21-0 halftime lead and hold on even after the Cowboys came out of the locker room re-energized and much more focused and effective in the second half.

Cru-u-u-u-u-u-zzzz: The player of the game for the Giants -- and maybe the player of their season, at least on offense -- was wide receiver Cruz. Eight days after turning the Jets game on its head with a 99-yard touchdown catch, Cruz caught the ball running across the field in the first quarter and got Sunday night's scoring started with a 74-yard touchdown catch from Eli Manning. And in the fourth quarter, after the Cowboys had cut the lead to 21-14 and were building momentum, Cruz hauled in a 44-yard reception on 3rd-and-7 and a 20-yard catch on 2nd-and-10 to keep alive a field-goal drive. When Manning needs to make a big play, right now, Cruz appears to be his favorite target.

Pressure points: The Giants were able to get a ton of pressure on Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, at least in the first half while they built their big lead. The Cowboys were unable to get any pressure on Manning until the second half, and even then it was inconsistent and they weren't able to finish off sacks. It made the difference in the game, as it seemed clear that the Cowboys' receivers were able to beat the Giants' defensive backs if given time, but they weren't. Manning had all the time in the world to pick apart a leaky Dallas secondary, targeting an overmatched Terence Newman in the first half and Orlando Scandrick, who's likely to replace Newman as a starter in 2012, in the second.

Off-season focus: It seems extremely clear that the two areas on which the Cowboys need to win this offseason are the offensive line and the defensive secondary. No amount of talent at quarterback wide receiver, running back or linebacker will make up for their deficiencies in those two crucial building-block areas, which is where they lost their games and the division down the stretch.

Full-strength strength: The Giants' defense works only when it's able to get that pressure on the quarterback with their defensive linemen. With Osi Umenyiora back and healthy after missing four games with an ankle injury, the Giants were able to mix looks and pressures with him, Justin Tuck and 2011 breakout star Jason Pierre-Paul. If they can keep all three of their great pass-rushing ends healthy (not to mention Kiwanuka, who plays linebacker now but retains his pass-rusher's soul), they will lean hard on that for however deep they go in the playoffs. They get another high-powered passing offense next week with Matt Ryan and the Falcons coming to town, and they'll need to keep after the quarterback to make sure Atlanta's great receivers don't do damage down the field.

What's next: The Giants will host the Atlanta Falcons in a wild-card playoff game at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, right back here at MetLife Stadium. The Cowboys can begin to make plans for what to do with the 14th pick in the NFL draft.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants could not have asked for a better first half in the NFC East title game. They have done everything they've wanted to do on offense and defense. They have come out fired up behind high-energy stars like Mathias Kiwanuka and Victor Cruz. And when they've made mistakes, the Dallas Cowboys have consistently failed to capitalize on them.

Eli Manning is 15-for-20 for 199 yards and two touchdowns in the game so far. Ahmad Bradshaw has 46 rush yards and two touchdowns -- one on the ground and one through the air. The Giants are rolling with a 21-0 lead and will get the ball back to start the second half.

The Giants have been picking on overmatched Dallas cornerback Terence Newman all night, and Newman has given them no reason to stop. Not that he's the only Cowboy who should be blamed for what's going on here tonight. Here is a list of costly Cowboys mistakes from the first half. It's not for the faint of heart:

• Tony Romo overthrowing Dez Bryant on third down on the first series of the game after Bryant had gotten past Corey Webster and could have had a long gain.
• Newman missing a tackle and allowing Bear Pascoe to hurdle him and convert a third down deep in Giants territory.
• Newman getting smoked by Cruz for a 74-yard touchdown reception.
• Alan Ball failing to corral a muffed punt that would have set the Cowboys up with good field position in Giants territory.
• Abram Elam completely missing a one-on-one tackle and allowing Bradshaw to run in for a touchdown.
• Gerald Sensabaugh failing to pick up a Brandon Jacobs fumble, which eventually bounced back into the hands of Manning.
• Romo going past the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball to Bryant for what looked like a big third-down pickup deep in Giants' territory down 14-0 late in the second quarter.
• Ball downing an excellent Chris Jones punt inside the 5-yard line after going out of bounds, leading to an illegal touching penalty and awarding the Giants the ball on the 20-yard line instead of inside the 5.
• Henry Hynoski pulling a repeat of the Pascoe hurdle job on Newman on the play just before Bradshaw's short touchdown catch pushed the lead to 21-0 with 1:09 left in the half.

It all adds up to this: One team came to play and the other team looks as though it did not. The Giants have been creative and quick and effective with their pass rush, which has deprived the Cowboys of a chance to take advantage of the Giants' secondary or even really find out if Romo's hand is OK. The Giants have kept the Cowboys off of Manning, which continues a trend. The Cowboys didn't sack Manning in the game three weeks ago in Dallas, and haven't tonight. And the Giants have blocked fairly well in the run game when they've needed to.

The game is not decided or out of reach, but a different -- and much more focused -- Dallas team needs to come out of the halftime locker room, or next week's playoff game is going to be here and not in Arlington, Texas.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If you're wondering whether your favorite injured New York Giants or Dallas Cowboys player will be active for Sunday night's NFC East title game, the answer is yes.

Giants wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham and defensive end Osi Umenyiora all will dress for and play in tonight's game. Umenyiora missed the past four games with an ankle injury. Manningham missed last week's game and several others during the second half with a knee injury. And Nicks missed some practices last week with a hamstring injury. But as they said they would be, all are healthy enough to play in a game that decides the division champion.

Likewise, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who bruised his throwing hand last weekend in a loss to Philadelphia, will start the game. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff and linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Sean Lee also are active in spite of injuries that limited them during the week.

The Giants will still be without tight end Jake Ballard, who has a knee injury. And wide receiver Ramses Barden is a surprise inactive. He is not injured, so it appears Barden is being held out because he hasn't been playing well lately. Bear Pascoe will start at tight end in place of Ballard, with Henry Hynoski starting at fullback in place of Pascoe. The Giants also announced that Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul will be the starting defensive ends, which means Umenyiora technically will come off the bench.

For the Cowboys, the only surprise inactive is cornerback Frank Walker, who's healthy but also hasn't played well lately. With Walker and injured safety/special teamer Danny McCray inactive, the Cowboys are very thin in the secondary against a Giants passing offense that had its way with them three weeks ago in Dallas. Dallas is also without punter Mat McBriar, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a foot injury.

Observations from the Giants 41-13 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football":

We preach all the time that preseason games don't matter, but so few people really take it to heart. Fans like to hang on every play, to wonder whether or not it matters that Eli Manning doesn't look sharp, or to try and figure out whether or not Brandon Jacobs deserves more carries than Ahmad Bradshaw. But in the end, there are no accurate judgments to be made off of these games and the only thing that actually matters in any of them is that nobody gets seriously hurt.

And that's why, regardless of the final score or the potentially very encouraging way the rest of the team played during the game itself, Monday night's victory over the Bears was a disaster for the New York Giants.

Shortly before halftime, Giants starting cornerback Terrell Thomas collided with Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and limped off the field. At halftime, Giants coach Tom Coughlin revealed to ESPN's Suzy Kolber than Thomas had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and would miss the entire season.

This is devastating news, first and foremost, for Thomas, one of the very good guys and leaders on the Giants' roster and a player who has one year left before free agency. Thoughts go out to him, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

But it's also awful news for the Giants, who earlier this preseason lost cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson to major injuries (and later in this game saw Brian Witherspoon carted off with a knee injury). Amukamara is out for at least a couple of months, Johnson for the year and now a team that was already struggling for depth at cornerback has lost one of its starters. They've gone from hoping Aaron Ross could be a reliable No. 3 corner and play as their extra defensive back in passing situations to hoping Ross can be a reliable starter and probably using safety Deon Grant in that role as they did last year. The Giants weren't deep to begin with, and they came out of their second preseason game with a major hole on the roster and in the starting lineup.

So that's all that matters from this game, period. But if you want to know what else I saw that might have a chance to matter down the road if by some coincidence regular-season developments jive with preseason performance in specific areas, here you go.

1. On the bright side, Ross looked very good. He knocked down two Jay Cutler passes intended for Roy Williams on third down early in the game. He made another play on a receiver later to prevent a touchdown (though he may have pushed off on that coverage). He made a nice tackle on Marion Barber behind the line of scrimmage in the third quarter. You could do worse than Ross as a fill-in cornerback when one of your starters gets hurt, and it's encouraging that he played well. But again, the Giants were figuring on Ross as their third corner, not one of their top two.

2. Oh, and X-rays on William Beatty's foot were negative. Which is a good thing. Beatty didn't have to take on Julius Peppers all night as we expected, since the Bears moved Peppers over to the other side to terrorize Kareem McKenzie and the Giants' overmatched tight ends. Beatty looked better overall in this game, holding his own and keeping his man off the quarterback, though he still looks a little grabby to me. You don't like to see a left tackle reaching quite as much as Beatty does to try and prevent the edge rush. He's got to do a better job of getting his whole body in front of his guy, or he's going to be a walking holding penalty.

3. Giants' special teams looked better. Devin Thomas is really showing his speed and athleticism on kick returns. Matt Dodge and Steve Weatherford both bombed huge punts all night. There was good kick coverage, including a big tackle by receiver Victor Cruz as he continues to work to try and secure a spot in the receiving corps. Jerrel Jernigan doesn't show much on punt returns, but the Giants had so many problems on special teams last year that if they can get it down to just one, Coughlin is going to be ecstatic.

4. How did those receivers keep getting open between Corey Webster and Kenny Phillips? It happened twice in the first half, and Cutler hit it for a big gain each time. It looked as though the receiver got by Webster and Phillips didn't get over in time to help. There are three possibilities that I can see: 1. Webster let his man go by him without making sure he had the safety help; 2. Phillips was supposed to help but was slow getting over; 3. Phillips went with the tight end up the seam after the tight end got by middle linebacker Jonathan Goff, which would kind of lead back to (1.) though with some blame to be shared by Goff. Either way, I'm certain it'll be discussed in detail in meetings this week. The Giants will obviously need mistake-free play from Webster and Phillips with as vital a piece as Thomas now missing from the secondary.

5. Victor Cruz, preseason wonder. Domenik Hixon had the big touchdown catch, but I really believe the Giants are trying to bring Hixon along slowly as he's coming back from his knee injury. And if that's the case, it opens up opportunities for guys like Cruz to get more reps at wide receiver. Cruz lined up with the starters in the team's three-receiver sets at the start of the game, and he did a lot of good, athletic, impressive things, just like he did last year in the preseason. As long as he keeps contributing on special teams, he's a good bet to make the roster. And if he does and Hixon is still being babied come the regular season, Cruz should get a serious chance to show whether or not his preseason success can carry into the regular season this time.

6. Some notes on the sure things. Manning looked fine, though I wouldn't put him in John Beck's class as a preseason quarterback. (Easy, folks... I kid because I love...) Brandon Jacobs looked especially spry on his touchdown run. And how about Justin Tuck's downfield tackle on Matt Forte? Tuck's a beast, but I couldn't help thinking a linebacker or a safety should have made that unnecessary. Overall, the Giants' defense looked very good, especially when it came time to keep the Bears out of the end zone in goal-line situations. Mark Herzlich's interception on the fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter was the most fun of the stops.

7. Still could use a tight end. Not that this is a Priority No. 1 at this point, but Travis Beckum and Bear Pascoe have been fully underwhelming at a key position for the Giants' passing game. We saw Manning audible at the line a few times and look to check it down, but with Steve Smith in Philadelphia and Kevin Boss in Oakland, he's still looking for reliable options to serve as safety valves. There was a third-down throw on which he and Mario Manningham couldn't connect that made you think he missed Smith. But two more preseason games to go and work still to be done, as is the case with every team.

IRVING, Texas -- I'm sitting in the press box at Cowboys Stadium waiting for this epic battle between the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders. But while we wait, let's take a look at something Tom Coughlin said in New York Giants camp Thursday afternoon. Asked if it was time to sign a few more tight ends, here was his response:

"Do you know where we can find them? You know how many teams in the league are looking for tight ends?" asked Coughlin. "Seriously, you saw when Dallas got just about wiped out the other night. It’s a nice idea but it’s not novel, that idea has been used way earlier, but the search goes on and to be honest with you, it’s not a real fertile position when trying to find players that are out there.

"You’re always thinking ‘How long is the guy going to be out?’ and when you do get him back, ‘is he better than what you’re bringing in here?’ That has to be said, too."

For now, Bear Pascoe is the only healthy tight end on the Giants' roster. And as Coughlin noted, the Cowboys are also having major issues at that position. They only have two tight ends available Thursday night against the Raiders.

Coughlin also talked about a team-bonding event that will take place in Albany Thursday evening.

"We’re having dinner tonight with the players; we’re going out to various spots in town," said Coughlin. "We normally have some kind of team building, this year has been more of a conscious effort to take all the frustration of last year and put it into one statement and try to do it better than we’ve ever done it before and try to get everybody on the same page, which we normally do. That’s a theme that we’ve always tried to drive home and the guys have been pretty good about it here."

Coughlin declined to provide the name of the restaurant in case you wanted to join the Giants for dinner.

Just like the Cowboys, the Giants are losing tight ends on a daily basis. They were missing four tight ends in Tuesday's evening session. Bear Pascoe was the only true tight end in uniform. And at some point, Giants fans are going to start worrying about Kevin Boss (hamstring/ankle).

I think the Giants will have to manage his injury the entire season. He's a tough guy who will play through pain, but he's not experienced enough to miss this many practices. This is when Travis Beckum needs to be making his move, but he's also missing time because of a hamstring issue.

It's interesting that the Redskins now appear to have more depth at tight end than any team in the division. Chris Cooley and Fred Davis have a chance to be one of the best duos in the league. But let's see how it plays out. A few of us predicted greatness for Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett last season. Obviously, that didn't work out for Bennett.

Just talked to an NFC scout who told me that Davis was too fast for linebackers to cover and too big for safeties to handle. And obviously Cooley's capable of shredding a secondary. Ask Bill Parcells about that.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Beast just wrapped up one-on-one sessions with Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and Antrel Rolle, so we'll be rolling out some items throughout the afternoon. And remember to check out our Giants Camp Confidential feature Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday morning, Coughlin turned up the tempo in practice and wanted to see his players hustling between drills. He was not thrilled when a certain rookie defensive tackle (Linval Joseph) didn't know he was supposed to rotate into team drills. It was clear from the beginning of Monday's session that this coaching staff isn't going to wait for the young guys to catch up to the veterans. Either you keep up or you'll end up at the house. Here's what stood out to me during this morning's session:

• It's remarkable how much of a presence new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has in practice. You can hear him from anywhere on the University at Albany campus. When Mario Manningham caught a pass across the middle, Fewell shouted, "That's [expletive!]" to no one in particular. And when cornerback Corey Webster snagged a one-handed interception, Fewell raced up the left sideline and threatened to throw a block on an unsuspecting tight end. From talking to Tuck and other players, you can tell the Giants truly missed Steve Spagnuolo's dynamic presence in practice last season. Fewell brings that same type of energy. Of course, none of that will matter if the Giants give up a ton of huge plays. But at this point, Fewell has been the story of camp. Coughlin hired Fewell years ago and then admired him from afar as he blossomed into a highly regarded coordinator. I think the fact that Fewell held the Bills together during difficult circumstances was also a big factor in him being hired by the Giants.
• For those of you who have been asking, Ahmad Bradshaw looks completely healthy to me. He had to bounce a run outside Monday because linebacker Clint Sintim came knifing through the line of scrimmage and he showed that same quickness that I remember from a couple years ago. The Giants will be very cautious with Bradshaw in camp, but he doesn't have any limitations at this point.
• Staying with running back, I can see why general manager Jerry Reese and Coughlin still have a lot of hope for Andre Brown. He ran a nice little wheel route in Monday's practice and then just exploded down the sideline. The Giants beat writers tried to identify a running back who's made it all the way back from a ruptured Achilles' tendon. They came up empty. Perhaps Brown can make some history.
• One of the few encouraging things from last season was Manning's ability to connect on some deep balls. On Monday, he put the ball in a perfect spot for Steve Smith, but the receiver had it glance off his hands. Safety Deon Grant was responsible for helping Webster on the play and he made the mistake of letting Smith get behind him.
• Rolle just has a swagger that you didn't see in the Giants secondary last season. I think he's excited about playing on a bigger stage and he acts like he's been around forever. It really has been a seamless transition and I think he'll make a ton of plays for Fewell.
• The Ramses Barden Show continued Monday morning with the wide receiver making nice catches in traffic. Manning has a lot more confidence in Barden at this point, but the second-year player still has to take it to the field. Coughlin and Reese seem convinced that Barden's on the verge of being something special. He was a big story in last year's camp, but in the two practices I've watched, I like how he's catching the ball on the run. There's none of that hesitation that some young receivers have.
• Rough day at the office for Madison Hedgecock. He dropped both of the passes that Manning sent his way. And it's not just a case of having hands of stone. For whatever reason, he doesn't look the ball into his hands.
• Duke Calhoun is a free-agent rookie out of Memphis who is displaying excellent hands early in camp. He's made a couple of catches in traffic and I could tell that Coughlin was watching him closely today.
• Catch of the day goes to second-year tight end Bear Pascoe out of Fresno State. He was racing down the seam and then he went into a full dive to haul in a Rhett Bomar pass. And speaking of Bomar, he was on the money in team drills. He's gained a lot more confidence and he gets the ball out quickly. At this rate, he may push Jim Sorgi for the backup spot. We pretty much know what Sorgi's going to be at this point. Bomar has a live arm and he's not afraid to zing it into traffic. Safeties coach Dave Merritt was frustrated a couple of times because his players couldn't get their hands on Bomar's passes. But it's not like he's floating anything out there.
• No one ever talks about defensive end Dave Tollefson, but he's a steady player. He looked solid against the run Monday morning and it looks like he's quicker off the ball than I've seen him in the past. Defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka made an outstanding play in team drills to force Bradshaw to reverse field.
• Travis Beckum will receive a ton of playing time in the preseason. He's a big, speedy target for Manning. But when Bomar fired a nice pass across the middle, Beckum couldn't bring it in. With Kevin Boss only practicing once a day, Beckum's going to get treated like a starter. He has to make that play. A tight end out of Ohio State named Jake Ballard also had a bad drop on a pass from Bomar.
• I took a long look at rookie defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul today. He's extremely gifted, but he's having a tough time getting off blocks at this point. Second-year offensive tackle Jacob Bender didn't have any problems with Pierre-Paul when I was watching today. The good news is that Pierre-Paul seems to have an excellent attitude. He and Joseph are hanging out with the veteran players asking questions all the time.
• Center Shaun O'Hara (ankle) will sit out both practices today, but Osi Umenyiora (hip), Hakeem Nicks (toe) and Boss (knee) will all return. It also looks like the Giants are going to be cautious with Keith Bulluck's knee. He stayed on the sideline today while Jonathan Goff continued to run with the first team. I'm going to focus on Phillip Dillard for a little bit in practice this afternoon and see how he's coming along.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For the first time this season, Giants coach Tom Coughlin has decided to sit down his former starting defensive tackle Rocky Bernard. The Giants signed Bernard to a lucrative free-agent contract last March but he hasn't performed up to expectations.

The Giants will also have rookie wide receiver Hakeem Nicks starting ahead of Mario Manningham. That's a move that could've happened several weeks ago. Nicks is becoming a big-play receiver and he's more consistent than Manningham at this point in their careers. Aaron Ross will start this game at strong safety instead of C.C. Brown. That was another move that Coughlin hinted at this week in practice.

The rest of the Giants' inactives: WR Ramses Barden, DB D.J. Johnson, RB Gartrell Johnson, T Adam Koets, T Guy Whimper, WR Sinorice Moss, TE Bear Pascoe.

The Eagles' inactives: Emergency QB Kevin Kolb, CB Geoffrey Pope, RB P.J. Hill, RB Brian Westbrook, G/T Stacy Andrews, G Mike McGlynn, WR Kevin Curtis, DT Trevor Laws.