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Interesting little transaction of NFC East interest today as the Washington Redskins announced the signing of former New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Goff. Nice pickup for the Redskins. A year ago, before tearing his ACL in the preseason, Goff was slated to be the starting middle linebacker for a team that would go on to win the Super Bowl. Now, he comes into Washington as insurance (assuming he's healthy) at a position at which the Redskins suddenly have some interesting depth.

Goff won't be a starting inside linebacker for the Redskins, as those two spots in Washington's 3-4 defense belong to London Fletcher and Perry Riley. But Fletcher's quite old and Riley's still quite young and so you never know when you might need help at one of those spots. Adding Goff to a backup mix that includes Lorenzo Alexander, recently signed Bryan Kehl and fourth-round draft pick Keenan Robinson is a low-risk, high-upside move.

From Goff's perspective, it appears he misread the market. The Giants would have had him back (at their price, which was what they told all of their own free agents), but he wanted to see if he could find greener pastures. But while he visited places like Cleveland and Miami, the Giants went out and traded for linebacker Keith Rivers, likely costing Goff a chance to go back to New York and reclaim his starting middle linebacker job. Now, if he'd like to be an NFL starter again, he'll have to work his way back into such a role from a backup spot. At least the Redskins' linebacker group is a good one around which to spend time. Prolonged exposure to Fletcher is the kind of thing that can help a guy's career if he pays attention.

The Friday links are up. Enjoy 'em.

Dallas Cowboys

Fresh injury on the offensive line, as Derrick Dockery, the Week 2 starter at left guard, has a knee injury and will miss Monday night's game. Rookie and Week 1 starter Bill Nagy looks like he's in line to start in his place. Are the Cowboys as banged-up on offense as the Giants are on defense? As of now, their starting quarterback, center, top two wide receivers and starting running back have a chance to miss Monday's game in addition to Dockery, and tight end Jason Witten plans to play with rib injuries. London Fletcher and the rejuvenated Redskins defense must be salivating.

Tony Romo's not close to being ready to play, Clarence Hill writes, but that doesn't mean he won't be ready by Monday night. Long way to go yet on this story.

New York Giants

Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell would neither confirm nor deny the assertion by former Giants linebacker Bryan Kehl that he (Fewell) coaches guys to fake injuries to slow down an opposing offense. Which of course means he does. But enough of this story, right?

Osi Umenyiora finally talked about his contract dispute with the team, which was resolved over a month ago, though not to Umenyiora's satisfaction because the Giants resolved it by just not doing anything and expecting him to play for his contract. I think people are sick of this story too and just want to know now when Umenyiora might play. He still doesn't seem to know.

Philadelphia Eagles

It seems clear by now that Michael Vick will start for the Eagles on Sunday in spite of the concussion he suffered in Week 2. The key, of course, as Bob Ford writes, is finding a better way to make sure Vick doesn't get another one.

Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said the shift of linebackers could just be a temporary fix designed specifically to help the Eagles stop the Giants' running game this week. Pshaw. If it works, they're really going to go back to the alignment that the Rams and Falcons gashed? I call shenanigans. And I already called pshaw. So that's pshaw and shenanigans on the same story. Your move, Juan Castillo.

Washington Redskins

Brandon Banks is really fast, and he likes talking about how fast he is. Banks is one of those guys who makes you stop and watch the kickoffs and punts, because you hold your breath knowing he's going to break one and you don't want to miss it when he does. Fast and fearless. Good combination for someone in his job.

Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett supports DeAngelo Hall's stated plan to hit Romo in the busted ribs, if only because that may be the only place the rules allow you to hit a quarterback.

No, I don't believe Deon Grant when he says he was really hurt, and I'm not sure why he went to such great lengths to deny something everyone knows to be true. He obviously faked an injury Monday night to slow down the Rams' no-huddle offense as it was nearing the goal line and give his New York Giants a chance to make the substitutions they hadn't been able to make. Methinks he doth protest too much, and in the face of a mountain of evidence.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford said he heard Giants players yelling, "Someone go down! Someone go down!" Rams linebacker Bryan Kehl, who played for the Giants last year, said Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell coaches that. Giants players were smiling about it when asked after the game. Even the league office knows what happened, which is why they sent a useless memo Wednesday reminding teams that faking injuries to stop the clock is against the rules. They were basically telling the Giants, "We know what you did, and we know you know it's cheating, but we can't do anything about it so we're sending this memo so fans think we're on top of this. Please don't do it again."

Thing is, though, they will. And so will other teams when they find themselves in the position the Giants are in right now. The Giants, quite simply, are desperate. A lackluster offseason followed by an inconceivable rash of injuries has left them with a roster that will be outmanned in most weeks. So if they're going to win, they know they're going to have to use every possible avenue available to them. And while no one in the organization can officially condone or admit to a tactic that amounts to cheating, competitive athletes in this or any other sport are almost always willing to break rules if they're unenforceable. It's not cheating, the old saying goes, if you can't get caught.

The Giants still have a lot of very good players on their roster, but overall right now they're an average-to-below-average team that's losing a key player every other week to a season-ending knee injury. They know what trouble feels like, and they were feeling it early Monday night when Grant and rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams flopped the way soccer stars flop to draw phantom penalties. They were fortunate, as it turns out, to have been playing the Rams, who are a bad team that has very few good players and can't seem to get out of its own way. But they don't get to play the Rams every week. Things are going to get keep getting desperate for the Giants, over and over again, and when they do, you can bet they'll be looking for any edge they can create.

Should they fear NFL repercussions? Of course not. The NFL can't enforce this rule. They can't have an official judge on the spot whether a guy is hurt and throw a flag, and they can't fine a team for faking injuries and risk having the accused faker come back with a torn ACL. (Which, especially if it's the Giants, is far too likely to chance at this point.) There's enough evidence and eyewitness testimony right now about the Monday night game that the league could punish the Giants if they wanted to. Instead they send out a memo in the hopes that the Giants will get embarrassed and stop doing it. But it's not going to work. As long as the Giants are as desperate as they are right now, fear of unlikely punishment isn't going to stop them from doing what they think they need to do to win.

» NFC Big Question: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Is Phillip Dillard a viable candidate to start at middle linebacker?

Something strange has taken place since the New York Giants' first rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago. It's almost like we're assuming that Phillip Dillard, a fourth-round pick out of Nebraska, should be the starter at middle linebacker. So does that say more about the team's shaky status at that position or Dillard's upside?

Antonio Pierce is gone because of injuries and declining play. But the Giants certainly will miss his leadership at middle linebacker. It's the job of new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to identify someone who's not afraid to be vocal while getting the front seven in the right spots. The good news for Fewell is that rookie linebackers have flourished as starters over the last few years in the league. I think of the impact DeMeco Ryans had as a rookie with the Texans. And you immediately knew that Patrick Willis would be Pro Bowler when he stepped on the field for the 49ers.

Dillard has a long way to go, but there are signs that he has the type of ability to take over the position. And honestly, I don't think Jonathan Goff, Bryan Kehl and Gerris Wilkinson are viable alternatives. I'm not sure there's a fourth-round pick in the league who faces more pressure than Dillard. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com caught up with Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher to ask him about rookies in the starting lineup. Fletcher played for Fewell with the Bills, so he knows what the defensive coordinator's trying to accomplish.

"If the rookie comes in and is a great talent and they can live with the growing pains that come with the rookie, and that rookie learns from his mistakes and doesn’t repeat the same mistakes, he can excel in that defense,” said Fletcher.

» NFC Busts/Gems: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

» Draft Watch: Biggest needs (2/17) | Busts/gems (2/24) | Schemes, themes (3/3) | Recent history (3/10) | Needs revisited (3/17) | Under-the-radar needs (3/26) | History in that spot (3/31) | Draft approach (4/7) | Decision-makers (4/14) | Dream scenario/Plan B (4/21)

Each Wednesday leading up to the NFL draft (April 22-24), the ESPN.com blog network will take a division-by-division look at key aspects of the draft. Today’s topic: Busts and late-round gems.

Dallas Cowboys

From a bust standpoint, let me offer up the '09 draft class. But that's not completely fair because the class was pretty much wiped out by injuries last season. The one unquestionable gem is USC kickoff specialist David Buehler. Some of us laughed when the Cowboys spent a sixth-round pick on a player who wasn't supposed to compete for the place-kicking job. But Buehler led the league in touchbacks and participated on the punt and kick return units. Another gem is 2008 fourth-round pick Tashard Choice. When offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has gotten him on the field, Choice has produced in a big way. In 2008, he appeared to be the most complete back on the roster at times. From a bust standpoint, go back to the '07 draft and look at third-round pick James Marten out of Boston College. You could tell pretty quickly that Marten wasn't a player. And in the fourth round of that same draft, the Cowboys got cute in taking former University of Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback to play wide receiver. Stanback was a shoulder injury waiting to happen and he didn't take advantage of numerous opportunities.

New York Giants

They'll be talking about the '07 draft for years. The Giants have four starters from that class and they found the ultimate gem in seventh-rounder Ahmad Bradshaw. The former Marshall running back had some off-the-field issues that caused him to plummet in the draft, but he was a valuable part of the Giants' march to the Super Bowl in '07. The Giants also landed cornerback Aaron Ross (first), wide receiver Steve Smith (second) and tight end Kevin Boss (fifth) in that draft. And don't forget about starting safety Michael Johnson (seventh). That's the draft that put new general manager Jerry Reese on the map. In '08, the Giants were able to land starting safety Kenny Phillips late in the first round and Terrell Thomas late in the second. Phillips appeared to be on his way to stardom but a season-ending knee injury in '09 has tempered those expectations. Thomas was forced into a starting position in '09 and performed admirably. We're still waiting to find out what mid-round picks Bryan Kehl and Jonathan Goff turn out to be. Those guys aren't really gems or busts. The verdict's still out on 2009 second-round pick Clint Sintim. Certainly not a bust, but he needs to show something this season. And for all the time we spent bragging on Cal Poly wide receiver Ramses Barden, the guy couldn't get on the field. If he can't get on the field in 2010, he'll be trending toward bust status. North Carolina State running back Andre Brown had gem potential, but he suffered a season-ending injury in training camp.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles found two gems in the '07 draft. Stewart Bradley is a quality starting middle linebacker who was selected in the third round and the Eagles took Pro Bowl-worthy tight end Brent Celek in the fifth round. The two players have become close friends and they're a huge part of the Eagles' future. In fact, Philly has already signed Celek to a contract extension. From a bust standpoint, the Eagles wasted a pick on Penn State running back Tony Hunt in '07. It's hard to believe that they took Hunt in the third round. And it's not as if Victor Abiamiri has been some type of standout second-round pick. Obviously, we're still waiting to see what becomes of the Eagles' top pick in '07, Kevin Kolb. In '08, the Eagles landed DeSean Jackson in the second round. But two picks before Jackson, they selected defensive tackle Trevor Laws. So there's your boom and bust scenario. The rest of that class is pretty forgettable. Fourth-round selection Quintin Demps has been serviceable, but I wouldn't refer to him as a hidden gem or anything. From the '09 class, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy were excellent value picks. They should both be a huge part of the offense for several years. Moise Fokou was a gem in the seventh round. He has the potential to be a special-teams standout and he eventually cracked the starting lineup, although that was predicated by a string of injuries. Still, it's obvious the Eagles like Fokou. He's constantly around the ball.

Washington Redskins

The '07 draft was pretty much a waste of time. The Redskins barely had any picks, but they did manage to select safety LaRon Landry sixth overall. The tragic loss of Sean Taylor meant that Landry had to become the main man at safety. He wasn't ready for that type of responsibility and he's never really lived up to his immense potential. We'll see if Jim Haslett can help him reach the next level. In the second round of the '08 draft, the Skins took wide receivers Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly. Neither player has really distinguished himself, although Thomas took some important steps in '09. Kelly won the starting job coming out of training camp, but he didn't do anything with it. Sandwiched between those two picks was former USC tight end Fred Davis. He came on strong in '09 once Chris Cooley was lost to injury. It looks like Davis will be a player. Thomas and Kelly could go either way. Unless there's a dramatic change this offseason, third-round pick Chad Rinehart will be a bust at guard. Seventh-round pick Chris Horton was a great story early in 2008, but his star has faded a bit. Until he reclaims his starting safety spot, it's hard to call him a gem. The '09 draft was another one-hit wonder. It looks like first-round pick Brian Orakpo will be a perennial Pro Bowler. He's an excellent pass-rusher and I think he'll flourish in Haslett's 3-4 scheme. No one else in the class stood out.

I'm sorry, it's time to let the '09 season go. This is almost impossible for Cowboys fans who are still trying to figure out whether the Vikings are really 31 points better than their team. The other three NFC East teams are already looking to the future.

The Redskins have renewed hope with the arrival of Mike Shanahan. Eagles fans are beating their annual "let's dump Donovan" drum. And the Giants are trying to figure out exactly what went wrong while hiring new defensive coaches. Now let's address the burning questions for all four teams.

Dallas Cowboys

The Burning Questions: Now that we know Wade Phillips will return as head coach, we can stop obsessing about his replacement. I think the Cowboys' 09 season was an unequivocal success. I know it ended in embarrassing fashion, but there are signs that this team will have more opportunities to win divisional playoff games. You no longer have a question mark at quarterback. Yes, I know Tony Romo reverted to some of his old ways during Sunday's loss, but that shouldn't overshadow the fact that he completely changed his reputation during the '09 season. Romo learned to trust that his defense would get the job done and he treated the football with a lot more respect. When praising offensive coordinator Jason Garrett (yes, it's possible), we need to start with Romo.

The only significant change the Cowboys could make is replacing left tackle Flozell Adams with Doug Free. Is that the right move? I don't know how anyone could answer that question at this point. All I know is that Free did an excellent job in the seven games he replaced an injured Marc Colombo at right tackle. And I'm not going to judge the man's ability to play left tackle off a game in which he was thrown into the lineup because of an injury and had to face the wild dog known as Jared Allen. I think there's a 50-50 shot the Cowboys go ahead and pull the trigger on releasing Adams. They'll have a hard time getting anyone to trade for a 33-year-old left tackle with a relatively high salary.

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The league sent over the Pro Bowl fan voting tabulations through Dec. 14 and it looks like the NFC East has fallen off the pace. I thought for sure that Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson would be among the top-10 in the overall (both conferences) totals but that's not the case. And the fact that Brent Celek's not among the top five tight ends in the NFC voting is a travesty. Here's where you go to vote.

Now let's update you on players from the NFC East who are at least in the top five at their respective positions:

Quarterbacks: 5. Donovan McNabb, Eagles: He's trailing Kurt Warner by about 60,000 votes. And Drew Brees and Brett Favre are in a tight race for the top spot.

Wide receivers: 2. DeSean Jackson, Eagles; 3. Miles Austin, Cowboys: Jackson has 377,807 votes but he's not going to catch Larry Fitzgerald. But it does look like he'll start for the NFC in the Pro Bowl unless Austin can make up about 39,000 votes on him. Of course, let's remember that the fan voting is only one-third of the process.

Tight ends: 4. Jason Witten, Cowboys: He has 243,220 votes and he'll get a strong push from the coaches and players. Right now he trails Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey and Vernon Davis. Shockey's had a nice season but he doesn't deserve to go in front of Witten. Eagles fans need to go online immediately and help out Celek. His numbers are off the charts this season.

Centers: 3. Shaun O'Hara, Giants; 4. Andre Gurode, Cowboys: With 204,300 votes, O'Hara is well behind Jonathan Goodwin from the Saints. John Sullivan of the Vikings is in first place.

Offensive tackles: 4. Flozell Adams, Cowboys: The players and coaches will give him a decent push but I don't think he'll make it this season. The Vikings' two tackles, Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt are in the lead.

Guards: 5. Chris Snee, Giants: Even in a down season for the Giants, Snee has played pretty well. He should at least be two or three.

Fullbacks: 2. Leonard Weaver, Eagles; 3. Deon Anderson, Cowboys; 5. Madison Hedgecock, Giants. Weaver has brought another dimension to the Eagles' offense with his running ability. Anderson's a pretty good point of attack guy. Looks like Weaver has a lot of catching up to do on Naufahu Tahi of the Vikings.

Strong safety: 5. Gerald Sensabaugh, Cowboys: Pretty impressive in first half of season. Has played through a hand injury.

Cornerback: 1. Asante Samuel, Eagles: Close race between Samuel and the Packers' Charles Woodson. I expect Woodson to edge out Samuel once the coaches and players vote. But these will be your two starters. I thought Mike Jenkins or Sheldon Brown could've cracked the top five.

Defensive end: 3. Osi Umenyiora, Giants; 4. Justin Tuck, Giants: I like both of those players, but this is when you know it's about popularity. It's ridiculous that Trent Cole's not among the top five. And Andre Carter of the Redskins should be in there, too.

Defensive tackles: 3. Albert Haynesworth, Redskins: He's been pretty effective when he's actually in uniform. Absolutely ridiculous that Jay Ratliff's not on this list. The coaches and players will take care of him.

Free safeties: 5. Ken Hamlin, Cowboys: This is based on past accomplishments because Hamlin hasn't been a factor this season.

Inside linebackers: 4. Keith Brooking, Cowboys; 5. London Fletcher, Redskins: This is bound to upset Redskins fans. The guy's had another great season but the Susan Lucci of NFL linebackers could remain on the outside looking in. Even Lucci broke through at some point. Brooking's had an excellent season and deserves to be in the mix.

Kick returners: 2. DeSean Jackson, Eagles; 5. Allen Rossum, Cowboys: He's trailing Percy Harvin. I think Jackson is by far the best punt returner but the Pro Bowl voting doesn't draw a distinction between the two return jobs. Rossum had one return and pulled up lame on that one before eventually being released.

Outside linebackers: 1. DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys: Leads all outside linebackers with nearly 341,000 votes. I wouldn't mind seeing Brian Orakpo of the Redskins in the top five. Lance Briggs and Clay Matthews were Nos. 4 and 5.

Kickers: 2. David Akers, Eagles; 4. Nick Folk, Cowboys: Akers totally deserves it. Folk's fortunate to still be employed at this point in the season. Akers will have a lot of ground to make up on the Vikings' Ryan Longwell.

Punters: 2. Jeff Feagles, Giants; 4. Mat McBriar, Cowboys: McBriar's quietly having a huge season. Hopefully the coaches and players will recognize that.

Special teamers: 2. Sam Hurd, Cowboys; 5. Chase Blackburn, Giants: Hurd's overtaken Pat Watkins as the Cowboys' top special teams player this season. Blackburn's a solid special teams guy but I think Bryan Kehl has actually been better than him.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- After missing one game because of a concussion, DeSean Jackson has returned with a fury. He fielded an awful punt from Jeff Feagles and darted to his right. In their haste to tackle him, Domenik Hixon and Bryan Kehl broke containment on the outside and Jackson made them pay.

He hit the sideline and it was all over for a 72-yard touchdown. He now has the Eagles record for most punt returns for a touchdown with three. It was another brilliant play for one of the most dangerous players in the game. And it gives the Eagles a 24-10 lead late in the first half.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Eagles needed less than four minutes to march for a touchdown. And Michael Vick's 32-yard pass to DeSean Jackson is what keyed the drive. On second-and-goal, Donovan McNabb hit Brent Celek in the flat and he ran over Bryan Kehl for his seventh touchdown of the season.

On the Vick play, he did a nice job of selling the play-action fake to Leonard Weaver before rolling right and firing a perfect pass to Jackson. The Eagles sideline was going crazy. Pretty quiet inside Giants Stadium right now. This is pretty much exactly how the Eagles-Giants game started at the Linc last month.

I've gone back and looked at some of the big plays from the Giants' 34-31 overtime win over the Falcons. And I always enjoy the way Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger reviews a game.

It's pretty obvious that Giants tight end Kevin Boss is becoming a force in the NFC East. I can't imagine a division in the league that has a group of more talented tight ends. Jason Witten, Brent Celek and Boss are all vying for Pro Bowl appearances, and Chris Cooley was having a nice season before an injury took him out of contention. Quarterback Eli Manning needs a receiver on the field who he trusts implicitly and I think Boss and Steve Smith can both fit that role.

And let's give some credit to Mario Manningham for making some huge plays against the Falcons. The 29-yard catch in overtime put the Giants in field goal position, but he made plays throughout the game.

Former Falcons linebacker Michael Boley had perhaps his best game of the season. From the plays I watched, you can tell that he's not having to think about things as much as he was earlier in the season. But defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has to do something to prevent his unit from surrendering late leads. This defense used to have a killer instinct that allowed them to lockdown quarterbacks at the end of games. Matt Ryan exposed them in the fourth quarter with two touchdown drives to force overtime.

And here's one thing Garafolo said about the Giants' kickoff coverage that made a lot of sense to me:

I'm really tired of seeing the Giants act like every team has Devin Hester deep. What's with the squib and angle kicks every game? Kick it deep. Did Atlanta KR Eric Weems really scare you enough to squib it after your first TD? RB Aaron Stecker picks it up at the 17, runs 18 yards and suddenly the Falcons have the ball at the 35. Nine plays later, they're in the end zone. Same thing to start the second half. Hester, Ted Ginn or Dante Hall in his prime? Okay. But Weems? Come on, boot it downfield already and let LB Jonathan Goff, DE Dave Tollefson or LB Bryan Kehl whack somebody.

The general sense I got from reading the postgame accounts is that Manning pretty much refused to let the Giants lose another game. They need him to be the best player on the field every week -- especially if the defense keeps breaking down late in games.

What were your biggest concerns after the game? Things you were happy about?

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Giants starting linebacker Michael Boley, one of the team's biggest offseason acquisitions, underwent surgery Tuesday morning to repair partially torn meniscus in his right knee. According to a press release sent out by the Giants, Boley is expected to miss "approximately four weeks."

Boley

It's likely that Boley will be replaced in the starting lineup by Chase Blackburn, although that hasn't been confirmed by coach Tom Coughlin. Boley, who had offseason hip surgery, had his best game of the season in the Giants' 27-16 win over the Chiefs. Coughlin said that Boley's knee "stiffened" on the flight home from Kansas City and an MRI revealed the damage to the linebacker's right knee.

If the four-week timetable holds up, Boley would miss games against the Raiders, Saints, Cardinals and Eagles. And the Nov. 1 matchup against the Eagles is one the Giants had circled for Boley. They signed him to a lucrative free-agent contract in no small part for his ability to cover running backs such as Brian Westbrook in space. The Giants' inability to match up with Westbrook last December and January helped lead to their early playoff exit.

Blackburn's more than capable of filling in for Boley and he performed well in his start against the Redskins in the season opener. You may also see Bryan Kehl get some more playing time at linebacker in Boley's absence. Kehl has emerged as one of the team's best special teams players and there's a chance he could help out in some of the defense's subpackages.

This is certainly a setback for the Giants, but it's one they're prepared to deal with. Coughlin will call on other players to step up in Boley's absence -- and they usually do.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

It was another epic Cowboys-Giants game in what is becoming one of the best rivalries in the game. Before I start focusing on the Skins and Eagles (promise), here are my final thoughts on what took place Sunday night at Cowboys Stadium:

• Mario Manningham and Steve Smith were the two best players on the field. It's one thing to make plays in the first half, but Manningham and Smith were making big catches on the game's final drive. Eli Manning has complete trust in both players and that showed up on the game-deciding drive. Honestly, is there anyone else in the NFC you'd want behind center with three minutes left at your own 15-yard line? I guess some folks would say Drew Brees, but give me Manning every time. After the game, Manning credited Manningham for coming to him in the offseason and asking which parts of his game he needed to improve. This is the type of win that could springboard the Giants to an 8-0 start.
• I don't want to lose sight of the play Giants linebacker Bryan Kehl made late in the first quarter. On the official stat sheet, Kehl was given credit for a forced fumble, but replays appeared to show him poking the ball away from Felix Jones during a kickoff return. Kehl then recovered the fumble, which set the Giants for a field goal. Kehl's got all the ability in the world, but he's never been the most aggressive player on the team. It's a good sign that he's making big plays on special teams and the fumble recovery certainly qualified.
• It's not like you can work fullback Madison Hedgecock's name into a column following a 33-31 outcome, but let's mention him here. I happened to watch Hedgecock a few times in the second half and he absolutely pancaked Cowboys inside linebacker Bradie James. The Cowboys did a really nice job against the run in the first half, but the Giants had some success in the second half. Hedgecock is a valuable player who doesn't receive a lot of attention.
• As I've said several times, safety Kenny Phillips has the ability to become an All-Pro type player. The ball seems to find certain players, and Phillips fits in that category. His second interception came on an awful throw from Romo, but the first one was a heads up play on a ball that caromed off Jason Witten's foot. No one in the stadium knew what had happened -- except for Phillips of course. And the massive HD scoreboard revealed that Phillips had indeed made the interception before someone in production abruptly ended the replay. Coughlin joked about how the replay came to an abrupt halt after the game.
• Several Giants players joked that their necks were hurting from looking up at the scoreboard. Mathias Kiwanuka said he might need a massage after craning his neck to see the 60-yard-long scoreboard hanging from the top of Cowboys Stadium. Kiwanuka said he's always been fascinated with seeing different venues on TV and that he was very impressed with the Cowboys' new home. He had no comment on the Miller Lite dancers who were stationed on platforms in one end zone.
• The Giants will have to shore up their run defense in the coming weeks. The Cowboys dominated the line of scrimmage in the running game from the start. Linebacker Danny Clark told me after the game that the Giants didn't "maintain their gap responsibilities." It looked like the defensive ends were getting sealed by left tackle Flozell Adams and right tackle Marc Colombo quite a bit. And inside the 10-yard line, the Giants were stunting, which left gaping holes up the middle. On Tony Romo's touchdown run, Barry Cofield took himself right out of the play.
• Here's where I thought everything changed: When Romo threw the interception to Phillips late in the third quarter, the Giants took over at their own 27-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Eli Manning found Mario Manningham streaking down the middle of the field for a 49-yard completion. The Giants picked on both Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick all evening. On that play, Manningham beat Scandrick one-on-one. I'm still not sure whether Scandrick was supposed to have help over the top from Ken Hamlin, who appeared to bite on Manning's play fake. One of the things the Manning brothers have in common (other than a ring) is the ability to really sell play fakes. Seems like a fairly simple thing, but they've both spent a lot of time on it. It's a very exaggerated move -- and it tends to work on safeties who are trying to peek in the backfield.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Each week, thousands of readers leave questions in the NFC East mailbag. Let's take a look at what folks are talking about this weekend.

Don from Ohio writes: Has anyone ever lobbied to have the Skins and Cowboys play on Thanksgiving? I think it would be a great thing to see arguably the biggest rivalry in sports on Turkey Day. I'd much rather see that than meaningless matchups like the Raiders and Cowboys. They should at least have Dallas play an NFC East team every year. They could rotate it every season. Just a thought.Thanks for the great work.

Mosley: Thanks for checking in, Don. I couldn't agree with you more. Al Davis and Jerry Jones might be close friends, but that doesn't make for a great Thanksgiving game. If the league can make sure the Giants open the season in Jones' new stadium, then it could send a division rival to Arlington each Thanksgiving. I'm totally with you, Don. Always have been.

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Jon from Westchester, N.Y.: Hey Matt, I'm a big fan of yours. I check your blogs a few times a day and I really have learned a lot from your blogs. Keep up the good work.I have a question regarding the Giants, but not something that I have heard a whole lot about. I am very happy with the defense. I feel that the secondary is very good but doesn't receive the respect it deserves. Kenny Phillips is going to be a top safety in the few years and Michael Johnson is underappreciated in the eyes of the league. The line is amazing and that's all I will say on that, but I am a little worried about the linebackers. I know Michael Boley was brought in and I am hoping he helps out a lot. But what about Pierce? He is a very smart player but he is getting up there in age. Are the Giants going to draft someone this year that can learn from Pierce? Also, I know we drafted Clint Stintim, but are the Giants going to upgrade that position also? I like Blackburn and the other guys, but I feel they are very good backups and not so much stater material.

Mosley: Jon, thanks for stopping by The Bag. Pierce will turn 31 in October, so you're right to a bit concerned about his age. But there are linebackers in this league still performing at a high level on the wrong side of 30. Obviously Ray Lewis comes to mind. Pierce is the backbone of this team. He's an inspirational leader and he still has plenty left in the tank. He looked really old last season because he got in one-on-one matchups with Brian Westbrook in December and January. That's why the Giants brought in Michael Boley, a guy who can help them stay in their base defense more often because of his cover skills. And don't worry too much about the depth. Chase Blackburn is a really good football player and I think he'd start for a lot of teams in this league. Throw in talented players such as Bryan Kehl and Gerris Wilkinson (injury prone) and I think you're doing OK with depth. Clint Sintim needs to get back on the field. He's got the long arms and size that Tom Coughlin loves in a linebacker. He just needs to get healthy.

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Matt from Texas writes: Matt, I wanted to check to see if you have your bags packed? Come Monday, most of the media will be trying to jump off the extremely overrated Eli/Giants bandwagon and onto ours. I figured I would give you first dibs. Before you developed a giant-sized man crush on New York, you used to respect the Cowboys. See you on the 'Wagon!

Mosley: Matt, I actually picked the Cowboys to win this game, 28-24. Michael Boley is coming off a long layoff and the secondary's banged up. I think Tony Romo can make plays downfield against reserve corners Terrell Thomas and Bruce Johnson. But I'm still driving the Giants bandwagon. This loss won't knock them out of a Super Bowl trip.

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Oscar in Dallas left this note: Some guys at Bloggingtheboys.com were passing this link around. Its a Mic'd up video of Tony Romo during the game last week. For those who think he can't be the leader, you need to watch this video.

Mosley: Oscar, thanks for sharing. Looks like Romo was having a lot of fun last Sunday. Loved the look on Jason Garrett's face when Romo offered to kiss him if he'd call a seam route.

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John from Silver Spring, Md. is concerned with my Albert Haynesworth analysis: Mosley, I have to disagree with your statement that Albert Haynesworth is falling. He was personally responsible for both times the Redskins stuffed the Giants on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1. He made the tackle on 4th and 1 and he blew up the middle so LaRon Landry could make the tackle on 4th and 1. Not to mention the fact that he ripped into the backfield and tore of the helmet of Ahmad Bradshaw as he threw him to the ground.Also, I'm not sure what game you were watching, but they kept showing replays and Troy Aikman kept talking about how Haynesworth was pushing Seibert all over the place.The mark of whether or not Haynesworth is having an impact will not always be found in the stat sheet. You will know if he's having the impact the Redskins expect if he is clogging up the middle, as he did on the two short yardage stuffs and if you see him pushing 1-2 guys into the backfield so the QB cannot step up to avoid a rush off the edge.For someone who covers football, I'm disappointed that you rely so heavily on stats to determine a players worth, especially a defensive tackle.

Mosley: John, I appreciate the note. I may be holding Haynesworth to a ridiculous standard ($41 mil guaranteed), but what I focused on was that he looked completely worn down at the most important juncture of the game. When the Skins were actually hanging around in the third quarter, Haynesworth had to keep making his way to the sideline to catch his breath. Yes, he made some plays in the game. But when Washington truly needed to clog the middle, Haynesworth was sucking wind. Was I too hard on him? Maybe so.

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Mike from Atlanta is concerned about where the Eagles are ranked: OK, first off I am a full-on Eagles fan. So this may come off as a little homerish, but how can the Eagles be ranked below the Giants when we absolutely crushed a supposed NFC South power while the Giants let the Skins stay in the game a lot longer than they should have. As well, how in the world can anyone seriously allow the Cowboys to rise in the rankings after beating up on a team that until five minutes before the game even knew who their QB was going to be?! Granted, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. And to top that off, the miserable Bucs manage to rack up over 450 yards of offense. Anyone with a reasonably decent offense then should be able to hit what, 600 yards and blow them away? And yes, I cannot wait to see us crush the Cowboys yet again. Come to think of it, I'm looking forward to the Giants doing it, too. The sooner we beat them both, the sooner no one can argue we are truly the Beast of the East!!

Mosley: I certainly didn't have the Panthers as an "NFC South power." I think the Redskins are better than Carolina. Jake Delhomme was just dreadful, and that's becoming a trend. We should let this quarterback situation settle down a little bit and then see where the Eagles are. I have them beating the Saints behind the strong arm of Kevin Kolb. Don't worry about where the Eagles are ranked right now. Let's see where they are at the end of November. OK, you guys have a great Saturday.

	Rich Kane/Icon SMI
	Osi Umenyiora is back from an injury and the Giants have high expectations for him.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Giants are in desperate need of a preseason game, which will happen Monday night against the Panthers. In recent weeks, practices on the lower fields at the University at Albany have featured brawls on a daily basis.

On Wednesday evening, I watched Tom Coughlin leave his post during a goal-line drill to wade into a fight that had broken out away from the action. Earlier that day, it was Coughlin who provided the fireworks when he launched into a tirade when an offensive lineman didn't finish a block during a brutal 9-on-7 drill. Is this the same cuddly grandfather character who we read so much about leading up to Super Bowl XLII?

Everyone seems angry around here, and for the most part, I think Coughlin's pretty comfortable with that atmosphere. At this time last year, players and coaches were being asked how difficult it would be to defend a Super Bowl title.

Camp Confidential: NFC East • Cowboys: Fri., Aug. 7 • Eagles: Tues., Aug. 11 • Giants: Mon., Aug. 17 • Redskins: Fri., Aug. 21 • Training camp index

Now, the focus is on making amends for a season that went belly-up in December and January because of the infamous Plaxico Burress incident and a host of injuries along the defensive line. The Giants won't be able to replace a unique talent such as Burress right away, but third-round draft pick Ramses Barden is doing his part. Barden, who played at Cal Poly, was supposed to have a tough adjustment to this level. Instead, he has become the toughest player to cover in camp, providing daily highlight-reel catches that included a one-hander in the end zone Aug. 8 that folks in Albany are still talking about. General manager Jerry Reese tried to temper all of the enthusiasm for Barden, but the huge grin on his face suggested those were just words.

"He's big and he catches everything," Reese said of Barden. "He's a quick learner and he's gigantic. He's got a huge strike zone. He had the stigma of the small school, but so did [Kevin] Boss. If a guy doesn't jump off the screen at a small school, he can't play at this level. Barden jumped off the screen. And he didn't look out of place at the combine. And if you talk to him, he's very bright. We expect him to play right from the start."

	Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
	Rookie Ramses Barden is turning heads in his first training camp.

Reese's first priority this offseason was to re-stock a defensive line that wore down last December. The Giants' rotation along the defensive line in '07 was the biggest factor in taking down the Patriots -- at least in my opinion. And by adding Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard in free agency, the Giants are once again loaded. It doesn't hurt that the lone Pro Bowler from the Super Bowl team, defensive end Osi Umenyiora, is back from a knee injury that knocked him out for '08. I asked Reese what he learned from the '08 season.

"Well, I learned a lot of things," he said. "We got hit right out of the gate last year with a Hall of Famer retiring [Michael Strahan] and a Pro Bowler [Umenyiora] going down. We made it through three quarters of the season, but then we got worn down. I'll try not to let that happen again. We have to sustain the madness up front."

Key Questions

1. How will the Giants replace Burress at wide receiver?

It's not like Burress was putting up big numbers last season, but his presence alone opened things up for the rest of the offense. Without him, the offense became easier to defend -- as the Eagles showed twice in December and January. I don't think the Giants have a true No. 1 receiver, although third-year player Steve Smith will take on a larger role. Quarterback Eli Manning is gaining faith in Mario Manningham by the day and Sinorice Moss is quietly putting together a pretty nice camp.

The Giants will have to make some tough decisions because there are at least seven players in the mix for a roster spot, and that seems excessive. Barden could immediately be a threat in the red zone and remember that veteran David Tyree's still on the roster. He's known for the catch in the Super Bowl, but he's also a former Pro Bowl special-teams player. I think there's a chance first-round pick Hakeem Nicks will have a hard time seeing the field early in the season. He's been slowed by a hamstring injury, and those things annoy Coughlin to no end. I think Domenik Hixon and Smith will be the starters, but they will face some major competition throughout
the season.

2. Who will replace Derrick Ward as No. 2 running back?

Ware

Bradshaw

Unfortunately, the player who most reminded Reese and Coughlin of Ward, rookie Andre Brown, ruptured his Achilles' tendon in Friday's practice and will miss the season. That leaves Danny Ware and Ahmad Bradshaw in competition for the backup role. Ware has looked solid in camp, but Reese tells me that it's Bradshaw's job to lose. A lot of it has to do with who's willing to pick up the blitz. When Jacobs first came into the league, he just wanted the ball. He didn't have any interest in picking up the blitz. Now he's become an excellent blocker and the Giants are hoping Bradshaw and Ware follow that path.

Bradshaw has some power to go along with his speed, but there are people who still wonder how he'd do if Jacobs misses a game or two. There's a good chance that will happen at some point, so Bradshaw must be ready. I think he'll be up to the task.

3. With Michael Boley suspended for the first game, who's stepping up at linebacker?

The Giants have created an intense competition at linebacker while Boley recovers from a hip injury. Former BYU standout Bryan Kehl has always had the physical tools to make an impact as weakside linebacker, but he needed to become a more physical player. He seems to be taking that next step in this camp. Gerris Wilkinson is also in the mix to start in that first game. He's a talented player who's never been able to stay healthy.

Boley was brought in so that he could cover running backs such as Brian Westbrook and Felix Jones. He's an excellent coverage linebacker, but he needs to get back on the field soon and start playing his way into game shape. I like what Chase Blackburn's been doing in practice. He's one of those players who's always around the ball. I saw him leap to pick off a David Carr pass in last Wednesday's evening practice.

Market watch

Phillips

As I've written before, I think second-year safety Kenny Phillips is about to become a star in this league. He's a graceful player with a knack for arriving at the right moment. He's made some outstanding plays on the ball in camp and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up in the Pro Bowl. At cornerback, second-year player Terrell Thomas out of USC is making a move in this camp. I don't know how much longer Kevin Dockery can hold him off at the nickel spot.

Newcomer to watch

I've already mentioned him once, but keep your eye on Barden in the preseason. He's been unstoppable in training camp. The one-handed, twisting grab he made Aug. 8 has already become part of Giants training camp lore -- if there is such a thing. Even when he's tightly defended, Barden will climb the ladder and use his 6-foot-6 frame to block out the defensive back. The starting corners were out with injuries when I was in Albany, but he was tearing up the other defenders. If you asked Manning what's been the most pleasant surprise at camp, I think Barden's the direction he goes. And I'm ready to see more of Stoney Woodson at cornerback. He's a seventh-round pick who already looks like he belongs.

Observation Deck

	AP Photo/Mike Groll
	Mathias Kiwanuka has turned in a solid camp for the Giants.

The fact that Mathias Kiwanuka hates being referred to as a backup is a good thing for the Giants. When he lines up with the second team, he's destroying offensive tackles -- both first- and second-teamers. He almost flattened the 315-pound Kevin Boothe on an inside running play. ... I guess no one's told wide receiver Derek Hagan he's not supposed to make this roster. He has had an excellent camp and taken advantage of Smith and Nicks missing time with injuries. ... Safeties coach Dave Merritt is asking players to treat incomplete passes as live balls. He wants his young players to learn how to properly recover a fumble. And that's why rookies such as Woodson will go racing to the ball after it hits the ground. By the way, I think the Giants are stacked at cornerback right now. Everyone wants to talk about the reinforcements on the defensive line, but this team is even deeper
in the secondary. ... Second-round pick Clint Sintim is a total Reese guy. Big, fast and ridiculously long arms. I saw him tip a ball at the line of scrimmage and then almost make the interception. He's a little hesitant right now, but I don't think it will take him a long time to make an impact. ... If the season started today, your starting linebackers are Kehl (in place of Boley), Antonio Pierce and Danny Clark. ... Blackburn is a fiery guy who takes practices to another level. He's certainly not the best athlete on the field, but he'll sort of blend in and then make an interception out of nowhere. Carr never saw him on a pass across the middle last Wednesday. ... I thought Andre Woodson's days were numbered as a third-string quarterback, but he's held up well against fifth-round pick Rhett Bomar. Woodson's been a lot more accurate and he's getting the ball out faster than Bomar. I'm eager to see how he plays in Monday's preseason game. ... Backup center Adam Koets must get it together before Coughlin completely loses his patience. He botched a snap in the practice I watched and I'm told that's a common occurrence. ... DeAndre Wright, a rookie cornerback out of New Mexico, made some nice plays in last Wednesday's practice. Wright and Woodson are doing a great job of soaking up what Corey Webster and Aaron Ross are telling them. Other than R.W. McQuarters, Ross and Webster didn't get a lot of help from the veterans when they were breaking into the league. And that's why they're spending a lot of time with the young guys. By the way, kudos to Dockery. He refuses to give in to the more talented Thomas.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

ALBANY, N.Y. -- At least 2,000 fans gathered on the mounds surrounding the lower practice fields at the University at Albany on Wednesday morning. The Giants were coming back from a day off, but the defense looked more refreshed than the offense.

Even without starting cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Corey Webster, the defense was dominant at times. The Giants weren't in full pads (shorts), but there was still some popping going on. Rookie linebacker Clint Sintim, who's had a relatively quiet camp, made a couple of plays in the morning practice. He's the prototypical Giants defender with his long arms, and he reached up and batted a ball to himself during team drills.

Players such as linebacker Bryan Kehl and cornerbacks Kevin Dockery and Terrell Thomas are making the most of the extra reps right now. Kehl's in a battle with Gerris Wilkinson to start the first game of the regular season since Michael Boley's suspended for that game. General manager Jerry Reese told me Boley (hip) is on pace to be up to speed for the second regular-season game. He doesn't seem to have any worries about lingering effects from the injury and he raved about Boley's ability to cover some of the top running backs and tight ends in the NFC East.

"Having him will keep us from having to go to the nickel or dime in some situations where we usually would," said Reese.

I was able to spend about 30 minutes with Reese during practice, and you can read that interview later this afternoon. First, though, I talked to coach Tom Coughlin. He was in a foul mood because of all the injuries. He had hoped to get either rookie Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) or Steve Smith (knee) back this morning, but it didn't happen. And Coughlin talked to me about how much it hurts to see a young player such as Nicks miss three or four practices at this stage.

The good news for Giants fans is that rookie wide receiver Ramses Barden continues to shine. I thought his small school background (Cal Poly) might make for a tough adjustment, but he looked like a veteran today. Actually, he looked like an absolute superstar at times. He has a huge "strike zone" -- as Reese put it. And he rarely drops passes. I think he'll be an immediate threat in the red zone. He's been one of the most pleasant surprises in camp.

OK, I'm about to prepare the Coughlin interview for public consumption. The Beast had one-on-one interviews with Coughlin, Justin Tuck, Steve Smith, Chris Canty and Hakeem Nicks today. We'll visit with Eli Manning in the morning. Look to hear from a lot of those guys in Friday's much-anticipated Giants Camp Confidential.