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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.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are one of nine teams opening rookie minicamps Friday, and the occasion gave Calvin Watkins reason to remember Dez Bryant's rookie minicamp from two years ago -- and to write this post about the big things the Cowboys are expecting from Bryant in this, his third NFL season.

David Moore believes that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has quietly been allowing his son, Stephen Jones, more and more control of the team's day-to-day operations for a number of years now -- mainly because Jerry was so preoccupied with the building of the new stadium for some of those years -- and that Stephen and Jason Garrett are now in charge of most of the football decisions. I can't speak to the Jerry vs. Stephen dynamic as well as David can, but I do think the past two offseasons reflect an increasing level of control for Garrett over roster and coaching staff decisions.

New York Giants

The Giants' rookie camp isn't until next week, but Ohm Youngmisuk's already taking a look at the rookies, beginning with this snapshot of first-round running back David Wilson. The Giants likely have higher hopes for Wilson than do these Scouts Inc. reports, but he'll have to separate himself from that Da'Rel Scott/D.J. Ware mix in the offseason in order to have a role befitting a first-round pick.

Clark Judge thinks the Ravens should call the Giants and do a deal for Osi Umenyiora in the wake of the Terrell Suggs injury. I'm sure they will make that call, and I do believe Umenyiora could play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. But the Giants can and will ask for a lot in return for Umenyiora, whom they control cheaply for next year. They don't fear any distraction he and his contract dispute might bring. They're not desperate to move him. The Ravens are going to need to come strong (possibly with a first-round or second-round pick) if they want to pry him away. Especially because the Giants know they're desperate.

Philadelphia Eagles

Forget last year, Nick Fierro writes. This Eagles' offseason has been so good that the result is a roster that appears to be in better shape than any in memory.

Vince Young -- who spent a weird 2011 season as Michael Vick's backup, started three games while Vick was hurt, and will forever be remembered for foolishly saying the words "dream team" when asked about the Eagles' 2011 run of free-agent signings -- impressed some people in a recent workout for the Buffalo Bills. It's true. I'm told Young didn't throw one single interception during his workout in Buffalo.

Washington Redskins

As the Redskins begin their rookie minicamp Friday, Mark Maske of the Washington Post looks at what type of contract the team will end up giving to first-round draft pick Robert Griffin III, given the CBA's new restrictions on rookie contracts.

In John Keim's latest email report, he checks in with SMU coach June Jones, who says he thought offensive lineman Josh LeRibeus would go in the second round, not the third, where the Redskins picked him. Some people felt the pick was a reach, but due to their zone-blocking scheme the Redskins evaluate linemen a little differently and targeted LeRibeus.

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.

Ohm Youngmisuk has his mind today on running back, a position at which the New York Giants could potentially see some changes in the coming season. Brandon Jacobs likely will need to restructure his contract to stay. If he leaves, the Giants likely will have to find a replacement to pair with Ahmad Bradshaw and his busted foot. That replacement could come from the current stable of backups, which comprises Da'rel Scott, D.J. Ware and Andre Brown. It could come from the bargain bin in the free agent market or in the middle-to-late rounds of the draft.

What would surprise me, though, is if they used that No. 32 overall pick -- or really any pick in the first three rounds -- to address running back.

There are few teams for which past behavior is a better indicator of future behavior than the Giants. And they generally do not draft running backs high. They used to, sure. They took Tyrone Wheatley in the first round in 1995, Tiki Barber in the second round in 1997, Joe Montgomery in the second in 1999 and Ron Dayne in the first in 2000. For a while there, the Giants were all about drafting running backs early.

But they appear to have learned some sort of lesson. Since the Dayne pick, the Giants have not drafted a running back before the fourth round. Jacobs and Brown are fourth-rounders. Bradshaw and Scott are seventh-rounders. Ware wasn't drafted at all. They signed him off the Jets' practice squad. Pretty sure his name was Danny Ware at the time.

Anyway, the point is, the Giants in the draft are all about value. And the prevailing wisdom in the NFL these days is that there's just not a lot of value in drafting running backs early. The Giants finished this past regular-season 32nd in the league in rushing offense and still won the Super Bowl. And while they'd like to run the ball better, they believe the run game is about symbiotic pieces all working together, rather than about handing the ball to one star back and wearing him down the way so many other teams do.

I've said many times that the issue with the Giants' running game this season was an offensive line issue and not a running backs issue. Whatever the line looks like next season, as Youngmisuk points out, it's got to block better for the backs. As for who those backs will be, it remains to be seen. But don't expect the Giants to bring in any new back that gets you all excited. That's not how they roll.

Lovely day here at Milwaukee's General Mitchell Airport, though it was kind of sad listening to the Packers fans on the sports talk radio this morning on the drive here from Green Bay. Honestly, if you've ever been to Green Bay, you need to wonder: what do those people do now?

What we do now is look ahead to Sunday's NFC Championship Game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. It's going to be a different kind of game for the Giants. The 49ers don't have the array of passing-game weapons that recent Giants opponents such as the Packers, Falcons and Cowboys have. They will attack the Giants differently, and the best thing the 49ers have going for them is a defense that looked fast, tough and terrifying for most of the game against the Saints on Saturday night.

San Francisco finished fourth in the league in total defense, allowing just 308.1 yards per game, and first in rush defense by a mile, allowing just 77.3 yards per game. That would seem to bode ill for a Giants team that finished last in the league in rush offense. But the numbers from the head-to-head matchup between these teams in San Francisco in Week 10, even though the Giants lost it, offer some hope for the Giants.

The 395 yards of total offense the Giants had against the 49ers was the fourth-highest total any team posted against San Francisco all season. Only the Eagles (513 in a Week 4 loss), Cowboys (472 in a Week 2 overtime victory) and Saints (472 in Saturday's playoff loss) had more yards in a game against the Niners this season.

Even more encouraging, the Giants had 93 rush yards in that game, which is the fourth-highest total of rush yards any team had in a game against the Niners this season. Marshawn Lynch's Seahawks had 124 in Week 16, Steven Jackson's Rams had 111 in Week 17 and LeSean McCoy's Eagles had 108 in that Week 4 game in Philadelphia. All of those games were victories for the 49ers, but the Giants have run the ball considerably better over the past seven weeks, and in the Week 10 game in San Francisco they did not have running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who was out with a foot injury at the time. Brandon Jacobs had 55 yards on 18 carries, and D.J. Ware kicked in 34 yards on nine carries.

A healthy Bradshaw on Sunday, plus the drastic improvements the Giants have made in run blocking over the past two months, plus the film they can watch of their offense having success against this very tough 49ers defense, are all assets for the Giants as they prepare for the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers likely aren't going to miss as many tackles as the Packers did Sunday, but the Giants have proof that they can move the ball against them anyway. The key, as it always is, will be to avoid the turnovers. The Giants outgained the 49ers by 90 yards in Week 10, but Eli Manning threw two interceptions, and they lost by seven points.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers are about as healthy as they can be for Sunday's divisional round playoff game. The Giants' inactives list is the same as it was last week, and the Packers have only one injured player, linebacker Robert Francois, who will be inactive.

Active for the Packers will be wide receiver Greg Jennings, who missed the past couple of games of the regular season due to injury, and starting tackles Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga, who also battled injuries during the final few weeks of the season. It will be interesting to see how healthy the tackles are and how they hold up against the Giants' edge pass-rushers.

Active for the Giants will be wide receiver Mario Manningham, who had struggled with knee problems in the second half of the season but was active for the first playoff game last week, and cornerback Aaron Ross and running back D.J. Ware, each of whom suffered concussions in last week's victory over the Falcons. Linebacker Mark Herzlich, still out with an ankle injury, is the injured player on the inactive list.

Full list of inactives:

GIANTS

WR Ramses Barden

RB Da'Rel Scott

LB Mark Herzlich

OL Jim Cordle

DE Justin Trattou

DT Jimmy Kennedy

OL James Brewer

PACKERS

QB Graham Harrell

CB Davon House

LB Rob Francois

OL Herb Taylor

TE D.J. Williams

DE Howard Green

LB Vic So'oto

I'm not doing any more work Friday. Leaving for Green Bay in the morning, so I'm going to spend the rest of the day and night with my family. So I was going to leave you with a post on the injury and weather reports for the game, but there's a bit of a nothing-to-see-here element to both.

The Giants are listing linebacker Mark Herzlich as out and listing everyone else -- including running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and D.J. Ware and cornerback Aaron Ross -- as probable or not listing them at all. The Packers are listing both of their starting tackles, Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga, as well as wide receiver Greg Jennings, as probable. The only Packer who's on the injury report and isn't probable is linebacker Robert Francois, who's doubtful with a hamstring injury. So basically, if you were wondering about anyone who's been banged up, the answer is that they'll almost certainly play.

As for the weather ... sorry to disappoint those who want a snowy game. But while it has snowed a great deal in Green Bay the past couple of days and it appears snow will be on the ground when we arrive tomorrow, the forecast for Sunday continues to call for a relatively balmy high temperature of 32 degrees and no precipitation.

So, with no real news to report on injuries or weather, I leave you with the Giants offensive line's response to being called "not the toughest" by Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji. Giants guard Chris Snee, a Boston College guy like Raji, made some cracks about how it kept him up all night, then delivered the discount doublecheck:

"All kidding aside, no one cares what B.J. had to say," Snee said. "Sometimes when you're young and you make it to a Pro Bowl and then to a Super Bowl and you have your own commercial, you feel the need to talk. We'll do our talking on Sunday."

Good idea. I'll do mine from the press box. Enjoy your Friday evening and your Saturday of NFL playoff football. Talk to you from Wisconsin.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Everybody wanted to know about New York Giants cornerback Aaron Ross, who came out of Sunday's game with a concussion. Well, Ross has passed all of his tests and was cleared to practice with the Giants on Wednesday. It appears he'll be all set to play and start Sunday's playoff game against the Packers in Green Bay.

The only Giants who missed practice were running back D.J. Ware, who also had a concussion Sunday, running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who's only been practicing once a week for the past couple of months because of his foot injury, and linebacker Mark Herzlich, whose ankle injury has kept him out for a while. Ware has a history with concussions, so it's possible he might not be able to make it back in time for Sunday's game. The Giants have used Ware in the screen game and to take some of the pressure off of Bradshaw's bad foot, but they may not be able to count on him this week.

The Ross news is good for the Giants, who can't afford to be any more shorthanded in the secondary than they already are. If Ross couldn't play, that would mean more reps for rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara, who's been a favorite target of opposing quarterbacks when he has played this year. Having Ross healthy along with fellow starter Corey Webster, and then spotting in Amukamara as needed, gives the Giants their best chance against the aerial assault of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

Even with their fearsome pass rush healthy and fully operational, the New York Giants would prefer to have a healthy secondary for Sunday's playoff game against the defending champion Packers in Green Bay. Starting cornerback Aaron Ross left Sunday's victory over Atlanta with a concussion, which by definition means there's a question about whether he can play against the Packers. Giants defensive end Justin Tuck told reporters in East Rutherford, N.J., today "he'll play" in reference to a question about what losing Ross would mean to the defense, but Tuck is not a doctor and therefore doesn't get to decide that.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Ross and running back D.J. Ware, who also left Sunday's game with a concussion, are being evaluated and treated according to the NFL's procedures for treating concussions. That means it's kind of out of the hands of Ross, Ware, the Giants and even Tuck whether those players can play Sunday. The NFL requires players who have suffered concussions to be cleared by an independent neurologist and to pass various tests throughout the week before being cleared to practice or play.

So, because these are concussions, and not muscle pulls, it's too early to know whether Ross or Ware will be able to play against the Packers or even practice in advance of the game. By rule, these are not the kinds of injuries the league will allow a player to tough it out and play through -- even if it is the playoffs.

If Ross can't go, that likely means more action for rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara, who missed the first half of the season with a foot injury and has struggled since returning. If Ware can't go, that leaves the Giants a little bit thin at running back, and Ware has been a guy they've used in the screen game in recent weeks. But they'd just ask running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to do a little bit more, which neither would mind at this point.

T-minus five days until Giants-Cowboys for all of the NFC East marbles. How will we get there? We'll follow the links.

New York Giants

Giants coach Tom Coughlin was in a downright giddy mood as he addressed reporters Monday. He limped to the podium as a result of whatever leg injury he sustained when Giants running back D.J. Ware ran into him on the sideline Saturday, but he joked a lot about the injury -- even cracking that he'd had to cut Ware from the team for injuring him and said he doesn't plan for it to limit him in any way as he prepares for Sunday.

The Giants are hopeful they could get a trio of injured players -- defensive end Osi Umenyiora, wide receiver Mario Manningham and tight end Jake Ballard -- back in time for the division title game. But Monday was too early in the week to know for sure, and nothing more will be known on any of them until Wednesday's practice. Umenyiora did some sort of light work at the field house with a trainer Monday morning, but I can't vouch for the extent of it. Coughlin didn't sound real hopeful when asked about Umenyiora in his news conference.

Dallas Cowboys

Everything becomes an issue in Dallas, and so the fact that Jerry Jones showed up on the sideline during the first quarter Saturday obviously led some to conclude this had something to do with his opinion of Jason Garrett's coaching. Garrett says that's not the case, and the fact is there's no real reason not to believe him. Jones is a big believer in continuity at the head coaching spot. He's shown patience with every coach he's ever had but one, and he never misses a chance to talk about how much he regrets that one. Garrett's job is in no danger whatsoever, and frankly I can't understand why people keep insisting on talking as though it is.

Dez Bryant has a new agent, having switched from Eugene Parker, who shepherded him through the draft process and negotiated his rookie contract, to Drew Rosenhaus. Fans get panicky about what this means, when a player switches to Rosenhaus. But Bryant's not going anywhere for at least two more years anyway, and my guess is the only real impact this has is that Bryant will be extremely wealthy as long as he stays healthy and productive. But I guess you could have assumed that anyway.

Philadelphia Eagles

Bob Grotz strongly disagrees with Andy Reid's announced decision to play all of his starters in Sunday's season finale against the Redskins. In particular, Bob believes LeSean McCoy's injured ankle should keep him on the sideline. Bob feels so strongly about this that he thinks, if Reid won't sit McCoy down, team president Joe Banner should step in and order him to do it. If that were to happen, I believe it would portend bad things in the long term for the relationship between Reid and the team. Maybe even in the short term, honestly.

And Bob Ford thinks the Eagles are kidding themselves if they consider this season anything other than a failure, no matter how strongly they're finishing it. I mean, he's right, but what are they supposed to do? If they were hanging their heads and not trying, they'd be getting ripped for that. It's not ridiculous to think there might be some 2012 value in finishing 2011 with a stretch of games that allows these guys to feel like good football players again.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan said Monday that the Redskins turned out to have less depth on the roster than he thought they had when he took over as coach in 2010. But one position at which he feels very deep is running back. With rookies Roy Helu and Evan Royster having impressed in the second half of this season and starter Tim Hightower due back from injury in time for next season, the Redskins should have a lot of options at running back going forward, which is a very good thing.

John Keim addresses the less-depth-than-Shanahan-thought thing and also the quarterback question in his notes. He thinks that Kyle Shanahan's recent talk about the importance of limiting turnovers sends a clear signal that the Redskins don't think Rex Grossman can be their starting quarterback again next year.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Well, we thought there would be a lot of points in tonight's divisional showdown between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, and the first half did not disappoint. Even though it was the Giants' defense that scored the first points when Jason Pierre-Paul sacked Tony Romo in the end zone for a safety, the offenses didn't take long to get in gear, and the Cowboys hold a slim 17-15 lead with the Giants set to get the ball back to start the second half.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is only 9-for-19, but he's made some very nice throws under pressure and has already hooked up with Hakeem Nicks fro 105 of his 146 passing yards. A couple of drops by Victor Cruz have hurt the overall numbers and cost the Giants yards. Romo is a more efficient 10-for-14, but for only 104 yards as he has so far been unable to work wideouts Miles Austin and Dez Bryant into the mix. Romo loves him some Laurent Robinson, though, especially when it's time to score a touchdown, and the Dallas run game doesn't look like it's lost much with Felix Jones subbing in for an injured DeMarco Murray at tailback. Guess all of that hype about the impact of fullback Tony Fiammetta's return was on the mark.

If one of these defenses is able to make some halftime adjustments and some second-half plays in coverage, that team could well run away with the game. But right now it seems more likely that the offenses will continue to rule the night and that many more points await before this one's over.

Some more thoughts on the first half:

• Real curious to see whether Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw plays in the second half. Word is he was benched for blowing curfew, but he's dressed and eligible to play. In his absence, Brandon Jacobs looks like a complete animal, running over people and inflicting pain on would-be tacklers the way he did early in his career.
• With the exception of the Gerald Sensabaugh pass interference penalty that led to Jacobs' touchdown, the Cowboys have to be happy about the way their red zone defense has played. They've held the Giants to field goals twice, including in the final two minutes of the half after Jones' ill-timed fumble gave them the ball at the Dallas 14-yard line. Earlier in the game, they held on after a 64-yard Manning pass to Nicks set the Giants up with first-and-goal on the four. Some credit for that stand, however, goes to questionable playcalling by the Giants, who called end zone corner fade routes on first and second downs and a weak draw play with D.J. Ware on third.
• Injuries are mounting for Dallas. Center Phil Costa is out with a concussion. Murray left with an ankle injury, and it doesn't sound as though they expect him back, which is why Jones is getting the carries. Hey, at least Jones should be fresh after sitting behind Murray all of these weeks.
• And from the irony department: Dan Bailey's 49-yard field goal with 15 second left in the half was 49 yards long -- same distance as the one he made and then missed at the end of regulation last week in Arizona.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A few thoughts on the game of the day in the NFL:

What it means: I'm sure New York Giants fans are disappointed in their team's fourth straight loss, but the fact is that the Giants showed all of the same guts and heart and toughness they showed during their 6-2 start but came up just short against a team that might be one of the best of all time. The Packers' Mason Crosby kicked a 30-yard field goal with time running out for a 38-35 win to improve the Packers to 12-0 and drop the Giants to 6-6. But the Giants have proven again that they can play with anyone in the league when their heart is in it. And since they're only one game out of the division lead with four to play (and two of those against the division-leading Cowboys), that still has a chance to serve them well before it's over.

Giants' lines step up: The Giants needed to get to Aaron Rodgers with their defensive line if they were to have any chance to stop him, and they did. Justin Tuck played his best game in weeks, and Jason Pierre-Paul was the same, speedy, unstoppable monster he's been all season. The Giants delivered hits on Rodgers even when they didn't get there in time to sack him, and the Packers went to the run game an uncharacteristic amount in an effort to run clock and keep the pass-rushers off of Rodgers' back. The Giants' offensive line also played a pretty good game, considering it was without its starting left tackle again and center David Baas was a late scratch due to headaches. They weren't great in pass protection, but for some reason the run-blocking was some of the best it's been all season. And with Ahmad Bradshaw back from his foot injury, the run game became a legitimate threat for the Giants again.

Eli Manning doesn't scare: The Giants quarterback was the main reason behind the team's 6-2 start, and even as things haven't gone as well lately, he's remained undaunted and excellent. After the Packers scored to go ahead by eight with 3:34 left in the game, Manning moved his team right back down the field and scored with a touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks with 58 seconds to go. A D.J. Ware run for a two-point conversion tied the game and put the biggest scare yet into the undefeated Packers.

But turnovers kill: You need to be just about perfect to beat a team like the Packers, and as good as Manning was in matching the great Rodgers, he did turn it over twice. The interception that Clay Matthews returned for a touchdown came on what Manning will surely call a "bad-decision" play -- he shouldn't have thrown the ball once he saw the coverage down the field. And while the fumble just before the end of the first half wasn't really his fault, as Matthews whacked him from behind as he was getting ready to throw the ball, it cost the Giants a chance to add valuable points as the first half was winding down.

Kenny Phillips out?: The Giants made no announcement on the Phillips knee injury after he left the game in the first half. But the star safety never returned to the sideline. If he has to miss games, that's going to negatively affect the Giants in pass defense as well as run defense. They like to play three-safety sets and would have to do so without their best one.

What's next: The Giants travel to Dallas on Sunday to play the Cowboys in a Sunday night game with major NFC East implications. The Cowboys' overtime loss to the Cardinals means the Giants still have an opportunity to take control of the division if they can beat the Cowboys on Sunday and again in the regular-season finale on Jan. 1.