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New York Giants owner John Mara was talking again Wednesday night about the looming contract extension for Giants coach Tom Coughlin, saying it would be done sooner rather than later. And there's no reason to doubt Mara. Coughlin's contract has never been a problem before, and as he's coming off his second Super Bowl title in five years, there's no dispute over whether he deserves a new one. My guess all along has been that it'll be a three-year deal, and as for salary, I think this Forbes list of the highest-paid coaches in sports offers some clues.

You see the Washington Redskins' Mike Shanahan tied for second on that list at $7 million per year. Shanahan also has two Super Bowl titles, though the most recent one came 13 years ago. The Philadelphia Eagles' Andy Reid ranks 10th on this list at $5.5 million per year, and as you may have learned by reading some of the comments on this blog, Reid has yet to win a Super Bowl. The Patriots' Bill Belichick ranks first at $7.5 million, though Forbes admits that's a pure guess and no one knows what Belichick, who's won three Super Bowls, actually makes.

Anyway, on Coughlin: Yeah, I think he should get something between Reid and Shanahan -- say, in the $6 million-$6.5 million per year range. You could make the argument, given the market in which he coaches and the relative proximity in time of the titles he's won, that he should get more than Shanahan gets, but Shanahan (as well as Belichick in New England and Reid in Philly) has control over his team's personnel decisions and likely gets paid in accordance with that additional responsibility. Coughlin does not have final say on personnel in New York, because GM Jerry Reese does, and the Giants are not inclined to change that organizational structure. I doubt Coughlin would really even want them to. He likes the way it works in New York, and everyone seems satisfied with their roles. But if you look at Mike Tomlin of the Steelers there at $5.8 million a year, you can make the case for Coughlin ahead of him.

It may be difficult for some who have perceived Coughlin as perpetually on the "hot seat" during his time in New York to imagine him among the highest-paid coaches in sports. But the numbers and the titles and the circumstances say he's earned it. And when the announcement does come, I believe it'll come with an eye-popping number attached to it.

Chad Jones had hoped to be on the field for the New York Giants for their rookie minicamp this past weekend, but he wasn't cleared by doctors to participate. In fact, the momentum of Jones' attempt to return to the football field and play in the NFL appears to have slowed significantly, as the Giants announced Monday that he has been waived/failed physical. As Mike Garafolo points out, this isn't like last year, when the Giants waived Jones with the intention of putting him on the reserve list. This time, Jones is actually set free on the market, so any team could technically pick him up.

However, the turn the story took today serves as a reminder that it's not so simple in Jones' case. There exists the very real probability that the young man will not, actually, be able to play football again. And if he ever is, that time does not appear to be soon:

"Chad had a severe injury to his left leg, involving a complex tibial fracture with associated injury to muscle, nerves, and vascular structures," said Scott Rodeo, a Giants associate team physician, in a statement released by the club. "This type of injury is often limb threatening, and can sometimes require amputation. He has made a remarkable recovery to date, with successful salvage of the leg. However, at this time he has residual sensory loss, muscle weakness, and tenuous soft tissue coverage in the involved lower leg. The resultant functional impairment precludes his ability to perform physically at the level required for professional football."

In other words, this isn't like coming back from a torn ACL or a blown Achilles' tendon. The injuries Jones suffered in that car accident two years ago were incredibly severe, and it's no small feat that he's actually up and moving around. The Giants, a classy organization, have said they will continue to work with Jones on his rehab. And if he does ever play in the NFL, you'd have to think it'd be with the team that's invested so much time in him since drafting him in the third round in 2010. But consider this quote from Giants GM Jerry Reese in today's press release:

"We consider Chad to be part of the Giants family, and we'll continue to work with him in his rehab," general manager Jerry Reese said. "As we've said since his accident, we're thankful he is alive and able to lead a normal life."

Perspective is a rare thing in the coverage and analysis of NFL football today, and anyone who projects anything out from the Jones story (such as asking whether his team will or should sign him, for example) would do well to remember the part of that quote in which Reese says "thankful he's alive." Jones is in fact lucky to be alive, ambulatory and in possession of both of his legs, and anything else will be a bonus. If he plays NFL football, it'll be a wonderful ending to the story. But even if he doesn't, the ending to his story could have been much, much worse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Last week, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner did some radio interviews in which he said that, given the dangers that are becoming more and more evident all the time now, he'd prefer that his sons not play football. And former NFL wide receiver Amani Toomer, who was a teammate of Warner's with the Giants in 2004, went nuts on Warner, ripping him for being "disingenuous" and "trashing" the game of football. You can read a summary of that foolishness here.

Now, in case you hadn't heard, Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora is now on Twitter -- a development about which everyone in the football world with the possible exception of Jerry Reese and the Reese family is and should be thrilled. Umenyiora decided this morning to weigh in on the whole Warner-Toomer deal. You can read his tweets here on his Twitter page, but this is what he said, tweet by tweet:

"By the Way, Kurt Warner is Right to think how he is thinking about his kids and football."

"Its an awesome game and has done a lot for me, but i know when im 45 there is a strong chance il be in a wheelchair."

"If i can avoid that for my son, i will. But if he wants to play i wont stop him"

"Love Toomer thats my Guy, but he is dead wrong for attacking Kurt like that"

First off, that last one. Umenyiora is 100 percent correct about Toomer, whose reaction to what Warner said was way beyond wrong. Toomer acted as though Warner had been touring the country making anti-football speeches and publishing op-ed articles in major newspapers decrying the game. In fact, all Warner did was answer a question on a radio show and give his honest opinion about his own family. Toomer was so far out of line in his reaction that what he said was a hundred times more troubling than what Warner said.

See, as smart players such as Umenyiora apparently understand, we're in a time and a place in which we need to be having a frank conversation about football and the long-term and short-term safety issues inherent in it. "I would rather my kids not play" is a perfectly rational opinion to have and to express, and no one -- whether they played in the NFL or not -- should feel bullied into keeping such thoughts to themselves. Too often when we talk about football in this country, there is a chorus of tough-guy former players shouting down anyone who dares express something other than the conventional wisdom.

But as Umenyiora suggests, not only is Warner's opinion justified, it's an important one to bring to the forefront of this and all future discussions about the sport. Umenyiora expresses love for the game and doesn't seem to regret his conscious decision to have made it his life's work, but he seems to believe there's a "strong chance" it will land him in a wheelchair at a still-early point in his life. Those are very serious conflicting emotions, and the best way to allow those charged with reconciling them to do so is to encourage an open, honest and frank discussion of the attendant issues. I have no idea whether he's being overly dramatic with his wheelchair comment, but it's obviously something he's thought seriously about, and it's certainly worth considering in light of the current and growing emphasis by the NFL on player safety and the burgeoning awareness of the issues NFL players face in the years that follow the ends of their careers.

It's good to see a player as good and as prominent as Umenyiora -- one who was a teammate of Toomer's -- talking sense instead of talking tough. Because the important thing in all of this isn't whether you want your kids to play football or not. The important thing is that all sides and opinions need to be heard as football potentially confronts and existential crisis. This is about finding solutions, and figuring out the right and sensible way to move forward -- not about whether it's wrong to criticize the game just because you made money playing it. Here's hoping that what we hear from folks like Umenyiora helps folks like Toomer understand what this discussion is really about, and what the proper way is of conducting it.

New York Giants GM Jerry Reese said on ESPN radio in New York that the contract dispute between the team and defensive end Osi Umenyiora is not personal -- at least from his end -- and reiterated that he'd like Umenyiora to "retire as a Giant." Ohm was listening to the interview on ESPN radio's new spot at 98.7 on the FM dial:

"I don't carry grudges," Reese said in an interview with Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco on ESPN New York 98.7. "In the offseason, there is always some controversy about contracts. It is not just one person, it can be several different people with contract situations. That is part of my job, it is never personal, I don't think it is personal with respect to players and it definitely is not personal with respect to me."

"I call it offseason chatter," he continued. "There is always some chatter about different situations about contracts during the offseason. That is what happened. It is never personal with me."

Which is really nice, especially since Reese was the one being called a liar by Umenyiora this time last year in a sworn affidavit as part of the Brady vs. NFL lockout suit. But whether it's personal from Reese's standpoint really isn't the issue at this point. Because other than that affidavit, there have been very few (if any) points during this three-year drama at which Reese felt he had cause to feel like the wronged party. Umenyiora's discontent over his contract has had no discernible impact on the Giants whatsoever. He's played, and played well. The times he's sat out practice in protest have had no effect on his teammates. The games he's missed due to injury have been ably handled by people such as Mathias Kiwanuka, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. Pierre-Paul, in fact, surpassed Umenyiora as a starter last year, which is part of the basis for the current disagreement between Umenyiora and the Giants about what he should be getting paid.

It is clearly personal from Umenyiora's end, and has been for some time now. He feels disrespected by what he considers insufficient compensation. He has said he doesn't like being a backup. And it is clear that he intends to continue making an issue of his contract in this, its final season. I can't imagine a circumstance, barring some shocking new development that results in a new deal, under which Umenyiora attends all of the Giants' offseason or training camp practices. This isn't going away anytime soon, because whether it's personal from Reese's end or not, it clearly is from Umenyiora's.

In the end, what I believe will happen is Umenyiora will play out the final year of his contract on the Giants' terms. He has no leverage, and if he wants to sit out, the Giants believe they have coverage with their other excellent pass rushers. But that doesn't mean he's going to stop kicking about it anytime soon. At this point, it wouldn't be a Giants offseason if Umenyiora weren't upset.

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

Dallas Cowboys

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

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

New York Giants

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

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

Philadelphia Eagles

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

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

Washington Redskins

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

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

In this video about the contract dispute between the New York Giants and defensive end Osi Umenyiora, Adam Schefter suggests that the Giants could still trade Umenyiora at some point down the road, though he points out that their best opportunity to do so may have expired Saturday when this year's draft ended. It's clear at this point that the relationship between player and team management is fractured, and it's increasingly clear that a new contract is not in the offing.

Sure, you can still deal a guy for a player, or for some future picks, but in general it's easier to get deals done before the draft if you want to get real value. I don't imagine the Giants will want to just dump Umenyiora to be rid of him, since they've had opportunities to do that in the past and have turned down every one. They held the line with him a year ago and got great production out of him en route to their Super Bowl title. I see little reason to believe they won't take the same tactic this year. And if he wants to hold out, I'm sure they feel fine about their pass rush in the hands of Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Mathias Kiwanuka and the rest of the gang.

I thought earlier this offseason that the Giants would be wise to trade Umenyiora in advance of the draft, since his value was high coming off the Super Bowl run and teams with which they would have been negotiating might not have felt as strong a concern about his recent injury history. But they didn't, and at this point the right move is probably to ride it out.

I do not, for one second, buy the argument that Umenyiora's situation and/or behavior can be a distraction in the Giants' locker room. Anyone who really thinks that hasn't been in that room. The Giants have a strong nucleus of veteran leaders. Their young players are, by and large, intelligent, high-character guys who have been shaped by those strong veteran influences and respect the coaching staff. Most of the players on the roster have been around long enough to know there's always something going on with Umenyiora and his contract, and I can't imagine any significant way in which it might affect anyone on the team other than Umenyiora himself. And that provides Jerry Reese even more leverage if he wants to play hardball with Umenyiora and dare him to sit out the final year of his contract and try and convince some other team next year that he was right to do so.

A new week dawns. The NFL draft is behind us. And while the Cowboys fans have risen up against me in defense of the draft acumen of a man who charges them $75 to park at home games, I think we can all agree to move on to more worthwhile, forward-thinking pursuits. To do so, we will unquestionably require links.

Dallas Cowboys

Calvin's notebook indicates that the Cowboys would still move cornerback Mike Jenkins in the right deal, but that they haven't been able to drum up much interest. I wouldn't trade Jenkins just to trade him -- even with Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne on the roster now. Depth is important at that spot, and Jenkins played well last year when healthy. That last part is, of course, the concern, and for that reason, Calvin also writes, the Cowboys would like to have Jenkins around more than he's been.

Jason Garrett says that fifth-round pick Danny Coale is "in the mix" at the No. 3 receiver spot, though I think that says more about the other candidates than it says about Danny. I don't believe that Coale's presence will deter the Cowboys from continue to hunt for a nice bargain candidate or two from among the remaining veteran wide receivers on the market. Coale likely will need some adjustment time to the NFL, and his size could make that adjustment difficult. Real good college player with a chance to make it as a pro, but don't be sold on him as the Laurent Robinson replacement just yet.

New York Giants

Well, Osi Umenyiora's mad. Says Jerry Reese going out and telling everyone that he's offered him a contract extension without providing the details of those offers has had the effect of making Osi look like "a greedy pig." And he's got a point. Umenyiora says he was offered half of what Mathias Kiwanuka just got, and the tone of this e-mail he sent to some beat writers indicates that his claims last weekend about how happy he was for Kiwanuka might have been somewhat disingenuous. You know where I am on this. I think they missed a good chance to trade Umenyiora while his value was high. When phrases like "greedy pig" start getting tossed around, you're generally not near a solution.

Six of the Giants' 10 undrafted free agents play offense, according to this list. I think it's worth paying attention to the offensive linemen on the list especially, given the Giants' need to build depth and a future there. But seeing a UMass wide receiver among the Giants' undrafteds has to give Giants fans -- not to mention Victor Cruz -- a smile.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles needed to shore up their run defense, yes. But at the top of the draft, the defensive players they selected were picked mainly for their ability to help keep the pass defense strong, as Paul Domowitch writes, because that's the most important thing you can do on defense in today's NFL.

This report says that undrafted free-agent running back Chris Polk chose the Eagles over the Redskins. Indeed, Polk's college tape (not to mention his college numbers) indicate that he could be a steal, and the Eagles have two intriguing high-upside running back prospects in him and seventh-round pick Bryce Brown. Sure, it's possible neither will ever see the field. But worth taking a shot on both, given the price.

Washington Redskins

After their first pick, the Redskins focused their draft on depth, which has been Mike Shanahan's buzz word for this offseason since before it began.

Among those surprised that the Redskins drafted quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth round after taking Robert Griffin III in the first was Cousins himself. This is an example of the depth thing again -- specifically the Redskins' effort to get better and deeper at a position at which they were season-sinkingly awful last year. Cousins is saying all of the right things, and at this point a Griffin injury is the only way Cousins is going to see the field.

Ohm's got some thoughts on what the New York Giants might do tonight with the 32nd pick in the first round of the NFL draft. Pick 32 is a trophy, remember. You get it for winning the Super Bowl, and when you're picking 32 you're not supposed to be a team that needs much. The Giants have a few needs, but they don't tend to draft for need, and with that in mind Ohm believes they will take either a defensive player or a wide receiver with the No. 32 pick:

The Giants would probably be thrilled if someone like North Carolina DE Quinton Coples, Syracuse DE Chandler Jones, Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus, Alabama CB Dre Kirkpatrick and Alabama LB Dont'a Hightower were to fall to 32. Same for Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill. All those guys are on the Giants' wish list.

But all those guys, based on many projections, are not expected to be there when the Giants are on the clock. My guess is if all those guys are gone, the Giants could tab LSU WR Rueben Randle. Indications are the Giants are looking at wide receiver if the players mentioned earlier above are not available. Randle is a player the Giants have discussed.

Very interesting. We have not discussed Randle here, but picking a wide receiver at the end of the first round when the need appears greater at offensive line and running back would be a very Giant thing to do. Remember, as we have written many times here over the past few weeks, the Giants don't view the draft as a means of addressing immediate needs or filling obvious holes. They view it as a means of building, maintaining and replenishing a deep roster from which they can fill needs as they arise in the future.

Giants defensive end Justin Tuck was tweeting about the draft earlier today and wrote:

Can't wait 2 c who Reese and company get tonight. It really doesn't matter who bc we will teach him how 2 play @Giants football #worldchamps

— Justin Tuck (@JustinTuckNYG91) April 26, 2012

And that pretty much sums up the feeling of the Giants as an organization. Draft players they like, who represent good value at the pick and trust their coaching staff and their veteran players to develop them. It's paid off with two Super Bowl titles in the past five years, and for that reason I would expect them to stick with it.

So there's no way to know who the Giants will take at No. 32, because we don't know what their draft board looks like or which players at or near the top of it will still be there. But Ohm's story offers useful perspective and drives home the point that the Giants look at the draft a bit differently than other teams do.

My New York Giants fans who sat through the whole ESPN blogger mock draft on Monday weren't thrilled when I traded away the No. 32 pick instead of selecting a player with it. But I maintain that, given the way the draft had unfolded to that point and what the offer was, it was a no-brainer decision that the Giants themselves would have made in the same exact spot. I'll take you through my reasoning.

I wasn't going to trade up with the Giants. It didn't seem like a very Giants thing to do, and after they've already traded away their fifth-round pick for Keith Rivers, I don't believe Jerry Reese is going to be keen on the idea of giving up more picks to move up. So I sat at 32 and had a short list of players in mind that made sense for the Giants at that spot. One was Stanford tackle Jonathan Martin -- a player who's dropped a bit and who I believe could fall to the Giants at 32 in real life. But Jamison Hensley took Martin for the Browns at No. 22.

Another one of those players -- Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones -- was picked by Mike Sando for the Seahawks at No. 27. I like Jones for the Giants if he gets to 32 because he's a pass-rusher who went to the same school Tom Coughlin went to. Feels like a Giant to me, but he was gone.

Another player on whom I had my eye was Stanford tight end Coby Fleener. I have my doubts as to whether the Giants would really pick him at 32, but I'm sure they'd consider it, given his abilities and their need at the position. Anyway, Sando took him, too, to the Seahawks at pick No. 31.

After that happened, I decided I'd take Ohio State tackle Mike Adams. I also think this is a realistic pick for the Giants, even though they haven't taken an offensive lineman in the first round since 1999. Adams is another upside guy who's likely higher than 32 on the Giants' board and happens to fit a need. He would be in a competition for the starting right tackle job right away, with a good chance to win it, and could develop into a left tackle down the road if things don't work out with Will Beatty.

So I was typing away on the pick of Adams to the Giants at 32 when James Walker (on behalf of the Buffalo Bills) offered a second-round pick (No. 41 overall) and two fourth-round picks. This was too much value to pass up. The Giants move down only nine spots -- to a spot where Adams might still be there and, if he's not, they could still have interesting options at linebacker (Lavonte David) pass-rusher (Andre Branch), running back (Lamar Miller, Doug Martin), safety (Harrison Smith) or even wide receiver (Kendall Wright). Good value awaits at 41 and they now have four fourth-round picks with which to add depth or move up and do some interesting things in the second or third rounds. Simply too good an offer to pass up, especially with no one there screaming to be picked.

So what do you think, Giants fans? How'd your favorite pineapple do? Do you like the deal or no? And if not, who would you have picked?

Yes indeed, it is Monday and the draft is on Thursday and that means this week is pretty much going to be about the draft. We have the ESPN blogger mock draft -- a live first-round mock in which each of us makes the picks for the teams from our division and in which trades are permitted -- at 1 p.m. ET today, so you'll want to check that out. We will have coverage from Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night and throughout the weekend. And we'll try to pack Tuesday and Wednesday full of the kinds of pre-draft goodies that get you fired up for the NFL's biggest offseason made-for-TV extravaganza. But the best way to prepare for it all is, of course, with links.

Dallas Cowboys

Calvin Watkins ponders whether the Cowboys would take a quarterback in the middle rounds as they look toward a future after 32-year-old Tony Romo. Now, when Calvin calls me later today to complain that I pointed out that the first guy on his list is only three and a half years younger than Romo, at least he won't be mad at me for not linking to his stuff.

Old friend Matt Mosley seems to think (a) that Jerry Jones' proclamations about letting Jason Garrett have final approval of roster decisions will go out the window once the draft starts and (b) that Stanford guard David DeCastro will be the pick if the Cowboys stay at No. 14 (and if DeCastro lasts that long). Hey, Matt knows the team and may be right. I just don't see how picking DeCastro is a good use of the No. 14 pick after spending so many resources on offensive line over the past calendar year.

New York Giants

Ohm's Giants draft preview series took a look recently at offensive line, where the Giants haven't used a first-round pick since 1999 but well could this time around. First of all, by the time the Giants pick at 32, offensive line could well be where the best value is. And second of all, they do need help there. And not just right now (the Giants don't love to draft their right-now help but prefer it to be the result of player development) but for the future as well. They need some tackle depth in case Will Beatty isn't the answer.

Jerry Reese says he likes picking No. 32, according to Ralph Vacchiano. And hey, who wouldn't, given what it means about what happened a few months earlier? Ralph's got a couple of names that look like very possible No. 32 picks, including Mike Adams, the Ohio State tackle whose stock has slipped a bit in recent weeks but could fit the profile nicely.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have used second-round picks in each of the past two seasons on safeties. But Geoff Mosher wonders if they might break that streak this year -- by taking one in the first. Again, check out the ESPN blogger mock draft at 1 p.m. ET today for a simulation of what, exactly, might happen depending on the way the first round falls in front of them.

No matter what else they do in the draft, Jonathan Tamari writes, the Eagles will have their eyes open for opportunities to improve the pass rush -- be that from any spot they can find on the defensive line.

Washington Redskins

Here's The Washington Post's Rick Maese, out in Texas doing his Sunday feature thing with Robert Griffin III. In case you haven't heard, Griffin is the guy the Redskins will be picking with the No. 2 pick Thursday night. Sorry to spoil that portion of the ESPN blogger mock draft for you.

The Redskins will pick again later in the draft, though not until the third round. And when they do, Mike Jones writes, they will still have some offensive needs to address as they look to assemble a team around Griffin.

It is Friday. These are links. That makes them the Friday links.

Dallas Cowboys

Calvin Watkins' mailbag at ESPNDallas.com deals with a number of questions, including whether the Cowboys would pursue free agent running back Cedric Benson to help them in short-yardage situations. Giants fans have also asked about Benson, who didn't like being in a platoon role last year in Cincinnati but seems to have resigned himself to the fact that that's the best he can hope for in 2012. The off-field issues Calvin mentions are going to be a problem for a lot of teams.

Looking for a mid-round possibility to help at center? Cowboys.com raises the possibility of Robert Griffin III's guy, Baylor's Phillip Blake, who'll actually turn 27 during the 2012 season.

New York Giants

GM Jerry Reese says contract extensions for Osi Umenyiora and Victor Cruz are "on his plate," but he said it in such a way as to indicate they're somewhere between the beets and the brussels sprouts while he's way over on the other side locked in on the roast beef and the mashed potatoes. Cruz says in the same story that he won't hold out. Umenyiora says nothing because he's not there. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were either one of those guys.

Michael Boley says he hasn't talked to the team about moving to middle linebacker, though he understands he could have to and he's open to the idea.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles GM Howie Roseman says the team is "all in" with Michael Vick at quarterback, which we already knew for this year and obviously (given that they can basically get out of his contract after this year) isn't a certainty beyond this year no matter what anyone says. I think the point here is what Roseman said about how it's hard to find a franchise quarterback after the first round of the draft. If the Eagles do draft a quarterback this year, it's going to be a developmental guy -- not someone they feel strongly will be Vick's eventual replacement.

That said, there are quite a number of quarterbacks in this year's draft, and it's certainly possible that the Eagles will take a mid-round shot on one they think has some potential. If nothing else, maybe you develop a Kevin Kolb-type guy and end up trading him for something useful.

Washington Redskins

Dave Sheinin caught up with Robert Griffin III at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, where he was getting a crash course in nutrition in advance of the NFL draft and his pro career. If I know Sheinin, he disregarded it all and went out for a steak dinner after. But it was nice of him to file this report on Griffin for us before he did that.

If the Redskins want to use the draft to help add depth at cornerback, they will have options, and John Keim has some names.

The Osi Umenyiora situation remains a mystery as the New York Giants begin defense of their Super Bowl title. Things seemed to have been cooling in January and February, but then last week Umenyiora indicated he'd be skipping this week's voluntary conditioning session because of lingering discontent about his contract situation and said he didn't like being "a backup." It remains possible that the Giants will trade Umenyiora, extend his contract or just keep him and dare him to hold out if he doesn't want to play the final year of his deal under the current terms.

Giants GM Jerry Reese told reporters in New Jersey Thursday that he hadn't ruled out an extension for Umenyiora, but of course that doesn't indicate how likely a possibility it is. Umenyiora's friend and teammate, Justin Tuck, said he had no way of handicapping what would happen with Umenyiora, per Mike Garafolo:

"I don't know. You never know with that guy and what the scenario is going to be this year. But I just wish for the best. Obviously, he's a huge part of our success on defense but (also) the little things he does in the locker room as far as taking some of the pressure off the young guys and so on and so forth. I'm definitely rooting for him to be back, but at the end of the day you just want the best for him."

There's no way to doubt Umenyiora's value, especially after having watched the Giants' pass rush solidify into a Super Bowl-caliber unit once he returned from his injuries late last year. But the Giants do have salary-cap concerns and Umenyiora does have injury concerns, so I still think the most likely scenario is a little bit of griping (less than last summer) and then Umenyiora plays out his deal. But as Tuck said, you never know.

Have you seen what the New York Giants have been up to in free agency? No? Me neither, and I cover the division!

Ah, we kid, we kid. Jokes about the Giants' offseason inactivity are so 2011. It is what it is, as they say in places where Giants fans live, and after the way last season ended, there's no reason to think it's going to change. Those of us who ripped Giants general manager Jerry Reese for not doing enough to improve his team last summer (and yes, of course, I very much include myself) are full to bursting from all the crow we had to eat once Reese's bunch won the Super Bowl. And the Giants' uninspiring list of 2012 free-agent pickups to date -- let's call them Martellus and the Special Teamers -- isn't worth getting worked up over now that even the doubters understand the way the Giants look at the NFL world.

See, the issue last year was that those of us who criticized got caught up in the impatience that defines our times. My point, after watching the Giants stubbornly ignore immediate needs at every level of the draft and do nothing in free agency to address the exodus of seemingly important passing-game targets, was that their philosophy wasn't working. Although it was admirable that they were determined to stick to a plan about which they felt strongly, that plan had produced two straight years without a playoff appearance and was therefore fair game for questioning.

But Reese and the Giants were looking at the landscape more broadly, and that's to their credit. The Giants don't use the draft to address immediate needs. They believe that's a poor use of draft picks -- that rushing to plug a hole with a first-round or second-round pick reduces the value of those picks. The Giants view the draft as a means of building, augmenting and maintaining a deep roster -- the kind of roster that can withstand free-agent defections, plug holes from within and consistently challenge for a playoff spot. The kind of roster that, in the years when it does reach the playoffs, has what it takes to win postseason games and the Super Bowl.

The Giants don't view free agency as some huge shopping mall stocked with all kinds of desirable goodies. Sure, if they see someone they like who plays a position where they need help, they're not above making an aggressive move to get him. Antrel Rolle is a good example from two years ago. Last year, they targeted a center, David Baas, and got him. This year, they targeted a tight end, Martellus Bennett, and locked him up on the first day. But their approach in free agency is measured, focused and patient, and that's the way they believe it should be.

Patience is a hard sell in today's sports culture, where two years without a playoff appearance can feel like an eternity even if the people running the team are the same ones that brought you a Super Bowl title not long before. So last year, the Giants' front office found itself under attack for inactivity. But Reese insisted that inactivity was the right path. The Giants believe in their system, in their coaching staff and in the core of veterans in their locker room. Reese told everyone he'd had a 10-win team in 2010 that missed the playoffs and believed his 2011 team could be better by just enough to get in this time. Lots of us thought he was nuts.

To his credit, at the Super Bowl, Reese declined to accept the accolades. He pointed out more than once that his 2011 team had won only nine games -- one fewer than the previous year's team -- and that he found it funny that somehow he was a genius this time around. Again with the big-picture viewpoint. Reese know there's some good fortune involved -- that if the Eagles hadn't kicked away so many September games or if Miles Austin had caught that pass down the sideline late in the game in Dallas, the Giants very well could have been looking at three straight years without a playoff game. This NFL is a razor's-edge business, and one can do very little to control the placement of that fine line between success and failure.

But what the Giants do is position themselves the best they can to take advantage when fate smiles on them. They don't want their season to ride on the worthiness of a couple of big offseason signings. They don't want their season to rise and fall on the immediate readiness of their first-round draft pick. If the Giants get an opportunity, they want to know they have a roster, driven by gutsy, respected leaders like Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and Justin Tuck that's deep and talented and experienced and driven enough to spot it and take advantage of it.

That's what last season was. The Giants weren't the best team in the NFL in 2011. For most of it, they weren't even close. But they may have been the toughest. And when the time came for that to matter -- for the toughness and the depth of their roster to deliver -- that's exactly what happened.

So here the Giants are again, sitting idly by while the rest of the league rushes out to grab free agents. Do they have some holes they could fill? Sure they do. Might not filling them cost them a game or two this season? Absolutely. But the Giants know who they are and what they have. And after winning a second Super Bowl title in five years, they feel very good about it. They could win the Super Bowl again next year. They could go 8-8 and miss the playoffs. But these are the Giants, and they know one year won't define them. It's a lesson that a lot of other teams -- and a lot of us who analyze and predict this league -- would do well to learn.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- We are all up bright and early this morning for the first of two "coaches breakfasts" at the NFL owners meetings. Pretty cool deal, actually. Today, all of the AFC coaches sit at tables for an hour and you can sit with them and ask them anything you want. The NFC coaches do it tomorrow. So, in my capacity as NFC East blogger, I will of course be working those tables tomorrow for information and insight from Jason Garrett, Tom Coughlin, Andy Reid and Mike Shanahan. But I'm going to today's session, too, to do some work on another project and because you never know what you might learn.

I don't know if they'll have links there. I do know you have them here.

Dallas Cowboys

After saying he'd talk with reporters Monday about the salary cap penalty issue, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declined to do so and in fact stayed very much out of sight all day. (I mean, I was looking for the guy from 8 am until 10 pm, and I saw him once, and he was in a room I wasn't allowed to enter.) It sounds as though the Cowboys and the Redskins will both keep quiet on this, though you should stay tuned because you never know with Jerry, right?

Wanna hear what Tony Romo thinks about Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow? Here you go. What? Hey, at least it's not about Romo playing golf. I know you guys just love it when I give you the Romo golf updates...

New York Giants

Giants general manager Jerry Reese spoke with Sirius XM Radio about several issues, including the team's ongoing hunt for a middle linebacker and the idea of "slow-playing" free agency. I'm amazed that I still get questions from Giants fans about why they haven't done much in free agency. They don't have much cap room, first of all. And second of all, this is how they usually handle free agency, and it seems to be working well for them, no?

Former Giants wide receiver Steve Smith signed with the Rams, which could be an Eagles link because he "played" for them last year and could be a Cowboys link because some Cowboys fans were wondering if their team might sign him to replace Laurent Robinson but is ultimately a Giants link because Smith was much more a Giant than he ever was an Eagle or certainly a Cowboy.

Philadelphia Eagles

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly is doing a periodic draft diary for Philly.com, and Sheil Kapadia has the latest installment. We don't know if the Eagles will end up picking Kuechly in the first round, but he's a guy who would fit nicely there, and he's someone who's been on the minds of Eagles fans, so there you go -- a little look into the pre-draft process through his eyes.

Jeff McLane explains why he thinks the Eagles could use one of their first three draft picks on a quarterback.

Washington Redskins

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that commissioner Roger Goodell has the "full support" of the league's other owners on the matter of the salary cap penalties against the Redskins and Cowboys. Of course, Kraft also said Goodell was "in the best position to speak to that," and a few hours later Goodell refused to do so. So, you know. Whatever.

My old friend LaVar Arrington thinks this is a case of two NFL owners bucking the "old-school" approach the others are so determined to preserve. And in truth, this does feel more and more like a vindictive personal issue among the owners involved. That's probably why the league doesn't want anyone talking about it anymore. If the arbitrator assigned to the case thinks there's some kind of personal motivation behind the penalties, that might make him more likely to overturn them.