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The NFL has announced that 15 teams have been awarded a total of 32 compensatory picks in next month's draft. The New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys are two of those teams, each picking up an additional pick at the end of the fourth round as a result of their 2011 free-agent activity.

The Giants now have the 36th pick in the first round (131st pick overall) because they lost free agents Barry Cofield, Steve Smith and Kevin Boss last offseason and signed David Baas and Steve Weatherford. The Cowboys get the 40th pick in the fourth round (135th overall) because they lost Stephen Bowen and Sam Hurd in free agency and signed Abram Elam.

Not every free agent is deemed to have compensatory-pick value, based on the league's formula that takes into account salary, playing time and postseason honors. But if the overall value, according to that formula, of compensatory free agents lost in a given offseason outweighs the value of compensatory free agents signed, teams are compensation with these additional picks. The placement of the picks is determined by the formula as well.

The Eagles and Redskins do not get compensatory picks, because the overall value of the free agents they signed in 2011 is deemed by the formula to be equal to or greater than the overall value of the free agents they lost.

Morning. The new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET, and while two of our teams may have less to spend than they initially thought, it promises to be an interesting day on which speculation finally begins converting to reality. No longer must we wonder what our teams will do once free agency begins. Today, we get to watch and see.

At this hour, it is still technically not yet the new league year. So one last time, our links are in order of this past year's division standings. Tomorrow, they'll be alphabetical again.

New York Giants

Old friend Kevin Boss has been released by the Raiders. Lots of people were asking, in the wake of this news, whether this meant he'd come back to the Giants. It makes perfect sense to me. Boss knows the system. The Giants need a tight end. He's not likely to cost anything near what he cost last year. He probably regrets leaving. Why not? If he's healthy, the Giants need to at least look at it.

Free-agent running back Mike Tolbert says he wants to be the guy to replace Brandon Jacobs in New York. I say it's a great fit. Tolbert is a different kind of back than Ahmad Bradshaw is. He's used to being in a committee situation and apparently wouldn't mind being in one again. He's good enough to be an every-down guy if and when Bradshaw has to miss a game. Tolbert and Michael Bush, two starter-quality free agents who have been operating in running back committees, make the most sense as Jacobs replacements if the Giants can afford them. The question now for Tolbert is how much he expects to make. They're right up against the salary cap, which is why Jacobs is gone in the first place.

Philadelphia Eagles

Rich Hofmann wonders if free agency will be the time when the Eagles, who should be feeling a sense of urgency about the coming season, start to show it. I don't think that's how the Eagles roll. And while they might make a signing or two (Rich raises the London Fletcher possibility we discussed here last week), they're not likely to go nuts the way they did a year ago. Those players are all still there, or the good ones are at least, and they believe they'll perform better in Year 2.

The Eagles did take care of restricted free agent Antonio Dixon on Monday, tendering him at second-round level. If any team wants to sign him to an offer sheet, the Eagles will have seven days to match the offer or receive a second-round pick from the team that wants him. Basically means he's not likely to go anywhere.

Dallas Cowboys

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that the salary-cap sanctions against the Cowboys show that Jerry Jones doesn't wield the same power he used to in an NFL that's become a Roger Goodell dictatorship. I don't think that's what happened here. It wasn't Goodell who pushed for these sanctions, but rather the other owners. And it does bear mentioning that the new chairman of the NFL Management Council, which issued the sanctions, is Giants owner John Mara. Jones and the Redskins' Dan Snyder likely flaunted the 2010 guidelines because they saw that they constituted illegal collusion and figured the NFL would have to admit to such if it ever wanted to call them on it. They just didn't count on the NFL getting its union to go along with the punishment, which effectively cut off their avenue for complaint.

Todd Archer explains what you really want to know if you're a Cowboys fan -- why the sanctions announced Monday don't necessarily kill the Cowboys' plans to use free agency to fill the many holes on their roster.

Washington Redskins

Regardless of the sanctions, the Redskins still need to be active and intelligent in free agency, according to Mike Jones and Mark Maske, who run down some of the Skins' potential moves. One name that popped on the market late Monday is that of right tackle Eric Winston, who was released by the Houston Texans in a surprise move and should be one of the Redskins' first phone calls this afternoon.

Dan Daly writes that the sanctions are a disgrace, and that the Redskins were negligent for allowing them to happen. Strong take, but again, I'm not sure I agree. The Redskins broke no rule whatsoever. They simply acted in a way that upset their competitors. Unfortunately for them, the NFL is a business in which their competitors have the ability to band together and punish them for behavior they don't like. I guess the Redskins should have known that, but (a) it strikes me as having been worth a shot and (b) they have so much cap room this year that it's unlikely to matter too much anyway.

» NFC Wrap-ups: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Arrow indicates direction team is trending.

Final Power Ranking: 9
Preseason Power Ranking: 15

Biggest surprise: Second-year wide receiver Victor Cruz. One of the big questions back in training camp was how the Giants would replace key passing-game targets Steve Smith and Kevin Boss, who had left in free agency. Quarterback Eli Manning even expressed his concern on that very subject. But Cruz had been working with Manning during the lockout and was ready to burst onto the scene more brilliantly than anyone could have expected. He caught 82 passes, nine for touchdowns, and set a Giants team record with 1,536 receiving yards -- a figure that ranked third-best in the NFL. He surpassed Hakeem Nicks as the team's best big-play threat and helped the Giants be able to basically ignore a down year from Mario Manningham.

Biggest disappointment: Has to be a run game that ranked 32nd in the NFL. People want to point out that it seems to have gotten better in recent weeks with both running backs -- Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs -- finally healthy together. But all season, the problem with the Giants' run game was not the backs but rather a poor run-blocking offensive line. Things did get better once Will Beatty got hurt, David Diehl moved to left tackle and the surprising Kevin Boothe got into the mix. But these Giants are more a passing team than ever, and have been unable to put games away on the ground with very few exceptions.

Biggest need: Even if cornerback Terrell Thomas and middle linebacker Jonathan Goff come back from the season-ending injuries they suffered in preseason, the Giants will need to beef up in the secondary and linebacking corps. Just too many coverage problems this year. No matter how good the pass rush is, you need to be able to cover opposing receivers or you're going to keep being vulnerable to the big play.

Team MVP: Manning. With no run game to speak of, a shaky offensive line and a leaky defense for much of the year, Manning elevated the Giants over and over again in games they seemed to have no business winning. His five fourth-quarter comebacks are as big a reason as any that they're still playing. Manning finished the season with 4,933 passing yards, which ranked fourth in the league in this pass-happy season, and established himself as one of the best clutch quarterbacks in the league.

Down with JPP: A close second in that team MVP race is second-year defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who had 16.5 sacks, won the first Cowboys game almost by himself and kept the pass rush viable in spite of injuries to Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. He's the Victor Cruz of the Giants' defense.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tell me you saw Victor Cruz coming, and I'll call you a liar to your face. Sure you might have thought he'd turn into a good receiver with Eli Manning throwing him the ball in a pass-happy New York Giants offense. But no way did you see 82 catches, 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns. No one did. Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin didn't dream those numbers for Cruz in their wildest, most hopeful dreams.

But what they did see was talent, and a chance to develop that talent. And that is what the Giants do. They stay the course. In an era that demands instant gratification, instant success, the Giants preach and exercise patience as the best way to get better. Cruz's breakout season began last summer, when he showed up for every lockout workout Manning called and worked with his quarterback on every detail he could process. It crescendoed with a 99-yard touchdown catch in Week 16 and a 74-yard touchdown catch in Week 17 against the Cowboys -- two huge plays that keyed two huge victories and a surprise division title. The fact that an undrafted second-year wide receiver who didn't catch a pass last season was so central to that effort is nothing short of vindication for a franchise determined to do things its own way.

"It's about having a very good organization -- an organization that believes in their guys," veteran left tackle David Diehl said. "If you're here, you're a Giant. You're here because they want you here. And everybody here is going to work to make sure you become as good as you can possibly be."

This was the offseason, remember, in which the Eagles loaded up and the Giants did nothing. Philadelphia's free-agent frenzy was the story of the league in August, and it pushed the Eagles to the top of the preseason prediction lists for the NFC East. The Giants did nearly nothing, and in fact lost players to free agency. They let a couple of prime Manning targets walk out the door and declined to replace them, and they got roasted for it, here and in many other places. They did not know that guys like Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul were going to blow the NFL's doors off in 2011, but they knew they had those players, didn't have the ones who left or got hurt, and that the best chance they had to make something of the season was to work as hard as possible with the guys on the roster.

"A realistic goal for me was just to get a catch in a real game that mattered, in a real game that counted," Cruz said, looking back over his season to the expectations with which it began. "Due to some injuries, I was able to come in and play a significant role. It's been an amazing ride. It's been a roller coaster for me. But I'm excited that we're here, we won our division and we're going to the playoffs."

The Giants needed some external things to happen to make this possible. They needed the Eagles and Cowboys to blow a bunch of fourth-quarter leads, helping make this the first full season in history in which the NFC East could be won with fewer than 10 victories. But at the end of a season that could easily have slipped away while they were losing four straight to some of the league's best teams, the Giants stiffened up.

"It's one thing to be regarded for your toughness," Coughlin said. "But also to play tough in important and big games. I like that our guys rallied around and did that."

Few did it better than Cruz, who had five touchdown catches this season longer than 65 yards. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he had three catches this season on which he gained at least 60 yards after the catch, including Sunday night's big touchdown. He's a quarterback's dream -- a receiver you can trust not only to catch the ball in a big spot but to make the absolute most of it once he does.

"He just keeps doing it, and thank god he does," Coughlin said. "I'm cheering for him, doing cartwheels on the sidelines as he's running by. Just a heck of a game and a heck of a season by the kid."

Cruz is the emblem of what the Giants have just pulled off -- a player who has developed quickly and brilliantly thanks to the coaching and the environment provided by one of the league's proudest and most stable franchises. They could have traded Osi Umenyiora out of spite when he threw his tantrum, called the general manager a liar and sat out training-camp practices. They didn't, and there was Umenyiora, wrecking things for the Cowboys on Sunday night in the biggest game of the season. They lost left tackle Will Beatty in the second half of the season, center David Baas for crucial games, and they were able to patch it together by moving Diehl back out to tackle and getting big performances from guys like Kevin Boothe and Mitch Petrus. Steve Smith and Kevin Boss leave? Mario Manningham struggles? No problem, because Cruz turned out to be a superstar. Umenyiora and Justin Tuck struggled with injuries all year, but Pierre-Paul made up for it by becoming one of the most fearsome pass-rushers in the league.

"You know coming in that there are going to be injuries, that things are going to happen to make it tough on you," Diehl said. "But when you play here, you really believe everybody on that roster has a chance to make a play that helps you win a game. Or in this case, a division."

Yeah, nobody saw Victor Cruz coming. Not even the Giants -- not to this extent. But that's not the point. The Giants exist and sustain themselves on the belief that someone is coming -- that someone is going to step forward and perform in a way that leads them to great things. They're willing to believe it can be someone different every week, but the point is that they always believe they have enough in their own locker room to get it done. This year, they turned out to be right.

A little groggy this morning. Was up late watching baseball, which ... wow. But I know you gotta have your links.

Dallas Cowboys

Jason Garrett says Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is "arguably the best player in the National Football League," and Johnson is a main focus of Dallas' preparation for Sunday's game. Practice squad receiver Andre Holmes is 6-foot-5, same height as Johnson, and the Cowboys are using him this week in practice to try to simulate Johnson's ability to out-jump defenders for the ball, especially in the end zone.

I'd thought, if Dan Bailey could kick the ball into the end zone Sunday with David Buehler on the shelf, the Cowboys could cut Buehler, get down to one kicker and pick up a roster spot. But Jerry Jones says it's not happening, and Buehler's in no danger of losing his job.

New York Giants

Eli Manning admits it took him a while to develop rhythm and a comfort level with the Giants' offense this season as he adjusted to life without Steve Smith and Kevin Boss. But since the second quarter of the Rams game, he's looked like a different guy, and he thinks the key was to stay patient. He'll have to stay as patient going forward as he was Sunday in Philadelphia, where he waited for his shot at big plays and then hit them. Eli gets in trouble when he tries to force a big play.

Sam Borden's got a look at the Giants' goal-line defense, which was another key to the win Sunday and represents the kind of thing in which they'll need to and should be able to rely on as the year goes along.

Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Vick sounds like a different guy than he did Sunday, saying things like, "I'm tired of letting my guys down" and promising to do whatever he can to finish games from here on out. Phil Sheridan wonders if NFL players lean too much toward trying to tough out injuries. He may have a point, but it's doubtful that's going to affect Vick as much was watching Tony Romo on Monday night apparently did.

The Eagles are making another switch at linebacker, in case you didn't hear, sending Casey Matthews to the bench and replacing him at the weak side with fellow rookie Brian Rolle, who says he'd like to get a chance to cover 49ers tight end Vernon Davis on Sunday. Well, hey, you might as well find out how good you are right away, huh?

Washington Redskins

Sick of all the praise Romo's getting for toughing out that victory over the Redskins on Monday? Well, Brian Orakpo's right there with you. "I mean, they tried to make it seem like the guy was hospitalized the night before the game," said Orakpo, who left the same game with what the team said were cramps. Orakpo's point seems to be that Romo played the way Romo always does, but I guess I'd counter by saying people reacted the same way people always react to Romo's performances, be they good or bad. Over. People always over-react to Romo.

DeAngelo Hall has thought about it, and he's not as upset as he was Monday about the decision to zero-blitz Romo on third-and-21 Monday night in Dallas. Says he'd have done the same thing if he were faced with the same situation in Madden. That's got to be nice for Jim Haslett to know.

Good morning in the East. It is the day before the start of the NFL's regular season, and four days before the start of play in our favorite division. It is raining, still, and I think the old man next door just got home with two giraffes and two hippos. But as far as I know, no one in East Rutherford has torn a knee ligament yet today. So we hit the links.

Dallas Cowboys

One of the things ESPNDallas.com's Todd Archer is wondering this week is whether size was the main reason the Cowboys brought in reserve offensive lineman Derrick Dockery. Rookie left guard Bill Nagy has played well, but Dockery has at least 25 pounds on him, and Nagy did on occasion get overpowered by big interior defensive linemen in the preseason. Nagy may need time to get stronger before he can be a regular starter in the league, and Dockery could be the fallback if that progress doesn't happen quickly enough.

Clarence Hill says Dez Bryant's rookie contract might not be sufficient to help him overcome his personal financial problems. Sheesh. Not sure what you do about that. Tough to believe an NFL team would re-work a guy's contract just because he can't pay his bills. Dez is going to have to perform if that's to be his solution.

New York Giants

Sure, they could bring in a veteran like Kawika Mitchell to add to their depth. But if the Giants are going to replace injured linebackers Jonathan Goff and Clint Sintim, they're most likely going to do it with rookies.

Jake Ballard did the Giants a favor at cutdown time last year, and they did right by him. Now, with Kevin Boss gone off to Oakland and Travis Beckum yet to impress as his replacement, Ballard is listed as the starting tight end on this week's depth chart. He has a chance to win the job because no one else has yet.

Philadelphia Eagles

Former Eagle Terrell Owens says that, if he were DeSean Jackson, he wouldn't play Sunday without a new contract. The Eagles and their fans are surely glad, in this case, that Jackson is not Owens, as they need him to play Sunday. In turn, Jackson hopes the Eagles reward his decision by continuing to work on the new contract he wants.

Meet Eagles left guard Evan Mathis, who thinks he may have helped himself get that starting job through the use of Twitter.

Washington Redskins

Lots of mystery surrounding the health status of Redskins safety LaRon Landry, who doesn't look as if he'll be playing Sunday when the team opens the season against the Giants. Should be interesting to hear Landry address some of these details he's been hinting about on Twitter.

And lots of opportunity for the large group of receivers remaining on the Redskins' roster after cutdown day. It will be interesting to see if the Redskins have another move or two up their sleeves, because at least three of the wide receivers they kept aren't special-teamers, and I'm pretty sure they intend to run the ball a lot.

Have a lovely day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three things to watch for in the Giants' preseason game against visiting Chicago on Monday night. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN.

1. Better cohesion along the offensive line. New center David Baas and newly promoted left tackle William Beatty struggled in the first preseason game, as did David Diehl in his new position at left guard. A lot of that can be attributed to change -- offensive lines are always better when they're made up of players who've played together on the same line for a while -- and improvement is to be expected as time goes on. We don't know if they'll get it together in time for the regular season, but they would like to see improvement game-to-game in the preseason so they know the issues are about familiarity rather than quality. Of particular interest Monday night will be the matchup between Beatty and Bears defensive end Julius Peppers, one of the premier pass-rushers in the league. This season, Beatty will be facing off against the likes of DeMarcus Ware, Brian Orakpo and Trent Cole in the division, so if Peppers plays and stays in for a couple of series, this should be a good test to see how Beatty handles that level of competition.

2. Identifying and evaluating secondary receiving targets. Quarterback Eli Manning was shaky in the first game, which could have had something to do with the line (and/or Baas, specifically). Manning didn't help the Giants get a line on who's likely to take over Steve Smith's role as the slot receiver. I expect to see Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz in that role, and possibly Domenik Hixon, though the team has been trying to limit him as he continues to recover from his knee injury. The Giants would also like to see tight end Travis Beckum play better than he's practiced, since he's their best receiving option at the position with Kevin Boss having gone off to Oakland.

3. Mathias Kiwanuka continuing to settle in at linebacker. There were a couple of plays last week on which Kiwanuka seemed to play as though he'd forgotten he was now a linebacker and no longer a defensive end on first and second downs. He'll have to stay home more, be more patient and pay more attention to coverage assignments. There's little doubt he can do it, but when he doesn't, it stands out, because Jonathan Goff isn't the most seasoned middle linebacker in the world and benefits from having guys on either side of him who know their assignments. I'll also be watching to see if Jason Pierre-Paul can repeat his first-game performance at defensive end, since he looks like the starter for a while now that Osi Umenyiora's had knee surgery.

I love a contrarian point of view, and K.C. Joyner's got one here. While everybody is gushing over the Philadelphia Eagles as free-agent champs and NFC East favorites, K.C. has written an Insider piece listing eight reasons to think the New York Giants should be the favorites instead. Like I said, it's an Insider piece, so if you want to read it you can either buy the insider subscription or call my cell phone and I'll give you my password.

K.C.'s eight reasons are:

1. Michael Vick was lucky last season, as a high percentage of his potential interceptions weren't actually intercepted.

2. Eli Manning was unlucky last season on the opposite end of the same scale.

3. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are better against good coverage than DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are.

4. Manning can overcome the loss of Kevin Boss and Steve Smith simply by throwing to Nicks and Manningham more.

5. Jason Pierre-Paul and Marvin Austin will improve the Giants' already strong pass rush.

6. Steve Weatherford is a better punter than Matt Dodge, who cost them games last season.

7. Offensive line coach Pat Flaherty is the best in the NFL, and that should help the transition to the reworked alignment there.

8. Kenny Phillips is fully healthy.

K.C. has numbers to back up many of these points, and many of them are points with which I agree. I think Phillips will be a huge help, agree completely on Weatherford and can easily believe both that Manning will throw fewer interceptions than he did last season and that Vick won't be quite as awesome as he was last season. On the comparison of the two teams' wideouts, I have no reason to doubt K.C.'s numbers.

I have specific issues with points 4, 5 and 7, as follows:

4. I don't think it's as simple as "throw it to Nicks and Manningham more." Nicks and Manningham surely benefited from defenses having to pay attention to Smith, who'd caught 107 balls the season before, when he was on the field. He's gone and has not been replaced.

5. I like Pierre-Paul and Austin fine, but they're not being added to the mix. They're replacing people who have departed. Mathias Kiwanuka moved back from the line to linebacker, and Pierre-Paul will take his spot. Barry Cofield signed with the Redskins, and Austin replaces him. It's a big leap to believe that those two young players will approximate the production and performance of those two veterans and a bigger one to believe they'll improve on it.

7. Flaherty could be a wizard, but if William Beatty isn't ready for the starting left tackle job in his third season in the league, the Giants' line will struggle. And as of right now, we still don't know if he is.

So what do I think of K.C.'s basic thesis? I think the Giants have a very good team as far as the front-line starters go, and I don't think it'd be some huge upset if they won the division. I have all kinds of respect for the work K.C. does and the numbers on which he is basing his conclusions. He makes a strong case and a case worth making amid all the Eagles hype.

But the way I see it, the Giants' problem the past couple of seasons hasn't been one of measurables.

The Giants' defense over the past two seasons has been inconsistent and hasn't always played up to the level of the talent on the roster. The same can be said, in places, for the running game and for Manning. The Giants were good enough to make the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but didn't, and the reason they didn't was because the good players they have in key spots like that didn't always perform the way the numbers would expect them to perform. Supposedly reliable parts of the roster let them down when it mattered most. Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled. Manning threw interceptions. Kareem McKenzie had an inexplicably bad game against the Titans. Half of the defense quit on its coordinator in 2009.

That's the kind of stuff that doesn't show up in preseason projections, when we're imagining everyone playing as well as they can possibly play and predicting outcomes based on that. If the Giants stay healthy and play 16 games that reflect the talent on their roster, sure, they can be division champs. But that was true last season and the season before, too. And those teams, which looked a lot like this team except maybe deeper, didn't do it.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It's funny to say this about a team that plays where they play, but the New York Giants like it when nobody notices them. They like being forgotten, underestimated, treated as an afterthought. They're OK with the Jets getting all the back-page-tabloid attention and the Eagles being the big offseason story because of their free-agent shopping spree. The Giants believe in their own way of doing things, and if that means lying in the weeds while people on the outside are distracted by other teams that are hot at the moment, that's fine with them.

"We believe in our organization, and we believe in our coaches," said ninth-year offensive lineman David Diehl, who has moved from left tackle to left guard as part of the Giants' offensive line shuffle. "We're not running around doing the free-agency fiasco and all that stuff. Yeah, you hope that, if an opportunity arises, you bring in guys that fit holes. But at the same time, we've got guys that have been here, guys that are a part of this team, guys who know the system."

That's why, even though they lost tight end Kevin Boss and receiver Steve Smith in free agency and didn't sign new guys the way the Eagles did, the Giants say they're not worried. They have a different way of doing things here. They build through the draft and groom their own players to replace the ones who leave. And they have a few guys they think can fill the holes created by their cuts and free-agent defections. It remains to be seen whether they're right, of course, but the vibe at Giants training camp is clear: Go ahead, underestimate us. We'll see how it turns out in the end.

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. The new offensive line. When they cut longtime center Shaun O'Hara and guard Rich Seubert on the first day of free agency, the Giants signaled a decision to change an aspect of their team that hadn't changed much over the past six or seven years. They signed free-agent center David Baas from San Francisco, moved Diehl inside, and gave the starting left tackle job to 2009 second-round draft pick William Beatty. So there are questions that must be answered about how quickly the newly configured group can jell, how smooth the relationship between Baas and quarterback Eli Manning will be and, perhaps most importantly, whether Beatty in his third NFL season is ready for the responsibility of protecting Manning's blind side.

"In the case of William Beatty, it's time," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "We've had him here. He's talented. He's had an opportunity to learn. He's practiced against some of the best. We've had some defensive ends around here that can play. So it's time. It's his turn."

Beatty started four games in his rookie season and two last season as he was being groomed for this opportunity. He's perhaps the best example of the Giants' belief in their ability to groom their own replacements for departing veterans rather than having to hit the free-agent market to do so. Now, he must prove that their faith in him was justified.

2. Can Osi Umenyiora be happy? Upset about his contract, the Giants' star defensive end has sat out practice and demanded that the team rework his deal or trade him to a team that will. Neither of those things appears likely to happen, though the Giants have offered an olive branch in the form of some 2011 incentives depending on the number of sacks Umenyiora gets this year. He had his knee checked out last week and there's a sense he could return to practice Monday. The way Jason Pierre-Paul played in Saturday night's preseason opener only helped the Giants' leverage in this situation. They believe Pierre-Paul, their 2010 first-round pick, can be a capable replacement for Umenyiora at the defensive end spot opposite Justin Tuck. Of course, if Umenyiora wants to come back and play, they'll be thrilled to be able to rotate three such weapons at the defensive end spots. It would also enable them to put Mathias Kiwanuka at linebacker and leave him there.

3. Manning's safety valves. As the Giants' passing game evolved over the past couple of seasons, Manning relied heavily on Smith and Boss as targets when things broke down. Both are gone. The Giants hope that 2009 third-round pick Travis Beckum is ready to replace Boss. Beckum is a good receiver, but he doesn't have Boss' size or blocking ability. And they're trying everyone from Mario Manningham to Domenik Hixon to Victor Cruz in Smith's old slot-receiver role in the hopes that someone can play the position the way Smith did. Top receiver Hakeem Nicks appears poised to have another big year, and the Giants can use Manningham on the outside as they did last season. But Manning is justifiably concerned about who will be there for him when a play inevitably breaks down, and tight end and slot receiver are positions that need to be sorted out before camp ends.

"When we've gotten in trouble in the past, we always had Steve in the slot, and that's kind of all we worked on -- Steve's in the slot, there you go, he's got it down," Manning said. "And so last year, when he got hurt, we were in trouble. No one else really knew how to play it. So this year we're putting everybody -- Hakeem is in there, Manningham's getting in here, we're getting a lot of people in there to get them to learn some of it, so that'll probably create some more opportunities for us to move guys around and get some mismatches."

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Linebacker has been a weak spot for the Giants the past couple of years. Unable to add outside free agents because of cap concerns, they'll address it by moving Kiwanuka there for first and second downs. But much will still fall on the shoulders of Jonathan Goff, who enters his second season as starter at middle linebacker in the Giants' 4-3 defense. "I'll have better composure this year," Goff said. "Last year, being my first year, was a little bit of a learning experience for me. This year, I think we're all on the same page to move forward as a defense and get better. It's just natural now." Goff is responsible for communicating the calls from the sidelines and for making any front-seven checks. (The coverage checks are the responsibility of the safeties.) He knows he'll need to take a stronger on-field leadership role for the defense to play more consistently this season.

AN 'EXPLOSIVE' PHILLIPS

Two years ago, Kenny Phillips was on the verge of breaking out as one of the top safeties in the NFL. But he lost his 2009 season to a left knee injury, spent the 2009-10 offseason rehabbing the knee and wasn't the same player when he returned in 2010. This year, Phillips said, he was able to condition himself the way he normally would for a season, rather than have to rehab, and believes it has made a huge difference. "Just being more explosive," Phillips said. "Last year, just seeing the field, it was kind of difficult at times, because I'd been away from the game, to be able to break on the ball -- to actually see it and then be able to get to it. But this year, now, everything is just fluid. My technique and everything is sound. I just feel good about everything this year." Phillips said he learned a lot last season playing and working with veteran safety Deon Grant (who remains an unsigned free agent), and that, with his physical ability fully restored, he believes he'll be a better player.

OBSERVATION DECK

Hixon could be a very important player for the Giants if he's recovered from his knee injury. He showed ability to play that slot receiver position when he was healthy, and will get a chance to show it again, though it seems clear the Giants would like to have multiple options there in case something goes wrong.

Linval Joseph, the 2010 second-round pick, would seem to have the playing-time edge at defensive tackle over 2011 second-round pick Marvin Austin. But each brings impressive size and agility to the position, and between them the Giants should be able to capably replace Barry Cofield, who signed with Washington.

The starting secondary of Phillips, Antrel Rolle, Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster looks excellent in practice. The question is whether there's enough depth behind those guys if there's an injury. Cornerbacks Michael Coe and Brian Witherspoon and safety Tyler Sash have a chance to earn playing time with Prince Amukamara hurt and Grant not re-signed. Witherspoon has been impressive on special teams and looked good in Saturday's game. Sash appears to be very athletic, but he needs to play with more discipline.

Kiwanuka at linebacker is a work in progress. No question he has the ability to play it, but he overpursued Saturday at times the way a defensive end might.

Even before he left Saturday's preseason game with a thigh injury, kicker Lawrence Tynes looked as though he might be cause for concern. Having missed a few practices as he recovers from knee surgery, Tynes was unable to boot kickoffs out of the back of the end zone the way it seems every other kicker in the league has so far this preseason. And he missed a couple of field goals (though the first was a 56-yarder he shouldn't have been asked to try). Worth keeping an eye on to see how he looks the rest of August.

As for punters, Matt Dodge has looked better than he did in his difficult rookie season, but it's going to be tough for him to beat out Steve Weatherford, who's just better at the job.

Well, it was fun to watch some football, wasn't it? At least for the first halves of the games, when there were players in there you could imagine playing on Sundays this fall. Good for the NFL for solving that pesky labor dispute and getting the preseason started on time. Good for Jason Garrett for going for two and for the Eagles' defense for preventing that last touchdown, because overtime in the preseason is about as lame a concept as there is. And good for you for getting your breakfast links.

Dallas Cowboys

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that the Dallas defense, in its first game under Rob Ryan, looked like a defense that was still feeling its way into its new scheme. I agree completely, and with Marcus Spears' assertion that they're "not playing anywhere like we'll be playing later in the year." And I think you saw glimpses of some encouraging things, such as pressure Spears and Anthony Hatcher were able to generate, and that first play where DeMarcus Ware got his hand on a Kyle Orton pass. Ryan's never had a player like Ware before, and it'll be fun to see how he uses him. But let's be honest here: The Cowboys don't have all year to learn this stuff. Sure, they need to look better and more sure of themselves later this season than they do now, but they need to look a lot better in 30 days than they do now, too. At least they have some tape they can take back and work with.

David Buehler says he feels like the kicker job is his to lose. We'll see if Dan Bailey gets his chances next week. This could turn out to be one of the least inspiring position battles in NFL history.

New York Giants

Unless everybody on his side is just pulling our legs (still possible, but feeling less likely), it appears as though Osi Umenyiora has reached the point where he's realized his holdout is no longer doing him any good. The sense is that he'll be back at practice Monday, after he got his knee checked out by a specialist Thursday and was apparently cleared. Good for Umenyiora if he was able to get any any extra money or incentives out of this, and good for the Giants for standing their ground when they didn't have to cave. He's an important player for them, and if he has a great year, he'll have more leverage next time around.

Lots of people had thoughts on Jerry Reese's odd news conference Thursday. These are Tara Sullivan's. Tara's point, a good one, is that Reese is perfectly within his rights to say you don't have to make a big free-agent splash to win, but that if you believe that you need to keep your own players. And in losing Steve Smith, Kevin Boss and Barry Cofield, Reese failed to do either thing: "The collateral damage has left coach Tom Coughlin with as thin a roster as he’s had in years, not a comfortable position for a man with two years left on his contract and a playoffs-or-bust mandate to get any more," Tara writes.

Philadelphia Eagles

As great as the Eagles looked in and felt after the preseason victory over Baltimore, there is growing concern about the health status of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who's headed back to St. Louis (which is home for him, I guess) for further tests on the medical condition the Eagles won't discuss in detail. Andy Reid continues to insist he believes Maclin will be there for the Eagles when the season begins, but he doesn't seem to have much evidence for that belief. The most important thing is that the young man is OK, of course, not whether he plays football again. But from a strictly football standpoint, a Maclin absence would mean a lot more of Jason Avant, who looks very good.

The Eagles will go into this high-hopes season with rookies at kicker and punter. And while Alex Henery and Chas Henry are decorated collegiate kickers, the fact that they're rookies will keep the spotlight on them all year. They passed their first test, it would seem.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins defense you'll see in the early part of Friday night's game against the Steelers should be much improved over last year's, but defensive coordinator Jim Haslett told Mike Jones that he's looking forward to a time when it's fully healthy. LaRon Landry is on the PUP list while he continues to recover from his Achilles injury, and fellow safety O.J. Atogwe could miss the game with a hamstring pull. Safety was to have been a position of strength for the Redskins, and so you can see why Haslett would want his starters on the field with the rest of the more questionable guys.

Lots of eyes will be on the rookie receivers tonight, and Deron Snyder offers a look at Leonard Hankerson, who's looked good in camp except for those pesky drops, which I imagine could continue to be an issue that holds him back.

One final note: Yes, Buffalo is putting Lee Evans on the market. Yes, you can make the case that all four of these teams could use a receiver. But don't overrate Lee Evans here, folks. The Giants don't need to get Lee Evans just because they lost Steve Smith. Evans is nothing like Smith. He's the opposite of Smith, really -- a burner who can't get open and has never lived up to his considerable potential. (And no, it's not all because Buffalo hasn't had a quarterback. Steven Johnson managed to have a great year there last year because he can shake receivers and find the ball before defenders do.) If your team gets this guy, the best you can hope is that they didn't trade much to get him and that a change of scenery helps. But don't get too nuts about it.

Anyway, catch you later on. Redskins game tonight, so I'll be on the Twitter during that and filing my impressions when it's over.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- All right. One more from New York Giants camp today before I go home to watch these Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys games. Remember when I said before that Giants GM Jerry Reese hadn't made himself available for interviews? Well, guess who held a news conference after the Giants finished practice this afternoon! That's right. Jerry Reese!!

Ohm Youngmisuk will have all the details on ESPNNewYork.com, but I was there as well and so I'll give you my impressions of what Reese said and what it all means. Basically, I think the guy has been getting his rear end kicked this offseason and is in denial about it. It's one thing to say you don't feel the need to play big on the free-agent market the way some other teams are doing. It's fine to say you like your team the way it is. But if you're going to do that, step two of the plan is to keep your own players. And Reese has let two important parts of his passing game -- Steve Smith and Kevin Boss-- walk out the door without replacing them.

"It seems like people are in a little bit of a panic over the perception that we're not doing a lot," Reese said.

Yeah, it seems that way to me and my Twitter feed too, Jerry.

Reese said all the right things about Smith signing with the Eagles -- wisely declining to get into the he said/she said back-and-forth about who promised what and counter-offers and all of that. But his general message was that, while other teams (he didn't say which but the presumption is that he was thinking of a team whose name rhymes with "Shmiladelphia Shmeagles") were making all the "sexy" moves, his team was staying the course, and confident in that course.

"We were 10-6 last year and we expect to build off of that," Reese said. "If we make a couple of plays, we would've been in playoffs. We'll make the plays this time, we'll get in the playoffs and we'll make a run."

And he could be right. As I pointed out in Breakfast Links this morning, the Giants' front-line players look very good, and if they stay healthy there's no reason to think this isn't a playoff team. But letting Smith and Boss go and hoping Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon and Travis Beckum are ready to take over has left the Giants thin at some critical spots.

My question to Reese was this: Part of this "game plan" he discussed was obviously an effort to sign a receiver and a tight end, since they tried on Plaxico Burress, Smith and Boss. They didn't get any of those guys, nor did they sign anyone else who may have constituted a backup plan at either position. So doesn't that indicate that things didn't go according to plan?

His answer indicated was no, the Giants didn't think they needed a receiver and a tight end, but rather that they wanted to try and sign those particular players, knowing all along that their backup plans were guys who were already on the roster.

"Kevin Boss caught 35 balls for us last year," he said. "Travis Beckum is certainly a guy we expect could catch 35 balls for us this year."

Sounds like sour grapes to me. But most Giants fans seem to believe in Reese and be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He could prove us all wrong and go out and win the division with this team that made no big moves while the Eagles were signing everyone in sight. There's enough talent on the Giants' roster to pull something like that off, assuming they get really, really, really lucky with injuries. I believe that.

But I also believe Reese was far less prepared for some of the things that have happened to him and the Giants since the offseason began, and that the way some of these situations broke have left him exposed in key spots. He'll look good if all of the backups who got promoted perform the way he hopes they will. It's just that, from here, that looks like a lot more of an "if" than his brave face is making it out to be.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tom Coughlin had been working his New York Giants out in the evenings here at the Meadowlands, with practices running from 6 pm to 8 pm ET throughout the first week and a half of training camp. But Coughlin changed it up Wednesday moving practice up to 1:30 pm because, he said, it hadn't been hot enough for those evening sessions.

"Football has to train in the heat, so we'll train in the heat," Coughlin said.

Thing is, the weather here is very pleasant today. There was some cloud cover throughout practice, and it wasn't very hot at all. Perhaps Coughlin will look into moving camp down to Texas if this continues.

Anyway, Osi Umenyiora hopped off his exercise bike and did some drills, "bad knee" and all. The Star-Ledger's photographer snapped a picture of Umenyiora doing a pass-rush drill on his own while his teammates practiced, and Ohm says Umenyiora will see a specialist on Thursday to have his knee checked out. Still not convinced the Giants are out of the woods on this one yet, as there's still lingering suspicion that Umenyiora is using the knee as an excuse not to practice while he sits out in protest of his contract situation. But the fact that he actually got on a field and did some footballish activity might indicate at least that he's thinking about practicing soon. We will, of course, continue to monitor.

The Giants announced that tight end Travis Beckum missed practice with a hamstring injury, which is really crummy news because it's the latest in a long string of evidence that some Wiccan cult has cast a spell on the Giants' tight end position similar to what they did to Pam the vampire in "True Blood." First, Kevin Boss left to sign with the Raiders. Then, Ben Patrick retired on them. Now, Beckum, their best receiving option at tight end, is out with a hamstring. If I were Coughlin, I wouldn't let Bear Pascoe out of my sight.

As for practice observations, Darius Reynaud had a great day at receiver, where there's obviously opportunity. Eli Manning seemed to be looking for a variety of different targets today, whereas Monday night I felt like he was always looking for Hakeem Nicks. Victor Cruz caught a touchdown pass from Sage Rosenfels and got tackled in the end zone after the catch by cornerback Michael Coe, who earned a stern talking-to from Coughlin after the play. Pascoe also dropped a touchdown pass he should have caught.

The stars of the day in team drills and one-on-ones were the starting secondary, especially safety Kenny Phillips and cornerback Corey Webster. And rookie defensive tackle Marvin Austin practiced after missing Monday with a hip injury. So the defensive line depth is looking better while the starting secondary looks strong.

More in the coming days from here, including Manning's thoughts on the 25 interceptions he threw last year and some thoughts from the principals in the daily battles Will Beatty and Jason Pierre-Paul have been fighting in the trenches as each prepares for a larger role in 2011.

Morning. I trust everyone had a pleasant weekend and is ready to roll. We are three days away now from the first NFL preseason games, and less than five weeks now from the first NFL regular-season Sunday of the year. How will we pass the time? Well, with links, of course.

Dallas Cowboys

It appears as though the offense had it all over the defense in the Cowboys' Blue-White scrimmage at the Alamodome, and new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said that was his fault. Cowboys fans must hope they don't have to hear Ryan give that same speech after too many real games this year. That five weeks I referred to above is a critical period of time for the Dallas defense, which is the key to the Cowboys' season, to learn and master Ryan's system.

Montrae Holland, out with a sore back, says he hopes to practice Monday. He's the projected starter right now at right guard, which has some folks worried, I know. Whether Holland can get healthy in short order or not, I would expect that the Cowboys are at least nosing around for an offensive lineman or two who could help on the cheap.

New York Giants

Kevin Boss told Mike Garafolo that the decision to leave the Giants and sign with the Raiders was "excruciating," and he issued an apology to Giants fans. Which is all well and good, but it doesn't do much to fill the gaping hole the Giants now have at tight end, does it?

And I found this one amusing: Steve Smith is apparently going to visit the Giants this week. Visit? He's played there for four years. What's he got to do? Meet the coaches he played for for the last four years? Check out the facilities he's used since the day they opened two years ago? Meet the teammates with whom he spent the past four years playing? I get that Smith is a free agent and wants to enjoy all the free-agent stuff, but he has to come into New Jersey for a visit? Either the money's there or it's not, but how does showing up in person affect anything with Steve Smith's free agency and the Giants?

Philadelphia Eagles

Jeremy Maclin told Jeff McLane that "those crazy reports aren't true" in reference to the mystery illness that has so far kept him from practicing with the Eagles. The reference was to reports, Jeff says, that the illness is career-threatening. But while Maclin's reassurance is one thing, it's still weird that neither he nor the Eagles will discuss whatever it is that's wrong with him.

Jason Kelce's last name is pronounced "Kelsey," in case you didn't know that already. Why should you care? Well, I was at Eagles camp over the weekend, and I came away with the definite impression that Kelce has a chance to take the starting center's job away from Jamaal Jackson. Les Bowen is starting to get the same feeling, and he writes about Kelce, the sixth-round pick out of Cincinnati, and what makes him so intriguing.

Washington Redskins

You want to know just how crazy the first week of free agency was? Read this by Rick Maese on the week Redskins VP of football administration Eric Schaffer spent working on 49 player contracts. Man lost seven pounds, Rick says.

Rich Campbell explains why newly signed guard Chris Chester fits in better with the Redskins and Mike Shanahan's zone blocking scheme than he probably did in Baltimore.

All right. I'm off to see the Giants today, but will of course be keeping an eye on all four of our teams. In fact, look for the Eagles edition of our "Camp Confidential" series around midday.

If there's a team that's had a worse couple of post-lockout weeks than the New York Giants have had, I can't find one. The latest round of lousy news hit Saturday night with the announcement that first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara had broken a bone in his left foot and would need surgery. The team says he's out indefinitely, but you have to think this is going to cost the rookie (who just signed his contract two days ago) at least two months, after which he'll have to play on a surgically repaired foot with a screw in it.

Amukamara, like all 2011 rookies who missed out on minicamps and OTAs because of the lockout, was already going to have a tough time getting up to speed, and this sets him back further.

Now, sure, the Giants can absorb a hit at cornerback. They still have Terrell Thomas, Corey Webster and Aaron Ross at the position. But with reserve Bruce Johnson having already blown out his Achilles earlier in the week, they're much thinner there than they planned to be. Amukamara was the 19th overall pick in the draft, and surely a big part of the Giants' plans for this season.

The Giants also announced that Ben Patrick, the tight end they signed earlier this week, has decided he no longer wants to play football and would be placed on the reserve/retired list. You'll remember Patrick as the tight end the Giants signed shortly before their own starter, Kevin Boss, left to sign with the Raiders. Patrick apparently was looking forward to playing with Boss and didn't want to be on the team if he wasn't.

So that's two cornerbacks and two tight ends the Giants have lost in a span of about three days, and that'd be rough for any team. But the Giants were already having a pretty rough go of things, as salary-cap concerns have impaired their ability to add outside free agents of significance and hurt them in their efforts to sign their own. They managed to bring back running back Ahmad Bradshaw on their terms when he ran out of options, and they got Mathias Kiwanuka to return on a team-favorable deal in part because of the injury from which he's recovering. But they lost Boss and still haven't re-signed Steve Smith (who's also recovering from injury and likely won't be ready for the start of the season even if he does re-sign). Boss and Smith have been two of Eli Manning's most reliable targets in the passing game over the past two seasons, and to this point it's tough to imagine Domenik Hixon, Ramses Barden or Travis Beckum as capable replacements.

Oh, and there's still the Osi Umenyiora contract dispute. The disgruntled defensive end still isn't practicing as he continues to demand either a trade or a new contract and the team continues to insist he play for the contract he currently has.

If you want to be optimistic, you can say that maybe the Giants are getting all of their rotten luck out of the way early and maybe not much else will go wrong the rest of the way. But considering how few names of potential consequence remain on the free-agent market for a team that's missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, it's hard to see how the Giants recover from all of the losses they've sustained since free agency started.