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INDIANAPOLIS -- My fellow ESPN.com NFL division bloggers and I got together Friday to enjoy some lovely midwestern February weather and talk about some of the big issues facing the New York Giants and the New England Patriots on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLVI.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It wasn't easy, and it kind of went against everything he's about. But as New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford stood next to kicker Lawrence Tynes on the Candlestick Park field Sunday afternoon and watched Baltimore's Billy Cundiff miss the kick that ended the Ravens' season, Weatherford kept his cool.

"In a situation like that, I'm not going to be like, 'Whoa, Lawrence, did you see that?'" Weatherford recalled Tuesday. "So I was just kind of looking out of the corner of my eye to see if he was watching, and he was, very serious, very quiet. I didn't say anything."

Four hours later, with the Giants about to line up the overtime field goal that would win them the NFC Championship Game, Weatherford (who's the holder for Giants field goals) was not quite as willing or able to control himself. As Tynes tells it:

"He was animated. We got that penalty and moved back, which was great because now we had grass, and he's jumping around and pointing and saying, 'Lawrence, this is a Super Bowl spot right here! We're going to the [expletive] Super Bowl! Then he ran over and was yelling the same thing at [Giants coach Tom] Coughlin, and Coughlin was like, 'OK, get back out there.' And he comes back and he's like, 'Let's [expletive] make this kick! We're going to the Super Bowl!"

Good thing for Weatherford and the Giants that Tynes had been in this situation before. Neither the sight of Cundiff's 32-yard miss hours earlier nor the hyperactive lunacy of the man charged with securing the snap at the moment could rattle the Giants' kicker. His second career overtime NFC Championship Game winner was true and sent Weatherford sprinting around the field screaming celebratory profanities into Fox's cameras.

"Just unbridled joy," Weatherford said. "That was my soul. You saw my soul on TV."

This was Weatherford's fourth career conference championship game. He was on the Saints team that lost the NFC game to the Bears five years ago and the Jets teams that lost the AFC title games each of the past two years. So he'd been close before. He says the fact that this year's Super Bowl is in Indianapolis, about 30 minutes from his hometown of Crown Point, Ind., makes it even more dreamlike.

"I'm glad it's with this franchise," Weatherford said.

The franchise is glad, too. The as-it-turns-out-overblown story of the Giants' offseason was the one about all of the needs they didn't address in the draft or in free agency. But the signing of Weatherford turned out to be a big one. He was signed, ostensibly, to compete for the job with Matt Dodge, the ultimate goat from 2010's most painful Giants loss. But anyone who'd followed Weatherford's time with the Jets knew it wouldn't take much for him to unseat Dodge. He did, and went on to have a huge year for the Giants -- a major upgrade at a position that's a lot more important than most fans want to believe it is.

Before he was the holder on the game-winning kick, Weatherford amassed 557 gross punting yards in the NFC Championship Game. Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information, who obsesses about punters, tells me that's an all-time single-game postseason record. And yeah, he punted 12 times, but this was the kind of game that punting can win.

The 49ers' Andy Lee was the best punter in the league this year, and San Francisco led the league in both average starting field position and opponents' average starting field position. You can't beat the 49ers unless you have a good punting game, and Weatherford went quite literally toe-to-toe with Lee on Sunday and came out ahead. It's a major reason the Giants were even in position to kick the overtime game winner. As the Giants' offense stalled time and again throughout the second half and overtime against the ferocious 49ers' defense, Weatherford kept doing what he could to make sure and pin the 49ers' offense as deep as possible.

"He's been great all year," said Tynes, who's as relaxed and calm as Weatherford is hyper and cuckoo. "I think that was one of the big underrated things we did, bringing in a guy like Steve who does what he does so well and so consistently."

SAN FRANCISCO -- Stuck in traffic on a bus headed for rainy Candlestick Park on Sunday afternoon, Devin Thomas had a vision. Thomas is the No. 4 wide receiver for the New York Giants, and as such he doesn't get too many chances to make plays. He's a special teams guy, mainly, and not even a return man anymore after flopping in that role earlier this season. So when Thomas has a vision of himself making a huge play to help win a game, it's a special teams play -- a frantic, full-speed crazy play that no one could have seen coming.

"I knew I was going to do it," Thomas said. "I was just thinking today was one of those crazy days where something crazy's going to turn the game. And I had a vision in my mind that I would be the guy who did it."

Thomas made two such plays Sunday. He recovered two fumbles on punt returns by Kyle Williams, the 49ers' backup return man. The first set the Giants up for a go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown at a time when they appeared totally incapable of moving the ball against the San Francisco defense. The second came in overtime, and a few minutes later, after Lawrence Tynes kicked the second NFC Championship Game-winning field goal of his career, the Giants had a 20-17 victory and a date with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

"Our guys never quit, never have any doubts," said Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who spent his night being knocked around by fearsome 49ers defenders but never flinched, completing 32 of 58 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. "We just keep believing and keep fighting until the very end, no matter what the circumstances are."

These Giants are as improbable a Super Bowl participant as the NFL has seen in some time. Widely predicted (especially here) to miss the playoffs during the preseason, losers of four games in a row in a tough stretch in late November and earlier December, their record stood at 7-7 after a Week 15 loss to the division-rival Redskins. They have not lost a game since. If they had -- if they'd lost even one of the five games they've played since that loss to Washington -- they would not still be playing. The defining aspect of these Giants is their toughness, but out of that over the past five weeks has grown a patience and a discipline that's rooted in intense self-belief and has propelled them to unexpected heights.

"They have grit, now," a beaming head coach Tom Coughlin said of his second Giants Super Bowl team. "We've had five straight single-elimination games. We've played an awful lot of superior football teams this year, and that has certainly helped."

But no one could have seen this coming. Not from 6-6 or 7-7 and certainly not from the preseason, when they were dealing with a major injury per week and everybody was in love with the offseason the Eagles had. Back then, there was no way to know that Jason Pierre-Paul would become one of the best pass rushers in the league or that Victor Cruz would become one of its best wide receivers. The odds against both of those things happening were astronomical.

"I think we knew, here in this locker room," said rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams, who stripped the ball from Kyle Williams so that Thomas could pounce on it in overtime. "You see the talent those guys have on the practice field and you know it's just a matter of when they're going to get their opportunity."

From October, you couldn't have seen Williams coming. But he's become a critical asset in the Giants' coverage units over the past couple of months, and as he showed Sunday, he's capable of making game-changing plays on special teams. He laughed when I asked him how this was matching up to the expectations he'd had for his rookie season.

"Rookies don't usually have an opportunity to play," he said. "Especially when you got picked in the sixth round."

But this has been an all-hands-on-deck kind of season for the Giants, and opportunities have piled up. Brandon Jacobs got an opportunity to be a big part of the running game again when Ahmad Bradshaw got hurt. Bradshaw had the bigger game Sunday, but Jacobs has been a key part of the current streak. Osi Umenyiora came back from a late-season ankle injury and has elevated the pass rush to teetering heights, terrorizing quarterbacks and forcing fumbles during this run and helping Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck get free to wreak their own havoc.

"I love these guys. They've had my back the whole time," said Umenyiora, who's transformed from cranky contract complainer to peaceful, happy team player in a span of a few months. "So I wasn't going to come back and be selfish. I just wanted to come back and do what they need me to do, whatever that is. That's what I've done and it's had an impact."

This Giants team may have led the league in surprise clutch performances. You may be able to say you thought Cruz would be good, or that Pierre-Paul would come on quickly, or that Umenyiora would put his personal stuff aside for the good of the team. You may be able to say you knew Manning was going to play turnover-free football in the conference title game against a team that forced 43 turnovers in its first 17 games. You may be able to say you knew Mathias Kiwanuka was going to change positions and be a critical part of the defense, or even that you believed Williams and Thomas would be making key plays in the biggest game of the season.

But to say you saw all of that coming? You'd have to be crazy to expect anyone to buy that. These Giants represent the reason we watch sports -- to be surprised and amazed, to see human beings push their own limits and achieve things few expected of them. These Giants are overachievers, a team that has found ways to win all year when it didn't appear they should. And you can't be that without getting big-time contributions from every corner of the roster.

"I think we always believed -- in ourselves, in our coaches, in our plan, in each other," wide receiver Hakeem Nicks said. "And that's the reason why we're here."

There are so many reasons, and they range from the obvious to the obscure. Nobody picked Thomas to make the plays that won the NFC Championship Game, because Thomas is the kind of guy you have to work hard to remember is still on the team. But as the Giants left their locker room late Sunday night, Thomas carried the ball he'd recovered in overtime and got right back on the bus where he'd envisioned himself doing just that. It may have been a surprise to the rest of us, but it wasn't to Thomas, and it wasn't to the Giants. There are many, many people who are surprised to find the Giants still standing. But the Giants are not among them. They may not have known how they were going to do this, but they always believed they would. And it's quite a varied and remarkable collection of players that has found a way.

Looks as though they're getting their snow early in Green Bay. A bunch will be on the ground when we arrive this weekend, but the forecast for Sunday remains clear and for a relatively balmy 24 degrees. Given what the calendar says and where they're going, the Giants will sign for that. There's a difference between Tom Coughlin's face being red and Tom Coughlin's face being dear-god-get-that-man-to-a-hospital red. Anyway, links.

New York Giants

Ian O'Connor looked back at the Lawrence Tynes kick that delivered the Giants' last playoff victory in Green Bay four years ago and talked with members of Tynes' family about the tough times they've all endured and the toughness that lives in the Giants' kicker as a result. It's a real good story. Apropos of nothing, though, did you know this Sunday's will be the first playoff game at Lambeau Field since that one? Not just for the Giants, but for the Packers too. They were a wild-card team last year. Played 'em all on the road.

More trivia: Gary Myers writes that this will be the first-ever playoff game featuring two quarterbacks who have previously won a Super Bowl MVP award. Gary takes a look at the matchup between Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles lost their player personnel director Wednesday, as Ryan Grigson went off to run the Colts. So they'll need to restructure some things in their personnel department. Once they do, they have decisions to make on their own potential free agents, and Geoff Mosher runs through the list.

Those who assume the Eagles are sure to sign Steve Spagnuolo as their defensive coordinator simply because he used to work there have consistently ignored the obvious fact that the Eagles will have competition for the man's services. The Atlanta Falcons, who actually have an opening at defensive coordinator, have emerged as a strong suitor.

Dallas Cowboys

Remember when Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was a hot name for potential head coaching jobs? Calvin Watkins writes that the way the Dallas defense played down the stretch may have taken Ryan off some of those lists -- for this year, at least.

Todd Archer believes, as I do, that there's a real good chance the Cowboys take an offensive linemen in the first round of the draft. But if they're going to put that high a value on their interior line needs, Todd writes, might they spend what it takes in free agency to sign someone like Saints guard Carl Nicks? Intriguing.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins are hiring former Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris to coach their defensive backs, according to Mike Jones. Lots of good connections here. Morris has worked on the same staff as Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and under GM Bruce Allen before. He's 35 years old and likely still a hot coaching prospect, regardless of what happened this year in Tampa Bay. I'll be interesting to see which defensive backs stick around for Morris to coach. Safeties coach Steve Jackson and wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell won't be back, Jason Reid writes. Jackson was in Washington for eight years.

Redskins kicker Graham Gano broke two bones in his back making a tackle in the season finale. Gano is a free agent and, as he rehabs his back, he wonders what his own future holds in Washington.

We were promised Jeremy Maclin news Tuesday and didn't get it. As of this morning, neither Maclin nor the Philadelphia Eagles have issued any kind of statement on the mysterious medical condition that has kept the star wide receiver from practicing in training camp. You won't get speculation here, and if I had any real information on it I'd tell you. But the longer this goes, the more it puts Maclin in jeopardy of missing the start of the season. And while his status as a football player obviously isn't as important as his personal health, we don't know anything about the latter except that it's not good enough to allow him to play. So that's all we can write about right now.

More Eagles

Rich Hoffman says protecting Michael Vick's blind side is the key to the Eagles' season. Right tackle Winston Justice is still hurt. Ryan Harris, his apparent replacement, is hurt. King Dunlap, one of the largest human beings I've ever seen, is slated to start there in Thursday night's preseason game. And they have a rookie, first-round draft pick Danny Watkins, in line to start at right guard. Hoffman's right. These are questions they need to answer.

Hall of Fame Eagles receiver Pete Pihos died Tuesday at the age of 87 after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease. The story of Pihos' final years is an achingly familiar one we've read before about the later lives of former NFL players. Dementia. Swindled out of a bunch of money. These guys get old and forgotten and suffer for having played NFL football. It's why retired players groups were working so hard to make sure they were taken care of in the recent labor negotiations.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones says that if Felix Jones has a good year, so will the Cowboys. With those other backs hurt, and based on a creeping suspicion, I was already sliding ol' Felix up my fantasy draft board a bit. Hope Jerry didn't let the secret out. What's that? He says this every year? Oh, right.

Igor Olshansky says he doesn't care whether he starts or not, which could be a good thing, since it looks as though he might not. The Cowboys believe they have a lot of defensive end depth now with Kenyon Coleman having joined the mix and Jason Hatcher freed from his elevator prison.

New York Giants

The Giants signed Rhys Lloyd, who's a kicker who only kicks off and never kicks field goals. My first thought was that they only did this because Lawrence Tynes has that thigh injury and they need someone who can kick off in their preseason game Monday night. Then I read that they tried to sign Lloyd last year, so I thought maybe there was more to it. Then I remembered that nobody's going to need a kickoff-only kicker anymore because every kicker in the league is going to be able to drill the ball through the back of the end zone now that kickoffs have been moved up to the 35-yard line. So I'm back to thinking it's that first thing I said.

Mike Vaccaro says the return of Osi Umenyiora isn't the only reason to feel good about the Giants' defense going into this year. Man, the narrative on the Giants has shifted in just one week, hasn't it?

Washington Redskins

Kevin Barnes is a guy who could play a big role in the Redskins' secondary this year. With Phillip Buchanon suspended for the first four games, Barnes will get a lot of chances to play, even if it's only as the nickel corner with DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson as the starters. Stephen Whyno takes a look at Barnes and what he's up to as he prepares for the season.

Roy Helu tells Brian Tinsman that he learned a lot in his first NFL preseason game and is looking forward to putting those lessons into practice in the next one. He also says Tim Hightower has been great working with the younger backs on the roster, which I found kind of funny because Hightower is only 25 years old. I mean, it's great he's working with the less experienced guys and all, but a veteran at 25? Gives you an idea why they were fired up to be able to get him.

Enjoy the day, folks. I'll have a few things up before my flight to Dallas. And who knows? Maybe we get that Maclin news ...

We're back, and so is Osi Umenyiora, who told the AP on Sunday night that he would return to New York Giants practice Monday and play under the terms of the contract he hates. This was already in the works at the end of last week, as Umenyiora seemed to be grasping the idea that he couldn't push his protest any further to any real effect, and while it's fun and easy to think that the performance Jason Pierre-Paul put on in Saturday night's preseason opener made Umenyiora wake up and realize the Giants could survive without him, it appears as though he'd already made his decision before that happened. Regardless, the Pierre-Paul thing is one of the reasons the Giants always held all the cards in this situation, and so no, I don't expect them to look to trade Umenyiora because he's unhappy. All along, I expected them to call his bluff, and they did, and now he's back. I imagine he'll be plenty motivated to have a great year and put himself in a stronger position from which to execute this same tactic a year from now.

More Giants

Some things take more time than teams have had, post-lockout, and the Giants believe new center David Baas merely needs more time with his offensive linemates in order to correct some of the mistakes that showed up on film from Saturday's game against the Panthers. This year's preseason games are more important than those of years' past due to the limited amount of practice time some of these groups have had together. In the past, a summer's worth of OTAs and minicamps and training-camp two-a-days might have had the reworked Giants line communicating more smoothly by the first preseason game. The point, of course, is to get there by the Sept. 11 regular-season opener in Washington.

Kicker Lawrence Tynes has a bruised thigh as a result of the blocked kick by the Panthers late in the game. Tom Coughlin seemed to lay the mistake at the feet of rookie offensive lineman James Brewer, but he declined to name Brewer as the responsible party when pushed on it. Good move, since why get on the rookie when the whole team looked bad, but I don't think Coughlin's fooling anyone on this. Seemed pretty clear that Brewer missed his block. No word on whether they'll bring in a kicker while Tynes gets healthy, but Shayne Graham is available.

Dallas Cowboys

Jason Garrett has had officials at every Cowboys training camp practice, which is uncommon but is apparently part of Garrett's plan to get his team to cut down on penalties this year. The Cowboys were sixth in the league in penalties in 2010, making that just one of several areas that must improve if what's basically the same roster expects to contend for a playoff spot.

Charean Williams believes Cowboys fans could be seeing a lot more of Stephen McGee in the future, as he is being groomed to take over as Tony Romo's backup. Jon Kitna was outstanding as a fill-in last year when Romo got hurt, but he's about to turn 39 and it's possible that McGee could be the guy to take over if Romo were to get hurt again this year. No word on whether this is a make-or-break year for McGee.

Philadelphia Eagles

Those looking for clarity on how the Eagles plan to use their cornerbacks this year are welcome to read Les Bowen's story on the topic. But (and this is no reflection on Les), you're not going to find the clarity you seek. That's because the answer to the question of how the Eagles plan to use all of their cornerbacks is: A whole bunch of different ways, depending on situations and matchups. Which is actually smart, assuming you have the kind of nimble coaching minds that can handle the play-to-play adjustments. The Eagles obviously believe they do.

Steve Smith and LeSean McCoy have yet to meet to discuss Smith's involvement in this summer's lovingly remembered Twitter feud between McCoy and Umenyiora while Smith was still a Giant. Now that Smith's an Eagle, he said he planned to speak with McCoy about that. McCoy said Sunday that hadn't happened yet.

Washington Redskins

John Beck is back and planning to play Friday night in the Redskins' second preseason game. In the first one, with Beck sidelined by a groin injury, Rex Grossman played very well. If Beck wants to be the starter, he'll have to look as composed as Grossman did when the lights go on. But if he does, then yes, I believe he still retains a very good chance of winning the job. The coaches like him a lot.

Safety O.J. Atogwe is hoping to return soon from the hamstring injury that kept him out Friday night. This is not an unimportant guy. Not only is he a very good player, but he knows things about Jim Haslett's defense, from their time together in St. Louis, that other guys are still learning. Having Atogwe on the field during games, helping with the calls and the checks, would be an asset.

I am home for the first few days of this week and hoping to catch up on some stuff I still have from my first three training camp trips -- John Beck stuff, Eagles offensive line stuff, William Beatty stuff ... lots of stuff that you'll see here in the coming days. I fly to Dallas on Wednesday night and will spend a couple of days at Cowboys camp Thursday and Friday, so there'll be plenty of stuff from there as well. Meantime, I hope you enjoyed this stuff.

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.

The New York Giants could have used a feel-good preseason opener Saturday night. No, I don't think you can read much into these preseason games. You don't know which teams are game-planning and which aren't. You can make judgments on individual efforts in certain cases, and get a sense of what teams might be planning in terms of playing time and defensive and offensive alignments. But when we say a team looked good or bad in a preseason game, we are not making any predictions or judgments about the way the season will go based on that.

All of that said, after a week in which they got knocked around in free agency and faced questions about whether their offseason plan was sound or even extant, the Giants could have used a match that left them feeling good about things. Kind of like the one the Redskins had Friday.

They didn't get it.

Yeah, some good things happened in their 20-10 exhibition loss to the Carolina Panthers. Jason Pierre-Paul was the star of the first half, looking fast, athletic and hungry as he recorded two sacks. Both punters looked good, third receiver candidates Domenik Hixon and Victor Cruz had nice moments, and Michael Boley ran back an interception for a touchdown on the first series of the game. But all in all, it wasn't a good night. There were tackling issues, communication issues and special teams issues. The backup offensive line was so bad that it may have gotten kicker Lawrence Tynes hurt.

Other than the Tynes thing, none of this is cause for any reason concern. Just because they were sloppy Saturday night doesn't mean anything about the season. I'm just saying, given the way their fans were feeling in the wake of the free-agent departures of Steve Smith, they could have used a better performance.

Here's some stuff I saw:

1. Pierre-Paul looks like a monster. The Giants' 2010 first-rounder has been getting a lot of snaps with the starters in practice with Osi Umenyiora sitting out, and he looked fantastic Saturday night. Two sacks, pressure on almost every play, quickness off the edge, athleticism, determination -- everything you want in a pass rusher. If Umenyiora wants to continue to sit out because of his contract, the Giants have some tape they can show him of a guy who looks like a very capable replacement. If Umenyiora wants to come back, the Giants have even more depth on the offensive line and can keep Mathias Kiwanuka at linebacker. Pierre-Paul's rapid development would be a very useful thing for the Giants.

2. Other good stuff from the defensive line. We saw encouraging play from the defensive tackles, too, with Chris Canty getting into the backfield, Rocky Bernard getting a sack, rookie Marvin Austin playing well in the second half and the Giants generally producing a lot of pressure with their defensive front. As expected, they moved Kiwanuka up to the line in passing downs, and they did the same thing with Adrian Tracy when he replaced Kiwanuka in the second quarter. Tracy played well, helping generate the pressure that led to the Bernard sack as well as Alex Hall's. The Giants are looking for depth at linebacker, and Tracy could help if he plays like this.

3. The punters look good. The coverage? Not so much. Matt Dodge hit a couple of nice punts, including one that looked a little bit like a Jeff Feagles directional special. But Steve Weatherford was one of the best punters in the league the last couple of years and hits the ball farther than Dodge does. Could be tough for Dodge to win this competition. And regardless of who wins it, the coverage team will just have to do a better job. This is one area that actually does mean something in preseason, because the guys on special-teams coverage units should be playing hard and trying to win roster spots. They were miserable all night until Cruz came up with a big solo tackle on a punt return in the third quarter. A guy like Michael Coe, who has an opportunity with the Giants losing so much depth at cornerback, needs to come up bigger than he did on Armanti Edwards' long first return.

3a. Also, one punt-related question: Why in the world did Tom Coughlin call for a 56-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter when Tynes is coming off knee surgery and he's trying to get a look at two punters? Just wondering. Seemed like a weird decision. Tynes, who is also the only kicker I've seen so far this preseason who hasn't been able to kick it through the end zone on kickoffs, missed the attempt.

4. William Beatty -- some good, some bad: The new starting left tackle got manhandled a bit on the first two offensive series, looking overwhelmed and doing a lot of reaching and grabbing as he was getting beaten off the edge. But he seemed to settle in and looked much more authoritative and aggressive on the next few series. He stayed in longer than did the other starting offensive linemen, and it's no coincidence. Whether Beatty is ready to handle his new full-time job will go a long way toward determining how well the Giants handle their transition to this new offensive line assignment.

5. Brian Witherspoon was a bright spot. The Giants' starting secondary looks as though it should be very good (though there did seem to be some communication issues there early on). The question is whether they have depth behind the starters, with Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson hurt. Witherspoon was a star of the second half on special teams as well as at cornerback. A guy to watch as the preseason rolls along.

6. Quick hits: It was fun to watch top draft pick Cam Newton get his first game action for the Panthers. He beat Giants rookie Tyler Sash with a great throw on his first drive, but Sash and Coe made good plays to help keep him from capping that drive with a touchdown pass. ... It appears as though Hixon is the leader for that No. 3 receiver spot. He got a lot of work in the slot in the second half with Sage Rosenfels throwing to him. ... I thought Danny Ware looked all right as a third-down back catching screen passes. ... The word on Tynes was a thigh contusion, which is better than a knee injury for sure.

More on the Giants on Sunday, as you'll get my "Camp Confidential" report on them. Meantime, let me know what you thought.

I asked, and the consensus answer was something like, "Sure, why not?" And so we conclude our position-by-position series on potential four-year free agency and the NFC East with a look at kickers and punters. Yeah, even with content hard to come by these days, I couldn't justify splitting them into two posts.

NFC East teams in need

Cowboys: They're set at punter with Mat McBriar, but while they're obviously invested in kicker David Buehler, they brought in veteran Kris Brown to see if they could put some pressure on Buehler to be better. The new kickoff rules could make Buehler's saving grace -- his ability to drill touchbacks on kickoffs -- less valuable than it used to be, which means making field goals is the only way he's going to keep his job. If he flops badly, it's possible Dallas looks at someone on this list since Brown likely isn't the answer either.

Giants: Set at kicker with Lawrence Tynes, and committed to Matt Dodge at punter but you wonder for how long. Following Jeff Feagles was never going to be an easy assignment, but as big as Dodge's leg is, his directional gaffes last year were too much for the Giants and their fans to stomach. Not kicking the ball out of bounds against DeSean Jackson and the Eagles in that Meadowlands game wasn't the first mistake -- just the worst and least forgettable. Dodge is likely to start the season with the job, but the Giants might want to keep their eye on this list in case they need to make a midseason move.

Eagles: Situation very much in flux in Philly, where they drafted kicker Alex Henery, likely signaling the end of the Eagles career of the great David Akers. Punter Sav Rocca, is also a free agent and could decide to retire rather than punt again at the age of 38. Bet on the Eagles going with Henery at kicker and bringing back Rocca on a one-year deal, but if Rocca won't have it, they'll need to go shopping.

Redskins: Well, they have guys at both spots. But Graham Gano is coming off a bad year as the kicker, and they could theoretically look to replace him. They have two punters on the roster -- Josh Bidwell and Sam Paulescu -- so they should be able to come up with something out of that.

Top five potential free-agent kickers

1. Adam Vinatieri, Colts

2. Ryan Longwell, Vikings

3. Akers

4. Matt Bryant, Falcons

5. Shayne Graham, Patriots

Top five potential free-agent punters

1. Adam Podlesh, Jaguars

2. Ben Graham, Cardinals

3. Steve Weatherford, Jets

4. Rocca

5. Michael Koenen, Falcons

Predictions that mean nothing: At least three of these teams will change kickers and/or punters between now and the end of the 2011 season, but I'm not saying which because kickers and punters are totally unpredictable. Akers leaves the division, though, I predict, though Dallas fans might wish their team would snag him.

Morning. Let's make this quick. I have a lot of posting to do before the 1:40 pm showing of "Cars 2." We'll start, as we always do, with the links:

Dallas Cowboys

Matt Mosley throws cold water on the idea of Nnamdi Asomugha to the Cowboys. Doesn't think they'll sign him, doesn't think they should. Regardless, I'm certain Matt is super-excited to be linked from here. I hope he likes the job I'm doing with the blog he built. Hi, Matt!

Jerry Jones' attorney went hunting and bagged a 14-foot, 880-pound alligator. This has nothing to do with the Cowboys but (a) it's Friday, (b) links are scarce and (c) come on! 880 pounds? If I even saw an alligator like that, I might not sleep for a month.

New York Giants

Giants.com offers a review of the performance of the Giants' special-teams units from 2010. It's pretty Lawrence Tynes-heavy, which you'd expect if you assume Giants.com wants to focus on the positives. Giants special teams were an embarrassment last year, particularly the punting game (as Michael Eisen mentions). Knowing the little bit I know about Tom Coughlin, I'm anticipating that being a point of emphasis during training camp.

And I got a kick out of this item about an "anonymous opponent" sticking up for Eli Manning in a magazine's NFL preview issue. It's as if you're not allowed to say anything nice about Manning if you put your name to it. What's a football cop gotta do to get a little respect up in here?

Philadelphia Eagles

Nate Allen tells the Asbury Park Press that his knee is "about 85 percent" as he continues to recover from surgery. Getting that percentage up will be critical as it pertains to the Eagles' place in this situation right here.

Our man Sal Paolantonio went on the radio and said he thinks the Eagles want players, not draft picks, in return for Kevin Kolb. This lends credence to the idea that they could get someone like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Cardinals in a Kolb deal -- something that's been speculated since the Cardinals (who needed a quarterback, not a cornerback) selected Patrick Peterson in the draft. The good thing is, Eagles fans, you can wait a few more weeks to see how this plays out, right? Hahahahahaha.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins' team site takes a look at the right tackle situation, where Jamaal Brown could leave and would need to be replaced by someone from the outside. Makes me think we should do free-agent tackles at some point soon. ("Yeah, Dan, we've been saying that!" "OK, OK, settle down, there's plenty of time to get to every position...")

Seems like the lockout is getting rookie receiver Niles Paul down. In a column he's writing for the Washington Post, Paul makes this revelation: "I currently sleep on my parents' couch in the basement because I didn't re-sign the lease on my apartment. I was optimistic that things were going to get figured out sooner than later, but I guess I was wrong. I love spending time with my family, but I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to do this. No bed, no room and chores doesn't sound like the life of an NFL player to me." Hey, it's better than living in a van down by the river. (Sigh. Paul's probably way too young to get that reference.)

Lots of fun Friday stuff planned before the movie starts. Hope you all enjoy!

The New York Giants are actually in much better shape from an injury standpoint coming off the bye week. The only real setback is center Shaun O'Hara's mild Lisfranc sprain in his right foot, which probably doesn't feel too "mild" when he puts 300 pounds on it.

Ohm Youngmisuk from ESPNNewYork.com has the full injury report, as delivered to reporters this morning by coach Tom Coughlin. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora's knee injury will limit him in practice this week, but that's been going on every week. The best news for Giants fans is that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, kicker Lawrence Tynes and linebacker Keith Bulluck didn't even show up on the pre-practice injury list.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a fractured left clavicle and will not return, according to the club. Giants linebacker Michael Boley had a free shot at Romo, driving him into the turf in the second quarter.

The Cowboys haven't given a prognosis at this point, but those injuries typically keep players out for 4-6 weeks. The Giants lead the Cowboys 21-20 late in the first half. Make that 24-20 after a 53-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes. Cowboys Stadium has fallen silent.

Everyone's still in shock about Romo's injury. And it looks like the Giants will be able to tee off on Jon Kitna the rest of the game.

Watching New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin race toward rookie punter Matt Dodge on Sunday after he delivered a line-drive free kick following a Titans safety, I thought he might cut him on the spot. But the Giants will stick with Dodge this week against the Bears' dangerous returner, Devin Hester.

Hester had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Packers on Monday, so Coughlin has vowed to keep the ball out of his hands. That's, of course, easier said than done when your rookie punter doesn't seem to have a clue where the ball is going.

"You’ve got to believe that he’s going to recognize the level of competition and rise to the occasion,” Coughlin said. “We’re working with him every day. All day long people are in his ear and hopefully it’ll sink in."

The Giants aren't the only team in the NFC East having issues with the kicking game. The Dallas Cowboys rolled the dice with second-year place-kicker David Buehler and the results have been mixed through three games. Redskins punter Josh Bidwell suffered an injury during pregame warm-ups last Sunday and had to be replaced by kicker Graham Gano. And let's not forget about Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes who is 2-of-4 on field goal attempts and missed a 43-yarder against the Titans in the second half.

Let's take a quick look at the top storylines from across the division:

Cowboys

• DallasNews.com columnist Todd Archer ponders a Marion Barber trade scenario.
• Dallas Morning News draft czar Rick "Goose" Gosselin thinks Barber would only command a fourth- or fifth-round pick.
• In his weekly newsletter, Jean Jacques Taylor says fans should stop worrying about Doug Free at left tackle. Just relax, says Taylor.
• So what will become of the plot of land surrounding Texas Stadium?
• Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com takes a look at Idaho guard Mike Iupati.

Eagles

• Stephen A. Smith calls the Eagles the "Tiger Woods of the National Football League." For more, click here.
• Sam McNabb makes a very uncomfortable comparison involving his son.
• Reuben Frank of the Burlington County Times talks about Nick Cole signing his tender.
• Les Bowen of the Daily News tracked down Kevin Kolb's parents in Flatonia, Texas.

Giants

• Ralph Vacchiano has a list of local prospects who are stopping by the Meadowlands for a workout.
• Scotland native and Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes was honored at a New York penthouse Tuesday night.

Redskins

• Jason Reid of the Post says he's hearing coach Mike Shanahan might ask for some of that Albert Haynesworth bonus money back. Good luck on that, Coach.
• Rick Maese finds an interesting passage from a book that's instructive of Shanahan's hard-line approach with Haynesworth.

Former Cowboys kicker Nick Folk has signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Jets kicker Jay Feely will soon become an unrestricted free agent, so the club needed to protect itself. Folk recently worked out for both the Jets and Giants.

This is good news for Giants place-kicker Lawrence Tynes and the Dallas Cowboys. The last thing Jerry Jones wanted to see was Folk regaining his Pro Bowl form with an NFC East rival such as the Giants or Redskins. It's a good move by the Jets because Folk showed so much promise during his first two seasons with the Cowboys. He absolutely cratered during the '09 season, though, so we'll see if he can make a comeback.

Meanwhile, the Redskins and Cowboys face huge questions at kicker -- and it's not like Tom Coughlin is completely sold on Tynes. The Eagles are the only team that has a stable place-kicking situation in the division right now.