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The 2011 season was not the most, well, beastly season in NFC East history. It was the first time in a full, 16-game season that no team in the division won at least 10 games, and for much of the year the talk around the division was that it wasn't what it used to be.

Buncha baloney if you ask me. Even forgetting for a second that an NFC East team won the Super Bowl, this division still does one very important thing better than any other: rush the passer. The NFC East's 181 sacks led all NFL divisions in 2011, and by quite a bit. (The AFC North, which had three playoff teams, was second with 160). The Eagles tied for the league lead with 50. The Giants tied for third with 48. The Cowboys tied for seventh with 42, and the Redskins tied for 10th with 41.

Look deeper, into the film-based, number-crunching stats from Pro Football Focus -- stats that take into account more than just sacks when evaluating the extent to which teams rushed, hassled and affected opposing quarterbacks, and the division still rules. The Eagles rank No. 1 in PFF's 2011 team rankings, the Cowboys No. 3, the Giants No. 6 and the Redskins No. 9. No division prizes this critical aspect of the game more than the NFC East does, and it shows up in the numbers.

So, as we slug our way through a slow news month in the NFC East, I thought it'd be a good idea to check in on the pass rushes of our four teams and see how they're doing -- what they've done to get better or worse, what their 2012 prospects look like from this far out and yes, how they rank against each other. You guys asked for more polls, and I promised I'd listen, so there's one right here for you to vote on. After you finish reading, of course. I'm addressing them in order of how many sacks they got in 2011, in case you're wondering how I decided. Seemed fair.

Philadelphia Eagles

Key contributors: DE Trent Cole, DE Jason Babin, DT Cullen Jenkins. PFF ranked Cole the No. 1 overall 4-3 defensive end in the league last year. Babin ranked 10th overall and third in pass rush, finishing third in the league with 18 sacks. Jenkins ranked as the No. 4 pass-rushing defensive tackle, and Derek Landri was No. 10. Defensive line coach Jim Washburn and defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, each of whom is entering his second season in his current position with the Eagles, believe the front four is responsible for the pass rush. And while they got a lot of publicity for how wide they like to line up their defensive ends, they like to get pressure from the defensive tackles as well.

Newcomer: DT Fletcher Cox. The Eagles traded up in the first round to pick Cox because they believed he could be an impact pass-rusher from one of those interior spots right away. They need to toughen up against the run, and that will have to be part of Cox's game. But what appealed to them was his ability to get to the passer. Rookie linebacker Mychal Kendricks could conceivably factor in here too, but the Eagles don't ask their linebackers to rush very much in the new scheme.

Stock watch: UP. The addition of Cox, as well as the possible return to full health of Mike Patterson and 2010 first-round pick Brandon Graham, give the Eagles incredible depth at a position at which they were already very strong in 2011. It's possible they'll rush the passer even better in 2012.

New York Giants

Key contributors: DE Jason Pierre-Paul, DE Justin Tuck, DE Osi Umenyiora, DE/LB Mathias Kiwanuka. No one's roster goes as deep as the Giants' does in terms of star-caliber defensive ends. Pierre-Paul was fourth in the league with 16.5 sacks in just his second NFL season. Umenyiora had nine in just nine games. Tuck turned it on at the end and in the playoffs, and Kiwanuka is a defensive end playing linebacker. The Giants believe a strong pass rush is their heritage and their key to being an annual contender.

Newcomer: DT Marvin Austin. The Giants didn't really bring in anyone this offseason who looks like a 2012 pass-rush contributor, but their 2011 second-round pick missed all of last season due to injury, so we'll call him a newcomer. The Giants would like to get more help from inside. Linval Joseph was their best pass-rushing defensive tackle in 2011, according to PFF's rankings. A healthy Austin could be a difference-maker.

Stock watch: DOWN. Not by much, but a little, because of the loss of reliable, underrated reserve DE Dave Tollefson. If Tuck and Umenyiora have injury problems again, or if Umenyiora holds out, they could get kind of thin at defensive end pretty quickly without Tollefson there to fill in this time. Now, this is the Giants, and they'll probably figure it out. The addition of linebacker Keith Rivers could allow them to move Kiwanuka back to end in case of injury. But it's worth pointing out that they did lose a somewhat important piece of the pass rush and didn't replace him.

Dallas Cowboys

Key contributors: LB DeMarcus Ware, LB Anthony Spencer, DE Jason Hatcher, NT Jay Ratliff. There's no one like Ware, who rang up another 19.5 sacks in 2011. That's nearly half the team total, and the conventional wisdom says he needs more help. But PFF ranked Spencer its 11th-best 3-4 outside linebacker in the pass rush and Hatcher as its eighth-best 3-4 pass-rushing defensive end. Add in Ratliff, who can generate pressure up the middle, and the Cowboys look better in this area than we tend to think.

Newcomer: DE Tyrone Crawford. Dallas' third-round pick is looked at by many as a project, but as one that can eventually help with the pass rush whether he ends up as a 3-4 end or standing up as an outside linebacker. Whether he can help in 2012 remains a question, but the Cowboys didn't see a first-round or second-round pass-rusher they liked better than Spencer, so they focused on the secondary instead and picked up some down-the-road guys for the pass rush.

Stock watch: EVEN. They're bringing back basically the same group, and while there's a theory that the improvements at defensive back will help the pass rush by giving it extra time to get sacks, we have yet to see that in action. Spencer must play with more aggressiveness if this unit is to take a step forward into the upper tier with the Eagles and Giants.

Washington Redskins

Key contributors: LB Brian Orakpo, LB Ryan Kerrigan, DE Stephen Bowen. The Redskins' pass rush is all about those young outside linebackers, and they are fearsome. But with only 16.5 sacks between them in 2011, their numbers have a ways to go to get into the big-time stratosphere we're talking about in the NFC East. PFF did rank Orakpo fifth and Kerrigan ninth among pass-rushing 3-4 OLBs in 2011, so they do a lot of things well in that area. Bowen had six sacks and DE Adam Carriker came up with 5.5.

Newcomer: DE Jarvis Jenkins. Just as we did with the Giants, we'll go with a 2011 second-round pick who missed his rookie season due to injury. Jenkins may not be a pass-rusher, but adding him to the defensive line rotation could help free up more room for the linebackers and maybe help the other linemen get to the passer more often as well.

Stock watch: EVEN. This is really all about how much and how quickly Orakpo and especially Kerrigan continue to develop as elite pass-rushers. They've both shown flashes of incredible raw ability, and they have to continue to hone their craft so they can play at the level of the other pass-rushers in their division. Ware, Cole, Pierre-Paul and the rest of these guys are setting a high bar, and the Redskins know they have to have their own pass-rush monsters if they want to hang with them year in and year out.

This is the part where I check the mailbag, pick out a few of your questions and do the best I can to answer them before we all get on with our nice spring weekends. I hope you enjoy it.

Joe D from Panama City, Fla., asks why I keep talking about the Dallas Cowboys' need to improve their pass rush, given that they finished tied for seventh in the league in sacks last year.

Dan Graziano: Touché, Joe D. The overall sack numbers were nice -- 42 in 16 games. But when the Cowboys talk about improving their pass rush (and believe me, they do), I think the concern is rooted in the extent to which the responsibility for that aspect of the defense continues to fall on one man. As a team, the Cowboys had 42 sacks, but DeMarcus Ware had 19.5 by himself. And 12 of those came in the first seven games of the season. The concern over the pass rush in Dallas isn't about the overall numbers, but rather on an effort to get Ware some help so that maybe he can see one or two plays a game on which he's not double-teamed and so that he can perhaps avoid seeing his sack numbers drop as the season goes along. They'd like to see Anthony Spencer be a more credible threat from the other outside linebacker spot, or get more pressure on the passer from their defensive line. But on plays when the opposing offense can find a way to account for Ware, the quarterback tends to have too much time to throw. Your point is well taken, but the Cowboys are looking for more players who can help their pass rush bring more pressure from more different spots on the field.

Tramell from Bowie, Md., was rankled by something I wrote Thursday about "question in the secondary" for the Washington Redskins. He likes DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson as the starting corners, thinks Tanard Jackson will be an upgrade over O.J. Atogwe at safety and that DeJon Gomes shows promise.

DG: Even if everything you write is true, Tramell, that doesn't mean they don't have questions to answer in the secondary. Jackson was cut for attitude reasons in Tampa Bay (though they claimed it was for injury reasons), and the theory is that he'll click with former Bucs coach and new Redskins secondary coach Raheem Morris, but we don't know that that'll be the case. I do know that they like Gomes as a starting-caliber safety, but they don't know if he'll be ready for that this year or if he may need some more time before taking on that full-time role. Brandon Meriweather, Madieu Williams... there are going to be a lot of bodies in that secondary in training camp, and I think it's fair to say there are questions about how it will all shake out.

Kenya from NY noticed a mention Friday about the fact that Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Howard Mudd likes his quarterback to call out the protections at the line of scrimmage, and that last year (Mudd's first in Philadelphia) was the first year Michael Vick was asked to handle that responsibility. Kenya wants to know why an offensive line coach would prefer this arrangement.

DG: As I understand it, Kenya, part of Mudd's philosophy is that the quarterback and the line have to function in concert with each other. His offensive line meetings always include the quarterback as an active participant, and having Vick identify the middle linebacker and change the protection if he feels it's warranted is another way of making him feel invested in and aware of what his linemen are doing. In theory, it should help Vick identify throwing lanes and intelligent opportunities to run. But put simply, I believe Mudd likes the quarterback to feel as though the line functions as an extension of what he's doing on each play. Kenya, you also asked whether I believe Vick is good enough to do this, and my answer is yes -- Vick is "good enough" to do anything he wants to do on a football field, as long as he's continually committed to improving and honing his craft as a quarterback.

Kyle from Boston, Mass., wondered what the status is on contract extension talks between the New York Giants and head coach Tom Coughlin, as well as long-term deals for young stars such as Hakeem Nicks, Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz.

DG: The Giants have a deliberate way of doing things, and an order in which things need to be done. There is an understanding between Coughlin and team management that a contract extension will be done, probably between now and the start of training camp. My guess is that it'll be a three-year deal, and neither side is stressed out about it. But when you start asking about the players, you get some sense of why they're not eager to do a new deal with Osi Umenyiora. Already up against this year's cap, the Giants are looking down the road at new contract situations that will need to be addressed. You name a few, and Giants management is obviously aware that they are on the horizon. But you have to prove it in New York -- and for more than one year. Cruz and Pierre-Paul are not near the front of the line for new contracts. Nicks is closer than either of them. Mathias Kiwanuka just quietly got one. They take care of their own cornerstone pieces, but they do so only after (a) making sure that they really are cornerstones and (b) when the time is right. I wouldn't expect to see any extensions for any of the guys you named this offseason. Except Coughlin, of course.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dallas Cowboys

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

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

New York Giants

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

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

Philadelphia Eagles

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

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

Washington Redskins

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

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

Well, the New York Giants have given a contract extension to one of their cornerstone defensive players, but it's not Osi Umenyiora. The Giants have signed Mathias Kiwanuka to a three-year extension through the 2015 season, and while that's good news for Kiwanuka, as Mike Garafolo points out, it can't make Umenyiora very happy. He's been complaining about his contract for more than a year now, and with one year to go he recently suggested that the Giants would be wise to trade him during the draft that is currently in progress.

Kiwanuka is about 16 months younger than Umenyiora, which could be part of the reason why he gets the new deal and Osi doesn't. It could also have something to do with the fact that Kiwanuka played the good, quiet soldier last summer and agreed to a position change (playing linebacker on first and second downs) while Umenyiora sat on the exercise bikes and pouted about wanting a new deal or a trade. Could have something to do with the injury issues that kept Umenyiora off the field for so much of last season. Could just be a matter of timing, and a new Umenyiora deal could still be something that happens down the road.

But I don't know. Earlier in the offseason, it appeared as though tensions between Umenyiora and the team had eased considerably, that he wouldn't be making as much noise about his contract this offseason and that they might even be able to find some common ground in negotiations. But lately, it's trended back the other way. And while I still don't think the Giants want to trade him this weekend, I do think they'd be wise to consider it, if only because his value is high right now due to the way he played during the Super Bowl run.

Our AFC South blogger, Paul Kuharsky, who is from New Jersey and therefore should be considered extremely intelligent, believes the Tennessee Titans should be trying to get Umenyiora from the Giants tonight. Paul says he'd offer a fourth-round pick and might go as high as a third-round pick. If offered a third-rounder, I think the Giants would have to consider it, though I doubt that'd be enough to convince them to deal him. If he does play, and if he plays his best, there are few if any players in the league who can do the things he does in the pass rush. What the Giants have to be wondering right now is whether he'll want to play for them in the absence of a new contract and whether he'll be able to stay healthy enough going forward to justify one. And if they don't think so, I think they need to take a hard look at the idea of dealing him while other teams still consider him valuable.

Yeah, there is one more team left in our series analyzing the history of the specific draft picks held by each team in the NFC East. Enough of you have enjoyed it, I think, to make it worth the time spent researching it. I was planning to do the New York Giants' one earlier in the week, but the Giants made so much news this week that it just kept getting pushed back. Funny thing -- if I'd done it earlier in the week, they'd have had eight picks. But after the trade with the Bengals that brought them linebacker Keith Rivers, they're back down to seven.

Please note that, prior to 2002 and again in 2008, the 32nd pick in the draft was not a first-round pick. The only pre-2002 exception was 1995.

Not a lot of excitement historically at the picks the Giants have this year, though that No. 32 pick has produced a few guys who played in a number of recent Super Bowls.

PICK 32 (32nd pick, first round)

Last five players picked

2011 -- Derrek Sherrod, T, Packers

2010 -- Patrick Robinson, CB, Saints

2009 -- Ziggy Hood, DT, Steelers

2008 -- Philip Merling, DE, Dolphins (second-round pick)

2007 -- Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Colts

Giants' history of No. 32 pick

2006 -- Mathias Kiwanuka

1981 -- Dave Young

1977 -- Johnny Perkins

Hall of Famers picked No. 32

Bob St. Clair (1953)

Other notables

Mathias Kiwanuka (2006), Logan Mankins (2005), Drew Brees (2001)

PICK 63 (31st pick, second round)

2011 -- Marcus Gilbert, T, Steelers

2010 -- Pat Angerer, LB, Colts

2009 -- Cody Brown, TE, Cardinals

2008 -- Terrell Thomas, CB, Giants

2007 -- Brandon Jackson, RB, Packers

Giants' history of No. 63 pick

2008 -- Terrell Thomas

1983 -- Jamie Williams

Hall of Famers picked No. 63

Couldn't find one.

PICK 94 (31st pick, third round)

Last five players picked

2011 -- Kenrick Ellis, DT, Jets

2010 -- Kevin Thomas, DB, Colts

2009 -- Ryan Mouton, DB, Titans

2008 -- Kevin O'Connell, QB, Patriots

2007 -- Michael Okwo, LB, Bears

Giants' history of No. 94 picks

None

Hall of Famers picked No. 94

None. Charlie Joiner went No. 93 to the Oilers in 1969, and the 49ers followed up by taking running back Gene Moore at No. 94. Joiner is in the Hall of Fame. Moore is not. He had four career yards on two carries.

PICK 127 (32nd pick, fourth round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Rashad Carmichael, DB, Texans

2010 -- E.J. Wilson, DE, Seahawks

2009 -- Austin Collie, WR, Colts

2008 -- Jacob Tamme, TE, Colts

2007 -- Kareem Brown, DT, Patriots

Giants' history of No. 127 pick

Never had it.

Hall of Famers picked No. 127

None.

PICK 131 (36th pick, fourth round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Davon House, DB, Packers

2010 -- Roddrick Muckelroy, LB, Bengals

2009 -- Greg Toler, DB, Cardinals

2008 -- Jack Ikegwuonu, DB, Eagles

2007 -- Brannon Condren, DB, Colts

Giants' history of No. 131 pick

Also, never had this one.

Hall of Famers picked No. 131

Nada.

PICK 201 (31st pick, sixth round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Stephen Schilling, T, Chargers

2010 -- Jorrick Calvin, DB, Cardinals

2009 -- Curtis Painter, QB, Colts

2008 -- Steve Justice, C, Colts

2007 -- Rashad Barskdale, CB, Eagles

Giants' history of No. 201 pick

1979 -- Roy Simmons

1978 -- Jeff Grady

Hall of Famers picked No. 201

None. Richard Dent was picked No. 203 and Bart Starr was picked No. 200, as covered in the Eagles' post.

PICK 239 (32nd pick, seventh round)

Last five players taken

2011 -- Mike Person, G, 49ers

2010 -- Sean Canfield, QB, Saints

2009 -- Ryan Durand, G, Titans

2008 -- Mike Merritt, TE, Chiefs

2007 -- C.J. Ah You, DE, Bills

Giants' history of No. 239 pick

1967 -- Dick Stebbins

Hall of Famers picked No. 239

None that I could find. The Giants' numbers this year just haven't turned up too many!

The New York Giants appear to have addressed their need at linebacker by trading their fifth-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for former first-round pick Keith Rivers. There are multiple reports that say the deal is done, though the Giants have yet to announce it. And Rivers himself sent out a tweet that quoted "Theme from New York, New York," though he attributed the quote to "Frank Santria."

Regardless of his knowledge of New York/New Jersey-based music legends, Rivers is a nice pickup for the Giants for the price. He was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2008 draft and a productive player for Cincinnati early in his career. He was available for such a low price (the 167th overall pick in this year's draft) because the Bengals don't have room for him in their starting lineup anymore and because he missed the 2011 season with a wrist injury. Health has been an issue for Rivers, but if he can stay healthy he's an upgrade at a position where the Giants were planning to lean heavily on second-year players.

With Dave Tollefson having signed with the Raiders, the Giants may need Mathias Kiwanuka to play more defensive end in 2012. And there has been talk of moving Michael Boley to middle linebacker, though the team has not yet decided how it will align all of its linebackers at this point. One thing this move does seem to ensure is that the Giants will not be bringing back free agent linebacker Jonathan Goff, who has drawn interest from the Dolphins and Browns.

The Giants did announce the signing of offensive lineman Sean Locklear, an eight-year veteran who started four games for the Washington Redskins in 2011. Locklear can play guard or tackle, but the Giants' greater need is at tackle, which Locklear said in the team's official press release is his preferred position. In fact, he said right tackle is his favorite, and the Giants currently do not have a starter there as Kareem McKenzie is a free agent. They could fill that position in the draft or by moving David Diehl there, but at this point Locklear is in the mix as a backup at both tackle positions and, if he performs well enough in the preseason, possibly a candidate for the right tackle job.

So yeah, busy day for the champs, who aren't likely to do much more before the draft. Rivers is scheduled to earn $2.16 million in 2012, and the Giants only had about $3.4 million in salary cap space left when we checked in on that last week.

Catching up on weekend news, I'm sure all of my New York Giants fans saw that the Raiders signed free-agent defensive end Dave Tollefson. The Giants liked Tollefson, and valued his contributions to two Super Bowl championship teams, but given their depth at the defensive end position, they weren't going to spend real money to keep him.

That said, this is a spot -- defensive end -- where when the Giants lose a player, they notice it. Brandon Jacobs signs elsewhere? They can figure out running back. Mario Manningham? Ah, they'll find another No. 3 receiver. But defensive end, that's the Giants' bread and butter. And they just lost one that was on the field for about 40 percent of their defensive plays in 2011. Tollefson could spell Justin Tuck or Osi Umenyiora when those guys were hurt. He could move inside and play defensive tackle in those alignments the Giants like to run where they put as many pass rushers on the field as they can. He was a valuable piece, and they will, you can be sure, do something that's directed at replacing him.

One thing Tollefson's departure means is that the Giants are far less likely now to trade Umenyiora. That likelihood already seemed to be fading, as last year's hard feelings between Umenyiora and the Giants over his contract situation have eased considerably. But now, even if they can't extend Umenyiora's contract, it's hard to imagine the Giants getting a trade offer that makes it worth losing two pieces of their pass rush in the same month.

It's possible the Giants could look for a linebacker, or an increased contribution from one or more of last year's rookie linebackers, and move Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end full-time. Kiwanuka played well in his hybrid role last year, but he's a pass-rusher at heart and would surely be happy to be asked to pick up whatever snaps Tollefson left behind.

And yeah, they're picking No. 32 in the draft in 17 days, and they have needs at running back and tight end and linebacker and places like that. But you know, if you follow the Giants, that if a pass rusher like Syracuse's Chandler Jones falls to them at 32, there's a very real chance they take him. As we discussed last week, there are certain bedrock facets of the Giants' team-building philosophy, and the most prominent may be their belief in the importance of the pass rush. Tollefson's departure doesn't leave them short in that key area for 2012. They still have Tuck and Umenyiora and Kiwanuka and Jason Pierre-Paul, which is a group for which a lot of other teams would kill. But it's a reminder that things can get thin quickly, and defensive end is one position at which the Giants are determined never to let that happen.

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Dallas Cowboys

Key additions: CB Brandon Carr, S Brodney Pool, QB Kyle Orton, FB Lawrence Vickers, LB Dan Connor, G Nate Livings, G Mackenzy Bernadeau

Key losses: WR Laurent Robinson, TE Martellus Bennett, FB Tony Fiammetta, CB Terence Newman, G Kyle Kosier (cut)

"You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're all right": Rather than go big for the biggest names out there, the Cowboys took a more directed, focused approach to free agency this year. They did spend a lot to bring in Carr, but they had a glaring need at cornerback and they believed Carr was the best one on the market. The two guards were specifically targeted by Cowboys' scouts and new offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and Connor was brought in to address a need at inside linebacker while 2011 draft pick Bruce Carter continues to develop.

The only loss that they didn't upgrade is that of Robinson, who signed with the Jaguars after coming out of nowhere to catch 11 touchdown passes from Tony Romo in 2011. The Cowboys will hope that one of the young receivers on their roster fills that No. 3 wide receiver role, or that they can catch lightning in a bottle again this year as they did with Robinson last year. They could miss Kosier's leadership on the offensive line, but he was getting old and injured and they needed to keep getting younger on the line.

What's next: While they'll keep an eye out for a bargain-bin receiver to replace Robinson, and they could try and find another tight end to replace Bennett, the Cowboys' main focus the rest of this offseason is likely to be on defense. They could add to the safety or cornerback mix in the draft or with another free agent. They'll keep looking to upgrade the pass rush, either with another outside linebacker or a defensive lineman. Those are the likely areas in which the Cowboys will focus their efforts in the draft.

Otherwise, it's going to be about sorting things out, especially on the offensive line. They need to find a pair of starting guards from a group that includes the two newcomers and the two youngsters -- David Arkin and Bill Nagy -- they drafted last year. Training camp should help sort out what needs to be sorted out on the offensive side of the ball. The draft will be for adding more pieces to Rob Ryan's defense.

New York Giants

Key additions: TE Martellus Bennett

Key losses: RB Brandon Jacobs, WR Mario Manningham, CB Aaron Ross, T Kareem McKenzie

"Reason to believe": The Giants don't like to make big free-agent splashes, and since they're up against the salary cap they also have little choice. But their second Super Bowl title in five years should help ease any concerns fans might have about if they're doing enough in the offseason. The Giants' way is to establish fair prices for the positions they need to fill and to be patient until they find players willing to play for their number. They'd have loved to have Jacobs or Manningham or Ross back, but not for the kind of money those guys found in free agency. They'd love to have linebacker Jonathan Goff and defensive end Dave Tollefson back, but if they get big-money deals elsewhere, the Giants will let them go too.

They targeted Bennett right away and signed him on the second day of free agency, since they saw in him a young talent at a position where they lost two players to major knee injuries in the Super Bowl. And they re-signed cornerback Terrell Thomas and punter Steve Weatherford, two of their offseason priorities. But since then, the Giants have been quiet, content that they have a good, deep, championship roster and willing to let the market come to them.

What's next: The areas of concern, if there are any for the Giants, are linebacker and offensive line. And if Goff comes back, they like what they have at linebacker with the incumbents and last year's rookies. With McKenzie leaving, they could move David Diehl from left tackle to right tackle, but they'll still need to add depth at tackle as they look to the future on the offensive line.

There remains the chance that the Giants could trade defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who was disgruntled about his contract this time last year and now only has one year to go. If they did that, they could move Mathias Kiwanuka from linebacker back to his old pass-rushing spot on the line. But the Giants would have to be really blown away by an offer to move Umenyiora, who has relaxed a great deal about his contract situation and said he'd like to stay.

Philadelphia Eagles

Key additions: LB DeMeco Ryans (trade), G Mike Gibson

Key losses: DE Juqua Parker, WR Steve Smith, QB Vince Young

"We take care of our own": The Eagles' focus so far this offseason has been internal. They extended the contracts of right tackle Todd Herremans and defensive end Trent Cole, signed wide receiver DeSean Jackson to a long-term deal and re-signed free-agent guard Evan Mathis. The Eagles believe last year's team was a good roster that underachieved, and they basically are taking a mulligan and hoping it works this time.

The one exception is a big one -- the trade that brought them Ryans from Houston in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. The Eagles were pitifully weak at linebacker last year, and that weakness hurt their otherwise successful implementation of the "Wide 9" defensive line formation. They could get to the passer with their front four, but teams were able to attack the middle of their defense at will. The addition of Ryans, a veteran middle linebacker who was a productive tackler and beloved leader with the Texans, should help solve a lot of those problems.

What's next: There remains a strong chance the Eagles will trade cornerback Asante Samuel before or during the draft. They can afford to do so because they'd still be left with Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as starting cornerbacks and the underrated Joselio Hanson at nickel corner. Other than that, the Eagles figure to be fairly quiet the rest of the way.

They're most likely to use their first-round pick on a defensive player, though Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, who'd be a great addition, now looks likely to be gone by the time they pick at No. 15. So they could pick up another veteran linebacker and use the draft to add to their defensive line rotation. It's also likely they add a veteran safety and a veteran running back to back up LeSean McCoy, who's next in line for a new contract.

Washington Redskins

Key additions: WR Pierre Garcon, WR Josh Morgan, CB Cedric Griffin, S Brandon Meriweather

Key losses: S O.J. Atogwe (cut), S LaRon Landry, WR Donte' Stallworth

"When the change was made uptown and the big man joined the band": The Redskins' biggest move of the offseason was the draft-picks trade they made with the Rams, sending three first-round picks and a second-round pick to St. Louis in exchange for the No. 2 pick in this year's draft. That pick ensures that Washington, which has been looking for a franchise quarterback for a couple of decades, will be in position to take one of the two quarterbacks in this year's draft that projects as a franchise guy. They're most likely getting Baylor's Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner who's got Redskins fans in a tizzy already.

The Redskins' first big moves when free agency opened were aimed at building a new offense for their rookie quarterback to run. Garcon and Morgan are, the Redskins believe, receivers with big-play talent who will fit well into the offense they like to run. The other two big additions -- Griffin and Meriwether -- were brought in to beef up the secondary, which lost its two starting safeties. It's possible Griffin could play safety, though he played cornerback in Minnesota.

What's next: The Redskins continue to try to re-sign veteran linebacker London Fletcher, and they're confident they can do that. They also want to bring back running back Tim Hightower, assuming he's recovered from his ACL injury, and they're in talks with him about doing just that. If they fail in either or both of those efforts, they'll need backup plans, as they'll lack depth at running back and inside linebacker.

Washington still could stand to add to its secondary and find help for the offensive line. Right tackle Jammal Brown has injury problems, and the team is looking for a better option. Demetrius Bell remains on the market and is a player Washington likes for that right tackle spot.

A year ago, the New York Giants were able to sign free-agent defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka to a team-favorable contract because he was coming off a serious neck injury and therefore unable to attain maximum market value for a player of his considerable talents. This was fortunate for the Giants, as Kiwanuka became a vital contributor to their Super Bowl run in a hybrid LB/DE role.

The Giants are up against the salary cap again, and once again they have to try and figure out which of their own free agents to sign. The Kiwanuka case applies here because of Terrell Thomas, the cornerback who tore his ACL last preseason and missed all of 2011 as a result. Thomas is a free agent, as is the healthy Aaron Ross. And given their cap concerns, the Giants seem more likely to try and sign Thomas than Ross. Thomas, you see, is likely to cost less, because he's got the injury.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News spoke with Thomas over the weekend, and Thomas is optimistic that the injury won't deflate his market value too much:

Seven months ago, Thomas who led the Giants with five interceptions in 2010 might have been in line for a deal similar to the five-year, $43 million contract extension the Giants gave Corey Webster in 2008. Now? Who knows? Certainly it'll be a shorter deal. Less lucrative, too.

Thomas is still dreaming of something bigger, though, which may be why negotiations with the Giants have stalled. He points out that in 2010 the Jacksonville Jaguars gave defensive end Aaron Kampman a four-year, $26 million contract with $11 million guaranteed, while he was still rehabbing a torn ACL.

"You know what? You never know," he says. "I learned coming in that all you need is one team to like you. That's all I'm hoping for, whether it's the Giants or one of the other 31 teams out there. All you need is one team to believe in you and trust in you."

The Giants like Thomas, and they were willing to trust in him a year ago as one of their starting cornerbacks. But if they can't get him back on a discount, they're not likely to have him back. It worked last year with Kiwanuka, but when Steve Smith got a bigger offer from a division rival, the Giants didn't push to keep him. They believed they had better options that constituted better use of their resources. The odds are good that the Giants have a number in mind beyond which they will not go to bring back Thomas and his rehabbing knee. If Thomas can do better than that number elsewhere, then elsewhere he's likely to be.

My bet is that he doesn't find what he's looking for on the market and that this all works out with the Giants. But with Webster still on the team and last year's first-round pick, Prince Amukamara, likely to assume a larger role in 2012, you'd better believe they'll be patient and wait for Thomas to come back to them.

Peyton Manning may not be the only superstar mainstay the Indianapolis Colts can no longer afford. Adam Schefter is reporting that the Colts are entertaining trade offers for defensive end Dwight Freeney, one of the dominant NFL pass-rushers of the past half-decade. It's not a slam-dunk that they can deal Freeney, as he's 32 years old and scheduled to make about $14 million this year. But he's a big enough name that it's worth imagining whether he'd fit with the teams about which we care.

Freeney is a 4-3 defensive end, and the only two teams in the NFC East that play 4-3 defenses are set at defensive end. Sure, if the New York Giants traded Osi Umenyiora, they might look to replace him, but they have their own salary-cap issues and it's unlikely they'd look for an expensive 32-year-old replacement when they could just slide Mathias Kiwanuka back up front to supplement Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. The Philadelphia Eagles start Trent Cole and Jason Babin at end and have some depth, including the ability to play defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins there. The Eagles' needs on defense are at linebacker and safety, and maybe in the middle of the line.

The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys are 3-4 defense teams, and the Redskins like their young outside linebacker pass-rush duo of Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. That leaves Dallas, which needs pass-rush help but may not be a fit. I doubt it's reasonable to acquire Freeney in the hopes of making him either a 3-4 defensive end or a standup outside linebacker. Guys have done it, but at this point in Freeney's career it's hard to know whether he could make the transition. Plus, the Cowboys just franchised outside linebacker Anthony Spencer, which likely limits their ability to pursue expensive pass-rushers on the free agent or trade market.

So maybe Dallas kicks the tires on Freeney if they have some creative idea about how to use him, but the likelihood is that the Colts don't have an NFC East suitor for him.

Sure, of course they could. The New York Giants are picking 32nd in the draft. There's no way to know who's going to be available to them at that point. A team that always drafts the best player available, is drafting in a spot where that's the only smart way to go. The Giants could draft any position in the first round and it wouldn't be a huge surprise -- though as we've discussed, offensive line, linebacker and running back are not generally positions they like to draft early.

Anyway, this came up as I was reading Ohm's report-card review of the defensive line. Even if they trade Osi Umenyiora, they'll still be deep with pass rushers. They shouldn't have a problem re-signing Dave Tollefson, and they can always move Mathias Kiwanuka back up to the line from his hybrid linebacker spot. No one in the world would be surprised to see Jerry Reese take a pass- rusher with his first-round pick, but I'd be even less surprised if the Giants went for an interior defensive lineman. Rocky Bernard is a free agent, Marvin Austin is a question mark coming off his rookie-season training camp injury and they're generally pretty young at defensive tackle.

It appears as though they could have some good options at defensive tackle at No. 32. Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest mock draft has players like Memphis' Dontari Poe, Penn State's Devon Still, Michigan State's Jerel Worthy and Connecticut's Kendall Reyes all going in the mid-to-high 20s, which means one or more from that group could conceivably slip into the early 30s.

I know it's not groundbreaking to write that the Giants could prioritize the defensive line in the draft. It's just not something we'd talked about. And these days on the blog, we're always looking for new stuff to talk about.

Osi Umenyiora put aside his issues with his contract during the New York Giants' Super Bowl run, which was no surprise. He was having a wonderful time with his teammates, reaping the rare joy that comes when your once-in-a-lifetime experience repeats itself within the space of a half-decade. That wasn't the time to talk contract, and to his credit Umenyiora did not.

But the time to talk contract is once again nearly afoot. And with free agency, the draft, offseason minicamps and OTAs and eventually training camp looming, Umenyiora's contract will once again become an issue for the Giants. This time, he's heading into the final year of his deal, scheduled to make a little less than $4 million in salary in 2012. A year ago, with two seasons left on the deal, Umenyiora made it clear that he was unhappy and wanted either a new deal or a trade to a team that might give him one.

What are we to believe has changed in Umenyiora's mind since then? If anything, he could be more resolute about his demands and a possible holdout this summer. Holding out with two years left on your deal is crazy. Holding out with one year left is a far more accepted practice, less likely to be looked upon by potential future employers as turnoff-caliber selfishness. And if he gets permission to seek a trade this year, as he did last year, he may be more likely to find teams willing to acquire him. Or he might find that the Giants have lowered their asking price, making a trade more feasible.

Regardless, Umenyiora has many more reasons for making an offseason stink this year than he did last year, and he wasn't shy about making one last year. I believe the Giants should trade him before said stink gets out of hand.

For the record, I do not think Umenyiora is overrated, and I do think he's underpaid. If the Giants do decide to trade him, they will not replace him with anyone who's as good as he is, and he's very likely to play star-quality defensive end for whichever team acquires him. This would not be a Donovan McNabb deal, where the current team has decided it's already seen the best of the player and doesn't mind giving him up for fear that he'll play well and haunt them. Umenyiora is 30 years old and still playing at a very high level.

But that's why the Giants should trade him this offseason -- because his value is high. Sure, he missed seven games due to injury this season, and that hurts the value. But two sacks in the division-clinching regular-season finale and 3.5 more in the postseason reminded everyone who was watching that Umenyiora is a unique talent -- a pass-rusher who can do things others cannot. Edge rushers have huge value right now, and there's no shortage of teams that could benefit from adding Umenyiora. Trading him now, off of his huge postseason performance, would be the definition of selling high.

And the Giants should do it. They have salary cap issues for the second year in a row. They have a surplus of pass-rushers, with Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka, who could move back to defensive end full-time if Umenyiora were to leave and they found a linebacker or two. Heck, they could draft another undervalued pass-rusher and develop him, since they seem to be so good at that. The Giants would feel the loss of Umenyiora, but they could absorb it and still bring back the core of the defensive front that just won them the Super Bowl.

The Giants likely don't want to give Umenyiora the contract he wants -- one that would rank him among the highest-paid pass-rushers in the game. He does come with the injury risk, and he'd be 31 in the first year of that new contract. They'd prefer that be some other team's problem, and they'd be wise to make it so now, when they can still get a nice draft pick or two for him.

Finally, this isn't about eliminating potential distractions. The Giants' internal locker-room leadership structure is strong enough that a cranky Umenyiora wouldn't affect the performance of any other player or the team as a whole. They proved that last season. The reasons to trade Umenyiora this offseason are simple: He's at peak value and they can afford to lose him. That's a confluence of circumstances that doesn't come around too often. As a pure business decision, trading Umenyiora this summer is the right thing for the Giants to do.

INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the unsung heroes of the New York Giants' late-season defensive surge is Mathias Kiwanuka, a pass-rushing defensive end who had to learn how to play linebacker when he got to training camp this year. Kiwanuka is playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday night in his hometown, and the way he handled his transition is a big reason he and the Giants are here. Check out our video report.