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Good morning to all, and welcome to another week on the NFC East blog. The rookie minicamps are over, the regular ones about a month away, but the weekend saw a little bit of newsworthy action here and there, and so we'll get you right to your links.

Dallas Cowboys

Calvin Watkins writes that, while the Cowboys' defense was bad in 2011, it was much better than it was in 2010. Which ... fine. But if someone were to sit down and explain to me that air travel was actually more pleasant in 2011 than it was in 2010, I'd react the same way: Who cares, as long as it's still this bad? And I'm not big on the idea that the Cowboys' defense struggled last year because the lockout forced Rob Ryan "to rush the teachings of his defensive system once training camp began." The defense played much better at the start of the season than it did at the end, which leads one to believe it wasn't the scheme but the personnel that got exposed. In the end, the point is that the Cowboys have made major personnel changes on defense and should expect to be better in 2012. Point taken. Still think they needed more.

On a completely, 100 percent different note, in case you were following the story of the 55-year-old grandmother who was trying out to be a Cowboys cheerleader, she didn't make it. But she says she had a heck of a time trying.

New York Giants

Last summer, when Eagles running back LeSean McCoy randomly attacked him on Twitter for being "overrated n soft," Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora fired back, calling McCoy a "chihuahua" and a "Twitter gangster," among other things. Well, Osi's on Twitter now, and he took his turn as Twitter gangster Sunday, wishing McCoy a Happy Mother's Day. McCoy recently became a father, but there's no evidence that Umenyiora knows that or that it motivated the tweet. Anyway, my wife says she thinks it's pretty silly when these guys use "woman" as an insult, since this is 2012. I remind her that, in the minds of professional athletes, it's very often really kind of not.

As for real football stuff, the Giants did have their rookie minicamp, which means media got a chance to talk to the coaches, and defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said he's looking at several options for middle linebacker, including newcomer Keith Rivers, who didn't play that specific position in Cincinnati. Fewell doesn't seem high on the idea of moving Michael Boley there.

Philadelphia Eagles

First-round draft pick Fletcher Cox learned right away that, if you make a mistake on the practice field with the Eagles, a coach will curse at you. From everything we've been told about defensive line coach Jim Washburn, Cox was going to learn this lesson eventually anyway, but it appears defensive coordinator Juan Castillo beat Washburn to it.

Eagles rookie camp featured a couple of quarterbacks -- third-round pick Nick Foles and undrafted free-agent signee Jacory Harris -- and both seemed to feel they got a lot out of the weekend's exposure to an Eagles coaching staff that has a reputation for teaching the quarterback position effectively.

Washington Redskins

This is the offseason in which returning Redskins free agents announce on Twitter that they have re-signed (as opposed to outside free agents such as Pierre Garcon, who use Facebook -- key difference, you see). Running back Tim Hightower tweeted his return Sunday night, as London Fletcher had some weeks earlier, and the veteran for whom the Redskins traded last year during training camp gets thrown into the running back mix with second-year backs Roy Helu and Evan Royster. A little more on this later, but if healthy, yes, I think Hightower is the front-runner to be the starter.

Chase Minnifield is going to need to beat the odds if he's to have a productive NFL career after going undrafted last month, but he's eager to do what he can to show the Redskins were wise to sign him. And in the Redskins' secondary, truthfully, there are going to be opportunities for him if he can play.

INDIANAPOLIS -- In case you were wondering, no, the New York Giants' first choice was not linebacker Chase Blackburn covering Rob Gronkowski all alone 50 yards down the field. But as he'd done for so much of the night, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady checked to a different play when he saw the coverage on the second play of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI, and Blackburn was stuck.

"I had to carry Gronkowski," Blackburn said after the Giants had secured a 21-17 Super Bowl victory. "I heard the crowd go wild a little bit, and I thought we had a sack. But I continued to see Gronk go up the field, and I just tried to stay with him. When I saw him look back, I looked back for the ball, and when I spotted it, I tried to just block out and go up for a rebound like in basketball."

Sure. Basketball. In case you're wondering, Gronkowski's University of Arizona media guide bio says he averaged 18 rebounds per game during the 2006 season at Pittsburgh's Woodland Hills High School. He has three inches and 20 pounds on Blackburn, who as recently as Thanksgiving weekend was hoping to land a gig as a substitute high school math teacher before the Giants called and said hey, how about middle linebacker instead? But Gronkowski also was playing the Super Bowl on a bad ankle, which Blackburn and the rest of the Giants knew. It's why they were, at that point in the game, using their better coverage linebacker, Jacquian Williams, on the Patriots' other tight end, Aaron Hernandez. After the check, Blackburn knew he had the big guy by himself.

"I knew it was a long way," Blackburn said. "He stopped for a second and I stopped with him. I was thinking it was a sack, but then as soon as I saw him go vertical, I knew I had to run and catch up with him."

They both jumped for the ball, but Blackburn came down with it for an interception that was the only turnover of the game. The Patriots led 17-15 at the time, and had Gronkowski caught the ball the momentum might never have swung back the Giants' way. Instead, the Giants secured the kind of big stop they knew they needed to make all fourth quarter to put Eli Manning and the offense in position to win.

"We're confident in our defense," linebacker Michael Boley said. "No matter who the quarterback is, we know our front four is going to get pressure and so we need to give coverage on the back end."

For much of this game, though, they weren't. Brady led easy-peasy touchdown drives at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to turn a 9-3 Giants lead into a 17-9 New England lead. The Giants, whose game plan had been a man-coverage defense because they believed (correctly) that Brady would try to beat them with "dink and dunk" short passes instead of deep shots, had strayed from the plan. They'd been so focused, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said, on lining up quickly that they weren't lining up in the right spots. So they pulled back a little on the man-to-man and switched to more zone, only to have Brady find holes in the zone. At one point, Brady completed a Super Bowl-record 16 straight passes.

"We just couldn't get the right people in the right coverage situations," Fewell said. "They created some mismatches, so we had to get our guys together on the sideline and get them to lock in a little bit and get back to the plan, which was man."

In a lot of ways, the defense is the Giants' 2011-12 story in a microcosm. This Giants team was about patience, perseverance and a belief that everything would get better if they just kept working at it. The defense finished 27th in the league in the regular season. Their coverage units were being ridiculed on national television. But they got healthy at the end of the season. They talked their coaches into letting them play man-to-man, and they did it well. Led by that front four and the pass rush, they allowed an average of 14 points per game during their four-game postseason run.

If someone had told you that the touchdown the Patriots scored to open the second half would be their final score of the Super Bowl, you wouldn't have believed them. Not the way the game was going at that point. But the Giants are water torture. They drip and drip and drip until they finally break you. They won the NFC Championship Game by playing smart, sound, physically tough, mistake-free football and waiting for the other team to make a mistake. They won the Super Bowl the same way. Blackburn picked off Brady. Wes Welker dropped a ball he catches every time. The Giants' defense looked lost for long stretches, but bottom line, theirs was a Super Bowl-winning effort. And they were justifiably proud of it.

"At the end of the day, we knew it was going to come down to our defense," Osi Umenyiora said. "We pressured them. We sacked them. We came through victorious."

Doesn't matter what happened along the way. Doesn't matter that a substitute high school math teacher who wasn't on the team until almost December was making plays in coverage against the best tight end in the league. Doesn't matter how it looked or what came before, and it doesn't matter that this was, two months ago, one of the least likely sentences anyone would have been expecting to type on the night of Feb. 5: The Giants' defense helped win them the Super Bowl.

INDIANAPOLIS -- I saw Jerry Izenberg here Wednesday. He's the Newark Star-Ledger columnist who's one of three guys who's covered all 46 Super Bowls. I've covered four, but earlier in my career I had the honor to work at the same paper as Jerry, which is a point of pride. Jerry was also in Zaire and Manila with Ali. I love running into Jerry. It's one of my favorite things about the Super Bowl.

Anyway, I don't know how many steps Jerry took Wednesday, but my pedometer tells me I took 15,485, which brings my total since my Sunday arrival to 56,865. I know you're hanging on each and every one. Anyway links.

New York Giants

I'm going to link to Ian O'Connor every day I'm here, and it's not because Ian is ESPNNewYork.com but rather because Ian is great and writing great stuff. Today, he writes on Perry Fewell's frustration over not being the hot head-coaching candidate he was a year ago.

Jason Pierre-Paul says that Tom Brady is a great quarterback but that "it's not like he's God." Left unanswered was whether Pierre-Paul thinks he could sack the Almighty or whether he'd backflip out of the way due to awe. I guess it would depend on the quality of the offensive line.

Philadelphia Eagles

There was lots we didn't get to about Andy Reid's Tuesday news conference, but Rich Hofmann thinks one of the biggest issues was what he said about the 1-4 start in which quarterback Michael Vick turned the ball over at critical times. As much as anything, Vick's sloppiness with the ball was a reason for the Eagles' disappointing start and season, and he needs to do better.

Geoff Mosher writes that the next most important item on the Eagles' offseason agenda is DeSean Jackson. I still think he's a goner, but there remains a chance they franchise him while they continue to work out a deal. The franchise number isn't a bad one if they can be sure he's happy with the progress on a new contract, and it's not as if they have someone else on which they desperately need to use it.

Dallas Cowboys

The Oakland Raiders wanted to hire Cowboys special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis as an assistant head coach, but the Cowboys wouldn't allow it, which is their right. Todd Archer writes that the best way for DeCamillis to re-establish himself as a head-coaching candidate is to be part of a winning Cowboys team in 2012.

The Cowboys may have been able to use veteran guard Brian Waters this year, and he's from the area and likely would have liked to play for them. But Waters doesn't give a big rat's patootie. He's in the Super Bowl.

Washington Redskins

Dan Daly thinks that, if things play out the right way, Peyton Manning could end up being a Washington Redskin next year. I really like Dan. He's a smart guy and a good columnist. He takes intelligent stands on issues like this. And no, I'm not just saying that because I made this point like three weeks ago. I'm really not. Oh, and stop with your comments about how he'd never play in the same division as his brother. Guy's about to be unemployed, and his brother's about to win his second Super Bowl. Sentiments and feelings change. Time passes. Etc.

Lorenzo Alexander is one of my favorite Redskins. He's happy. He's content. He's a veteran who helps his younger teammates learn the game. He holds fan appreciation events in the offseason. Good dude.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A year ago, New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was a hot name on the interview circuit, either interviewing or at least discussed as a candidate for head coaching jobs in Denver, Carolina, Cleveland, San Francisco and Tennessee. This year, you don't hear his name at all. Could be because the Giants are still playing. Could be because they ranked 27th in total defense this season and really didn't get things going on Fewell's side of the ball until recently. Whatever the reason, Fewell said Thursday, he's not thinking about it.

"I'm just trying to keep the job that I have," Fewell said, breaking into laughter as he answered the question. "So I'm happy not to see my name in print sometimes. Really, I've been focusing on the job at hand, and right now that's not a concern for me."

Fewell is signed through 2012 as the Giants' defensive coordinator. And in spite of the poor statistical ranking, the Giants are happy with his performance through all of the injuries they suffered on that side of the ball. He'll almost certainly return to the same role next year unless someone does decide to hire him as their head coach.

My goodness. The NFL playoffs begin in two days. Our division's representative plays in three. Where does the time go? Links.

New York Giants

People can officially stop asking me whether the Giants will bring in Steve Spagnuolo to be their defensive coordinator. It turns out, the Giants signed current defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to a contract extension that runs through 2012. Turns out they did this last year, when Fewell was interviewing for head-coaching positions. Nothing like a little leverage, huh? The Giants like Fewell, their issues on defense were personnel-related and not scheme- or coaching-related, and there's no reason to think he's going anywhere. Unless someone hires him to be their head coach.

Also, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for December, which isn't real surprising considering he was NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice in the month and had a 16-tackle game in one of the weeks in which he wasn't. Pierre-Paul just had his 23rd birthday on Sunday. Given his talent, his rapid learning curve and the team for which he plays, it's terrifying to imagine how good he can become.

Philadelphia Eagles

Les Bowen reports that Spagnuolo, the former Eagles defensive assistant and Giants defensive coordinator who was fired earlier this week as head coach of the Rams, is interested in coaching next year and would be interested in the defensive coordinator job with the Eagles, should that come open. The Eagles still have to decide what to do with current defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and whether they're willing to overhaul the defensive scheme under new leadership for the second year in a row.

Linebacker remains an offseason need for an Eagles team that struggled to find production out of those positions for much of the year. But Geoff Mosher writes that, at the very least, the group of linebackers the Eagles have played much better toward the end of the season. Just don't tell Jeffrey Lurie that. Remember, the way he sees it, it doesn't matter because they didn't play anybody good!

Dallas Cowboys

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that young, talented Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant is embarking on his most dangerous time of the year -- the offseason. Jacques says Bryant needs structure in his life, and the proof lies in the off-field issues he's had involving behavior and his finances. All eyes are always on Bryant, whom the Cowboys believe can be a building-block player for them if he keeps his head on straight.

ESPNDallas.com invites you to play "Take him or trash him" with the Cowboys' roster. Go through and click on each player and decide whether you want him on next year's team or not. Something to do instead of work, which I know you're looking for.

Washington Redskins

John Keim lists five players who could help improve the Redskins' defense in 2012. Two of them -- defensive linemen Jarvis Jenkins and Barry Cofield -- are already on the roster. But a healthy return from Jenkins and continued improvement from Cofield at nose tackle would, in fact, help. The others John lists are Oakland Raiders safety Tyvon Branch, who can be a free agent, and two players who will be in this year's draft -- LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne and Oklahoma State safety Markelle Martin.

The Redskins will be working on the offensive line as well, and only the first year of right tackle Jammal Brown's five-year deal was guaranteed. In order to return in 2012, Brown is going to have to prove to the Redskins that his troublesome hip is finally really healthy. The guess here is that they look elsewhere for a tackle.

The St. Louis Rams have fired head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who began his NFL coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles and rose to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the 2007 Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Spagnuolo's been a hot name around this blog lately (though, for some reason, not a name that's getting any easier to type), so let's take a team-by-team look at his chances of returning to the NFC East in 2012.

Philadelphia Eagles

This is the most likely spot for Spagnuolo to resurface in the division. He was a defensive position coach in Philadelphia from 1999-2006 under legendary defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. And while reports have said he was upset toward the end of his Philadelphia tenure, that Eagles coach Andy Reid blocked him from pursuing opportunities to be a defensive coordinator elsewhere, the two men have since reconciled and their relationship likely wouldn't be an impediment to a potential Spagnuolo return. Other things could be, however. While first-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo took a lot of heat in Philadelphia this year -- and Reid took a lot of heat for converting Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator -- the Eagles finished the season strong and ended up ranking eighth in the NFL in total defense, as measured by yards allowed. Additionally, the Eagles just hired Jim Washburn to coach their defensive line a year ago. The scheme that Washburn and Castillo installed this year leans on pressure from the front line, whereas Spagnuolo has been more known for blitz-heavy and zone-blitz schemes. It's possible that the Eagles are (a) happy with Castillo's performance in spite of the outside criticism and/or (b) loath to make major coaching and scheme changes again leading into next year, since that seems to have backfired in 2011. Spagnuolo could return to Philadelphia as defensive coordinator, but it's certainly no slam dunk.

New York Giants

There are Giants fans who'd like to see Spagnuolo back in New York as defensive coordinator. But first of all, you don't often see a guy make a direct backward career move like that. Second of all, the Giants like current defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, even though the team ranked 27th in total defense this year and the coverage issues in the secondary need to be addressed along with the linebacker position before next year. Third of all, I don't know if you heard, but the Giants just won this division and are in the playoffs, so they certainly won't be making any coaching changes for at least a week. And for those who thought Spagnuolo could come in as coordinator and be a coach-in-waiting behind Tom Coughlin -- the way the Giants have finished this season makes it very unlikely that Coughlin would be going anywhere anytime soon.

Dallas Cowboys

Obviously, Rob Ryan's first year as defensive coordinator in Dallas was a flop, but it'd be a surprise to see them give up on the well-regarded Ryan after just one year and without addressing the personnel issues they have in their own secondary. Also, the Cowboys likely would have to transition from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 under Spagnuolo. Possible? Sure, but it'd be a big surprise.

Washington Redskins

The defense was a strong point for the Redskins this year, and Mike Shanahan is pleased with the way the second year of the conversion to the 3-4 under Jim Haslett went. Haslett's safe.

Oh baby. Just two more days until... well, if you don't know, what are you doing here? Mooching links? That works. Plenty for everyone.

New York Giants

Even all these years later, the Giants carry the legacy of Lawrence Taylor and the urgency to play like crazed dogs. For that reason, Ian O'Connor writes, it's up to Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul to set the tone and win the must-win game against the Cowboys this Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.

Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell believes the Giants' defense played pretty well in the 37-34 victory over the Cowboys in Week 14 in Dallas, and that the problem was just a couple of specific breakdowns in the secondary. As you'd expect, Fewell and the Giants' defense believe they have those things corrected.

Dallas Cowboys

Emmitt Smith, one of the greatest and toughest players in the history of the NFL, wonders whether the Cowboys have the mental toughness they need to be champions. Tony Romo says they do. In other news, sometimes I miss covering baseball, where there's a game every night and people have less time to jabber about senseless garbage.

As for Romo, his bruised right hand remains an issue, as he's been practicing and throwing but has yet to take a snap from center since banging his hand on Jason Babin's helmet last Saturday. My feeling on this is that Romo will undoubtedly play Sunday, but that we won't know until we see him try to throw how much the hand injury really is affecting him.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jeff McLane takes a look at the 12 pending free agents the Eagles have and the decisions that will, won't or should be made on each of them. Jeff thinks DeSean Jackson, Antonio Dixon and Derek Landri should be back, and that Trevor Laws and Owen Schmitt should not. You take a look and let me know what you think.

Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo thinks Eagles safety Nate Allen will be a Pro Bowler some day. The first thing everyone who reads this is thinking is: "Will Castillo be his coach when that happens?"

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan says he has no doubt he'll be back next season as coach of the Redskins, quickly adding that he hopes owner Dan Snyder feels the same way. Shanahan is two years deep into a five-year contract and certain to get a chance to see it through. As you already know, I will be talking with Shanahan today. I appreciate all of the questions I have received from you guys, and will endeavor to ask as many of them as I can.

One thing that's working the way Shanahan hopes and expects it to is the running game, where there seems to be a different star every week and rookie Evan Royster was the star this week, as it seems we can add him to the list of very good running backs on whom the Redskins plan to rely in 2012.

It's Friday. These are links. That makes them the Friday links.

Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones said he thought his comments from earlier in the week, when he said he was "scared" of the Eagles, were misinterpreted. Said he wasn't trying to send any kind of message to his team but rather to communicate his excitement about the game and the nervous energy that results from remembering how badly it went the last time. For the record, Jerry, that's exactly how I think everyone interpreted it. But maybe I'm wrong.

And Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who made headlines by calling the Eagles the "all-hype team" earlier in the year, is now raving about all of the talent they have on offense and how tough their speed makes them to stop. I think this is called overcompensating. And regardless of what anybody's trying to clarify, it seems to me certain members of the Cowboys organization are, in fact, terrified right now.

New York Giants

Justin Tuck is sick of all of the Giants-Jets pregame talk and says it's actually the Yankees -- not either of the football teams playing Saturday -- who own New York.

Ian O'Connor lists the folks with the most to lose in Saturday's game, and for the Giants he picks head coach Tom Coughlin, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and the Giants wide receivers who talked so tough about Darrelle Revis earlier in the week. Ian says there's precedent that tells him Revis can get motivated by stuff like that and play even better than usual.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jeff McLane knows the Eagles have an outside shot of still getting into the playoffs, but what he knows for sure is that 2012 will bring questions, and he's trying to look ahead and answer some of them, including what will happen with the logjam at cornerback and whether Asante Samuel is on his way out for real this time.

Oh, and about those 2011 playoff chances, Sam Donnellon points out that things looked bleak for the Packers this time last year, too, as they were coming off a loss to the Patriots and needed to win their final two games to get into the playoffs. The Eagles also need help, which is one major difference, but that does make this the second NFC East team this week to find itself compared to the Packers of a year ago in terms of circumstances and opportunity. Nothing from the Giants or Redskins on that so far, but I'll keep you posted.

Washington Redskins

Ever wonder what goes into preparing for and executing an NFL practice? Barry Svrluga has an inside look at the way the Redskins do it.

And Rich Campbell checks in with 36-year-old London Fletcher, who's having another career year and needs a new contract after it's over. Jim Haslett says he considers Fletcher the perfect person around which to continue building his defense.

New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell lit into his defense Thursday in a fiery session with reporters at the team's East Rutherford, N.J., training complex. Among other things, Fewell said he saw on his film review that some players were pulling up short on plays in Monday's loss in New Orleans and that the Giants will "get after" Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Sunday afternoon:

"Being the coach and the leader of the defense, that was disheartening," Fewell said. "It was disappointing more than disheartening. Because we don't coach that. I am going to say it like this, we don't coach pulling up short. We are not going to accept pulling up short so we won't pull up short again."

The Giants' once-fearsome pass rush has vanished in recent weeks. The Giants have five sacks in their past four games and didn't have any Monday against Drew Brees. The Giants know the pass rush with the four down linemen is the key to the defense, and Fewell vowed that it would look different against Rodgers on Sunday.

"We have to be very disciplined in our rush lanes," Fewell said. "But more so than disciplined, we got to get after his a--. If we do that and he scrambles, then that is the price he is going to have to pay because we are going to hit him. We are going to hit him."

It's obviously good for the Giants that Fewell is fired up and holding his players accountable for their lackluster play in Monday's game. It's good that Michael Strahan made a visit this week and talked to the defensive line. It's good that somebody in East Rutherford finds the defense's most recent effort unacceptable, because it was. But nothing Fewell or Strahan or anybody else who won't wear a Giants uniform Sunday says makes one bit of difference if the same angry feelings aren't also bubbling up inside Justin Tuck and Corey Webster and other Giants defenders who haven't been playing like themselves lately.

Fewell's tirade can only have an impact if it took root in the hearts of the men he coaches, and if they share in his embarrassment over the way they looked Monday. If they're going to continue to mope and wait for other guys to make plays, they're going to keep losing and probably get embarrassed again Sunday by the undefeated Packers. But if they're all as fired up as Fewell was Thursday, things could look a lot different. We have a little less than three days before we find out what kind of defense the Giants' players themselves plan to play Sunday -- inspired or, once again, defeatist.

Just two of our four teams played Sunday, as the NFL rolls along through its funky-scheduling part of the season. The result? A whale of a battle for third place in the NFC East between the Eagles and the Redskins. As we've been doing, we present the links in order of the current standings, with the Giants scheduled to play their Week 12 game tonight in New Orleans.

Dallas Cowboys (7-4)

The Landry Hat likes Rob Ryan, but it doesn't think a whole lot of his defense to this point, and it's hoping he has something cool up his sleeve the rest of the way that we haven't yet seen. I don't know. I think the Cowboys' defense has been pretty good for most of this season and that it's biggest problem is health. I think it looks a lot better with Mike Jenkins on the field, and maybe the issue is depth and not scheme. My $0.02.

It appears the cheerleader who got knocked over by Jason Witten in the Thanksgiving Day game has been told to drop her Twitter account. I have nothing, really, to say about this, but it's getting a lot of attention, so I figured I'd at least offer you guys a chance to talk about it.

New York Giants (6-4)

Linebacker Michael Boley didn't make the trip to New Orleans with the team and will miss his second game in a row tonight with his hamstring injury. That means more from Mark Herzlich, who earned praise from defensive coordinator Perry Fewell for his performance last week against the Eagles.

The Giants' pass rush hasn't played up to its own lofty standards in recent weeks, and the players involved said they're determined to do better. Fair enough, but I think this brings up one of the issues with the Giants. When they don't sack the quarterback, their defense is rather ordinary. The fact that the pass rush has gone south a little bit and they're all of a sudden losing games is alarming. Shouldn't other parts of the defense be able to pick that part up?

Philadelphia Eagles (4-7)

Phil Sheridan is asking "What now for Andy Reid?" after the loss that extinguished even the faintest of playoff hopes for the Eagles. Phil asks, "And what could possibly happen over the final five weeks to convince those disgusted, chanting fans that it would be a grand idea to bring Reid back for a 14th season?" I guess my answer is that, given the success Reid had in the first 12 years, I still don't understand how fan dissatisfaction can really be enough to force the firing of Reid unless the organization is convinced they can hire someone who's better, and I don't know who that is.

Hard to imagine, though, even if Reid does survive, that he'll bring back the same coaching staff. The assistants are apparently fighting with each other on the sideline during games. Yeah, getting pretty ugly in Philly,

Washington Redskins (4-7)

The key for the Redskins the rest of the way is finding out what they have for next year and beyond. And to that end, as Jason Reid writes, Roy Helu did a lot to help his own case Sunday as he also helped the Redskins win a game.

Santana Moss only caught four passes in his return from a broken hand, but don't underestimate the impact his return had. The Redskins missed him as a blocker and as a leader even as they missed him as a receiver, and I don't think it's a coincidence that they broke their losing streak in the game in which he returned to action.

How about some links to get you over that Wednesday hump? Yeah? Sound good. All right then.

New York Giants

How will the Giants rotate their pass-rushers once Justin Tuck returns from his injury and they can play him along with Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul? They have a plan, and it includes cutting the workload of Pierre-Paul, the second-year star who, according to defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, wears down a bit toward the end of games.

Ian Begley has the lowdown on the bye-week vacation plans of several Giants players, including Jim Cordle's trip home to Circlesville, Ohio, for the legendary Circlesville Pumpkin Show. I was all set to say my pick would be to go to Miami with Rolle and Phillips, but the idea of a pumkpin show that's achieved "legendary" status has me intrigued.

Washington Redskins

Should Redskins fans trust that Mike Shanahan knows what he's doing? Deron Snyder says you have no choice. Shanahan's in the second year of a five-year deal and is working and planning accordingly. If this has to be a slow build, then that's what it will be. And if they don't have a quarterback on their roster good enough to get them where they need to go, you can bet they'll do what they can to find one next spring.

Meanwhile, as of this morning, more than 6,000 votes had been cast in this Washington Post poll, and 86 percent of the respondents want John Beck to start at quarterback over Rex Grossman. Guess Grossman didn't fare very well in the most recent televised debate.

Dallas Cowboys

In retrospect, Jerry Jones wishes he'd said "no comment" when asked Sunday about Jason Garrett's play calling in the fourth quarter of the loss at New England. I've always felt it weird that Jones is such a regular presence in the Cowboys' locker room immediately after games, and as great as that is for those of us who cover the games, I've wondered if it would be better for Garrett and the players if he were a little less visible and vocal in the raw, emotional moments after games. I do not expect it to change, though.

As they continue to tinker (out of necessity) with the offensive line, the Cowboys have released kick returner Dwayne Harris. Earlier on Tuesday, they put rookie guard Bill Nagy on injured reserve. The replacements are guards Montrae Holland (yeah, he's back) and Daniel Loper, who the Cowboys hope can help plug holes in the struggling middle of their offensive line. Kevin Ogletree could get a look on kick returns with Harris gone.

Philadelphia Eagles

Les Bowen writes that the Eagles did a much better job Sunday of protecting Michael Vick, but that the last piece of that puzzle is Vick learning to be more careful and making sure to protect himself. Like the Jerry Jones thing, this is something I don't expect to change.

For all of the issues the Eagles have had this year, especially on the offensive line, it's worth asking where they'd be without the versatility and overall excellence of Todd Herremans, who's played three different positions on the line since the start of training camp and been a rock.

All right. That's it for now. Off to compile this week's All-Division Team. I know you don't want to wait any longer for that than you have to.

Larry Fitzgerald and Antrel Rolle were teammates for years with the Arizona Cardinals, so Fitzgerald is looking forward to seeing Rolle on Sunday when Rolle and the New York Giants head to Arizona for their Week 4 game. Whether the Giants are looking forward to seeing Fitzgerald is another story. As one of the elite wide receivers in the league and the clear No. 1 target for Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb, Fitzgerald looms as perhaps the most important person on the field for the Giants to stop if they want to come out of this game 3-1.

Stopping him is easier said than done, but with Rolle, Kenny Phillips and veteran Deon Grant at safety, the Giants have enough depth there to give them a puncher's chance. As Mike Garafolo points out in that link up there, the only way teams seem to have a chance against Fitzgerald is to use bracket coverage against him, doubling him with a cornerback and a safety on pretty much every play.

Fitzgerald is 6-foot-3, which gives him a three-inch height advantage on each of the Giants' starting cornerbacks, Corey Webster and Aaron Ross. The Giants would be wise to assign Webster to him for a couple of reasons. First, Webster has the leaping ability to at least compete with Fitzgerald and give him a chance to help make up for the height differential. And second, Ross is still finding his way as a starter in place of the injured Terrell Thomas. Ross had a rough game in Week 2 against the Rams but played well in Week 3 against the Eagles, and it would probably make more sense to keep him on other Cardinals receivers and help him continue to build confidence.

But even if they assign Webster to Fitzgerald, he's going to need help, and that's where one of the Giants' defensive strengths comes in. Their depth at the safety position, and their ability and willingness to put three safeties on the field when they go down to two linebackers on passing downs, should enable defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to constantly have a safety help out Webster over the top against Fitzgerald. There's no guarantee it will work, of course. Fitzgerald wouldn't have fashioned the career he has so far if he weren't able to beat double-teams. But unlike a lot of teams, the Giants have a lot of options and flexibility when it comes to making those double-teams as strong as possible. Phillips, Rolle and Grant are as solid a group of safeties as there is in the league.

The Friday links are up. Enjoy 'em.

Dallas Cowboys

Fresh injury on the offensive line, as Derrick Dockery, the Week 2 starter at left guard, has a knee injury and will miss Monday night's game. Rookie and Week 1 starter Bill Nagy looks like he's in line to start in his place. Are the Cowboys as banged-up on offense as the Giants are on defense? As of now, their starting quarterback, center, top two wide receivers and starting running back have a chance to miss Monday's game in addition to Dockery, and tight end Jason Witten plans to play with rib injuries. London Fletcher and the rejuvenated Redskins defense must be salivating.

Tony Romo's not close to being ready to play, Clarence Hill writes, but that doesn't mean he won't be ready by Monday night. Long way to go yet on this story.

New York Giants

Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell would neither confirm nor deny the assertion by former Giants linebacker Bryan Kehl that he (Fewell) coaches guys to fake injuries to slow down an opposing offense. Which of course means he does. But enough of this story, right?

Osi Umenyiora finally talked about his contract dispute with the team, which was resolved over a month ago, though not to Umenyiora's satisfaction because the Giants resolved it by just not doing anything and expecting him to play for his contract. I think people are sick of this story too and just want to know now when Umenyiora might play. He still doesn't seem to know.

Philadelphia Eagles

It seems clear by now that Michael Vick will start for the Eagles on Sunday in spite of the concussion he suffered in Week 2. The key, of course, as Bob Ford writes, is finding a better way to make sure Vick doesn't get another one.

Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said the shift of linebackers could just be a temporary fix designed specifically to help the Eagles stop the Giants' running game this week. Pshaw. If it works, they're really going to go back to the alignment that the Rams and Falcons gashed? I call shenanigans. And I already called pshaw. So that's pshaw and shenanigans on the same story. Your move, Juan Castillo.

Washington Redskins

Brandon Banks is really fast, and he likes talking about how fast he is. Banks is one of those guys who makes you stop and watch the kickoffs and punts, because you hold your breath knowing he's going to break one and you don't want to miss it when he does. Fast and fearless. Good combination for someone in his job.

Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett supports DeAngelo Hall's stated plan to hit Romo in the busted ribs, if only because that may be the only place the rules allow you to hit a quarterback.

The New York Giants' injury situation may have reached the point of absurdity.

Multiple reports have surfaced Tuesday afternoon that Jonathan Goff, the Giants' starting middle linebacker, has a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2011-12 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports via Twitter that the team is planning to sign former Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell to replace him.

This is really ridiculous now, and you have to wonder how much more of this the Giants can possibly take. They've already lost starting cornerback Terrell Thomas and backup linebacker Clint Sintim for the year with ACL injuries. Cornerback and first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara is out for the first month or so with a broken foot. Defensive tackle and second-round pick Marvin Austin is out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is coming off knee surgery and will miss at least the first week and probably more. And that's just the defensive damage report. On offense, they're reasonably healthy but did lose wide receiver Steve Smith and tight end Kevin Boss to free agency and didn't replace either one.

The Giants have maintained all along that their developmental depth was strong and they would be able to handle injuries, but the fact is their relatively inactive offseason and the injuries that have dogged them since the lockout ended have left them thin at several key spots, none more so now than linebacker. They believed they were set with Goff, Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka as starters, and the four reserve linebackers they kept when they made their cuts Saturday were all rookies. Now, it looks as though they could bring in Mitchell, who played for the Giants in 2007 and for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell in 2008-09 when both were in Buffalo, to add some veteran presence. But Mitchell isn't a middle linebacker. So if he's there to add depth and not to man the middle, you could see a rookie such as Greg Jones or Mark Herzlich get some time at that middle spot, or the Giants might look again to the waiver wire for someone like Keith Bulluck or Lofa Tatupu.

Regardless, five days from the regular-season opener in Washington, the Giants had hoped their rotten injury luck was behind them for this year. There is a lot of talent on their roster, and especially on their defense. But they're reaching the point where you have to wonder if this is too many injuries to overcome. I've never been big on Goff as a starting middle linebacker, but he was their starter. Without him, they will scramble, and likely be worse than they would have been with him. If this was the first of these injuries, it'd be easy to say sure, they can take it. But it's not. Far from it.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning and New York Giants fans aren't the only ones concerned about the changes the team has undergone in the receiving corps and on the offensive line this offseason. The Giants' defensive players have been watching it all unfold, too, and they think they can help.

"We know our offense is kind of struggling right now with some of the departures," cornerback Terrell Thomas said last week. "But we're already saying, if we've got to be the Ravens of '01 when they won the Super Bowl and just have to shut teams out, that's what we're going to do."

That's pretty big talk from a defense as inconsistent as the Giants' D has been lately. As good as it looked at times last year, sacking Jay Cutler nine times in the first half in a home game against the Bears, for example, it could also play badly enough to give up 28 points in the fourth quarter to Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and the Eagles. The Giants' problem on defense the past couple of years has been an inability to consistently be as good as they keep telling us they are.

"Sometimes last year we were the No. 1 defense in the NFL, and other times we were just an average defense out there," Thomas said. "It was a lack of focus. You could call it a lack of leadership. I don't know what you want to call it, but plain and simple, we're too good of a group, collectively, to play to the level we did at times."

So they say. And so they keep saying. But 2010 was the second season in a row that the Giants' defense came up small in the second half and the team missed the playoffs. The week after the meltdown against the Eagles, they weren't even in their game against the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers. When the dust settled on that one, the Giants had allowed 73 points over two critical weeks and needed help (which they did not get) to make the playoffs.

So, what's different about 2011? Why should we believe the Giants when they tell us this won't happen again?

"I think the biggest thing is, we have Coach [Perry] Fewell back," Thomas said, referring to the second-year defensive coordinator. "The last three years, we had three different coordinators, and people don't take that into account. We're learning a new defense every year, and at the same time, the coaches are learning us and our ways. Coach Fewell does a great job of putting us in key positions to use our skill sets, and I think having a year underneath his belt, knowing exactly what each and every player can, do, will definitely help us on Sundays."

Kenny Phillips is another reason the Giants think they can be better on defense. An emerging star at safety in 2009, Phillips blew out his knee and lost that entire season. Last year, he played, but he said he wasn't as "explosive" as he'd been in the past. This year, he feels the way he did two years ago.

"Last year was kind of difficult, just being able to break on the ball -- to actually see it and then be able to get to it," Phillips said. "Last year a lot of times, I saw it, but I wasn't able to get to the ball. But this year, now, everything is just fluid. I just feel good about everything this year."

Drafting cornerback Prince Amukamara was supposed to help the secondary, but when Amukamara got hurt in his first practice, the team decided to bring back veteran safety Deon Grant, who was a key player for them last year as they feature some three-safety looks they could use again. With Thomas, Phillips, Grant, Antrel Rolle and Corey Webster, the Giants could have one of the best secondaries in the league.

The emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul on the defensive line also could be a factor in the Giants' hopes of improving as a defense. He gives them another edge rusher to add to the rotation with Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, and allows them to move Mathias Kiwanuka to linebacker, where they were thin. They hope that Jonathan Goff can make strides in his second year as the starting middle linebacker, and that their young defensive tackles are ready for greater roles.

"There's tremendous potential here," Kiwanuka said. "We have a great core group of guys. Perry, you know he's going to call the right numbers at the right time. If we live up to our potential, we'll dominate."

If, if, if. That's what it's been for the Giants' defense over the past couple of years. This season, they're determined to get rid of the "if." They absolutely have to.

"You look at that Monday night game versus Dallas," Thomas said of a game the Giants won 41-35 after knocking Tony Romo out with a broken collarbone. "They took the early lead, and we came back and whipped their butts and shut them down, and then in that fourth quarter, we just kind of gave up. That's where you look and say 'more consistency.' When we gave up touchdowns, most of the time, big plays, they were all mental errors. All communication."

They're better than that, is the Giants' point. They've been saying it now for two years. And they may well be right. But it's time they proved it.