ESPN NFL

Yeah, look. There's no point in trying to deceive anyone. I'm checking out for the weekend. This is one of my very favorite weekends of the year, and I'm going to get it started early. This is the last blog post I'm writing today, and other than a phone interview on NFL32 at 6 p.m., work is over for me for the week. But before I go off to a weekend of char-grilled relaxation, I wanted to do a "one more thing" post. What's a "one more thing" post, you ask? Well, it's something I just thought up where I go through each of our four teams and raise one issue we haven't been discussing very much on the blog. They're all going to be positive issues, because I don't want anyone to go into the weekend upset. We'll do them in order of how close each team's home stadium is to my house, because I just decided that as well.

New York Giants

Corey Webster should get more love. The Giants have question marks at cornerback this year, with Terrell Thomas coming back from injury and 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara still learning on the job. But what doesn't get mentioned enough when we talk about those two is Webster, who had an absolutely incredible year in 2011. The Giants asked him quite often to play the Darrelle Revis role of the corner who just plasters himself to the other team's best wideout and keeps him from making plays. Webster was, far more often than not, up to the task. He's 30 years old now and doesn't get mentioned with the league's best corners, but he played like one of them last year, and another year like that will make sure he's on the national radar.

Philadelphia Eagles

I think the biggest thing working in Demetress Bell's favor as he works at the very difficult task of replacing Jason Peters as the Eagles' left tackle is the rest of the offensive line. Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Danny Watkins and Todd Herremans teamed with Peters last year to form maybe the best run-blocking line in the league. They are a confident, outgoing bunch of players who are eager to help, and Bell is certainly getting by-the-second lessons on Howard Mudd's blocking scheme from his new linemates. Bell doesn't have Peters' athleticism, and that's certainly likely to show up at times this year. But he's going to get a lot of help from some linemen who played extremely well together last year, and he's in a position to exceed expectations.

Washington Redskins

Don't rule out Pierre Garcon as No. 1 wide receiver material. No, of course he's never really been that traditional No. 1 we all think of when we think of guys like Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. But Garcon doesn't even turn 26 years old until August. He had 70 catches and 947 yards last year for a Colts team that was using Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky at quarterback. And after deciding that one of his top priorities this offseason was finding a No. 1 receiver, Mike Shanahan picked Garcon from among the available free agents. This was the guy he wanted. The Redskins signed him within the first five minutes of free agency. For his offense, Shanahan was looking for a receiver with the speed and athleticism to catch the ball on a slant route and take it the distance. In Garcon, he sees a young man who can be that guy. Garcon will play with a rookie quarterback this year, as you're all aware, but he'll also grow and develop along with that quarterback, and the Redskins believe they have plucked a future No. 1 wide receiver just as he's about to become one.

Dallas Cowboys

Sean Lee wasn't having a good year before his dislocated his wrist. He was having an eye-poppingly fantastic year. Wherever the ball was, there Lee seemed to be at critical moments, to make an interception, deliver a big tackle or break up a pass. He played fine after the injury, when he came back with that big old cast on his arm, but lost in the way the Cowboys' defense melted down at the end of 2011 was that Lee had been one of the best defensive players in the league for the first month. Assuming he's back to full health, Lee could be a monster player for the Cowboys in 2012 -- the kind of do-everything defensive leader they've lacked for so long. DeMarcus Ware is the best player on the defense (some say on any defense), and it's doubtful Lee will ever match him. But given Ware's preference for keeping to himself and out of the media spotlight, Lee's the kind of guy you can imagine emerging, assuming he plays the way he did early last season, as the face of the Cowboys' defense in the coming years. Last year's disappointment shouldn't dim the hopes Cowboys fans have for more great things to come from Lee.

And that's it for now. I really do mean it about this being one of my favorite weekends, and I hope it is for you too. Memorial Day is the day to remember the people who died fighting to protect us. People who literally died so that you and I could keep sitting here arguing about sports. I have no idea if I could die for my country, and as a result I am incredibly appreciative of the people who have done it and allowed me the time and freedom to keep wondering. Think about them as you enjoy the first weekend of the summertime, because we owe them that and much more.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Giants in 2012.

Dream scenario (12-4): The last time the the Giants won the Super Bowl, they followed it up with a 12-4 season and claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. It seems a fair bet that, this time, their top wide receiver won't shoot himself in the leg with an unlicensed firearm in a nightclub and severely damage their playoff chances. The Giants remain extremely strong at quarterback, wide receiver and pass-rusher in a pass-heavy NFL era, and for that reason they have reason to believe they can be a much better regular-season team than the one that went 9-7 and made the playoffs on the final day last season. In the Giants' dream scenario, Hakeem Nicks recovers from his broken foot in time to start the season, second-round pick Rueben Randle wins the No. 3 wide receiver spot and someone -- perhaps first-rounder David Wilson -- steps forward to be the running back who can spell Ahmad Bradshaw when he needs a rest. Terrell Thomas comes back healthy and continues along the career path that, this time last year, had him on track to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Keith Rivers solidifies the linebacker corps, and Jason Pierre-Paul and Victor Cruz build on their breakout seasons as the Giants get back into the playoffs and make a real run at defending their title.

Nightmare scenario (6-10): The Nicks injury is a reminder that the Giants did lose some depth this offseason. And although they are (a) very strong if their front-line starters are healthy, (b) very good at filling needs internally and (c) always at least in contention even when they miss the playoffs, the likelihood of the nightmare scenario is unimportant to this exercise. This is about imagining, and in the Giants' nightmare scenario their key starters -- such as Nicks, Cruz, Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Bradshaw -- struggle with injury or ineffectiveness. Eli Manning reverts to his interception-happy ways of 2011. Thomas struggles to get back to where he was, Prince Amukamara fails to take the next step forward, and they still can't find a reliable middle linebacker from among the crew they bring to camp. The nightmare scenario also sees the offensive line struggle, especially at the left tackle spot, where Will Beatty was a work in progress in 2011 before eye problems ended his season. Should these troubles come to pass, the Giants would have to lean heavily on their rookies, and it's unlikely that Wilson, Randle and Jayron Hosley could all emerge as successful starters in their first year in the NFL. Again, the Giants' nightmare scenario seems unlikely, but if it happens, it will have to do with depth issues behind the starters.

John Clayton has a preview of some of the hot issues teams face as organized team activities (or OTAs) begin this week. The only NFC East mentions in his piece are about the Philadelphia Eagles, and they are this one:

The Eagles signed Demetress Bell to replace left tackle Jason Peters, who is out for the season after tearing his Achilles twice. Bell was previously Peters' replacement in Buffalo but didn't stand out.

and this one:

Dream Team, take two: The Eagles were the winners of the 2011 offseason but losers when they underachieved last season and didn't make the playoffs. The key to OTAs is seeing whether they are going in the right direction on defense. Last year, they brought in man-to-man specialists Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and played them in zone. Andy Reid brought in secondary coach Todd Bowles to help defensive coordinator Juan Castillo sort out the plan in the secondary and see whether the Eagles can match up better with the talent on hand.

And yeah, as was the case when the 2011 season started, I think it's fair to say the Eagles will be the most compelling national story out of our division. Much is expected, and given the way they flopped last year, they'll be under even more scrutiny this year.

But we deal with all four teams equally here, so playing off of John's column, I figured it'd be a good idea to pick something to watch for each of our other three teams this week. Remember that these offseason workouts are voluntary, so not all of the players we're looking at will necessarily be on the field. The Redskins' OTAs begin today, the Eagles and Cowboys start theirs Tuesday and the Giants get on the field Wednesday.

Dallas Cowboys

Lining up the line: The injury that will keep free-agent guard Mackenzy Bernadeau out for the spring and summer deprives the Cowboys of a chance they were expecting to see Bernadeau at center. It also removes him temporarily from the offseason competition for one of the guard spots, and will give players such as David Arkin, Bill Nagy, Nate Livings and Kevin Kowalski a head-start on him as they get an early chance to show the coaches what they can do.

New York Giants

The replacements: The Giants have to figure some things out on the line as well, and they'll take a look this offseason at whether Will Beatty is making progress as the starting left tackle and whether veteran David Diehl is the solution at right tackle with Kareem McKenzie gone. But they also want to see whether first-round pick David Wilson can replace running back Brandon Jacobs, whether second-round pick Rueben Randle can emerge from the crowd hoping to replace wide receiver Mario Manningham, and whether Terrell Thomas and/or Prince Amukamara is healthy enough to replace cornerback Aaron Ross.

Washington Redskins

Here, catch! We know rookie Robert Griffin III is the guy who'll be throwing the ball for the Redskins -- now and, ideally, for the long-term future. But Washington still needs to sort out who's going to catch it. Free-agent signees Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan are obviously going to get the first shot at prominent roles in the receiving corps, and the coaching staff remains excited about 2011 rookie Leonard Hankerson. But veteran Santana Moss will also push for a role, and there are several holdovers at the wide receiver spot who will look to catch the coaches' attention this offseason so as not to get lost in the shuffle. And that doesn't even take into account tight end Fred Davis, who was the Redskins' best receiver last year.

We roll on through mid-May, the veritable dog days of the NFL offseason. But as your hunger for NFL news and notes cannot be satiated, I continue each day to come bearing links.

Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray called into "SportsCenter" to talk about a few things. He says his ankle is fully healed and ready to go, that it's fair to label the 2011 Cowboys underachievers, and that Tony Romo is a "great leader" and responsible for the success Murray had in his brief time last year as the Cowboys' starting running back.

Phil Costa knows he needs to play better as the Cowboys' starting center in 2012 than he did in 2011, and as part of his effort to do that he's been studying tape of Jets center Nick Mangold, regarded by many as the best in the league. New Cowboys offensive line coach Bill Callahan was Mangold's offensive line coach in New York prior to taking his current position with Dallas.

New York Giants

Terrell Thomas has a lot going on as he continues to work his way back from the knee injury that cost him the entire 2011 season. He says he'll enjoy getting his Super Bowl ring Wednesday, but that he still won't consider it "his own," and he's intent on winning what he sees as a competition with 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara for a starting cornerback spot. The progress of Thomas, who looked to be a star in the making this time last year, will be one of the intriguing stories of the Giants' offseason. Though I'm sure st8prop can come up with a reason why that's technically inaccurate.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who works actively with U.S. service personnel and takes every opportunity to honor and thank them in public, is receiving the U.S. Army's Outstanding Civilian Service Award in a ceremony next week in Arlington, Va.

Philadelphia Eagles

You may have seen the report Monday evening that Eagles left tackle Jason Peters re-injured his surgically repaired Achilles tendon when the device he was using to help him move around post-surgery fell apart, and he had to have a second surgery. Really rough break for Peters, and if there was any slim chance of his playing in 2012 you'd have to think that's gone now. At this point, you have to wonder about Peters beyond this year. Two surgeries on the same vital tendon for a guy his size who does what he does for a living ... that sounds like a lot from which to come back.

The hot name out of Eagles rookie camp was that of second-round draft pick Mychal Kendricks. And while this is obviously getting ahead of things, the idea that one or both of their new linebackers might be good enough that they could do different things on defense because of them (rather than just bringing in guys to plug gaping holes and do no harm) is an interesting concept for Eagles fans and certainly their defensive coaches.

Washington Redskins

Mike Jones takes a stab at projecting the starters for the 2012 Redskins, and predicts position battles at left guard, right tackle, running back, wide receiver and of course both safety positions. You can see on Jones' chart the spots at which the Redskins are hoping to attack a deficiency with improved depth.

Tim Hightower looked around and would have liked to find something better than the one-year deal he got to return to the Redskins. But since he's coming off a serious knee injury and running backs didn't exactly break the bank this offseason, he understands. He tells Rich Campbell he's grateful for the chance to prove himself, and maybe he can get that nicer deal a year from now.

Every Saturday, we do this mailbag thing, where I go through and take questions -- one for each team, generally. This week, I have to say, the mailbag's a little thin. I know it's been a slow week, but those happen. I still need the questions. Step up your game, mailbaggers! (Just kidding. You guys know I love you no matter what. And reading through some of these mailbag questions, I really mean no matter what.)

James from Blacksburg, Va., is a Virginia Tech student and a fan of cornerback Jayron Hosley, the third-round pick of the New York Giants. He's enjoying the publicity Hosley is getting as a candidate for the nickel cornerback spot with the Super Bowl champs, but he wonders if it's not fairer to assume that second-year cornerback Prince Amukamara (last year's first-round pick) should be expected to take a bigger 2012 leap than Hosley.

Dan Graziano: Yes, James. People tend to be prisoners of the moment, and for that reason this year's picks seem more exciting at this point than maybe last year's do -- especially when last year's is someone like Amukamara, who didn't make the kind of impact fans might have expected him to make as a rookie. But assuming he's over his foot problems, and given a full season and offseason in a Giants organization that likes to stress player development, yes, I would expect Amukamara to make a major leap forward and have a better chance of contributing on defense this year than Hosley should in his first year with the Giants. Just the way things work there. Also, by the way, I was covering the Yankees in March of 2008 when they went to play that game at Virginia Tech. Loved the campus. Beautiful, with all of the "Hokie Stone" buildings. That was a special day.

---

Mark from Bossier City, La., is "concerned the Dallas Cowboys did not do enough to address their weaknesses in the interior of both their lines," and says he thinks specifically of the way the Cowboys were dominated on the interior of the offensive and defensive lines in the two late-season games against the Giants that effectively cost Dallas the division title.

DG: Yeah, I think your concern is legitimate, Mark. On the defensive side, they remain committed to Jay Ratliff at nose tackle (as opposed to moving him to defensive end), and the big problem with Ratliff is the way he wears down late in the season. If someone like Josh Brent can take a step forward and give Ratliff more of a breather earlier in the year, they might get to December with Ratliff still playing his best. Part of the problem in those two Giants games was that Ratliff was banged up. As for the offense, they like the two guards they drafted last year -- David Arkin and Bill Nagy -- and they specifically targeted free agents Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau this year. So while, as you point out, Livings and Bernadeau don't come with the most stellar resumes, there's something about both guys they think can work for them. They believe that something will emerge in training camp from the deep mix of guards they've brought in over the past two offseasons, and they might be right. My issue is that I think center was their biggest problem last season, and I don't know yet whether Nagy or Bernadeau can be an upgrade over Phil Costa if they decide Costa's still not good enough.

---

Jeff from Gainesville, Va., wrote in with a number of questions, but the one I'm going to address is about the Washington Redskins' running back situation. Jeff thinks that, with Tim Hightower still unsigned and Roy Helu and Evan Royster each entering just his second season, that it looks as though two or three backs will share the load and perhaps rookie Alfred Morris will move to fullback.

DG: Not sure what the plans are for Morris, but I agree that you can expect to see a couple of different backs rotate in and out of the "starting" role for the Redskins in 2012. Mike Shanahan's record on this front makes that an easy prediction. I know that they consider Hightower the most complete back of the bunch and the preferred starter if he re-signs and proves healthy. But there's plenty they like about both Helu and Royster, and at various times this year I'd expect to see either or both of them as a major factor. As any fantasy football player will tell you, there's no way to know from week to week which Shanahan back to expect.

---

Alex from Iowa wants to know if Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Marvin McNutt could be "Jason Avant 2.0," since "he's slightly bigger and faster with the possibility that he can develop even better hands."

DG: Sure, Alex. While Avant's been a valuable contributor at times over the past couple of years, he has yet to seize an opportunity to jump up to the next level when injuries/suspensions/whatever have thrust those upon him. They obviously see something they like in McNutt, and I believe that the Eagles' wide receiver picture behind DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin is wide open. I would not be surprised if a rookie got and took advantage of an opportunity to earn significant playing time, especially considering that tight end Brent Celek might be needed more as a blocker due to the injury to left tackle Jason Peters.

---

That's this week's mailbag, but we can do better. By Wednesday of next week, I want to be looking through this mailbag and seeing so many questions that I have to do a midweek mailbag as well as a weekend one. Maybe a video one, too. Remember those? Let's go, folks. Keep the questions coming!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The New York Giants are having a rookie minicamp at the end of this week. Thinking of going down there maybe Friday and picking up some fresh material for the blog. Meantime, Ohm Youngmisuk has a profile of one of the rookies who'll be in attendance -- Jayron Hosley, the cornerback the Giants drafted in the third round. Youngmisuk says Hosley could have an opportunity to challenge for the nickel cornerback role and the punt returner spot.

Now, the Giants don't generally rush their rookies, but the fact of what Youngmisuk says is there will be opportunities for someone like Hosley to contribute. Other than Corey Webster, the cornerbacks on the Giants' roster all seem to be coming off of serious 2011 injuries. And Prince Amukamara, whose training-camp injury healed enough to allow him to play late last season, isn't all that far ahead of Hosley in terms of his experience in the Giants' program.

It'll be interesting to see the extent to which the Giants' early-round picks factor into the plans for 2012. Their depth somewhat weakened by free-agent defections at running back, wide receiver and cornerback, they used their first three picks on those positions and later admitted to drafting for need more than they usually do. For that reason, players like David Wilson, Rueben Randle and Hosley could find themselves with more of a chance to make an immediate impact than a lot of rookies might on most Super Bowl champion teams.

Three picks for the New York Giants so far in the 2012 NFL draft, and two of them played at Virginia Tech. One night after ending the first round by taking running back David Wilson, the Giants used their third-round pick (No. 94 overall) to take Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley.

You could argue that each of the Giants' first three picks -- Wilson, wide receiver Rueben Randle and Hosley -- fill holes left by free agency. The Giants lost cornerback Aaron Ross in free agency to the Jaguars, just as they lost running back Brandon Jacobs and wide receiver Mario Manningham to the 49ers. So they were down a cornerback. But the return from injury of Terrell Thomas and the assumed second-year development of 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara should have had them covered at corner, so the wise presumption here is that this is a player the Giants like at a position where they don't believe it's possible to be too deep.

Hosley was a great player two years ago, coming up with nine interceptions as a sophomore. He wasn't as productive in his junior year, but the Giants surely believe he showed something in 201o that reflects what he can become as a pro. He's not very big, but the scouting reports say he has good ball skills and good zone coverage instincts.

As always with Giants picks, it's also possible they see Hosley as a player who can help on special teams or in the return game while he develops in the defense. With Mississippi tackle Bobby Massie inexplicably still on the board, it seemed as though this might be where the Giants addressed their need at tackle. But the Giants are fond of saying they don't draft for need, and this is one of those picks that backs up that assertion.

Cornerback Aaron Ross became the second member of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants to leave via free agency, signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars for three years and $15.3 million. As with the departure of wide receiver Mario Manningham, who signed with the 49ers over the weekend, Ross' defection was expected. Earlier this offseason there had been some talk of finding a way to keep Ross. But after the Giants re-signed cornerback Terrell Thomas last week, they looked at Ross as a reserve cornerback behind Thomas, Corey Webster and possibly even 2011 first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara. With that kind of depth at the position, they were only going to bring Ross back at their price, which was surely less than what he got from Jacksonville.

The Washington Redskins, looking to deepen their own secondary, had Ross in for a visit late last week and had interest in signing him as well. But as with the Giants, the Redskins weren't necessarily looking for a starter. They have DeAngelo Hall, Josh Wilson and the newly signed Cedric Griffin at cornerback. And while they would have liked to add Ross to that mix, they weren't willing to go as high as Jacksonville was to do so.

So the Giants feel they have the depth on their roster already to allow them to handle the loss of Ross, who won two Super Bowls with them and performed, overall, fairly well once he was thrust into a starter's role this past season due to Thomas' preseason knee injury. A former first-round pick, Ross had some 2011 games in which he flashed that first-round talent, and surely that's what caught the eye of Jacksonville, Washington and other interested teams.

Expect the Redskins to continue to hunt for free agents who can help add depth to their secondary, and don't rule out cornerback for them as a possibility in the middle rounds of the draft next month. They're picking a quarterback in the first round and don't have a second-round pick, but they still have a third-rounder and two fourths, and they still could use reinforcements in the secondary.

All right, well, it was a bit of a quiet weekend in the NFC East. A guard here, a backup quarterback there, a wide receiver leaving the champs for the conference runner-up. That was about it, and each of our four teams will enter the second week of free agency with more work left to do. I will, of course, be here to chronicle and analyze it all for you, just as soon as I have my links.

Dallas Cowboys

Calvin Watkins writes that the Cowboys have some interest in linebacker Erik Walden, a former Cowboys draft pick who had a nice year for the Packers but made the wrong kind of headlines last November. I guess I'll just leave his ugly alleged transgressions alone for now and say, yeah, he'd help the pass rush.

Clarence Hill has nothing but praise for the Cowboys' targeted approach so far in free agency. You know by now that I agree with him. Critique each individual signing if you must, but (a) we don't actually know how these guys are going to play and (b) picking out players you like because you believe they fit what you do is a lot better than just grabbing for the most recognizable names. Interesting nugget in Clarence's column: He seems pretty certain they'll go after guard David DeCastro in the first round of the draft.

New York Giants

Ohm runs down the Giants' options for a No. 3 wide receiver now that Mario Manningham is in San Francisco. These include waiting out the free-agent market and finding a bargain, drafting someone like Baylor's Kendall Wright with the No. 32 pick in the draft or just finding the solution internally, as the Giants like to do, from a group that includes Ramses Barden, Jerrel Jernigan and Domenik Hixon. My guess is they'll do at least one of the first two, but not in such a way as to rule out the internal solution as a possibility.

Prince Amukamara showed up on crutches at an autograph session over the weekend and a report got out that he'd had surgery on the foot he broke last year in training camp. Turns out it was a different kind of procedure -- an injection, like the ones Ahmad Bradshaw gets for his broken foot. So not surgery, but still, don't you have to wonder now if this is an issue that lingers as Bradshaw's has?

Philadelphia Eagles

I've consistently been amazed, since the Eagles' disappointing 8-8 season, at the extent to which quarterback Michael Vick has escaped blame. Not that it was all Vick's fault, of course, but his interceptions were a huge part of the problem, and that doesn't get harped on nearly as much as does Juan Castillo's defense or DeSean Jackson's pouting or Andy Reid's refusal to call enough plays for LeSean McCoy. But Sheil Kapadia's a sharp guy, and he writes, in the wake of the Evan Mathis re-signing, that it's going to be very hard for Vick to escape blame if it all goes wrong again.

Jeff McLane doesn't think the Eagles will be able to lure Stephen Tulloch away from Detroit or pay Curtis Lofton what he wants, so he runs down some other options for the Eagles at linebacker on the free-agent market. Yeah, London Fletcher's name is in there. And, yeah, it should be. Jeff points out that Fletcher will be 37 at the start of the season, which would generally be a turn-off. But anyone who's watched and been around Fletcher knows that he's an unusual case and still at the very top of his game. And what do the Eagles care about 37? Don't they have to win this year?

Washington Redskins

Rex Grossman is under no illusions about his role on the Redskins' 2012 roster after signing another one-year contract with the team. He knows they're planning to draft their new franchise quarterback, and that said quarterback is certain to be the starter. And he says he'll be happy to help.

LaRon Landry's drawing interest, The Washington Post reports, from the Jets, Patriots and Lions. But this is only a Redskins story in that Landry is a guy who once played for the Redskins. At this point, if he were to return in 2012, it would be a complete shock.

NFL free agency doesn't begin for about six more hours, but teams can still sign their own free agents before then, and the New York Giants have reached an agreement with one of theirs. Adam Schefter reports that the Giants have agreed on a new contract with free-agent cornerback Terrell Thomas, who missed the entire 2011 season due to an ACL injury suffered in a preseason game.

It was an important signing for the Giants as they head into free agency very close to the salary cap. Cornerback Aaron Ross is also a free agent, but since he's healthy and coming off a good year, Ross was always more likely to get more on the open market than Thomas was. Assuming Thomas can come back healthy, Corey Webster can continue to play the way he played this past year and 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara can step up his performance in his second year, the Giants are positioned to weather the loss of Ross via free agency. That's not to say they won't make an effort to bring back Ross, but it's not going to be easy, and since Thomas was always likely to be cheaper, they felt it was important to make sure and keep him off the market.

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.

We had our weekly chat Tuesday, and if you missed it, that's just too bad for you. A mere recap of a few of the highlights is a poor substitute for the glory that is the chat itself. But I offer it anyway, because I understand that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to experience these things first-hand. You had work, school, nap, whatever. You forgot. Whatever the reason, I'm disappointed, but I'm here for you.

Alex from NY asked about Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill as a possible quarterback solution for the Washington Redskins at No. 6 in the draft.

Dan Graziano: He's a wild card. Converted WR who I think made 30 college starts at QB. Can he move all the way up to No. 6 pick territory between now and April 26? He's not there yet, from what I've seen, but he could be this year's Christian Ponder -- a guy who goes much sooner than anyone expected because of the importance placed on that position. Long time between now and the draft. I always go back to two years ago, when at this point Mark Sanchez was a late first-rounder but the Jets traded all the way up to 5 to pick him on Day One.

Gobizzle from D.C. wanted to know whether the Dallas Cowboys might finally move Jay Ratliff to defensive end from nose tackle this offseason.

DG: I believe it'd make sense to move him out there. If they can't upgrade over Anthony Spencer at OLB, which is a possibility, they'll need playmakers on the ends. I'd look for a big, monster NT to eat up blockers and let Ratliff do his more athletic thing on the edge.

Luke M from NJ asked whether offensive line or defensive back was a more important position for the New York Giants to address this offseason.

DG: I think the line is more important, since they have last year's first-round pick, Prince Amukamara, as well as possibly Terrell Thomas in the DB mix. The line is aging, Kareem McKenzie is a free agent, David Diehl won't be there forever... they need to be thinking about what their line will look like for the next half-decade or so.

Mike from New Lisbon asked whether the Philadelphia Eagles would fire Andy Reid if they failed to reach the Super Bowl this coming season.

DG: I don't see how they have to reach the Super Bowl. What if they have the year the Packers just had -- go 15-1 and lose in the playoffs? Can you fire a coach off of that?

And then Person from DC helpfully pointed out that the Chargers once fired Marty Schottenheimer off a 14-2 season that included a first-round playoff exit, so it does happen.

DG: It does. And it could. My point is that the Eagles have to have a great season, but that you can have a great season and still not reach the Super Bowl. Also, I think there were some personality conflicts in San Diego with Schottenheimer and management.

Again, we do this every Tuesday. Next week, please do drop by.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It's tough playing cornerback for the New York Giants, where the defensive line gets all the love and the best cornerback in the league plays for the other New York team. And for much of this season, the Giants' secondary was the team's Achilles' heel -- a near-laughingstock that was famously ridiculed on national TV by Cris Collinsworth and obviously targeted by opposing offenses.

But anyone who's played defensive back in the NFL will tell you how important it is to have a short memory and a ton of confidence, no matter how much attention anyone's paying to you. As the Giants prepare to play the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, their secondary remains unbowed and as confident as ever.

"If you keep doing your job, the attention will come," Giants cornerback Corey Webster said Friday. "Me, I think I'm great. I think I'm the best thing out there. I'm sure Aaron Ross feels the same way, and our whole secondary feels the same way. That's how you're supposed to feel when you take that field."

There were certainly times this year when the men in the Giants' secondary could have justifiably felt otherwise. Only three teams gave up more passing yards than the 4,082 the Giants allowed. And while those three -- Green Bay, New Orleans and New England -- were among the very best teams in the league, a number like that still isn't good for your personal or professional pride. After a four-game losing streak in which they allowed an average of 304 passing yards per game, a victory over Dallas in which they allowed 305 more and a loss to the Redskins in which Rex Grossman was 7-for-10 on third downs, the Giants' secondary looked like such an easy target that Mark Sanchez and the Jets threw 59 passes against them in the Christmas Eve game.

That turned out to be a huge mistake, however, as the Giants' secondary was in the process of turning a corner. They blanketed the Jets' receivers, won that game and haven't lost since. And while the defense still lives and dies with the performance of its pass-rushing linemen, the performance of the secondary has been a big part of the five-game win streak that has landed the Giants in the Super Bowl.

"Our play speaks for itself," said Giants safety Antrel Rolle, who does more than his own fair share of speaking. "There are a lot of reasons we've played better. We're more focused. We're on the same page with our defensive coordinator. And we're on the same page with each other, and that's the biggest improvement."

The enduring images of the Giants' secondary from last Sunday's NFC Championship victory over the 49ers are the two times San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis got behind them for long touchdowns. But true to the defensive back's code, the Giants' DBs were pointing out this week that Davis only caught one other pass, that the 49ers only caught 12 total and that six of those were caught by the running back. Safety Deon Grant said the first Davis touchdown wasn't the result of Rolle getting beat, but rather the result of zone coverage that wasn't executed correctly, and that the Giants' safeties and cornerbacks relish the challenge of slowing down the Patriots' great tight ends the way they did the Packers' Jermichael Finley two weeks ago in Green Bay.

"Those tight ends are more like tight end/wide receiver combinations, so it falls right into what we do," Grant said. "We have safeties who can cover, corners who can cover. When we're matched up against these best tight ends out there, we don't want to play zone. We want to play man-to-man and show off our skills."

You can't play defensive back in the NFL without that level of confidence, whether justified or not. And the Giants' defensive backs are a case study in forgetting the bad stuff quickly. If cornerback Aaron Ross had wallowed in early-season struggles that got him benched in Week 2, the Giants would have been floundering even more than they already were on pass defense through November and early December. But Ross shook it off and helped fill the gap created by preseason injuries to Terrell Thomas and first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara.

"Aaron was a guy they drafted in the first round," Grant said. "He was a guy who was here when they won the Super Bowl the last time. And now you're seeing that same first-round guy and that same guy who helped win that Super Bowl. He's back. He's healthy. And he's the old Aaron Ross again."

Plenty of swagger and no desire to look back. That's the way these Giants' defensive backs are built. When practice ended Friday, Rolle shared a friendly handshake with Collinsworth, who'd called the Giants' coverage "amateurish" and said Rolle had been "barbecued" by Dez Bryant in the first game against the Cowboys. In the days following that game, Rolle was critical of such analysis and explained in detail what had really happened on the play in question. But on Friday, when Collinsworth showed up for practice as part of NBC's preparations for the Super Bowl, all was forgotten.

"We're cool," Rolle said. "There's no hard feelings in this league. Collinsworth and I, we've always gotten along."

The defensive back's code: What happened in the past stays in the past. And none of it matters to the Giants now.

The wind blows, fish swim and New York Giants safety Antrel Rolle talks. Rolle is a very good football player, but talking is the activity for which he is best known. At a time when pro athletes are looking for ways not to talk the media -- specifying only one day per week on which they'll do interviews, for example -- Rolle is a nonstop talking machine.

He talks on Mondays, when players are still weary from the game and the flight home. He talks on Wednesdays and Thursday and Fridays, when the locker room fills with reporters looking for colorful quotes and insight. He talks after games, win or lose, happy or angry. Heck, he even talks on Tuesdays, which is the players' day off. He does a weekly radio appearance on Tuesdays that's appointment listening for everyone who covers the team because it almost always generates news.

"Trel likes to talk, but he's a guy you listen to," Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said Sunday, after Rolle turned in his best game as a Giant in the playoff victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field. "When he says something, he usually has a reason why he said it."

Of this season's Giant developments, the emergence of Rolle as a voice of locker-room reason had to be among the least likely. This is his second year in New York; he signed as a free agent from Arizona before the 2010 season. A year ago, he was complaining about Tom Coughlin and saying the playoff-bound Jets had better team chemistry. A month ago, after the loss to the Redskins that dropped the Giants to 7-7, Rolle stood at his locker and talked about how guys needed to stop sitting out practice with minor injuries.

This is stuff you're not supposed to say to the media -- stuff that stirs controversy and can injure that aforementioned team chemistry. And with the Giants' secondary playing as poorly as it was at the time, the immediate reaction was to proclaim Rolle a malcontent. Columns were written in New York suggesting that all Rolle did was talk -- first guy to the microphone, last guy to the ball, stuff like that. Outside the Giants' locker room, the first reaction to Rolle's words was concern that the team could be on the verge of a meltdown.

But inside the locker room, the reaction was much different. Rolle's words in the wake of the Redskins loss hit home with defensive end Justin Tuck, who had been sitting out practices with nagging injuries but playing on Sundays. Never mind that Rolle went out of his way, that day and in his radio spot two days later, to say specifically that he wasn't calling out Tuck. Tuck, a tenured Giant with a Super Bowl ring who could either have easily brushed off Rolle's perceived swipe or angrily fired back, took the words to heart. In Tuck's own words, what Rolle said "struck a chord." After that, and a conversation with Coughlin, Tuck was back on the practice field that week along with Ahmad Bradshaw and several other teammates whose nicks and bruises had been keeping them on the exercise bikes.

"I can't take credit for that," Rolle said Tuesday on that weekly radio appearance on WFAN in New York City. "Guys have turned things around on their own and for the betterment of this team. We have one goal in mind, and that's to compete and win a championship."

In that same interview, Rolle was asked about 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, who'd said a few days earlier that he'd "prayed" for the Giants to beat the Packers. Rolle's answer was this:

"If he said that, I can only hope that he was saying it just because they wanted to get a home game. You know, they'd better be careful what they ask for, because their wish has been granted and we will see those boys come Sunday."

The second part of the quote is the one being played up, because that's the way things work in this league and this business these days. But the fact is, Davis was clearly, and as he himself explained, only saying what he said because the 49ers preferred to play the NFC Championship Game at home. By now, Rolle surely knows that, and although it's possible this "Rolle vs. Davis" storyline will be kept alive this week, you can be certain Rolle won't be the one responsible for doing so. He talks, yes, but he doesn't appear to suffer nonsense. Rolle's talking has a purpose.

He may come off as a blustery yapper, but what Rolle has done over the past few weeks defies the modern sports establishments' attempts at easy categorization. This is a guy who talks -- all the time, yes -- but also backs it up. His individual performance against the Packers, which included occasional one-on-one coverage of Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley in addition to his usual safety role, was one of the main reasons the Giants' secondary held up against Green Bay's aerial attack. Earlier this year, while they were waiting for top draft pick Prince Amukamara to return from injury, Rolle served as the nickel cornerback. For all of his talk, he has been an obvious and willing team player since arriving in New York. And upon further examination, all of Rolle's talk seems to have real, team-oriented purpose behind it.

Rolle's not out there bellowing about how great he is. He's not getting in the opposing coach's face and yelling, "Time to shut up, fat boy!" as a teammate of his did. He's not planting deleterious information about teammates in off-the-record interviews. Rolle is out there, playing hard, and the talking he does is intended for the good of the team. Although his personality might not appear to fit the traditional Big Blue profile, Rolle has emerged late this season as one of the leaders in the Giants' locker room.

He's doing it his own way, sure, and it's doubtful anyone saw Rolle-as-leader coming. But when he talks, even the veterans in that room listen. And leaders are judged, in the end, on results.