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The winner of the how-to-order-the-Friday-links contest this week is Michael from Nashville, who suggested tying the order to fantasy sports. I went to the ESPN fantasy football page and looked up the points leaders from last year, and the links are hereby provided in order of each team's highest-scoring fantasy player from 2011.

New York Giants (Eli Manning, 273)

Tom Coughlin says "it's probably going to be close" when asked whether Hakeem Nicks will be ready for the regular-season opener. Nicks broke his foot in practice Thursday and is scheduled to have surgery today to insert a screw into it. The Giants' say the estimated recovery time is 12 weeks, which would be the middle of August, and Coughlin said Nicks is confident he can make that. We shall see.

As I wrote Thursday afternoon, if there's a positive to take out of the Nicks news it's that the Giants will be able to give more offseason and preseason reps to wide receivers Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden and Rueben Randle, and extended looks at those players will help them determine which, if any, is best suited to replace free-agent defector Mario Manningham as the No. 3 receiver behind Nicks and Victor Cruz. Hixon says he's feeling good and ready.

Philadelphia Eagles (LeSean McCoy, 270)

The concern with the Eagles is that Michael Vick's history says he's likely to miss at least a game or two due to injury this season. And if he does, there's very little in the way of experience among the backup options behind him. Jeff McLane breaks down the Eagles' backup quarterback situation, which should be Mike Kafka at this point.

As Sal Paolantonio reported the other day, second-year center Jason Kelce will be taking over the responsibility for making the protection calls at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles gave Vick that responsibility last year, and shifting it to Kelce will give Vick less about which to worry, and I think that's probably a good thing.

Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo, 265)

Jean-Jacques Taylor writes that third-year wide receiver Dez Bryant has had a nice, blissfully quiet offseason and that he's on the verge of greatness. As we discussed many times last year, Bryant is a physical mismatch for almost anyone who tries to cover him, even at the NFL level. It's about committing to his own development and route-running, and once he does that he'll be as good as anyone.

And yeah, two from ESPNDallas.com this morning, as the crew there debates whether the Cowboys can beat the Vegas over/under of 8.5 wins for 2012. I bring this up as a preview to the "Dream/nightmare scenario" posts that are coming from each of our division's teams this morning. So, you know. Look forward to that.

Washington Redskins (Rex Grossman, 141)

In a bit of irony, the Redskins (and the Cowboys) are among the defendants in the NFLPA's collusion case against the league for the spending practices during the uncapped 2010 season. It's ironic because the union says the only way it found out about what it alleges to be collusive behavior was because the league punished those teams for not adhering to the secret agreement regarding 2010 spending. What you should take from this, once and for all, is the fact that the union's collusion case is in no way whatsoever aimed at helping the Redskins and Cowboys getting any relief of those cap punishments. That part of this case is over, they will pay the penalties and that's really it. I promise. No matter how nicely you guys ask.

The Redskins put Robert Griffin III's locker between those of London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo, which LaVar Arrington says could be crucial to the rookie's development. One of the Redskins' strengths as a team is the veteran leadership they have in their locker room, and they'll surely want to put Griffin in the best possible position -- literally as well as figuratively -- to benefit from that.

This is the kind of stuff you hold your breath and hope you don't hear about your team when it takes the field for offseason practices: New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks fractured the fifth metatarsal of his right foot Thursday morning while running a route during OTA practices, the team announced. Nicks is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday to have a screw inserted into his foot, and the Giants estimate that he'll need about 12 weeks to recover. Assuming no setbacks, that puts his return around the middle of August. But because you can't assume there won't be setbacks, Nicks' availability for the start of the regular season is at least in question.

Real rough break for the Giants, who lost No. 3 wide receiver Mario Manningham in free agency and likely can't afford to have their No. 1 wideout miss significant time. The good news, if there is any, is that it happened now as opposed to a month or two from now, and Nicks will have time to recover. Once he does return, there could be questions about how much he can handle and how soon without re-aggravating the injury, and it's possible he won't be his usual dazzling self right away. Nicks is one of the best wide receivers in the entire league, and he and Victor Cruz form the strength of the Giants' Eli Manning-led passing attack.

This will open up reps in the preseason for receivers such as Ramses Barden, Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan and rookie Rueben Randle, which could help the Giants better figure out which of those guys is the best bet to replace Manningham at that No. 3 receiver spot. That may be a side benefit of the unfortunate news, and last year's Giants obviously were able to succeed in spite of a rash of significant preseason injuries, so they surely believe they have coverage. But there's no one on the roster who brings everything Nicks brings to his position, and they'll surely hope his recovery will be on the short side and they'll have him on the field in plenty of time for their Sept. 5 regular-season opener.

And we're back. Another Tuesday on the NFC East blog, which means I need to stretch my chat muscles so I don't pull anything. Let's get right to the links.

Dallas Cowboys

I wrote Monday about Mike Jenkins staying away from OTAs and assumed he was doing that to make some sort of statement. I was right, as it came out later in the day that he wants to be traded. As Tim MacMahon says, good luck with that, Mike. This isn't like the Asante Samuel situation in Philadelphia, where the Eagles just wanted to dump Samuel's salary and took a seventh-round pick for him. The Cowboys can still use Jenkins, even if he is now the No. 3 corner behind Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. And given his health issues of the past year and where we are on the 2012 calendar (i.e., after the end of the draft), it's impossible to imagine any team offering them enough to make it worth their while to trade him.

In the ongoing quest to say sillier and sillier things about Tony Romo, the latest apparently is that the Cowboys don't go to the Super Bowl because Romo is not enough like Michael Young, which I guess means he needs to get on base more.

New York Giants

On the topic of Giants players "under pressure" in 2012 -- a topic we discussed here on the blog last week -- Ed Valentine picks wide receiver Ramses Barden, for whom opportunity looms large. Barden will have to hold off Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan and second-round pick Rueben Randle if he wants that No. 3 wide receiver spot created by the free-agent departure of Mario Manningham. The Giants drafted him thinking he had the tools to do it. The question now is whether he can stay healthy enough and play well enough to take advantage of his chance.

Tom Coughlin is still big in Jacksonville, where he coached the Jaguars before coaching the Giants and where he still holds his annual charity golf tournament. While in town for that, he once again answered questions about his possible retirement by saying it's not even something he's remotely considering.

Philadelphia Eagles

You can blame Juan Castillo and the defense all you like, but the Eagles' coaching staff thinks the biggest problem last year was their 38 turnovers (second most in the league), and they're determined to work with Michael Vick to cut that number down in 2012. Reading this, it sounds as though part of the problem is getting Vick to understand that there is one.

Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg talked about the fine line between leaning on the franchise running back to whom the Eagles just gave a five-year contract and overworking him. LeSean McCoy will only be 28 years old at the end of his new deal, and the Eagles surely can get five good years out of him even if they don't worry about limiting his touches. It will be interesting to see which way they lean.

Washington Redskins

You have to pay attention when you stand on an NFL sideline during practice, and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan unfortunately was looking at the wrong set of drills Monday when a couple of his players slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. "A little woozy" seemed to be the diagnosis, as Shanahan's "toughness" after his knockdown impressed some of his players. Sheesh. It's only the first day of OTAs and already the coach is down. Take it a little slower down there, fellas.

In spite of all he's done as a Redskin, Chris Cooley knows he's in a position this offseason of having to show something. Specifically, he needs to show he's healthy enough to play effectively in a two-tight end formation with Fred Davis. The reports after the first day of OTA practices were encouraging on Cooley.

This one's a value pick, though. The New York Giants were considering LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle with their first-round pick Thursday night. They took running back David Wilson instead, and admitted it was a bit of a need pick after Brandon Jacobs left for San Francisco via free agency. But with Randle still there at the end of the second round Friday night, and with Mario Manningham also having left for San Francisco via free agency, the Giants couldn't pass up the chance to take a guy they'd considered a whole round earlier.

Randle goes into the mix for the No. 3 wide receiver spot in New York behind Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, and with Ramses Barden and Jerel Jernigan as his top competition, he'll have a chance to win it. He didn't have a great scouting combine and he didn't have big-time numbers in college, but LSU didn't have a real quarterback this year, and Giants quarterback Eli Manning has a pretty good record of helping develop and get the best out of his receivers.

So, I say it's a nice move for Randle, who could flourish in three-receiver sets in New York, and not a bad pick for the Giants if they had the guy rated as a first-round talent and they got him in the second. I still don't know what they're going to do about offensive line, but we say this every year with the Giants and they seem to figure it out. They will pick again later tonight, when they have the 32nd pick in the third round.

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.

The catch, in traffic, 38 yards up the left sideline with his toes just in bounds in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, isn't going anywhere. That's part of New York Giants lore forever, and because of it Mario Manningham won't ever get booed by Giants fans unless he does something to beat their team. But before, during and after that catch, which was such a key part of the Super Bowl victory over the Patriots last month, the Giants and everyone else knew Manningham wasn't going to be on their team in 2012.

He found his new home late Saturday night, agreeing with the San Francisco 49ers on a two-year contract. He becomes the first to defect from the Giants' latest championship team. The cost of doing business in the NFL is that if someone does something to help you win a championship, other teams want him.

In the Giants' case, they knew they'd lose Manningham because they knew the free-agent market for wide receivers would deliver him offers that were higher than what they wanted to pay for their No. 3 wide receiver. They have superstar-caliber players at the position in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz -- players who will be needing their own new contracts before long -- and with salary-cap concerns and other needs to fill, they've long been prepared to bid farewell to Manningham. The offense functioned very well when he came back healthy at the end of the season and gave Eli Manning another option, but it's not as though Manning had been incapable of functioning without him. He threw for 406 yards in New Orleans, 347 in the regular-season loss to the Packers, and Manningham didn't suit up for those games.

The Giants will find their No. 3 receiver somewhere, be it in the draft or from a holdover group that includes Ramses Barden, Jerrel Jernigan and Domenik Hixon. The Giants, as much as any other team, always believe the potential solution can be found on their roster. Manningham was a fine player for them, but once Cruz exploded onto the scene he became a luxury. Their offseason priorities at this point are linebacker, offensive line and running back.

As for their own free agents, they've been told go out on the market and see what they can get. If Aaron Ross, Jonathan Goff and even Brandon Jacobs come back and want to sign for the low, low prices the Giants have budgeted for them, they'll be welcomed back. If not, they'll be replaced. But they knew all along that Manningham would find something better than what they had to offer him. They'll wish him well, and thank him for all he did, and then they'll move on without him, just as they'd planned to.

New York Giants GM Jerry Reese took his turn at the podium Saturday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Our man Ohm is on the scene, and he reports that 2011 third-round pick Jerrel Jernigan keeps being mentioned as the Giants' favored candidate for the No. 3 wide receiver spot if Mario Manningham leaves via free agency. Reese also mentioned perpetually injured Ramses Barden as someone who could help replace Manningham and said, "We'll continue to look if we can't bring Mario back."

Reese discussed the tight end situation as well. With Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard both having suffered torn ACLs in the Super Bowl, it's unlikely either of those two will be ready to start the season. That leaves the position, right now, to Bear Pascoe and practice-squad player Christian Hopkins:

"We'll address it somehow, with the draft or free agency, but we'll definitely look to address that," Reese added. "And hopefully those guys [Ballard and Beckum] will be back at some point with the ACLs."

I can't imagine Reese, Giants fans or quarterback Eli Manning is overly panicked about these issues. After all, wide receiver and tight end were supposedly big concerns last offseason after the Giants didn't do anything to address the position. And you know. That worked out all right.

Morning. Sorry things kind of tailed off yesterday afternoon, but it was 58 degrees here, and let's just say I felt like the clubs you see in the predictions videos needed to be temporarily relocated. Ironic, no, that this is brought up here? In the links?

New York Giants

Ohm's position-by-position review takes a look at wide receivers, which is a group that got a well-deserved "A" on Ohm's report card. He addresses the Mario Manningham free-agency situation and suggests that Ramses Barden would be first in line for the opportunity to replace Manningham should the latter leave.

I found it interesting to read that former Giant Harry Carson has decided not to run for Congress as a Democrat in the district in which I personally reside. It's a shame. I almost certainly would have voted for him. But Harry says he wouldn't be able to do it with the same passion with which he played football, which I guess is a good reason.

Philadelphia Eagles

Geoff Mosher writes that the people who run the Eagles' front office are under more pressure and more scrutiny from fans than they've ever been before as they head off to Indianapolis for the scouting combine.

The Steelers may end up losing wide receiver Mike Wallace due to their salary-cap situation. Wallace is a restricted free agent who'll be tendered, but teams would be able to get him for a first-round pick if they structure their offer sheet correctly. Sheil Kapadia discusses what this means for the DeSean Jackson situation -- namely, that it'd be tougher for the Eagles to trade him with another outstanding deep threat like Wallace on the market.

Dallas Cowboys

Stephen Jones says he views Jay Ratliff as a nose tackle. Not sure whether that means they're scrapping the idea of moving him to end or if Jones is just saying this because that's the way the roster is constructed right now. Jones also says he thinks the Cowboys have plenty of leaders in the locker room and that Ray Lewises don't grow on trees. That'd be one big tree.

Randy Galloway writes that the most important "leadership" development in the Cowboys' locker room would be an improvement in that area by head coach Jason Garrett. Fair point, especially as it works off of Garrett's bungling of the end of the Arizona game and the days that followed. Garrett is, as we've said here many times, a young head coach who's doing this for the first time. Improvement and growing pains are to be expected in many areas. By the way, Garrett's scheduled to address the media Thursday in Indy. Yeah, we'll have something off of that.

Washington Redskins

Redskins offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger recalls an NFL team official asking him, "When was the last time you smoked crack?" during a scouting combine interview. It's one of the neat details in Rich Campbell's combine advance.

Dan Steinberg is trying to track everything everyone in the world is saying about Peyton Manning and the Redskins. In this latest entry, we find that Lorenzo Alexander opposes the idea because he doesn't think Manning's neck is healthy enough (fair), that Torry Holt opposes the idea because he thinks Mike Shanahan's offense requires a mobile quarterback who can get out of the pocket (baloney, it worked 10 times better with Rex Grossman than with mobile John Beck in 2011, and Holt's is an unsupported, clichéd claim) and that Clinton Portis loves the idea as long as Manning's healthy. Yeah. That's me, on the same side of the debate as Clinton Portis.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If you're wondering whether your favorite injured New York Giants or Dallas Cowboys player will be active for Sunday night's NFC East title game, the answer is yes.

Giants wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham and defensive end Osi Umenyiora all will dress for and play in tonight's game. Umenyiora missed the past four games with an ankle injury. Manningham missed last week's game and several others during the second half with a knee injury. And Nicks missed some practices last week with a hamstring injury. But as they said they would be, all are healthy enough to play in a game that decides the division champion.

Likewise, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who bruised his throwing hand last weekend in a loss to Philadelphia, will start the game. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff and linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Sean Lee also are active in spite of injuries that limited them during the week.

The Giants will still be without tight end Jake Ballard, who has a knee injury. And wide receiver Ramses Barden is a surprise inactive. He is not injured, so it appears Barden is being held out because he hasn't been playing well lately. Bear Pascoe will start at tight end in place of Ballard, with Henry Hynoski starting at fullback in place of Pascoe. The Giants also announced that Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul will be the starting defensive ends, which means Umenyiora technically will come off the bench.

For the Cowboys, the only surprise inactive is cornerback Frank Walker, who's healthy but also hasn't played well lately. With Walker and injured safety/special teamer Danny McCray inactive, the Cowboys are very thin in the secondary against a Giants passing offense that had its way with them three weeks ago in Dallas. Dallas is also without punter Mat McBriar, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a foot injury.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham, who has been struggling throughout the second half of this season with a knee injury, is not healthy enough to play Saturday against the Jets and is listed among the inactive players for the game. Also inactive is tight end Jake Ballard, who was announced as out earlier in the week due to his own knee injury. The injuries deprive Giants quarterback Eli Manning of two important receiving options for the game, and you can probably look for Ramses Barden and Travis Beckum to pick up the slack if anyone does.

Defensive end Osi Umenyiora will miss his fourth straight game with an ankle injury, but center David Baas returns to the starting lineup after missing three straight games with head and neck injuries. Baas will start at center while Kevin Boothe, who had been replacing him, moves back over to left guard and Mitch Petrus, who started the last three games at left guard, moves back to the bench.

I'm here at MetLife Stadium and will have updates for you throughout the game here and on Twitter.

The complete list of inactives:

GIANTS

WR Mario Manningham
TE Jake Ballard
DE Osi Umenyiora
LB Mark Herzlich
OL Jim Cordle
DT Jimmy Kennedy
OL James Brewer

JETS

QB Kevin O'Connell
WR Eron Riley
CB Marquice Cole
S Gerald Alexander
T Austin Howard
DE Ropati Pitoitua
DT Kenrick Ellis

New York Giants center David Baas, running back Ahmad Bradshaw and wide receiver Hakeem Nicks all stayed behind in New Jersey on Saturday as the team traveled north in advance of Sunday's game against the Patriots in New England, the team announced. That means the Giants will play Sunday without their starting center and their team leaders in rushing yardage and receiving yardage.

The team also announced that wide receiver Ramses Barden, who's been out since breaking his ankle last November, has been activated from the PUP list. He's likely to be the third receiver behind Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham in Foxborough while Nicks sits out to recover from his hamstring injury. Brandon Jacobs is expected to be the starting running back while Bradshaw misses his first game of the season with a foot injury. And Kevin Boothe is likely to start at center in place of Baas, who's out with a knee injury.

The fresh run of injuries has come at a bad time for the Giants, who begin the much-publicized tough part of their schedule with the road game against the Patriots. While Cruz and Manningham have shown flashes of excellence over the past couple of years with Eli Manning throwing them the ball, each has likely benefited from the presence of Nicks, who draws the most coverage because he's the team's most dangerous receiver. As for the run game, plugging in former starter Jacobs for Bradshaw isn't the no-dropoff situation it may have been in the past. Bradshaw is the better pass blocker and pass catcher by far and Jacobs hasn't shown much this year in his limited action. Additionally, the offensive line has been terrible in the run game all season, and losing Baas isn't likely to help with that.

Working in the Giants' favor is the fact the Patriots rank dead last in the NFL in total defense, allowing 424.1 yards per game so far this year including 323.1 in the passing game.

Also, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who missed practice Friday while being tested for a concussion, did make the trip to New England, which indicates he should be ready to play.

Friday links, hot-n-fresh.

New York Giants

Everybody wants to know when Prince Amukamara will take the field, and the Giants' coaches are no exception. The rookie first-round pick is being pushed a bit harder in practice this week due to the team's need for depth at the cornerback position, but the Giants have to balance their desire to see Amukamara play with the wisdom of rushing him back from a broken foot.

The Giants are pushing always-injured receiver Ramses Barden in practice this week, too, and that's because it's starting to sound as though Hakeem Nicks' hamstring injury is likely to keep him out of Sunday's game at New England. Barden would be for depth, because I think we've seen in the past that it takes Eli Manning a little bit of time to really trust a receiver. I'd expect Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham to get the catches that would normally belong to Nicks.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sheil Kapadia says Nnamdi Asomugha covered Jason Witten on 12 of 40 plays Sunday night -- more than any other Eagles defender. The idea is that this is significant because (a) it's a thing that the Eagles have had trouble stopping tight ends for a long time now and (b) the fact that Asomugha was able to cover Witten sometimes and other of the Cowboys' receivers at other times indicates an improved level of flexibility and agility in the Eagles' defensive schemes. Asomugha seemed to have more fun in this game than in any other he's played for the Eagles so far, and that's likely because he and others have begun to feel far more comfortable in the defense.

I'm sorry, but I'm with receiver Jason Avant on his fan comments. Fans can't boo their own team and make signs demanding the coach be fired and expect the team to offer hugs and kisses once things start going well again. Reap what you sow and all of that. If the team or some of its players have a testy relationship with the fans, I think the fans (at least in a case like this) would do well to examine their own role in having brought that about.

Dallas Cowboys

Sean Lee is trying everything he can do to be ready to play Sunday, including getting fitted for a cast for his dislocated wrist. It remains to be seen whether Lee can play Sunday or anytime soon or at all for the rest of this season, but the linebacker promises he's going to try.

The Cowboys say Tony Romo's not being reined in, and the lack of a downfield passing game has more to do with the struggles of the offensive line and an increased emphasis on the run game. I buy this, but they'd better hope it's temporary if they really want to be 2011 contenders.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins' offensive line is certainly suffering for its injuries, but at least center Erik Cook is the kind of guy who can make everybody around him laugh.

Barry Svrluga takes a look at why the Redskins' defense has struggled against the run and what they plan to do about it, though it's tough to imagine them fixing it in time to stop Frank Gore on Sunday.

New York Giants fans and fantasy football players are keeping a close eye on the team's injury report in advance of Sunday's game in New England, and the early returns are not encouraging. Star wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and running back Ahmad Bradshaw both sat out Wednesday's practice with injuries they sustained in Sunday's victory over the Dolphins -- Nicks with a hamstring injury and Bradshaw with a foot injury.

Now, that doesn't mean they're sure to miss Sunday's game. Bradshaw has been dealing with foot problems for years and has had weeks in the past when he didn't practice much or at all but still managed to play in the game. And of Nicks, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, according to our man Ohm Youngmisuk, "It is going to be day to day. He tells me he is better, says all the right things but he is not going to work today."

Interestingly, wide receiver Mario Manningham also missed practice, though the team has yet to say why. Because of the Nicks injury and maybe because of whatever's keeping Manningham out, Coughlin said receiver Ramses Barden, who's been on the PUP list while recovering from last year's broken ankle, "is going to get pushed a little harder this week." Coughlin said the same about injured rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara, who could be pressed into action due to the season-ending injury suffered by Justin Tryon on Sunday.

Defensive end Osi Umenyiora has a shoulder injury and didn't practice, though it sounds like they're not worried about him. And center David Baas, who injured his knee Sunday, also missed practice. But most eyes this week will be on the team's top receiver and top running back to see if they'll be able to answer the bell for Sunday's game against Patriots. They're likely to need all the help they can get if they plan to try and outscore Tom Brady's bunch in Foxborough.

Tuesday is a big day on the ESPN.com NFL page. To make sure you have the energy to power your way through it, let's make sure you get your links.

New York Giants

Injured defensive end Justin Tuck says he's "confident" he'll play in the Giants' next game, which is the week after next against the Dolphins. Tuck has endured a lot of frustration connected with his neck injury, including missed games and surprise criticism from former teammate Antonio Pierce. He desperately wants to play, and while the Giants are getting strong defensive end play from Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul in his absence, there's no denying they're a better defense when he's in there.

The Giants are hoping to get a lot of people back from injury when they return from their bye week. The list, according to Tom Canavan, includes right guard Chris Snee, running back Brandon Jacobs, receiver Ramses Barden and rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara. Now, the first two, sure. But Barden? We'll believe he's a factor once he's finally on the field and contributing. And while everybody's been excited about Amukamara since draft day, it's worth remembering that he's still a rookie who had one NFL practice before his injury and will be playing, I believe, with screws in his surgically repaired foot. His presence could help snap some people (Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant in particular) back into their more appropriate roles, but I think expectations for Amukamara should be a little more tempered than they seem to be at this point.

Washington Redskins

The play of the Redskins' offensive line has been a major reason for their success this year, and with left guard Kory Lichtensteiger out for the year and left tackle Trent Williams likely out a few weeks, they have some shuffling to do. As coach Mike Shanahan pointed out, the Lichtensteiger injury is especially tough, since he was playing "at a very high level," and I'm interested to see what impact this has on the Redskins' run game the rest of the way.

LaVar Arrington has some advice for Rex Grossman if he does get another shot at the Redskins' starting quarterback job. LaVar thinks Grossman should stop making predictions and let his play on the field do the talking for him. Of course, having watched him play Sunday, I wonder if maybe that's what Grossman was afraid of doing all along.

Dallas Cowboys

Todd Archer's got a source saying Felix Jones could miss 2-to-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain. This would be a tough to overcome for a Cowboys team struggling to find its offensive identity. Jones' preseason performance was a real reason for optimism as the Cowboys' season began last month, but he's been unable to build off of it, and for the time being the run game looks to be in the hands of Tashard Choice and DeMarco Murray.

And Calvin Watkins engages in some speculation about players the Cowboys could potentially bring in to address their injury-wracked offensive line situation, including former Cowboy Montrae Holland and former Eagle Nick Cole. Again, speculation by Calvin, as he admits, but things do seem to be getting a bit thin up front. Again.

Philadelphia Eagles

Because Sheil Kapadia is Sheil Kapadia, he took a detailed look at each of the 12 run plays the Redskins ran against the Eagles on Sunday and identified what the Eagles did, play by play, to stop the run. The upshot is that they didn't use as much "Wide 9" on the defensive line as they'd been using all season. The Eagles' coaches have explained that they tightened their line formations because they believed that to be the best way to combat the Redskins' zone-blocking run scheme. If you're an Eagles fan, it's got to be nice to know the coaches are willing to be flexible and not too stubborn to tinker with their philosophy when the situation calls for it.

And Jeff McLane muses on whether the Eagles could make a move in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline. Jeff points out the Eagles' obvious depth at cornerback, and surely they could trade from that group to address an area of need such as linebacker. And he mentions the depth on the defensive line as well, especially considering the possibility that it could get Brandon Graham back at some point after the bye. So we'll see. The Eagles could deal from strength if they were so inclined.

You know the Tuesday drill. We'll do our chat at noon ET. We'll have Power Rankings. We'll have Stock Watch. We'll have various other goodies sprinkled throughout the day. So keep coming back. We'll make it worth your while. I promise.

Good morning to all. Your links are piping hot and ready. Come and get 'em.

Dallas Cowboys

I'd say at this point that Kevin Ogletree has an opportunity to be a factor in the passing game. And if that's the case, you'll surely want to know about his 30 tattoos, including the one of his grandfather, and which 'Entourage' character he'd like to be. Don't worry. Got you covered.

Clarence Hill thinks Tashard Choice's injury and Lonyae Miller's strong early showing could mean Choice's spot on the roster is in trouble. I'm a little bit skeptical on that, as is Choice, if you read his tweets on the matter. Could be a case of somebody trying to light a fire under Choice and get him on the practice field. Or it could be true. We shall see.

New York Giants

Paul Schwartz writes of young defensive tackles Linval Joseph and Marvin Austin, who are tasked with replacing Barry Cofield in the middle of the Giants' defensive line. Both are large, talented young men who were drafted in the second round. They are an example of the Giants' 2011 plan/hope that the depth they've developed within their system at certain positions on both lines can sustain them in a year in which they weren't able to be active in free agency.

I didn't personally see Steve Smith at the Giants' facility Monday, but multiple reliable sources said he was there, and Zach Berman writes that he'll be back Tuesday for an examination of his surgically repaired knee. Sounds as if the Giants and Smith are inching closer toward a contract agreement, but it also sounds as if Smith won't be ready for the start of the season even if that happens, which means Domenik Hixon, Ramses Barden & Co. have an opportunity if they want one.

Philadelphia Eagles

Bob Ford makes the very good point that, while DeSean Jackson's holdout can be (and apparently has been) fixed by something as simple as Jackson deciding to show up and practice while they work out a new contract, Jeremy Maclin's absence is not so easy a problem to fix.

The Eagles didn't sign Ryan Harris to hold a spot for Winston Justice while Justice got healthy. They signed him because they felt uncertain about right tackle and that Harris could be the solution. So the fact that Harris is running with the first team while Justice works his way back from injury is significant, and if Harris is starting at right tackle on Sept. 11, it's not going to be a major upset.

Washington Redskins

Nice story by Carla Peay on new Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson, who used to work the concession stands at FedEx Field and now will play for the team on Sundays. Money quote: "It's going to be a great feeling not having to serve fries."

If there's a position of strength on the Redskins' offense, it's tight end, where Chris Cooley and Fred Davis believe they should be on the field together more than they have been. And yes, it makes sense to give an unproven quarterback such as John Beck the ability to rely on reliable tight ends. But I asked Mike Shanahan about this when I was there last week, and he kind of hedged, which means either he didn't want to to tell me about specific offensive sets he's planning to run or that he expects his tight ends to have to do a lot of blocking since the line and the rest of the offense are such major question marks. Or both. I actually think it may have been both.

We'll chat at noon ET, since it's Tuesday, and the Giants are off today so no training camp for me. Just a normal day in front of the computer, enjoying the day's NFL news with all you good folks.