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I was kind of surprised it look that long, actually.

There was maybe a two-hour window between the time Monday morning that the news broke about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shopping (and, more likely, cutting) tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and when people started asking me on Twitter whether he'd make sense for their team. Usually it's quicker than that. But I guess it's a rainy Monday, and maybe folks aren't feeling like themselves. I include myself, of course. Did you catch that Matthew Berry-style column lead up there?

Anyway, in response on Twitter I wrote that you could make a case for any of the four NFC East teams to pursue Winslow, to which four fan bases responded something along the lines of, "Really?", to which I said, "Yeah, really." But the limits of the 140-character Twitter world being what they are, I hereby expand:

Dallas Cowboys

They have been looking, since Martellus Bennett signed with the Giants, for a second tight end to replace Bennett. They drafted James Hanna, but he's not likely the solution right away. The issue here is that Winslow isn't really a blocking tight end, and it might be tough to convince him that he's not among the top options as a receiver.

New York Giants

They signed Bennett, but he only accounts for one of the two holes opened by the ACL injuries of tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum in the Super Bowl. There are reports that Beckum could be ready early in the season, but optimism sometimes gives way to reality, and the Giants may want to have coverage. As is always the case with the Giants, if they're interested, it would have to be for their specific price.

Philadelphia Eagles

There's been talk in Philly for a couple of years about Andy Reid wanting to use more two-tight-end sets. It hasn't come to fruition, but a re-energized Winslow paired with Brent Celek could open up some of those possibilities. Again, though, as in Dallas and New York, he wouldn't be among the top receiving options, given the rest of the talent on the roster.

Washington Redskins

This only makes sense if the Redskins decide to cut Chris Cooley loose for financial or injury reasons. If that happens, they don't have many (any?) real strong tight ends behind Fred Davis. Receiver Niles Paul and even linebacker Lorenzo Alexander have been mentioned as candidates for tight end snaps this offseason, so it's not as though the roster is currently teeming with options should Cooley be cut.

We did this for the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, and it only seems fair to keep it up for the other teams in our division (other than the Redskins, whose draft scenarios are too simple to warrant a whole post). Let's look at Todd McShay's latest mock draft and the various scenarios he lays out for the New York Giants with the 32nd pick.

His No. 1 scenario for the Giants is that they take Ohio State tackle Mike Adams at No. 32. If he falls this far, Adams would be the perfect combination of value and positional need -- nearly an ideal pick for the Giants, who could start him at right tackle right away and possibly develop him into a left tackle if things don't work out with Will Beatty over there.

Scenario No. 2 for the Giants, Todd says, would be to "take advantage of value and make a luxury pick for a player such as Stanford TE Coby Fleener or Nebraska OLB Lavonte David."

This is a fun idea, and Super Bowl champions often do find themselves making "luxury picks" because they don't usually have many holes to fill. The Giants, at 9-7, had the worst regular-season record of any Super Bowl champion in history, so it's reasonable to assume they have more holes to fill than have most teams that have picked last in the first round. The good thing in this case is that players like Fleener and David would address specific holes the Giants do have, while also offering excellent value for the pick. Fleener would be a great hedge against the health of Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum (not to mention the as-yet-unrealized potential of Martellus Bennett), and David would add depth to their corps of very young linebackers, increasing the odds that the group eventually produces a starter or two.

And the third and final scenario Todd lays out is that they trade down, taking advantage of some team's desire to move up and pick a quarterback at the tail end of the first round and amassing picks later in the draft. This would be enticing for the Giants, and they're sure to be getting calls late on that Thursday night.

Three weeks until the draft. Given the current state of fan agitation, I estimate our chances of surviving that long at around 21 percent. But they go up if we make sure and get our links.

Dallas Cowboys

In this clip from NFL 32, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten asks our NFL analysts who the Cowboys should take with the No. 14 pick in the draft. Todd McShay says that, if Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is still on the board, he's the guy they should take. On a related note, Calvin writes that Cox is headed to Valley Ranch for a pre-draft visit.

The Cowboys' official site takes a look at cornerback Mike Jenkins, who was one of the bright spots on the Cowboys' 2011 defense when various injuries weren't limiting his playing time or production. A healthy Jenkins would be an asset in 2012, and if he gets through the season fully healthy, he might be able to that new contract he's looking for.

New York Giants

Speaking of Witten, he has good things to say about former teammate Martellus Bennett and Bennett's chances for success with the Giants.

Travis Beckum, one of two Giants tight ends to tear an ACL in the Super Bowl, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he got great news from his doctors and that there's a "very good chance" he could be ready by the start of the season. If that turns out to be true, it lessens the Giants' need to look for a tight end in the draft.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sheil Kapadia looks at the number of different players on the Eagles' roster who will be affected by the performance of Demetress "Don't Call Me Demetrius" Bell, who's the new left tackle after signing Wednesday to replace the injured Jason Peters. The numbers on how often and how successfully the Eagles ran to the left side in 2011 are eye-opening.

Nnamdi Asomugha, a California guy at heart, has been bicoastal this offseason, showing up in Philadelphia to work out with teammates in preparation for what he and the Eagles hope is a much better second season than his first.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan told the Washington Post that he'd rather "take the high road" than respond to the sour-grape foolishness Donovan McNabb was spouting on First Take last week.

Mark Maske looks at the complicated questions at the heart of the Redskins' and Cowboys' grievance against the NFL and the NFLPA over the salary cap sanctions that were imposed just before free agency.

It's Saturday, which makes it the day I have to take my kids to swim lessons, which makes it the day I understand why some people drink alcoholic beverages before noon.

It also makes it mailbag day.

Andrew from New York, N.Y., admits he's a Philadelphia Eagles fan and therefore likely biased, but he says this to me: "I simply don't understand how you can report what Redskins sources say as the final word on McNabb's work ethic."

Dan Graziano: I didn't, Andrew. I presented and acknowledged both sides. Which Donovan McNabb pointedly did not, even leaving himself and his own win-loss record off his list of failed post-Elway Mike Shanahan quarterbacks. I would welcome a chance to discuss it with McNabb, and I let the producers of First Take know this, but they were not interested in having me on.

Dale from Novato, Calif., asks whether, if the Dallas Cowboys drafted a first-round cornerback, that would mean they're planning to part ways with Mike Jenkins after this season.

DG: Dale, I don't think it would automatically mean that, but as you point out, Jenkins does come with some injury questions. They love the way he played last year when healthy, but he wasn't healthy nearly enough. So if they were to draft a cornerback in the first round this year, they'd obviously be sending a message to Jenkins as well as covering themselves in case he can't get through the year healthy and they decide the best thing is to move on to other options. Better to address this now by thinking ahead then wait until next year when they have a clear problem/need at the position. And in this day and age, there's really no such thing as too many defensive backs.

Chris from Charleston, S.C., tells me that the reason Victor Cruz crushed Brian Orakpo in the Madden 13 cover vote was that Washington Redskins fans were voting against Orakpo because of the "Madden Curse." Chris is of the belief that I've not heard of this "Curse."

DG: Chris, I have heard of the Madden Curse, and of the idea that fans are voting against, rather than for, their favorite players in an effort to avoid having them land on the cover and end up "cursed." I just think it's foolish, and didn't see the need to acknowledge it in my post on the subject. We've reached an odd place in sports-fan history if this is really something about which people feel that strongly.

Tony G from Hamilton, Ontario, wants to know why the Arizona Cardinals are drafting ahead of the Dallas Cowboys when they had identical records and the Cardinals won the head-to-head matchup.

DG: Tony G, head-to-head result is not the tiebreaker for determining draft position. They use relative strength of schedule, and Arizona's was weaker, so their 8-8 record is deemed, for purposes of the draft, to be worse than Dallas' 8-8 record.

Ian from ODU wants to know if I think the Eagles would take Courtney Upshaw, the Alabama LB/DE, with their first-round pick (No. 15 overall) in next month's draft.

DG: Ian, my sense is that Upshaw will be gone by then, making this a moot issue. But if he is there, I'm still not 100 percent sure they take him. Upshaw is being looked at as a pass-rusher, and unless they were going to use him at defensive end in their 4-3 (where they're pretty well stacked with Trent Cole and Jason Babin), he might not be a fit for them. He's probably better suited to a 3-4 team as an outside linebacker who can get after the quarterback. The linebackers in Philadelphia's system aren't responsible for the pass rush.

Paul from Indiana Harbour Beach, Fla., likes Stanford tight end Coby Fleener for the New York Giants when they pick at No. 32 in the first round.

DG: Could definitely happen, Paul, and I agree with you that someone of Fleener's talents could make magic with Eli Manning. But since they've already signed Martellus Bennett and they surely expect Jake Ballard, Travis Beckum or both back at the end of this season if not before, I'm not certain they're looking at tight end as a long-term need position. The Giants will take the best available player still on their board at that spot, and if it's Fleener, I don't think they'd hesitate to do it. But I wouldn't be surprised if the highest player on their board at that point plays offensive tackle or defensive line. They really need a tackle, and they really love to draft defensive linemen.

Ahsen from MD wants to know why the Redskins didn't receive any compensatory draft picks for losing Carlos Rogers in free agency last year.

DG: Ahsen, you only get compensatory picks if your total net loss in free agency is deemed to have exceeded your net gain. So while the Redskins lost Rogers and others last year in free agency, the players they signed -- Stephen Bowen, Barry Cofield, Josh Wilson, etc -- were deemed by the NFL's formula to have been worth more than the total value of the free agents they lost. Hence, no compensatory picks.

Teon Wilson from Richmond, Va., wants to know if it's realistic for the Cowboys to trade for Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel.

DG: A couple of people I spoke with in Palm Beach this week told me they wouldn't be surprised to see the Eagles trade Samuel within the division. Nevertheless, I would. I don't think their need to trade him is so pressing that they'd send him someplace where he'd play against them twice a year. He's still pretty good. My guess is the price for Dallas would be higher than it would be for, say, an AFC team.

Nick from Rutgers wants to know why the Giants aren't at the top of the Breakfast Links posts anymore.

DG: We went back to alphabetical order once the new league year started. New year, standings reset. But I liked doing the links in standings order, and plan to do so again beginning in Week 2 of the 2012 season.

And to answer some questions that came in numerous times from numerous sources:

• I don't know when the arbitrator will decide about the Redskins/Cowboys cap penalties.
• No, I am not crazy.
• Sorry, but unless you're a Redskins fan, I simply do not know which player your team will pick in the first round of the draft.

Enjoy your weekend.

After a day of meeting with the New York Giants in New Jersey, former Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett tweeted a short time ago that he was "officially a New York Giant!!" Bennett deleted the tweet soon thereafter, as he'd done Tuesday night with a tweeted photo he took from a plane as he arrived in the New York area, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the deal between Bennett and the Giants will be a one-year, $2.5 million contract once it is, in fact, official.

Good deal for the champs. Yes, Bennett was a disappointment in Dallas. But he's only 25 years old and he's an athlete of considerable physical talent. The Giants are a team that believes very strongly in the ability of its coaching staff and its quarterback to get the best out of players, and if they can get Bennett focused and dedicated, they could have a steal on their hands. If not, the deal appears to come with minimal risk. It doesn't lock them into Bennett beyond this season, and if he doesn't perform, they'll probably have injured tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum back at the end of the year and therefore plenty of options.

The Giants needed a tight end after losing Ballard and Beckum to knee injuries in the Super Bowl, and they got a young, cheap, talented one. We'll see if they continue to address the position in free agency or the draft, but they clearly targeted Bennett, and they got him locked up on the second day of free agency.

You've waited, speculated, hoped and fretted for months, and today it finally arrived -- the start of NFL free agency. It was a busy and hectic day, as it often is, and it's liable to continue into the wee hours of the morning. But for now, as we creep toward midnight, it seems like a good time to stop and ask each of our division's four teams our favorite free-agency question.

So, how was your day? ...

Washington Redskins?

"Exciting." The Redskins were extremely busy right away, agreeing to deals with wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan and working on another for wide receiver Eddie Royal. The fact that they moved so quickly led to industry-wide cries of "Same old Redskins -- champions of March," because there's no more powerful force in the NFL than conventional wisdom. But an actual close look at what they're doing reveals the kind of smart, long-view plan that Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen began working to execute last offseason.

The old, reckless-spending Redskins would not have been outbid for 29-year-old Vincent Jackson, who got $55.5 million ($26 million guaranteed) from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The receivers the Redskins signed will be 26 and 27 years old at the start of the season. And while five years, $42.5 million ($20.5 million guaranteed) is obviously too much for Garcon, who has never been a No. 1 wide receiver, it's what it cost to get him. Shanahan has identified him as a guy who can explode, based on where he is in his career, the way he'll fit in Shanahan's offense and the potential for him to grow along with Robert Griffin III. If Shanahan's wrong, the contract could haunt him. But he's not just throwing money around. Garcon is a guy Shanahan targeted for good, specific reasons. There is a plan here, and it's likely to continue as they work to fill holes on the offensive line and in the secondary in the coming days and weeks.

The Redskins also re-signed Adam Carriker on Tuesday to maintain depth on the defensive line. What Redskins fans would like to see next is a re-signing of linebacker London Fletcher. I believe the Redskins would like that too, but the longer it goes without getting done, the greater the chance the Redskins will lose one of their most valuable defensive players. What's clear is that, in spite of being docked $36 million against the cap for violating some sort of amorphous fake spending limit during the uncapped 2010 season, the Redskins still have plenty of room to work under the cap.

Dallas Cowboys?

"Better than Monday." A day after learning that they'd be docked $10 million against the salary cap over the next two years for the same kinds of bogus violations that nailed the Redskins, the Cowboys set about executing their own plan. They cut Terence Newman and David Buehler and restructured the contracts of Doug Free and Orlando Scandrick -- a combination of moves that bought them about $15.8 million in extra cap room this year. Then, according to Adam Schefter, they brought in free-agent cornerback Brandon Carr, who at this writing seemed likely to sign with Dallas as Newman's replacement as early as Tuesday night. With Cortland Finnegan having signed for five years and $50 million in St. Louis, and Carlos Rogers having re-signed for four years and about $30 million in San Francisco, the market seemed set for Carr, and the Cowboys seemed determined not to let him leave Dallas without a deal.

Schefter also reported that the Cowboys were looking at Kyle Orton, who'd be an excellent veteran backup option for Tony Romo at quarterback. And ESPNDallas.com writes that the Cowboys plan to bring in former Panthers linebacker Dan Connor and former Bears tight end Kellen Davis for visits as well. Connor makes sense because they'll need depth at linebacker and may need more time for Bruce Carter to develop behind a veteran. Davis makes sense as a possible replacement for Martellus Bennett, who's in New York to visit the Giants. So if they get Carr done, they'll have addressed their most glaring need on the first day and are already at work on filling some other important needs. They still need to find offensive line help, and it looks as though they could lose wide receiver Laurent Robinson to the Jaguars or Dolphins, but cornerback was the place for them to start.

New York Giants?

"Productive." The champs began the day by re-signing cornerback Terrell Thomas, which was a priority of theirs, and buying themselves some cap room with the restructuring of the contract of center David Baas. Then they flew Bennett in for a visit, since they need a tight end to replace the two they lost to serious knee injuries in the Super Bowl. Cowboys fans are chuckling at the idea that another team would want Bennett, who earned a reputation as a pass-dropping underachiever during his time in Dallas. But the Giants see a guy who's 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, fast and still just 25 years old. They certainly trust their coaching staff and their quarterback to get the most out of any player, and if they can get him on a reasonable deal, it's certainly worth a shot that he still could transform his remarkable physical talent into reliable on-field production. And if he can't, Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum should be back healthy at the end of the season anyway. It's worth the Giants' time to check on Bennett.

The Giants target guys they like but are otherwise patient, so don't expect to hear much about them and Mario Manningham, Aaron Ross or Jonathan Goff anytime soon. They'll let those guys see what they can get on the market, and if they come back disappointed and willing to sign for the Giants' numbers, they could return. If not, the Giants feel confident they can find replacements.

Philadelphia Eagles?

Wait. That was today? Yeah, the Eagles had a quiet day. They extended Todd Herremans' contract and, as Sal Paolantonio reported, were working on an extension for Trent Cole as well. Part of the reason for the quiet is that the Eagles did a lot of work in free agency last year and expect those players to play better in 2012. Part of the reason is that the position at which they need the most help is linebacker, and the linebacker market hasn't really started humming yet. I still think Fletcher makes sense for them on a number of levels, and I wonder if he's a guy they're quietly targeting to steal away from Washington. We'll see. They won't go as nuts as they did last year, but the Eagles won't stay silent for long.

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.

Dallas Cowboys

ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon breaks down the Cowboys' offensive line play last season and looks ahead to what might be in store in 2012.

The Cowboys haven't done particularly well drafting linebackers in the past decade -- with DeMarcus Ware and Sean Lee being the notable exceptions.

Is there a rift between owner Jerry Jones and former Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens?

New York Giants

After his breakout 2011 season, receiver Victor Cruz feels he's outplayed his current contract and now he's looking for a new deal. "Honestly, with what I did this year, statistically and the records and everything like that, obviously I feel like just looking at the top players in the league and looking at what I did this year, I feel like naturally there should be an increase in pay," Cruz said.

The Giants will be looking for tight end help this offseason. GM Jerry Reese said tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum will likely both start the 2012 season on the physically unable to perform list.

Philadelphia Eagles

Free-agent receiver Plaxico Burress (45 catches, 612 yards, 8 TDs in 2011) expressed interest in coming south to join the Eagles.

New secondary coach Todd Bowles is intrigued by Philly's talented secondary. "You see a lot of athletes, you see some playmakers back there, and you see some guys that can hit, so you see potential," said Bowles. "You see potential, but you just have to bring it all together."

Washington Redskins

The Redskins need to resist the temptation to fill their hole at quarterback by chasing a short-term fix like Peyton Manning, argues the Washington Post's Jason Reid. Instead, Reid would like to see the Skins acquire Baylor's Robert Griffin III.

Meanwhile, Mike Jones makes a case for the Redskins to tab Kyle Orton as their quarterback.

Thanks to the blog editors for picking me up on the breakfast links Tuesday. There was just no way. But I'm back! For today, at least, and we resume our daily trip around the division through the eyes of others. Curious to get your thoughts: Do we keep doing the links in order of division standings right through the offseason, or is there some point at which it makes sense to go back to doing them alphabetically? These are the things that keep me up nights, you know.

New York Giants

It turns out that not one but two Giants tight ends tore ACLs in the Super Bowl. The Giants announced Travis Beckum's during the game and Jake Ballard's on Tuesday while they were parading up the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan. It's unlikely either will be ready for the start of the 2012 season, so expect this to be an area the Giants address in the draft or in free agency.

Osi Umenyiora says he plans to "party for a month" and not worry about his own Giants future. With a year left on a deal about which he was so publicly sour a year ago, you'd have to think he'd want out. But in the wake of his second Super Bowl title, Umenyiora's saying all the right things, including, "It is not going to be on me," which made me wonder if he means he's done complaining about his contract and asking for trades or if he's just speaking literally to the fact that he's under contract for another year and it's up to the team to decide what to do with him.

Philadelphia Eagles

Trent Cole says the Eagles were "inches away from being great, being a dominant team" in 2011, and that he thinks "some teams are going to be worried about" playing the Eagles in 2012. Any or all of those things could be true, but in this humble reporter's opinion, it might be a nice idea for the Eagles to have a quiet offseason from a talking standpoint.

If the Eagles part company with DeSean Jackson, I think it'd make some sense for them to take a wide receiver with the 15th pick in the draft. Sheil Kapadia examines the wisdom of such a move and takes a look at the recent success (or lack thereof) of first-round wide receivers.

Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo will be playing in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend with Tiger Woods, who thinks highly of the Cowboys' quarterback as a golfer. I put this in here because I know how much you guys like to read about Tony Romo's golf game.

In case you missed it the other day, SportsCenter had a debate about which team that missed the 2011-12 playoffs has the best chance to win Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans next February. Tim Hasselbeck said the Cowboys, Herman Edwards said the Eagles. It begins!

Washington Redskins

Mike Jones believes the Redskins are interested in a pursuit of Peyton Manning, assuming he's healthy. But he ponders the question of whether Manning would want the Redskins back. Mike Shanahan has talked a lot about the importance of improving the group around the quarterback -- in particular wide receiver and the offensive line. If he's planning to try and woo Manning, he should be ready to show him how he plans to do that.

Brian Mitchell remembers the days when the Redskins didn't take pride in beating the eventual Super Bowl champion but rather in being the eventual Super Bowl champion.

INDIANAPOLIS — The New York Giants already lost backup tight end Travis Beckum to a knee injury in the first half of Super Bowl XLVI, and it appears as though they have lost starting tight end Jake Ballard to a knee injury as well. Ballard injured his knee on a play in the fourth quarter. And while he walked off the field under his own power, when he tried to test out the knee by running on the sideline he fell down and had to be helped to the locker room.

Assuming Ballard can't come back into the game, the only tight end the Giants have for the final 9:24 is Bear Pascoe.

INDIANAPOLIS — New York Giants tight end Travis Beckum suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the second quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday night against the New England Patriots. He is obviously out for the remainder of the game, and his ability to be ready for the start of the 2012 season is in serious question.

Beckum was jammed by a defender while running a route with the Giants driving up 9-3 in the second quarter and crumpled to the ground. He had to be helped off the field by trainers, and the announcement of his injury came soon thereafter.

Beckum had five catches for 93 yards and a touchdown in the regular season and seven catches for 45 yards in the playoffs. He is not the Giants' primary tight end, and the fact that starter Jake Ballard is healthy helps lessen the loss. Tough break for Beckum, though, who has a long recovery ahead of him and has to watch the rest of the Super Bowl from the sideline.

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

The New York Giants are supposed to be one of the furniture franchises of the NFL. You know where you stand with them. There's a reliable consistency to the way they conduct themselves, operate their franchise and play the game. When you think about the Giants, you think about tough defense and gritty offense. You think about running backs grinding out yards -- three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust-type stuff that works no matter the era, no matter the windy, cold late-season weather in northern New Jersey.

Which is why it's a little jarring to see that this Giants team -- the one that heads to Dallas on Sunday for a critical NFC East showdown with the Dallas Cowboys -- bears so little resemblance to its run-focused forebears. The 2011 Giants are a passing team, plain and simple. And with Eli Manning as their quarterback, they've become one of the best passing teams in the league.

"They're explosive at all of the skill positions," Cowboys safety Abram Elam said in a phone interview this week. "You've got a lot of guys to account for, and you always have to be aware that they can beat you with the big play in the passing game."

That sounds like the Patriots, and it sounds like the Saints and the Packers and maybe the Peyton Manning Colts. But it's still a little bit surprising, given what we thought we always knew about the Giants and their place in the NFL establishment, that such a description could apply to Big Blue. This year's Giants still wish they could run, and they still open the game trying to run. But there they sit at the very bottom of the stat sheet -- 32nd in the league at 3.3 yards per carry and 83.8 rush yards per game. If a team that really considered itself a running team put up numbers like that, it wouldn't win any games at all.

Fortunately for the Giants, they've turned into a high-octane passing offense. They rank fourth in the league in passing yards, behind only the Saints, Patriots and Packers. They have one wide receiver, Victor Cruz, who's already cracked 1,000 receiving yards and another, Hakeem Nicks, who's only 140 yards away. Manning is fourth in the league in passing yards and fifth in attempts, and he's 295 yards away from 4,000 for the season. That would be the fifth 4,000-yard passing season in Giants' team history. It would also be Manning's third in a row.

"Everybody last week was talking about Aaron Rodgers being a Super Bowl MVP, and he is a great quarterback and having an unbelievable year, but we have the same thing on our side behind us," Giants left tackle David Diehl said. "At the beginning of the season when he compared himself in the same caliber, he got a lot of heat for that and people said 'how can he do that?' But Eli's having an incredible year."

When the Giants need a play, Manning throws the ball. He has shrugged off the departure of Steve Smith and the injuries to Mario Manningham and helped turn Cruz into a superstar wide receiver on the opposite side of the field from the brilliant Nicks. He found tight end Jake Ballard in key situations on a game-winning drive this season in New England. He hooked up with tight end Travis Beckum for a long touchdown pass last week. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw returned after four missed games because of injury, and Manning started last week's game with a screen pass to him.

"The way he's playing, everybody's going to be looking to him," Nicks said of Manning. "He's leading our offense. He's staying confident until the last minute, motivating guys in the huddle, making sure everybody knows when the play could come to them. He's got that energy and that confidence in himself and in everybody else, and everyone on our offense feeds off of him."

They can resist it all they want, and preach the importance of balance on offense. But it doesn't look like this year's Giants, with a banged-up Bradshaw, a faded Brandon Jacobs and all of the offensive line problems they have had (not to mention their injury-riddled defense), can really make good on that.

The Giants are poised to make a run and, in spite of their current four-game losing streak, win the NFC East and get into the playoffs. They have four games left, two against first-place Dallas, and their fate is in their hands. They've had a chance to win every game they've played this season except the one two weeks ago in New Orleans, and there's little reason to think they can't or won't have chances to win these last four. But when they do get that chance, this season's Giants are going to do something the Giants of years past weren't known for doing. They're going to ask their quarterback to air it out. Because that's what this year's Giants do best.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- You could look at this two ways. You could say the New York Giants are only down by four points at the half to the 11-0 Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers and therefore have a chance to win it. Or you could say that things have gone about as well as they possibly could have gone for the Giants so far and they're still losing. But you guys know me. I'm an optimist. I'm looking at it the first way.

The first drive of the game, when they went to Ahmad Bradshaw twice and then downfield to Travis Beckum for that dazzling catch-and-run for the long touchdown, showed that the Giants have what it takes to hang with the Packers offensively. Everybody laughed when I wrote last week that the Giants have enough in the passing game to outscore Green Bay, but it's true. The Packers came into this game ranked third in the league in pass yards per game, and the Giants were fourth. That's not a mismatch, and with the Packers' defense banged up, there will be and have been plenty of opportunities for Eli Manning down the field.

They key is to avoid turnovers, since that's the food that sustains the Packer defense. Manning made a poor decision on the early second-quarter interception that Clay Matthews returned for a touchdown. You just can't allow the Packers to put points on the board while Aaron Rodgers is on the sideline. The second turnover wasn't really Manning's fault, as the pass protection broke down and Matthews walloped him from behind to force a fumble. And it didn't end up costing anything (except a chance to score more points) because the Packers missed the field goal with time running out in the first half.

But the offensive line remains a concern. It has been a major weakness all season for the Giants, and now it is very banged up. With left tackle Will Beatty already out indefinitely and David Diehl having moved from guard to tackle to replace him, center David Baas was a late scratch due to headaches. So Kevin Boothe moved from left guard to center and Mitch Petrus started at left guard. While the line has blocked surprisingly well in the run game for Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, they've been a mess in pass protection, and that's likely to cost the Giants as they'll have to throw to keep up with Rodgers and the Packers.

There is a chance they'll be able to do it, though. They've already intercepted Rodgers once, and their pass rush seems re-engergized and has been delivering hits on Rodgers all game long. If those hits add up and begin to rattle Rodgers into mistakes, the Giants might be able to keep this game close.

A couple more thoughts:

• The main problem the Giants have with the Packers is that they can't cover everyone. Greg Jennings, their best receiver, is standing open by himself on the sideline in the first quarter. Donald Driver, their fifth-best receiver, is wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. Jermichael Finley, their huge and talented tight end, is a mismatch for anyone in their secondary. The Giants are playing with great energy, but might not have the personnel on defense that they need to stop the Packers. To be fair, though, no one in the league has this season.
• The loss of running back James Starks, who left early in the game with an injury, hasn't seemed to affect the Packers, who have been able to use rookie Brandon Saine in the screen game and the run game with some success.
• Chase Blackburn, re-signed just this last week because of the Osi Umenyiora injury, was the linebacker who made the interception of Rodgers. You could have gotten some good odds against that one a couple of days ago.

Good morning in the East. It is the day before the start of the NFL's regular season, and four days before the start of play in our favorite division. It is raining, still, and I think the old man next door just got home with two giraffes and two hippos. But as far as I know, no one in East Rutherford has torn a knee ligament yet today. So we hit the links.

Dallas Cowboys

One of the things ESPNDallas.com's Todd Archer is wondering this week is whether size was the main reason the Cowboys brought in reserve offensive lineman Derrick Dockery. Rookie left guard Bill Nagy has played well, but Dockery has at least 25 pounds on him, and Nagy did on occasion get overpowered by big interior defensive linemen in the preseason. Nagy may need time to get stronger before he can be a regular starter in the league, and Dockery could be the fallback if that progress doesn't happen quickly enough.

Clarence Hill says Dez Bryant's rookie contract might not be sufficient to help him overcome his personal financial problems. Sheesh. Not sure what you do about that. Tough to believe an NFL team would re-work a guy's contract just because he can't pay his bills. Dez is going to have to perform if that's to be his solution.

New York Giants

Sure, they could bring in a veteran like Kawika Mitchell to add to their depth. But if the Giants are going to replace injured linebackers Jonathan Goff and Clint Sintim, they're most likely going to do it with rookies.

Jake Ballard did the Giants a favor at cutdown time last year, and they did right by him. Now, with Kevin Boss gone off to Oakland and Travis Beckum yet to impress as his replacement, Ballard is listed as the starting tight end on this week's depth chart. He has a chance to win the job because no one else has yet.

Philadelphia Eagles

Former Eagle Terrell Owens says that, if he were DeSean Jackson, he wouldn't play Sunday without a new contract. The Eagles and their fans are surely glad, in this case, that Jackson is not Owens, as they need him to play Sunday. In turn, Jackson hopes the Eagles reward his decision by continuing to work on the new contract he wants.

Meet Eagles left guard Evan Mathis, who thinks he may have helped himself get that starting job through the use of Twitter.

Washington Redskins

Lots of mystery surrounding the health status of Redskins safety LaRon Landry, who doesn't look as if he'll be playing Sunday when the team opens the season against the Giants. Should be interesting to hear Landry address some of these details he's been hinting about on Twitter.

And lots of opportunity for the large group of receivers remaining on the Redskins' roster after cutdown day. It will be interesting to see if the Redskins have another move or two up their sleeves, because at least three of the wide receivers they kept aren't special-teamers, and I'm pretty sure they intend to run the ball a lot.

Have a lovely day.