ESPN NFL

As we've mentioned a few times lately, there's not a lot of drama left with regard to the signing of first-round draft picks, but New York Giants fans will be interested to know their team has apparently come to terms with first-round pick David Wilson, the running back from Virginia Tech. Wilson would have been at the start of rookie minicamp today anyway, since unsigned rookies are allowed, but now the Giants know they'll have him for every part of the offseason program, in case they ever had any doubt.

What will Wilson be for the Giants? And when will he be it? They ranked last in the league in rushing offense last year during the regular season, and Brandon Jacobs, who had about 40 percent of their carries, left for San Francisco in free agency. So Wilson will get an opportunity, as will veteran backs Da'Rel Scott, Andre Brown and D.J. Ware, behind starter Ahmad Bradshaw (though Brown is suspended for the first four games for a drug policy violation). It's obviously extremely unlikely that Wilson is similar as a player to Jacobs, since no one is, and that the Giants' running game will operate differently this year no matter who gets Jacobs' carries. That might not be a bad thing, especially if Bradshaw can stay healthy for a whole season and handle a starter's workload while the Giants sort out what they have in the young guys behind him.

Incidentally, for those who decry the rookie wage scale, the Giants had the last pick in the first round four years ago, and Kenny Phillips got a $2.53 million signing bonus. The slot where Wilson was picked says he should be getting about $3.3 million. So it's not as though the new regulations are killing these guys. The only place where rookie salaries ever really looked to be getting out of control was up around the top five picks. And even that was overblown, if you ask me. But as usual, they did not.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — They gave up 360 passing yards the last time they played the Green Bay Packers, and that wasn't even the worst day of the season for the New York Giants' secondary. It is not the strength of their team, and the main reason it's looked better lately is the effective aggressiveness of the defensive line as it pressures quarterbacks. But while he's clearly not ready to proclaim that all is well on the back end, Giants coach Tom Coughlin believes his secondary will be better in Sunday's playoff rematch in Green Bay than it was in the 38-35 Week 13 loss at the Meadowlands.

"We're definitely going to be tested in the secondary, obviously," Coughlin said before Wednesday's practice. "There has been improvement — a plastering effect, if you will. Much better than it was a few short weeks ago. I think that's the growth of the confidence that comes from the pass rush, to the ability to stop the run and then to be able to execute on the back end — knowing full well that naturally there's yardage to be gained but nevertheless that we stay away from the big play."

Against the Packers, with their dynamic and myriad receiving threats and quarterback Aaron Rodgers' pinpoint accuracy, that's the best for which you can hope. The Giants must trust their pass rushers to harass Rodgers and then make sure their cornerbacks and safeties don't get burned for anything too deep. Rodgers can beat them by throwing short all the way down the field, but at least if you force him to play that way you're giving yourself more chances to make a play to stop him or get a turnover.

"We have to do our job in the secondary and make sure we take away their wide receivers," safety Antrel Rolle said. "I understand they're an awesome opponent, but then again so are we. I wouldn't put any opponent on a pedestal."

One thing the Giants have going in their favor is that they're much healthier on defense than they were in the first Green Bay game. That day, linebacker Michael Boley was still coming back from a hamstring injury. Chase Blackburn had just been signed off the street. Osi Umenyiora was out with an ankle injury. Safety Kenny Phillips hurt his knee in the second quarter and had to come out of the game. Safety Deon Grant said Wednesday he remembers the all-hands-on-deck feeling from a game in which he had to spend some time at middle linebacker.

"A lot of guys were just out there guessing," Grant said. "So I think the biggest thing this time will be the ability to play full-speed and just being concise on everything with everybody in the right place and knowing what they're supposed to do."

Will it be enough to slow down Rodgers & Co.? We'll find out Sunday. But the Giants definitely go into this game feeling better equipped to do so than they did six weeks ago.

Suzy and Mort discuss their matchups to watch in Week 14; Marcellus and Jon debate the NFL’s most clutch quarterback; Did You Hear That? asks if Chris Johnson can carry the Titans to the postseason.

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

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

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

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

Lots of movement is to be expected on these types of things early in the season, and so it is that we see some major shifts in key spots on this week's All-Division Team. The biggest change this week -- or at least the one likely to stir the most debate -- is at quarterback, where the Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo takes over for the Philadelphia Eagles' Michael Vick.

And no, it is not lost on me that there's a chance neither of those guys plays this week. But this team is based solely on 2011 performance to date. And while Vick, Rex Grossman and even Eli Manning after Monday's rough start have all performed very well this year relative to the rest of the league, Romo has statistically outperformed them all. And I'm just not going to hold a Week 1 goal-line fumble and Darrelle Revis interception against him the whole year.

I'll give you the rest of the team now, and then some more thoughts after:

Quarterback: Tony Romo, Cowboys (Last week: Vick)

Running back: LeSean McCoy, Eagles (McCoy)

Wide receiver: Miles Austin, Cowboys; Hakeem Nicks, Giants (Nicks, DeSean Jackson)

Tight end: Jason Witten, Cowboys (Witten)

Fullback: Darrel Young, Redskins (Young)

Left tackle: Jason Peters, Eagles (Doug Free)

Left guard: Kory Lichtensteiger, Redskins (Lichtensteiger)

Center: David Baas, Giants (Jason Kelce)

Right guard: Chris Snee, Giants (Snee)

Right tackle: Tyron Smith, Cowboys (Kareem McKenzie)

Defensive end: Trent Cole, Eagles; Justin Tuck, Giants (Cole, Jason Babin)

Defensive tackle: Cullen Jenkins, Eagles; Jay Ratliff, Cowboys (Jenkins, Linval Joseph)

Outside linebacker: DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys; Ryan Kerrigan, Redskins (Ware, Kerrigan)

Inside linebacker: Sean Lee, Cowboys; London Fletcher, Redskins (Lee, Greg Jones)

Cornerback: Nnamdi Asomugha, Eagles; Asante Samuel, Eagles (Samuel, Mike Jenkins)

Safety: Kenny Phillips, Giants; O.J. Atogwe, Redskins (Phillips, Jarrad Page)

Kicker: Dan Bailey, Cowboys (Alex Henery)

Punter: Sav Rocca, Redskins (Rocca)

Kick returner: Brandon Banks, Redskins (Banks)

Punt returner: Brandon Banks, Redskins (Banks)

• Yes, I thought Free had a bad enough game to cost him his spot at left tackle. The best left tackle I saw in Week 2 was Washington's Trent Williams, but he was too shaky in the opener to grab the spot ahead of the ever-steady Peters. Kareem McKenzie on the right side had an uncharacteristically poor game for the Giants, and the rookie in Dallas has looked extremely good so far.
• At center, tough game for the rookie Kelce in Philly. I gave strong consideration to giving this spot to Washington's Will Montgomery for his work in the run game, but he looks too vulnerable to an inside pass rush. Baas' biggest problem seems to be the occasional communication breakdown with left guard David Diehl, and I'm not sure whose fault that is. Overall, he's played the best.
• I thought about giving Michael Boley one of the outside linebacker spots, even though the 4-3 OLBs are at a major disadvantage against the pass-rushing 3-4 guys. Boley's been outstanding, and his fumble-recovery touchdown was a game-changer Monday night for the Giants. But Ware and Kerrigan have been superb and did nothing in Week 2 to warrant losing their spots.
• I don't think anyone in the division is playing cornerback especially well. Of course, looking at the passing numbers around the league, I'm not sure anyone in any other division is playing cornerback especially well either.
• Sample size still too small on kickers. Bailey missed an easy one early in Week 2 but hit the big one to send it to overtime and then the game winner. Graham Gano also hit a game-winner for the Redskins, but he's 1-for-3 in the 30- to 39-yard range. Blech. As for punter, Sav Rocca has seven punts downed inside the 20-yard line. No one else in the division has more than two.

Fire away. Let me know what you think. As usual, I'll spend part of the day in the comments to try to answer questions about this as they arise.

WHAT IT MEANS: So the New York Jets captured the Snoopy trophy as the winner of the first annual MetLife Bowl against the New York Giants. Yawn. Based on the way his team played, Rex Ryan should punt the trophy. Forget about the final score, 17-3; the Jets’ starters were badly outplayed in the first half, out gained 209 to 61. The offense was a disaster and the Jets made dumb penalties. Basically, they played like they didn’t give a hoot about the preseason.

WOE IS O: Mark Sanchez & Co. was brutal. Can you say “regression”? In seven possessions, the Jets’ starting offense punted five times, lost a fumble (Sanchez) and, somehow, saved face with a touchdown -- a 17-yard pass to Santonio Holmes. They probably wouldn’t have scored the touchdown if it weren’t for Antonio Cromartie, who set up the offense at the Giants’ 35 with a 70-yard kickoff return.

Sanchez (8-for-16, 64 yards) was off his game from the outset, appearing indecisive as he made his reads. But this mess wasn’t all his fault. The pass protection was shoddy and his receivers, namely Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason, couldn’t gain separation against the Giants’ cornerbacks. That could be something to watch, as Burress and Mason -- 34 and 37, respectively -- aren’t the fastest guys around.

The starters won’t play in Thursday night’s finale against the Eagles, which means the No. 1 offense scored only three touchdowns in 5 1/2 quarters for the preseason. Blech!

DUMB & DUMBER: The Jets were undisciplined, committing five major penalties. The biggest blunder came from rookie defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who was ejected in the third quarter after taking a swing at running back Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs swung back, so he, too, was tossed. Wilkerson, whom the Jets are counting on to be a starter, deserves an earful from Ryan. That is unacceptable behavior.

But Wilkerson wasn’t the only guilty Jet. Right taclke Wayne Hunter (unsportsmanlike conduct), safety Brodney Pool (chop block on a punt), safety Emanuel Cook (facemask) and cornerback Donald Strickland (unnecessary roughness) all committed 15-yard penalties. Shame on them.

All told, the Jets had seven penalties for 79 yards, including a holding call on wide receiver Courtney Smith that nullified a touchdown run by backup quarterback Greg McElroy.

THE PLAX EFFECT: Burress doesn’t need to touch the ball to have an impact on the game. You saw that on Holmes’ touchdown reception. Burress lined up in the right slot, with Holmes on the outside, against the Giants’ three-by-two coverage. Safety Kenny Phillips rolled toward Burress, leaving Holmes in man-to-man against cornerback Corey Webster. Phillips tried to get back, but it was too late. Holmes ran a post route and got open in the back of the end zone.

Aside from that contribution, Burress’ anticipated matchup against his old team turned out to be a big zero -- as in zero catches. Burress, coming off his sensational debut against the Bengals, was targeted four times. In fact, Sanchez completed only four passes to his wideouts.

OPPORTUNISTIC D: For a team with a very good defense, the Jets made an alarmingly low number of interceptions last season (12). So far, they seem to be reversing the trend. Safety Jim Leonhard and linebacker David Harris intercepted two of Manning's passes, giving the Jets six picks in three games (two by Leonhard). Leonhard’s interception was set up by Harris, who came on an inside blitz and slammed Manning.

BEND BUT DON’T BREAK: Aside from the interceptions, the Jets’ No. 1 defense did some nice things in one half of play, holding the Giants to 2-for-8 on third down and 0-for-1 in the red zone. But -- and this is a big "but" -- they were pushed around between the 20s. The Jets allowed 209 total yards in the first half, uncharacteristic for a Rex Ryan-coached defense. Their conventional pass rush was nowhere to be found and there were a couple of missed tackles in the open field, including a big one by linebacker Bart Scott.

THE NEW BRAD: The Jets finally unveiled their 2011 version of the Wildcat, with rookie wide receiver Jeremy Kerley -- no surprise -- taking the direct snap and playing the role of Brad Smith. The Jets ran it four times, resulting in 39 yards. Kerley ran twice for 13 yards, handed off to Joe McKnight for eight and threw a pass -- yes, a pass! -- to Matt Mulligan for 18. That will give the Cowboys a little extra to think about as they prepare for the season opener.

Observations from the Giants 41-13 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football":

We preach all the time that preseason games don't matter, but so few people really take it to heart. Fans like to hang on every play, to wonder whether or not it matters that Eli Manning doesn't look sharp, or to try and figure out whether or not Brandon Jacobs deserves more carries than Ahmad Bradshaw. But in the end, there are no accurate judgments to be made off of these games and the only thing that actually matters in any of them is that nobody gets seriously hurt.

And that's why, regardless of the final score or the potentially very encouraging way the rest of the team played during the game itself, Monday night's victory over the Bears was a disaster for the New York Giants.

Shortly before halftime, Giants starting cornerback Terrell Thomas collided with Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and limped off the field. At halftime, Giants coach Tom Coughlin revealed to ESPN's Suzy Kolber than Thomas had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and would miss the entire season.

This is devastating news, first and foremost, for Thomas, one of the very good guys and leaders on the Giants' roster and a player who has one year left before free agency. Thoughts go out to him, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

But it's also awful news for the Giants, who earlier this preseason lost cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson to major injuries (and later in this game saw Brian Witherspoon carted off with a knee injury). Amukamara is out for at least a couple of months, Johnson for the year and now a team that was already struggling for depth at cornerback has lost one of its starters. They've gone from hoping Aaron Ross could be a reliable No. 3 corner and play as their extra defensive back in passing situations to hoping Ross can be a reliable starter and probably using safety Deon Grant in that role as they did last year. The Giants weren't deep to begin with, and they came out of their second preseason game with a major hole on the roster and in the starting lineup.

So that's all that matters from this game, period. But if you want to know what else I saw that might have a chance to matter down the road if by some coincidence regular-season developments jive with preseason performance in specific areas, here you go.

1. On the bright side, Ross looked very good. He knocked down two Jay Cutler passes intended for Roy Williams on third down early in the game. He made another play on a receiver later to prevent a touchdown (though he may have pushed off on that coverage). He made a nice tackle on Marion Barber behind the line of scrimmage in the third quarter. You could do worse than Ross as a fill-in cornerback when one of your starters gets hurt, and it's encouraging that he played well. But again, the Giants were figuring on Ross as their third corner, not one of their top two.

2. Oh, and X-rays on William Beatty's foot were negative. Which is a good thing. Beatty didn't have to take on Julius Peppers all night as we expected, since the Bears moved Peppers over to the other side to terrorize Kareem McKenzie and the Giants' overmatched tight ends. Beatty looked better overall in this game, holding his own and keeping his man off the quarterback, though he still looks a little grabby to me. You don't like to see a left tackle reaching quite as much as Beatty does to try and prevent the edge rush. He's got to do a better job of getting his whole body in front of his guy, or he's going to be a walking holding penalty.

3. Giants' special teams looked better. Devin Thomas is really showing his speed and athleticism on kick returns. Matt Dodge and Steve Weatherford both bombed huge punts all night. There was good kick coverage, including a big tackle by receiver Victor Cruz as he continues to work to try and secure a spot in the receiving corps. Jerrel Jernigan doesn't show much on punt returns, but the Giants had so many problems on special teams last year that if they can get it down to just one, Coughlin is going to be ecstatic.

4. How did those receivers keep getting open between Corey Webster and Kenny Phillips? It happened twice in the first half, and Cutler hit it for a big gain each time. It looked as though the receiver got by Webster and Phillips didn't get over in time to help. There are three possibilities that I can see: 1. Webster let his man go by him without making sure he had the safety help; 2. Phillips was supposed to help but was slow getting over; 3. Phillips went with the tight end up the seam after the tight end got by middle linebacker Jonathan Goff, which would kind of lead back to (1.) though with some blame to be shared by Goff. Either way, I'm certain it'll be discussed in detail in meetings this week. The Giants will obviously need mistake-free play from Webster and Phillips with as vital a piece as Thomas now missing from the secondary.

5. Victor Cruz, preseason wonder. Domenik Hixon had the big touchdown catch, but I really believe the Giants are trying to bring Hixon along slowly as he's coming back from his knee injury. And if that's the case, it opens up opportunities for guys like Cruz to get more reps at wide receiver. Cruz lined up with the starters in the team's three-receiver sets at the start of the game, and he did a lot of good, athletic, impressive things, just like he did last year in the preseason. As long as he keeps contributing on special teams, he's a good bet to make the roster. And if he does and Hixon is still being babied come the regular season, Cruz should get a serious chance to show whether or not his preseason success can carry into the regular season this time.

6. Some notes on the sure things. Manning looked fine, though I wouldn't put him in John Beck's class as a preseason quarterback. (Easy, folks... I kid because I love...) Brandon Jacobs looked especially spry on his touchdown run. And how about Justin Tuck's downfield tackle on Matt Forte? Tuck's a beast, but I couldn't help thinking a linebacker or a safety should have made that unnecessary. Overall, the Giants' defense looked very good, especially when it came time to keep the Bears out of the end zone in goal-line situations. Mark Herzlich's interception on the fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter was the most fun of the stops.

7. Still could use a tight end. Not that this is a Priority No. 1 at this point, but Travis Beckum and Bear Pascoe have been fully underwhelming at a key position for the Giants' passing game. We saw Manning audible at the line a few times and look to check it down, but with Steve Smith in Philadelphia and Kevin Boss in Oakland, he's still looking for reliable options to serve as safety valves. There was a third-down throw on which he and Mario Manningham couldn't connect that made you think he missed Smith. But two more preseason games to go and work still to be done, as is the case with every team.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I love a contrarian point of view, and K.C. Joyner's got one here. While everybody is gushing over the Philadelphia Eagles as free-agent champs and NFC East favorites, K.C. has written an Insider piece listing eight reasons to think the New York Giants should be the favorites instead. Like I said, it's an Insider piece, so if you want to read it you can either buy the insider subscription or call my cell phone and I'll give you my password.

K.C.'s eight reasons are:

1. Michael Vick was lucky last season, as a high percentage of his potential interceptions weren't actually intercepted.

2. Eli Manning was unlucky last season on the opposite end of the same scale.

3. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are better against good coverage than DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are.

4. Manning can overcome the loss of Kevin Boss and Steve Smith simply by throwing to Nicks and Manningham more.

5. Jason Pierre-Paul and Marvin Austin will improve the Giants' already strong pass rush.

6. Steve Weatherford is a better punter than Matt Dodge, who cost them games last season.

7. Offensive line coach Pat Flaherty is the best in the NFL, and that should help the transition to the reworked alignment there.

8. Kenny Phillips is fully healthy.

K.C. has numbers to back up many of these points, and many of them are points with which I agree. I think Phillips will be a huge help, agree completely on Weatherford and can easily believe both that Manning will throw fewer interceptions than he did last season and that Vick won't be quite as awesome as he was last season. On the comparison of the two teams' wideouts, I have no reason to doubt K.C.'s numbers.

I have specific issues with points 4, 5 and 7, as follows:

4. I don't think it's as simple as "throw it to Nicks and Manningham more." Nicks and Manningham surely benefited from defenses having to pay attention to Smith, who'd caught 107 balls the season before, when he was on the field. He's gone and has not been replaced.

5. I like Pierre-Paul and Austin fine, but they're not being added to the mix. They're replacing people who have departed. Mathias Kiwanuka moved back from the line to linebacker, and Pierre-Paul will take his spot. Barry Cofield signed with the Redskins, and Austin replaces him. It's a big leap to believe that those two young players will approximate the production and performance of those two veterans and a bigger one to believe they'll improve on it.

7. Flaherty could be a wizard, but if William Beatty isn't ready for the starting left tackle job in his third season in the league, the Giants' line will struggle. And as of right now, we still don't know if he is.

So what do I think of K.C.'s basic thesis? I think the Giants have a very good team as far as the front-line starters go, and I don't think it'd be some huge upset if they won the division. I have all kinds of respect for the work K.C. does and the numbers on which he is basing his conclusions. He makes a strong case and a case worth making amid all the Eagles hype.

But the way I see it, the Giants' problem the past couple of seasons hasn't been one of measurables.

The Giants' defense over the past two seasons has been inconsistent and hasn't always played up to the level of the talent on the roster. The same can be said, in places, for the running game and for Manning. The Giants were good enough to make the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but didn't, and the reason they didn't was because the good players they have in key spots like that didn't always perform the way the numbers would expect them to perform. Supposedly reliable parts of the roster let them down when it mattered most. Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled. Manning threw interceptions. Kareem McKenzie had an inexplicably bad game against the Titans. Half of the defense quit on its coordinator in 2009.

That's the kind of stuff that doesn't show up in preseason projections, when we're imagining everyone playing as well as they can possibly play and predicting outcomes based on that. If the Giants stay healthy and play 16 games that reflect the talent on their roster, sure, they can be division champs. But that was true last season and the season before, too. And those teams, which looked a lot like this team except maybe deeper, didn't do it.

Yeah, forgot about this because it had been a while, but we write posts reacting to free-agent signings, and the New York Giants on Tuesday re-signed safety Deon Grant, who started eight games and played all 16 for them last year.

This is a good signing for the Giants, who were starting to look a little too thin in the secondary with injuries to cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Bruce Johnson. Grant is a versatile player who was used in a number of three-safety sets with the Giants last year and could be again since they're not going to be able to deploy Amukamara as they'd hoped over the first half of the season.

Grant is also very popular in the locker room and was one of the leaders on last year's Giants team. Fellow safety Kenny Phillips, when I spoke with him last week at Giants camp, told me learning the position from Grant was one of the great benefits of a 2010 season in which Phillips was still getting up to full speed physically following his 2009 knee injury.

"He's just a savvy veteran player," Phillips said. "I actually still watch film of him now, just watching his technique and how he was able to play different positions on the field, just taking his value up. He's a guy who'll play any spot, any time, however he can help the team."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It's funny to say this about a team that plays where they play, but the New York Giants like it when nobody notices them. They like being forgotten, underestimated, treated as an afterthought. They're OK with the Jets getting all the back-page-tabloid attention and the Eagles being the big offseason story because of their free-agent shopping spree. The Giants believe in their own way of doing things, and if that means lying in the weeds while people on the outside are distracted by other teams that are hot at the moment, that's fine with them.

"We believe in our organization, and we believe in our coaches," said ninth-year offensive lineman David Diehl, who has moved from left tackle to left guard as part of the Giants' offensive line shuffle. "We're not running around doing the free-agency fiasco and all that stuff. Yeah, you hope that, if an opportunity arises, you bring in guys that fit holes. But at the same time, we've got guys that have been here, guys that are a part of this team, guys who know the system."

That's why, even though they lost tight end Kevin Boss and receiver Steve Smith in free agency and didn't sign new guys the way the Eagles did, the Giants say they're not worried. They have a different way of doing things here. They build through the draft and groom their own players to replace the ones who leave. And they have a few guys they think can fill the holes created by their cuts and free-agent defections. It remains to be seen whether they're right, of course, but the vibe at Giants training camp is clear: Go ahead, underestimate us. We'll see how it turns out in the end.

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. The new offensive line. When they cut longtime center Shaun O'Hara and guard Rich Seubert on the first day of free agency, the Giants signaled a decision to change an aspect of their team that hadn't changed much over the past six or seven years. They signed free-agent center David Baas from San Francisco, moved Diehl inside, and gave the starting left tackle job to 2009 second-round draft pick William Beatty. So there are questions that must be answered about how quickly the newly configured group can jell, how smooth the relationship between Baas and quarterback Eli Manning will be and, perhaps most importantly, whether Beatty in his third NFL season is ready for the responsibility of protecting Manning's blind side.

"In the case of William Beatty, it's time," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "We've had him here. He's talented. He's had an opportunity to learn. He's practiced against some of the best. We've had some defensive ends around here that can play. So it's time. It's his turn."

Beatty started four games in his rookie season and two last season as he was being groomed for this opportunity. He's perhaps the best example of the Giants' belief in their ability to groom their own replacements for departing veterans rather than having to hit the free-agent market to do so. Now, he must prove that their faith in him was justified.

2. Can Osi Umenyiora be happy? Upset about his contract, the Giants' star defensive end has sat out practice and demanded that the team re-work his deal or trade him to a team that will. Neither of those things appears likely to happen, though the Giants have offered an olive branch in the form of some 2011 incentives depending on the number of sacks Umenyiora gets this year. He had his knee checked out last week and there's a sense he could return to practice Monday. The way Jason Pierre-Paul played in Saturday night's preseason opener only helped the Giants' leverage in this situation. They believe Pierre-Paul, their 2010 first-round pick, can be a capable replacement for Umenyiora at the defensive end spot opposite Justin Tuck. Of course, if Umenyiora wants to come back and play, they'll be thrilled to be able to rotate three such weapons at the defensive end spots. It would also enable them to put Mathias Kiwanuka at linebacker and leave him there.

3. Manning's safety valves. As the Giants' passing game evolved over the past couple of seasons, Manning relied heavily on Smith and Boss as targets when things broke down. Both are gone. The Giants hope that 2009 third-round pick Travis Beckum is ready to replace Boss. Beckum is a good receiver, but he doesn't have Boss' size or blocking ability. And they're trying everyone from Mario Manningham to Domenik Hixon to Victor Cruz in Smith's old slot-receiver role in the hopes that someone can play the position the way Smith did. Top receiver Hakeem Nicks appears poised to have another big year, and the Giants can use Manningham on the outside as they did last season. But Manning is justifiably concerned about who will be there for him when a play inevitably breaks down, and tight end and slot receiver are positions that need to be sorted out before camp ends.

"When we've gotten in trouble in the past, we always had Steve in the slot, and that's kind of all we worked on -- Steve's in the slot, there you go, he's got it down," Manning said. "And so last year, when he got hurt, we were in trouble. No one else really knew how to play it. So this year we're putting everybody -- Hakeem is in there, Manningham's getting in here, we're getting a lot of people in there to get them to learn some of it, so that'll probably create some more opportunities for us to move guys around and get some mismatches."

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Linebacker has been a weak spot for the Giants the past couple of years. Unable to add outside free agents because of cap concerns, they'll address it by moving Kiwanuka there for first and second downs. But much will still fall on the shoulders of Jonathan Goff, who enters his second season as starter at middle linebacker in the Giants' 4-3 defense. "I'll have better composure this year," Goff said. "Last year, being my first year, was a little bit of a learning experience for me. This year, I think we're all on the same page to move forward as a defense and get better. It's just natural now." Goff is responsible for communicating the calls from the sidelines and for making any front-seven checks. (The coverage checks are the responsibility of the safeties.) He knows he'll need to take a stronger on-field leadership role for the defense to play more consistently this season.

AN 'EXPLOSIVE' PHILLIPS

Two years ago, Kenny Phillips was on the verge of breaking out as one of the top safeties in the NFL. But he lost his 2009 season to a left knee injury, spent the 2009-10 offseason rehabbing the knee and wasn't the same player when he returned in 2010. This year, Phillips said, he was able to condition himself the way he normally would for a season, rather than have to rehab, and believes it has made a huge difference. "Just being more explosive," Phillips said. "Last year, just seeing the field, it was kind of difficult at times, because I'd been away from the game, to be able to break on the ball -- to actually see it and then be able to get to it. But this year, now, everything is just fluid. My technique and everything is sound. I just feel good about everything this year." Phillips said he learned a lot last season playing and working with veteran safety Deon Grant (who remains an unsigned free agent), and that, with his physical ability fully restored, he believes he'll be a better player.

OBSERVATION DECK

Hixon could be a very important player for the Giants if he's recovered from his knee injury. He showed ability to play that slot receiver position when he was healthy, and will get a chance to show it again, though it seems clear the Giants would like to have multiple options there in case something goes wrong.

Linval Joseph, the 2010 second-round pick, would seem to have the playing-time edge at defensive tackle over 2011 second-round pick Marvin Austin. But each brings impressive size and agility to the position, and between them the Giants should be able to capably replace Barry Cofield, who signed with Washington.

The starting secondary of Phillips, Antrel Rolle, Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster looks excellent in practice. The question is whether there's enough depth behind those guys if there's an injury. Cornerbacks Michael Coe and Brian Witherspoon and safety Tyler Sash have a chance to earn playing time with Prince Amukamara hurt and Grant not re-signed. Witherspoon has been impressive on special teams and looked good in Saturday's game. Sash appears to be very athletic, but he needs to play with more discipline.

Kiwanuka at linebacker is a work in progress. No question he has the ability to play it, but he over-pursued Saturday at times the way a defensive end might.

Even before he left Saturday's preseason game with a thigh injury, kicker Lawrence Tynes looked as though he might be cause for concern. Having missed a few practices as he recovers from knee surgery, Tynes was unable to boot kickoffs out of the back of the end zone the way it seems every other kicker in the league has so far this preseason. And he missed a couple of field goals (though the first was a 56-yarder he shouldn't have been asked to try). Worth keeping an eye out to see how he looks the rest of August.

As for punters, Matt Dodge has looked better than he did in his difficult rookie season, but it's going to be tough for him to beat out Steve Weatherford, who's just better at the job.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tom Coughlin had been working his New York Giants out in the evenings here at the Meadowlands, with practices running from 6 pm to 8 pm ET throughout the first week and a half of training camp. But Coughlin changed it up Wednesday moving practice up to 1:30 pm because, he said, it hadn't been hot enough for those evening sessions.

"Football has to train in the heat, so we'll train in the heat," Coughlin said.

Thing is, the weather here is very pleasant today. There was some cloud cover throughout practice, and it wasn't very hot at all. Perhaps Coughlin will look into moving camp down to Texas if this continues.

Anyway, Osi Umenyiora hopped off his exercise bike and did some drills, "bad knee" and all. The Star-Ledger's photographer snapped a picture of Umenyiora doing a pass-rush drill on his own while his teammates practiced, and Ohm says Umenyiora will see a specialist on Thursday to have his knee checked out. Still not convinced the Giants are out of the woods on this one yet, as there's still lingering suspicion that Umenyiora is using the knee as an excuse not to practice while he sits out in protest of his contract situation. But the fact that he actually got on a field and did some footballish activity might indicate at least that he's thinking about practicing soon. We will, of course, continue to monitor.

The Giants announced that tight end Travis Beckum missed practice with a hamstring injury, which is really crummy news because it's the latest in a long string of evidence that some Wiccan cult has cast a spell on the Giants' tight end position similar to what they did to Pam the vampire in "True Blood." First, Kevin Boss left to sign with the Raiders. Then, Ben Patrick retired on them. Now, Beckum, their best receiving option at tight end, is out with a hamstring. If I were Coughlin, I wouldn't let Bear Pascoe out of my sight.

As for practice observations, Darius Reynaud had a great day at receiver, where there's obviously opportunity. Eli Manning seemed to be looking for a variety of different targets today, whereas Monday night I felt like he was always looking for Hakeem Nicks. Victor Cruz caught a touchdown pass from Sage Rosenfels and got tackled in the end zone after the catch by cornerback Michael Coe, who earned a stern talking-to from Coughlin after the play. Pascoe also dropped a touchdown pass he should have caught.

The stars of the day in team drills and one-on-ones were the starting secondary, especially safety Kenny Phillips and cornerback Corey Webster. And rookie defensive tackle Marvin Austin practiced after missing Monday with a hip injury. So the defensive line depth is looking better while the starting secondary looks strong.

More in the coming days from here, including Manning's thoughts on the 25 interceptions he threw last year and some thoughts from the principals in the daily battles Will Beatty and Jason Pierre-Paul have been fighting in the trenches as each prepares for a larger role in 2011.

Welcome to part five in our very popular (at least here on the NFC East blog) position-by-position look at four-year unrestricted free agency and its possible impact on NFC East teams. (We're really going to have to figure out a catchier name ...)

We'll look now at the safety position. The Redskins managed to address safety pre-lockout by signing O.J. Atogwe. And while the Giants are likely to lose Deon Grant, they appear set at the position with Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle and aren't as likely to use three safeties as much this year after taking cornerback Prince Amukamara in the first round of the draft. But the other two teams in the division could be looking for safety help, although to different degrees.

NFC East teams in need

Cowboys: Even if they do bring back Gerald Sensabaugh, they'll need to find a safety to replace Alan Ball, who's slated to move back to his backup cornerback role. And if Sensabaugh finds employment elsewhere, Dallas will need to find two safeties on the market. The need at this position could be the biggest factor that prevents the Cowboys from signing star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. If they got him, they'd have to fix safety on the cheap.

Eagles: In spite of his popularity among fans and in the locker room, veteran strong safety Quintin Mikell appears to be out in Philadelphia. Philly is planning to go with second-year man Nate Allen at the free safety spot and could, theoretically, start Kurt Coleman at the other. But since neither seems like a sure thing, it's probably a good idea for the Eagles to at least look around for free-agent help.

UPDATE, 3:40 pm: As our first commenter points out below, rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett should have been mentioned here. I'd add him to the "not a sure thing" group with Coleman and Allen, since I don't think they view him as a starter in 2011. But the presence of Jarrett and Allen along with Coleman could, indeed, lessen the Eagles' desire to commit long-term to a free-agent safety.

Top five potential unrestricted free-agent safeties

1. Eric Weddle. The total package. Hits hard, tackles, plays the run well and is capable of making the big interception and running it back. The Chargers will make keeping him a priority, and if he hits the open market he's likely in line for a very big contract. Probably too rich for the Eagles' blood, but he'd qualify as a big splash for the Cowboys if they aren't in on Nnamdi.

2. Dawan Landry. Playing opposite Ed Reed in Baltimore, Landry has been overshadowed. But he's improved every year in his coverage ability and has always been strong against the run. The Ravens are likely to let him go. Could be great in Philly or with the Cowboys, who could easily slide Sensabaugh to free safety if Landry came in to play the strong safety spot.

3. Danieal Manning. He turned down an extension offer from the Bears just before the lockout, and as one of the players who was caught in the restricted free-agent trap imposed by last season's uncapped rules, he's looking for a pay day. Might appeal to the Eagles for his ability to handle kick-return duties as well as start at safety.

4. Michael Huff. Came up with four sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles for the Raiders in 2010. He's going to draw enough interest that the Raiders won't be able to keep him. Multiple reports have indicated he's high on the Cowboys' wish list.

5. Mikell. There's also been some talk in Dallas of pouncing on Mikell, should the Eagles let him go, as a means of getting over on a division rival. But Mikell, while older than anyone else on this list, could bring a leadership element to Dallas that the team could use as it works to recover from its disappointing 2010 season.

Predictions that mean nothing: Cowboys sign Huff, Eagles look further down the list (Abe Elam? Atari Bigby? Roman Harper? There are lots of options.) as they pursue Asomugha for cornerback and address front-seven needs on defense.

Latest edition of the NFL Power Rankings is up, as I and my seven new colleagues rated the best defensive players in the league. You'll see if you click that link that DeMarcus Ware is the only NFC East player on the list, ranking No. 2 behind unanimous No. 1 Troy Polamalu. No other player from the division received even one top-10 vote from the panel.

But we don't care if they play better defense in other divisions than they do in our little overpopulated corner of the NFL world, do we? We do our own poll here, and you guys have been weighing in over the past few days with your picks for the top defensive players in the NFC East. I have been dutifully compiling your opinions and your votes, and here is your list:

1. DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys

2. Justin Tuck, Giants

3. Trent Cole, Eagles

4. Asante Samuel, Eagles

5. Brian Orakpo, Redskins

6. London Fletcher, Redskins

7. Osi Umenyiora, Giants

8. LaRon Landry, Redskins

9. Jay Ratliff, Cowboys

10. Antrel Rolle, Giants

Not a bad list, I don't think, though it does make you wonder why the Redskins didn't have a better year.

Anyway, a couple of notes on the (very informal) voting:

• A couple of people said they wanted to vote for Quintin Mikell but didn't because they felt like he's a sure thing to be gone from the Eagles and is therefore not technically "in the division." I believe Mikell would have fared better (say, 7th or 8th?) if he'd been under contract.
• There were 11 players who got votes but didn't crack the top 10. In order, they were Barry Cofield, Albert Haynesworth, Mikell, Corey Webster, DeAngelo Hall, Bradie James, Terrell Thomas, Kenny Phillips, O.J. Atogwe, Aaron Ross and Nate Allen.
• It is amazing that Haynesworth barely gets mentioned. His behavior over the past year really has destroyed public opinion of him. I still think he's a guy who gets back on this list pretty quickly if he gets somewhere (like Philly) where he's happy and motivated. But there's no denying that, in the wake of his 2010 season, he doesn't belong on it now.
• The Tuck/Cole vote for the No. 2 spot was very close, as was the Orakpo/Fletcher/Umenyiora race for that No. 5 spot. Fletcher is one of those guys people really want to like. They like how hard he plays, how he leads, how he carries himself, etc. Might be the most overall admired player on this list, on and off the field, based on the comments I received.

Debate away, folks, and enjoy. I'll be seeking your help later on my list for next week's Power Rankings, which will be non-quarterback offensive players. And this will be players who are good at offense, not players who offend you the most. A key distinction, I know, though the latter list might be more fun.

I know a lot of you are out there talking smack about the mailbag. I just know it. You're all like, "He says he's going to use the mailbag but it's just a bunch of baloney. He won't really. He's just new and trying to make nice."

Well, you're WRONG! And I'm about to show you just how wrong you are. And maybe even blow a little part of your mind in the process. Ready? Here goes:

Dipped into the mailbag this afternoon and found an interesting note from Damien (Philadelphia) pointing me to a story on Pro Football Focus about the best-tackling safeties in the league. Leading the list is Eagles part-timer Kurt Coleman, who apparently made all 24 tackles he attempted (and one assist) without missing one.

Now, 24's not a huge number, obviously. And Sheil Kapadia of philly.com's Moving the Chains blog did a good job of digging into Coleman's numbers to provide a decent analysis of what this means. Kapadia seems to conclude that Coleman could parlay this (as well as the likely departure of Quintin Mikell and the limited practice time rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett is likely to get thanks to the lockout) into a larger role in 2011. Coleman did a good job filling in last season when Nate Allen got hurt, made a contribution on special teams and could play his way into more playing time.

As for the rest of PFF's lists, only one other NFC East safety made the top 20. That would be the Giants' Kenny Phillips, with just 61 tackles and 11 assists to just five misses. But they also did a "bottom 20" list of the league's worst safeties in tackle attempts per miss, and the division had a couple of guys on that list. Washington's Kareem Moore managed 13 missed tackles against 42 tackles and 11 assists, giving him the fifth-worst ratio in the league among safeties with at least 15 tackle attempts. And the Giants' Deon Grant was 12th-worst, with 10 misses against 48 tackles and six assists.

Giants fans might get a chuckle, though, out of seeing former Giant C.C. Brown at the top (or, I guess, the bottom) of the bad list. Toiling in 2010 for the Lions, Brown missed 10 tackles while recording just 32 (and three assists). I know Giants fans who knew Brown by his unfortunate nickname ("Can't Cover") during his time in New York are sitting there thinking his initials ought to have been "C.T."

Anyway, Mailbag FTW. Thanks, Damien. Have a Dock Street IPA on me.