T-Rock's Take on the Giants

Coughlin said Daniels is not on the practice squad. He was actually claimed by the Eagles. Right now they have seven players on the practice squad.

Speaking of the Eagles, the Giants have in fact signed McDougle. To make room for him they had the awkward job of cutting Rodney Leisle who thought he'd made the team. Rodney don't get no respect, I tell ya.

On McDougle, Coughlin said the Giants liked that hasn't missed any time in the preseason and he looked sharp in the games. He said that in long passing downs McDougle, Tuck or Wynn could move to the inside.

I spoke with Terrell Thomas about his uniform number change. He said he never liked the 30 he was issued and thought he was going to be moved to safety when he got it. "30 isn't a number for a cornerback," he said. So he waited for something in the 20s to open up. He had his eye on Danny Ware's 28, the number he wore at USC, but settled on 24. He said he wore 4 in high school, so this is close enough.

Speaking of numbers, McDougle wore 95 in Philly. Wallace Gilberry on the practice squad has been wearing that number here for the summer. He'll most likely have to forfeit it. Sorry Wallace. But it could be worse. Just ask Leisle.

Still haven't gotten official word on the practice squad, but the mysterious eighth player could be Tank Daniels. Despite being among those cut yesterday, he had a locker in place in the locker room today. And he had been moved to the row with other practice squadders. Pretty good hint.

Of course, the Giants still have to cut someone from their 53 to make room for McDougle. There's a report that he's signed with the Giants, adding depth at DE. Coughlin speaks in a few minutes, so I'm sure we'll have everything ironed out by the time he leaves the podium.

That's Jim Zorn, head coach of the Redskins and as far as I know, no relation to the poultry and potato empire on Long Island (sorry, J.P.!). The remark came after he spoke about coming in as a first-time head coach and presenting the players with organization and a plan. What is that plan? "Our plan is to win," he said.

He also called the NFC East a "violent division."

"Looking at it from top to bottom is just extremely hard," he said of the division. "It is a very physical division, I think it is a violent division, and there is a lot of pride in having that kind of reputation. I think all the teams that we are going to face in the division this year have that reputation."

As for Redskins injuries, Zorn said Jason Taylor was doing some footwork drills, jogging straight ahead, and that is about it during a morning session. "Hopefully as the week goes on, Jason will continue to improve," he said. LaRon Landry practiced.

Terrell Thomas (hamstring) missed practice again, but this time he did so wearing a No. 24 jersey. He had been donning No. 30 throughout the summer, but 24 became available when they waived ... somebody. Just kidding. It was FB Robert Douglas. Seriously, I hope no one out there already ordered a Terrell Thomas jersey. He wore 28 at USC, as far as I can tell from some photographs. But the Giants cut Douglas and kept Danny Ware, so now he's 24.

Also on the sideline for practice were Goff and Hixon (backs), Tyree (PUP) and Tynes (knee). John Carney was on the field for practice, but left with Jeff Feagles early. Maybe they were going to work on kicking inside the stadium. Maybe there's a rule giving guys over 40 a break.

No sign (or signing) of Jerome McDougle. D.C. Steve Spagnuolo was running out to the practice field this morning and appeared to be a little late. It's fun to speculate that he was held up while catching up with McDougle, isn't it?

WR Brandon London was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins. Funny, he said that Miami was one of the places he hoped to land if he didn't stick in NY. Good for him. I hear the scouts in the area were very high on the guy.

There were a few casualties who rose from the waiver wire and appear to have been signed as practice squadders: Wallace Gilberry, Geoffrey Pope, Na'Shan Goddard, Kurt Quarterman, Andre Woodson, Jeremy Clark and Marcus Monk were all spotted on the field for practice today. That leaves them with one spot -- thanks to London being claimed -- on the practice squad. They might fill that soon with someone who thought he was a 53er if they do indeed sign McDougle.

Forgive me, but I'll be posting this or a similar message each day this week:

Thursday night’s game has the potential to be a traffic and parking nightmare because it is a weeknight and kickoff is at the unorthodox time of 7 p.m. The best way to beat the traffic is to car pool, arrive early, and remember that parking on the Meadowlands complex is by pre-paid permit only. All others should follow the directional signage to the satellite parking lots in Lyndhurst.

And if you live or work in the area but aren't planning to attend Thursday's game, well, God speed. You might want to consider an alternate route on Thursday.

Well, I'm told it's a Sunday. But it's Sunday of a three-day weekend, so it's more like a Saturday. But then in terms of an NFL schedule, it's a Wednesday. It's all very confusing.

Here's what you need to know if you are checking this blog today (whatever day it is):

We'll have a conference call with the Redskins at noon. The Giants practice at 12:40. We get the players in the locker room at 2:30 and Tom Coughlin here at the podium at 3:50.

Finally, there's a report out of Philly that the Giants are all over Jerome McDougle. Heck, he might even make an appearance here today. We'll be on the lookout on the practice field and in the locker room.

Who could have thought that the possibility exists of Patrick Ewking Jr. playing for the Knicks and Chris Simms playing for the Giants? Simms was axed by the Bucs today, and while I haven't heard anything concrete relating to the related to, it sure sounded as if the Giants would be looking to grab a third QB once they can trim down to one kicker.

If only Darryl Strawberry's kid had stuck to baseball instead of basketball, we could have redone the entire second half of the 1980s in New York.

Just saw that the Colts waived Jared Lorenzen.

In case anyone is interested.

The Eagles also parted ways with former first-round DE Jerome McDougle.

Again, in case anyone is interested.

Here are a few quotes from Tom Coughlin regarding the roster decisions made today (or at least made public today):

Tom Coughlin on waiving 19 players: “This is a very tough day. When you look into the eyes of the players you see three or four different reactions. On the one hand, there will be the guy who had no idea he was going to be released and he’s in a state of shock. Another is the guy who desperately wanted to make the team and probably did a pretty good job of camouflaging it a lot of times, but now there’s no camouflage whatsoever. He’s devastated. Then there are the eyes of the individual who kind of knew it was coming, is very gracious about it and wants to thank everybody for the opportunity that he’s had. Then there are the young guys who you can encourage and perhaps offer a practice squad position to. Those guys seem to come back off the floor once they know that there is going to be a practice squad opportunity for them should they clear waivers.

“You have a lot of emotions and you have a lot of people that are anxious about this day. You have some guys that come to the building here and it hasn’t sunk in why they’re here, so when they come up to you they’re in a state of shock. It’s an anxious day for the player. And it’s not a happy day for all of us here, because you’ve had so many people that have played and tried so hard and they’re not going to be a part of our team. That’s the unfortunate nature of the process.”

All sealed and official from the Giants:

Offense
Quarterback (2): Eli Manning, David Carr.
Running Back (5): Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Ahmad Bradshaw, Reuben Droughns, Danny Ware.
Fullback (1): Madison Hedgecock.
Wide Receiver (6): Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Domenik Hixon, Sinorice Moss.
Tight End: (3): Kevin Boss, Michael Matthews, Darcy Johnson.
Offensive Line: (8): Shaun O’Hara, Rich Seubert, Chris Snee, Kareem McKenzie, David Diehl, Kevin Boothe, Adam Koets, Grey Ruegamer.

Defense
Defensive Line (8): Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, Renaldo Wynn, Dave Tollefson, Jay Alford, Rodney Leisle.
Linebackers (7): Antonio Pierce, Gerris Wilkinson, Danny Clark, Chase Blackburn, Zak DeOssie, Bryan Kehl, Jonathan Goff.
Defensive Backs: (10): Aaron Ross, Corey Webster, James Butler, Michael Johnson, Kevin Dockery, Sam Madison, R.W. McQuarters, Sammy Knight, Kenny Phillips, Terrell Thomas.

Specialists
Punter (1): Jeff Feagles
Kickers (2): Lawrence Tynes, John Carney

Just got off a conference call chat with Coughlin, Manning and Pierce. Manning said he was just given the night off last night and there was no medical issue that kept him from playing (one can never be too sure about these things without asking). A more realistic concern was Pierce, who has missed a few practices and the last two games with a balky back. He said he's 100 percent and looking forward to practicing on Sunday in prep for the Redskins game.

Tom Coughlin did not mention how he was feeling, but did say that Dave Tollefson suffered a stinger and will be fine, they are expecting Domenik Hixon to shake his back spasms, and Guy Whimper and Digger Bujnoch are both undergoing MRIs. Sadly, those results may have a lot to do with deciding roster spots.

Coughlin also said the team has to make decisions on the status of Lawrence Tynes. "I think that's ongoing," he said. "Fortunately we do have a day here when we continue that progress, and from that decision from our medical people we have to make the right decision for our team. We'll see how that goes.

"Whatever they tell me in terms of where he is, that's what we'll act with," Coughlin said. "He obviously has not had the green light yet."

That's right Giants fans, it does say "Giants vs. Patriots" in that headline. Unfortunately for the teams, this isn't on the line tonight. Neither is this.

That was then. This is now.

However, you will see him. And him (although not in uniform). Just not him.

Okay, enough of that silliness. You know why we're here — to end the 2008 preseason!

I'm Chris Mascaro and I'll be bringing you all of tonight's live game action as the Giants (1-2) welcome the Patriots (0-3) to town. This is the Giants' third preseason game in 11 days. They'll open the season one week from tonight at home against Washington.

All three of the Giants' preseason games have been decided by three points, so I guess you can expect another barnburner tonight.

The fourth preseason game is usually the time for the third- and fourth-teamers to either shine and make the team, head off to practice squad purgatory, or be waived and become a 9-to-5 schlub like the rest of us. Tonight will be no different, as Tom Coughlin said he expects his starters to be in for about 10 snaps (or one long series).

(If you scroll down to the bottom of that article, you can read who earned awards at yesterday's Kickoff Luncheon. Eli was team MVP. Also, my personal favorite Rodney Hampton was honored.)

Anyway, most of the news out of Giants camp has been about Osi Umenyiora's season-ending injury against the Jets. And the potential return of the gap-toothed future Hall of Famer. No matter Giants fans, they've got a contingency plan.

So I suppose we'll start our keys to the game right there (check back after the game when I update these!):

1. How will Kiwi fare in his first action back at defensive end? (How will the linebackers hold up, too?) So far, so good. He made a sack and looked comfortable in his old spot. He said as much when he came out (see quote below).

2. Anthony Wright is next in line after Eli tonight, but the Giants haven't named their No. 2 QB yet. Can David Carr snatch that from him tonight? Turns out Wright sat out tonight nursing a back/neck injury. Carr played well, throwing for 184 yards and two TDs on 20-of-29 passing. We'll see who Tom Coughlin names the No. 2 QB soon enough.

3. The Giants waived receivers Michael Jennings and Craphonso Thorpe, and picked up Marcus Monk off waivers from the Bears. They now have eight receivers (not including the PUP David Tyree). Is that enough depth? If tonight is any indication, yes. Four different receivers made at least two catches, including a touchdown by Sinorice Moss (who played very well).

4. Can the kicking game (Josh Huston) get straightened out, being that it is looking like he'll have to start in Week 1? Start checking the waiver wires. Huston was 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts (from 20 and 30 yards out), but he hit the post on one of his two extra points — a major no-no.

All those questions and more will be answered in the coming hours, so let's discuss them in the chat box below. Also, be sure to vote on the poll questions!

I'll be updating everyone after each quarter tonight, so be sure to keep refreshing this page!

Okay, we're about 15 minutes from football on NBC 4!

Recap of 1st Quarter:
Giants 7, Pats 0

Scoring drive for the Giants: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:25
Scoring play: Darcy Johnson 26-yard reception from David Carr
Key play(s): Brandon Jacobs 19-yard run on 2nd-and-8 from own 22 .... and the TD play.

Player who impressed for the Giants:
-Kevin Boothe opened up some nice holes for Jacobs playing right tackle in place of Kareem McKenzie. The 19-yarder was right behind a Boothe block.
-Jacobs — usually a bruiser — made some people miss on his way to 32 yards on three carries.
-Carr went 6-for-7 (the only incompletion was a Jacobs drop in the flat) for 63 yards and a TD. More importantly, he didn't get sacked.
-Darcy Johnson carried a defender or two with him on his TD reception. This guy is a beast, and could be a contributor this season.
-Kiwanuka didn't look out of place at DE, making a sack on Matt Gutierrez.

Players who struggled:
-Ahmad Bradshaw tried kicking one of his runs to the outside, but was bottled up quickly. Didn't show a very quick first-step. Hey, it's only the preseason. Plus, I'm nitpicking because I didn't have many other choices here.

What to watch for in the 2nd Quarter: Let's see if Carr gets sacked or is affected by the pressure with the back-up linemen in there.

Recap of the 1st Half:
Giants 13, Patriots 0

Scoring drive for the Giants: 12 plays, 71 yards, 7:05
Scoring play: Sinorice Moss 9-yard TD reception from Carr (Huston point-after attempt hit off the left post).
Key play: Darcy Johnson 14-yard catch and run on 4th-and-1 from the New England 27

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Carr remained sharp, finishing the half 11-for-14 with 113 yards and two TDs
-Back-up receivers. Steve Smith made three catches for 16 yards, while Mario Manningham had a 12-yard reception. Both ran nice routes. And of course, Moss made a nice run after the catch for a TD.
-R.W. McQuarters, though missing a couple of tackles earlier in the quarter, made an easy pick in the end zone to close the half after getting tangled up with Chad Jackson on a fade route.
-Dave Tollefson and Renaldo Wynn combined for a sack of Gutierrez to bring up a fourth down.

Players who struggled:
-Huston shanked his second extra-point attempt off the post and missed. The Giants may have to check the waiver wire for a Week 1 kicker.
-Bradshaw had only 30 yards on 12 carries in the first half, and fumbled the ball out of bounds on one of them.
-Carr. What a difference a quarter (and some back-up linemen) makes. Carr was sacked by Jarvis Green early in the quarter and looked hurried on a few attempts. Overall though, he was good (see above).

What to watch for in the 3rd Quarter: Can the tight ends continue to make plays for the Giants' offense?

***Also, here are some comments from starting center Shaun O'Hara on the opening quarter tonight (courtesy of our Giants beat writer Tom Rock):

On opening drive tonight: "Going out on the opening drive and scoring a touchdown is the way you want to start any game. It was a great job by David Carr coming in and leading the offense. It was a good start, gives us a little momentum and a little confidence boost. So we're excited about starting the season."

Thoughts on the preseason as a whole: "Preseason is a necessary evil. We did a good job this year of understanding what we wanted to get out of it and what we wanted to accomplish. We had a couple injuries that you would like to get through without, but as a whole, we're better as a team from when we went to camp."

On start of regular season: "This is when football really gets exciting. You look forward to playing the preseason games because you haven't done it for awhile and that initial excitement is always there. Clearly when the regular season starts it goes to another level and as defending champs, it's a new challenge and we're looking forward to it."

Recap of the 3rd Quarter:
Giants 16, Patriots 0

Scoring drive for the Giants: 13 plays, 54 yards, 6:56
Scoring play: Huston 20-yard field goal (Giants were stuffed on three straight plays after getting down to the Pats' 1-yard line)
Key play: Brandon London 11-yard reception from Carr on 3rd-and-3 from the NE 12

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Manningham made a spectacular one-handed grab on a high pass from Carr. He tipped the ball to himself. Great play.
-The defense held New England to just one three-and-out in the entire quarter.
-Danny Ware ran hard all quarter (mostly between the tackles) for 42 yards on 11 carries.

Players who struggled:
-London inexplicably dropped the ball after a catch in his own territory, but the call was overturned on Tom Coughlin's challenge.
-Red zone offense. When you get a 1st-and-goal from your opponent's 1, you have to score.

What to watch for in the 4th Quarter: Andre Woodson at QB.

***Also, here's another quote courtesy of Mr. Rock, this time from Mathias Kiwanuka:

On being back at end tonight: "It's just like riding a bike. I felt comfortable, and it went well. It was good to be back at end. I know I have a lot of work to do, but I'm confident in getting it done."

End of the Game, Giants prevail 19-14.
The Giants conclude the postseason 2-2, while New England ends the exhibition slate winless at 0-4.

Final scoring drive for the Giants: 18 plays, 64 yards, 8:37 (*Quick note: Three of the Giants' four scoring drives were 12 plays or — the other was nine. Good ball control by New York, which held the ball for 39:50).
Scoring play: 30-yard field goal by Huston
Key play: Tom Coughlin's challenge of London's fumble (in the third quarter) kept the drive alive.

Scoring drive for New England: 7 plays, 47 yards, 3:31
Scoring play: Chad Jackson 16-yard reception from Kevin O'Connell
Key play: C.J. Jones returns the kickoff to the Giants' 49-yard line.

Final scoring drive for the Patriots: 5 plays, 18 yards, 2:42
Scoring play: O'Connell 5-yard run
Key play: Jones returns a Feagles punt 42 yards to the Giants' 18

*Quick fourth quarter note: Manningham made a nice sliding four-yard grab on a 3rd-and-3 to keep the clock moving, preventing the Pats from getting a final chance to take the lead.

Three stars for the Giants:
1. Carr: 20-of-29 for 184 yards and two TDs
2. Darcy Johnson: 2 catches, 40 yards, TD
3. Kiwanuka: 1 sack in his first game back at defensive end

*Chase Blackburn and Michael Johnson each made five tackles, while Renaldo Wynn, Rodney Leisle and Gerris Wilkinson each made four.

As always, it was my honor and pleasure to bring everyone tonight's live game action. Season starts in one week. I'll be here and I hope all of you are too. Thanks so much and goodnight!

Glauber wrote about how the Giants offensive linemen have been giving Eli Manning grief about his picture in Men's Vogue. Wait till they get a load of this!

That's right. At Hot or Not, they are currently ranking the NFL quarterbacks. Guess who's in the lead? A shirtless Eli Manning with an average score of 9.6 out of 10. Peyton, by the way, comes in at 7.5. Jeff Garcia, Aaron Rogers, Jon Kitna and Donovan McNabb are all tied at the bottom with 5.2.

Maybe Garcia needs to get his wife in the picture with him to boost his score.

I had a chance for a sitdown with Eli Manning yesterday and most of that will be turned into a story in our upcoming preview section. But one thing jumped out that I wanted to share. Here's the exchange:

Q. What would have happened if you had said: You know what, Dad, I’d really love to play defense?

A. I probably wouldn’t have lasted long. I might have tried it for a little bit but it probably wouldn’t have worked out. In flag football I played middle linebacker and a little d-end, but that was in like fifth or sixth grade. Since eighth grade, the first time I played tackle football, it’s been quarterback only.

Defensive end? Hey, aren't the Giants looking for guys who can play that position? Forget about Kiwi, the answer to replacing Umenyiora might be right in the middle of the offensive huddle!

For its annual NFL Preview issue, Sports Illustrated created six regional covers each featuring a different team with the words "Bring It."

None of the teams featured won Super Bowl XLII.

In fact, most Giants fans probably got the issue with Eagles QB D. McNabb grinning in their mailbox. Other covers featured the Pats wih Brady, Vikes with Peterson, Cowboys with Romo, Chargers with Tomlinson and Jags with Jones-Drew.

In case you care, here's a blog from McNabb about the honor.

All say it together now, Giants fans: Jinx!

Not physically, but when it came to a price to pry the Hall of Famer from his Mediterranean beach chair and give him a Grecian Earn.

Although negotiations never came down to the nitty-gritty, Strahan's agent Tony Agnone said the two sides swapped ballpark figures and -- just like the Jets and Giants -- realized they were sharing a stadium. So what happened if it wasn't about the money?

"If he couldn't play at that 110 percent level that he had always played at, he wasn't going to play," Agnone said. "He was flattered and happy to have the opportunity to talk about it."

As for what possible role Strahan would have played on the Giants defense -- pass rush specialist, third-down sub -- it never came up. "If he was going to do it he was going to have to talk to Tom (Coughlin) before he decided," Agnone said.

Agnone said the more he and Strahan talked about a potential comeback this morning, the less intrigued he became. It would have been an adrenaline shot for him and the Giants for the first few weeks, sure, but this was a season-long commitment to make. "He wanted to help his comrades in arms," Agnone said. "We talked about if two months from now he could really still do it."

By the way, Agnone also reps Umenyiora and said Osi is doing well after his surgery. He expects to be running by February. Maybe the Giants will still be running by then, too.

Which is about as close to the horse's mouth as you can get.

Here are some quotes from his story on FOXsports.com:

"This has been one of the toughest nights of my life," Strahan said from Greece. "But after long deliberation and throwing around a million scenarios in my head for the past day, I think it's just best if I stay retired.

"I have gone back and forth on this because as a player you'll always want to play, you'll never lose that urge to be out there. But I could only do this if I could commit 100 percent, physically, mentally, emotionally and I can't do that. I've tried to convince myself and my body to give it one more year, but in the end I just don't think I could turn it on like I need to again."

Umenyiora was placed on season-ending IR this afternoon, dotting the Is and crossing the Ts on the term "season ending."

So that's that.

The Giants also waived injured WR Craphonso Thorpe (a bit of a surprise since he was in the locker room today) and added WR Marcus Monk off waivers from Bears.

Brandon Jacobs said he spoke with Osi yesterday (Monday) about his injury. "I asked him if he was done for the year and he kind of shrugged," Jacobs said. "Basically, I still reall don't know to tell you the truth. I don't know if he has a shot at coming back or not."

A shrug sounds like a shot. Again, until he's on IR, the sliver lives.

Antonio Pierce was asked about his contract situation today, and his answer suggested that he is (as reported) unhappy with his current deal.

"I'll leave that to Jerry Reese and my agent," he said. "Hopefully something will work out in the long run. Hopefully in the short run too."

Then Pierce said: "Stick a headline on that."

Coughlin said it went well. What that means, he wouldn't say. Know this, however -- the Giants have not placed Umenyiora on IR yet. Why?

"That’s just because we haven’t talked about it yet," Coughlin said. "We haven’t had the doctor and Jerry Reese and myself and ownership together. We will."

If the doctors wound up having to remove the offending part of the meniscus rather than repair it (and if there is no other undisclosed damage), there's still a chance Umenyiora could play again this year. If the Giants don't put him on IR. Once they do that, he's done for the year.

Still a sliver of hope.

"If Michael’s heart is in the right spot and he truly wants and has a desire to play, then without a doubt, open arms," Tom Coughlin said when asked if he wants to have Strahahn on this year's team.

That seemed to be the running sentiment among all of the Giants, many of whom remain skeptical that Strahan will want to return. Plaxico Burress cracked a joke about him sitting on a beach right now. Fred Robbins, who occupies Strahan's old locker, said he had just gotten settled in (but added that he would move if Strahan returned).

Eli Manning was asked if he wants to have Strahan back. "If his heart's in it and he wants to come back and play football," he said. "Obviously he's made a decision that he wants to retire, we just have to see if that's changed in the last several months."

Here are the roster moves the Giants just announced:

WR Michael Jennings - waived

S Terrance Stringer - waived off IR

WR David Tyree - placed on PUP/reserve and will not be eligible to return until after Week 6 of the season

LB James Terry - signed, a rookie out of Youngstown State

Because Stringer was already in IR, they still have one more move to make before getting to 75 by this evening. That's the Osi IR move, which is still pending.

WR Michael Jennings, he of the tricked-out car, was not at practice today. Although it has not been announced, he is presumably the first of several roster moves the Giants will make today. He became expendable as Plaxico Burress returned to full-time practice. Burress, by the way, was out on the field running again today.

The Giants actually added a player on cutdown day too, signing LB James Terry. Assuming they put Osi on IR after his surgery today, they'll still have to cut one more guy. Cliff Lewis is the likely candidate, although they may want to keep him around for Thursday's game as offensive line fodder. If they add Strahan (if, if, if, if, if), they'll have to carve a spot on the roster for him, too.

Pierce and Danny Clark were again sidelined at the start of practice. That left the starting group there as Kehl at strongside, Blackburn in the middle and Wilkinson on the wekside. Who would have thought that at this point in the season Wilkinson would be the Giants' only healthy starting linebacker?!? Goff and Tyree were also in the injury area along with Terrell Thomas and Tynes. Kiwanuka was starting at defensive end. From what I saw, Koets was still an o-lineman. He was wearing his white offense jersey. It came up in the live chat that he might be working at DE, but I didn't see that today.

Coughlin speaks at around 1:30, players after that. Rod Boone is here handling the day-to-day operations. We'll have more on the team this afternoon, and more on Strahan and Osi's post-surgical condition as we know it.

Today's Giants live chat will begin at 11 a.m. Please have your questions ready.

Here's our updated take on Strahan:

Giants reach out to Strahan

It replaces a story we had online earlier in the day that essentially said the Giants were moving forward with Kiwanuka. Things change pretty quickly around here.

Yet. There's an item on the NFL.com transactions page that says the Giants have placed Osi Umenyiora on injured reserve.

They have not, according to a team official who called the report incorrect.

As planned, the Giants will likely wait until after tomorrow's surgery before officially ending Umenyiora's season. Meanwhile, they did do a little roster shuffling (or purging, really), waiving rookie free agent WR D.J. Hall and defensive back Miguel Scott. Safety Craig Dahl, who hurt his knee vs. the Jets, was waived/injured. They still have two more moves to make before getting their roster to 75 by tomorrow. One of those will likely be putting Osi on IR. But it hasn't happened yet.

From the Giants:

The Giants got a welcome return today as wide receiver Plaxico Burress practiced fully for the first time since training camp opened. Burress, the team's leading receiver last season, was a spectator early in camp, then was limited to individual drills. But he participated in almost all position and team drills this afternoon.

“I decided to pull the old car out of the garage and see how I felt today – get some of the dust off of it,” Burress said. “I felt pretty good. I’m feeling a lot better – a hundred percent. I didn’t have any limitations going either way, right or left. I jumped up and made a few catches. I’m just trying to get back to my old self – getting off the line full speed and being able to accelerate when the ball is in the air. I’m trying to get all the kinks out of the armor.

“I forgot how tough it is to run routes when you’re a little bit winded in the two-minute drill, even though I didn’t go but a few plays. It’s just good to get out there and run around again. I’m happy I can go out there and run without any pain. I’m basically trying to get into the best playing shape that I can and get my cardio up. I hope I feel pretty good tomorrow.”

Clark was sidelined for the portion of practice we just witnessed, riding the exercise bikes with Antonio Pierce, Lawrence Tynes, David Tyree, Jonathan Goff and Terrell Thomas. Clark said earlier that he was fine, though, and just resting the groin to be ready for Sept. 4. He was doing some running drills with Pierce just as we were escorted away.

And yes, Mathias Kiwanuka was playing right defensive end, opposite Justin Tuck. That left the linebackers as Bryan Kehl on the strongside, Blackburn in the middle, and Gerris Wilkinson on weakside.

Saw Plaxico running some routes. It did look as if he was running harder than he had been.

Other than that, well, I can tell you that the team stretched well. With all these injuries, I suppose that is important.

Here's a brief story I wrote for newsday.com and the implications of moving Kiwanuka to defensive end. Some quotes from Coughlin are included.

I'm going to take a quick break from blogging, but be back with a practice report this afternoon. The Giants are only making the first 20 or so minutes of practice open to the emdia, so there won't be much to bring back, but I'll try to see where Plaixoc is at (Plaxico, remember him?) and if Tynes is doing any kicking as Coughlin suggested this morning.

By the way, live chat tomorrow but NOT at our usual time. Because of scheduling conflicts with the team and its practice, we'll be going at 11 a.m. and not the usual number whic I won't even put in here to confuse you. So 11 tomorrow, right about the time Osi comes out from under the anesthesia. Lots to talk about, including roster cuts due tomorrow afternoon (with Osi and Craig Dahl gone with an ACL, they only have to cut three instead of five).

I joked about the Jets and their potential handling of Osi's injury. I even said there would be questions about what Brett Favre thinks of Michael Strahan's return. Ha, ha. Very clever, Rock!

Then I opened an email from the Jets with a Brett Fave transcript and click on a video clip on NFL Network and what do I find? This quote from His Favreness:

"If I was a Giant, I'd do whatever I could to get him out and have him back on my team. The guy still looks great. (He’s a) hell of a player. I would have done whatever to try to get him back initially, but now, how could you not want him back? Wouldn't that be something, he comes back and we start a trend?"

So there it is, the Perfect Storm of New York sports. Jets quarterback Brett Favre talking about the possible return of Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. All we needed was for Michael Phelps to swim by and Carl Pavano to limp into the room.

The Giants have been very accomodating regarding the injury to Osi and the move of Kiwi to defensive end. They made Tom Coughlin available this morning rather than his scheduled afternoon session so we didn't spend the day running and writing in circles speculating about the position.

But more than a few people have come up to me today as asked how things would have been handled had this happened to the Jets.

First of all, it would have been a lower body injury, not a torn lateral meniscus in the left knee. The term "season ending" would not be in play.

Then, when the team practiced, Jacob Bender would have been lined up at defensive end. Somewhere behind a steel gate in an undisclosed location, Kiwanuka would have been working on the position in secrecy.

Mangini, asked if Kiwanuka would move back to DE, would say: "Right now it's a fluid situation. Like a lot of our players, Dave Tollefson, Alex Morrow, Wallace Gilberry, he has some versatility. He can line up in a lot of different spots, just like all of those guys in the group."

Then he would be asked a dozen straight questions about what Brett Favre thinks about the possible return of Michael Strahan.

"Injuries are an unfortunate part of this game. We lost three starters to broken legs last season, so we know what kind of adversity injuries present. When you lose a player like Osi, that means everybody else has to step up their game. Fortunately we have players, including Kiwi, who are capable of picking up that kind of slack. As always, we’ll continue to research all of our options."

So he's not slamming the Strahan door entirely, but it sounds like Kiwi is their guy.

Interesting question that we couldn't ask because of the brevity of Kiwi's appearance:

Is this a one-year move and next season, when Osi comes back, does Kiwanuka go back to LB? Or do they rotate Osi, Kiwi and Tuck? I'll start working on my 2009 preview section stories that will answer that question as soon as I'm done with this year's.