The Giants have 11 restricted free agents this off-season and yesterday they revealed details on tender offers made to four of those players.

DT Barry Cofield received a second-round tender with a one-year salary of approximately $1.76 million.

DE Dave Tollefson was tendered at the same level but for $1.68 million.

OL Guy Whimper received an original-round tender (4th round) at a rate of $1.17 million as did former 3rd-rounder LB Gerris Wilkinson.

Thus far there have been no updates of any tenders being offered to any of the other seven RFAs.

Entering the 2009 NFL season, many expected the NFC East to be the league’s most dominant division.  The Giants were coming off a 12 win season, the 9-7 Cowboys would have their new #1 receiver for a full season, the 8-8 Redskins added one of the game’s most dominant defensive players, and the Eagles, coming off an NFC Championship game, are always a trendy pick.

And though the division did have two playoff teams, neither made much of an impact (the Cowboys beat the Eagles, but were throttled by the Vikings).  The Cowboys won their first playoff game this millennium, but the overall theme of the division was disappointment.

So here are the top ten NFC East disappointments among players, units and story-lines.

10. The Eagles’ Inability to Replace Dawkins

It’s clear that the Eagles’ defense missed their leader Brian Dawkins in more than one aspect of the game.  With Dawkins in 2008, the Eagles were 4th against the pass, allowing only 187 passing yards per game; without him they were 17th, allowing 216 pass yards.  But they also missed Dawkins in run support (they allowed over 12 yards per game more without him), and in covering tight ends.  The combination of Sean Jones, Quintin Demps and Macho Harris did not plug the hole left by Dawkins.

9. Giants Pass Defense

It’s hard to blame the secondary when the defensive line produced no pressure, and when injuries played such a big factor.  Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross missed most of the season, and Corey Webster and Kevin Dockery both missed time.  CC Brown was exposed and Aaron Rouse was only slightly better.  The unit did not play a single game with all their starters healthy.  But I guess that’s part of what made them so disappointing.

8. Nick Folk

One of the best kickers in the game a couple of years ago, Folk went 18 for 28 on field goals this year.   The 2007 pro bowler was eventually released by the Cowboys.  Enough said.

7. Giants Running Game

Read more…

The NFL Combines in Indianapolis are fun to follow for draftniks and other football geeks.  But let’s not get crazy over numbers.  The only numbers that really matter are the in-game football statistics, and even then they can be deceiving.

Here’s a combine report from several years ago….

“Blessed with incredible speed (clocked at 4.56 in the 40-yard dash), long limbs and superb strength, He is the prototype pass rusher that professional teams look for — big, fast, strong and explosive. An avid performer in the weight room, he boasted the best bench press on the team at 455 pounds. He also put on an impressive performance for teammates, squatting 405 pounds 20 times.”

The player? Vernon Gholston of  Ohio State, who was drafted sixth overall by the Jets in 2008.

So much for “can’t miss” prospects.  Size does matter, sometimes, but only if the player has the talent to utilize it to his advantage.

Gholston was supposed to be a year-in, year-out challenger for the NFL sack leader but has yet to translate his athleticism into kinetic form.  Denver’s Elvis Dumervil, a 4th round selection in the 2006 draft, led the NFL with 17 sacks in 2009.

Dumervil is 5″11 3/8″, 255 lbs.  His combine numbers were nowhere near as impressive as Gholston’s, yet Dumervil has amassed 43 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in his first four NFL seasons.

Why? Because the game is football, not sprinting, high-jumping or weightlifting.  Dumervil knows how to play. Gholston does not.

Quarterbacks seem to get held to a different standard, though.

This year’s combine is devoid of many of the top-rated QBs in the upcoming draft.  I agree with Mike Holmgren on this.  These guys are only hurting themselves here.

The evaluators understand that these kids will be a bit out of their element: different receivers, pro routes etc.  If they have a shaky combine, its understandable.  If they shine, their draft stock rises.

Teams looking for QB in this draft may get cold feet and trade down rather than waste a top-5 draft choice on a kid they haven’t been able to work out.

The combine sends mixed messages and NFL GMs must learn how to decipher those messages.  Many of the good ones take the combine at face value, but they still take it in.   By skipping it, players send a clear message to GMs, one that may work against them on draft day.

Tenderness on the Block

In the Twiiterverse today there have been several tweets regarding players the Giants may offer tenders to.

Ralph Vacchiano premised the topic by stating that the Giants could offer tenders to all of their free agents risk-free.  The offers are not guaranteed should no other team claim them.  The Giants have to option to keep them or release them at any time.

Ernie Palladino has reported that Dave Tollefson will be tendered, but has no further information.

Tomorrow is the first deadline of the free-agent season.  Teams must announce all players they wish to place a tag on – both franchise and transition.

The free agent period begins a week from Friday. Last year the Giants broke fast by signing Michael Boley, Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard in the first 72 hours.  Will they be be as aggressive this year?  They’d like to be, but with RFAs, the process could take a few weeks.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports “Dunta Robinson and Leigh Bodden are expected to be the most heavily pursued free-agent CBs”.  Whether or not the Giants have any interest in these players remains to be seen. They seem to be fairly deep at CB right now.

This kid from South Florida looks a lot like Justin Tuck on the field.  At 6″6″, 265, he would be an nice compliment to Tuck on the Giants’ defensive line. Should the Giants part ways with Osi Umenyiora, they could zero in on a player such as Jason PierrePaul should he slip to them at #15…..

Here you go rumorheads……the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions who hold the top two selections in the upcoming NFL Draft are both open to trading down.

Rams GM Billy Devaney told Peter King and Carl Banks of NFL Sirius Radio….“We’re looking for picks. We really need to continue to restore this roster. We started that process two years ago, and we still have a ways to go yet. We’re not kidding anybody. So sure, we would be open to acquiring more picks.”

The Lions are in a similar situation. They have a long way to go to become competitive and need to bring in as many able bodies as possible.  There have been rumblings that they will move down at the right price as well.

This is good news for anyone looking for a defensive tackle.  This year’s draft has two possible game changers  - Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy.  Either player would look stunning in blue.

The question remains, will the Giants make such a bold move to secure one of these players? Also – what would they have to give up?  Osi Umenyiora? Ahmad Bradshaw? Two first rounders? Stay tuned….

The Philadelphia Eagles have officially released RB Brian Westbrook. Westbrook was due to make 7.25 million next year.

Not really much of a surprise here. Not only was he making a crap load of money next year, but he has been extremely hampered by injuries, not only last season but in others before. The release presumably gives LeSean “Shady” McCoy the reins of this Philadelphia run attack.

Next on the agenda in terms of the running game for the birds will be the Leonard Weaver situation. Weaver, who was all-pro last year, is sure to be a coveted free agent who could get some pretty big bucks.

According to ESPN, the Saints will not franchise safety Darren Sharper, allowing him to hit the open market.

The Giants could use a safety or two…just saying…

Philadelphia Eagles: In a report from Philly.com, WR Jeremy Maclin talks about his rookie season. One of the questions that was asked was whether or not he could beat fellow WR DeSean Jackson in a race. Maclin responded:

“You know we’ve never raced. I think he has really, really good speed. Not many of us have ever raced, but I’m telling you right now, if there is a guy that could beat me on the Eagles it would be him. But not too many people can beat me running, so we’ll see.”

I think the only guy in the NFL beating DeSean Jackson in a foot race is RB Chris Johnson. And that still is no guarantee.

Other possibilities?

Dallas Cowboys: From the Dallas Morning News, Gerry Fraley writes about RB Marion Barber and how he looks to be in decline. Fraley writes that throughout the last two seasons, there have been 19 RB’s to have 400 plus carries. Of those 19, Barber ranks 14th in YPC at 4.0, and 16th in YPG at 60.6

In the final 6 games of last season, the Cowboys gave backup Felix Jones double-digit carries in each of those games. He turned out 475 total rushing yards while averaging 6.0 a carry.

Barber’s a workhorse, and by no means is he not a starting RB in this league. However, Fraley may be on to something here. I’m not sure if he’s on the decline as much as he’s just not a guy that should be a featured back. Perhaps if used in a similar way to how the Gmen use Jacobs and Bradshaw would better compliment his abilities moving forward.

Washington Redskins: A month ago, perennial pro-bowler and longest tenured Redskin Chris Samuels had no comment on as to whether he was going to retire. Today, his attitude remains the same. Samuels, who was out for the season since Oct. 11, has been bothered by stenosis (or a narrowing of the spinal column) for several years and has been told by numerous specialists that prolonging his career might take away his ability to walk.

Regardless of whether or not the potential hall of famer returns, the Redskins should be heavily devoted to drafting OL help. Even if Samuels played this whole season, that line still would have been one of the worst in the NFL. I’d say one can attribute a decent amount of the ‘Skins lack of success in ‘09 just on the inability to protect Jason Campbell and open up lanes for the RB’s.

Each year before the free agency period begins in the NFL, teams are compelled to designate either a “franchise” or “transition” tag on a free agent they wish to keep for one more season.

This process is usually a simple one because by tagging a player, you agree to pay him a salary competitive to the top five or ten players in the NFL at his position.

If you don’t think he’s worth that, you take other measures. For an unrestricted free agent (UFA) you simply let him test the waters. For a restricted free agent (RFA), you slot him with the appropriate tender offer.

The Giants are looking at possibly doing the latter with all of their free agents.

On the UFA front, they can’t possibly be considering placing a tag on any of these players: Danny Clark, Fred Robbins, Jeff Feagles or David Carr.

Clark would cost $8.3 million to transition and $9.8 million to franchise. Carr would cost either $14 or $16 million; Robbins would cost around $6 or $7 million and Feagles at least $2.6 million. No way any of these guys get tagged.

From the list of RFAs, only Barry Cofield is a starter. The Giants must decide whether they think Cofield is worth a tag. By franchising him, they will agree to pay Cofield $7 million for 2010, which will be in the top five salaries of NFL defensive lineman.

He’s not worth that, nor is he worth the $6.3 million transition tag. The Giants will probably tender Cofield out at the going rate of players with four accrued seasons:

Right of First Refusal — $1,176,000

Right of First Refusal + Pick in player’s original draft round — $1,176,000*

Right of First Refusal + Second-Round Draft Pick — $1,759,000*

Right of First Refusal + First-Round Draft Pick — $2,521,000*

Right of First Refusal + First- AND Third-Round Draft Picks — $3,168,000*

*or 110% of player’s 2009 Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater

It is my guess that they will not tender him out at the highest level, but probably in the middle somewhere where they can get decent compensation for him if he is snatched away by another team.

The Giants did a great job by not leaving any participles dangling for the uncapped season. All of their UFAs could walk and not be missed (Feagles will be missed, but he may retire anyway).

Their RFAs (Cofield, Sinorice Moss, Chase Blackburn, CC Brown, Kevin Boothe, Kevin Dockery, Domenik Hixon, Dave Tollefson, Darcy Johnson, Derek Hagen, Guy Whimper and Gerris Wilkinson) could likely be tendered or re-signed at a lower salary should teams show no interest. Most of these players are considered expendable, anyway.

The Giants may have three Exclusive rights free agents as well: Scott Chandler, DJ Ware and DJ Johnson. “ERFAs” are players that have no more than two accrued seasons in the NFL and may only sign with his prior team granted that the team extends a minimum qualifying offer to the player.

This off-season will present great challenges for the Giants, but one challenge will not be the one many other teams will be experiencing: struggling to retain their own players.

Jerry Reese has all of the main pieces locked up. Now what he needs to do is get some more main pieces. The money is there…..