I’ve been talking about the Giants’ defensive line as being the best in the league all summer, but at this rate I am not so sure I’ll be right.

So far, Rocky Bernard was placed on the NFI list, which is basically the same as the PUP but just means he injured himself while on his own and not with the team.

Bernard, who left mini camp with a shoulder injury, said it had healed up, but then injured his hamstring home in Seattle about two weeks ago.

Both Fred Robbins and LB Michael Boley will start training camp on the PUP list, but are not expected to stay on it once the season starts.

As per Bernard, even coach Tom Coughlin was caught a little off guard. “Bernard was a bit of a surprise, I didn’t really expect this. The shoulder seems to be okay, but the hamstring seems to still be an issue,” said Coughlin.

You can read the rest of the facts about yesterday’s meetings below in Mr. Fennelly’s post.

Fact: The Giants, when healthy, have the best defensive line in football.

Fact: The Giants defensive line isn’t healthy.

Let’s hope Cofield gets right on track for he’s also coming off a knee injury; And let’s not forget that Osi is coming off a season ending injury last year and has been out of football for some time. I think we all expect for him to just pick up right where he left off (and rightfully so) but this is not always the case.

Justin Tuck, no news is good news at this point.

DT Penn St. grad Jay Alford will be taking snaps with the first team alongside Cofield in the early stages of camp.

On that note, lets have a good first day of practices..more updates on the way.

Citing Ralph Vacchiano again. In his recent answers to his “first ever” twitter mailbag, Vacchiano was asked what the plans are with the DT’s this year.

“Cofield said the plan is for Bernard to replace him on third downs or when a pass rush is needed. If and when Robbins is healthy, I suspect he’ll be a backup who would rotate in occasionally for Canty,” said Vacchiano.

So Ralph seems to think Mr. Robbins is not going to be healthy enough as the day one starter…which is a bit disappointing.

Looking back on the Giants moves, it’s all starting to make a bit more sense. One had to question why they went out and got two proven defensive tackles to ride the bench. Apparently that’s not the case.

Looks as though Canty (or Bernard) could be day one starters at DT aside Cofield. The plan of action here has to be to let Robbins take his time to get healthy so that he can be as effective as possible. Bernard and Canty are seeming more and more like good moves with every day that passes.

Vacchiano also said that Tuck may be used in the DT position in certain situations as well.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News posted on his blog today a list of the 19 “injured” Giants.

Of those injured, Vacchiano expects both starting DT’s Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield to be placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp, as well as recovering OLB Michael Boley.

Do not be alarmed however Giant fans, the PUP list for training camp is pretty much meaningless. A player can be taken on or off the PUP list during training camp without it having any affect on the regular season.

When a player is placed on it starting the season, that’s when we have a slight problem. Starting the season on the PUP would mean that they could not return to action until the middle of the season.

By the way, in case you were wondering PUP stands for “physically unable to perform.”

Retooled And Ready To Go

Defensive Line Coach: Mike Waufle (5th Year)
Defensive Quality Control: Al Holcomb (1st year)
Defensive Coordinator: Bill Sheridan (1st year)

Ends: Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora (Starters), Mathias Kiwanuka, Dave Tollefson, Robert Henderson, Maurice Evans
Tackles: Chris Canty, Barry Cofield (Starters), Rocky Bernard, Fred Robbins, Jay Alford, Jeremy Clark

Overview

Ernie Accorsi always said, “You can never have enough pass rushers.” The Giants are trying to prove him wrong by bringing in any and every able body they can find. The Giants felt they needed to get the pass rush back to to 2007 production levels, when they led the NFL in sacks with 53. Last year, without injured Pro Bowl DE Osi Umenyiora and future Hall-of-Famer Michael Strahan, the pass rush declined, dropping to 42 sacks, which was good enough for 6th in the league, but way below what the team is accustomed to. It’s no secret the Giants are tougher to beat when their DL rotation is going great guns.

Ends

Justin Tuck led the Giants in sacks in 2008 with 12. He has become one of the league’s best defensive ends and the former Notre Damer has developed into a leader both on and off the field. Osi Umenyiora missed the entire 2008 season with a torn lateral meniscus. He remains a starter unless his recovery from that injury holds him back. Mathias Kiwanuka will see plenty of action as well. Last season, Kiwi registered a career high 9 sacks filling in for Umenyiora. Dave Tollefson has provided steady play and is becoming a valuable part of the rotation. Robert Henderson spent last season on the practice squad. The Giants will be interested to see how much this former 6th pick has improved since last training camp. Maurice Evans is an interesting undrafted free agent rookie out of Penn State. The highly-recruited 20-year-old from Brooklyn chose to forego his senior year to enter the draft. He was not chosen because of off-field issues even though he was a pre-season All-American selection.

Tackles

The Giants are thrilled with the way Barry Cofield has worked out. The fourth-year man out of Northwestern has been as steady as they come, playing in every game since he got here in 2006. He had a knee scoped in the off-season that concerned the Giants to the point where they felt they needed to acquire depth. He will also be a free agent this season. Chris Canty comes over as a free-agent from Dallas, The 6′7″ Canty will be taking the reins from 12-year veteran Fred Robbins, who is also coming off knee surgery. There were rumors the Giants might cut Robbins but thus far they have kept him on the roster. Jay Alford has also played well for the club. The Penn Stater has not missed a game since being drafted in 2007, where he also recorded a sack on Tom Brady in the final drive of Super Bowl XLII. Rocky Bernard was brought in to solidify the rotation after a seven-year stint with Seattle. Bernard can provide pressure up the middle and will be a valuable piece in most passing situations. Jeremy Clark, in his second year out of Alabama, began to see action late in 2008 and will be given a long look again in camp this season.

Outlook

As stated, when this unit gets cooking, they overwhelm opponents and take over games the 4th quarter. The Giants may have won 12 games last year, but they only won 1 game in the final five. That was due to the lack of depth and production on the defensive line. The return of Umenyiora and influx of new bodies should get them back to that jailbreak-style rush that won them a Super Bowl two years ago. Coach Mike Waufle now has enough in the arsenal again to get that done.

In an article today in the New York Times, Joe LaPointe profiles one of, if not the biggest asset to the Giants, their defensive line.

Veteran defensive lineman Reynaldo Wynn tells LaPointe how excited he is to be a part of this group of players.

“Everybody wants to know: ‘What are we doing? What’s so different?’ ” Wynn said. “I say: ‘Look, man, I’m going to be honest. This is D-line heaven. It’s the kind of stuff I’ll be telling my grandkids about.’ ”

The Giants lead the NFC with 30 sacks and ranked third in the NFL overall in defense.

Mathias Kiwanuka describes how the lineman discuss their plays with coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who encourages input from his players who describe the sessions as ‘lively’ a stark contrast from the typical team meetings where players are falling asleep in their chairs.

Justin Tuck appreciates the way everyone has a chance to share their ideas.

“Coach Spags would be like: ‘Hmmm. It looked good on film. Let’s put that in,’ ” Tuck said. “Coach Spags asks so much from his D-line. That’s why he gives us a voice.”

An important component to the Giants success, and often overlooked is the contributions and guidance by line coach Mike Waufle, who is described by first-string tackle Barry Cofield as “a mad scientist” and by Dave Tollefson who calls him “a guru.” Waufle descibes how his service as a marine in the 1970s shaped him.

“In the Marine Corps, you have to be able to improvise and adapt. I try to work at some creativity. We have a very intelligent group.”

Check out the full article in today’s New York Times.

Hat tip to Katie Bakes for the link.