Although, nothing was confirmed, it appeared Boley fell out of graces with the coaching staff late in the year as he was pulled from the starting line-up the last three games and was played sparingly in those contests, too. The move will save the Giants in the neighborhood of $4.5 million on the salary Cap.

At this point it appears the Giants will be looking to Jacquian Williams to be the starting outside linebacker.

Nick Laham / Getty Images

Cornerback Terrell Thomas has re-injured the right ACL, anterior cruciate ligament, that he tore in preseason last year. Thomas visited doctors today where it was confirmed that Thomas re-injured the ACL that was surgically repaired last year. An official statement has not been released but the Giants are not optimistic.

On Sunday, Terrell Thomas fell during practice and then iced his knee for the remainder of practice. Today, Thomas had swelling in his knee and he was sent to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City for an examination.

This looks to be a major setback for Terrell Thomas and if he has in fact torn his right ACL again, there will be serious questions about his ability to recover and become an effective player again. If Thomas is unable to return it looks like Prince Amukamara would replace him at the starting Cornerback position opposite of Corey Webster.

There was a second high-profile Giants injury today. Linebacker Michael Boley was also sent to the Hospital for Special Surgery to have a hamstring injury examined.

At this point there is not much information available. We will release more information as it becomes available.

The object of the story was to compare position players of all the NFC East to see who the “Beast of the East” were in the Division by talent level. His conclusion Dallas far outweighed the Redskins but also the Eagles and the Super Bowl Champion Giants. Okay let us go to his first ridiculous statement in which he writes; “I have listed as a tie between Eli Manning and Tony Romo. Although in my opinion Romo is the better QB by far. Romo has a higher QB rating, completion percentage, and more TD’s per game then Manning. In fact without the luck of a David Tyree miracle helmet catch, a Wes Welker 2nd down Super Bowl bobble with 4 minutes left in the game, or a Miles Austin dropped wide open 50 yard game clinching TD pass, it isn’t even a debate.” Okay we all know that statement is just plain stupid but I am not going to respond as a fan, I will respond with what their NFL colleagues have stated. In NFL Networks Top 100 players, Romo was rated 91, Vick 71 and Manning 31. So according to their fellow NFL players Romo is not even close to a tie with Manning and in fact is closer to Vick, the better QB, at 71. Call us all when Romo wins more than one playoff game in 9 years. These statements by itself needs no commentary. Anyone reading it will know how foolish it is or did Romo win 2 Super Bowls and more than one playoff game when I fell in a deep sleep?

Now let us go to this writers erroneous facts. First off I hate comparisons this early in the season when we do not know players health or standing on the team. So first mistake I saw was this writer placing David Diehl as the Giants LT. In fact Diehl is slated as RT. Then this writer, out of god knows where, places Prince Amukamara as the Giants starting CB. Prince might not even be the Giants nickle corner this season. Just for this writers’ edification Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster are the Giants starting CBs. You might remember Webster, the number one Corner for the Giants last year and the starting CB for the Giants the last 3 years. I know I am concentrating on the Giants and ignoring the Eagles and Redskins but this writer should be comparing his Cowboys to the Super Bowl Champs with some type of knowledge. Okay next mistake he places Chase Blackburn as starting MLB for Giants when in fact both Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese have said that is a open position and Michael Boley may start there. There are more factual mistakes concerning the Giants, Eagles and Redskins but I do not have the stomach to get into it and do not want to write a 2 page article.

I will not rate which team has the better players at each position because it is quite frankly stupid. We do not know where these players will be at the end of Training Camp, who the surprises will be and the changes in line ups. I will tell this writer the next time you present an article like this; tell the reader this is written from the heart of a Cowboy fan and not as a analyst. To show you the difference I am a big Giants fan but judging pure talent I think the Eagles easily take that crown but it is about winning which by the way Romo has a lot to learn even this late in his career.

So, Here We Go!  The first playoff game in New Giants Stadium takes place this Sunday at 1:00 when the Atlanta Falcons face the New York Giants.  The Giants are healthy and on a roll.  They have ended the Eagles, Cowboys and Jets seasons in the past three weeks, and now look to put together a run in the playoffs.  Let’s take a look at some of the match-ups that will be key on Sunday.

Jacquian Williams and Michael Boley vs. Tony Gonzalez.  It’s going to take both of them and more to keep Tony Gonzalez under control.  Not getting beat deep, or for big plays will be a win for the Giants.  Controlling Tony is all you can ask for.  He is a big target for the Falcons in the red zone.

The Giants D-Line vs the Falcons running game.  The Giants have done better recently against the run.  Getting some negative plays to keep the Falcons off schedule will be another key to this game.  Forcing them into a few third and longs will allow them to rush Matt Ryan and put pressure on the young QB.  Keeping the running game under control on 1st and 2nd down will go a long way towards a good day for the defense.

The Giants receivers vs the Falcons secondary.  With Jake Ballard back, the Giants have plenty of weapons for Eli to utilize.  Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham, D.J. Ware, and others will force the porous Atlanta secondary to make tackles and cover for a long time.  The Falcon defensive line cannot rush Eli with any effectiveness, so they will need help from the linebackers and secondary.  When you blitz Eli, usually you pay the price.  Look for the Giants to get physical with the corners, one who is listed as questionable for the game, and the other who is very young.

The Falcons receivers vs. the Giants secondary:  Really this is not the match-up that will determine the outcome.  The D-line needs to get pressure on Matt Ryan, so the secondary won’t be exposed.  They can easily cover the short passes, and keep the plays in front of them.  Given time though, Matt Ryan will take some shots down field to the very talented Julio Jones and others.

I fully expect the Giants to play well in this game and keep their positive energy moving forward.

Here are some quick hits regarding the NY Giants from around the NFL today:

LB Michael Boley is being accused of child abuse, you can read about it here.

Various GIANTS beat writers have the pre-practice injury report, you can see it by clicking here.

To hear interviews from Justin Tuck, Antrelle Rolle, and Tom Coughlin, you can go here.

Luckily, the Dallas Cowboys also lost to the Arizona Cardinals so the Giants remain only a game behind them in the NFC East, making next week’s showdown that much bigger.

A few observations from the game:

-Congratulations to Victor Cruz for reaching 1,000 receiving yards! Cruz came into the game with 957 receiving yards and his 43 yard reception in the first quarter put him over the 1,000 yards mark. He now has 1,076 on the season. Not bad for  a guy who went undrafted, huh?

-Cruz hinted earlier this week that he was planning on using double moves to take advantage of Woodson aggressiveness and draw penalties and it showed.

-Speaking of Woodson, it seems like he can’t tackle any of the Giants running backs without getting run over. Every time I see him, I think of Brandon Jacobs bowling him over in the infamous 2008 NFC Championship game in Green Bay, and Bradshaw knocking him over in the fourth quarter was eerily similar.

-We all know that the Giants have had to overcome a ridiculous amount of injuries again this season, and with David Bass and Will Beatty hurt, today’s game marked the fifth different offensive line combination used this season. That just makes the season that Eli Manning is having that much more impressive.

-Chase Blackburn solidified his welcome back with a huge interception of Aaron Rodgers deep in Packers territory. He looked pretty good in pass coverage too, an area where most of the Giants linebackers have struggled this year. But between Michael Boley and Blackburn’s returns to the lineup, they looked much better in that respect than they did last week (not that that was hard to do).

-What was up with those two plays that Coughlin challenged? It was very clear that neither of those plays were getting overturned and he wasted both of his challenges and two timeouts. Coughlin is normally one of the best coaches in the NFL when it comes to winning challenges, but he’s now lost his last four.

-Kenny Phillips left the game with a sprained knee- the same one that cost him his season last year- and did not return. Is it too much to ask for the Giants to make it through one game without someone getting hurt?

-Another monster of a game from Jason Pierre-Paul. New York needed him to set up in a big way with Osi Umenyiora out and he did just that. It’s hard to believe that he doesn’t even have two full NFL seasons under his belt. Imagine what a dominate player he’ll be in a few more years.

 Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin today gave an injury update that had some good, and some bad news.  LB Mark Herzlich has been ruled out with an ankle injury.  On the other hand, LB Michael Boley practiced on a limited basis.  RB Ahmad Bradshaw did not practice and said he felt better and hopes to play Sunday.  WR Mario Manningham still has swelling in his knee and has not shown much improvement.  He might be out as well this Sunday.

So the beat goes on for the Giants…One thing we know for sure is that the New York Giants will not be at full strength for another week of the season

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We have landed at the halfway point of the 2011 season. Every team in the NFL have played out their first 8 games. Only two teams have played into the second half of a 16 game schedule, the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. The second half is upon us and the playoff brackets are beginning to take shape.

The NFC East has always been a competitive division, in and of itself and outside of the conference/division. The first impressions that many had of the NFC East have been blown out of the water. Regardless of record, any team in this conference is capable, at any time, of making the opposition sorry for mistaking a losing record for terminal weakness. We’ve got the grades and projections for the remainder of the season right here. Welcome to the NFC EAST Midseason Report Card! Check it out!
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I thought the first team defense looked very strong. Plainly speaking, the Jets are a talented football team. To me, their offensive line is easily top 5 in the entire league. Yet during the game I felt the Giants defensive line controlled the trenches. This is a very good thing. There is little game planning involved in a defensive line player beating an offensive line player. Yes, a team can leave more players back to block, or create a game plan attempting to minimize the impact of one player, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Giants front four played better than the Jets five offensive lineman. I think the best example was the QB sneak on 3rd and inches. It was line against line, and the Giants didn’t budge. To me, that was probably the most impressive part of the night.

Aaron Ross was another impressive player. I was at the game tonight, and I decided early on I was going to try to keep my focus on Ross to see how he did in coverage. Ross was lined up against Burress and Holmes all night, and had pretty solid coverage. In fact there was only one time I thought his man beat him, and lucky for Ross, the Giants pass rush chased Sanchez from the pocket before he could make the throw. So, while I’m still a bit worried about Ross, he has definitely alleviated some of my concerns with his play this preseason.

Side note: It appears in nickel situations Rolle will move up to cover the slot receiver and Grant will take his place at safety. The Giants played this way all night. I was not particularly impressed with Rolle’s coverage, but I believe he will improve on this. Also when Brian Williams entered the game, he primarily covered the slot receiver.

Then there was Michael Boley. I have been waiting for Boley to become a Pro Bowl player for a number of years now. Perhaps it will never happen, but tonight he gave me reason to hope. He looks real fast out in coverage, and should again help us against tight ends. He was stout against the run, filling the holes nicely, and flying over the field to make the tackles. Not only that, but he looks like the best tackler on the team.  I’m expecting big things from him this season.

The offense didn’t have as good a night. Let’s stick with the positives though. The offensive line looked better this week. They have been improving each week, and hopefully that continues throughout the season. I thought Bradshaw, Jacobs and Ware all looked great. Jacobs has looked the best, and looks like he returned to the dominating form we saw in 2008. (And now a tangent: Earlier today I saw an ESPN video where Ron Jaworski said the Giants won’t get nine wins this season because they won’t be able to establish a power run game like they want to. He claimed they don’t have the personal, specifically mentioning the poor play at tight end. I couldn’t disagree more. It might be hard to remember, but in 2008 nobody thought Boss was a good blocking tight end. He got thrown off his blocks too many times to remember. 2008 made me realize how good a blocker Shockey was. I mention 2008 because that is the only season under Coughlin that I thought we could be categorized as a power running team. We did it without good tight ends that year. If Jacobs and Bradshaw play well, and the offensive line plays up to its potential. we will be a power running team again)

Individually, I thought Manningham and Nicks ran some nice routes and each had a few nice grabs. Victor Cruz had a nice game as well, and even two tight ends got involved (Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum).

Once the starters left I don’t think there were a ton of positives. David Carr played so poorly, no one really had a chance to excel on offense. Defensively the Giants got pushed around. No one on the line really stood out. In fact, the only player I thought that did stand out was Clint Sintim. He was in on every tackle, and got pressure when he was sent on a blitz. I guess this means the Giants are fairly thin, but I think that was something we already knew.

Now to address Eli and the turnovers. Eli Manning did not have a good game. I don’t want to read too much into this. It was a preseason game, and I have no idea how much they game planned. Still, I thought he failed to get into a rhythm and almost never looked off his first receiver. There were plenty of times I knew the receiver getting the ball before the snap. The rest of the time I figured it out maybe a second after the snap. My point is, it looked like Eli tried to get the ball into the hands of the first option, instead of looking off if the receiver wasn’t open. I thought this was the reason for the first interception, as he tried to force it to Cruz, even though he was barely open. He had to lead him or the trailing corner would’ve picked it off. Since it was such a small window, he led him by a lot, hoping Cruz could run and make the catch. It was too far in front of Cruz, though, and it flew in front of his outstretched hands and into the safety behind him. The second pick wasn’t entirely Eli’s fault. He escaped from the pocket and headed to the left when he spotted Bradshaw streaking down the sideline. Eli threw a back shoulder pass, but Bradshaw didn’t know and kept running, leading to an easy pick for the defense.

The tight ends didn’t have a great game either. The Giants seem reluctant to have Beckum on the line, and had him almost exclusively in the slot. This didn’t cause them to become predictable, as they did run out of the formation, but if Beckum is primarily gonna be a receiver, I wish he had more catches. The Giants have not looked good in the red zone this preseason, and lack of an option at tight end is a big reason for that. It will be interesting to see how the Giants address this issue in the regular season.

Overall a solid game for the Giants.

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The talent is there. I know we lost Steve Smith, Kevin Boss and Barry Cofield in the offseason, but that doesn’t change that fact. (honestly, I think everyone is freaking out WAY too much about this. Aside from Steve Smith I don’t think we lost any player that was above average. And in Steve Smith’s case, we lost a player at a position that we have an abundance of talent)

Focusing on the defense, I think we can all agree that the Giants showed how dominant of a unit they could be at times last season. Remember, for a while they were ranked as the number one unit in terms of total yards allowed, and they finished the season with the most takeaways in the league. So why don’t we remember how dominant they were? Because they choked down the stretch and gave up a billion points in the time it took to blink. (those numbers were only slightly exaggerated)

This season the Giants will have the same defensive system and coordinator for the first time in three years. A system and coordinator that the players like and respect. If they can keep themselves motivated they have a chance of replicating what the Ravens did back when they terrorized Kerry Collins for 60 minutes. (and subsequently made us forget how magnificent he was against the Vikings a game before)

Now I could bullet the reasons why the defense should be dominant, but I think they showed that at times last year. Instead let’s look at the reasons this defense could fail to live up to these lofty expectations.

1. Poor depth in the secondary

This is something that troubled me last season, as I thought they only had three starting caliber corners (Webster, Thomas, and Ross) and a single injury would leave them exposed. Luckily the Giants did not have a single significant injury in the secondary last season. The problem is, with Prince injured the Giants are in the same predicament. Bringing back Deon Grant helps stabilize the safeties, but the corners are once again an injury away from getting torched on a weekly basis.

2. Lack of talent at linebacker

Right now the three starting linebackers are Michael Boley, Jonathan Goff and Mathias Kiwanuka. While Kiwi spent some time at linebacker before, he is more a defensive end than a linebacker. Boley has been with the team for two seasons and has failed to make a big impact. Finally, Goff was average at best in his role, and did so little to impress the coaches last season that his spot hasn’t even been guaranteed.

3. Without Osi and Cofield the defensive line won’t be as dominant

Osi recently elected to have surgery (so he gets a second opinion, is told he is cleared to play. tells everyone he is going to play so he doesn’t let his teammates and coaches down, then has a surgery that will keep him off the field for weeks, and let his teammates and coaches down. I don’t get it. Either say right after the second opinion I’m going to have the surgery, or don’t have the surgery. Don’t claim you are going to be the bigger man, then a few days later act like a child in a pissing match with your parents) and Cofield left in free agency. Those two players were two of the most productive players on the line, how do the Giants replace their production?

Now that we’ve outlined the three biggest problems surrounding the Giants defense why don’t we show why they aren’t a big deal. Let’s start with the easiest one. The Linebackers:

This is another issue I think is talked about way too much. With the way the Giants like to play defense, the linebackers are not impact players. For starters, teams almost always trot out three wide receivers, which means three corners and two linebackers. Keith Bullock was the third linebacker last year and he barely saw the field. Secondly, the Giants prefer to play with three safeties than three linebackers. For those two reasons, it is rare to have more than two linebackers on the field, and there are plenty of formations with just one. But what about the lack of talent? Michael Boley is a better player than people give him credit for. He was hurt his first season, and actually played pretty well last year. Boley, combined with the play of Grant and the safeties, were the reason why the Giants defended the tight end position so well. For Kiwanuka, he looked fantastic in this same role early last season. He had four sacks in the first three games before getting injured. I remember I was so excited about his development last season, and it was a huge blow when he was injured. I am not worried about his play at all. For Goff, he had a solid season. I’ll admit it wasn’t great, but it was leaps and bounds better than what I thought he would do. With a season under his belt I expect him to play even better than he did last year. In short, I am not saying the Giants have amazing linebackers. What I am saying is I don’t see the position as this great weakness that will hinder the Giants potential to be a dominating defense.

Now the second easiest question, the defensive line:

Yes, Cofield and Osi played well last season. No, their contributions won’t be impossible to replace. For one, I don’t see Cofield as being anything special. He is a good player, but good players are replaceable. Linval Joseph and Marvin Austin are more talented than Cofield was. Will they be able to showcase those talents on the field? We’ll see. I strongly believe at least one of them will, and let’s not forget, we still have Chris Canty, who has played well for the Giants. For Osi, he will be back with the team probably before the midpoint of the season. In the meantime, JPP has looked great. (While I say this I am terrified he is going to have some freak injury that costs him the season. It seems to happen every year with a player that is about to breakout. Kenny Phillips, Victor Cruz, Kiwanuka…twice) While it would be ideal to have Osi in the rotation, I don’t think it will destroy the team to be without him for part of the season.

Finally the hardest question, the secondary depth:

This is probably the thing that worries me the most. If there is an injury to Corey Webster or Terrell Thomas, I have no idea how the Giants will fare. I guess we’ll have to watch the rest of the preseason to see if someone emerges, but for now it worries me. Prince should be back at some point this season, so hopefully he can come back and add some much needed depth. (or perhaps his injury appeased the sports gods enough that we don’t need to lose another player to injury?) I am worried about a corner coming in without any training camp and having a screw in his foot, but on the bright side, how well do you need to know the playbook to play man-to-man, and if he is cleared to play hopefully that injured foot isn’t bothering him. Still I can’t help but think of this issue as the biggest problem the Giants face.

Still, looking back on these issues and last year’s performance, I think it is fair to say that if the Giants can stay motivated, they can be a top 5 unit in the NFL. Basically, just like Dan said in his article, the biggest thing keeping the Giants from being a top unit is themselves. So this season will tell us one of two things: the coaching staff is incapable of motivating these players, or the Giants have a bad locker room and need to completely overhaul their roster. Something tells me the coaches will go first.

In the offseason, all the experts deemed the Giants’ biggest weaknesses to be along the offensive line and the linebacking corp. Both look to be solidified by young players already on the Giants roster. The players I’m talking about are William Beatty and Clint Sintim. Those players are entering their third season in the NFL, a season many believe is the season that young players become stars in this league.

In addition to the signing of David Baas, the progression of Beatty will allow the Giants’ offensive line to return to the productive levels we have seen back in 2007 and 2008. David Diehl, David Baas, and Chris Snee form one of the best interior lines in the league, and flanked out at right, Kareem Mckenzie looks to add another solid year to his resume. This leads to the only question mark on the line, William Beatty. Beatty was a guy with first round talent, and fell to the second round simply due to the tremendous depth at the tackle position that year. In his third season with the Giants, he should have a firm enough grasp of the offense to make a huge contribution. If he does, watch out.

Michael Boley and his hefty contract will undoubtedly start at weak side linebacker this season. With Jonathan Goff’s great season, and lack of competition, he should look to man the middle for another year. That leaves the strong side spot open. All indications have been that the coaching staff is looking to Sintim to fill that role. The third year player has worlds of talent, it just hasn’t been realized on the football field yet. It is his third year, however, and you’d hope by now Sintim would be able to show something. Like Beatty, if he can reach his potential he can turn what was a question mark into an asset for the Giants.

In addition to these two players, look for Travis Beckum, Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden to all improve on their previous performances, giving the Giants the impact players so many are craving from free agency. It might not be splashy, but the Giants have the makings of an improved team. That is scary when you realize they were 10-6 and possibly eight minutes away from being the 2nd seed in the playoffs last season.

Through the draft the Giants added two players, fourth round selection Phillip Dilliard and sixth round pick Adrian Tracy. Add that to the current linebackers on the roster, Chase Blackburn, Michael Boley, fan favorite Zak DeOssie, Jonathan Goff, Brian Kehl, Clint Sintim, Gerris Wilkinson, and Kenny Ingram (who has never entered a game). None of those names ring out like those old Giants linebackers of lore. But who knows what we will think of them after this season?

The race for the Mike or Middle Linebacker boils down to 4 players: Goff, Dilliard, Wilkinson, and Blackburn. Whoever wins the competition will be expected to quarterback the defense the same way Antonio Pierce did under previous defensive coordinators, which could be too much to throw on rookie Dilliard’s plate immediately. Many fans were playing Rolando McClain was going to fall to the Giants in the first round, but that obviously didn’t happen. The Giants obviously expect a lot from Dilliard, but how much they can realistically expect from a first year player remains to be seen. Of all the races profiled thus far this one seems the most wide open. Jonathan Goff has been getting most of the reps so far with the first team, with Dilliard mostly with the second, but really none of the four options have been ruled out yet, and while it could very well be Goff’s to lose, it would be just as easy for Dilliar for even Blackburn or Wilkinson to win it.

Michael Boley spent parts of last season hurt, but when he did play he did so servicably. He should remain as the starter at one of the outside linebacker spots. The other outside spot most likely belongs to Clint Sintim, who has seen a few reps in the middle himself. If the season ended today, it would most likely be Boley and Sintim on the outside with Goff anchoring the middle. The Giants know more or less what to expect from Boley, as long as he stays healthy. It is Goff and even more Sintim that are the players to watch. Of course, if the front four do their job, they will help cover up any weakness in the young linebacking corps.