KEY RANKINGS:

1. New York Giants

Best addition: RB David Wilson, first-round pick

With Eli Manning and the front four, the Giants are still mighty Giants, and rookies Wilson and Rueben Randle will make up for key departures. The Giants will need to hang tough with a schedule even stronger than last season’s.

9. Philadelphia Eagles

Best addition: MLB DeMeco Ryans, trade acquisition

No one is talking about them as the Dream Team this year, and the perceived lower expectations may be just what Michael Vick and Andy Reid need for a big rebound.

10. Dallas Cowboys

Best addition: CB Morris Claiborne, first-round pick

It must have hurt to see the Giants wrestle the division away and then go on to win it all. The Cowboys have rebuilt their back seven pass defense, but they still go as Tony Romo does.

25. Washington Redskins

Best addition: QB Robert Griffin III, first-round pick

Griffin brings more than a dash of much-needed electricity to the offense, the entire team and the city. It will be fun watching him, even it if comes with significant growing pains.

SURPRISES?:

7. Denver Broncos

Best addition: QB Peyton Manning, free-agent pickup

This team already got to the divisional playoff round with a questionable passing game. If Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning, they can go a few miles higher.

12. New Orleans Saints

Best addition: G Ben Grubbs, free-agent pickup

Sean Payton is gone for the season and Gregg Williams is gone for good, which means Drew Brees will have more riding on his arm than usual. Now would be a good time to give Brees that big raise.

19. New York Jets

Best addition: S LaRon Landry, free-agent pickup

The Jets were a mediocre team last season, and despite the flashy Tebow pickup, there are still  big questions about just how much substance they have on both sides of the ball.

What do you think of these rankings?

“It’s exciting,” said Locklear, who will attend the opening of the Giants’ offseason conditioning program on Monday. “I was on the other end of two games against the Giants last year – followed them pretty well in their run to the Super Bowl. But, actually, when I got the call I was kind of excited about the chance to actually play in New York and who doesn’t want to play with the team who just got done winning the Super Bowl? My thing is to just get in here and start fresh, start learning again and try to help this team get back to where they want to go.”

Locklear was originally a 3rd round draft pick from North Carolina State, and prefers to play right tackle.  He will have the chance to compete and win that job in camp, and he certainly adds depth at a much needed position.

Welcome to the Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants Sean….We are glad to have you.

Clipped from: nflmocks.com (share this clip)

Here’s a snippet dealing with the Giants biggest needs right now – Cornerback:

The biggest defensive need for me for the 2012 NFL Draft as it stood entering the season was cornerback. And that remains the same. The Giants still have no depth at cornerback and this will not change until Prince Amukamara comes back AND there is good news on the Terrell Thomas front. Thomas can be a free agent after this season if he’s not resigned by the new York Giants. Aaron Ross had an o.k. game, but he is also a free agent after this season. If you’re a Giants fan keep a lookout for round 1 and two cornerback prospects. Those who are against grabbing cornerbacks back to back in the first round are stubborn. Cornerback is always a need, the problem is it’s a major need for the Giants and it needs to addressed.

Be sure to check back each week at NFL Mocks for more mock draft coverage, and we’ll be linking to each story referencing the Giants for you as well here at GMEN HQ.

Clipped from: nflmocks.com (share this clip)

Here’s a snippet on MLB Greg Jones who unexpectedly played his first start for the Giants in place of Jon Goff who is out for the season with a torn ACL:

Jones was just getting his feet wet on Sunday and did a pretty good job. Jones biggest responsibility this year is going to be in run support and the Giants will use other players (they used another rookie a lot) for pass support. Jones has to stick his nose in the run game, and try to blow up plays. He had four tackles in the game and was used a lot more early than he was late when the Giants used more three safeties. Jones didn’t make any tackles for loss or deliver any impressive blows, but played admiarbly. He clearly has natural instincts though he was a touch late on Tim Hightowers’ touchdown run. Solid outing. He has a lot of room for improvement though.

Be sure to check back each week at NFL Mocks for more rookie news, and we’ll be linking to each story referencing the Giants for you as well here at GMEN HQ.

Listen to the interview here:

Here are some of Rolle’s best comments after week 1:

On the state of the defense after losing in Washington

“I definitely feel there is a lot of work to be done. We have a lot of guys playing different positions. We have to fill in some key areas. We still haven’t found that chemistry yet. It’s getting close and it is definitely getting close. We’re definitely striving to get things on a better track.”

On his outlook on the Giants team in general after week 1:

“As a team and organization we know that the Washington Redskins are not a better team than us. We know that. Hands down. If we played them 100 times they might win 5. They won that day. It never leaves a good taste in your mouth when you lose to an opponent you know you are better than. We understood where things went wrong. I don’t think we played a good game at all as a team. I don’t think we played well on special teams, on defense or offense. I think that is something we realize and once you realize the problem then you could work on fixing it and that’s exactly what we are going to do.”

On the defenseless receiver penalty that lost the game for the Giants

“It was a caught ball and the guy was on the ground and he only had one more yard to get, so as a football player my first instinct is he is going to try to reach and put the ball over that line. Once I felt like he was going to try to reach to put the ball over that 1-yard line my instinct was to go and try to hit him as hard as I can and try to force a turnover. I know he is not going to reach over and have full control of the ball, so my instinct was to go over there and create a turnover the best way I can. My initial target point was definitely not a head shot, but as he started rolling it kind of threw my target off it a little bit. I think what happened is my shoulder definitely hit him first, but as I hit him the back of my helmet caught his helmet. I’m not the one to sit here and say it was a good call or it wasn’t a good call, but in my eyes it was a legit call and something I can learn from. Next time I have to make a smarter play and try to tackle him down and force him with my hands instead of my shoulders.”

[via WFAN]

The Washington Post has an article up today about his hard work paying off — and it is. The Shanahan’s gave him a shot late in the year last season to prove what he can do and it’s scary. If you’ve been sleeping on him, promise me you’re now awake. Check it out – he’s the same size and quickness as DeSean Jackson, plays a similar role in the offense and return game, and has simply been overshadowed by Santana Moss and Brandon Banks. Trust me — this kid is good and he’ll light the Giants up way more than the other two Redskins weapons I just named if Big Blue fails to prepare for him. Listen to Shanny’s words on the kid heading into his second year:

“He’s a lot more mature after learning defenses in the National Football League, and I think he’ll keep on getting better,” Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said. “The one thing you can’t teach a guy is to be fearless, especially at his size. Regardless if it’s special teams, returning punts or kickoffs, running routes or blocking, it doesn’t take long to see that he doesn’t have a lot of fear.”

Austin has had a great preseason campaign, and I most notably remember pointing him out to our gracious hosts at the Giants/Redskins game last year and commenting about his untapped potential — only to see him go in and light up the Giants and nearly achieve a comeback victory for the Skins. He won’t be on the practice squad this year, I can assure you. And if opposing defenses don’t plan for it — he can be extremely explosive when you least expect it.

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