Apparently, it's not always good to be the king.

After shocking the world and winning the superbowl in January, the Giants' fortunes over the past few months have aken a decided downturn. I'm not saying there ahve been any disasters or anything, but certainly the bad news has outweighed the good. Let's take a quick look at our rival's offseason.

First, free agency hit and the Giants certainly lost more than they gained. Starting safety Gibril Wilson left for the Raiders, starting LB Kawika Mitchell left for the Bills, and solid backup Reggie Torbor. ESPN even referred to the Giants as ""losers" in the free agent market. That said, no one was impressed with what they did last offseason either and we know how that ended up.

Future Hall of Famer and one of the great DEs of all time, Michael Strahan retires. The Giant's pass rush is clearly their strength and easily the #1 reason they went on the run they did last year. Losing  their best rusher will cause guys like Osi Umenyoria to see mroe double teams and put extra pressure on the rest of the line to replace Strahan's production both as a pass rusher and a run stopper.

Speaking of Umenyoria, you can count him on the growing list of unhappy Giants. Despite signing a 6 year, $41 million deal in 2005 Osi has publicly stated he

wants a new deal with even more money... Umenyoria contemplated holding out, but has decided to report to camp while his agent talks to the Giants.

WR Plaxico Burress is upset with his contract and while he has shown up to the teams offseason camps, he refuses to practice. His antics have drawn public criticisms from veterans like Shaun O'Hara.

"My feeling is it is a disservice to all the other guys who are out there working hard and practicing and doing their jobs"

For what it's worth, Burress does feel that the Giants will give in to his demands and cut him a new deal.

The other Giant pro bowler upset is Jeremy Shockey. First and foremost, Shockey has said that his leg injury from last year is not healed yet and that will limit him through the offseason. In addition to the injury, trade rumors have swirled around Shockey all offseason and he made his feelings about the organziation clear.

"Unlike the Giants, I'm going to be quiet," he said at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York while participating in the Powerade Pro Challenge. "They've released multiple things about myself and if you look back into the media, there's always a source. Well, I'd like to know who this source is and we'll go over here and we'll deal with it ourselves, because I haven't said one negative thing towards the Giants in the newspapers."

The situation appears to be getting worse.... Reports surfaced earlier this week that Shockey and Giants' GM Jerry Reese got into a "huge shouting match" and now Shockey's agent Drew Rosenhaus has insterted himself into the fray...

Finally, the latest piece of bad news in the Giants offseason is that RB Ahmad Bradshaw has been locked up in a Virginia jail since Saturday due to an "undisclosed probation violation." It's unknown whether this could lead to a suspension or how it affects Bradshaw's status with the team, but he will remain in jail for a month.

So there you have it. No doubt the shiny new superbowl ring helps with all the bad feelings... but when the new season starts and the title defense begins it's fair to wonder how much all this negativity and bad news could affect the team.