It's really the nightmare scenario for any fan. One of your important players lost for the season... in a meaningless preseason game. Giants fans are living that nightmare with the news that pro bowl DE Osi Umenyoria is done for the year.

New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora will have season-ending surgery on his injured left knee Tuesday.

Umenyiora was hurt in the second quarter of Saturday's preseason game against the New York Jets, and Dr. Russell Warren told the team on Sunday that an MRI found a tear in his lateral meniscus.

"It was obviously the news that I did not want to hear," coach Tom Coughlin said. "But after listening to the explanation and Dr. Warren's thoughts on it, I am convinced that this is the right procedure and the right way to go."

That makes 2 pro bowl defensive ends that the Giants have lost this season,  Umenyoria to injury and Michael Strahan to retirement. The word is that the Giants may try to lure the 36 year old Strahan, who now works for Fox Sports, out of retirement. Either way, the Giants' pass rush went from a tremendous strength to a major question mark before the season has even begun. I want to beat the Giants twice this year in the worst way... but I'd like to do it with all hands on deck. You never want to see guys get hurt.

It was actually a tough day all around for pro bowl DEs... Shawne Merriman found out that he's been playing with two torn ligaments in his left knee.  Doctors were surprised that he had been able to play on such an injury before they discovered it. I have an idea how he may have played through the pain... how about a butt full of steroids?

It's never good to see a guy get injured, but if there's one guy that deserves to be an example of what happens when you cheat and pump your body full of steroids... it's Merriman. Steroids aren't magic cure alls. When you artificially strenghten yourself one place, it can weaken you in others.

Rant over.

Redskins DE Jason Taylor sprained his knee and may not be ready to play the Skins season opener. Not a major injury, but definitely a concern when it happens to a guy that's 34. By the way, Taylor was injured in a 47-3 loss to the Panthers. 47-3?

Speaking of old guys getting hurt, Brian Dawkins' ankle seems fine and he is likely to be ready to go by the season opener.

“Just from my past experiences with things like this, I didn’t feel anything different than what I was thinking that it was just a sprain,” said Dawkins, who said the ankle has improved significantly. “It’s just one of those things that, when you have an injury after the game, you get a little sore. After that, it starts feeling a lot better.”

*Throat clear* First, injuries *cough*

Good news on the injury front as Chris Clemons returns to practice, rookie DE Bryan Smith makes his first appearance on the field after getting over a strain, and the word on Asante Samuel is that he could be back by the weekend.

Na Brown Award - A new contender emerges

So far the darlings of the 2008 camp seem to be RB Lorenzo Booker who has put on a show with his speed and arsenal of moves and WR Jason Avant who caught anything thrown  in his general direction. However, neither really qualify for the Na Brown award since Avant was already here and Booker was higher pick. There is one guy who is turning heads, and being a 4th round pick like Na himself Quintin Demps just may get the prize.

Demps was advertised as a "ballhawk" coming out of school having led the nation in interceptions. So far in camp he's done nothing to disprove that moniker. Demps has had more than one "pick 6" and excelled in practice again yesterday

Earlier, Booker dazzled rookie safety Quintin Demps after making a catch, but Demps had a pick and a "sack'' in the same sequence. Andy Reid noted that Demps has shown the same nose for the ball that led the Eagles to draft him.

Demps has been working as both a safety and a corner in camp and has left  Andy Reid impressed

"You can see that he had a lot of interceptions in college, and you always want to see if that carries over to the pro game," Reid said yesterday. "In these practices, you see him getting his hands on the ball and making catches."

Not everyone's hands are impressing

Free agent TE Kris Wilson was advertised as a good player who was both misused in Kansas City and stuck behind a future hall of famer in Tony Gonzales. Out of Tony G's shadow and back at his natural position TE Wilson was going to challenge for a starting job with LJ Smith on just a one year deal... So far, Wilson has failed to impress.

Wilson was given a chance to make the roster and possibly build himself a future because Smith is on a one-year contract. But like so many passes over the last two weeks, it may have already slipped through his fingers.

"Obviously, nobody wants to drop the ball, but that's part of the game," Wilson said Thursday. "That's something that you constantly work on. Every day you come out and tell yourself to try to have a perfect day.

"You don't want to have any balls on the ground, but from time to time, it happens."

Reports from camp make it fairly clear that Wilson has slipped behind both Celek and Wilson on the depth chart at TE. In all likelihood the Eagles will only keep 3 TEs, so at this point Wilson looks like the odd man out.

Westbrook contract situation

Andy Reid was asked in his press conference if there was any news on the Westbrook negotiations and there was not. However, one Eagles rival feels like Westbrook is worth everything he wants.

"To be completely honest with you," Umenyiora said, "if Philadelphia really understood his value to that team, they would never even have allowed him to get upset with his contract. You take Westbrook off that team and nobody would fear them. I don't think they truly understand that.

"He should be one of the highest-paid players in the league. Period. I'm not saying this as a friend of his. I don't even know the guy that well. I'm just saying it because it's the truth."

I think they understand it just fine Osi...

Quote of the day

Andy Reid was asked how entering his 10th year as coach he maintains his energy level and enthusiasm for the job?

"I change my diet," he said.

What are you eating? "Too much."

AJ Feeley has earned his own place in the Urban dictionary. His name now has something to do with couches and hoes... (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

HHR also has an interesting take on the Brian Westbrook contract situation. Really, who owes who here? (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

Is it possible that we could see the fade pass entered into the Eagles offense this year? (Iggles Blog)

We all know how Eagles web guy Dave Spadaro feels about the Eagles... but what about entertainment and politics? (Poor Sports)

The word is that Victor Abiamiri's wrist injury could end his season, but what happened to the days of putting a club on your hand and playing? (Eagle Scout)

I'm sure Winston Justice really appreciated Osi Umenyoria's kind sentiments... (Bounty Bowl)

Just because you're a multi millionaire pro football player, doesn't mean you don't need online dating to find love. Right Mr Herremans? (Eaglesville)

At least we know that Desean Jackson knows how to take a hint. (Bleed Eagles Green)

If this year was last year... The Eagles would have won the Bears game thanks to a new rule change. (700 Level)

Santa may have deserved it, but LJ does not. (Santa Deserved It)

Here's a headline about Brett Favre I think we can all agree on. (Huge Tiny Mistake)

Speaking of Favre... if he went to Tampa Bay, Madden 2009 thinks he'd lose a playoff game to the Eagles (SI.com)

If Shawn Andrews is especting sympathy from his teammates at Lehigh, he's not getting it. At least not from Jon Runyan. (Eagletarian)

You know how I titled this edition of The Linc "Pacman forgot something?" Well what forgot was how to cover a WR.  Seriously, I don't know if I've ever seen someone faked this bad! (With Leather)

Finally. hands down no possible argument can be made... This is the hottest Bar on earth. (WWTDD)

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.

via www.nydailynews.com

It's always odd when you check the morning papers and nearly every local Eagles writer has penned the same story... Today, Winston Justice is the soup du jour.

Les Bowen, Daily News  - "Offensive Tackle Justice has something to prove for Eagles"

Bowen asks Justice about all the critical remarks Hugh Douglas has made about him this offseason.

Asked yesterday if this was the first time anyone ever questioned his competitiveness, his heart, Justice said: "He's the first one that did it out loud.''

"It does bother me,'' Justice continued. "But it would be stupid to talk back to him. Talk is nothing. The only thing I can do is prove it. I think that's the best thing to do.'' 

Bob Grotz, Delco Times  - Looking for Justice after a slow start

Give Winston Justice a hand for going outside the box to try and get better.

Embarrassed by his performance against Osi Umenyiora and the New York Giants last season, the Eagles offensive tackle enrolled in the strength and conditioning program at Velocity Sports Performance in Naples, Fla.

When Justice wasn’t building upper body muscle, he was firing out of his three-point stance each and every time his trainer clapped, which was about 50 times each day.

"My first couple of days, I was really slow," Justice said. "But by months two and three, I was a lot quicker. I think that’s going to translate a lot into (success) in camp and the season. It’s something that I really needed to work on."

There's some encouraging stuff. It's been good to see guys like Justice and Jamal Jackson make the effort to seek outside help on their own time this offseason.

Geoff Mosher, News Journal  - Eagles' Justice works to improve

Mosher had some more info about the program Justice was put through.

Using a hand clap to simulate the snap, Touchette had Justice crouch into position and react at the sound of his clap. Sometimes, Touchette would clap immediately. Other times, he would pause before the clap.

The varying clap rhythm forced Justice to react on instinct instead of anticipation. They would repeat these drills nearly 50 times a day.

Nick Fierro, The Express-Times  - Justice out to answer his critics

Confidence, Justice insisted, was never a problem last season. Only technique.

So the satisfactory job he did filling in for injured right tackle Jon Runyan in the season finale three months later didn't make him feel any better about what happened against Umenyiora, the Giants' defensive end who tallied six sacks at Justice's expense during a desultory 16-3 defeat for the Eagles on Sept. 30.

"I knew what I was doing wrong," Justice said, "so I felt bad after. I knew I was capable of playing a good game and I'm capable of being a good player. I just need to prove that next season."

So there you go... all you could have ever wanted know about what Winston Justice has been up to and where his head is right now...