Jay Alford News

A GIANTS' DEFENSIVE line that was supposed to put the fear of God into every offensive line and quarterback it faced this season hasn't quite been the Sack Monster many expected it to be.

Osi Umenyiora's run defense has been called into question. Since Barry Cofield became a Giant more than three years ago, he had been pretty much surrounded by the same players on the defensive line.

Injured Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce watches from the sidelines during his team's game against Atlanta .

Their full defense. True, Kenny Phillips and Jay Alford are still on injured reserve and out for the season.

While their fans may be pushing the panic button, the Giants obviously aren't, even after a 40-17 loss to the archrival Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday that defensive end Justin Tuck hopes is "rock bottom" for the defending division champions.

So we're a quarter of the way through the season, except for those four luckless teams that had the dumb Week 4 byes.

Update 6:15PM: DT Jay Alford will have knee surgery and is out for the season. Safety Kenny Phillips is out and will be missed! Aaron Rouse has been picked up and should be ready soon.

Full disclosure: My Super Bowl pick was Chargers-Giants. The AFC side of that hand-over-the-eyes-and-throw-the-dart pick isn't looking so good.

Safety Kenny Phillips ' season with the New York Giants ended just days after the best game of his career.

At least the short-handed Giants don't have to play under the draining heat of the Dallas sun.

New York Giants defensive end Chris Canty will miss Sunday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys with a calf injury.

Fresno State starting free safety Lorne Bell might miss the Bulldogs' next two games because of the knee injury he suffered Saturday against Wisconsin.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley The reading public demanded ESPN release the NFC East transcript from today's chat.

Giants Coach Tom Coughlin refused to leak roster decisions Friday, but he might have offered a clue when he was asked about the performances of the reserve quarterbacks Andre Woodson and Rhett Bomar.

Sunday at 4:15 pm, the Redskins will kick off the season against the New York Giants.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley Through various news outlets , the Giants' cuts have been trickling in all afternoon.

Receiver David Tyree, 29, has gone from Super Bowl hero to out of a job. He was released Saturday in the Giants ' final cutdown, which also featured a trade that sent backup tight end Michael Matthews to the Patriots for a conditional draft pick.

NY Giants quarterback Andre' Woodson's status with the team is up in the air as final cuts loom Saturday evening.

Giants defensive tackle Jay Alford, an Orange native, will miss the upcoming season after incurring a knee injury in the team's second preseason game, last month in Chicago.

Left tackle David Diehl never has missed a game in his first six years with the Giants.