FanHouse Bill Sheridan

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- They were in full smoothing-over mode, and the Giants do it well. You can't be successful in New York without knowing damage control. In less than 24 hours, the "Osi Umenyiora Leaves Practice" story had become, very convincingly, a "Families Have Disagreements All the Time, No Big Deal" story. Umenyiora was contrite, joking about (though not revealing) the size of his fine, laughing about the "Wanted" and "$1 million reward" posters his teammates had hung up in the locker room. A dispute between him and new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan? Overblown. Trivial. Nothing to see here.

And they may be right. The Giants could win a lot of games this year. They have enough talent and depth on defense to be dominant, and if they are, nobody's even going to remember that Sheridan is the coordinator now and Steve Spagnuolo was last year.

But if they're not ... well, then when he walked out on practice Monday, Umenyiora kicked open a can of worms that could have -- and should have -- very easily stayed closed.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

In 2007, the New York Giants found a way to peak at the right time. After barely making the playoffs, Eli Manning led his charges on an amazing ride, one that included three straight road wins and an upset of the previously unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl. 2008 wasn't so great for the Giants. A nightclub shooting took out their best receiver, crippled the passing game, and left the team vulnerable for the Philadelphia Eagles, who ended their season in the NFC Divisional Playoff.

A surprisingly troubled Giants preseason continued Monday when defensive end Osi Umenyiora left practice with what coach Tom Coughlin called an unexcused absence. A report on nj.com says Umenyiora left because of a disagreement with new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, and the same report now quotes Umenyiora's agent saying he is expected back for Tuesday's practice.

On Monday night, Umenyiora took full responsibility for his disappearance.

"I made a mistake by leaving the facility today. I was wrong," Umenyiora said in a statement . "I came in here this afternoon and met with coach Coughlin, coach Sheridan, coach Waufle and apologized and explained why I left the building; that will remain between us. I have no problem with defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan or any of our coaches. That's the end of it, as far as I am concerned."