FanHouse David Diehl

The New York Giants and David Diehl have reached an agreement on a six-year contract with an unusual structure that will pay him significantly more money if he plays tackle than it will if he plays guard.

Diehl settled in at left tackle last season after previously having played left guard, right guard and right tackle. According to John Clayton of ESPN, the contract is a six-year, $31 million deal with annual escalator clauses that increase his salaries between $750,000 and $1.1 million a year as long as he plays offensive tackle.

That makes sense -- tackle is a more important position than guard -- but couldn't it lead to problems down the road? If the coaches decide Diehl will help the team more at guard than he will at tackle, they may have a tough time convincing Diehl to agree with them.

Diehl has a good reputation as a team-first guy, and the Giants expect him to stay at tackle, so maybe this won't ever be a problem. But it sure is unusual.

Although many New York Giants are still relishing their historic Super Bowl upset of the New England Patriots, several have already begun to think about next year and their contract status with the team.

Jeremy Shockey, Osi Umenyiora, Chris Snee and David Diehl all feel they are in line for new deals, while future free agent Gibril Wilson believes he is now worth over $11 million in guarantees alone.

With New York an estimated $24.47 million under the cap, it would not be difficult for Jerry Reese to re-sign each player to a new deal, but whether or not the team is willing to do that is another story.

There have already been rumors about the Giants' possible interest in trading Shockey, while Wilson seems to be asking for a little more than he's worth. And although both have been key contributors at their respective positions for many years, there is a good chance they both end up wearing new uniforms.

Meanwhile, Umenyiora, Snee and Diehl have all quietly and respectfully earned themselves a big paycheck -- and will most likely receive it.

Examining Manning to Tyree, the play that changed the Super Bowl.

The 32-yard pass from Giants quarterback Eli Manning to wide receiver David Tyree late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII is already becoming the stuff of legend. It brought Manning out of the shadow of his big brother, it transformed Tyree from obscure special teamer to household name, and it moved the Giants toward their game-winning touchdown in one of the most thrilling moments in NFL history.

But it almost didn't happen. At the start of the play, Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas was about a foot away from sacking Manning, which would have all but ended the game and completed the Patriots' undefeated season.

Lined up at right defensive end opposite Giants left tackle David Diehl, Thomas got a great first step and forced Manning to step forward before he completed his drop. In fact, the first words out of Fox announcer Joe Buck's mouth on the play were "Pressure from Thomas off the edge."

But Manning stepped forward to avoid Thomas, and then it was time for two of Thomas's teammates to have their shots at Manning.

Next: Rich Seubert Won't Give Up

Things started fast and ended strong for the New York Jets tonight as they handed the Giants their second loss of the preseason. Although they hit a rough stretch after their first offensive series, back-up quarterback Kellen Clemens (6 of 8 for 122 yards and a rushing touchdown) was able to revive the team in the second half and eventually lead them to victory.

While Jets fans can be thankful for Clemens, they have to be questioning their faith in Chad Pennington after his second straight poor performance. Although he had one nice completion (79 yards) to Leon Washington on the first play of the game, it was all down hill from there. Over the next seven series, the Jets managed a total of zero yards. To Pennington's credit, the Giants first team defense was absolutely dominating the line of scrimmage and their blitzes were well disguised.

Another plus for the Jets would be the performance of undrafted rookie free agent Danny Ware, who managed 57 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Although he was playing against defensive substitutes, he showed great field awareness and some rather impressive and crisp cuts.

Murphy's Law states that "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." Unfortunately, the New York football Giants are the epitome of Murphy's Law. Take for example Sam Madison. He had a great over the shoulder interception on an overthrown Steve McNair pass and later added an impressive open field tackle that saved a first down. It was shaping up to be a great night for the veteran cornerback until he went down with a pulled hamstring -- an injury that takes 4-6 weeks to heal properly.

What's the big deal? It was only one injury, right? Wrong!

Then there was wide receiver Michael Jennings, who was getting the start due to injuries (they are everywhere!) to Plaxico Burress and Sinorice Moss. Like Madison, he was looking great early in the game before being shot down with an injury of his own. Unfortunately, his injury was of the year-ending variety -- a ruptured Achilles.

Sticking with that theme was rookie wide receiver Steve Smith. His injury is the prime example of the Giants' luck -- he suffered a concussion on a touchdown. That's right, on a touchdown.

Did it end there? Of course not! Later on, while bracing himself for a fall, Will Demps dislocated his elbow. And while the severity has not yet been announced, it is possible that surgery is required and his season is also over.

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style post aimed at giving Giants fans up-to-date news about the most recent training camp practices.

- Quarterback Eli Manning had another brilliant practice with the exception of one errant pass. He has really turned it on of late and has been demonstrating the leadership that so many claim he needed to.

- Although the Giants have given defensive tackle Manuel Wright a surprise opportunity, they aren't taken any chances with him. It's been made clear by Giants brass that they have high expectation and if Manny doesn't give the effort, he will be sent packing.

- David Diehl got beat by defensive tackle Barry Cofield for a sack today. I think Diehl has now been beaten by every single Giants defensive lineman. Well, that may be a stretch, but he has not been very impressive to date.

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style post aimed at giving Giants fans up-to-date news about the most recent training camp practices.

- Many people thought cornerback Kevin Dockery was going to "break out" last year, but unfortunately that never happened. However, with the new season comes a new opportunity and so far Dockery is making the most of it. He had another good practice yesterday and his constant motor is earning him a ton of respect in the locker room.

- The Giants have a huge dilemma on their hands that doesn't involve injuries. Its punt returns and who is going to field them. They tried a variety of people yesterday including Michael Jennings, Ahmad Bradshaw, R.W. McQuarters and Sinorice Moss. Rookie Aaron Ross is also a consideration.

- Brandon Jacobs leads as intensely as he plays. Yesterday during sprints, he happened to notice that fullback Robert Douglas was merely jogging and it was on from there. Jacobs lit into Douglas and you can bet that he'll never jog during sprints again.

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style post aimed at giving Giants fans up-to-date news about the most recent training camp practices.

- Injury problems continued to hound the Giants yesterday. In a matter of mere-moments they had to cart two, count them, two players carted off the field. The first was linebacker Gerris Wilkinson, who appeared to injury his right knee in 9-on-7 drills. The second was offensive lineman Todd Londot, who hurt his left ankle in the same drill. To make matters worse, safety Gibril Wilson also had to sit out with back spasms.

- There was some good news that came out of yesterday's practices, however. Quarterback Eli Manning looked very impressive and was making a lot of quality throws.

- Rookie wide receiver Steve Smith continues to blow people away. He had another great day of practice yesterday which included an "amazing catch" for a touchdown over Kevin Dockery.

Giants Training Camp Notebook is a cliff notes style article aimed at informing Giants fans about the ongoings of the day. It combines reports from both the morning and afternoon practices.

- As I mentioned yesterday when long snapper Ryan Kuehl suffered a leg injury, the Giants can't seem to escape the injury bug. Unfortunately, it sunk its fangs into another one today. Defensive back Kevin Dockery went down in the morning practice with a concussion that was so bad he couldn't even attend team meetings. Tom Coughlin claimed he was "real concerned" about it.

- Brandon Jacobs has come exactly as advertised so far. He appears to be very quick and quite decisive. He hits the holes hard without hesitation and has been bowling people over. That theme continued today when he completely demolished Gibril Wilson (or Antonio Pierce depending on what you read) in route to a score.

- Osi Umenyiora continued his dominance of Guy Whimper and David Diehl today. That's both good and bad for a variety of reasons. It's great to hear that Umenyiora is looking like a pro bowler, but it's bad to hear that Whimper is terrible and Diehl is struggling.

Day number two has just ended and I was so excited about some of the news that I decided to make this an evening thing rather than a morning thing. If you'd like to keep up on all "Giants Training Camp Notebook" updates, just click the link and bookmark that bad boy.

- Ralph Vacchiano of "The Blue Screen" says the Giants have no intentions of sitting around and waiting for Michael Strahan. Although the scheduled meeting with Simeon Rice has been postponed until Tuesday, New York will pursue a contract when he arrives.

- Will Demps has been "demoted" and he's not exactly happy with it. James Butler has been practicing with the first team in his place.

"My track record speaks for itself," Demps said. "It's real early. I'm not going to say, 'OK, he's the starter,' because we haven't played any games. I'm healthy and I'm in the best shape I've been in. This is the guy I felt I should've been last year."

- Sam Madison missed a few plays today due to cramping, but it's nothing serious.