FanHouse Osi Umenyiora

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- So you miss a whole year with an injury. You make goofy headlines for storming out of a team meeting two weeks before the start of the season. You're Osi Umenyiora, and for months all you could think about was getting back on a football field, in a real game.

Umenyiora finally did that Sunday night in the Giants' 23-17 victory over the Redskins, and it went about as well as it possibly could have gone. The Giants' star defensive end made the play of the game, stripping Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell of the ball, recovering the fumble and running it back 37 yards for a touchdown to put the Giants up 17-0 in the second quarter.

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."

The NFL season is four weeks away, so FanHouse is at Giants training camp for Stop 5 and Mile 996 of Dan Graziano's five-camp, 1,100-mile road trip.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- There is professional pride and there is the truth, and there are times when the former must step aside for the latter. That's what's happening here at Giants training camp, where the defensive line is throwing a twice-daily party in 11-on-11 team drills. They bat and intercept throws. They crash through holes. They live in the backfield. They mix up formations as if the base 4-3 has become too easy and no longer holds their interest.

NEW YORK -- Brian Orakpo doesn't just have hands. They're more like slabs of granite disguised in layers of taut skin.

When I greeted the defensive end Thursday night at the premiere party for EA Sports' NCAA Football 10, the first thing I could manage to say to him was: "Wow, I feel really small right about now."

I'm sure he gets that all the time. At 6-foot-3 and over 260 pounds, the workout warrior out of Texas is intimidating in stature alone. Then he goes ahead and blows away onlookers in linebacker drills.

But there's another position that Orakpo always wanted to try -- wide receiver. Check out what he had to say to FanHouse about his positional change fantasy, the challenge of maintaining his physique, and the chance to get some payback on former teammate Vince Young.

The Giants suffered the injury bug early in the season, losing defensive end Osi Umenyiora to a knee injury before their first regular season game. Lucky for New York, that is about the only injury that's affected their impressive run.

Brandon Jacobs, the fourth-leading rusher in the NFL, tweaked his knee on Sunday in the win over the Ravens. Jacobs left the game after gaining 70 yards in the first quarter against a Baltimore defense that hadn't given up a 100-yard rusher in 28 straight games, and only had two carries in the second half for the G-Men.

Good news coming from the Giants camp, as the MRI came back very positive.

Brandon Jacobs' MRI from today revealed no structural damage to his injured knee, according to someone familiar with the results of the test.

"Nothing serious," the source said. "Just swollen and sore."

The Giants have a huge NFC matchup this weekend against the Cardinals at the site of their Super Bowl victory last season and with an explosive Arizona offense that seems to score at will, the Giants will need all their horses to keep up on the scoreboard.

If the tweaked knee does need rest, the Giants are blessed with a fairly impressive crew of running backs to spell Jacobs if need be. Ahmad Bradshaw has only had one game this season with double-digit carries yet has racked up 301 yards and Derrick Ward is averaging 5.3 yards per carry when he gets the touches.

Update: Jacobs spoke on The Opening Drive with Bob Papa and Randy Cross about his knee, via PFT.

"I feel pretty good," Jacobs said during a segment on The Opening Drive with Bob Papa and Randy Cross. "I feel way better than I felt Sunday after the game. I did the same thing I did against Dallas last year but it's nowhere near as bad as it was then. I'll be fine. It's my call and we'll be alright."

Every NFL team has now played eight games, meaning the season has reached the halfway point. So this week we're presenting our NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular.

There are many problems with the MVP award in almost every sport. Primarily, it is dependent on how one's team performs -- you simply cannot be classified as valuable on team that isn't winning a lot. (Note that there is some logic there, but not enough to justify the exclusion of some players from consideration.)

But the beauty of the MVP in football is that generally speaking, there is a clear cut individual whose performance over the course of 16 game is so distinctly dominant that there is less of an argument re: who should win. Except when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair tie. Then it gets awkward.

Oh yes, and this year; a football season where there is absolutely -- the Tennessee Titans excluded, and more on that in a second -- no single dominant team that magnifies an individual performance. So, seriously, I ask you again, who is the MVP this year?

There's an abundance of news storming out of New York today regarding the Cowboys and the Giants matchup today. For starters, it's believed that a bunch of Cowboys *gasp* don't actually want Brad Johnson quarterbacking their team. Go figure.

But in vastly more important news, a box of Terrell Owens "I Love Me Some Me" t-shirts showed up at the Giants locker room for today's game, and Ed Werder reported on ESPN that most of the Giants believe it was TO himself that sent them.

This is, to make an understatement, pretty believable. After all, it's been said recently that the Giants and Cowboys aren't really friendly

"They hate us and we hate them," [Giants DE Justin Tuck] said in all seriousness.

Well then, I'm sure Tuck was just thrilled to find out that TO is shipping clothing items their way. And in true rivalry fashion, the Giants have already said they plan on making sure Owens is paid back.

Werder didn't have details of the specific action that would be dished out, but he did say that it would involved popcorn, long believed to be Owens favorite treat.

And yes, I do feel somewhat like Kenny Mayne reporting this, but it's not going to seem so sarcastic when Osi Umenyiora comes flying down onto the field, hooked up on a bungee cord, and starts dumping popcorn all over TO's chest. Then it'll just be funny.

Alrighty, people, it's go time.

The 2008 season kicks off tonight and the Washington Redskins are hoping to score more points before John McCain's speech than the previous two weeks combined. The New York Giants just signed Plaxico Burress to a shiny, new deal, and Jerome McDougle will be reprising the role of Osi Umenyiora. Oh, and in case you missed it: John Madden still can't quit Brett Favre.

Okay, we're gonna live-blog like it's 1999 -- Ocho Cinco for everybody!