In a perfectly acceptable scenario for the Giants, Andre' Woodson develops surely and steadily, hones his quarterback skills without ever needing to play and some other team out there is so intrigued that they pry him away with an attractive draft pick. Sound a bit too cold and calculating? Well, anyone arriving on the scene at a position where Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning resides must be viewed as nothing more than an insurance policy. For the past few years, the Giants sought a quarterback prospect to mold, always careful not to import anyone young or old to pose any semblance of a threat to Manning. Last season's backup duo of Anthony Wright and Jared Lorenzen never had to take a meaningful snap, meaning the Giants got away with what they believed was a sub-par talent base at that vital spot. General manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin did not wish to roll the dice once again and a determined effort this off-season will likely lead to a quarterback roster upheaval. David Carr, a former No. 1 pick of the Texans and a supposed future star, was signed to a one-year deal in an attempt to resurrect his career, as the Giants seek to dust off the layers of terrible play to uncover the potential within. Lorenzen and Wright remain on the roster for now but one of them will be gone before training camp, as in the sixth round of last month's NFL Draft, Woodson was selected to become the developmental quarterback the franchise wanted to add to the mix. Unless he falls flat, Woodson will claim the third-string job. Carr has the inside track on the backup spot. What does Woodson bring to the table? He's a strange case, as he's got desirable size (6-foot-4, 227) and is coming off a hugely-successful season (40 touchdown passes) for Kentucky in the high-level Southeastern Conference. He set an NCAA record with 325 passes without an interception, broke many of Lorenzen's school passing records and led the hardly-loaded Wildcats to consecutive Music City Bowl appearances. "When you get a guy who has carried his team for a long time it's hard not to take a chance on him," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. Plenty of teams, including the Giants, found it easy not to take a chance on him. Woodson was given word he'd be a second-round pick and thus was understandably crushed when, after 197 players had found NFL homes, Woodson finally heard his name. "It was kind of tough to swallow as the draft was going on," Woodson said. "I couldn't believe I was picked in the sixth round. That was the thing that was the most mind-boggling." Why he dropped remains a mystery, although there were rumblings that scouts did not like his throwing motion. At this past weekend's rookie mini-camp, Woodson did appear to throw the ball leading with his right elbow. His first pass in camp was intercepted by linebacker Jonathan Goff. He looked much better after settling in, but strained a quad muscle and had to sit out most of the third practice session and all of the fourth. Woodson expects his throwing motion will be dissected by quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer but does not sound completely convinced he needs much alteration. "That seemed to be one of the main focuses of every NFL team," Woodson said. "I don't really know why it was that bad because to do some of the things I did in the SEC you have to be pretty good to do that. Unfortunately, that's something I have to try to clean up."
During this offseason, Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride made sure to call Jeremy Shockey to assure the absent tight end he's wanted and needed. Shockey's response was not made public. "It wouldn't be fair for me to divulge what was said by him," Gilbride said yesterday at rookie mini-camp. There is no doubt Shockey was feeling all sorts of swirling emotions after the Giants won the Super Bowl while he was sidelined with a broken leg. The team explored trading Shockey, but did not find a suitable offer. The company line from GM Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin remains, "Jeremy is our starting tight end," but no one is giving assurances that Shockey is a happy camper or that he actually will be a camper at all this summer. "I just told him I hope he comes back and I think his teammates and coaches all feel like I do, that we'll be a better team because he's here," Gilbride said. "I just want to make sure he understood that. There's a place for him here. As far as I'm concerned he's an integral part of what we're doing." It is not known if Shockey feels he's an integral part of the offense, especially after watching Eli Manning blossom seemingly the moment after Shockey was injured and lost for the playoff run. Gilbride feels Manning's emergence had nothing to do with Shockey's exit and had plenty to do with the return to health of rookie receiver Steve Smith. Clearly, there's an air of uncertainty around Shockey. "It's so nebulous right now, you just have no idea what's going to happen," Gilbride said. "Right now, he's on our team and we're planning on him being there. He'll be one of the guys we'll look to feature and depend on. Hopefully, he'll be here in good spirits and ready to do the things we know he's capable of doing, but who knows?" * Two draft picks went down in yesterday's morning session. WR Mario Manningham strained his hip flexor while coming out of his break on a pass route, and QB Andre' Woodson strained a quad muscle on a scramble. Both missed the afternoon workout. Coughlin used the injuries as a teaching point. "We've had about four soft-tissue injuries that are going to be frustrating," Coughlin said. "You have to work in the short bursts and the change of direction and all those kinds of things." P Owen Tolson (Army) was signed as an undrafted free agent. If he makes the roster, he will not have to fulfill his five-year military commitment, but he would have to serve as an Army recruiter in the New Jersey area to satisfy his service obligation. Of course, unless something happens to veteran Jeff Feagles, Tolson's best chance is to land on the practice squad. If he is not in football, Tolson will head to El Paso to serve in air defense. "It's shooting down planes, helicopters and other missiles," Tolson said. "It's fun."
Kenny Phillips is sure he can handle what is required of him as a first-round draft pick of the Giants. He knows he must purchase doughnuts for the veterans during the season. "I can do doughnuts," Phillips said. He knows he will be asked (more like told) to sing the Miami fight song or some other ditty on the first day of training camp. "I think if I sound pretty good, they might not ask me to do it anymore," Phillips reasoned. He grimaced when informed he will be expected to take the defensive backs out to an expensive dinner. Then he brightened a bit when reminded that dinner will come only after he signs his first NFL contract. Of all the rookies at Giants Stadium for the two-day mini-camp, none looked the part quite like Phillips. He stood out in a crowd at a statuesque 6-foot-2, he has an athletic grace about him and, even if there was no name or uniform number on his back Phillips easily would be recognizable as the top pick among this collection of rookies and first-year players. In his second practice session in this camp, Phillips showed how it's done at free safety as a high pass from Willie Copeland glanced off the fingertips of tight end Jawad Nesheiwat. The ball was headed downward, inches away from hitting the turf, when Phillips used his long strides to smoothly cradle his arms under the descending ball for an interception. "I like the way he moves," Tom Coughlin said. Those moves could land Phillips in the starting job vacated by the free-agent defection of Gibril Wilson to the Raiders. There's not exactly a logjam out in front for Phillips to crash through. Veteran Sammy Knight was signed this offseason, but he's far more suited to the strong side. Returning starter James Butler and second-year man Michael Johnson return with more experience than Phillips, but far less pedigree. Butler wasn't drafted out of Georgia Tech, and Johnson last year was a seventh-round pick out of Arizona. Phillips is the heir apparent to Wilson. It's a matter of when, not if. "With him leaving, they are definitely looking to fill a void," Phillips said. "There are already a few guys on the team that are capable of doing that so I am trying to come in and compete and hopefully I can win a starting job." Thus far, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is alternating Phillips at strong and free safety but there's little doubt Phillips appears more natural roaming at free safety. That's what he prefers. Phillips had seven interceptions in three years starting for the Hurricanes and insists he would have come up with many more if he was not so often lined up in the box. "I can catch, I got great hands," he said. Informed that practically every defensive back makes the same claim, Phillips laughed and added "I mean it, I'm telling the truth." It was said that Spagnuolo - a former Eagles assistant - envisions Phillips fitting into the Giants defense the way Brian Dawkins dominated in Philly. "I'm not going to make that statement," Spagnuolo said. "Brian Dawkins is a special guy. You're talking about a guy coming out of college. We're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves." There's no doubt Phillips is unafraid to take on a challenge. He opted for Miami in part because of the rich history at the safety position, with Ed Reed and Sean Taylor two of the standouts that came before him. "I knew what I was getting myself into. I was prepared for it," Phillips said. "I knew I had some big shoes to fill. That motivated me more to do well, because I don't want to mess up that tradition. You learn to live with it. I've been compared with Sean and Ed since high school. They say good things about us sometimes, sometimes they say bad. How can you get mad at me because I'm not Ed Reed? I know I'm not him."
Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com. 
