Aug 24th 2008 7:14PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Giants, NFC East
Well, I guess it’s time to give the Giants a final preseason heat index, huh?

This is the worst possible news for the Giants and their fans, and further ammunition for those who bemoan the abundance of preseason games, but here it is: Osi Umenyiora is done for the year. The freak injury he suffered while planting is a torn lateral meniscus, and Osi will go under the knife on Tuesday.

This is, pretty obviously, a crippling blow to the Giants and their defense, and the type of injury that can seriously disrupt their chances of defending the Lombardi. Umenyiora is the defense’s leader and arguably the most talented player on the team. He was supposed to assume the void left by Michael Strahan, but whoever replaces him will be a stitch attempting to fix a tear.

At this point, there are more questions than answers, by a lot. But the one certainty is that the Giants are far worse off today than they were yesterday.