--There will be several Giants ready to jump into the unrestricted free agent pool -- including RBs Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward, SS James Butler, QB David Carr, WR Amani Toomer and others -- and there is still no word on pre-UFA negotiations. It is probable that the team will lose either Jacobs or Ward, as both will demand starter salary and both can't reach that level in the overall interest of balance.

--If WR Plaxico Burress doesn't return (or if he's incarcerated), there is a thought that the Giants' first-round pick will be a wideout. Another rumor that has started to make the rounds is that the Giants are interested in veteran WR Chad Johnson, the infamous "Ocho Cinco" of the Cincinnati Bengals.

--None of the players are expected to undergo surgical procedures for injuries suffered during the season, not even DE Justin Tuck (leg, knee) and DT Fred Robbins (jammed shoulder). "It's just sore," said Tuck. "You play 17 games of the season and then a playoff game and nobody is really healthy."

--The unrestricted free agent period begins Feb. 27, the date when the Giants will learn if they have acquired the New Orleans Saints' first-round pick (14th overall). The deal that sent TE Jeremy Shockey to the Big Easy included the Saints' second- and fifth-round picks, but a prior deal in which the Saints acquired MLB Jonathan Vilma from the Jets called for a third-round pick, unless he satisfied certain levels of performance, in which case it would become a second. He did. So what does that have to do with the Giants? The NFL has ruled that if New Orleans has to pay the Jets a second-rounder, the Giants will acquire the first-rounder.

--There are continued reports that the Giants "tinkered" with their salary-cap money, moving $7.2 million into a "likely to be earned" bonus reserve for sub TE Darcy Johnson. The bonus wasn't expected to be earned (based on special teams performances) and it wasn't. So it becomes a credit on next season's salary cap.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It was a long day, a sad day, a frustrating day and a day without much light, just the kind you'd expect when a season ended so abruptly and unexpectedly." -- Giants coach Tom Coughlin, on the day after the playoff loss to the Eagles.