The subject came up when Reese was questioned about the team's deep supply of wide receivers, more than enough to go around, probably more than can be kept, and yet some of them far too good to simply cut loose.

"We had that problem last year with the running backs," he said. "We knew we were going to keep Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Reuben Droughns. The rookie (Ahmad Bradshaw) gave us a lot of speed and flash and he seemed to be consistent. So there just wasn't room for Ryan Grant."

Rather than cutting Grant, however, the Giants managed a low-level trade for him to Green Bay, getting a sixth-round draft pick in return. When injuries took their toll, the Packers turned to Grant, who had been an undrafted free-agent signee by the Giants out of Notre Dame. He became a star, gaining nearly 1,000 yards in eight games.

So now the wide receivers are all knocking on the door. For the record, they are starters Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, followed (in general order) by Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Brandon London, Sinorice Moss, Michael Jennings, rookie Mario Manningham, Craphonso Thorpe and one of the heroes of the Super Bowl victory, David Tyree.

Tyree is currently on the PUP list (knee surgery) and he may stay there when final cuts are done, which means he's looking at six weeks of inactivity followed by three weeks of being allowed to practice before the Giants have to make a decision. That decision could be to leave him there for the season, to activate him or to waive him as injured.

But there are still way too many, and Reese is more than peripherally aware of the problem.

"There is still a way to go in the preseason and anything (such as injuries) can happen," he says. "I am convinced that we will keep the best players, and that includes the best wide receivers. Who they will be, and how many of them we keep, is still to be decided."

Burress' foot and ankle have not allowed him to practice yet. Toomer is 34 years old. Manningham is battling a mysteriously long and drawn-out quad strain. Moss has shown signs of snapping out of his two-year comatose condition but nothing is etched in stone yet.

So Reese waits, counts his wide receivers and puts off a decision.

--Michael Strahan, the recently retired Giants' defensive end who holds the team lead in career sacks, was a surprise visitor at the team's evening practice Aug. 15. He and head coach Tom Coughlin embraced warmly (who would have thought?), and when asked if he ever thought about recanting his retirement, a la Brett Favre, he smiled: "I have never missed it (football) and I won't."

--OT Shane Olivea (from reserve/injured, injury settlement) had his contract terminated by the Giants. Olivea was signed to help bolster the offensive line after he had a four-game suspension by the league rescinded after he received treatment for being addicted to pain killers. However, he suffered a back injury that was slow to heal, and the Giants opted to cut ties with the former Charger.

--Wide receiver Plaxico Burress gets a little testy when someone asks him about his ankle injury. "I wouldn't say injury," he says. "I can get out there and run around and do some of the things that I want to do. So it's basically soreness. It's not what I had last year."

Head coach Tom Coughlin inadvertently used a pun when talking about the temperamental Burress, who finally decided to use orthotics in his football shoes after six months of refusing. "It's a step in the right direction," he said. Ouch!

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I don't think the St. Louis Rams did me a favor when they waived me last September, I think the Giants did me the favor by signing me." -- Giants fullback Madison Hedgecock.