New York Giants
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Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Thursday night that the Panthers and the Giants are working on a trade that would send middle linebacker Jon Beason to New York in exchange for late-round compensation. Beason is slated to take a physical with the Giants on Friday, and that is no small matter, since Beason is coming off of microfracture surgery that ended his 2012 season. Chase Blackburn, who the Giants let go this offseason, replaced Beason in the lineup in Week 3 after a noticeable decline in Beason's play.
- Veteran right guard David Diehl is expected to make his first start of the season versus the Eagles on Sunday. Diehl was active last week for the first time, but did not play versus the Chiefs, and now it appears he is ready to be inserted into the starting lineup after thumb surgery. The overall configuration of the banged-up Giants offensive line has not been set in stone this week, but if Diehl were to be the only change, that would leave Will Beatty at left tackle, Kevin Boothe at left guard, Jim Cordle at center, Diehl at right guard and rookie Justin Pugh at right tackle.
- Diehl's return will be a welcome one, because the injury report for the 0-4 Giants is lengthy. C David Baas, CB Jayron Hosley, DT Cullen Jenkins, DT Linval Joseph, TE Adrien Robinson, OG Chris Snee, CB Aaron Ross and CB Corey Webster all did not practice on Thursday.
Philadelphia Eagles (by: Sean Patterson)
- Bleeding Green Nation reports that cornerback Brandon Boykin and safety Patrick Chung are still banged up and may miss Sunday's game against the Giants. Jordan Poyer and Earl Wolff are expected to start in their places. This is bad news for a very questionable Eagles secondary. If the Eagles defense is not mindful, the Giants could upset them with Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz running all over their defense.
- As amusing as this would be, do not expect Chip Kelly to take the new head-coaching job at USC. When Kelly was asked by reporters if he would be considering taking the job at USC, Kelly was very firm in his answer -- no. USC will have to look elsewhere for its new head coach.
- Hakeem Nicks is spouting some fighting words. Nicks said to reporters that the Eagles were still scary without a number one receiver. Nicks referenced Jeremy Maclin's preseason injury to state that the Eagle's number one receiver is not in the line-up. While Maclin did lead the Eagles in receptions and receiving yards last season, Nicks basically called out DeSean Jackson. Nicks referred to Jackson as "one of the guys on offense that can definitely make plays," but he purposefully did not refer to him as the new number one receiver. While I do not disagree with Nick's analysis, he is picking a fight with Jackson with this quote. Nicks is writing checks that his defensive backs cannot cash. With the Giants' current situation, it is not wise to pick fights with a guy that possesses Jackson's skill set.
Dallas Cowboys (by: Mike Harar)
- As the Cowboys prepare to play Peyton Manning and the undefeated juggernaut Denver Broncos in Week 5, Tony Romo spent Wednesday talking to the press about the Broncos' defensive backs and their tactics. He stated "They do a great job with their hands. They grab, they hold, they've almost put a lot of pressure on the refs." Dez Bryant and their other receivers are expecting a very physical matchup.
- From a defensive standpoint, the Cowboys know what is coming into Dallas on Sunday. Manning has thrown 16 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. The Broncos, as a team, average an NFL high 44.8 points and 483 yards per game. When asked how they plan on stopping Denver's offense, Cowboy's middle linebacker Sean Lee said "We've got to be fundamentally sound. We can't make mistakes."
- To help their chances, the team made a change this week making Ernie Sims the starter at outside linebacker over Bruce Carter. Carter got benched last week after giving up two touchdowns to the Chargers.