I’m all for “starting up front,” and I know about how much our D-Line wore down towards the end of last year, but it initially seemed strange to me that the Giants spent so much money on two defensive tackles this offseason (Canty, Bernard) when they had three perfectly good ones on the roster (Robbins, Cofield, and Alford).

But then it was revealed that Robbins had microfracture knee surgery this offseason. The 32-year old – whose contract is up at the end of the year – is not guaranteed to be back by training camp, according to the latest reports. A source close to the team – who I ran into at last night’s Mets game – told me definitively that Robbins’ best days are over. You read it here first: Don’t be surprised if Big Fred gets cut.

(Cofield also had a knee operation. While there has been some speculation that it was microfracture surgery, the source told me that it was just a “complex scope,” and that Cofield – who said he was playing on one leg by the end of last year – should be fine for camp.)

Given the news about Robbins, the large contracts we gave Canty ($17 million guaranteed) and Bernard ($5 million guaranteed) make a lot more sense. Right now, Canty will probably replace Robbins as the “three-technique” tackle on first and second down, while moving out to left end on passing situations. Bernard will push Cofield at nose tackle on first and second down, and will probably be part of our pass-rush package on third down and in passing situations. He’s known as a powerful “pocket pusher,” so we can fantasize about him collapsing the pocket up the middle while Osi, Kiwanuka, and Tuck do their respective things.

Let’s take stock of our D-line depth for a moment. This is a non-exhaustive list, but it shows how oozing with talent we are, Big Fred or not: At the three-technique, we have Canty and Alford. At the nose, we have Cofield and Bernard. At ends, we have Osi, Kiwanuka, and Tuck. And then there’s Clint Sintim, the pass-rushing outside linebacker who will see the field on pass situations as well. That’s a pretty sick assemblage, and one that should stay fresh, thereby reducing chance of injury.

One might reasonably ask why we have invested so much in the duo of Bernard and Kiwanuka, who we refused to part with in any package for Braylon Edwards. This might seem like a steep price for two guys who aren’t technically “starters.”

But whether you like the moves or not, Jerry’s rationale comes down to something that defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan said recently, that the third down and nickel package will be on the field 50 to 55 percent of the time, which, one can assume, will be the highest-leverage situations.

When looked at this way, saying Bernard and Kiwanuka “are not even starters” misses the point. Even characterizing them as “half-starters” doesn’t quite capture their value. What the G-Men seem to have done here is recognize the unique value of third down passing situations.

And when considering the Giants’ “collapse” last year, third down defense against the pass is a good place to start. Through the Ravens game (Weeks 1-11) our pass defense DVOA on third down was -6.8%. After that, not including the playoff game, it was 33.8%. (Remember, a negative DVOA is good for defense.) Looking at more conventional stats, we went from giving up an average of 4.91 yards per play through Week 11 to 5.66 after that.

The trend was just as ugly overall against the pass, not just on third down. Through Week 11, our defensive DVOA against the pass was -15.7%. From then on, not including the Eagles game, it was 22.1%. Conventional stats tell the same tale: the Giants had 14 interceptions during the first ten games, but two during the last six.

(By the way, credit for all these stats and many of these points, goes to FootballOutsiders.com. I really recommend that people familiarize themselves with their stats – they’re really the only football stats I’ve found that make much sense.)

So how much of this had to do with our drop-off in pass rush, no doubt a function of our defensive line injuries (Tuck, Robbins, Cofield all banged up)?

Our sack numbers down the stretch were significantly worse than before Week 12.  By no means was our weakened pass rush the only factor in our decline against the pass, but it was definitely a factor.

Through Weeks 1-11, our Adjusted Sack Rate was 8.1%, which would have placed 5th in the league over a full season. After Week 12, it was 6.1 percent, which would have placed around 17th, or roughly middle of the pack. Essentially, we went from a very good pass rush to an average one. All the conventional wisdom about Plaxico notwithstanding, the decline of our pass rush was a big reason we were not the same team by season’s end as we were at the beginning. Credit Jerry for recognizing that and addressing it.

So much for the post-Super Bowl honeymoon and the hunky-doryness engendered by the 3-0 start: As FOXSports originally reported, Plax has been suspended for two weeks for “insubordination.”  Apparently, he missed practice/meetings on both Monday and Tuesday, and didn’t respond to phone calls asking where in the world he was.

This means that Plax is suspended from all team activities until October 6^th, without pay, meaning that he will miss the Seahawks game.  Even when he gets back, you have to wonder if he’ll be at his best after being away from football for two weeks.  Just a bad situation…

Obviously, this is an extreme punishment from Tom, but one he felt he had to lay down.  Tom always talks about the principles of team, and in this instance, he put his money where his mouth is.  If a guy like Calvin Boothe or Dave Tollefson pulled what Plax did, we wouldn’t have objected to Tom making an example of them with something much harsher.  Say what you want about Tom, he showed he is a man of principle.  Especially considering Plax is only missing one game and our depth at the position, I have no problem with this – it will be good for this team in the long run.

Obviously, a brutal job by Plax to go AWOL.  Running a football team is like running a football play: every last man must be accountable for being in the right place.  If one man is not where he’s supposed to be, it threatens to screw up the whole operation.  This type of stunt – just falling off the face of the fucking Earth for two work days – gets you fired from many real jobs, so it’s hard to feel too sorry for Plax here.

The unanswered question here is: What in the world was going on with Plax?  Maybe this will come out, but for now, speculation seems silly.

Plax has been celebrated, and deservedly so, for how much he’s changed in the past couple years.  He heroically played all last year on a torn ankle, and played the Super Bowl with a seriously messed up knee.  As I just read in Ralph Vacchiano’s book about Eli, Plax acknowledged that his public arm-flailing displays after not being thrown to were bad for Eli and the team, so he approached Eli, apologized, and said he’s cut it out.  And obviously this summer, he got himself a new contract – and a very reasonable one, at that – with no holdout and virtually no public griping.  Combine that with his excellent downfield blocking and his obsessive note-taking during team meetings, and it seemed like Plax had evolved into the ideal teammate.

But now this.  Hopefully, this is nothing more than a temporary backslide, a moment of immaturity that he will duly apologize for and move on from.  From what I read, his progress as a professional has been real.  He screwed up pretty badly here, but it shouldn’t undermine everything he’s done up to this point.  Hopefully he takes his punishment like a man, moves on, and resumes being the good teammate he has been.

At worst, however, this sours his relationship with Coughlin and the team and evolves into a season-long – or worse, contract-long – distraction.

Correction: There wasn’t any activity on Tuesday, so Plax only missed meetings on Monday.

Update: Plax’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Plax was attending to a family emergency, but didn’t provide specifics.  He said that while Plax is contrite, he’s appealing the suspension.

In Plax’s absence, Domenik Hixon will start as the X receiver.

Bob Glauber in Newsday reports the Giants are not only looking at DeAngelo Hall, but also Seattle CB Marcus Trufant.

There is speculation they’re interested in dealing for Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who said Friday he will not return to the team after new general manager Thomas Dimitroff told him the club would consider offers for him. Add in another potential target of the Giants: Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant.

According to a league source familiar with the Giants’ situation, Trufant is on their radar as a potential acquisition once the trading period begins next Friday. Seattle has designated Trufant as their “franchise” player, meaning Seattle has virtually exclusive negotiating rights with him for the 2008 season. But that does not preclude them from making a trade. He is coming off his best season, with a career-high seven interceptions.

Hall has one year left on his contract with Atlanta, and had initially expressed optimism about staying. But Friday, after hearing that Dimitroff would listen to offers for him, Hall told reporters in Indianapolis that he isn’t coming back.

“You know what, I’ll go anywhere – anywhere they want me,” he said. “It’s hard to play or be a part of an organization that doesn’t want you, so I just want to go somewhere that wants me. It ain’t about the money. I even told the Falcons, ‘I’ll play out the last year of my contract if you don’t franchise tag me the following year.’ And they couldn’t agree to that.”

It looks like the Giants will revamp the  secondary.

From the Daily News, Plaxico Burress may be looking to get a new contract.

Drew Rosenhaus, Burress’ agent, didn’t deny that a few minutes ago when he spoke to reporters at the NFL scouting combine here in Indianapolis. There have been rumors for months that Burress is going to ask to renegotiate his deal – and those rumors have only gotten stronger since he caught the game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLII.

“That is going to be between myself and the Giants,” Rosenhaus said. “I can’t comment on that publicly.”

If Burress does ask to renegotiate, it could be one of many offseason headaches for GM Jerry Reese. If Michael Strahan decides not to retire, he’s expected to ask for more money. There are already several NFL sources who expect Osi Umenyiora to ask to redo his deal. And there was some speculation that Jeremy Shockey, another Rosenhaus client, was going to ask for more money – though that was before his season ended with a broken leg.