E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

TWO GIANTS NEWS DEVELOPMENTS -- DIEHL EXTENDED, BUT IS STRAHAN GOING?
By DAVE KLEIN

There were two news developments surrounding the Giants on Tuesday (not counting their signing of four more undrafted free agent rookies; more on that later).

One was official, the other speculative.

For starters, the team appears to have signed offensive left tackle David Diehl to a six-year, $31 million contract extension, which locks him down until 2013, and it contains interesting escalator clauses. His salary will go up annually as long as he continues to play left tackle, but if someone comes along, such as younger Guy Whimper, and Diehl moves back to left guard, the escalators stop.

Why? Since this really is at least as much a business as a game, the financial concerns revolve around how much a team chooses to pay its left tackle as compared to its guards. The left tackle position is the most prized of the offensive line, therefore the most expensive to maintain, and the Giants appear to be determined not to succumb to paying Diehl left tackle money if he's a guard.

It can't be as callous as it sounds, since he and his agent agreed to it. Diehl has played every game since he was drafted in the fifth round in 2003 (the year they made defensive tackle William Joseph their first round pick) and has played every position on the line except center.

Then there was unofficial, unconfirmed and uncorroborated news that defensive end Michael Strahan, after 15 years of service to the Giants, has decided to retire.

Remember, nobody with any knowledge of the situation has spoken to anybody in authority, and so this is all rumor.

(That is what must be said. The bottom line is that Strahan, who almost decided to retire last year when he held out for the entire run of training camp, is extremely unlikely to play this coming season.)

He came back for one more shot at a Super Bowl ring, and defying almost incalculable odds the team managed to provide that final fillip to his Pro Bowl career. He has, as they say, "gone Hollywood" now, and would probably like to enjoy his fame and the fruits of his sacks and accomplishments without the tedium and torture of meetings, two-a-day workouts under the broiling sun, practices, preseason games and, finally, another long and physically draining season.

Should he in fact call it a career, it is likely that the Giants will consider (again, no one with any knowledge of the situation has spoken) moving Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end. You'll remember that the first-round draft pick of 2006 was moved back to strongside linebacker last year and was excelling at his new role until he broke a leg against Detroit on Nov. 18.

Moving Kiwi back to the front line would necessitate, of course, the need for a strongside linebacker. Perhaps the signing of Unrestricted Free Agent Danny Clark last March was an insurance policy. Perhaps it will be time for second-year Zak DeOssie to show whether he's ready yet. There were two strongside linebackers drafted last month -- Bryan Kehl of Brigham Young, 6-3 and 237, in the fourth round; Jonathan Goff of Vanderbilt, 6-2 and 236, in the fifth. Also, the logical replacement, Reggie Torbor, walked away as a designated UFA player and signed with the Miami Dolphins.

There is never a cut-and-dried formula for when a starter retires. In the easier cases, it requires the plugging in of a new starter; but in most, like this one, you can run the risk of a position switch by someone else and the domino effect that sets in motion begins.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now, as to the free agent rookies.

The Giants have announced -- yes, officially -- the signing of wide receiver D.J. Hall and defensive end Wallace Gilberry of Alabama; defensive end Antonio Reynolds of Tennessee and safety Nehemiah Warrick of Michigan State.

Of some interest, the signing of Gilberry, who is 6-2 and 224, had been previously announced by the Washington Redskins. He is not half of a set of identical twins, and if the Giants say they signed him, perhaps the Redskins didn't. He played 50 games at 'Bama and started all 33 games in which he played in his final three seasons.

Hall, 6-2 and 197, started for four years at Alabama, playing in all 48 games. He caught 194 passes for 2,923 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was predicted to be a third-round draft choice by many of the scouting services available to the public, but a lack of flat-out speed (4.55 in the 40-yard dash) seemed to work against him. There is also a discrepancy in his size -- many of those services listed him as 6-0 while the Giants are sticking to the 6-2 number.

Reynolds is 6-3 and 275 and in his final two seasons at Tennessee started all 25 games in which he played. Warrick, 6-1 and 210, transferred to Michigan State from Hutchinson C.C. in Kansas and started for the Spartans at strong safety last season. He is a cousin of former first round draft pick (by Cincinnati) Peter Warrick of Florida State.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Giants will conduct a two-day rookie minicamp this Friday and Saturday.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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