--QB Sage Rosenfels, who was acquired via a trade from Minnesota along with RB/KR Darius Reynaud in exchange for the Giants' 2011 fifth-round draft pick and an undisclosed conditional 2012 pick, has come in with the determination to hit the ground running with his new team.

Of course, he'll first have to learn the Giants' playbook, something he's been hard at work doing since his arrival in East Rutherford. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin believes the ten-year veteran will pick up what he needs to know and be able to step in if his number is called.

"He's had different offenses to learn in his career," said Coughlin. "It is a foreign language; however, he had a numbering system before similar to ours. He will also have a package of plays he will be able to perform with. I've had success in the past doing that with quarterbacks."

Rosenfels, who found himself behind Brett Favre in Minnesota after being acquired via trade from Houston in February 2009, understands that his move to the Giants is technically a lateral one as long as starter Eli Manning is healthy. However, he said he's fine with being Manning's understudy.

"As an athlete you want to play and you want to compete," said Rosenfels, who has 12 career starts in 32 NFL games and is 351 of 562 passing (62.5 percent) for 4,156 yards, 30 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. "I'm hoping to play when the team needs me, and when the team doesn't need me, I'll help out the players and coaches and Eli as much as I can."

--DT Jay Alford, a member of Jerry Reese's inaugural draft class as general manager, became the first of the 2007 group to lose his roster spot.

The former third-round pick whose signature play was his fourth quarter sack of Patriots QB Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII which helped thwart any chance of a New England comeback, had tried to come back from ACL surgery that caused him to miss all of the 2008 season.

However, the fourth-year pro out of Penn State struggled with his production in trying to return from his knee injury, suffering a couple of setbacks along the way. That and the emergence of rookie Linval Joseph, the team's second round pick this year, likely contributed to the team's decision to let Alford go.

"It was competitive at that spot this year," said head coach Tom Coughlin speaking about the defensive tackle spot. "Based on the competitiveness at the spot and the ability to rank the guys in terms of their production, we really didn't, in all fairness, have a lot of choice."

--It's been said that it takes about three years to measure the effectiveness of a draft class. However, one year removed from its collective rookie season, the Giants' 2009 draft class seems to be fading fast.

Of the nine picks they had in 2009, four are not on the 53-man roster, and only one, WR Hakeem Nicks (first round), is in the starting lineup. Their two second-round picks, LB Clint Sintim and T William Beatty, were projected to be starters this year, but neither one did enough to take a firm hold of a starting job.

Their two third-round picks, TE Travis Beckum and WR Ramses Barden, have barely contributed. Last year, Beckum had eight receptions for 55 yards, while Barden was inactive for 13 of the 16 regular season games.

This year, Beckum missed virtually all of training camp with a hamstring injury and then more recently a neck ailment, while Barden, who had a chance to surpass Mario Manningham on the depth chart for the third receiver spot, has thus far been unable to capitalize on the opportunity in front of him.

Fourth rounder RB Andre Brown, whose rookie season was lost to an Achilles injury, was part of the 24 roster moves the Giants made to get down to 53, as was their fifth rounder, QB Rhett Bomar, whose rookie season was spent on the practice squad. Bomar will be back on the Giants' practice squad this year as he cleared waivers. Brown, meanwhile, was claimed off waivers by the Denver Broncos.

The Giants' sixth- and seventh-round picks, CB DeAndre Wright and CB Stoney Woodson respectively, never made it out of last year's training camp.

By contrast, the 2007 draft class, which was Jerry Reese's first as general manager, has yielded the most projected 2010 starters with four (WR Steve Smith, TE Kevin Boss, RB Ahmad Bradshaw and LS Zak DeOssie), while the 2008 draft class currently has three projected 2010 starters, S Kenny Phillips, CB Terrell Thomas, and MLB Jonathan Goff.

--The complete list of Giants who were part of the NFL-mandated roster cut down to 53 included DT Jay Alford; OL Jacob Bender; QB Rhett Bomar; RB Andre Brown; CB Courtney Brown (waived/injured -- ankle); WR Tim Brown; S John Busing; TE Scott Chandler; DT Nate Collins; OL Jim Cordle; WR Derek Hagan; DE Alex Hall (waived/injured -- shoulder); DT Dwayne Hendricks; DE Tommie Hill; RB Gartrell Johnson; FB Jerome Johnson; OL Dennis Landolt; S Matt O'Hanlon; TE Bear Pascoe; QB Dominic Randolph; S Sha'reff Rashad; OL Herb Taylor; G/T Guy Whimper; and CB Seth Williams.

--Seven of the eight players signed to the Giants practice squad were previously with New York during the summer training camp. They include CB Seth Williams, S Sha'reff Rashad, QB Rhett Bomar, OL Jim Cordle, DL Nate Collins, TE Bear Pascoe and TE Jake Ballard, who had been waived/injured (hamstring) by the team on August 19 to make room for QB Dominic Randolph.

RB/FB Charles Scott, originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Eagles who was traded to Arizona on August 30 and who was waived as part of the roster cuts, was signed as the eighth practice squad player. Scott is 5-11, 238, and played at LSU.

--One of the more curious roster decisions made by the Giants during the NFL-mandated 53-man cut down was the decision to keep only two tight ends, Kevin Boss and Travis Beckum, the latter of whom missed most of training camp with hamstring and neck injuries.

Beckum's uncertain status is largely a reason why the Giants decided to keep two tight ends, Bear Pascoe and Jake Ballard, on their practice squad.

"What's really important is can Beckum go and practice and stay out there?" Coughlin said when asked about the numbers at tight end. "That's a big factor right now."

In coming to the decision, Coughlin said that some of the injuries at other positions helped shape the final 53.

"Through the course of training camp, you have to shape your 53, and when you go ahead and line up what your needs are and the numbers that you need to have to go through the season, it was just felt that that's where we are."

--Head coach Tom Coughlin said that Darius Reynaud, who was acquired along with QB Sage Rosenfels in a trade with Minnesota last week, will work at wide receiver, despite being listed as a running back on the team's roster.

"He will take snaps as a receiver," said Coughlin, who added that Reynaud, who has also played running back, will take snaps at that position if the team needs him to do so. Coughlin said that Reynaud will be the team's top return guy but he stopped short of saying that he'd be the primary kickoff returner as well.

Reynaud, who last season was fourth in the NFC with a 10.3-yard average on 30 punt returns, said he is looking forward to contributing as a punt returner. "I love returning punts. If you can make that first guy miss, you're off the races. That's one thing I love about punt return."

--With QB Jim Sorgi failing to make the 53-man roster -- he was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder ailment -- he became the third backup quarterback during Tom Coughlin's tenure that failed to make the roster after being signed during the preceding offseason. The other two quarterbacks were Jim Miller (2005) and Rob Johnson (2006).

--Tom Coughlin, who three weeks ago challenged rookie P Matt Dodge to pick up his game, said that the rookie has made some progress, particularly in one key area.

"What you're looking for is net (average)," Coughlin said when asked how he has been evaluating Dodge. "I tell our young guys 45 yards, no return? "I'll take the net (because) the gross doesn't really mean anything."

With that said, Dodge, who punted nine times against Baltimore and finished with a 38.3 net average, still needs to work on ensuring his hang time is consistent. Some of the punts didn't have any hang time whatsoever, and those are not good, Coughlin said.

--RG Chris Snee and his wife Kate welcomed their third child, son Walker Ryan, on August 30. Snee, who was excused from practice to be with his growing family, is Coughlin's son-in-law, which makes the baby the 10th grandchild for Coughlin and his wife, Judy.

--WR Hakeem Nicks, who last year capped his rookie season with 47 receptions for 790 yards and six touchdowns, didn't quite get off to the start he envisioned for himself due to injuries to his toe and knee that limited his chances in the spring.

However, with the injuries now behind him, Nicks is looking forward to building on the foundation he put in place that also saw him post a team-leading 16.8 yards-per-catch.

"I feel like I'm coming back," said Nicks, who spent some time before training camp working with QB Eli Manning at the Manning Family's Passing Academy in New Orleans, La. "I'm definitely working hard at it. It's going to take time, and it's a long season."

Although the stress of his rookie year is in the rearview mirror, Nicks said he's far from being complacent just because his roster spot is safe. "You get too comfortable, and that brings laziness," he said. I just want to make sure that I'm staying on top of my job and doing the same thing I've been doing to get me to this point."

BY THE NUMBERS
4 -- The number of touchdowns for undrafted rookie free agent WR Victor Cruz through three preseason games. Cruz, who had his breakout performance against the Jets on Monday Night Football with his three-touchdown performance, is the only Giants' wideout with a touchdown through three preseason games.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"What happened (against Baltimore) is probably going to be the most (points) we give up -- and we won't even give up that if we go out there and do what were supposed to do." -- S Deon Grant, on the 24 points the defense surrendered in its third preseason game.

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