Reese looking to fill holes in Giants' defense

Even as the Giants limped to an 8-8 record in the 2009 season, general manager Jerry Reese always expressed confidence in the roster he assembled. Now that he's preparing for 2010, though, Reese is aware of some of the shortcomings that might have doomed last year's campaign. And he's looking to fix them.

"I think there are some holes we need to fill defensively," Reese told reporters at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis Saturday, hinting that the spackle to cover those holes likely will come from outside the organization.

"Are there some guys on the roster? I hope there [are], but we're still going to try to go out and fill some spots," he said. "If there's a guy on the roster that we don't see yet that emerges, fantastic. But we're definitely not going to depend on that. We're going to try to bolster a lot of positions offensively and defensively."

The biggest hole is at middle linebacker, where the Giants released veteran starter and captain Antonio Pierce earlier this month. Chase Blackburn and Jonathan Goff are expected to compete for the job. More likely, the Giants will try to fill the spot with either a veteran through free agency (Karlos Dansby of the Cardinals is the biggest name at the position among unrestricted free agents) or in the draft. The Giants also are concerned about the safety situation because of Kenny Phillips' complicated knee surgery.

With an uncapped season less than a week away, Reese said he won't be throwing money around but said resources are in place to make the team better.

"We'll spend where we have to spend," he said. "I still believe you do what you do to fill the spots in your roster you need to fill. If you have to spend to do that, we'll continue to do that. We have a budget; we'll try to stick to our budget. But if we have to spend on a guy, we'll do that."

Uncharacteristically, the Giants did that last year, pouring cash into a group that included Michael Boley, Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard. For various reasons - mostly injuries - none of them performed up to expectations. But that isn't making Reese or the Giants shy away from free agency. Nor is the complexity of this particular free-agent market, with its relatively weak unrestricted group and load of restricted players with various tenders, thanks to the expiration of the collective-bargaining agreement.

"It's a little different this time, but there's a lot of time during free agency, so you can get things done before the draft," Reese said, essentially making the case for trading picks for restricted players. "It takes a little bit of pressure off the draft and you can be more conscious of picking valued players than trying to reach for your needs in the draft."

Notes & quotes: Reese dismissed the demands and threats of Osi Umenyiora as "chatter" and said he spoke with the unhappy defensive end. "It was a private conversation," Reese said. "It was a good conversation, but that's all I can speak on that." . . . Expect second-year lineman Will Beatty to challenge David Diehl for the left tackle position. Reese said the team thinks Beatty has "a left tackle skill set." . . . Reese said there have been talks with David Carr, an unrestricted free agent, about his returning for a third year.