Tuck wants Giants to keep everyone on d-line, but knows reality will make things "a little hectic"

Justin Tuck is very excited about the development of Jason Pierre-Paul. Not only does it mean that opposing offenses can do a little less doubling and chipping on him while paying attention to the rookie, but it also gives Tuck flashes of the 2007 defensive line that drove the Giants to a Super Bowl title.

But behind Tuck’s excitement is a little concern. After all, how long can this last?

“That salary cap is going to make it very difficult for all four of us, all three of us to stick around for a long time,” Tuck said, momentarily including IR-ed end Mathias Kiwanuka in the group. “We’ll probably have a couple of years here until it gets a little hectic, but we’re going to make the most of it.”

A couple of years may be optimistic. The development of Pierre-Paul and the outstanding season by Osi Umenyiora could not be working out better for the Giants, and not just on the field. There are those around the league who are certain that the Giants will be shopping Umenyiora this offseason – with the labor situation certainly clouding those predictions – and that that has been their plan since they drafted Pierre-Paul with the 15th pick this past spring. While the Giants have yet to show any leanings in that direction and have publicly stated that Umenyiora is in their long-term future, the idea of a 29-year-old pass-rushing defensive end as a bargaining chip to secure a few draft picks while having his successor already in place has to have crossed their mind.

And then there is the issue of Kiwanuka, whose contract expires after this season. The Giants were, I’ve been told, just about to begin negotiations with Kiwanuka on a long-term deal when the bulging disc in his neck forced him off the field and eventually onto IR. Do they let him and his suddenly questionable neck injury walk? Do they franchise tag him? Sign him to a long-term deal? If it’s the latter, that certainly seems like another reason to trade Umenyiora while his value might be at its all-time highest.

Kiwanuka and Umenyiora were both barking during the offseason -- maybe howling is a better description for Osi -- about who would start between them. Once the season started, though, that talk quieted down. The offseason is the time for personal thoughts, Kiwaunka said several times, and the football season is when you do what is best for the team. Well, pretty soon we'll be in the offseason again. And there is bound to be a barking dog or two left out in the yard.

As for Tuck, who was at Garden State Plaza Mall yesterday to drum up donations for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Bergen County and his RUSH for Literacy foundation, he said he can only imagine what having him, Pierre-Paul, Umenyiora and Kiwanuka together and healthy this year would have been like.

“If we had all four of us healthy this year, it would even be better,” he said, adding that he hopes that will be the case next season. “I would definitely love that. That would be a dominating foursome. Third and longs for quarterbacks would be a lot of trouble. I can see a lot of situations where you don’t have to blitz, where you’re able to get the quarterback with just your four and leave all your secondary and linebackers in coverage. That’s big. That’s going to be hard to beat.”

For now it’s just the three of them, and they’re doing well.

“Jerry Reese knew what he was doing when he drafted all these d-ends,” Tuck said.

Now we get to see if he knows what he’s doing as he decides which ones to keep.