Giants still walk with a swagger

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Go-to guy Plaxico Burress is gone. All-time leading receiver Amani Toomer was let go. Defensive guru Steve Spagnuolo left to become the coach of the St. Louis Rams.

There is a lot missing in the New York Giants' locker room as they look forward to defending their NFC East title, beginning with the season opener today against the Washington Redskins.

What isn't missing as Tom Coughlin's team heads into the final season at Giants Stadium - the new $1.6 billion replacement opens next year - is the swagger this group has built in making the playoffs four straight seasons and winning the Super Bowl in February 2008.

"We expect to win every game, not just against Washington," said Giants middle linebacker and one-time Redskin Antonio Pierce. "Every year we feel we are a championship-caliber team. We just have to go out there and execute and play well and be healthy and don't listen to the critics. When we do listen to the critics, we need to turn the negative into a positive."

The Giants had everything going their way last season until Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh in late November and was suspended. Eli Manning and company won two of their final six games, being embarrassed in the NFC semifinal by the division rival Philadelphia Eagles.

Coincidentally, one of the two wins came 36 hours after the Burress incident. The Giants went on the road and beat Washington 23-7, one of six losses in the final eight games that turned the Redskins from a contender to an also-ran in Jim Zorn's first season.

Heading into his second season, Zorn has added $100 million tackle Albert Haynesworth and promising rookie linebacker Brian Orakpo to a defense that was ranked the NFL's fourth best.

However, the coach is under the microscope. The Jason Campbell-led offense is suspect, and players still have to prove they can get it done on a team that has not won a division title in a decade.

Washington defensive end Renaldo Wynn played with the Giants last season, and he says the vibe is different in the two locker rooms.

"They just feel like playing the Redskins is a win, and we've got to change that," Wynn said.

This is a game that should be decided by two of the best defenses in football. The Giants finished fifth overall last season, and they have bolstered the unit for new coordinator Bill Sheridan, the former linebackers coach.

Two-time Pro Bowler Osi Umenyiora returns after missing all of last season with a knee injury. He will join fellow ends Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka on a line that also returns tackles Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins, and one that has added tackles Chris Canty (University of Virginia) and Rocky Bernard.

"It's a matchup for the ages, an epic matchup," Wynn said. "I know they're going to be ready to come out, and we're ready to come out, and it's definitely going to be whose D-line is going to be better than whose."

The Giants' strategy is simple. Stop Clinton Portis from running the ball and put the same type pressure on Campbell that they did in harassing Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.

The defense had no problems with the Redskins last season, limiting them to 14 points in the two games. New York will be a little thin at cornerback with starter Aaron Ross out (hamstring) and backup Kevin Dockery bothered by a similar problem.

"There's a different confidence in our locker room," Washington tight end Chris Cooley said. "Personally, I had a question mark as to what we were really going to do Week 1, what I could do Week 1. It's not there this year. I think we all have an awareness of what our job is and what our responsibilities are, and we're all confident in what we can do."