Friday Links

Benson, who underwent surgery Thursday to repair the fractured leg, could miss out on nearly $4 million in bonuses and escalators in his contract. Had he been more productive earlier in the season, or had he been injured a week later, he likely would have earned a sizable windfall. But by finishing the season with 674 rushing yards, Benson fell 27 shy of triggering a conditional roster bonus worth $1.73 million.

During one those off-season sessions last spring, Olsen picked Shockey's brain for 45 minutes, curious how he could become the fourth Miami tight end selected in the first round since 2000.

"Jeremy told me how he didn't run [the 40-yard dash] at the combine," Olsen said. "He told me, 'If you're going to run fast, run.'

"I ran a 4.50, so I guess it worked out good for me."

"He's on another level," says Lawrence Tynes, the Giants kicker. "He's the Tom Brady of returners."

Says Sam Madison, who began on special teams in the last century, "He's a beast."

David Tyree, the special teams' Spider-Man: "He's not the average great runner. He's above that. He's a freak show, a magician."

Maybe defensive end Alex Brown can find a home in the NFC East one day because he has terrorized the New York Giants in his career.

Unfortunately for Brown, the Giants have removed the turnstiles from their offensive line and now have David Diehl at left tackle and Kareem McKenzie on the right side. Brown had a career-high four sacks against Luke Petitgout in a 2004 trip to Giants Stadium, then scorched an aging Bob Whitfield for two more sacks last year.

''That would be good,'' Brown, who has 1½ sacks in part-time duty this year, said of getting reacquainted with Giants quarterback Eli Manning. ''It would be a good time to come out and have a good game. Hopefully they've got a good guy in this year, so if I can get to [Manning], they won't say [the tackle wasn't very good].''

Manning has been sacked only 18 times, or once every 20.6 pass attempts.