Sunrise in the NFC East: The Division's Top Links on May 22, 2012

How time flies. It was exactly five years ago today that the NFL awarded the city of Dallas Super Bowl XLV. That year, the North Texas bid beat out Tampa and Indianapolis. Of course, the Colts got the game the next year and did a hell of a job, while Dallas' first bowl didn't exactly go swimmingly. Had the league gone to Indy first, things might have been different.

Let's get on with what's being talked about today.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys start offseason activities today without two of their top three cornerbacks. Morris Claiborne is hurt and expected back by training camp, and Mike Jenkins is hurt AND unhappy.

Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News puts the Cowboys behind the Eagles and Giants in the NFC East. I dunno, they were right there with both teams last year and clearly got better in the offseason.

New York Giants

The Giants launch offseason activities tomorrow, but Ebenezer Samuel of the NY Daily News reports that Osi Umenyiora won't be in attendance. No surprise. I doubt we see Umenyiora until training camp.

Umenyiora says it's not about money, it's about respect.

Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union has an exclusive with Tom Coughlin, who used to coach the Jaguars. It doesn't sound as though Coughlin is thinking about retirement, but: "I really don't feel any pull or tug in another direction. I look at it on a yearly basis. In our business, no matter how many years they give you on the contract, it's a one-year deal anyway."

Bleacher Report's own Alen Dumonjic breaks down why he thinks David Wilson will be the NFL's most explosive rookie in 2012.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles also start offseason activities today and the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Tamari has an in-depth preview. Regarding Brandon Graham and a make-or-break season, Tamari notes that "key people within the team say they still believe in Graham and his potential." I'm not so sure....

From Philly.com's Sheil Kapadia in his latest Eagles statistics piece: Nnamdi Asomugha was targeted last than half as often as Darrelle Revis last year. And that's exactly how Asomugha pays off regardless of perceived production.

Thomas Jackson at Eagles Eye really goes off the beaten path to find six unsung Philly players who are key to the 2012 season.

From CSNPhilly.com's Dave Zangaro: Michael Vick enters his most important offseason yet. I'd argue it's right up there with his very first offseasons with Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins took the field yesterday. The highlights from Mike Jones and Mark Maske of the Washington Post: Robert Griffin III was impressive, Mike Shanahan was knocked woozy and Chris Cooley declared himself healthy.

From Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com: Third-round pick Josh LeRibeus is being trained to play three positions on the offensive line. They drafted him for his versatility. It'll be interesting to see how quickly he catches on.