Sunrise in the NFC East: The Division's Top Links on May 23, 2012

With the defending champion New York Giants taking the field for the first time today, all four NFC East teams will be in OTA action at the same time. I'm trying to temper the enthusiasm because we're still 105 days away from the Cowboys-Giants opener in September, but it's exciting nonetheless.

Plus, it's something extra to write about during the offseason. The May storylines aren't always super dramatic. It was 10 years ago today when we turned a stolen Shawn Barber playbook into Lindberg 2.0.

Here's hoping the nearly 400 NFC East players in camp today hang on to those playbooks extra tight.

Let's jump around the division.

Dallas Cowboys

Deadspin's Barry Petchesky: The NFL wins, because they always win. " And if Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones accept that they can't win a small battle against the trampling NFL machine, what chance do the rest of us stand?"

Is the window closing on this group of Cowboys? Their boss seems to think so. Jerry Jones says "we need to strike and strike soon with those guys." Full story from ESPNDallas.com's Tim McMahon.

Tough start to Danny Coale's NFL career. The fifth-round pick will have trouble winning the No. 3 receiver spot while recuperating from foot surgery. Kevin Olgetree will likely hold the third spot throughout the offseason.

New York Giants

From Leo Roth of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Eli Manning is no longer Peyton's little brother. Don't be alarmed—no paternity tests were conducted in the making of that column.

Welcome to the NFL, Giants sixth-round pick Matt McCants. Now, for your first assignment, pick your poison between Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora. 

Philadelphia Eagles

A full offseason will cure what ailed the Eagles a year ago. This is factual and indisputable, right?

Heresy from Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who writes that the offseason advantage is a lame excuse: "They will, to be sure, benefit from having a full offseason to work together. But so will Washington and Dallas and the Giants."

Brandon Graham is also out of excuses, per the Inquirer's Jonathan Tamari.

The one position that really hasn't undergone any major change in Philadelphia recently is safety, where it's the same story as last year. CSN Philly's Reuben Frank looks at the competition between Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman and Jaiquawn Jarrett.

Washington Redskins

Derrick King of Redskins.com breaks down camp competitions. Look at that offense—there is literally competition everywhere, and that's a good thing.

Now that the Redskins are officially forced to spend less than any other team in football this year and the next, they'll have to get supremely creative. Thanks to limited dead cap space and strong cap management, Rich Tandler of CSN Washington says this won't be a cap-tastrophe. One more time: cap.