Though nothing is imminent, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN at the spring owners meeting in Boston that both issues are currently being discussed.

Two games would be shaved off the preseason, and the regular season would become 18 games. The specifics about extended playoffs were not mentioned.

Anything can happen in the NFL. We?ve seen countless teams ? like the 2012 Giants ? underachieve and miss the playoffs, while we?ve seen teams with low expectations rise to challenge.

There might be a minor tweak here or there, but it appears the Giants? 2013 roster is pretty much set. Technically, Victor Cruz is still on the roster, regardless of if the team can work out a long-term extension. He is still free to sign an offer sheet with another team as an unrestricted free agent until April 19.

But other than that situation, here?s what the Giants? roster should look like (bold denotes starter). Naturally, this is subject to change, especially the starters, but it gives us an idea of where Big Blue stands heading into the draft.

Here are this week?s picks. I?ll be using the point spreads from Yahoo! Sports. Feel free to include your picks for these games in the comments section. Good luck!

Divisional Round Record: 2-2

Here are this week?s picks. I?ll be using the point spreads from Yahoo! Sports. Feel free to include your picks for these or any other of the week?s games in the comments section. Good luck!

Week 17 Record: 2-2

Even with the tough upcoming schedule, that lead appeared to be safe, with both the Cowboys and Redskins struggling and Eagles already out of contention.

But at the same time the Giants hit a cold spell before their bye week, the Redskins proceeded to get hot, and the rest is history.

-? The Bradshaw/Hynoski combination is still working well and the Giants may use the running game to finish off the Eagles.

- At this point more Giants fans are watching the Lions/Bears game than are watching this game. The Giants may not get the lucky breaks they were afforded last season. The late season lull that they have been accustomed to having has to change if they want to add more Super Bowls during this Eli era.

Eli Manning is aware of what his team must do to keep hope alive. It starts with winning at home against arguably the worst team in the NFC: the Philadelphia Eagles.

?I knew there was going to be a chance,? Manning said. ?I?m obviously disappointed that this is what we have to rely on now, but that?s the position we?re in now. If anything, you want to try to play, if the season is going to end, you want to try to end it on the highest note possible. At least go out there and play better football than we have over the last two weeks.?

- 3rd downs are easy for the Ravens today. They could take a knee on the first two plays of each drive and still convert easily. This giants defense is a joke and they've lost all f what made them champions last season.

- The Ravens settle for a FG but take 6 minutes off of the clock with that drive. Their lead is now 23 points and the Giants must hope for a miracle collapse.

However, that phrase is totally applicable to the Giants? situation: They need to worry about one game at a time.

Big Blue needs to beat the Ravens on the road for the Week 17 matchup at home against the Eagles to even mean anything. Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning are certainly aware of this.

The Giants are currently the ninth seed in the NFC based on complicated tiebreakers, and Big Blue needs a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive.

In the 2012 season, the Giants have shown they can battle back the week following a loss. The team is 4-1 this year in games following a loss the previous week.

Manning acknowledged that the Falcons are a tough team to beat at home, having won 10 straight in their own building.

?I think it just starts with just they?re a good team and so they do a good job of making plays and being sharp,? Manning said. ?Their offense seems like it does a lot of changing plays and getting into the right calls based on the defense and of course anytime they can be loud and show you different looks on the defensive side and make it difficult for the quarterback to change protection and those types of things puts them in any advantage.?

The whole focus heading into that game was how on earth would the Giants stop Matt Ryan and the potent Atlanta offense featuring Roddy White, Julio Jones, Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez.

Not only was this offense held scoreless (only points were a safety), but the Giants also torched the Falcons? defense en route to the big win.

Of course, their success will be reliant on their offense getting back on track. It?s been a struggle for the team to muster a consistent offensive attack and turnovers have been a problem as well. The bye week came just at the right time for this team to regroup.

?You don?t get almost a week off very often with this job and during the season, but it was nice to get away but I think everybody was kind of itching to get back and getting back to work,? Eli Manning said. ?We?re excited about where we stand right now, excited about this final stretch of the season and it should be fun.?

1.??? Atlanta Falcons 8-1 (Last week, 1): The Falcons won?t be finishing this season undefeated, but they remain in the top spot. Again, this is just a formality at this point, as Atlanta will have to show it can win in the playoffs.

2.?? Chicago Bears 7-2 (Last week, 2): Holding the Houston Texans to just 13 points was an accomplishment for the Bears? defense, but the injury to Jay Cutler stunted any sort of offensive attack. But defense wins games in this league, keeping the Bears at No. 2.

This year, Big Blue sits at 6-2 and in first place in the NFC East. Interesting, since after nine weeks last season, the Giants were 6-2 as well. And the year before you may ask? That?s right, 6-2.

However, four straight losses to tough teams evened the Giants? record and forced the G-Men into a must-win situation every game down the stretch.

Big Blue played their A-game and got (forced?) an off performance from the defending champs to pull off the monumental upset. The semifinal match will take place next Sunday at 6 PM.

In game thoughts:

- Jason Pierre-Paul and Aaron Ross collided (that's five first names slamming into each other!) as they both dove for a tipped pass. Giants fans hold their breath...Both players are standing on the sideline so it appears that the Giants have dodged a bullet.

- Update: Aaron Ross is being examined for a head injury.

- Giants are home favorites, which hasn't been good luck for them this year. Still, their intensity level should be high and a letdown is not expected.

- Bad start for the Giants' offense: an incompletion and a false start on Nicks led to a three and out. On the Falcons' first drive,?Michael Turner was stuffed on two runs, and the pass rush forced an incomplete pass for a three and out.

- I picked the Patriots, but I am not too surprised the Jets won.? Some Giants fans don't like to admit it, but the Jets are loaded with talent, and last night, the game's best coach was beat out by superior talent.

- Patrick Chung's decision (he has the green light from Belichick) to run a fake punt was a costly mistake, and may have been the turning point in the game.? That said, it was the only creative play in an overly boring gameplan. I understand that the Patriots usually beat teams with great execution on short passes, but it seemed like Belichick was unable or too stubborn to adjust to what the Jets were doing. They also ran way too much clock in the fourth quarter by continually running the ball.