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Yes, it was an interesting start to NFL free agency for the Jets and the Giants. We try to make a little bit of sense of it all, starting with the team that went further in 2009-10.

The Jets may have finished No. 1 in total defense, but they obviously had issues in the secondary. To address those, the first thing they did was bring in a guy with plenty of issues of his own. The Jets dealt a 2011 third-round pick (which could still become a second-rounder, depending on how 2010 goes) to San Diego for cornerback Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie is an impressive talent, but San Diego's decision to accept so little in return shows you how sick they'd become of his act. The Chargers didn't like his off-field problems, and they felt he quit on them in their playoff loss to the Jets. Specifically, they felt like he gave up on the play that resulted in Shonn Greene's long touchdown run.

Perfect guy for New York, right?

Well, one Jets person told me the night of the trade that they were well aware of Cromartie's issues but that the Jets believe, "he'll play for our guy," meaning head coach Rex Ryan.

The Jets have so much faith in Ryan's ability to coach and lead and command respect and love from his players that they think they can take on a problem case like Cromartie with confidence that he'll behave and play well. Their unwillingness to extend Cromartie's contract beyond this year also works, they hope, to give him incentive to play well. And if Cromartie plays to his ability, the Jets believe that he and Darrelle Revis will form the best cover-corner tandem in the league and allow them to blitz as much as they want with the confidence that the opposing receivers are covered.

The Jets then cut Lito Sheppard and Donald Strickland, the cornerbacks whose disappointing seasons led to the Cromartie move, and traded safety Kerry Rhodes, who wanted out anyway. For Rhodes, they got back a couple of picks, including a fourth-rounder in this year's draft. The Jets' trades for Sheppard and Braylon Edwards had left them short on picks this year, and so they addressed that with the Rhodes move.

They still need to look at what the loss of Thomas Jones means to their running game, and, assuming Jones doesn't come back they should probably go out and get somebody else to team with Greene and Leon Washington. But Ryan has the cornerback tandem he wanted, and from there they believe they can operate the rest of their offseason plan.

As for Big Blue, all I can figure is that the Rolle signing first means Kenny Phillips isn't as close to returning as anybody hoped and is second an effective apology to the fans for the rotten year they just had.

Sure, Rolle will help. And even if Phillips does come back fine, they'll be a nice pair to have at safety. But the Giants' defensive needs were much more glaring at linebacker and defensive line, and it was a little bit strange to see them push so hard for a safety as their big free agent move.

People close to the situation say the Giants didn't want to pay what the Bears paid for Julius Peppers or what the Dolphins paid for Karlos Dansby -- that they believe they'll be in a better position to address the line and the linebackers in the draft, which is deep at those spots. And that's fine. It's possible and easier to accept Rolle as the beginning of an offseason rebuilding program that has more planned elements down the road.

But I can't help but thinking this move feels a lot like the Bears' move with Peppers. The Bears need offensive linemen and they need receivers. Peppers is neither, so that seems like an odd place to spend so much money. But the Bears, like the Giants, had high hopes in 2009 and fell flat. So making the big free-agent splash says to your fans, "We're sorry. This was unacceptable to us too, and we're working hard to fix it."

There's nothing wrong with the Giants' sending such a message to their fans. But it's not going to matter much if it doesn't result in improved on-field performance in 2010. The Giants have more work to do.