According to Jenny Vrentas at nj.com Sean Locklear has been told by Pat Flaherty that Diehl will be starting against the Steelers because "He can't lose his job to a minor injury". Kevin Gilbride apparently did not confirm this in his presser, saying instead that the coaches were still deliberating.

Now those of you kind enough to converse with me on this site know that I am one of the staunchest supporters of tom Coughlin around. Not that he can't do anything wrong, but more like he deserves to have any judgement of his actions put off until the season is well and truly over. As we've seen on multiple occasions, he has pulled rabbits out of his hat when the outlook was at it's grimmest, and should have earned the trust of a bunch on Internet warriors like ourselves. I also love the "old-school" values he has instilled in this team, ones of hard work, less brash talking, and basic professionalism. All in all, pretty much the direct opposite of his corpulent counterpart in the same building.

The big "However" should be obvious here. Dave Diehl has been an absolute professional for the Giants for a long time, and we do not win either SB without him in there. But Father Time is a relentless bastard, and he has caught up with Dave. Sean Locklear has outperformed Diehl by leaps and bounds this season. Diehl should have lost his job based on the better performance of Locklear, not a "minor injury". The line has a rhythm that is effective and is winning games right now; it is absolutely mind-boggling that the coaches would voluntarily disrupt this. I truly do appreciate Coughlin's loyalty, and I will defend 99% of his decisions (who cares if David Wilson plays more right now. When he's ripping defenses apart for the next five years these arguments will look as ridiculous as they are useless). But an offensive line is a sum greater than its parts, and removing a key cog from a working machine is truly head-scratching. Hopefully common sense will overcome Coughlin's respectable honor, and the Giants will keep rolling with what's been working best.