At a time when most NFL teams are focusing solely on college players, the Giants added yet another veteran free agent Saturday, making linebacker LaVar Arrington their seventh defensive acquisition of the off-season. Arrington will be a good fit for the aggressive defensive schemes employed by the Giants’ coaching staff, but it’s unclear if he’ll be a good fit for the disciplined approach head coach Tom Coughlin demands.

After the Washington Redskins made Arrington the second overall pick in the 2000 draft, he quickly became one of the best linebackers in football, going to the Pro Bowl in 2001, 2002, and 2003. During his best season, 2002, Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis unleashed Arrington to make plays all over the field, and he responded with 11 sacks, tops among linebackers. Lewis and Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis (no relation) both broke into the league in the 1990s as defensive assistants for the Pittsburgh Steelers, where they learned a style of defense that gives linebackers the freedom to rely on their athleticism rather than follow a closely choreographed scheme. That should make Arrington an excellent addition to Tim Lewis’s defense.

Arrington struggles in pass coverage, though, and opponents often use his aggressiveness against him by luring him out of position with fake handoffs and misdirection plays. His reckless style helped the Giants beat the Redskins in a 2003 game when, in overtime, Arrington followed a fake to running back Tiki Barber instead of covering fullback Jim Finn. That left Finn open for a 27-yard gain that set up the winning field goal. A recap of that game that is still on the Giants’ official Web site quotes Finn as saying, “Arrington bit on Tiki’s play action. When I went in motion and got to the end of the line, I saw he was playing inside the tackle, and I knew I had to get out right away because I’d be wide open. As I went in motion he slowly drifted to the end of the line, then went back in.”

Coverage mistakes like that were one reason why Arrington’s career took a sharp turn downward in 2004, when he clashed with new Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. He also suffered a knee injury that required multiple surgeries and forced him to miss 12 games that year. In 2005 he was healthy enough to play but was benched because his freelancing style didn’t mesh with Washington’s defense.

Arrington complained last season that he didn’t think the Redskins’ coaches were communicating with him. When told of that comment, Gibbs told reporters, “I’ve talked to LaVar more than any player I’ve ever coached in 30 years, probably three times more.” Now that he plays for Coughlin – a coach so controlling that he considers players unacceptably late to meetings if they arrive four minutes early – it’s not hard to envision Arrington having more conflicts with his coaches.

That potential for conflict is one reason the Giants structured Arrington’s contract to be worth significantly less than the seven-year, $49 million deal that has been widely reported. NFL contracts are not guaranteed, and the agreement contains incentives that will tie Arrington’s compensation to his performance. Arrington will likely play for the Giants for three or four years for about $5 million a year, and if the Giants aren’t happy with him, they’ll release him without too big an impact on their salary cap.

If they do get three or four years out of Arrington, the Giants can expect to have a solid group of linebackers for the foreseeable future. Arrington, who will start at weakside linebacker, is still only 27; Antonio Pierce, the starter at middle linebacker, is also 27; and Reggie Torbor, the likely starter at strongside linebacker, is 24. That is a dramatically improved group of linebackers from the unit the Giants used at the end of last season, when they were so devastated by injuries that they had to start Kevin Lewis, Nick Greisen, and Alonzo Jackson at linebacker in the playoffs.

Lewis and Greisen are no longer with the Giants and Jackson will have to compete for a backup role in training camp. The Giants had been expected to take an outside linebacker in the first round of the draft on Saturday, but the signing of Arrington means Big Blue can focus elsewhere.

The Giants have already focused elsewhere in free agency, and at least two other free agents are expected to earn starting jobs on defense: Safety Will Demps, a five-year veteran from the Baltimore Ravens, and cornerback Sam Madison, a 10-year veteran from the Miami Dolphins, should improve the secondary immediately. The Giants’ other free agent signings – linebacker Brandon Short, safety Quentin Harris, and cornerbacks R.W. McQuarters and Jason Bell – will all contribute to a defense that suffered from a lack of depth last year.

But the biggest name the Giants have added is Arrington, who wore no. 56 on his jersey in Washington. The Giants have retired that number for Lawrence Taylor, a player Arrington was often compared to early in his career. There’s no chance that Arrington, who will wear no. 55 in New York, can ever live up to those comparisons. But if he can stay healthy, he could be the key component in a team that hopes it has improved from good in 2005 to great in 2006.

Mr. Smith is a regular writer for FootballOutsiders.com.