E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

By Dave Klein
Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is just the second of the season for the Giants, which makes those talking heads crying about a "must game" and a "key to the season" all the more pointless.

But it should be pointed out that in any of the NFL's divisions, starting off with a record of 0-2 can be hazardous to the well-being and continued good health of not only the team but its fans.

So we shall see starting at 1 p.m. Sunday whether David Wilson can hold the ball, whether Victor Cruz can catch the ball, whether the offensive linemen can earn their inflated salaries and execute blocks when they are needed and whether the defensive secondary can stay with the opposing receivers.

If all those things work out satisfactorily, the Giants should run away giggling into the sunset and provide the talking heads with new roads to plow in the coming days and weeks.

If, on the other hand, the Giants' lack of precision and team unity continues, then there may well be a start of 0-2, and at least one of the other three divisional rivals (probably Dallas) will suddenly have built a two-game lead on the defending Super Bowl champions.

"We were embarrassed," said defensive end Justin Tuck. "We didn't hit the quarterback, we didn't make him hurry his throws, I don't think he was at all disturbed by our pass rush."

That isn't what the Giants' defense is all about, and Sunday Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman might find himself paying the price for the easy night the Giants handed out to Tony Romo.

"We just need to play better defense," said the architect of this current version, coordinator Perry Fewell. "We had only four quarterback hits and none of them came from our defensive ends. That's not acceptable. That's not how we play."

Fewell has continued to show flashes of defense designed to confuse quarterbacks and offensive coordinators, the most recent of which is the occasional foray for reserve linebacker Jacquian Williams, who is possessed with uncanny speed for his size (6-3, 225), into the secondary in a sort of slot-receiver cover or even the use of Tuck as a drop-back pass defender.

But primarily, especially after a weak outing such as last week's, the accepted remedy is to play more of the base defense and to put the pass-rushers (Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka - the so-called NASCAR unit) into full all-out attack. Look for more of that Sunday.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

EXTRA POINTS - The injury report has improved, as it usually does from the beginning of the week, but of some concern is the Doubtful tag affixed to linebacker Keith Rivers and a pair of Questionable rankings for wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and cornerback Prince Amukamara. ... But head coach Tom Coughlin feels certain that both Nicks and Amukamara will play: "They get a little better each day," he noted, including cornerback Michael Coe in that grouping.

Center David Baas (hip) is on the Probable list, but both he and Coughlin insist he'll play. ..."Just bring it on," Baas says, "I'm ready to play on Sunday." ..."Baas didn't practice [Friday] but he'll be ready. It's just managing a nagging [hip] injury."

Five others listed as Probable, meaning they'll play, are defensive tackle Marvin Austin, tackle James Brewer, Coe, Cruz (given the day off to attend his grandmother's funeral) and running back Da'Rel Scott. ... If Austin and Amukamara play Sunday, it will mark the first time since they were drafted in April of 2011 that the Giants' first two choices will be on the field together.

Of some interest will be the duel between Giants' tight end Martellus Bennett and his brother, Michael, the starting left defensive end for the Buccaneers. ... "We talk or text all the time," Martellus says, "at least once a day. We don't trash talk but we do have a wager. If we win, he has to buy me something nice. I'm counting on it."

Unfortunate news surrounding cornerback Terrell Thomas -- the Giants' second-round draft pick in 2009 underwent knee surgery again Friday, his third ACL repair in seven years (his second in two years), and he is out for the season. ... Doctors anticipate him to be ready to rumble in March of 2013, although it is questionable whether after this amount of surgical repair if he'll ever be able to fully perform.

Wilson, the first-round draft pick running back, has complained about the media. ... Golly, that didn't take long. ... He is upset that there is still mention of his first-quarter fumble last Wednesday night and his subsequent benching for the rest of the game. ... "They just can't seem to drop it," he said. ... Hey, David? ... Try this - don't fumble. ... The criticism will stop immediately.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Sometime in the next month, there will be a listing of Giants sports memorabilia available for sale. ... The collection will include old media guides, game programs, a few signed footballs, some Super Bowl items and various books, magazines and the like. ... Pricing will be fair and the value here is to clear out some of the clutter in the basement.

Finally, someone asked recently how to explain the difference between E-GIANTS and the rest of the informational sources available to the fans. ... It's difficult, but let's give it a try. First of all, E-GIANTS is not a blog, although for lack of a better title it might suffice as one. We do not try to compete with the daily newspapers (those of which still remain) or the television, radio and internet. ... This is mostly because recent college graduates who fancy themselves to be sportswriters are in charge of raking up the soil.

E-GIANTS is devoted to insight on the team based on 50 years of experience covering the Giants (that would be me), along with nostalgic reminiscences, observations that probably wouldn't find their way into the dailies, reflections on coaches (past and present) and the off-beat, off-the-track tidbits that prove to be compelling.

In the last few years, we have added Aaron Klein and Scott Landstrom. ... Aaron provides a younger dimension to Giant news while Scott is a detail-oriented football "scientist" who started out breaking down and then analyzing tapes of Giant games. ... In both cases, they provide priceless input to E-GIANTS and, in my opinion, make it unique in this new pantheon of Giant news.

Just sayin'.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

NEW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!

Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet"
Links to every newspaper and magazine that's available on the net. 

Website by Mike