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 five sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

By DAVE KLEIN
The Giants haven't been hurt nearly as bad as some other teams because of catastrophic injuries, but they have lost their share of valued players.

Yesterday, they began to adjust the roster to compensate for those no longer able to contribute this season.

First of all, they officially placed wide receiver Tim Carter and linebacker Wes Mallard on the Injured Reserve list, effectively taking them out for the season. In order to be reinstated to active duty now, they would have to clear league-wide waivers, and neither would pass that foolish test.

Then they signed linebacker T.J. Hollowell, who was on the practice squad, and running back Derrick Ward, who was on the New York Jets' practice squad. Finally, wide receiver4 Jason Geathers was signed to the practice squad.

He had been signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns this spring and was released Aug. 31, only to be placed on their practice squad two days later.

Hollowell, 6-0 and 234, is a weakside linebacker from the University of Nebraska; Ward is 5-11 and 230, a power running back from the University of Ottawa in Kansas. Geathers, a product of Hurricane University, is 6-3 and 210.

It is more than just likely that sixth round draft pick Jamaar Taylor will fill in for Carter as the third wide receiver. He showed great promise in training camp but suffered a hamstring pull and has been inactive since. He has practiced the last two weeks, "doing everything we asked of him," head coach Tom Coughlin has said, and now it appears he will get the chance to contribute to the surprisingly 4-1 Giants.

In another bit of bookkeeping, the Giants are "on the clock" with their two Physically Unable to Perform/Reserve players, former starting left guard Rich Seubert and defensive end Lorenzo Bromell, signed as an unrestricted free agent from Oakland.

The Giants will have a three-week window beginning Monday, during which they must make a decision on both players as to whether they can be activated or placed on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season. Seubert is still recovering from the compound fracture of his right leg suffered last Oct. 19 against Philadelphia, and while he is making progress "every week, it seems," according to Coughlin, it is still doubtful that he'd be brought back to active duty this season.

Bromell, 6-6 and 260 from Clemson, injured his knee in June and has not been practicing at all. He is a six-year veteran of the Raiders and was counted on for spot duty as a speed rusher, much in the same role as the Giants have been using second- year Osi Umenyiora.

Last week, Seubert said that while he has been "getting better each day," and running better as well, he isn't sure whether he would be activated and be able to play. "It's not my call, obviously," he said, "but if I have to stay out this entire season to make sure of things, then that's what I'll do. It could be for the best."

EXTRA POINTS -- From the time when Dallas scored on a 41-yard Billy Cundiff field goal last Sunday with 1:56 left in the second quarter, the Cowboys had seven more possessions and came up with nothing. ... In fact, they scored on only two of their 11 possessions for the game, held to the Cundiff field goal and one touchdown. ... By way of comparison, the Giants had 11 possessions and scored on six of them.

After their bye week break, the Giants return to play four games that could all wind up on the "W" column -- Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota and Arizona. ... Right, nothing is a sure thing with this team, and the Vikings are certainly going to be a test, but the Giants beat them last year and learned that to shut down wide receiver Randy Moss means shutting down their offense. ... Much like the Giants, Minnesota is a less-than-consistent team, which could work in the Giants' favor. ... But after those four, things get a little dicey, since they play Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. ... All things remaining equal, only Washington should be counted as a "W" and it is probable that the Giants aren't good enough to even count on something like that.

The last time the Giants won two straight road games against teams that had made the playoffs the previous season was in 2000, when they beat Washington on Dec. 3 and Dallas on Dec. 17, sandwiched around a home game (with a 30-20 victory over Pittsburgh). ... That, of course, was the season the Giants went all the way to Super Bowl XXXV.

The leading rusher in the entire NFL is Tiki Barber, whose 577 yards represent 21 more than Tennessee's Chris Brown (that's AFC) but 155 more than his nearest NFC competitor, Green Bay's Ahman Green. ... Defensive tackle Fred Robbins (sprained shoulder) and cornerback Will Peterson (general soreness) did not take part in yesterday's practice, although Coughlin expects them both to be 100 percent for Oct. 24 against Detroit.

Placekicker Steve Christie, who a week ago was wondering if he was about to be waived after missing all three field goal attempts in Green Bay, was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week yesterday honoring his four-for-four performance against Dallas, which included long-range bombs of 51 and 47 yards. ... He accounted for 14 points (or four more than the Tuna-boys managed as a team) and while he said he appreciated the award, "there is a lot of football left and a lot of work to do." ... Odd, isn't it, how they all sound like Coughlin. ... Or is it odd at all?

Finally, since Kurt Warner has won four of his last five starts for the Giants, it leads to wondering who was the last one to do it. ... Ready? It was none other than Danny Kanell in 1997. ... Bet you didn't know that -- or much care, either.

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

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