Nov 14 Four years ago, the Ravens rushed Eli Manning, battered him and held him to a 0.0 passer rating. When the then-rookie quarterback was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter, it was the first and only time in his career he was pulled for performance reasons. Sunday, the Giants have the chance to return the favor. Joe Flacco will be the second rookie quarterback the Giants have faced in Steve Spagnuolo's two seasons as defensive coordinator. Last year, the pass rush shook off a slow start to fluster the Bills' Trent Edwards (9-for-26 for 161 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions) on a blustery, snowy day in Buffalo.
Joe Flacco, drafted at No.18 last spring out of the University of Delaware, has started all nine games after taking over for 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, who had a blood clot in his neck. In wins over Miami, Oakland, Cleveland and Houston the past four games, Flacco has put up impressive numbers, completing 61 of 99 passes for 805 yards and six touchdowns without an interception for the Ravens (6-3). "We just can't allow him to get comfortable, because you see he is a pretty good quarterback," said defensive end Justin Tuck, who leads the Giants with 8.5 sacks. "Hopefully we can kind of throw off some of that rhythm that he has going right now."

It probably seems like Plaxico Burress is getting lost three steps off the line of scrimmage, but he's running crisp routes downfield with a newfound purpose. Somebody has to keep the defense busy. Burress is actually getting credit for contributing to the league's best running attack. Seriously. The eccentric wideout has only caught 10 passes over the last four weeks, but that's because he's usually shadowed by two defenders. And there is a tangible benefit.
Maybe the one receiver who has benefited from the treatment Burress has gotten is tight end Kevin Boss, who established a career high with six receptions in Sunday night's victory at Philadelphia. Boss has 13 catches over his past three games and has emerged as a trusted target for Eli Manning. "It is nice to get involved a little bit," Boss said. "It's almost like once you get involved catching some balls, you almost feel like you're blocking better, too, because you are so involved and get into a flow."
"Guys are catching balls, we are 8-1, we have the best run offense in the league, and you have to sit back and do what you can do in the run game and watch other guys have success and have fun," Burress said. He knows eventually his time will come to go back to making big plays. It could be Sunday, when the run-focused Ravens defense could be paying a little too much attention to Brandon Jacobs to double Burress downfield. Either way, Burress plans on continuing with what he's been doing, while thinking about the possibilities.
If Baltimore commits to stopping the run, the opportunities Burress has been waiting for in the passing game could open up. Maybe that will include some of those deep balls, which Burress said are play calls Manning has to check out of a few times per game because of the coverages he sees. "The one thing about playing this position is when it rains, it pours," Burress said. "When it opens up, I have seen how things can change and how things can happen."

In all three of his previous seasons, he led or tied for the team lead in special-teams tackles, and now he's also contributing elsewhere. He stepped in for Antonio Pierce when the defensive captain missed a game with a quadriceps injury earlier this season, and he started the last two games at weak-side linebacker. On Sunday, he made the game-clinching tackle, slicing through the line of scrimmage to take out the legs of Eagles running back Brian Westbrook on a late fourth-and-1 play.

Nov 13 Eli Manning wasn't too keen Wednesday on reminiscing about the last time the Giants played the Ravens in the regular season. Understandable, considering the Giants' demoralizing 37-14 loss four years ago played out as a rookie quarterback's nightmare. Making his fourth NFL start after being dubbed the Giants' quarterback of the future, Manning completed just four of 18 passes for 27 yards, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. By the time he was yanked in the fourth quarter for Kurt Warner, his passer rating was 0.0.
Asked what he recalls about that nightmarish showing, Manning yesterday said, "Just struggling, but again that is a long time ago and I have a lot more experience and have had a lot better times than that day." He sure has. Manning on Sunday will go against a Ravens defense ranked No. 2 overall in the league, first in run defense and ninth against the pass. No one should worry that Manning bears any scars from his rough rookie outing. "This team has come a long way and I have come a long way since '04," Manning said. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis acknowledged that Manning "has made some great improvements," but insists no quarterback is immune from getting rattled.

Every Saturday or Sunday during the season, Derrick Ward finds a nugget to feed to the Giants offensive linemen. "I give them little clips of (opposing players) saying our offensive line is just a scheme offensive line and they're really not that good," the Giants' No. 1-A running back said Wednesday. "It's just to get whatever motivation I can out of them so they can perform well." All Ward has to do this weekend is find a copy of the NFL rankings for run defense. At the top are the Ravens, who have allowed an average of only 65.4 rushing yards per game. The Giants have the league's best rushing offense at 168.9 yards.
It's getting harder and harder to find bulletin board material for the inspiration. Kareem McKenzie, Shaun O'Hara, Rich Seubert, David Diehl and Snee are getting more praise than ever these days. Even from Lewis. "They are very aggressive and they stay on their blocks," he said. "They are getting after people. You see these backs and not to take any credit away from these backs, but they are running into a hole so big, you are sitting there saying, "What in the world?' I just think they have a great chemistry on the offensive line. It's exactly the kind of compliment that makes center O'Hara squirm.

The Giants lead the NFL in rushing with 168.9 yards per game. The Ravens lead the league in run defense, allowing 65.4 yards per game. One trend will take a beating, along with many, many bodies. "They like to run the ball, we like to stop the run," Lewis said. "That's a bottom-line fact. Our guys do a great job understanding what type of mentality that is, not let nobody come in and run the ball on you. The Giants do a great job with telling people they're going to run the ball on them. Hey, we'll find out Sunday, man."

At some point on Sunday afternoon, the irresistible force will meet the immovable object, and the impact will be felt and heard for miles around. Like with two freight trains headed at each other on the same track, the collision is inevitable. And Brandon Jacobs and Ray Lewis can't wait. "He comes downhill, I come downhill and whatever happens, happens," said Jacobs, the Giants' powerful running back. "I'm actually looking forward to the challenge." "The only way to stop somebody like that is to run into him full speed," added Lewis, Baltimore's dangerous middle linebacker. "That's the name of football - hit or be hit."
Jacobs, who is friendly with Lewis off the field, said the Ravens' future Hall of Famer plays linebacker the way Jacobs would if he played that position. "A downhill, hard-hitting player and nothing more, nothing less," Jacobs said. "He wants to establish the game right away and he's good at doing that. I think his career has been pretty good and I have a lot of respect for Ray and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Ray Lewis has accumulated a team-high 92 tackles for the Ravens, who have allowed a league-best 65.4 yards on the ground per game. He has combined with fellow linebackers Bart Scott and Terrell Suggs, also the team's top pass rusher, to keep each of their nine opponents to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. The former Miami Hurricane has been the centerpiece of the Baltimore defense for 13 seasons. Giants' fans best remember him as kingpin of the 2000 Ravens' unit that shut out the NFC champ Giants' offense in Super Bowl XXXV. With Lewis as its leader, Baltimore's defense has finished sixth or better in the NFL eight of the past nine seasons. The only year it didn't (2002), Lewis missed 10 games because of a shoulder injury.

Former Giants
Kurt Warner will face the Giants next week. Kerry Collins does not have the chance to face his former team during the regular season . . . but Feb. 1 in Tampa remains a possibility.

Nov 12 A lot of people think the Giants' defense is all about blitzing, but it's not. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo often shows plenty of restraint, especially when facing Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. On Sunday, the Giants blitzed on only nine of Philly's 40 designed passes (36 attempts, three scrambles by McNabb and a play negated by a penalty). By devoting another player to the secondary instead of the blitz, Spagnuolo gave his rushers more time to record nine pressures of McNabb, who completed only 17 of 36 passes.

The Giants have the best running attack in the NFL. They average a league-best 168.9 rushing yards per game, have three running backs who average more than 5 yards each time they are handed the football, and boast a cohesive and talented offensive line that is quickly becoming the elite unit in the sport. But what makes the Giants' running attack so potent - and as such makes the Giants the team to beat in the NFL as we head into the depths of November - is that they are not a running team. They are, in the world of easy categories where teams fit into neat columns, almost indefinable.

For 23 remarkable minutes Sunday night, Eli Manning was putting on a quarterback clinic. He had recovered beautifully from his opening-drive interception, which was batted at the line of scrimmage. He was right on the mark on almost every pass after that. Then, suddenly, it all disappeared. He went from a brilliant, 13-for-17, 143-yard performance in the first 23 minutes against the Eagles to 4-for-14 for 48 yards over the final 37 minutes. Sure, the Giants won, 36-31, but the drop-off in the passing game was pretty dramatic.

Eli Manning - Follow up - The numbers over 64 starts.

Unrestricted free agency is looming for five key players and there is no way the Giants can keep them all. Is this the last go-round for Amani Toomer Amani Toomer , the leading receiver in franchise history, who at 34 remains productive and classy in his 13th season? Cornerback Corey Webster Corey Webster is a rising star at a position where rising stars become rich beyond their wildest dreams. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward have no contracts for next season. Safety James Butler can proudly state on his resume he has been a starter on one Super Bowl winner and possibly another, but he's not close to indispensable.

Long lines, a crowded shopping center, and enough Giants jerseys floating around to field three football teams were all located outside the Last Licks ice cream parlor last night. It could mean only one thing: Giants fans like ice cream. That, and the appearance of Giants defensive end Justin Tuck at the Rye Ridge shopping center to take pictures and sign autographs probably helped attract the large crowds to the ice cream parlor/ sports memorabilia store. Giants fans lined up for hours to see the Super Bowl hero and rising star. Cortlandt Manor resident Alyssa Weiss decided to use the occasion as a surprise and an early wedding gift for her fiance, Giants season-ticket holder Joe Haviland.

Coach Tom Coughlin is one of the final nominees for Motorola's Coach of the week for week 10! Voting is now open, and will remain open until this Friday at 12PM ET. Vote Here.

Former Giants
Carl Banks, his playing days well behind him, recently set his sights on another challenge. Equally as invigorating as sacking a quarterback, this exciting activity brought out the competitive fire still burning inside Banks and gave him an intense adrenaline rush. The activity: whitewater rafting the Colorado River.

Nov 11 Coughlin has been successful on 27 of his 58 career replay challenges after the officials reversed the illegal forward pass against Eli Manning on the drive that gave the Giants the lead for good in Sunday's victory over the Eagles. That's a 47-percent rate that, according to NBC, makes Coughlin the most successful at challenging plays in NFL history. The league average is 39 percent.
Thirty-nine percent of all challenges in the NFL are overturned. This year, Coughlin has challenged four calls and won three of them. "I think it's a matter of being deliberate, making sure what we are going to state," Coughlin said, trying to explain his success. "I always want to wait to be sure that there is proof and the facts are there. And then once they are there, we go ahead and see if we can't do something about a call." When Coughlin throws the flag, he isn't always sure. But someone is.
Eli Manning got in the first word after his improvised pass to tight end Kevin Boss in the third quarter of a 36-31 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night was ruled an illegal forward pass. The assistants upstairs in the booth heartily concurred, so the replay challenge was initiated. And in a matter of minutes, Coughlin was celebrating a small victory with a sideline jig.

Was there anything worse than the interception Eli Manning threw in the first quarter? Yes, his attempt at tackling Mike Patterson. Manning jumped on the defensive tackle but quickly slid off. "It looked like a grandma trying to wrangle her purse away from a purse-snatcher," center Shaun O'Hara said. "He needs to spend a little time over with the defense tackling the sled a little bit." O'Hara did concede the point that quarterbacks who are good tacklers probably get too much practice at it, and that's never a good thing.

Since 2004 under Tom Coughlin, the Giants have now rushed for at least 200 yards 11 times. From 1983-2000 under Bill Parcells, the Giants rushed for at least 200 yards 10 times. In Parcells' 1986 and 1990 Super seasons, the Giants averaged 4.0 and 3.8 yards per rush. In his first four years here, Coughlin's Giants have rushed for 4.5, 4.7, 4.7, and 4.6. You hear talk about the job Jeff Fisher has done with the 9-0 Titans, how Bill Belichick has weathered the Tom Brady storm and is in play with Matt Cassel, how rookie coaches such as the Redskins' Jim Zorn and the Falcons' Mike Smith have been real revelations. It's time to talk about the job Coughlin is doing here with the 8-1 Giants.

Against the Eagles, Manning did not have many close calls on the play clock because the Giants were out of their huddle in a hurry. "It was something we worked on all week," said tackle David Diehl after the Giants rushed for 219 yards. "Eli was putting us in the right places because we were getting to the line of scrimmage with enough time for him to do that. We practiced all week to be up-tempo." "We knew the things that they do defensively, so we wanted to make sure Eli had enough time to set everyone in place," said guard Chris Snee. "The Eagles do a lot of moving around before the snap on their defense." That's why coach Tom Coughlin impressed upon his players and coaches the need to get in and out of the huddle on a faster basis.

The Giants average a league-leading 168.9 rushing yards per game on 5.2 yards per attempt. They have rung up 200-yard rushing games against the Rams, Seahawks and Cowboys before putting up 219 yards on the supposedly rugged Eagles. The Eagles came into the game allowing only 89 rushing yards per game, good for eighth-best in the league. The Giants surpassed that before halftime en route to crashing through the 200-yard barrier for the fourth time this season, this time not only utilizing Jacobs and Ward but also Ahmad Bradshaw.
Derrick Ward, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw ambitiously aim for 300 combined yards on the ground each week. But as they kept runs alive in their 219-yard performance against the Eagles -- angling for extra distance via leaps, twists and stretches -- they encountered what seems to be the only roadblock these days to their best-in-the-league run game: fumbles. "When you are in traffic, the effort is great," coach Tom Coughlin said. "These guys are making great effort. But the ball has to be the No. 1 thing so that when you do start to spin or you start to get hit and you start to have multiple people on the pile, the ball has to come into your chest and you have to secure it with both hands."

The '86 Giants followed up their Super Bowl year by going 6-6 (not including the 0-3 record by the strike replacement team) and didn't come close to the playoffs. The '90 champions were 8-8 the next year and missed the playoffs. None of the three Giants teams that won NFL championships in the pre-Super Bowl era ('34, '38, '56) was able to repeat. So the current Giants team has a chance to etch a very special place in Big Blue's history.

The defending Super Bowl champions (8-1) are not just good. They are, in the words of Tom Coughlin, "battle tested." They've won 12 of their last 13 games, dating back to the start of last season's playoffs, and six of those have come right down to the wire. They've won 14 of their last 15 on the road, including many where they had to overcome their own struggles. So when the playoffs arrive in seven (or possibly eight) weeks, the Giants will feel more ready than ever before.

A little more than four years ago, during a televised preseason game between the Jets and Colts, commentator Joe Theismann was asked which NFL team had the worst offensive line in the game. Theismann hesitated, thought and issued his dubious distinction. "The Giants," he said. Flash forward to this past weekend. As the Giants dismantled the Eagles on the nationally televised Sunday night game, commentators Al Michaels and John Madden couldn't stop gushing about that offensive line, including it among the NFL's best.

Nobody can accuse NBC's "Sunday Night Football" crew of ignoring what will go down in Giants lore (for this season, anyway) as "The Challenge." That late-third-quarter, third-and-10 thing in Philly, after Eli Manning was flagged for crossing the line of scrimmage and throwing an illegal pass to Kevin Boss. Then came the successful challenge, reversing the call. Two plays later, Brandon Jacobs scored from three yards out, giving the Giants a 27-24 lead. Penalty. Challenge. Challenge succeeds. Case closed, right? Not in the "SNF" booth.

Nov 10 Giants beat the Eagles 36-31  |  GAME PHOTOS      GAME PHOTOS

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On The Game: Game 9 Recap Gamegirl... "... Well it wasn't easy, but how does it go? 'Another one bites the dust. Another one bites the dust, and another one gone, and another one gone. Another one bites the dust.' The Giants have an 8-1 record and have beaten all the NFC East division teams." Mikefan.... "...Donovan McNabb avoided being sacked and his offense made the Giants pay for Manning's one interception and Brandon Jacobs fumble, turning both those mistakes into touchdowns, but the Giants defense was able to stop their big weapon cold. Brian Westbrook averaged only 2 yards a carry on his 13 attempts."

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ESPN - Manning throws two TDs, Jacobs runs for two as Giants send message.
Giants.com - Giants defeat Eagles, 36-31.
Giants.com - Paving the way.
StarLedger - Giants outlast Philadelphia Eagles, 36-31.
StarLedger - Coughlin's challenge means happy feet.
StarLedger - Jacobs' fumbling leap almost proves costly for New York Giants.
StarLedger - Tynes handles kickoff duty in his return to New York Giants.
Newsday - Giants beat Eagles to take command in NFC East.
Newsday - Giants kicker Tynes sees first action of season.
Newsday - Giants' Manning rebounds from shaky start.
NYDailyNews - Giants prevail, pull out 36-31 win over Eagles in Philadelphia.
NYDailyNews - On further review, Giants are an instant hit.
NYDailyNews - Three key calls make Giants' win in Philly official.
Record - Giants 8-1 after beating Eagles.
NYPost - Better to be lucky than good.
NYPost - Jacobs rebounds after lost fumble.
NYPost - Giants shut down elusive Westbrook.
NYPost - Giants top Eagles 36-31.
NYPost - Coughlin, 1st-place Giants up to the challenge in Philly.
NYPost - 'Eagles not thinking of playoffs.
Philly.com - McNabb not only reason Eagles lost.
Philly.com - Challenges doom Birds.
Philly.com - Birds in Giant hole.
Philly.com - Eagles no match for Giants' running game in loss.

Former Giants
Kerry Collins gets no help from a rushing attack but throws for two touchdowns to keep the Titans perfect on the season.He threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and the Titans beat the Chicago Bears 21-14 Sunday to remain undefeated despite rushing for just 20 yards.

Game 9 Preview - Giants (7-1) vs Eagles (5-3).
Philadelphia extended their win streak to three games with a 26-7 win over down-and-out Seattle. The Seahawks were playing yet another game without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, and they were missing Deion Branch and Lofa Tatupu. Donovan McNabb started slow with 10 incompletions in his first 13 throws, but then he got sharp and completed on his next 13 passes. McNabb finished up with 329 yards, and 2 touchdowns against 1 interception, and the Seahawks (2-6) may be finished for the year.
The Giants treated their fans to a 35-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The defense played extremely well and the offense was able to convert three of their four takeaways into 21 points. They gave up four sacks and made some mistakes, but five trips to the red zone ended up in five touchdowns.

Nov 9 The Giants head to Philadelphia Sunday for the latest life-or-death divisional matchup, the third of six on the schedule this season, so this seems like a good time to appreciate the best division in all of sports. No matter how you measure it, the NFC East is unbeatable, with its combined 282 years of history and hard feelings, of boisterous fans and legendary coaches, all consuming four big cities. You want success? The Cowboys, the Giants, the Eagles and the Redskins have combined to win 11 Super Bowls, including a stretch from 1980 through 1993 when a representative from the division appeared in nine of the 14 title games and won seven. Only the Eagles have failed to win the big game.

The Eagles show up tonight at the Lincoln Financial Field as the football equivalent of the Mets, who just endured the sickening feeling of watching Jimmy Rollins and the hated Phillies win the World Series and then taunt them during the parade. Never forget that the Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb-Brian Westbrook Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. Never forget that the Tom Coughlin-Eli Manning Giants just did, and are damn serious about becoming the first Giants team to defend that Lombardi Trophy. It means the Eagles feel like second-class citizens in their own city, as well as in their own division. This is their chance to earn some Brotherly Love in a game that only will define their season. It means the 2008 Giants will be the hunted tonight more than they have ever been the hunted.

Eli Manning never will forget his first trip to Lincoln Financial Field in 2004, when as a rookie he was introduced to the NFL by a shot from current teammate Jerome McDougle. That hit in his first game also alerted Manning to what he can expect each time he faces the Philadelphia Eagles, as he will tonight at the Linc. "This is always a physical game," Manning said. "It tends to come down to the fourth quarter every time we play them. We know what to expect in these games. Nothing comes easy at all, so you have to prepare hard all week and know you have to play sound football."

Shaun O'Hara summed up what he expects from tonight's game against the Eagles. "I don't think there'll be any surprises," the Giants center said. "They're going to have 11 guys on offense, 11 guys on defense and 77,000 Philly fans who hate us. That's pretty much the norm when you go down to the Linc." Eagles fans have a reputation for being the most, well, passionate fans in the NFL. But the intensity of tonight's game should be even more amplified than usual. Not only is it a prime-time game with a start late in the evening, but it's against the first-place Giants in a game the Eagles pretty much need to win in order to keep their hopes of a division title alive.

Join us inside the Eagles' locker room in the days leading up to tonight's huge NFC East game against the Giants. If you listen closely, you'll hear it ... Aha! There it is. It's what we have almost never heard from this part of the sports world: silence. Not a speck of controversy. No Terrell Owens leftovers from the most tumultuous time here in recent memory. No Donovan McNabb injury questions to sort through. Nothing about the personal problems facing coach Andy Reid's grown children. For the first time in what seems like years, it is all about one thing and one thing only: football.

They are all lined up for the Giants, just the way they want them, like ducks in a carnival game. One by one, the champs have a chance to line them up and pick them off. Last week they finished off the Dallas Cowboys. In a few weeks they'll get their shot to do the same to the Washington Redskins. Tonight, though, is their opportunity to knock off the Philadelphia Eagles and dispose of yet another opponent in the NFC East. "We're in the driver's seat now. We control our own fate," said running back Brandon Jacobs. "We're up two games, but we know we have a good, competitive, solid division and we can't let up now one bit."

While the Giants plan to keep an eye on Brian Westbrook, they cannot afford to overlook anybody. A diversified offense has enabled the Philadelphia Eagles to run off three straight wins and regain a lot of respect among NFC East rivals. There is more to worry about than just the Pro Bowl running back, who last season accounted for 2,104 yards from scrimmage. "Brian, he is such a complete player," Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. "I told the guys we need 22 eyes on No. 36 every play. Just know where he is, if there is a chance he is going to get the ball, because he is the guy they like to get it to. Of course, then don't lose sight of No. 5, and worry about No. 10, but certainly Brian is a key cog to that offense, and our guys are hopefully focused on him."

As much as Madison Hedgecock enjoys playing fullback for the Giants and living the dreams of millions, farming is what he loves. It's who he is. Growing up in a North Carolina farming family whose agricultural roots date back to the 1700s, Hedgecock pulled tobacco and rode tractors since he was 7. And he hasn't stopped farming -- not even last year when he was claimed by a team in the most urban market in the NFL.

Nov 8 The Giants did not draft safety Kenny Phillips to run around and dominate during training camp or to jettison his body into receivers in the preseason or to get a handful of snaps during real games. The Giants coveted and selected Phillips to emerge as a big-time player. Tomorrow night at that cauldron of hostility known at Lincoln Financial Field, Phillips will be thrust onto the battleground known as Giants-Eagles for the first time, which is a heck of a way to make the first start of his NFL career.
This will be the second straight game in Philadelphia that James Butler has missed. Last December, he was sidelined with a hamstring injury. This week, he thought he might have a chance to play but experienced pain and swelling when he practiced in a limited capacity Thursday. "I feel very bad about it," Butler said. "It's a big game in the division. But at the same time, I think the team will do better without me because I'm not as healthy as I should be."
Phillips has learned from Butler and veteran safety Sammy Knight. They've been giving him pointers and helping him figure out how to read coverages. "Those guys are tremendously smart," Phillips said. "They know what's going to happen before it does. Even when I'm on the sideline, they come and coach me up and say, 'Watch out for this. When they do this, this is what's going to happen.' So they've been a tremendous help." Phillips will start at free safety with Michael Johnson moving over to strong safety.
Phillips has been unable to get into the starting lineup because James Butler and Michael Johnson have been playing so well. In addition, fourth-year man Butler is the quarterback of the secondary. He gets everyone lined up in the right place prior to the snap. Those duties now will fall to second-year man Johnson. "Michael is capable of handling that," said Butler, who plans to be back for next week’s game against Baltimore. "He plays a lot of positions, so he knows the defense well."

One of the subjects coach Tom Coughlin always refrains from discussing is fines the NFL hands out to his players. He broke with that tradition yesterday because he felt so strongly about an injustice heaped on Justin Tuck Justin Tuck . Tuck was fined $7,500 by the league for a roughing the passer penalty he was called for against the Cowboys, a penalty that neither Tuck nor Coughlin believed was warranted.
It used to be a no-brainer for an NFL defender, but some Giants feel the NFL is making it an increasingly - and unnecessarily - difficult choice due to the way penalties and fines are being handed out these days. Twice in the last two weeks the Giants have been penalized 15 yards for what they believe was a completely clean and proper play. One of those plays even resulted in a $7,500 fine for defensive end Justin Tuck - although Ray Anderson, the NFL's head of discipline, rescinded the fine Friday night after reviewing the play. Still, as far as the Giants are concerned, some damage has been done. And it's something that will be in the back of their minds when they're bearing down on McNabb.

Nov 7 For the first time since 2004, both New York professional football teams are above .500 at the season's midpoint. In fact, both teams are in first place, though the Jets are tied with the Bills and Patriots. It's impossible to figure how the rest of the season is going to go - but that doesn't mean we (NYMag.com) shouldn't try! Here's a week-by-week primer to see how it all might - might - turn out.

The Giants -- the division-leading Giants -- will be coming to Lincoln Financial Field with Super Bowl rings on their knuckles. And, man, that really bugs the Eagles. There are two things they are tired of seeing a football stuck to -- David Tyree's helmet and those gleaming Lombardi Trophies in the lobby of Giants Stadium. You see, the Giants have won three titles in the past 22 years. The Eagles? None.
The Giants swept the rival Eagles on the way to last year's Super Bowl on the strength of a pass rush that dropped Donovan McNabb a team-record dozen times in a 16-3 September thrashing. Osi Umenyiora had six sacks that day, while Michael Strahan got the club mark of 1331/2. Now, with the former hurt and the latter retired, Justin Tuck has picked up the mantle of potential Pro Bowler and leader of the Giants defensive line going into Sunday's game at Philadelphia. "It's going to be a fight. They're going to be riled-up," Tuck said. "It's a Sunday night, so their fans will have had a long time for tailgating. It'll be exciting."

When asked what he's seen on tape that explains the nine interceptions by the Giants' secondary in the past three games, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said, "I see a lot of mistakes from opposing offenses." What he likely meant was he sees ill-advised passes from opposing quarterbacks. McNabb hasn't thrown an interception against the Giants since Oct. 19, 2003 (the Brian Westbrook 84-yard punt-return touchdown game). He has a streak of 208 passes against the Giants (in only six-plus games, as he missed four because of injury) without being picked.

The instant the name "Justin Tuck" was uttered, before a complete question was even posed, Michael Strahan made it clear where he stood. "You mean Pro Bowler Justin Tuck?" Strahan said, barely needing his cellphone to be heard from California. "Because that's what we should be calling him after the season. I retire and the other leader gets hurt and yet those guys on the defensive line didn't feel sorry for themselves. That impressed me," Strahan said of Tuck, re-converted linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka and tackles Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield.

Derrick Ward he is quick to point out that much of his success is because of the large bodies on the offensive line. They deliver the holes. He comes next. "We provide that service," says tackle Kareem McKenzie. Jacobs is the downhill half of the running duo, the "pound-away guy," says tackle David Diehl. Ward gets most of the third-down assignments, the draw plays. ("Up the middle, outside, down the sideline, wherever they need me.") Open a crease for him, a keyhole, and he's off. Diehl doesn't mind admitting that working in front of Ward, usually one-on-one, is more fun. Or less lumps.

Looking back now, it was the first sign last season that the Giants might be capable of the incredible things they pulled off later during their Super Bowl run. The Giants' defense got 12 sacks in one game against the Eagles, tying an NFL record. Who gets 12 sacks in one game, especially against as mobile a quarterback as Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb? No one on the Giants' defense had ever seen anything like it. "Not high school, not peewee, never," cornerback Aaron Ross said then. But there are no expectations of 12 sacks again. "Not gonna happen," Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said with a laugh yesterday.
Giants Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spent eight seasons as a defensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining Tom Coughlin's staff prior to last season. So he knows what the Philly offense looks like when it is hitting on all cylinders. And how does this season's edition look? "(This is) a team that has more weapons than I have ever seen in my life," said Spagnuolo today. "They are scary, very scary."

Justin Tuck spent over 20 minutes at his locker Thursday raving about how much fun it is to play in Steve Spagnuolo's cleverly disguised defensive schemes. But when asked if the Giants' defensive coordinator is prime head coaching material, Tuck quickly stopped gushing about the man known as Spags. "No, don't put that in the papers," the defensive end pleaded in a half-serious, half-joking manner. "Spags is a great coordinator." If the Giants defense continues to stand out the way it has, Spagnuolo won't be a coordinator much longer.

For all the things the Eagles have taken from the Giants through the years, from Chuck Bednarik leveling Frank Gifford to Herman Edwards' recovery of Joe Pisarcik and beyond, we should probably consider the ledger quite even by now. Because Spagnuolo learned at Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's knee and he brought some of those ideas and a lot of his own with him to the Giants. He made that trip up the Turnpike, and nothing has been the same since.

When the Giants face the Eagles on Sunday, the defense will be on its twice-a-season (at least) Westbrook Watch, and it's hoping to contain him better than the past two times it has had the chance. Though Westbrook has been slowed by ankle and rib injuries that caused him to miss two games this season, the Giants swear he looks fully healthy -- and his two-touchdown, 209 all-purpose yards game two weeks ago against Atlanta speaks to that. "

In the past seven games against them, postseason included, Burress has caught 36 passes for 633 yards and six touchdowns. Cornerback Sheldon Brown has tried to stop him and failed. Fellow defensive back Lito Sheppard hasn't had success, either. And double-teaming Burress with a safety hasn't worked, probably because the Eagles haven't put one guy on another's shoulders. While Asante Samuel estimates he has played "only around 15 percent" of the snaps at right corner, he might follow Burress everywhere. That was the strategy in the 2004 AFC Championship Game, when Burress played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Samuel played for the New England Patriots. And it worked.

The Giants might have another shot at acquiring DeAngelo Hall. The Giants reportedly are one of five teams interested in signing Hall, who was released by the Raiders on Wednesday and went unclaimed on waivers. Hall is expected to make a decision in the next day or two, with the Giants, Redskins, Patriots and Steelers all interested, according to NFL.com. Sources say the Jets are also taking a look at the free-agent cornerback.

Nov 6 One of the most improbable stories in Super Bowl history might have reached its end Wednesday. Or, maybe, that story will get even better. That's up to David Tyree -- again. He was counted out before, of course, the troubled kid who was wasting his talents on drugs and alcohol, the special-teams player who would never make an impact on offense. Then, he made The Catch, fastening that ridiculous heave from Eli Manning onto his helmet for all of eternity. He could never play another down in the NFL, never even step on a practice field, but nobody can take that moment away from him.
David Tyree's unforgettable Super Bowl catch may have been his last in a Giants uniform. The Super Bowl hero saw his season and perhaps Giants career end Wednesday when he was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Tyree had been sidelined since April while recovering from knee surgery. Tyree rehabbed while on the physically unable to perform list but then injured his hamstring shortly after returning to practice on Oct. 15.
He suffered the hamstring strain on the second day back with the Giants. "That's kind of the more difficult part because I knew the knee was good," Tyree said. "There wasn't anything I couldn't do. To go and tweak (the hamstring) just kind of routinely running some routes, when you get a setback like that it's kind of a thing that takes some time, and unfortunately time was something I really didn't have on my side. "I rehabbed it the best I could and did everything in my ability to get back, but I'mprobably a week or two short." Under league rules, the roster decision had to be made by 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The Giants had to activate him, put him on IR or release him by yesterday. They wanted to salvage the season of the special-teams ace and reserve receiver, but it didn't happen. "I'm not going to sit here and act like I'm impenetrable," Tyree said. "It stings, man. You want to play. Knowing that, it's not like I'm really injured, it's just being hurt and getting healthy, and I'm a week or maybe two away from playing and being part of something special. That stings you." Coughlin said Tyree did not try to lobby for his cause. "He actually took it very well," Coughlin said. "He understood the position we were in."
Tyree said he wants to remain with the Giants - he has three years remaining on a six-year, $6.5- million deal he signed in 2006 - and expects to be completely healthy when the team begins preparing for the 2009 campaign. "I don't desire to be anywhere else in my career," he said. "Time was something I didn't have on my side," he said. "The knee felt good but I wasn't able to show them [it] felt good."

The Giants insist they did not bury the Cowboys last week and claim they cannot do away with the Eagles on Sunday night in Philadelphia. Yet we're into the second half of the season and at some point, if the Giants continue to roll through their rivals, it's going to get late for the rest of the NFC East. Can the Eagles (5-3) lose and fall three games behind the Giants (7-1) in the division and believe there's a legitimate shot to catch the frontrunners? "Absolutely," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said yesterday. "There's a whole lot of time."

Derrick Ward keeps track of them. He's always been a guy who loves crunching numbers and figures just as much as crunching defensive backs. "I'm still memorizing stats from when Bo Jackson played," he said yesterday. "I just love stats." He's got plenty to keep tabs on as the unofficial accountant of the Giants' running backs. He's the one who passes along the information to the other guys, telling them how much they average per carry, how many touchdowns they have. So Ward knows more than anyone that the Giants have a chance to do something so special it's happened only three times in NFL history.
Both had seasons shortened by injury last year, but if Jacobs and Ward can stay healthy, they could become the franchise's first duo of 1,000-yard rushers. The Giants' highest total posted by a No. 2 back is Ron Dayne's 770 yards in 2000. "I don't think it's a long shot," Jacobs said, "but we've just got to go out and keep playing football the way we know how." The Giants' ground game is the second-best in the league at the midpoint of the season at 162.6 yards per game, second only to the Falcons' 163.4 ypg. The running backs have also combined for 200 or more yards in three games: against St. Louis (200), Seattle (254) and Dallas (200). Each week, they set their sights even higher.

Eli Manning knows what's coming, because it happens every week. The defense will roll its coverage toward the Giants' No.1 receiver, and there will always be two defenders by Plaxico Burress' side. "Always," Manning said. "Just because people are scared of him." That's the reality of the first half of Burress' season. He's so good and so dangerous, defenses won't leave him alone. The constant double coverage has limited his effectiveness since his 10-catch, 133-yard, opening-night performance. It has made him look like an afterthought in the Giants' passing game, even though teammates still consider him one of the most important players on the field.

Nov 5 Brandon Jacobs was nominated for this week's FedEx Ground Players of the Week Award. Fans can vote for Jacobs until Friday at 11:00 a.m. EST at NFL.com/FedEx. This is the first nomination for Jacobs this year. If Jacobs wins, a $1,000 donation will go to the local Safe Kids coalition in New York. In particular, the donation could go towards painting crosswalks, installing signs, landscaping near sidewalks and playgrounds, installing bike racks, and developing educational programs and events to teach kids about pedestrian safety.

There's an outside chance that Brandon Jacobs (680 yards) and Derrick Ward (437) could give the Giants two 1,000-yard rushers for the first time in history. With the help of Ahmad Bradshaw (167) they're averaging 162.6 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. It's the best 1-2-3 punch, by far, in the league.
While allowing Gibril Wilson to walk was wise, re-signing RB Derrick Ward was bigger. Of course, nobody gave him much of an offer, but that's likely to change when his one-year deal is up next spring. Ward looks slimmer, speedier and more powerful than last year, plus he's finally healthy. He's averaging nearly 55 yards per game as the No. 2 back to Brandon Jacobs.

The kicker: Tom Coughlin's critique that the kickoffs last week were not deep and did not have enough hang time sounds like the first crack in the John Carney armor. There's no doubt Coughlin would have more confidence sending Tynes out to kick a 50-yard field goal than he would Carney, but Carney does have a 48-yarder this season. You know - and so does Coughlin - that as soon as he makes the change, Tynes is going to be asked to make a long kick at a key time and if he misses, look out.

Offensively, the Giants are so deep at wide receiver that two recent second-round draft picks, Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham, take turns being the fifth man dressed each Sunday. The running back duo of Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward has not only coexisted, but flourished sharing the carries. Ahmad Bradshaw hasn't even been needed yet to display his ample talents. And the offensive line continues to stamp itself as possibly the finest in all of football. Just look at how the Steelers' front seven played the entire Monday night game in the Redskins' backfield, tracking down quarterback Jason Campbell. One week earlier, Eli Manning didn't get his jersey dirtied against the same Pittsburgh front.

Is this defense better than last year's? As incredible as it is to imagine, going back to the midpoint of the 2007 season, the answer is yes. Of course, those 70 points in the first two games of that year probably had something to do with it. But the Giants have lowered the yards they allow per game by 35.7 and have allowed seven fewer offensive touchdowns. Besides the ferocious front and confusing blitzes the Giants serve up, their secondary is greatly improved. It's easy to forget that Aaron Ross and Michael Johnson are only in their second NFL seasons, and James Butler and Corey Webster are making the most of their free-agency years.

NFL teams win championships in February. But building a championship team is a 12-month task. That's why the New York Giants with only one Pro Bowler can capture an NFL title in 2007. Giants general manager Jerry Reese doesn't collect names - he builds a team. Reese and his predecessor Ernie Accorsi tapped all six marketplaces in building the Giants into the best team in the NFL.

Nov 4 The Giants have until 4 p.m. Wednesday to decide David Tyree's future with the team, but as of Monday Tyree had no inkling what that decision would be. "We're going to make it as dramatic as possible," he said. Appropriate, given the receiver's dramatic catch in the Super Bowl.After spending the first six weeks of the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list while coming back from offseason knee surgery, Tyree has been permitted to practice with the team for the past three weeks. When that practice window ends Wednesday, the team has three options: add him to the 53-man active roster, place him on injured reserve or release him.
If healthy, Tyree is a force on special teams and when given the opportunity has proven himself as a clutch receiver. Who would go if Tyree is activated? The Giants could part ways with third-year (and seldom-used) receiver Sinorice Moss or they could finally trim one of the two kickers on the roster. John Carney is 18 of 19 on field goals, but his kickoffs have grown increasingly short. Four of his six in the 35-14 victory over the Cowboys did not reach the 10-yard line, and Lawrence Tynes is healthy and waiting in the wings. "We are all aware of the depth of the kickoffs," Coughlin said, "and we didn't get a lot of hang time."

After every one of his 18 field goals and 24 extra points this year, John Carney has done the same thing. He has jogged near midfield, bent down and taken off his shoe. The 44-year-old Giants kicker has developed a technique in which he uses a special right shoe for all of those attempts at points - and then puts on another one for kickoffs. "Different clubs for different shots," he said. The idea came to him when he was playing for the Saints in 2006. He was working on kickoffs with the punters on that team and noticed that their kicking foot seemed to have better traction in the step before contact than his did.

Sure, they beat the Dallas Cowboys, 35-14 - their biggest rout of their rivals in six years - but they had the sense that they got away with a sloppy performance. The Giants' defense was outstanding, but the offense never clicked and three turnovers were far too many. They won big anyway because the Cowboys couldn't get out of their own way. The Giants (7-1) know they won't get away with the same sloppiness in Philadelphia when they face the Eagles (5-3) there on Sunday night.
On another team, Coughlin's insistence that the players come in for light weightlifting and running and a film session of the game just completed might lead to some grumbling. Not these Giants. They have set such a high standard for themselves and raised the expectation level to where any sign of slippage is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. With the rugged Eagles coming up Sunday night in Philadelphia, this is no time for any slight cracks to develop into a larger fissure.

Tom Coughlin often gives the Giants players Monday off after a Sunday victory. But the Giants' head coach brought the players in for work. He wanted to study the recent past with the expectation that it will help the Giants enjoy a successful future. The Giants will next play in what promises to be an ultra-hostile environment Sunday night in Philadelphia against the 5-3 Eagles. That kicks off a second half in which the Giants will get no breathers. Each of the Giants' eight remaining games is against a team that is currently .500 or better. Given all that, Coughlin thought it best to bring the players in for work.
Coughlin said it wasn't the three turnovers by the usually mistake-free Eli Manning that prompted his decision. But the two lost fumbles in the pocket and the interception the Cowboys turned into a touchdown were things that had to be cleaned up. "We don't want to give people any signs of life by virtue of things we do," he said. "Against a team that rushes the passer as well as [the Cowboys] do, you really have to pay particular attention to the natural clock that's ticking and tells you they're close, and the ball security. Eli would be the first one to tell you that."
Manning took responsibility for all three turnovers. He said he held the ball too long on the one stripped by Ware and said he made the wrong read on the intercepted pass, which was intended for Plaxico Burress. In that case, he said, he had pressure coming from his right and should have thrown into it rather than away from it, where he thought there might be a hot route. "I tried to speed up and throw the ball before the outside linebacker gets out there," Manning said.

Giants, all alone in first place atop the most balleyhood division in football; Jets, in a three-way tie for first place atop the most competitive division in football. Want to know how rare? Before this week, there have been only 18 weeks in 48 years when the Jets and Giants were in first place at the same time on or after Nov. 1. Eighteen weeks! And it's only happened in three previous seasons: six weeks in 1997 (the maiden voyages of Bill Parcells in green and Gentleman Jim Fassel in blue). Seven weeks in 1986 (the only legitimate time in 48 years when it was reasonable to dream of a "Semi-Tough" Super Bowl, when following the games of Nov. 16 the Giants were 9-2 and the Jets were 10-1 and seemed to be on a collision course with each other, before the Jets faded like Marty McFly in the family picture). And five weeks in 1985, which meant that it took 25 years before it even happened once!"

NFC East News
Washington lost to the Steelers 23-6 on Monday night. Byron Leftwich led two touchdown drives after Ben Roethlisberger reinjured his throwing shoulder and the Steelers' top-rated defense had seven sacks, allowed only 221 yards and became the first team this season to intercept Jason Campbell.

Nov 3 Giants beat the Cowboys 35-14  |  GAME PHOTOS      GAME PHOTOS

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On The Game: Game 8 Recap Gamegirl... "... Wow. The Giants showed that they are the team to beat. Eli Manning was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, but that didn't take away from the rest of the game he played, considering he threw three touchdown passes. " Mikefan.... "...The Giants defense had the Cowboys off balance for the entire game. I couldn't believe one play where Brad Johnson had plenty of time to throw, and he tossed a ball to Terrell Owens that should have been an easy catch, but it was way out of bounds. That's what defensive pressure can do to you."

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ESPN - Giants hand Romo-less Cowboys third loss in last four games.
Giants.com - Giants defeat Cowboys, 35-14.
Giants.com - Postgame - Tom Coughlin.
NYDailyNews - Giants capitalize on four turnovers, plow Dallas Cowboys 35-14.
NYDailyNews - Giants can now focus on Tampa after dispatching Cowboys.
NYDailyNews - Primary job by the Giants' secondary.
StarLedger - Giants beat Dallas Cowboys, 35-14, behind strong defense, three Manning touchdowns.
StarLedger - Giants' Webster has first multi-interception game of career.
StarLedger - Giants defensive coordinator Spagnuolo not letting up on opponents -- or his players.
StarLedger - Giants' Steve Smith relishes first career touchdown in 35-14 victory over Cowboys.
StarLedger - Dallas Cowboys waiting for Romo to return, make a difference.
Newsday - Giants not laughing after dominating Cowboys.
Newsday - Healthy Eli give Giants advantage over Cowboys.
Newsday - Led by Jacobs, Giants run over Cowboys.
Newsday - Giants defense cuts down Barber, Cowboys in win.
Newsday - Reeling Cowboys could be heading for last roundup.
Record - Now we know why we need Eli healthy.
Record - Giants notebook: Slow start, fast finish.
Record - Cowboys saddled with problems.
NYPost - Giant laugher puts Dallas in NFC East cellar.
NYPost - Not even a fair fight.
NYPost - Webster's pick sends Johnson to the bench.
NYPost - Manning, Burress get their signals crossed.
NYPost - 'Boys now far from favorites.
DallasNews - Witten in lineup, but contributions minimal.
DallasNews - Barber held down by New York's defense.
DallasNews - Dallas Cowboys' backup QB woes a sign of weakness.
DallasNews - Dallas Cowboys defense doesn't deliver.
DallasNews - Dominating win has Giants feeling warm and fuzzy.

NFL Game of the Week: Super Bowl XLII - 18 minute video.
THE PLAY lives on, sprinkling its magic over the weeks and months.

Game 8 Preview - Giants (6-1) vs Dallas (5-3).
The Cowboys broke a two game losing streak with a 13-9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A loss to the Bucs would have put them at .500 with a chance of being under that going into their bye week after the Giants game. They managed it without injured starter Tony Romo. After throwing 3 interceptions in a loss to the Rams in their previous game, backup quarterback Brad Johnson played it ultra careful. He threw no interceptions and even had one touchdown pass (2 yards) on a drive that was seriously helped along by Tampa Bay's four penalties. Brad's 122 yards passing and Cowboys overall offensive total of 172 yards was their fewest ever in a win. The Giants played a high intensity game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and came away with a 21-14 win. The defense played sharp. The offense was weak in the redzone.

Nov 2 Hall of Famer Harry Carson believes the 2008 Giants are better than the 2007 Giants and have a legitimate chance to repeat. "I think this year's team is better," Carson said. "I think even with the personnel that they're missing, I think they're playing well together." Super Bowl Giants again? "You know what, this Giants team is better than most of the teams out there," Carson said. "When they play their brand of football, they can beat anybody in the league. They are one of the elite teams in the National Football League. There is absolutely no reason why they can't repeat."

Yankees-Red Sox is the best rivalry going around here. Giants-Cowboys is next. It's not nearly as personal. The owners of the football teams don't try to out-spend the other, for example. You can sift through an old storage room at Cowboys headquarters and stumble upon a Tom Landry fedora or Jimmy Johnson comb, but not any stolen copies of the Giants' playbook. Players on these teams won't like each other today but might text-message each other tomorrow. This rivalry is more civilized, yet edgy. There's no other option. They have a history. They're stuck in the same division. They're fighting for the same thing. And they think they can go to the Super Bowl.
The Giants and Cowboys had always been rivals, but the playoff game took it to the next level. By winning in Dallas, the Giants ruined what was supposed to be a glorious year for the silver and blue. The day of that playoff game, the Cowboys came into their locker room to find, on their chairs, two tickets for each player to the following week's NFC Championship Game in Dallas. Those tickets became null and void. "That just put it over the edge," Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield said of what the playoff win did to the feelings between the two teams. "We beat them and went on to win the Super Bowl, which is what a lot of people thought that they would do."

The Post's Steve Serby chatted with John Carney, the Giants ' 44-year-old kicker, who is with his seventh team in a career that began in 1988. Q: You understand Lawrence Tynes ' frustration? A: Yeah, and I would be frustrated in his shoes as well. It's kind of a bizarre situation we're in right now, and all I can say is he's handled it like a pro, and I really appreciate that."

Plaxico Burress has six catches for just 39 yards (and one touchdown) in his past two games, and Dallas coach Wade Phillips has promised to double-team Burress virtually every play. "If that's what defenses want to do, that's going to be their approach I'm going to line up and see what we get," Burress said. "We'll work around it. I honestly believe you don't have to go out week in and week out and put up gaudy numbers and dominate a football game."

Former Giants
Kerry Collins spent two nondescript years in Oakland before joining the Titans as a backup to Vince Young in 2006. But after Young suffered a knee injury in this year's regular-season opener, Collins took over as the starter and has been there ever since. And the Titans (7-0) are the NFL's only unbeaten team. That's just one win more than Manning's 6-1 Giants. Are we headed for a Giants-Titans Super Bowl, in which Manning would face the man he replaced?
George Martin never forgets. He did not forget about the September 11 first responders and rescue and recovery workers. Martin brought attention and much-needed research money to their plight by walking across the United States, all 3,003 miles, raising nearly $3 million in his amazing nine-month journey. Martin went through 27 pairs of sneakers and dropped 41 pounds on his journey.

Nov 1 Tom Coughlin and several Giants players swear the Cowboys' offense isn't all that much different with Brad Johnson at the helm instead of Tony Romo. But even Jessica Simpson can tell the difference between her boyfriend's offense and the one led by Brad Johnson the last two weeks while Romo has sat out with a broken pinkie. With Romo under center, the Cowboys averaged 29.1 points, 281.5 yards passing and 2.3 passing touchdowns per game. With the 40-year-old Johnson at the helm, the Cowboys have mustered a total of 27 points and averaged just 178 yards passing in the last two games. Johnson has thrown for only two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Jerry Jones doesn't want Brad Johnson to perform like Tony Romo tomorrow against the Giants New York Giants - more like Don Larsen. "I think we'll have to play the equivalent of a perfect ballgame to stay on the field," the Cowboys owner said in an exclusive interview with The Post this week. Jones has watched his Cowboys stutter and stumble this season, besieged by injuries and underwhelming play. Between the sagas of Adam "Pacman" Jones, Terrell Owens and Tony Romo, Dallas has put the big "D" back in Drama.

The Cowboys are no longer seen as the team to beat in the NFC, no longer thought of as the front-runners. And the Giants, for as much as they embraced the underdog role in July, must realize that November and December have arrived with them as undeniable favorites. They are the team to beat now. They are the team people expect to win every weekend, including this one, when Dallas comes to Giants Stadium for what was supposed to be one of the biggest games of the year. Of course, it isn't anymore. It can't be, not when Dallas is struggling and there are so many reasons why the Giants could take the Cowboys lightly. Dallas' active roster isn't anything like it was supposed to be: No Tony Romo. No Pacman Jones. No Roy Williams (the safety). Maybe no Jason Witten.

Cowboys tight end Jason Witten still hasn't been ruled out of playing with a broken rib, even after missing practice again Friday. Witten hasn't practiced this week with the Cowboys, but the team listed him as questionable for Sunday's game. The four-time Pro Bowl tight end, hurt in last week's victory over Tampa Bay, said he hopes to play. Coach Wade Phillips said Witten could play against the Giants without practicing. "He does everything right in practice, that's why he doesn't need to practice as much," Phillips said.

There's no truth to the rumor it's called the red zone because that is the color coach Tom Coughlin sees when he ponders the Giants missed touchdown opportunities this season. Actually, in Giants' lingo, the red zone is the green zone. Whatever terminology you use, it's a point of concern for a team that has hardly been a model of offensive efficiency in recent weeks. The Giants had six drives last Sunday in Pittsburgh that took them inside the Steelers' 20-yard line, and converted that into just one touchdown. For the season, the Giants have 13 touchdowns in 31 trips to the red zone, a 41.9 percent success rate that ranks 27th in the league.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect with the way rookie cornerback Terrell Thomas filled in against Pittsburgh was that he was playing a different spot than he had practiced all week. Leading up to the game, he was preparing for the inside nickel corner position, where Aaron Ross usually plays in packages with an extra defensive back so he can blitz. But when Kevin Dockery got hurt, Thomas was put on the outside, where Dockery usually lines up.

Dave Tollefson has fit nicely into the Giants' defensive game plan, giving them another fresh, dependable body to throw out there against opposing offensive lines. Tollefson has turned into a valuable commodity and is the team's most productive reserve defensive lineman. Despite being active for only four of the seven games and having seen only about 20 snaps per contest, he ranks fourth on the team behind Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and Fred Robbins in sacks with four.

Kevin Boss on the Dallas game, "Anytime the Cowboys and the Giants face-off, you know it's going to be a real good game. I think it'll help that we faced a really good defense last week with a pair of great outside linebackers since we're going to see some more outstanding linebackers with DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis. Dallas isn't off to the kind of start that they probably thought they'd be off to, but we know that they're a very good football team and it's going to be a great battle."

LB Bryan Kehl, signed by the Giants as a fourth round pick, talks about the Cowboys game in his journal, " I hear the fans are crazy during these games and I cannot wait until 4:15 on national television in front of a sold out rowdy crowd when we take the field and I get my first taste of Giants-Cowboys. It's going to be a heck of a game and hopefully the next time I update my journal we will be 7-1 heading into Philly. I hope to see everyone out there going crazy Sunday afternoon. Go Big Blue!."

Oct 31 With Brad Johnson and not the injured Tony Romo leading the Cowboys into Sunday's game, the Giants are willing to let the 40-year-old veteran - whose teammates nicknamed him "Check down" in training camp because of his preference for shorter, underneath routes - try to beat them. For that to happen, however, they must eliminate another of the Cowboys' weapons: running back Marion Barber.
If the Cowboys are going to upset the heavily favored Giants, Johnson is going to need plenty of support from his running game, which is the sole responsibility of bruising Marion Barber. That leads to a fairly simple rule: Stop Barber, short-circuit the Cowboys. "It escalates it," defensive end Justin Tuck Justin Tuck said. "Especially with a quarterback like Brad who's not as mobile. If you can get Barber off early in a game and establish that running game, that doesn't allow third-and-long situations to allow us to get after the quarterback. Obviously he's our No. 1 focus."
The Giants know all about Barber, who rushed for 228 yards on 50 carries (4.6 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns in three games against them last year, highlighted by a 129-yard performance in the NFC Divisional game in January. Each time they match up against him, stopping him is half of their defensive game plan.

Even after the rings, the parade and all the attention that has come their way after their remarkable Super Bowl run, the Giants still feel like the "all-Joes". Remember, that's what Antonio Pierce called their divisional playoff game against the star-studded Dallas Cowboys last January - "an All-Pro team vs. an all-Joe team." The Giants were stinging from what turned out to be 13 Cowboys being named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad last year, compared to just one Giant (Osi Umenyiora). Nine months and one championship later, there's no doubt that snub still stings.

Though a Giants victory Sunday wouldn't officially end the Cowboys' season, it would severely damage Dallas' chances of winning the division - or even making the playoffs. Strahan said he believes the way to get another big win over Big D is to go after Brad Johnson, who has stepped in for Romo. "Without Romo, who is a mobile quarterback and throws extremely well on the run, you really have a quarterback back there that's a sitting duck and that's not going to fare too well," Strahan said about the Cowboys' 40-year-old backup quarterback.

This is the message today for the world champion Giants: Don't you dare. Don't you dare believe you are Supermen, immune to Kryptonite, who can strut onto your home field and wait for the wounded Cowboys to swoon at your feet. Don't believe the hype because this becomes a trap game if you do. Because if the Cincinnati Bengals, quarterbacked by Ryan Fitzpatrick, can give you a life-and-death scare at Giants Stadium, then the Cowboys, quarterbacked by Brad Johnson or Brooks Bollinger or even Jerry Jones, surely can. This is NFL 2008, where the Dolphins can shock the Patriots up in Foxborough, where squirrels like the Chiefs can find an acorn against the Broncos. So beware the 'Boys. They promise they will. "Don't worry," Justin Tuck tells Giants fans. "We won't."

The last time the Giants played the Cowboys, in the NFC Divisional Game, cornerback Corey Webster was on his way to becoming a clutch cornerback. And he showed it by slowing down receiver Terrell Owens, holding him to four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown. That performance -- along with several others in the Giants' Super Bowl run -- gave Webster confidence heading into this season. This weekend, he'll get the chance to do it again, when the Giants host the Cowboys.

There is no Giants player who qualifies as more of unsung hero status than defensive tackle Fred Robbins Fred Robbins . He rarely gets the accolades of heralded defensive ends Justin Tuck Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka Mathias Kiwanuka , but quietly is an effective and at times dominating defender. Robbins is second on the team behind Tuck with 5 1/2 sacks, and he is part of a front group that successfully shuts down opposing running games. Robbins, though, is hurting.
DT Fred Robbins intends to play Sunday despite a hand injury that remains sore. Robbins said Thursday that he has no broken bones, but that he will wear protective gear on the hand against the Cowboys. After skipping Wednesday's practice, Robbins participated on a limited basis Thursday. "I'm good, I'm ready to go," Robbins said. "I just took a day off to get it healed up a little. It's just a little banged up."

Chris Snee admitted Thursday that the aftermath of last weekend's bruising victory over Pittsburgh left him as sore as he's been all season. And yet the Giants' guard knows the worst is yet to come. With five of the next seven games against NFC East teams, beginning Sunday at home against Dallas, the Giants know they are in for a beating. And not only taking one, but delivering one as well, because that's what NFC East football is all about. And how the Giants survive the remainder of their division schedule will go a long way in determining their postseason fate.

Amani Toomer will make a catch, every so often, that turns a game, a season around. Did it again last Sunday against the Steelers, when the Giants were pushing through another game when they thought the red zone was a malaria zone. (Days like that, it's hard to believe they're actually 6-1.) They were losing, 14-9, fourth down on the Steelers' 34, halfway into the last quarter, when Eli Manning spotted Toomer streaking down the right side. The wide receiver's sensational catch - can you tell I root for the guy? - made it possible for the Giants to add their fourth field goal. They were still behind, but Toomer's grab brought them out of their coma. "He is so reliable," gushed Tom Coughlin. (OK, it was more like a semi-gush.) "He gets his hands on it, he is going to catch the ball."

Oct 30 Special Report - the Giants are going to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Giants Stadium, in a game that can mean everything to their hopes for a return to that post-season Promised Land. And they are going to face the biggest offensive line in captivity, according to gnomes in the Giants research department who came up with 1,637 pounds for the five starters -- tackles Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo, guards Cory Proctor and Leonard Davis and center Andre Gurode. Davis is the "big kid" of the quintet at 353 pounds; Proctor, a guard (normally a sub center) is the baby at 308.

The Giants spent almost all of last season chasing the Dallas Cowboys, and they didn't catch them until their divisional playoff game. Even then, they needed every last play before they finally disposed of their hated rivals. It'd be a relief if they could put the Cowboys away right now. And now is the time to do it, since the Cowboys have an all-star squad on their injury list, beginning with Tony Romo, out at least another week with a broken pinkie.

Backup Brad Johnson will start his third straight game for the Cowboys. Despite Phillips' apparent reluctance to name Johnson the starter earlier this week, and reports that the team was open to trying third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger, Phillips said Johnson isn't on a short leash. "I think he has plenty of room" for error, Phillips said. "We won the last game, and that was important for us. So we will just go from there."
Phillips said regular QB Tony Romo (broken pinkie) definitely will not play, but will return for the game against Washington following next week's bye. Brooks Bollinger will be Johnson's backup Sunday. Decisions on the availability of TE Jason Witten (broken rib) and CB Anthony Henry (thigh) will be made later in the week, according to the coach.

The big plays down the field the past two games haven't been there for Plaxico Burress, but he has been around long enough to know how things work. "One thing I've learned playing this position, when it rains it pours," Burress said yesterday. "When it comes, it comes in bunches." It might be a downpour on Sunday when the Giants take aim at a depleted Cowboys secondary that could be overmatched against Burress and the arsenal of receivers at Eli Manning's disposal.
Burress had five catches for 29 yards combined in the last two games against the Cowboys last season. "You have to double him; you have to double him. He's just a good receiver," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said Wednesday during a conference call with local media. "(Eli) Manning can get him the ball in all kinds of situations. You just have to double him as much as you can. We tried to do that. We'll try to do that this game."

In the team's last three games, Plaxico Burress has caught 10 passes for 97 yards, an average of 32.3 yards a game. He didn't gain more than 25 yards on any of his catches. In his first three games this season, the lanky wideout had 18 catches for 259 yards, an average of 86.3 yards a game. He had a reception of at least 28 yards in each game. He did catch two of his three touchdown passes in the previous three games. But in Sunday's 21-14 victory in Pittsburgh, Burress had three receptions for a season-low 15 yards.
Burress isn't the only high-profile receiver to come up short of on-the-field expectations. He need only look across the field Sunday against the Cowboys to see Terrell Owens, who hasn't caught a pass longer than 20 yards in three weeks. Two of those weeks were with backup quarterback Brad Johnson chucking it to him - as he will Sunday - but others such as Chad Johnson and Randy Moss are enduring what are considered (for them) off years.

At least Plaxico Burress sounds like he gets it. The Giants receiver yesterday came as close to sounding contrite about all the distraction he has caused around the team with the suspension and myriad fines that he has accrued in recent weeks. In fact, Burress even admitted to screwing up. "I'm human," he said. "I have made some mistakes. I haven't made the best of decisions. I'm aware of that, and I am the first one to look myself in the mirror, be honest with myself and say that."

In praising K John Carney, Coughlin mentioned that the 44-year-old was "as concerned about Lawrence Tynes as anybody in the building." So I asked him if he was concerned about Tynes, too. "No," Coughlin said. "We continuously talk to Lawrence and I think he is very much aware of how we are trying to do this and I think that he understands it. I'm sure he doesn't like it. He's a competitor. Why would he? But at the same token, he is a member of the team and does as good a job as he can to understand the circumstance." That doesn't sound like a man contemplating a kicker switch this week.

Osi Umenyiora appeared on "Inside the NFL" last night saying that had he not been placed on injured reserve he might have been able to contribute to the team later this season and that he wished his teammates had Plaxico Burress' back a little more. "The knee is about a month ahead of schedule and it's supposed to be about a four-month rehab," he said. "So, toward the middle or end of December, I would be ready to play." Umenyiora, who underwent surgery on his meniscus after an injury in a preseason game, said he doesn't think the Giants did the wrong thing by placing him on season-ending injured reserve. But he did think that some of his teammates could have been more supportive of Burress during his recent run-ins with the Giants.

Oct 29 Lawrence Taylor had his share of run-ins with his coach, and occasionally pushed the boundaries of Bill Parcells' rule book. But he knew there was a line he was never supposed to cross. And he knows that's something Plaxico Burress still has to learn. "You've got to realize that it's all right to be an individual," Taylor told the Daily News Tuesday. "I'm all for being an individual. You do your thing. But you're still not above the team. When it starts to disrupt the team, then you have to revisit it and look at it and see if you're doing it right."
The Burress situations right now are sideshows. When they start costing the Giants victories, they'll be moved to center stage. And that's when somebody will owe somebody an apology. Burress wasn't the only wide receiver not playing on Sunday. The Steelers' Santonio Holmes was deactivated for the game after he was hit with a marijuana charge earlier in the week. What happened? The Steelers threw four interceptions and lost to the Giants. Would Holmes have helped his team win that game? Even if he's never practiced long-snapping in his life, the answer is almost certainly yes. That's why on Monday night, back on the team's active roster, Holmes addressed the team in a meeting and apologized.

The general consensus two months ago was that Dallas would probably not lose more than three games all season, but here is the league's most loved and despised team staggering to its bye week. It's no wonder safety Ken Hamlin said, "To go into the halfway part of our season at 5-3 is pretty good." What can be viewed as "pretty good" can also be seen as "pretty rotten." The Cowboys can be labeled the NFL's most disappointing and dysfunctional team, ravaged by injuries and controversy, steered by an owner who is too involved and a head coach who isn't.
Jerry Jones trumps or usurps Wade Phillips' authority constantly. When reporters told a surprised Phillips two weeks ago that Jones had just said Romo might start the St. Louis game with his fractured finger after all (Romo didn't), Phillips - not for the first time - tried to recover by cracking, "Whatever Jerry says, I'm going with." Jones also patrols the Dallas bench and gives in-game advice and pep talks to players. He just turned 66, but that didn't stop him from running pass patterns in practice after Romo got hurt to check the velocity on Romo's passes. (Where's the YouTube video when you really need it?)

The Giants haven't needed him, but they may be kicking themselves for their decision. Umenyiora is progressing well and said he could be ready by the end of the season - only he's ineligible to play before 2009. "I got off crutches about a week and half, two weeks ago," Umenyiora said yesterday while at the ESPN Zone in Times Square to promote a video game. "I'm doing some jogging, some light drills. I'm progressing pretty well and I'm a little bit ahead of schedule."

We're at the halfway point of the season and the NFC East is wide open. It looks like the Giants are the class of the division, and they can fortify that claim by beating the Cowboys this week in a huge division game. And that's just the start of the intradivisional intrigue. There will be four games matching NFC East teams in November. As it stands now, they're all among the best teams in football, which is why they're all in the top 10 of the CBSSports.com Power Rankings.

Jordan Shapiro and Sydney Shapiro went to the Town Centre with their baby-sitter, Debi Dalrymple, to pick up some dinner. After all, food is important. Well, food and, of course, the Giants. "We just went to get some veggie burgers at the supermarket," Dalrymple said. "I saw the balloons and I thought they were cute." Those balloons hanging outside the Last Licks ice cream parlor/sports memorabilia store weren't just there for show. The Giants' Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress made a visit to the shop last night to sign autographs, take pictures and talk Giants football with some fans. "As soon as I saw the sign, I slammed on the brakes and pulled into the first spot I saw," said Dalrymple, who resides in Mount Kisco. "We had no plans, so we decided to sit and wait the two hours to meet them."

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