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The New York Giants appear to have addressed their need at linebacker by trading their fifth-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for former first-round pick Keith Rivers. There are multiple reports that say the deal is done, though the Giants have yet to announce it. And Rivers himself sent out a tweet that quoted "Theme from New York, New York," though he attributed the quote to "Frank Santria."

Regardless of his knowledge of New York/New Jersey-based music legends, Rivers is a nice pickup for the Giants for the price. He was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2008 draft and a productive player for Cincinnati early in his career. He was available for such a low price (the 167th overall pick in this year's draft) because the Bengals don't have room for him in their starting lineup anymore and because he missed the 2011 season with a wrist injury. Health has been an issue for Rivers, but if he can stay healthy he's an upgrade at a position where the Giants were planning to lean heavily on second-year players.

With Dave Tollefson having signed with the Raiders, the Giants may need Mathias Kiwanuka to play more defensive end in 2012. And there has been talk of moving Michael Boley to middle linebacker, though the team has not yet decided how it will align all of its linebackers at this point. One thing this move does seem to ensure is that the Giants will not be bringing back free agent linebacker Jonathan Goff, who has drawn interest from the Dolphins and Browns.

The Giants did announce the signing of offensive lineman Sean Locklear, an eight-year veteran who started four games for the Washington Redskins in 2011. Locklear can play guard or tackle, but the Giants' greater need is at tackle, which Locklear said in the team's official press release is his preferred position. In fact, he said right tackle is his favorite, and the Giants currently do not have a starter there as Kareem McKenzie is a free agent. They could fill that position in the draft or by moving David Diehl there, but at this point Locklear is in the mix as a backup at both tackle positions and, if he performs well enough in the preseason, possibly a candidate for the right tackle job.

So yeah, busy day for the champs, who aren't likely to do much more before the draft. Rivers is scheduled to earn $2.16 million in 2012, and the Giants only had about $3.4 million in salary cap space left when we checked in on that last week.

If you're like me, when you heard the part of the ugly Gregg Williams audio that touches on the concussion history of 49ers receiver/return man Kyle Williams, you flashed back to the aftermath of the NFC Championship Game. Remember? When Giants special-teamers Devin Thomas and Jacquian Williams said they'd known about Kyle Williams' concussion history and played with that in mind? Here's a rundown from late January in the New York Times:

"The thing is, we knew he had four concussions, so that was our biggest thing, to take him out of the game," Jacquian Williams said of Kyle Williams, who had replaced the injured Ted Ginn Jr. as San Francisco’s punt returner.

Devin Thomas, a wide receiver and special-teams player who recovered the ball both times, said: "He's had a lot of concussions. We were just like, 'We've got to put a hit on that guy.' "

The Giants went into spin-control mode a few days later, with players such as Justin Tuck and Michael Boley saying they'd never gone into a game with the intent to injure anyone. And NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in that same Times story that the Giants were in no trouble from the league because "players are held accountable for their actions on the field" and "there were no illegal hits to the head or neck area against Kyle Williams on Sunday. There was no conduct by the Giants of any kind that would suggest an effort to injure Kyle Williams in any way."

When I reached out to Aiello on Thursday to ask him about this issue, he referred me to those comments and the Giants' denials and reiterated that the Giants were in the clear as far as the league is concerned. And that makes sense. After all, there's nothing to indicate that the league is going to take any action against Williams for the audio that came to light Thursday morning courtesy of Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver. That tape would seem to be just more dirt on the grave of Williams' NFL coaching career, as Mike Sando points out.

Here's what I think about all of this:

It seems clear that it's completely routine for opposing players' injuries to be discussed in defensive team meetings. It seems clear, in spite of the denials after the fact, that Williams' concussion history was a topic of discussion among Giants defensive and special-teams players (and likely coaches) before the NFC Championship Game. I mean, no way did Devin Thomas and Jacquian Williams just think that up independently during postgame interviews. Their lockers were clear across the room from each other.

But it's entirely possible that such issues are raised in non-aggressive ways. There's nothing to indicate that the Giants' plan, knowing Kyle Williams had a concussion history, was to give him another concussion. It might well be that the discussion was about whether the concussion history would lead Williams to shrink from a big hit, or do something potentially game-changing, like muff a critical punt deep in his own territory, if the Giants made a point to be physical with him. Scaring or intimidating a guy would seem to be fair game. Intent to injure, which is what they have Gregg Williams and Sean Payton for based on evidence that predates the 2011-12 playoffs, is a far different thing. And whether the Giants were talking about Kyle Williams' concussions before that game or not, there's no evidence that they set out to injure him. Thomas said as much to Newsday's Bob Glauber in the days that followed:

"It was more about understanding personnel," Thomas said. "You want to find every strength and weakness you can. The whole concept of him having concussions is you know he's been hit a lot. I've had a concussion. When you get rattled like that, your judgment sometimes changes. You worry about getting hit instead of worrying about protecting the ball or whatnot. He's the backup returner, so he's being put in a huge role for a huge game. There's things like that that you key on putting an emphasis on putting a good hit on him. Legal hit, no cheap shots. Let's see if we can get a turnover."

Thomas said the Giants weren't attempting to give Williams another concussion. "That's not the concept," he said. "It's just going after somebody knowing you can do something to change the game."

Fine lines? Sure. But these are the kinds of discussions that will dominate in the present and future NFL. This league is being sued pretty much weekly by hundreds of former players who claim it covered up their injuries. Whether fans like it or not, player safety has become a paramount issue for the NFL, and it will continue to take it very seriously. If the Giants had been flagged for even one illegal hit to the head of Kyle Williams in the NFC Championship Game and then said what their players said after the game, they'd likely be in huge trouble. That they weren't could be good fortune, could be coincidence, or it could reflect the difference between big pregame psych-up bluster and the reality that most players aren't comfortable with the idea of trying to injure (or re-injure) someone.

In the end, my conclusion is that it might be a good idea for coaches and players to stop pointing out their opponents' specific pre-existing injuries in their pregame meetings. That seems like a lesson everybody would do well to take from today.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The New York Giants are well aware that the big story of this Super Bowl week is the condition of Rob Gronkowski's sprained ankle. To a man, they are all saying they expect the New England Patriots' huge tight end to play Sunday night. They admit that he poses a significant enough challenge that their defensive game plan must fluctuate depending on whether he plays, but they also believe their personnel gives them a good chance against him.

I was speaking this morning with Giants linebackers coach Jim Herrmann about Mathias Kiwanuka and the transition Kiwanuka made in training camp from full-time defensive end to outside linebacker, and he said that having someone Kiwanuka's size at the linebacker position helps against these huge tight ends that are suddenly popping up all over the league. Kiwanuka's ability to bother the tight end at the line of scrimmage is a factor.

"Anytime you have someone who can reach over and tickle their nose, that helps," Herrmann said. "Kiwi's got those long arms."

Matt Williamson writes in this Insider "Scouts Chatter" piece that the Giants are equipped to handle Gronkowski and fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez because they can do so many things in coverage with their three safeties, linebacker Michael Boley and Kiwanuka, who Matt says "is adept at rerouting tight ends at the line of scrimmage."

What will be interesting to see, assuming Gronkowski does play, is how effective he'll be on a bad ankle. James Walker asked him this morning if he'd consider wearing a special, larger cleat for the game to accommodate possible in-game swelling, and it sounds like something the Patriots are considering.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A few thoughts on the New York Giants' 37-20 playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

What it means: Well, it means the Giants are one game away from the Super Bowl. The defeated the 15-1 Packers on the Packers' home field and now get a chance to avenge another of their regular-season losses next week in San Francisco. It also seems to give credence to the theory that playing at playoff-level intensity in the weeks leading up to the playoffs can give a team an advantage.

Who are these guys?: These are not the same Giants that were losing four straight games to fall to .500 and into second place a little more than a month ago. We knew they were tough, and that Eli Manning was a fourth-quarter assassin. But during those tough November/December days, it did not appear as though the Giants had the manpower to win these kinds of games against these kinds of teams. They are healthier now, and they look as focused, driven and confident as any team left in the field. And they are a legitimate threat to bring home the fourth Super Bowl trophy in franchise history.

Discipline deep: The Giants looked lost in coverage in the first quarter, as they did for most of the season. But they tightened up in the second and made plays in the secondary all day when it counted. Green Bay helped out by dropping its share of passes, but Antrel Rolle led the way for a clearly fired-up Giants secondary, and for maybe the first time all year it looked as though the front four was feeding off what the guys on the back end were doing. Michael Boley got two sacks from the linebacker position as the Giants tried everything they could to get Aaron Rodgers to stop beating them with his legs. Most importantly, the Giants stayed disciplined in the secondary, so that even when they didn't break up the pass, there was a safety and/or a cornerback there to keep the gain from turning into a big, backbreaking one. It wasn't always pretty, but they did an excellent job of keeping the Packers' explosive offense in front of them, and they benefited as a result.

Winning the turnover battle: The Packers are plus-23 in the turnover category during the regular season. But the Kansas City Chiefs -- until Sunday, the only team to have beaten them -- didn't turn the ball over at all against them. And the Giants had a 3-1 turnover edge in Sunday's game. Manning threw an interception, but the Giants recovered three Green Bay fumbles to seize the edge in a category that routinely decides games in the NFL.

Who's No. 1?: Victor Cruz has been the headline-grabber in New York this year, and for good reason. But Hakeem Nicks showed everybody he's still the best wide receiver the Giants have. Nicks turned in the long catch-and-run that's becoming a Giants' staple -- a 66-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. He caught the Manning Hail Mary in the end zone that gave the Giants a shocking 20-10 halftime lead. He finished with seven catches for 165 yards and made the biggest plays of the day.

Big plays at the right time: The Giants were 8-for-15 on third-down conversions for the game. The Packers were 6-for-11, which might have been the story if the game had swung the other way. But on this day, the Giants had the better offense.

What's next: The Giants will travel to San Francisco, where they will play the 49ers in the NFC Championship game at 6:30 pm ET. The winner of that game will advance to Super Bowl XLVI two weeks later in Indianapolis.

The New York Giants you see before you -- a team that has made it to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs -- are not the same New York Giants we watched for most of this season. Their enthusiasm and effectiveness bear little, if any, resemblance to that of the team that lost five of six games from mid-November to mid-December. What's the difference? Well, there are many. And each day this week, leading up to the playoff game Sunday in Green Bay, we'll take a look at a player or players who have helped turn these Giants from a mid-pack pretender to a Final Eight contender.

Today: LB Chase Blackburn

The Giants decided not to bring back Blackburn last offseason opting instead to go with a rookie corps at linebacker even once Jonathan Goff and Clint Sintim went down with preseason injuries. But the November injuries to Michael Boley and Mark Herzlich were too much, and so the Giants called their old friend and brought him back Nov. 29. He started the very next game -- the one against the Packers on Dec. 4 -- and came up with an interception of Aaron Rodgers. He wasn't even on the flip card yet, and he wasn't wearing his old uniform number. A week earlier, he was working out the details of a substitute math teaching gig in Ohio. It's possible his was the most surprising interception Rodgers threw all season.

"I think he'll know who No. 93 is this time," Blackburn said earlier this week.

Blackburn's return has brought stability to the Giants' middle linebacker position, which never attained that following the Goff injury. Rookies Greg Jones, Jacquian Williams and Herzlich all took their turns in the middle, but things remained unsettled, as they often do with rookies, and the Giants suffered for it. Had Herzlich not injured his ankle, they might have continued to roll with the rookies. They take the middle linebacker off the field on passing downs anyway, and they don't view it as the most essential position in their defensive scheme.

But having Blackburn back and manning the middle has helped in ways the Giants didn't foresee. The most important element he brings is familiarity. He's played here before. He knows the scheme, the system, the terminology.

"Think about it," Boley said. "You bring in a guy in Week 13 and he's never been here before, he has to spend a lot of time just learning what things are called. He's catching up. But with Chase, there was no catching up. The stuff we do is exactly the same as it was when he was here before. So he just slid right in."

The Giants' defense still runs off the big guys up front -- the four-man pass rush. And the play of the secondary is likely to matter more and get more attention this week in the playoff game in Green Bay. But Blackburn's contribution since he arrived Week 13 has been quietly significant, if for no other reason that it's allowed the Giants to stop moving pieces around as much as they were before he returned. He's made plays. He's fit in. He's been everything the Giants needed when they went out looking for a substitute linebacker in late November. And more, almost certainly, than they expected.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — They gave up 360 passing yards the last time they played the Green Bay Packers, and that wasn't even the worst day of the season for the New York Giants' secondary. It is not the strength of their team, and the main reason it's looked better lately is the effective aggressiveness of the defensive line as it pressures quarterbacks. But while he's clearly not ready to proclaim that all is well on the back end, Giants coach Tom Coughlin believes his secondary will be better in Sunday's playoff rematch in Green Bay than it was in the 38-35 Week 13 loss at the Meadowlands.

"We're definitely going to be tested in the secondary, obviously," Coughlin said before Wednesday's practice. "There has been improvement — a plastering effect, if you will. Much better than it was a few short weeks ago. I think that's the growth of the confidence that comes from the pass rush, to the ability to stop the run and then to be able to execute on the back end — knowing full well that naturally there's yardage to be gained but nevertheless that we stay away from the big play."

Against the Packers, with their dynamic and myriad receiving threats and quarterback Aaron Rodgers' pinpoint accuracy, that's the best for which you can hope. The Giants must trust their pass rushers to harass Rodgers and then make sure their cornerbacks and safeties don't get burned for anything too deep. Rodgers can beat them by throwing short all the way down the field, but at least if you force him to play that way you're giving yourself more chances to make a play to stop him or get a turnover.

"We have to do our job in the secondary and make sure we take away their wide receivers," safety Antrel Rolle said. "I understand they're an awesome opponent, but then again so are we. I wouldn't put any opponent on a pedestal."

One thing the Giants have going in their favor is that they're much healthier on defense than they were in the first Green Bay game. That day, linebacker Michael Boley was still coming back from a hamstring injury. Chase Blackburn had just been signed off the street. Osi Umenyiora was out with an ankle injury. Safety Kenny Phillips hurt his knee in the second quarter and had to come out of the game. Safety Deon Grant said Wednesday he remembers the all-hands-on-deck feeling from a game in which he had to spend some time at middle linebacker.

"A lot of guys were just out there guessing," Grant said. "So I think the biggest thing this time will be the ability to play full-speed and just being concise on everything with everybody in the right place and knowing what they're supposed to do."

Will it be enough to slow down Rodgers & Co.? We'll find out Sunday. But the Giants definitely go into this game feeling better equipped to do so than they did six weeks ago.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — When people disappear for a few weeks, it can be easy to forget them. The New York Giants played long stretches of this season without defensive end Osi Umenyiora, but many Giants fans shrugged it off. Jason Pierre-Paul was playing so well on the side opposite Justin Tuck that it didn't much matter. Umenyiora had been effectively replaced.

But then Umenyiora shows up for the final game of the season, finally healthy enough to play in the same game as Pierre-Paul and Tuck, and we are reminded. He flashes his game-disrupting speed off the edge, sacks Tony Romo twice and reminds everybody about the way the Giants' defense was supposed to work all along. Is he better than Pierre-Paul? Debatable right now. But if Umenyiora is the third-best pass-rusher on his team, as Eagles running back LeSean McCoy famously tweeted last summer, then his team has one heck of a pass rush.

"To be able to put those combinations together and feature those guys and the outstanding pass rushers that they are, it's going to give us a real good shot in the arm," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "You can't double everybody. To have the defense play well, it gives us a chance to play some Giants football."

I think that's a really good way to put it: Gives them a chance. There's this rush today all of a sudden to compare these Giants to the 2007 version that finished the year hot, put together a run and knocked off the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And I understand. Comparisons like that are what we do. Plus, same quarterback, same coach, some of the same players we all know won't be affected by playoff pressure... and a defensive front capable of getting pressure on the quarterback without blitzing. That's what wrecked Tom Brady's undefeated season, and the Giants the last couple of weeks have played defense well enough to remind people of the way they played it that year.

"The way those guys rush, it's just like blitzing," Giants linebacker Michael Boley said. "For them to get up there and rush the way they rush, that takes a lot of pressure off of us in the back end."

Which is the plan, of course, but let's not get too crazy here. The Super Bowl champion Giants of four years ago were a much more complete team than this one is. They had the fourth-best rushing offense in the NFL that year, for example, averaging 134.3 yards per game on the ground. This year's Giants were the worst rushing offense in the league, at 89.2. That year's team had Antonio Pierce playing middle linebacker — a spot currently manned by rookies when it's manned at all. And whatever you want to say about this year's great pass rushers, not one of them is — at least to this point in his career — Michael Strahan-great.

Four years ago, the play of the defensive line elevated the Giants from "good playoff team" to "world champion." This year's defensive line, if it can continue to play the way it played Sunday night, elevates the Giants from "mediocre, flawed team that got outscored by its opponents in the regular season" to "team that might be able to make some noise." The 2007-08 run was a once-in-a-lifetime treat. Even if the Giants do make another one this year, it will stand on its own in team history, built more on clutch performance by this year's stars than on a four-year-old formula for success. But they will need the defense to make it happen.

"We have a very good offense, an outstanding quarterback, and as long as we're able on defense to help keep the team in the game, we have a chance to do something special," Umenyiora said.

A chance, yes. Eli Manning and his receivers can put points on the board with anyone -- yes, even the Packers and the Saints. The question is whether the defense can keep the other team from scoring more. The Cowboys' receivers were consistently beating the Giants' defensive backs Sunday night, but the Giants' pass rush didn't give Romo enough time to find them. That's the formula. If they can't get to Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan consistently and violently on Sunday afternoon, Ryan and his receivers will torch them. If they do that and can't get to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers the following week in Green Bay, Rodgers and his receivers will torch them.

Right now, though, it looks as though the Giants can get to the quarterback -- maybe as effectively as they have all season. And if they can do that, then yes, they will have a chance.

The New York Giants will get starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw and linebacker Michael Boley back for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. But starting center David Baas was a surprise late addition to the Giants' inactive list due to headaches, leaving New York extremely thin on an offensive line that already ranked as one of its major problems.

With starting left tackle Will Beatty out indefinitely following eye surgery, left guard David Diehl will slide over and play left tackle for the second game in a row. Kevin Boothe, who played guard Monday night in New Orleans, will start at center in place of Baas. And reserve lineman Mitch Petrus will make the first start of his career and be the left guard.

Compounding the problem is that reserve tackle Stacy Andrews has been hospitalized with pulmonary embolisms in both of his lungs.

The good news, however, is the return of Bradshaw, who missed four games with a broken foot and was better earlier in the year at finding the few holes the Giants' line could open up for him than Brandon Jacobs has been since. Bradshaw's return also will help the passing game, since he's Eli Manning's most reliable screen target and one of the best pass-protection running backs in the league.

The defense also will get a boost from the return of Boley, who has been one of the Giants' best defensive players this year but missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. Boley provides a veteran presence in an otherwise very young linebacking corps. For most of the year, he has been the defensive player with the speaker in his helmet, in charge of relaying the signals from the sideline to his teammates.

Wide receiver Mario Manningham is also inactive and will miss his second game in a row with a knee injury. Linebacker Mark Herzlich, defensive end Osi Umenyiora, defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy and running back Da'Rel Scott round out the list of Giants inactives.

The New York Giants' Friday injury report is the most encouraging one in a month for Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants' starting running back, who has missed the past four games due to a broken bone in his foot, practiced on a limited basis Friday and looks as though he might play Sunday against the Packers. The Giants have listed him as "questionable," but Bradshaw said earlier in the week that he was planning to play, and Giants coach Tom Coughlin thinks he has a chance. Per Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger:

Asked whether he can take Bradshaw's word for how he feels, Coughlin replied, "I saw what I saw and that’s what we’ll go on, and what the trainers and doctors tell me in the morning as to what he can do and what he can’t do. We’ll listen to all of that before we make a decision."

He added, "He wants to play, he wants to do it, he’s tried to do everything we’ve asked him to do. Today he practiced enough. We’ll see how he did."

Now, Bradshaw's return isn't automatically going to take the worst rushing offense in the league and turn it into the 1972 Dolphins. And even if he does play, the foot is likely to limit him at least somewhat. But having him back would help in a couple of specific ways. The Giants' screen game has totally vanished without Bradshaw, who at the time of his injury (and even a couple of weeks into it) had accounted for the highest percentage of his team's screen-pass targets of any player in the NFL according to ESPN Stats & Information. Bradshaw is also a huge asset in pass protection, as he's one of the top running backs in the league in blitz pickup. And yes, while the problems with the Giants' run game this year have mainly been the fault of poor offensive line play, Bradshaw at this point in his career is more likely to be able to find holes where none appear to be than is Brandon Jacobs.

So as the Giants get set to take on the undefeated Super Bowl champion Packers, try to snap their three-game losing streak and stay within shouting distance of the division-leading Cowboys, they have to be encouraged by the idea that Bradshaw might be able to play at all Sunday.

Also encouraging was the fact that linebacker Michael Boley, who has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, practiced some Friday. He's also listed as questionable, and the team doesn't seem as optimistic on him as it does on Bradshaw, but it's possible they could get one of their best defensive players back for this game.

Less encouraging is the news on wide receiver Mario Manningham, who's doubtful due to a knee injury and said earlier this week that he may need surgery. Very disappointing year for Manningham, who had hoped to earn the kind of larger role in the passing game that Victor Cruz has seized with his brilliant play. Manningham has been unable to do so and is now hurt.

NEW ORLEANS -- A New York Giants' offense already without its left tackle and starting running back will be even more shorthanded in the "Monday Night Football" matchup against the Saints. Wide receiver Mario Manningham is listed among the inactive players for the game after missing practice all week with a knee injury. That will leave quarterback Eli Manning without one of his top passing-game targets in a game that could be a shootout against Drew Brees and the Saints.

Manningham hasn't had a great season to this point, having fallen to third in the wide receiver pecking order behind Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. But he's someone for whom defenses have to account when he's on the field, and the dropoff to Ramses Barden or Jerrel Jernigan or whoever will end up replacing him is steep. With a running game that ranks dead last in the league in rush yards per game, the Giants count on their passing game to drive the offense.

Also inactive for the game, as expected, are running back Ahmad Bradshaw (out for the fourth game in a row with a foot injury), linebacker Michael Boley (out for the second game in a row with a hamstring injury) and left tackle Will Beatty, who had surgery Thursday to repair the retina in his right eye and could be out for quite a while. Defensive back Derrick Martin, defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy and offensive lineman James Brewer round out the list of Giants inactives.

Running back Chris Ivory and linebacker Jonathan Vilma are the most significant inactives for the Saints. This will be the third game Vilma has missed due to a knee injury.

If the New York Giants keep losing games -- as their schedule, their injuries and a number of other factors certainly indicate that they could -- their 2011 season will fall neatly into a recent historical pattern. Fast starts and weak finishes have, with the one glorious exception, been the hallmark of Tom Coughlin's Giants teams. And if this team, which started 6-2, misses the playoffs for the third year in a row, the comparisons will come quickly and far too easily. "Another second-half collapse," everyone will moan as they wonder about Coughlin's job security and why the Giants can't seal the deal in December. There will be much time devoted to discussions of what can be done to change this, and what it is about the way the Giants do business that lends itself to poorer play in colder weather.

It's easy to see all of this happening, and that's too bad. Because no matter how this Giants team finishes -- whether it surprises us all by winning games it looks as though it shouldn't or whether it limps home the way many are predicting it will -- this season is not just some repeat of 2009 or 2010. A poor finish here would be more correction than collapse -- an inevitability that had been obscured by the hot start. The shame would be that people would forget that these Giants already have outperformed reasonable preseason expectations -- that their mere presence in the race at this point in the season means they've overcome a great deal and shown as much heart and grit as any team in the league.

This week the Giants will play the Saints in New Orleans on "Monday Night Football." It's the fourth game in a six-game stretch most observers believed would define their season. They are 1-2 in that stretch so far, having won at New England, lost in San Francisco and fallen at home Sunday night to the Philadelphia Eagles. After they're done with the Saints, they get the 11-0 Packers at home next week before heading to Dallas to finish off that six-game stretch with a head-to-head contest that could go a long way toward deciding the NFC East.

The Giants' 2011 roster has no business contending for a division championship, and the fact that they're doing so means they've overachieved. The Giants should never have been 6-2, because 6-2 is a great record and they are not a great team. They head into this game 6-4 in spite of having allowed exactly as many points this year as they've scored. Should they lose it they'll be just a notch above .500, which is about where most neutral indications say they should be. But, because of the direction in which they're heading, it feels to Giants fans like a disappointment.

That's why it's important to keep all of this in perspective. The idea that Coughlin finds himself on the hot seat, for example, is preposterous. This is a guy who started 6-2 with a team that did almost nothing to improve itself in the offseason and suffered season-ending injuries to two key defensive starters before the season even began. Injuries have rained on the heads of Coughlin and his coaching staff since the beginning of August and haven't let up. They won the New England game without their starting running back and best wide receiver. Right now, they're still without that running back and now dealing with the absence of one of the men -- linebacker Michael Boley -- whose outsized first-half performance was one of the main reasons they were able to overcome their considerable obstacles and race out to the early division lead.

The Giants' 2011 story so far is one of Coughlin the coach and Eli Manning the quarterback doing a lot with a little. The offensive line is thin and (largely) old and simply hasn't been very good. The defense is succeeding because it's good at getting to the opposing quarterback and because of some surprisingly stellar individual performances in the secondary. They're still frighteningly thin in all of the spots in which they were thin in early September, and the fact that Coughlin's managed to win more games than he's lost so far is worthy of praise and gratitude from the fan base -- not the same old tired questions about job security.

Look deeper, folks. The 2009 Giants were an embarrassment -- a talented but bratty bunch of defensive players who mailed in the second half of the season because they didn't like their defensive coordinator. The 2010 Giants were 15 minutes of football away from locking up their division before a Michael Vick/DeSean Jackson miracle snatched it away. The 2011 Giants are a far different story.

First of all, they haven't blown it yet. Manning and the defensive line have played well enough this year that it wouldn't be a stunning surprise if they beat the Saints on Monday Night and at least played the Packers tough next week. The Giants have been in every game, and the excellence of their quarterback and his receivers gives them a chance in every fourth quarter despite their problems up front, in the running game, at linebacker and on special teams. What they have proved so far is that they're tough and spirited and capable of outperforming expectations and the talent level of their roster. And if they stumble through this brutal second-half schedule and miss the playoffs again, that won't prove they're the same old Giants from years past, even if that's the way it looks to the casual observer. These Giants deserve more respect than that.

Still no practice for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, and personally I think it would be a complete shock if he played Sunday against the Patriots. That means at least one more week of Vince Young at starting quarterback while Vick's broken ribs continue to heal.

The most common question I'm getting on Vick is why the Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo was able to play quarterback with broken ribs this year and Vick is not. Some seem to feel this reflects on Vick's toughness, his character or his leadership abilities. And hey, I'm not in the guy's head. All of those things could in fact be true. But I think it's a big jump to make, mainly because none of us are in the guy's body. We don't know how Vick's rib injury compares to Romo's. We don't know which ribs we're talking about, where they're located, how badly broken they are or how much the injury affects his ability to throw the ball. All we know is, by whatever standard Vick and the Eagles are applying, he's not able to play right now. And I've never personally been comfortable saying a player's not tough enough to play through injury because... well, it's not my injury. As for the Vick-Romo comparison, I guess I'd just say I have no reason to think their injuries were identical just because they were both classified as broken ribs.

The Eagles officially listed Vick as questionable for Sunday's game after he missed practice again Friday. He has not practiced since the Nov. 13 game in which he suffered the injury. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who injured his knee in Thursday's practice, also did not practice Friday. Neither did wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who has hamstring and shoulder injuries, or offensive lineman King Dunlap, who's still dealing with the effects of a concussion. Dunlap is listed as out for Sunday's game, Maclin as doubtful and Asomugha as questionable. Eagles coach Andy Reid said in his address to reporters that Maclin's more serious problem was the hamstring. I'd be surprised if he played. Rueben Frank of CSN Philadelphia reports that the Asomugha injury isn't serious and that he might be able to play.

Wide receiver DeSean Jackson is listed as probable after limited participation in practice Friday. And cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a surprise limited participant in practice and is listed as questionable. I say "surprise," because I don't think most people expected him to practice Friday or have a chance to play Sunday.

New York Giants

Running back Ahmad Bradshaw and linebacker Michael Boley remained out of practice because of their respective foot and hamstring injuries. Wide receiver Mario Manningham, who has a knee injury, also missed practice. But defensive end Justin Tuck and right tackle Kareem McKenzie, who missed Thursday's practice, were both upgraded to limited participants Friday, and running back D.J. Ware was a full practice participant as he is now apparently recovered from his concussion. The Giants don't play until Monday, so all of these players have time yet. The only player they've ruled out is left tackle Will Beatty, who had surgery Thursday to repair the retina in his right eye and likely will be out for a while.

Washington Redskins

The injury news is basically all good for the Redskins, as tackles Trent Williams and Jammal Brown, wide receiver Santana Moss, linebacker London Fletcher, safety LaRon Landry and cornerback Josh Wilson are all listed as probable. The Redskins list no one as "out" or "doubtful" and only two players -- receivers Niles Paul and Donte' Stallworth -- as questionable. The Redskins head to Seattle at something resembling full strength, minus the out-for-the-year guys like Tim Hightower, Chris Cooley and Kory Lichtensteiger. The return of Moss is especially significant for the struggling Redskins offense.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys' Week 12 game is already in the books, so there's no official injury report. But owner Jerry Jones went on the radio and said fullback Tony Fiammetta and backup quarterback Jon Kitna are already ruled out for the Dec. 4 game in Arizona. The Fiammetta thing is weird -- an illness that makes him nauseous when he exerts himself and of which the team has been unable to get to the bottom. Kitna's got a back injury, and it's serious enough that the Cowboys are looking around for a veteran backup to Romo, since they don't like to be without one of those.

The New York Giants may have to play Sunday night's game against the Eagles in Philadelphia without linebacker Michael Boley, who's been a vital veteran playmaker on their defense all year. Boley has a hamstring injury, has not been able to practice this week and is officially listed as doubtful for the game. Should he miss the game, the Giants will look to someone -- possibly everyone -- from their group of four rookie linebackers to fill in for him. Ohm Youngmisuk has the story on ESPNNewYork.com:

The Giants have spent the week prepping their rookie linebackers for more playing time, which they say will help. Fewell also says he will have a veteran wear the helmet with a headset to relay plays into the huddle so that the rookies won't be overloaded.

Boley has had the headset in his helmet all year as he's been charged with relaying the defensive calls in place of injured middle linebacker Jonathan Goff. The only remaining veteran in the linebacking corps is Mathias Kiwanuka, who plays defensive end on passing downs and likely has enough about which to worry. So I wonder if the veteran who gets the headset might be a safety. The Giants have been successfully mixing and matching since the early part of training camp and believe they can figure it out.

But someone still has to play, and while rookies Greg Jones, Spencer Paysinger and Jacquian Williams have seen some playing time this year, the Giants are cognizant of not trying to give them too much responsibility too quickly. That's why they're likely to rotate snaps along with fellow rookie Mark Herzlich, whose playing time so far this year has come entirely on special teams.

If Herzlich plays at linebacker, it would be another milestone moment in his comeback from Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer he beat after missing all of the 2009 season at BC. "They are rotating a lot of guys in right now," Herzlich said. "I'm eager. It is all about getting that one shot and seizing it. Whenever that occurs for me -- I'm confident that will occur at some point -- I will be ready."

Herzlich was a dominating college player in 2008 before his illness, and the Giants signed him as an undrafted rookie in the hopes that he might someday be able to flash that ability again once he was back to full strength. It appears that Boley's injury might offer Herzlich a chance to show what he's got sooner rather than later. It's been a next-man-up kind of year for the Giants, and at 6-3 and with a depleted Eagles team coming to town Sunday night, there's no reason for them to think one or more of their rookies can't continue the trend.

SAN FRANCISCO -- There was nothing remotely "elite" about the blue work shirt Alex Smith wore following the San Francisco 49ers' 27-20 victory over the New York Giants in Week 10.

The team-issued shirt, untucked and featuring an "Alex" name patch sewn onto the left chest area, reflects the blue-collar mindset coach Jim Harbaugh has established since taking over the 49ers. Mechanics, not million-dollar athletes, typically wear them.

If that makes Smith merely a wardrobe manager without the fashion sense of Tom Brady or other elite NFL dressers, so be it. But if you're going to keep calling Smith a game manager, the 49ers will tell you he's more than that. With an 8-1 record, they've got some credibility.

"Managers belong in baseball," 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said from the winning locker room. "Tony LaRussa was a manager. Alex Smith is a quarterback. He does what we ask him to do and he does it at a high level, so to be a game manager, that doesn't make sense to me."

The 49ers proved Sunday they could run the offense through Smith and still defeat a playoff-caliber team featuring a Super-Bowl winning quarterback in Eli Manning. They threw 11 times in their first 13 plays and got only 50 yards from their running backs, including zero on six carries from Frank Gore, who injured a knee and did not finish the game.

Sure, the 49ers needed two interceptions and a furious defensive stand in the final minute. Yes, Manning made a few "wow" throws that Smith and other quarterbacks aren't likely to make. But this game will nonetheless put Smith's detractors on the defensive. It was the fourth time this season Smith and the 49ers turned a fourth-quarter deficit into victory.

Smith did his part, completing 19 of 30 passes for 242 yards and the go-ahead touchdown pass to Vernon Davis in the fourth quarter. Smith also carried six times for 27 yards, with one run setting up a 39-yard field goal. Smith's lone interception bounced off receiver Ted Ginn Jr.'s hands, killing a likely scoring drive before halftime. Smith now has 19 touchdowns and four interceptions in his last 14 starts. The 49ers have an 11-3 record in those games.

"Alex has been around here 6-7 years and has been dealing with a lot of B.S. around here, people calling him a bust, people not believing in him," 49ers safety Donte Whitner said. "But all he needed was a good coaching staff with the right tools and the right techniques, the right reads, to get in and teach him what to do. And he is leading this team, leading our offense. All throughout that game, they challenged him to beat them."

Whitner spent three seasons in Buffalo under Perry Fewell, now the Giants' defensive coordinator. He was certain the Giants, like any smart team, would focus their attention on the 49ers' ground game. Gore had set a franchise record with five consecutive 100-yard games before Sunday. The Giants succeeded in their plan and still lost.

"I didn't think they were going to come out and start throwing," Giants cornerback Michael Coe said. "I figured they would hand off to Gore and try to get the running game going."

It would be unfair, Coe said, to compare Smith's role in the 49ers' offense to the roles other quarterbacks play.

"Brady, in that system, obviously is required to do a lot," said Coe, whose Giants were coming off a victory over the Patriots. "He makes a lot of throws, a lot of checks and in this [49ers] system, they allow [Smith] to make the throws at times and he did that, and they allow Gore to get the running game going. He did what he was supposed to do today."

The carefully worded doubt will continue all season if Harbaugh gets his wish.

"I believe in you guys, the media," Harbaugh said. "I believe that you will find a way. ... Alex Smith, you find a way to keep diminishing the guy. They call him a game manager and he's a great game manager, but you read it and you hear people talk about him and they're trying to slight him when they say that."

Smith completed 9 of 11 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown when targeting tight ends Sunday. He entered the game ranked second in completion percentage when targeting tight ends. His NFL passer rating was also second on these throws.

Those numbers, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information, illustrate the versatility San Francisco enjoys with two tight ends on the field. Davis and Delanie Walker are simply bigger and/or faster than the men assigned to cover them. But if opponents treat Davis and Walker as receivers, the 49ers' can counter by running the ball the way teams traditionally have with two tight ends on the field.

The Giants busted a coverage on Davis' 31-yard scoring reception. Their quarterback on defense, linebacker Michael Boley, had left the game with a hamstring injury. The 49ers exploited his absence on this play and others. The Giants have played shorthanded on defense much of the season. They lost multiple defenders for stretches Sunday, including cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Corey Webster.

"You need all your people," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "San Francisco has played with everybody, all year long."

Not quite. The 49ers have stayed relatively healthy on defense, but I wouldn't call it a fluke. They're big and powerful on that side of the ball because their current and former personnel people have long thought those types of players held up better over a full season.

Defensive end Justin Smith, who batted down Manning's final pass on fourth down to preserve the 49ers' victory, has started 164 consecutive games, most among NFL defensive linemen. Middle linebacker Patrick Willis, who collected a sack and generally dominated, almost never misses games.

As much as Smith earned our attention with his administration of a pass-oriented game plan, the 49ers' formula for success draws strength from its diversity:

• Dominant special teams. The Giants' best starting field possession on 10 possessions was their own 22-yard line. The 49ers averaged starting at their own 35. They also recovered a surprise onside kick. David Akers made all four field-goal attempts, including his fifth in as many attempts from 50-plus yards.
• Smart quarterbacking. Smith's lone interception Sunday bounced off his receiver's hands. Smith took only two sacks.
• Ball-hawking defense: Cornerback Carlos Rogers collected two more interceptions, both on passes traveling at least 15 yards past the line of scrimmage. The 49ers now have 10 interceptions on those throws, up from four all last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. This was the eighth time in nine games the 49ers forced at least two turnovers.
• Four-man pressure. Manning completed 81.8 percent of his passes with an 11-yard average per attempt when the 49ers sent more than four rushers. The 49ers rushed a defensive back only once and Manning burned them with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks on that play. But San Francisco collected both picks and forced 11 incomplete passes when rushing four or fewer, which was 73 percent of the time.
• Inventive coaching. Last week, the 49ers drew up a 30-yard touchdown pass to their fullback. This time, they lined up receiver Michael Crabtree in the backfield and got him open for a successful two-point conversion. There were other wrinkles, as always.

The stat sheet will tell you the Giants held a 21-16 edge in first downs, a 395-305 advantage in total yards and nearly doubled up the 49ers in third-down conversion rate. It will tell you Manning passed for 311 yards while the Giants' defense shut down Gore.

It will tell you Smith put up modest numbers for an offense that ran only 52 plays while losing time of possession by roughly nine minutes.

Make of it what you wish.

"As long as all that is written is written against us, we'll be happy," Harbaugh said.

Two games against Arizona, two against St. Louis and one against Seattle await the 49ers. They've also got a Thanksgiving game at Baltimore and a Monday nighter at home against Pittsburgh, two more chances to beat playoff teams.

Something tells me the 49ers, like their quarterback, will find a way to manage.

Count Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. among those looking forward to the Week 10 game pitting the 6-2 New York Giants against the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park.

I'll be heading down to the Bay Area for that one.

A few notes from my discussion with Williamson on Tuesday ...

Mike Sando: Let's cut right to the important stuff. Who you taking?

Matt Williamson: I like San Francisco. I don't feel super strong about it. They're not going to blow out good teams, but they are so hard to play against. Their front seven, their defense is elite. They will run the ball reasonably well against the Giants. Eli Manning is playing very well. I am curious what the Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw injury situations look like. That is a rough road trip, though. The 49ers are a better team in theory.

Mike Sando: The 49ers did blow out Tampa Bay, 48-3. Would you consider the Buccaneers to be a good team?

Matt Williamson: The Bucs are a mediocre team, a 7-9 or 8-8 team, and they are extremely young.

Mike Sando: The Giants own a couple impressive wins, but when I saw them against Arizona and Seattle, they did not seem as physical as the old NFC East pedigree suggests. Beanie Wells ran all over them. The Seahawks beat them. Seems to me the 49ers will run on them.

Matt Williamson: I was really critical of the Patriots last week for not running more. The Giants are susceptible. You know the Niners are going to come out in double-tight end sets and make them take that run away. The Giants' defense is not very good at the second level. The d-line is exceptional and better against the pass than the run. Their linebackers are awful. Michael Boley is pretty good, but he's a coverage player. I like their secondary.

Mike Sando: I saw an interesting breakdown from ESPN Stats & Information. Manning has been good in most situations and especially good when defenses come after him with five or more pass-rushers. The 49ers rarely have to send added pressure. Are they the perfect defense against Manning?

Matt Williamson: I think they are the perfect defense to beat anybody. I used to think their secondary was a liability, but it's not. Carlos Rogers is very good. Maybe he plays Nicks or Mario Manningham. Those are not terrible matchups for the 49ers with safety support. The big thing about the Giants is that Manning has been able to camouflage their weaknesses. Their offensive line has not played well at all. Their protection is not very good. That is a problem against Justin Smith.

Mike Sando: The idea that Manning is compensating for the Giants' weaknesses on offense comes while the 49ers are getting credit for "hiding" their quarterback, Alex Smith. I'd like your thoughts on the subject.

Matt Williamson: Hiding the quarterback is harder than ever. You cannot do a 2000 Ravens situation as easily now. The 49ers ask very little of Alex Smith. They would be in trouble if they were at Green Bay and down 17-0.

Mike Sando: Wouldn't everyone be in trouble down 17-0 at Green Bay?

Matt Williamson: No doubt, but the 49ers are less equipped than some teams to come from behind against a good opponent. They are efficient. Smith is not making mistakes. Jim Harbaugh has done a tremendous job with him. Smith doesn't throw it very well, but he is smart and mobile. Those are things people liked about him coming out of college. They are rolling him out, protecting him with double-tight end sets, big bodies, and the supporting cast is stepping up. He is throwing reasonably accurately, Michael Crabtree is improving, Frank Gore is playing great, Braylon Edwards could still come on. They mask Smith, but he has done what is asked of him. It's not like a Jets situation where they do everything they can to hide Mark Sanchez and he still makes eight terrible throws in a game, plus three great ones. Smith has not gone above and beyond the call, but he has not needed to. It's like criticizing teams for beating bad teams. They are the teams on the schedule.

Mike Sando: Back to Eli Manning. Like Smith, he was a No. 1 overall pick. Both are winning this season. They have similar NFL passer ratings. Let's discuss the differences.

Matt Williamson: Eli is a much better player, the foundation of that offense. Alex Smith is just a piece. Eli is making a bad offensive line serviceable. They had no Nicks, no Bradshaw last week and he is moving the team with Victor Cruz and Jake Ballard. If Manning and Smith switched teams, the Niners might be the best team in the league with Manning, including better than Green Bay, and the Giants might win two games. Going to New England without Bradshaw and Nix, the Giants would have lost 30-7 if Smith were their quarterback. What those quarterbacks are capable of isn't even close. Smith was not the usual No. 1 overall quarterback in terms of gifts.

Mike Sando: How do those gifts manifest themselves?

Matt Williamson: Someone asked me recently how good Andy Dalton can be. Before the season, I thought there were six elite quarterbacks, including Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning. Matt Ryan was probably No. 7, but he cannot get to six, whereas Sam Bradford or Matthew Stafford or Josh Freeman can. Ryan has gotten everything out of his abilities. That is Dalton to me. He can be a very effective franchise quarterback, but not elite. If anybody is going to break into that elite group, Eli is probably that guy. He can throw off his back foot in the cold and thread the needle 35 yards downfield. Eli can make that throw. Alex Smith cannot. Watch the Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers makes four throws only a few guys on the planet can make, and that is why they win the game. The crazy, off-balance, rolling out, across his body laser throw. Joe Flacco can make that throw. Alex Smith can never make that throw, and every defensive coordinator in the world knows it.

Mike Sando: True, there are very few "wow" moments watching Smith. But the 49ers are 7-1 with him. There are games when a team needs its quarterback to make the spectacular throw, but many more games when that is not necessary. If the 49ers keep winning, they'll have an interesting decision to make. Smith's playing on a one-year deal.

Matt Williamson: It's like the Ryan Fitzpatrick situation in Buffalo, where things were going so well. Except Fitzpatrick is much streakier. He is a gunslinger without the gunslinger tools. It's tough to be critical if you sign the guy. Things are looking up, you don't want to start over with a rookie or Colin Kaepernick, you're not going to get anyone in free agency, but if you're Buffalo, you still might use a second-round pick on a guy with a big arm. Smith is a tough one, too. He is going to want money and deserve money, but if he goes somewhere else, he could really flop.