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Moving on
The Giants defense is past the Browns game and ready for Sunday's game
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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OCTOBER 16, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Not even a self-imposed decree has helped the players on the Giants defense remove the bad taste in their mouths from Monday's loss in Cleveland.

"I think we use the 24-hour rule and we look and see what we need to work on and we move on," safety James Butler said. "From here on out, it is all positives and we are looking for the next game to be positive."

Well, tonight will be 72 hours since the game ended and while the defenders have turned their attention to Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, they still carry the regret over their performance against the Browns. The defense had no sacks, no takeaways and forced no punts as Cleveland rolled up 454 yards - the highest total allowed by the Giants in 20 regular season games - and converted on 69 percent of its third down opportunities (nine of 13).

"Basically, it's a little bit of disappointment and get back to business," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "It is the NFL. You are going to lose a couple. Obviously, we just didn't like how we played. If we had lost the game and we had played a good game, that is another thing, but we just didn't like the fact that we didn't really show up on Monday night, not only Monday night, but we didn't show up regardless of that. We were out-physicaled and we just didn't like the way we lost. That was the biggest thing that a lot of people were disappointed about.

"I think it was just a combination of them being ready to play and us not being (ready). I don't know what the reason was. I definitely know it wasn't because we overlooked them, because we knew going in what kind of team they had, we knew their crowd was going to be behind them on a Monday night game, a night game, so we knew what we were getting ourselves into. But for some reason we came out a little flat and they took advantage of it."

As bitter as the defeat was, the defenders were even more perturbed with how they played. They entered the game as the NFL's third-ranked defense, but they gave up 107 more yards and 12 more points than they had in any previous game this season.

"It is how we played, because every time we put something on tape it has our signature and we sign our name as a defense," linebacker Danny Clark said. "And to not make a team punt in a whole game is embarrassing as a defender. That is in the back of our minds. We could definitely have our minds set on going and playing well against San Francisco, but it is definitely in our minds to go and erase what happened a week ago."

"Definitely the way we played (bothers me more)," Butler said. "It was a situation where we should have gotten off the field and we didn't and we didn't tackle well. There are different things that we need to work on and make sure we push forward to play the next game.

The 49ers present their own set of problems. They are not overly impressive statistically - their 307.2 yards a game leave them 19th in the league. But they have a knack for hitting big plays (27 of more than 20 yards, including 22 passes, which place them third in the league). And new offensive Mike Martz is an unpredictable play-caller.

For the Giants to erase the memory of what happened Monday, they must shut down an offense with plenty of playmakers on Sunday.

"We have to have some urgency within ourselves to go out there and play better and do what we are coached to do and just get out there and get back on track," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "You definitely don't want to have a performance like that on a Monday night game and we are coming back home, so we definitely want to get it straight before we get back out there."

"I can't think back to a time when I played on a defense when that happened and if that doesn't burn a little fire inside somewhere, I don't think you are in the right defensive mindset," said rookie linebacker Bryan Kehl, who might start on the weak side this week in place of the injured Gerris Wilkinson. "We are all excited to get out there and play that defensive game."

The defense's first job this week will be to stop San Francisco's superb running back, Frank Gore. He leads the 49ers in rushing yards (524), receptions (22 for 196 yards) and touchdowns and he is first in the NFL with 720 yards from scrimmage.

"Gore is funny, man," Clark said. "You can't pinpoint him as one type of back. You could say Jamal Lewis is a strong inside runner, you can say (T.J.) Duckett is a short yardage guy, but Gore is a guy that can run the ball heavy inside, can bounce it outside and beat you around the edge, he can catch the ball - he is their leading receiver - he is very well-rounded. He is versatile and I think that is what makes him special. He can hurt you all over the field, not just running the ball."

"He is just a complete package," Tuck said. "You really can't get a bead on him being a slasher or a downhill runner or a power runner, he does it all. You just have to be prepared to make sure that you wrap him up because he is never down. He is one of those backs that kind of bounces off of guys and gets the extra three or four yards. You have to just gang tackle him early and really put it in his mind that it is going to be a long day for him and not really give him any early runs to get his confidence up."

If the Giants can bottle up Gore, they will take a big step toward significantly improving over their most recent outing. Standing at his locker today, Tuck was asked how he knows the defense will be different this week.

"How do I know? I am not psychic, so I don't know," Tuck said. "I am willing to say that you will see a different Giants team out there at home, considering that guys are very eager to get back on the field. Lucky for us it was a Monday night game and we don't have to wait an entire week to get back on the field and get that taste out of our mouth."

NOTES

*Center Shaun O'Hara returned to practice today after spending two nights at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he was treated for an infection between the last two toes on his left foot.

"A hospital is no place for a professional athlete to spend 40 hours staring at a wall," O'Hara said. "So I was happy to get out of there. But they took every precaution. I can't sit here and say it wasn't serious, but it wasn't life threatening, by any means. So it is something that I have been dealing with for the last couple of weeks and it just kind of flared up before the game and got worse. So we wanted to just kind of nip it in the bud and make sure it doesn't become an issue later on."

O'Hara played with the infection in Cleveland, though he said it did not affect his performance.

"I don't really think it was that big of a deal," he said. "It was just something that kind of flared up and just kind of became infected. So I was glad that we were able to take care of it and get the right medicine and really the best medicine to get at that point is through intravenous method. Being in the hospital was the best place to be."

O'Hara participated fully in practice.

"He took every snap," Coach Tom Coughlin said. "He did a good job."

*Coughlin said he will decide later in the week - perhaps on game day - whether John Carney or Lawrence Tynes will do the placekicking in the San Francisco game.

"I haven't decided yet who will kick this week," Coughlin said. "This week is like every other recent week. I am going to let these guys kick all week and I will make a decision at the end of the week."

Carney has made all 12 of his field goal attempts while substituting for Tynes, who has been rehabilitating a knee injury. Yesterday, Tynes told reporters that he was going to return to action against the 49ers.

"While I appreciate Lawrence's enthusiasm to get back on the field, I haven't decided yet who will kick this week," Coughlin said. "When I do, I will make that announcement."

*David Tyree participated in his second workout as the team attempts to gauge his progress from offseason knee surgery.

"He has looked fine," Coughlin said. "He has had some good energy and he is excited obviously to be back out there."

The Giants have 20 more days to activate or release Tyree or place him on injured reserve. The Giants already have six wide receivers - five have been in uniform and four have played each game.

"It is a good issue," Coughlin said about the crowd at receiver.

Except for his great catch in the Super Bowl, Tyree's impact is usually greatest on special teams. Coughlin indicated he expects that to remain true.

"When the time comes I think he will be every bit the football player that he has ever been," Coughlin said.

*The Giants' 33-15 victory over San Francisco here last season left the regular season series tied at 13-13. The Niners lead the postseason series, 4-3.