Mathias Kiwanuka News

New York Giants' Mathias Kiwanuka , left, sacks Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan in the 1st half.

IT IS Tom Coughlin, more than anyone, who stands as a source of comfort for a desperate team with its back against the wall.

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has to get his 5-4 team turned around before it is too late.

THE Giants have disgraced the uniform, and they know it. They may as well have showed up with a seltzer bottle wearing big, red bulbous noses and floppy shoes these last three weeks.

Clint Sintim, shown in action against the Panthers in the preseason, missed the first four games of the regular season with a groin injury.

EAST RUTHERFORD a ' "Miscommunication" has been the word bouncing around the Giantsa TM locker room this week when defensive players try to explain the deficiencies of the past few weeks.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets looks to throw the ball down field while under pressure from Gerris Wilkinson #59 and Mathias Kiwanuka #94 of the New York Giants during a preseason game at Giants Stadium on August 29, 2009 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

"It kind of slipped out of his hands, and once I get going, I can't stop," Tynes said.

It is risky business to stamp R.I.P. on an NFL team's gravestone, and certainly with seven games left, but if Chargers 21, Giants 20 was not the final nail in the coffin, there is no doubt that the hammering has begun in earnest.

Leonard Weaver races towards the end zone to score the Eagle's first touchdown. Some day-after observations after reviewing the tape of Sunday's 40-17 win over the Giants: THE LEFT TACKLE It wasn't the best of games for left tackle Jason Peters.

Eli Manning must play better in order for the Giants to beat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at the Meadowlands.

Can the Eagles force Eli Manning into turnovers Sunday at the Linc? I got a chance to re-watch the Giants' loss to the Cardinals from last Sunday night.

Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan says he doesn't know anything about any communication problems on his defense.

This is obviously a critical moment for the Giants, and it's understandable why Giants fans would be anxious.

"It is a matter of the timing of getting it communicated and being lined up confidently and being ready to go," Coughlin said on Monday.

N.F.L. coaches and players like to say that all opponents are the same, that a win against the 2009 Raiders is no different than a win against the 1972 Dolphins.

If there were ever a time when Tom Coughlin would chase a media member around the interview room, this might be it.

Winston Justice will acknowledge the game. Barely. But the Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle wants nothing to do with revisiting his debut Sept.

Giants tight end Kevin Boss should be benefiting more from the extra attention defenses are giving wide receiver Steve Smith.

What gnaws at the Giants, as much as Donovan McNabb picking up the phone on their sidelines at the end of their playoff loss last January at Giants Stadium, is this sickening reality: McNabb dropped back to pass 106 times in three games last year against them, and wasn't sacked a single time.