Winless Giants Talking Big Game As 3-0 Chiefs Await
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — After a 38-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants are promising only one change for this weekend's game in Kansas City against the Chiefs.
There is going to be an attitude adjustment.
Win or lose, the Giants (0-3) aren't going to have another no-show performance against the Chiefs (3-0).
"I think the better Giants team is going to show up this week," receiver Victor Cruz said. "It's a different mindset. Today's practice was completely different than what we had in the past. The energy was different. The feel was different. We're excited. This is where I think we turn the page and make a good run and get a couple of wins under our belt."
An upbeat Tom Coughlin is promising a more physical team. And if practice was any indication Wednesday, there was a little feistiness to the workout.
"These guys are hungry, being 0-3 and especially the way we lost that game," punter Steve Weatherford said. "We wanted to win that one for Coach, and we didn't play well."
"Certainly we want to win, and that's our entire objective," Coughlin said. "Are we standing on the edge of the cliff? I don't look at it that way. I see a lot of football to be played."
Linebacker Mark Herzlich could sense an increased focus in practice, especially on a defense that has given up a league-worst 115 points.
He said there was no carrying on in meetings. If there was a mistake on the practice field, players talked it over with coaches or looked at the play cards to see how they were out of position.
"Something has to change in the way we are playing," Herzlich said. "I think we can do it. I think we all believe we can do, and that belief is the first step."
Coughlin isn't discussing any lineup changes, but there might be some. Center David Baas (neck) and guard Chris Snee (hip) missed practice, forcing the team to use a makeshift line days after giving up seven sacks.
Since Coughlin didn't talk to the media after practice, who played where on the offense line was not public.
One positive for the unit was that veteran David Diehl practiced for the first time since the Giants announced that he had surgery on his right thumb Aug. 21.
Left guard Kevin Boothe said there is always concern after seeing Eli Manning on his back so much.
"It's not something you ignore and say, 'It's a fluke game,'" Boothe said. "We have to play at a better level and we know that."
The Chiefs' defensive front seven will challenge the Giants. Linebacker Justin Houston had 4½ sacks against the Eagles last week, and he leads the NFL with 7½.
The Giants are a little banged up in the secondary. Starting cornerback Corey Webster, who missed last week's game with a hip injury, is feeling better but did not practice.
"We've been hit in the mouth, and we got hit in the mouth extremely bad this Sunday," safety Antrel Rolle said this week on WFAN radio. "Sometimes good things come out of bad things that have taken place … Hopefully that's exactly what we needed … We will turn this around. Believe that."
Cornerback Terrell Thomas, who is playing after missing the last two seasons with ACL injuries, is being used on a limited basis to give him more time to recuperate between games. He expects to play Sunday.
"We are going to fight," Thomas said when asked which Giants team would show up Sunday. "We got socked in our mouths last week, and that's not what the New York Giants are all about and the players. We have players on this team who have won two Super Bowls, and we know about being tough and resilient in the moment and understanding everything. It's disheartening. It's sad, but we're over that now."
Receiver Hakeem Nicks insisted the Giants have one of the NFL's top offenses despite being limited to 150 yards last week.
"I think everything is going to be fine," Nicks said. "It's not a time to be negative. I think it's a time where we need to come together as a team, which I feel like we are doing, and we're going to get everything turned around and we will be fine."
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