Kristian Dyer’s 3 things to watch when Giants and Ravens face off

Here we go again.

It is now teetering in must-win territory for the New York Giants, who as losers of three straight games are now at 2-3 on the year. Most troubling for the Giants is that what was supposed to be a potent offense has been struggling to move the ball.

And against the Baltimore Ravens, a team that historically has had a stout defense, it might not get any easier to put up points.

Three Things to Watch from the Giants in Week 6:

Beat-up and battered

This week the list of Giants unable to practice or limited in practice read like a laundry list of impact players. Names such as cornerback Eli Apple, safety Darian Thompson and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul missed either some or all of the week due to injury. Others such as cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, tight end Larry Donnell, running back Rashad Jennings and defensive end Olivier Vernon were limited. That’s not a good look for a team looking to get back on track with so many star players potentially out or missing chunks of practice.

The OC

The appointment of Marty Mornhinweg as offensive coordinator, replacing Marc Trestman, will surely impact the Ravens offense on Sunday. The playbook will be simplified, focusing primarily on what worked for a very average Ravens offense through the season’s first five weeks. But there is an unpredictability factor to Mornhinweg, who spent two seasons as offensive coordinator with the New York Jets. It will make game-prep for the Giants defense a bit more of a challenge this week.

The book of Eli

The report on stopping the Giants seems to be out, with teams playing one if not two safeties very high, taking away the deep threats that are wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz. The Giants offense was supposed to be elite but with little semblance of a running game and the offensive line in shambles, it has taken its toll on Manning and the whole unit.

“No one is panicking; no one is feeling a way about his performance. Obviously he knows himself what he needs to fix and change,” Cruz said of Manning. “I’m sure the offensive coaching staff are doing their jobs in terms of putting him in a position where he’s comfortable and making reads, things like that. We’ll see where it goes. No one is hitting the panic button on Eli Manning.”