If you listen to talk radio in New York City, you’d think Peyton Manning was already on his way to Gang Green.

He’s not, but that doesn’t keep fans dissatisfied with Mark Sanchez from pleading their case.

A healthy Manning is better than Sanchez, no question. But if you go with Manning, you can’t fit both quarterbacks under the salary cap. You are giving up on Sanchez after three seasons for what could be Brett Favre redux.

The Jets have a bunch more pressing needs — a right tackle, a safety, a pass rusher and more.
And does Manning really want to compete for headlines with his brother? It seems unlikely.

Odds (out-of-10): 5

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals play in a weak division, indoors and with few media intrusions.

Former teammate Marshall Faulk has already chimed in, saying Manning won’t want to play in the NFC, to keep the Manning vs. Manning Super Bowl a possibility. Considering how reluctant the family has been to embrace this previously, we don’t know where that’s coming from.

It’s going to be hard to turn down throwing the ball to Larry Fitzgerald. Manning has never had such a big red zone target to throw to before.

They also have a 1,000-yard rusher and a developing defense, as they were seventh in the NFL?in sacks last year.

Odds (out-of-10): 8

Miami Dolphins

All the stars in basketball and baseball are already taking their talents to South Beach. Why not Manning, too?

The Dolphins give Manning a chance to stay in the AFC, which he’s familiar with, and play in a warm weather city. It also recalls warm feelings of his only Super Bowl victory.

He would have Brandon Marshall as a target and Reggie Bush showed impressive ability down the stretch last season.

One negative is that he’ll have to go against Bill Belichick and Rex Ryan twice a year.

Odds (out-of-10): 7

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“I think this just feels like it’s time to end it,” the 67-year-old told reporters at a news conference.

La Russa, who said he made the decision to retire two months ago, spent 33 years as a big league manger, totaling 2,728 wins. That’s the third-most all time?(behind Hall of Famers Connie Mack and John McGraw), and the most by a skipper who didn’t start his career in the 19th century.

But he’s perhaps best known for changing the way managers use their bullpens. He helped establish the role of a closer, and was among the first — and certainly the most frequent — users of right- and left-handed specialists.

La Russa played for the A’s, Braves and Cubs in the 1960s and ’70s, and started his managerial career with the White Sox in 1979.

He stayed in Chicago until 1986, before moving to Oakland for nine years. He won the 1989 World Series there.

La Russa came to St. Louis in 1996, and guided the Cardinals to world titles in 2006 and this year.
He’s a four-time Manager of the Year. 

Around baseball

It was an active day around Major League Baseball.
   
The Braves traded former Red Sox RHP Derek Lowe to the Indians for Class-A LHP Chris Jones.
Lowe, who’s scheduled to make $15 million in 2012, had a 5.05 ERA this year.
   
The Red Sox declined 2012 options on RHPs Scott Atchison and Dan Wheeler, making them free agents.
   
The Cubs exercised their $16 million option on  Aramis Ramirez, but the 3B used his contractural right to void the deal. He forfeits his $2 million buyout, but enters a potentially lucrative FA market.

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They’ll have to wait until tonight. At least.

Major League Baseball pushed Game 6 of the World Series back a day due to last night’s threat of rain in St. Louis. The announcement was made four hours before the scheduled first pitch.

Game 6 is now set for 8:05 tonight (FOX). Game 7, if necessary, will be played tomorrow night.
MLB executive Joe Torre said the decision was made to avoid rain delays and suspended games.

“I’ve always felt that when you get to postseason, those games need to be played to conclusion,”
Torre said. “And, as a manager, the last thing you want to do is get on the field and then all of a sudden if you have to pull the tarp and now your starter sits down and gets up. We had a couple of experiences earlier this fall with some of those things.

“That’s never fun. It really isn’t any fun for managers because you’re going to wind up having pitchers be unavailable for you.”

Torre said the decision was made based on early afternoon weather reports.

“They all were consistent in saying there was going to be rain during the game,”?he said.

“Maybe not enough to stop it, but maybe enough to stop it.” 

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That is, if you actually believe La Russa’s controversial call to the bullpen. Either way, the Cardinals manager is sticking to his story.

The story goes that La Russa called for Jason Motte and instead got Lance Lynne. That miscommunication left Marc Rzepczynski on the mound against Mike Napoli, who delivered a two-run, eventual game-winning double for the Rangers in a wild, Game 5 Monday night.

La Russa blamed the crowd noise.

“Yeah, well, sometimes real loud, especially when some of the bullpens that are right amidst the fans and excitement,” La Russa said. “It happens in Philadelphia. It’s hard to hear it there. So it’s not unusual.”

Not unusual? Even in a pivotal swing game, like Game 5 of the World Series? Sure sounds fishy — and the national media wasn’t buying it.

“Truth be told, La Russa’s story included too many inconsistencies and raised too many questions to help clarify what happened in that bizarre eighth inning,” wrote SI’s Tom Verducci. “Somewhere this inning got away from La Russa.”

But it’s all water under the bridge now. La Russa’s Cardinals return home down three games to two in the World Series. A loss and they have an entire offseason to ponder what might have been.

The players insist they haven’t lost trust in their future Hall of Fame skipper, and they intend to keep doing the same things that got them to baseball’s biggest stage.

“When you’re on the mound you can’t worry about little things like mechanics and other things, other distractions,” said Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia, who takes the mound in Game 6 tonight. “All you’ve got to do is just try to go out there and battle, just try to give your team a chance.”

Tough breaks

We tracked down some other tactical moves — blame the manager or player — that helped cost teams World Series titles.
   
“It gets through Buckner”
That was the Mets’ rallying cry when a slow grounder shot through the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The Sox dropped that game in extras and then lost Game 7. Some blame manager John McNamara for leaving the defensively-challenged Buckner in with a lead.
   
“The Mad Dash”
Another Red Sox lowlight, as Johnny Pesky took his time on a cutoff play and allowed Enos Slaughter to go from first to home on Harry Walker’s hit. The run proved to be the winning one in a 4-3 Cardinals’ victory in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series.
   
“My Daddy, Part II”
Charlie Manuel’s decision to start Pedro Martinez in a do-or-die Game 6 in 2009 was already being debated. Then, the Phillies skipper left Martinez in with the bases loaded to face Hideki Matsui, who had already homered off him. Matsui provided a two-run single that broke the game open.

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Two months ago, the Rangers might not have been such an outlandish pick. While the Red Sox and Yankees were dueling for AL East supremacy, Texas was quietly getting ready to clinch the AL West.

“On November the first we committed ourselves to trying to get back here because we knew we had the potential in the clubhouse to do it,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “A lot of times people say a lot of things that they like to do, and they don’t usually live up to it. But the character inside my clubhouse, they lived up to it. Each and every day they just tried to be the best baseball team on the field that day, and it worked out for us.”

As for the Cardinals, two months ago they were in the midst of losing 10-of-15 games, a stretch that dropped them 10 ½ games behind NL Wild Card-leader Atlanta. Starting with an 8-4 victory over the Pirates on Aug. 25, the Cardinals won 23-of-32 games then knocked out the Phillies, who helped St. Louis clinch a playoff berth, in the playoffs.

“This is in the improbable, incredible, overwhelming,” St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa said after the NLCS. “They’re all special. This one here has its own mark, because coming from that far back is historic I think.”

Texas became the fourth AL team to make consecutive World Series appearances since divisional play began on the strength of a lineup featuring five 20 home run hitters, including Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre. Cruz just concluded one of the greatest individual playoff performances by hitting .364 with six home runs in 13 RBI in the ALCS, while Beltre advanced Texas to the ALCS with three home runs in the ALDS clincher.

The Cardinals advanced with some help from ex-Ranger Cliff Lee. Lee’s departure from Texas to Philadelphia was among the reasons for the Phillies being favorites, but in Game 2 of the NLDS he blew a 4-0 lead and the Cardinals advanced with a 1-0 performance by Chris Carpenter in Game 5.

In the six-game NLCS against the Brewers, the Cardinals slugged their way to an 18th World Series appearance and third pennant under LaRussa. David Freese batted .545 while hitting three home runs and Albert Pujols batted .478 with two home runs.

Starting pitching often sets the tone for World Series champions with last year’s Giants being the most recent example. This series appears to be one that will be decided by the team that can keep its lineup hot.

Position by Position

Catcher

Texas: Mike Napoli. Last winter, Napoli was traded twice in five days, going from Anaheim to Toronto and Texas. Now Ranger fans constantly chant his name and with good reason. He hit 30 home runs in less than 400 at-bats and then hit .316 in the first two rounds, including the go-ahead hit in Game 4 of the ALCS.
St. Louis: Yadier Molina. Met fans still haven’t forgotten his home run in the NLCS five years ago. In 2006, Molina was a .216 hitter, but now Molina brings an even better bat to go along with his standout defense. After hitting .305 during the regular season, Molina batted .333 in the NLCS. Molina also batted over .400 during St. Louis’s World Series victory over Detroit in 2006.
Edge: Texas

First base
Texas: Michael Young/Mitch Moreland. Young will get the start in St. Louis and has moved all over the infield in his decade in Texas. After asking for a trade, Young batted a career high .338 and drove in over 100 runs. He also busted out with five RBI in the nine-run inning in the ALCS clincher.
St. Louis: Albert Pujols. Pujols is a three-time MVP that will hit the free agent market shortly after the World Series ends. Free agency has not fazed him and may have even driven up his price after he batted .419 in the first two rounds. In two previous World Series appearances he batted .267.
Edge: St. Louis

Second base
Texas: Ian Kinsler. Besides being a two-time 30-30 guy, Kinsler gets on base and his career-high 89 walks compensated for a .255 average. Kinsler batted .292 in the ALCS and drove in three runs in the series clincher.
St. Louis: Skip Schumaker/Nick Punto/Ryan Theriot. St. Louis uses three players without much power at second base. Schumaker missed the NLCS with a strained muscle on his right side, but was 6-for-10 in the NLDS. Punto is 3-for-21 in the playoffs, while Theriot is 7-for-20. Only Theriot is a natural right-handed hitter and since Texas will start three lefties, figure on Theriot getting the bulk of time at second.
Edge: Texas

Shortstop
Texas: Elvis Andrus. One of the several benefits to the 2007 Mark Teixeira trade, Andrus has outstanding range despite his 25 errors. He also can do a lot of small-ball-type things. Andrus is hitting .240 in the playoffs but had two hits in the ALCS clincher.
St. Louis: Rafael Furcal. Like Andrus, Furcal was part of the Braves organization and won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2000. Furcal batted .255 in 50 games and then hit .204 in the first two rounds.
Edge: Texas

Third base
Texas: Adrian Beltre. When Lee decided to leave Texas, general manager Jon Daniels looked to improve an offense that batted .190 during the World Series. Despite missing time with a hamstring injury, Beltre performed well during the first year of a five-year contract. Beltre batted .359 after the All-Star break and though he cooled off in the playoffs, he hit three home runs in the ALDS clincher.
St. Louis: David Freese. Before busting out in the NLCS, Freese was a third baseman that had two ankle surgeries last year and missed 51 games this year with a hand injury. He drove in four runs in Game 4 of the NLDS before being named the NLCS MVP. Freese is a St. Louis native, who was acquired for Jim Edmonds three years ago.
Edge: Texas

Right field
Texas: Nelson Cruz. Cruz dominated the ALCS when the Tigers threw him mostly inside fastballs. That enabled him to set major league records for home runs and RBI in a postseason series. Besides having a lethal bat, Cruz has a pretty good arm. Just ask Miguel Cabrera.
St. Louis: Lance Berkman. Berkman signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals and then put up numbers like his best Houston years. His .301 average with 31 home runs and 94 RBI earned him a contract extension and NL Comeback Player of the Year honors. Berkman’s range is limited due to being 35, but his bat more than makes up for it.
Edge: Even

Centerfield
Texas: Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is already an AL and ALCS MVP in his comeback from drugs and alcohol. Though he missed six weeks with an arm injury, Hamilton hit 25 home runs and is hitting .293 in the postseason, though he has yet to homer.
St. Louis: Jon Jay. Once Colby Rasmus was dealt to Toronto, centerfield became Jay’s job. Jay batted .297 during the regular season but just .216 in the playoffs.
Edge: Texas

Left field
Texas: David Murphy. Murphy joined the Rangers four years ago in a trade with the Red Sox for Eric Gagne. Though he gets overlooked, Murphy batted .412 in the ALCS and is hitting .391 in the postseason.
St. Louis: Matt Holliday. Holliday batted .294 in the 2007 World Series for the Rockies, but made a key error in the 2009 NLDS in Los Angeles. After being limited due to a finger injury in the series against Philadelphia, Holliday went 5-for-10 in the final two games of the NLCS and batted .435 overall.
Edge: St. Louis

Designated hitter
Texas: Michael Young. Young likely will be the DH for the games in Texas, though the Rangers could improve their outfield defense by using Hamilton there. Napoli might also see some time if Yorvit Torrealba catches.
St. Louis: Lance Berkman. The three games in Texas allow the Cardinals to keep Berkman’s bat in the lineup while upgrading their defense. Allen Craig would replace Berkman in right and that could be a plus especially since he batted .315 against lefties.
Edge: Even

Starting Pitchers
Texas: C.J. Wilson is not as dominant as Lee was, but won 16 games during the regular season. Wilson has an 8.04 ERA in the postseason and gave up three home runs in Game 5 of the ALCS. Colby Lewis will start Game 2 and has pitched better than Wilson. He pitched the series clincher against Tampa Bay and also started Game 3 of the ALCS. Holland was a 16-game winner but struggled in two ALCS starts, allowing seven runs and 11 hits in 7 1/3 innings. Harrison won 14 games and the lefty pitched five innings of Game 4.
St. Louis: Chris Carpenter is among the reasons that St. Louis is still playing. He was 3-0 with a 2.15 ERA in September and then pitched a three-hitter to close out the Phillies. Jaime Garcia won 13 games this season, but has a 5.74 ERA postseason ERA and failed to get past five innings in both LCS starts. Kyle Lohse won 14 games in the regular season with a 1.37 ERA in September, but also has struggled this postseason with a 7.45 ERA in two starts. Edwin Jackson was a midseason pickup from the White Sox, but like everyone else not named Carpenter has faltered this postseason.
Edge: Even

Relief Pitching
Texas: Neftali Feliz has been lights-out with a 1.17 ERA and four saves in seven postseason appearances, but the arms leading up to him are pretty good. Midseason acquisitions Mike Adams and Mike Gonzalez have pitched well during the postseason, while Koji Uehara allowed home runs in each of his three postseason appearances. Regular season starter Alexei Ogando also has been dominating with 12 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings, while Darren Oliver and Scott Feldman have combined to allow one run in 12 2/3 innings.
St. Louis: From a pitching standpoint, this is why St. Louis is here. The Cardinals made nearly 30 pitching changes in the NLCS and the group of Octavio Dotel, Lance Lynn and Fernando Salas were effective in getting the game to closer Jason Motte. Motte throws hard and has allowed one hit in eight innings while converting three four-out saves.
Edge: Texas

Prediction: Cardinals in 7

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9. Texas favorites — Tradition aside, the Rangers are relatively heavily favored. They’re going off
somewhere around -160, to the Cards’ +140.

8. Wild shot — St. Louis is trying to join the 2004 Red Sox, 2003 Marlins, 2002 Angels and 1997 Marlins as the only wild cards to win the Series.

7. WAR horses —According to Baseball-reference.com’s WAR statistic, Mike Napoli?(5.5 wins above replacement) is the Series’ most valuable player. Albert Pujols (5.4) is second.

6. Start me up — St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter (11-9, 3.49 ERA)?and Texas’ C.J. Wilson (16-7, 2.94) are expected to start Game 1.

5. Pitching in — Texas’ starters posted an atrocious 6.59 ERA in the ALCS. The only time an ALCS-winning rotation posted a higher ERA was the 1977 Yankees’ 7.25.

4. New Bash Brothers? — Texas has a chance to become the first team to win the Series the year after losing it since the 1989 A’s. That Oakland team was managed by Tony LaRussa — the Cardinals’ boss now.

3 Busy in the bullpen — The St. Louis bullpen was only mediocre in the regular season, posting a 3.95 ERA.  But it excelled in the NLCS, pitching more total innings than the Cardinals’ starters and
putting up a sterling 1.58 ERA. The notoriously matchup-obsessed LaRussa made a record 28 pitching changes, breaking his own NLCS record.

2. Red hot — Relatively unheralded NLCS MVP David Freese enters the Series on an unreal streak. He’s hit safely in 10 straight games, with five doubles, four HRs and 14 RBIs in the postseason. ALCS?MVP Nelson Cruz, meanwhile, has six playoff dingers.

1. Doing without — Both teams are here despite losing key members of their rotation. Cliff Lee departed Texas as an offseason free agent, and St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright blew out his right elbow way back in February.

The post 10 things about the Rangers and Cardinals appeared first on Metro.us.

At the same stadium where Eli Manning dodged Patriots and won a Super Bowl MVP, the Giants lucked into their third win of the season.

The Giants trailed by 10 points with less than four minutes to play when Manning led his team to two touchdowns in 58 seconds.

But it wasn’t without controversy.

Manning threw a touchdown pass to Jake Ballard in the back of the end zone to make it 27-24 Arizona with 3:37 remaining. From there it got crazy.

When the Giants got the ball back, Manning threw a pass to Victor Cruz for a large gain — before Cruz stood up without being touched and left the ball behind. While Arizona recovered, officials ruled Cruz had “given himself up,” the ball stayed with the Giants and by rule couldn’t be challenged.

“He just told me I couldn’t challenge,” Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “I like to think it shouldn’t have come to that play. That’s the way I have to look at it.”

Manning threw a 29-yard touchdown to Hakeem Nicks on the next play to take the lead. 

Four good …

1. Deja vu: Manning re-created his magic in the Cardinals’ home stadium by leading a late comeback. The suddenly-hot Manning found Hakeem Nicks in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown with 2:39 remaining in the comeback win. Manning went 27-of-41 for 321 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

2. We ’si you: Osi Umenyiora’s season debut was a success, as he strip-sacked quarterback Kevin Kolb midway through the first quarter. Umenyiora, who missed most of training camp and all of the season to date with a bum knee, easily beat the left tackle and chased Kolb down to force the fumble. Rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams, who has also impressed this season, recovered at the Giants’ 14-yard line to thwart a driving Cardinals offense. 

3. Tuck-ered out: Justin Tuck (neck/groin) made the trip but never suited up. The Giants’ pass rush didn’t suffer though, as the front seven tallied four sacks. Tuck’s replacement, Dave Tollefson, registered two sacks, both in the first half, while Umenyiora added the other two.  

4. Catching up:

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All wasn’t totally lost for
Big Blue, as the receiving corps did just as much damage as their Arizona
counterparts. Nicks bounced back in a big way, as he recorded 10 catches for
161 yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown. Tight end Jake Ballard
represented for the unsung tight ends with a stellar game. He had three
catches for 33 yards, including an athletic touchdown in the back of the end
zone late in the fourth quarter to keep the Giants within striking distance. It
was Ballard’s first career touchdown.   

Four bad …

1. No big surprise: As expected, Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald was a problem for the Giants secondary. He registered eight catches for 102 yards. Fitzgerald, maybe the best jumpball receiver in the game, nestled a 48-yarder over a Giants safety Deon Grant to set up Arizona’s go-ahead touchdown midway through the third quarter. The catch also put Fitzgerald into the Cardinals’ history books as it made him the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards (8,510 at the time of his catch). He also later set the franchise record for most career 100-yard games.

2. Line change: The offensive line also had its troubles with the aggressive Cardinals’ 3-4 defense. Eli Manning was knocked down several times and sacked once. The biggest turning point was the injury to center David Baas, who went out with a neck burner late in the third quarter. Arizona quickly capitalized, as his replacement Kevin Boothe allowed a strip sack by David Carter. The Cardinals recovered inside the 10-yard line and scored a touchdown two plays later to stretch the lead to 20-10.           

3. Security: Ahmad Bradshaw’s ball security issues reared their head again and set the tone for an uneven performance by the Giants. Bradshaw, who was benched late last season due to his penchant for putting the ball on the turf, fumbled on New York’s opening drive inside the 20-yard line. The shifty Bradshaw didn’t see a hard-charging Cardinal defender who let loose on the unsuspecting running back after catching a screen pass. The fumble turned into a short field goal by the Cardinals.

4. Wells off: 

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Beanie Wells, who was
much-maligned this season for underachieving after finally becoming the
unquestioned No. 1 running back, had a breakout game. The third-year back
registered his first-career three touchdown game en route to a 27-carry, 138-yard
performance.  
  

Follow Giants beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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1. Size matters

The Giants easily corralled the Eagles’ receiving corps featuring DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, but that was just an appetizer compared to who they face Sunday. The Cardinals boast arguably the best wideout in the game in Larry Fitzgerald. Coming off a subpar 2010 season for him, Fitzgerald is on a mission this season. Already off to a fast start (15 catches, 259 yards and two touchdowns), Fitzgerald has tortured opposing defenses this season. How well Big Blue’s injury-riddled secondary can neutralize the annual Pro Bowler will go a long way in deciding a victory or defeat.   

2. Something new, something Blue

The Giants’ new-look offensive line has been spotty at times this season and will face a tough test Sunday. The Cardinals employ a 3-4 defense, which is something Big Blue rarely faces. That means there’s usually more speed in a 3-4 look with an extra linebacker to account for. But while linebacker speed could be a concern for the Giants’ line, the real force in Arizona’s defense is nose tackle Darnell Dockett. Should center David Baas handle the Pro Bowler, then that’ll pave the way for guards Chris Snee and David Diehl to get their mitts on the undersized linebackers, enabling the running game to flourish.      

3. Eli’s rolling

Eli Manning has been on a roll as of late, even garnering NFC Player of the Week honors for his four-touchdown performance last week in Philly. Since starting 2-of-11 against the Rams two weeks ago, Manning has completed 80 percent of his passes. Manning is known to be streaky, so if Good Eli shows up, he can certainly match Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb yard-for-yard. But should Bad Eli rear his head, the Giants will not like their return visit to the site where they won the Super Bowl following the 2007 season. 

Follow Giants beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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“Last week’s win is over. We can’t go into this game with great confidence if we’re not prepared,” Coughlin said. “We’re preparing ourselves for the Arizona Cardinals — a good football team that had a lot of changes this offseason. They’ve lost some close games and this isn’t a normal 1-2 team. They’ve lost both games by a total of four points.”   

The Cardinals posses the same types of problems that the Eagles were thought to give the Giants last week. Arizona has its own Philadelphia ties, as former Eagles backup quarterback Kevin Kolb is now at the controls. While not as skilled a runner as Mike Vick, Kolb is also mobile and possesses a very good arm. And like the Eagles, the Cardinals (1-2) have some dangerous weapons in the passing game. Led by annual Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald (15 catches for 259 yards), the Cardinals’ passing game includes receiving tight ends Todd Heap (109 yards) and Jeff King (two touchdowns), as well as Early Doucet (10 catches, 175 yards).   

The Giants (2-1) are as stout against the run as any team in the league — only yielding 3.6 yards per carry — but still have holes in their inconsistent, injury-riddled secondary. Opponents have thrown for 847 yards so far in the first three games, an average of 282 yards per game. They’ll need to shore up that part of the defense because Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, a former offensive coordinator, will certainly try to exploit such mismatches.   

Coughlin said that’s where early preparation is key.    

“We’ll study, look at things and then we’ll prepare,” Coughlin said, stressing Wednesdays as the key day of preparation. “We have a universal approach at the beginning of the week and then it tapers its way down to a workable list or menu for the finished game plan.”        

It’s been a couple years since these teams faced one another, and the Cardinals have undergone a huge facelift since then. Coughlin said his team would probably have to put in even more work this week than last. The Eagles are a longtime bitter rival, so knowing tendencies and getting up for that game wasn’t difficult, Coughlin noted.   

“We don’t know this team very well [because] it’s been a couple of years since we played them, so there’ll have to be extra time put in to be prepared for them,” Coughlin said, adding the Cardinals’ schemes aren’t what the Giants usually face. “They’re a 3-4 team, much like the style of the Steelers, [and] they’re a very physical style. They’ve got good balance and are a tough and physical football team. We’ll need that same type of preparation as we had last week, which was outstanding.”    

The one area Coughlin wants corrected is the Giants’ ability to eat up large chunks of the game clock, hopefully keeping Kolb, Fitzgerald and Co. off the field. Coughlin noted that while last week’s scoreboard indicated otherwise, the Eagles owned the tempo, possessing a 36:51 to 23:09 advantage in time of possession. He’d like to reverse that and one way to do so is to get running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs even more involved than last week. The duo combined for over 200 yards of total offense last week, but Coughlin feels they can carry even more of a load.    

“We’ll keep chipping away,” Coughlin said of the clock, adding the winner of the turnover battle has a greatly-enhanced chance of winning. “The point has been driven home so hard that everyone [is aware] and can rattle off the [turnover] stats.”  

Big Blue notes
 
» Wideout Mario Manningham (concussion) practiced yesterday and looked like his speedy self snaring deep passes.    

» Brandon Stokley was escorted to a waiting car by trainer Ronnie Barnes with a huge ice pack and an ace bandage on his knee. The official report was a strained quad.      

» Defensive end Osi Umenyiora (knee) also participated, while his bookend-brethren Justin Tuck (groin/neck) did not. Coughlin said there’s no guarantee that Umenyiora plays Sunday, as he’d like to see the pass rusher participate in a string of practices before deciding: “We’re hoping we can have at least one good day of practice and hopefully no repercussions [before deciding].”   

» Coughlin decided to take the sarcastic route when discussing the healing process of injured cornerback Prince Amukamara. The rookie from Nebraska was the final first-round holdout, and promptly broke his foot during his first official practice as a Giant. Coughlin said lesson learned and he will ease Amukamara back into the mix once he’s 100 percent healthy, because “It didn’t work last time, remember?”
  
» Backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels, who is on injured reserve (IR), was seen throwing passes during practice to oft-injured wideout Ramses Barden, who is on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. The hitch, however, was that under league rules, any player on IR is prohibited from working out with teammates, as they can only work out with trainers. PUP players aren’t allowed to practice with teammates until Week 7, but they can return anytime between Week 7 and Week 9. After Week 9, the team must decide to activate the player or put him on IR. Rosenfels was not supposed to be throwing to Barden, since the veteran quarterback is on IR, so as soon as team officials saw him doing it, they stopped him.  

» Despite the mounting injuries, Coughlin said he’s pleased with how resilient his team has been: “There’s a feeling in the room of accomplishment to get things done. You do realize that it takes everybody. Everybody on your team is going to get called upon at one time or another to make a contribution to help you win. Whatever position you are talking about, it is the ability to have some flexibility within that group that gives you the opportunity to plan.”  

Follow Giants beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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