So far, Giants coming up small

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Inquirer learned Wednesday that Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning are not dead yet. They do not look well, but an acute case of 0-and-4itis would leave most NFL coaches and quarterbacks on vomit alert.

If Manning heaves, he will probably soil one of the unfamiliar offensive linemen who have had such a difficult time protecting the quarterback this season. Peyton's little brother has been sacked 14 times through New York's first four games, which is the same number of times opposing rushers have taken down Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. Manning has been hit 29 times, five more than Vick.

Here's the biggest difference: Manning isn't used to being mauled and flattened this often.

A year ago, he was sacked a league-low 20 times and hit just 53 times. Only his brother Peyton absorbed fewer hits. The offensive line that was in place when the Giants won Super Bowls in 2008 and 2012 bears little resemblance to the makeshift crew now in charge of protecting Manning.

Like the middle of the Phillies batting order, those guys have grown old and become injured, with the greatest loss being Coughlin's son-in-law, Chris Snee. A four-time Pro Bowler at right guard, Snee could be facing career-ending hip surgery. Tackle David Diehl may return from a thumb injury and play for the first time this season Sunday against the Eagles, and that could help a Giants running game that ranks 30th in the league. The Giants re-signed veteran running back Brandon Jacobs to try to help in that department, but he's 31 and has carried the ball 11 times for 11 yards in three games.

Two weeks ago, the Carolina Panthers sacked Manning seven times in a 38-0 loss that was the worst of Coughlin's 10-year tenure in New York. The Giants followed that up with a 31-7 loss at Kansas City on Sunday and have been outscored by 110-30 in their last three games. Bad doesn't need any more confirmation than that.

The coach who has won two Super Bowls is sounding like a rookie coach trying to build a winning program.

"Obviously a win would help a lot," Coughlin said before his team's practice Wednesday. "I do believe their focus is in the right spot. You have to have success. Success would help tremendously."

The good news for Coughlin, Manning, and the Giants is they are returning to the JV portion of their schedule, which goes by the official name of NFC East divisional play. The 1-3 Eagles will bus to Met Life Stadium this weekend and renew one of the better rivalries in the NFL. The Eagles get to face Eli instead of Peyton and that's a relief even though the younger Manning brother holds a 2-1 lead in Super Bowl rings.

The bad news for the Eagles is that Peyton told his little brother how he exploited all those holes in their defense on Sunday.

"Yeah, I talked to him [Tuesday]," Eli said. "I talked to him about Philly. I gave him my thoughts on Dallas. That's who they're playing this week. You ask some questions and get some general thoughts. It's just scheme or some ideas."

If you think the Eagles are looking at this game as a chance to get well against a bad team, you can be sure the Giants are looking at it the same way. Neither side will put it that way, but both know it's the truth.

"Right now, we're both playing to save our season," Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said. "We're both playing for something."

The Giants won all four of their Super Bowls with a ferocious defense, particularly along the defensive line. This season, the Giants and the Paper Curtain Steelers are tied for last in the league with four sacks. The last time the Giants had fewer sacks than they allowed was 2004, which was Coughlin's first season as their coach.

"It's very disappointing," Pierre-Paul said. "We've been very frustrated that we only have four sacks as a unit. This is the New York Giants and normally we have sacks off the roof. Right now, it's not that way."

Pierre-Paul had 161/2 sacks in 2011, the Giants' last Super Bowl season, but he has only 71/2 in his last 20 games and one this season. He is playing with a sprained medial collateral ligament and was one of 15 Giants listed Wednesday on the team's injury report.

It is important to remember that Coughlin, Manning, and the Giants have been the best in the NFL over the last decade at playing dead and being resurrected in the same season. They went 4-4 in their final eight games before winning the first of their two Super Bowls with Manning at quarterback, then went 4-5 in their final nine games before winning it again two years ago.

Coughlin, Manning, and the Giants are not dead yet, but it's only because they are on that special NFC East life-support system.

Eli Manning ranks 28th in the NFL for the 0-4 Giants. His brother Peyton is first.

85-151      56.3      1,148      6         9         69.1

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