Good morning, Giants fans. The theme of the week for the Giants is how the defense has been letting the offense down. Here are the links:

• First is a story from the AP wire, noting that the offense is trumping the defense
• Then there's the LA Times noting that the mighty Giants have fallen (along with the Steelers and Patriots) and it's not the fault of the offense.
• Here's Justin Terranova of the New York Post writing that, like Monday Night Football, the Giants must return to their roots of strong defense. I wish it were just that simple.
• Steve Serby writes an S.O.S. letter to Eli, asking him to "save our season."
• Northjersey.com profiles rookie William Beatty as he prepares to fill in for the injured Kareem McKenzie. I'll admit that I'm far from an expert on offensive line play, but I haven't noticed any real dropoff from McKenzie to Beatty, which is about all you can ask for from a rookie tackle.
• Finally, we have transcripts from everyone's two favorite Giants employees: Bill Sheridan and Kevin Gilbride. Sheridan answered a question about Tom Coughlin's statement from the other day:

"Kind just for what it is. We, as a defense, are certainly disappointed in our performance. We certainly don’t expect to be giving up 25, 30 points a game. That is not the M.O around here and never has been. So really we are as disappointed in ourselves as anybody else. Tom is just very matter of fact about bottom line and what is expected of our defense. Just like what is expected of our offense and special teams. In several of the last couple games, we have not met those expectations in the grand scheme of things and that has to improve."

Be sure to check out the transcripts section for more from Tom Coughlin, Bruce Johnson, and the always entertaining Brandon Jacobs.

I won't be in the game threads on Monday night because I'll be freezing my butt off at Fed Ex Field. As always, Go Giants!