New York Giants News and Notes: Focus Focus Focus Edition

Good morning fellow Giants fans. The Giants take the field Sunday after a two-week break, and face the 0-6 Miami Dolphins, who are--quite literally--floundering. Just when the 'Phins appeared to be on their way to the team's first win last Sunday, Tim Tebow worked his Florida magic, rallying the Broncos for 18 unanswered points in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter plus overtime. You could feel the air being sucked out of the imaginary teal balloon, and now the Dolphins have to travel back to the Meadowlands to face a rested and talented Giants' squad. But will the G-men put the pedal to the metal early and often, or will they play down to the level of competition as they did against Seattle two games ago? You never know, but you can bet Tom Coughlin has Big Blue focused and ready. It's the only way.

"We haven’t played in a couple weeks and if you study them, they are in every game," Coughlin said on Thursday. "They play hard but they haven’t been able to get themselves a win. It is not because they don’t have talent and it is not because they don’t play hard because they do. We are concerned about our team and our team playing the best that we can play. We want to continue to ascend in terms of our execution and not turning the ball over and all of those things. The challenges are great for us."

Aside from having Justin Tuck back, rookie Prince Amukamara is finally practicing after sitting out the first seven games with a broken foot. And DC Perry Fewell was impressed by one play in practice by the young CB:

"He was on the look-squad," said Fewell. "The receiver was running a 10-14 yard out cut. Prince was in a backpedal. Eli threw a laser. I mean he threw it in there. Prince saw it, he put his toe in the turf and he broke on the ball, I mean he knocked it down. He was ahead of the [player] maybe a yard. Everybody was like, ‘Wow that was nice.’ We wanted him to intercept it because you’re always looking for [turnovers], but he knocked it down and everybody was excited. People were jumping up. The team was excited to see him come out and make a play like that. But then the coaches, we said, ‘You have to intercept that ball.’ It was good to see him do that."

Politi: Giants need to do more than simply beat the Miami Dolphins | NJ.com
If the Giants are truly better than everyone expected in 2011, this would be the time to prove it. Treat the Dolphins like an SEC team treats Troy State. Beat them in all three phases of the game. Make sure that, by halftime, fans can safely grab their rakes and head out into their backyards.

With Rex off this week, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin isn't trying to steal his headlines - ESPN New York
Ryan needs a podium the way a comic needs a stage. The coach of the New York Jets loves being what they call good copy, so he'd prefer to deliver his outrageous quotes and forecasts through a bullhorn. Coughlin? He's so skilled at saying nothing, his briefing opened with the not-so-sweet sound of silence. Reporters knew going in they couldn't ask anything that might inspire a revealing response.

Eli Manning's consistency makes him an elite NFL QB, behind Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees
The combination of Manning racheting his game up a notch, the meltdowns of Philip Rivers, Michael Vick and Tony Romo, and his brother Peyton’s neck injury has jumped Eli into my list of top five quarterbacks.

I would guess that next week as the Giants prepare to play New England for the first time since Super Bowl 42, we're going to hear a lot about Manning and comparisons to Brady. But I'm not looking ahead. Really, I'm not!

New York Giants cancer survivor Mark Herzlich on "60 Minutes" - CBS News
Beating the odds in a fight against a deadly cancer for most people would mean staying alive. For Mark Herzlich, who was diagnosed with bone cancer while he was a football star at Boston College, living meant playing football in the NFL. Three years later, he's living his dream on the New York Giants, a titanium rod supporting his now cancer-free left leg, starring in a sports story that's an inspiration to millions. Byron Pitts profiles the Giants player on "60 Minutes" Sunday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

The Attack of the N.F.L.'s Late Bloomers - NYTimes.com
For some, Jacksonville’s shocking victory over Baltimore on Monday night proved the N.F.L. adage that any team can be beaten. The Jaguars had lost eight of nine games dating to last season, and the Ravens were off to one of the fastest starts in the league, with blowout victories over Pittsburgh, the Jets and Houston.

Yes, exactly. The Dolphins are more than capable of beating the Giants. And let's face it--most of the time, the Giants love to make us sweat.

Miami Dolphins In Depth
Ah, yes. After much discussion about stuff that doesn't matter one iota, the Dolphins decided to blame the true villian in all this -- the media. Yeah, that's the ticket. The big bad intimidating reporters are clearly trying to make Miami players say things against one another.

Yikes. Enjoy the rest of your Friday fellas, and let's get a win on Sunday.