New York Giants news, 10/28: Kiwanuka believes Giants are 'championship-caliber'

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Before we get to today's headlines, take a little time to thank the Washington Redskins for defeating the Dallas Cowboys Monday night, allowing the Giants to believe the NFC East is still winnable. Now, let's check today's headlines.

Mathias Kiwanuka: Giants have 'championship-caliber talent'

Veteran defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka remains confident despite the Giants' 3-4 predicament.

"Absolutely. It’s your guys’ job to panic and you guys do that very well. For us, there’s parity in the league, you can talk about all of those things, injuries or whatever," Kiwanuka said. "The fact remains that we have a lot of games left on the schedule, we’ve got championship caliber talent in here, I still believe that 100 percent, so we go out, we work, we put wins together and all of a sudden the perception changes."

Valentine's View: Not sure I am in agreement with Kiwanuka. What I have said and will continue to say is that with the schedule being what it is even if the Giants play better over the next nine games their record may not end up reflecting that improvement.

Coughlin defends handling of Jon Beason

Head coach Tom Coughlin grew testy Monday when asked if the Giants made a mistake by having Jon Beason try to rehab rather than have surgery right away in the spring when he originally suffered his foot injury. Beason, of course, is now going to have season-ending surgery.

"Why would you even want to go there? We got the guy on the field, he tried it, it actually became a little bit different kind of an injury but the same area. He gave it everything he had and he had the doctor's approval. Unfortunately, it didn't work," Coughlin said.

Jameel McClain: 53 was the MIKE

Giants linebacker Jameel McClain provided some levity Week 7 against Dallas, screaming at Tony Romo that he was not the MIKE linebacker.

"That was a good one. I was waiting for that one. I might be telling a small fib. I might have been telling a fib," McClain said on Monday.

Geoff Schwartz practices

Offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz practiced Monday for the first time since dislocating his toe in the preseason. Schwartz is still on short-term IR. It sounds like the Giants don't expect Schwartz to be available for a while yet.

"He started," Coughlin said. "It looks like the Queen Mary or something was wrapped around his toe when you look at that shoe."

"It's good to be back out there," Schwartz said. "It's been a while, so it's going to take a little bit of time. But I was pretty pleased with how it went."