GIANT NOTES

PHILADELPHIA – The Giants came into yesterday’s game against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field a remarkably healthy team, but they could not escape the first quarter unscathed, as three starters – middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, left tackle Luke Petitgout and defensive tackle William Joseph – all were forced off the field.

That wasn’t all. With 12:31 left in the second quarter, right tackle Kareem McKenzie had to be helped off the field, as he was unable to step down on his left leg. McKenzie was hurt blocking on an extra point by Jay Feely.

The Giants lost their first starting offensive lineman early, as Petitgout played the first series before sitting with a back injury. Veteran Bob Whitfield took his place.

After missing three games with a dislocated elbow, Joseph returned to the starting lineup, replacing Fred Robbins.

Joseph, however, didn’t last long. He left the game mid-way through the first quarter with a leg injury.

Then, with 4:26 remaining in the first quarter, Pierce went down after a fiveyard run by Reno Mahe. Pierce stayed on the grass for a few minutes then was helped off to the sideline, walking gingerly. He eventually was carted off to the locker room with a sprained right ankle. Nick Greisen moved over into the middle, replacing Pierce, and Reggie Torbor came in to play strong side linebacker, with Carlos Emmons switching to the weak side. That means the Pierce injury forced a change of all three linebacker spots.

Finally, McKenzie went down with a hamstring injury that looked severe, and he was immediately declared out for the remainder of the game. With that, the offensive line had to be shuffled, with Whitfield at left tackle, Jason Whittle at left guard and David Diehl moving outside to right tackle.

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Tom Coughlin made several questionable coaching decisions.

One came in the third quarter, after a Michael Strahan sack for a seven-yard loss would have given the Eagles a second-and-17 on the Giants 30-yard line. There was a holding penalty on fullback Josh Parry on the play. For some reason, Coughlin accepted the 10-yard penalty, which only gained him three yards, gave the Eagles an extra down to work with and wiped out the Strahan sack.

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The Giants scored a touchdown on their opening possession for the first time since Oct. 2 vs. the Rams . . . WR Willie Ponder was back after getting benched the last four games despite averaging 27 yards per kickoff return. Coughlin surprisingly stripped Ponder of his job after Ponder fumbled away the opening kickoff vs. the Vikings, even though Coughlin said the turnover was not the main reason for inserting Chad Morton in as the kick returner. Ponder yesterday handled the kick returns, with Morton taking care of the punt returns . . . As expected, the signing of veteran CB Terrell Buckley meant that Frank Walker, who has fallen into disfavor with Coughlin, was inactive for the game.