GIANT NOTES

Think this game has already sparked some emotion? Just listen to what Giants left tackle Lomas Brown is anticipating for Sunday night’s Giants-Redskins clash.

“This is going to be a dogfight,” Brown said, just warming up. “This is going to be a bloodbath. They know if they get this game, I mean when we get this game, it will put a stranglehold on this division.”

How do you define stranglehold? Well, if the Giants win they’ll be 4-0 and four games (counting the head-to-head tiebreaker) ahead of the Redskins, who would be 1-3.

“I don’t think you can afford to fall one game behind any team,” Redskins QB Brad Johnson said. “I think this is a huge game for us, being a division game, an away game. It’s a 16-game season, you don’t know what is going to happen with both teams, but it’s definitely a huge game for both teams and it’s a game we feel like we have to have.”

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TE Pete Mitchell missed practice because of an intestinal infection but is expected back today. RG Ron Stone left early with a problem with his right ankle but said he’s fine … Not only are the Redskins reeling, but they also are hurting. FB Larry Centers, a primary target out of the backfield and the team leader with 14 catches, is listed as doubtful because of a hyperextended elbow. Also, C Cory Raymer (knee) remains out, leaving reserve Mark Fischer as the starter.

Jim Fassel yesterday broke a promise he made to himself when he mentioned his job status. Speaking about the lack of salary-cap room the Giants had to work with this past off-season, he said “I got asked a lot of questions. ‘How do you feel with people saying your job is on the line and you guys are trying to straighten out a cap, plus sign players when you got a team that went 7-9?’ “

When he was later asked if the 3-0 start has quieted talk about his job security, Fassel quickly added “I broke my own rule because I said I wasn’t talking about it. I’m not talking about it.”

Is this a key football matchup or two old-timers hanging out at the park, reminiscing about the good times? Brown, 37, squares off on Sunday against DE Bruce Smith, 37. The two were first-round draft pick back in 1985. “Instead of using the word old,” Brown said, “I like to use the word experienced.”

The middle portion of the Giants Stadium grass field, inside the numbers from the back of one end zone to the other, has been replaced. The field was replaced prior to the season, but large chunks of grass have been ripped off, creating divots on the playing surface. This was a non-scheduled field replacement, and the hope is the new grass will stay together better than the old grass.