Bears-Giants Preview
GAME OF THE WEEK

The New York Giants might be rolling into their NFC showdown with
the Chicago Bears on a five-game winning streak, but they're not
even close to being at full strength.

The injury-plagued Giants will be without a number of starters when
they host the Bears on Sunday night in a matchup that could go a
long way toward determining home-field advantage in the NFC
playoffs. New York (6-2) can pull into a tie with Chicago (7-1) for
the best record in the NFC with a victory. NFC South leader New
Orleans is also 6-2.

However, New York will again be missing several defensive starters,
including both of its Pro Bowl defensive ends. Michael Strahan is
out with a sprained ligament in his right foot while Osi Umenyiora
will miss his third straight game due to a hip flexor.
New York's starting defensive ends will likely be rookie Mathias
Kiwanuka - who has started the last two games for Umenyiora - and
Adrian Awasom - who spent the first seven weeks of the season on the
practice squad.

"It's a big adjustment and it's going to be a big stage," Awasom
said. "You have to take advantage of opportunity when given."

Linebacker Brandon Short (quad), reserve defensive end Justin Tuck
(foot) and cornerback Sam Madison (hamstring) have each missed the
last two games, although Madison practiced this week and could
return. Linebacker LaVar Arrington is lost for the season with an
Achilles' injury suffered on Oct. 23 at Dallas.

New York's problems also extend to the other side of the ball. The
Giants learned Wednesday that Amani Toomer - the franchise's all-
time leading receiver - will miss the rest of the season after an
MRI revealed a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament.

"I didn't think anything of it," Toomer said. "It was very
disappointing when I got the MRI."

The Giants do expect Plaxico Burress to return after he sat out last
week's 14-10 victory over Houston with back spasms. He practiced
this week and was critical of the Bears defensive backs, calling
them "very beatable."

It remains to be seen whether the Giants can beat the Bears, given
the injuries that have mounted.

"It is part of being in the National Football League," New York
coach Tom Coughlin said. "It happens to every team in the league. It
is just something that we have to learn how to deal with. And we are
going to focus, as we always do, on the guys who are going to play
the game and put ourselves in the best possible position that we
can."

Chicago has serious injury problems as well, but not nearly the same
volume as New York.

Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher has a sprained big toe on his
left foot - suffered in the final minutes of last week's 31-13 loss
to Miami - and is listed as questionable. He hasn't practiced this
week, but still expects to be on the field at Giants Stadium. ESPN
reported Saturday evening that the middle linebacker is ready to go,
and will play.

"I still watch a lot of film, still watch practice pretty closely,
so I should be OK. I'm not gonna get to hit and stuff like that, but
I should be all right once I get back in there," Urlacher said.

Bernard Berrian, who leads all Bears receivers with four touchdowns,
suffered bruised ribs in last week's loss and is doubtful for this
game.

A sloppy effort resulted in Chicago's first loss of the season last
week. The Bears turned the ball over six times against the Dolphins
and allowed a season-high 161 yards on the ground.

"We've gotten ourselves in position and now we have to finish the
job," coach Lovie Smith said. "We didn't finish the job Sunday, but
we look forward to that next challenge we get against the Giants."

The challenge facing Chicago's top-ranked defense will be slowing
down the NFL's leading rusher, Tiki Barber, who is averaging 121
yards per game during New York's winning streak. Barber carried only
17 times last week, but still ran for 115 yards and his first
touchdown of the season.

Offensively, Bears quarterback Rex Grossman has committed 10
turnovers in the last three games. He was picked off three times and
also lost a fumble last week, and is tied with Detroit's Jon Kitna
with a NFC-high 10 interceptions on the season.

Expect Rex to comeback this week, big time.

'I worry about [Grossman] a lot more after wins than I do losses,''
quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said. ''Usually when things are not
going well, the next week comes and he is so focused and he is into
the system and not trying to do too much."

Rex had his own assessment:

''Just eliminate the bad plays, the disaster plays,'' Grossman said
when asked what he needed to improve. ''For the most part, I go
through my reads, make good decisions and then there's one play
where I can't even explain what I was thinking, and it was just a
bad pass here or there that really hurt. That can easily be fixed,
and I'm going to go do that this week.''

''I'm pissed off all week,'' Grossman said. ''You can say I felt
like we lost after the Arizona game. We didn't. I felt like it. I'm
just mad.''

New York has not beaten Chicago at home in the regular season since
1969, losing the last four visits by the Bears. Chicago won 28-21
two years ago in the last match up.


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