Giants have more to worry about than frigid conditions

While everyone wants to talk about the frostbite-conducive conditions that await Sunday in Green Bay, the visiting Giants know there are more important matters.

"What we prefer to do really is to focus on the things that we can control," said Tom Coughlin, the Giants' no-nonsense coach. "We have no way of controlling that."

Quarterback Eli Manning said he won't even wear gloves, and Coughlin is more concerned with the Packers and with the health of his own team.

Rookie cornerback Aaron Ross will be wearing a harness Sunday to prevent his dislocated right shoulder from popping out of joint as it did twice last week. Backup corners Sam Madison and Kevin Dockery, wide receiver Plaxico Burress and offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie are all banged up to varying degrees.

But Burress and McKenzie, the ones who matter the most, are expected to play.

Actually Coughlin would prefer not to discuss the injuries either, like most NFL coaches. He will, however, address the topic of putting pressure on Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who often seems immune to the pass rush.

That game-within-the-game element could be the key factor in determining which team represents the NFC in Super Bowl XLII.

While the Giants led the NFL with 53 sacks in the regular season, the Packers were third best at protecting the quarterback, and Favre, who was sacked just 15 times, almost always seems to get away, even when he is pressured.

"He has done that all year," Coughlin said of Favre's escape act. "He gets rid of the ball very well. You just have to keep coming and hope that you have an opportunity to disrupt or get a hit on the quarterback."

By now Coughlin doesn't have to worry about his team playing on the road. They've won nine straight as visitors, and it's almost to the point where the Giants' coach has grown weary of trying to explain their formula for success on foreign soil.

"It's just a matter of the grit, the determination, the character, the leadership, the (physical) toughness, and the mental toughness," Coughlin said. "In a lot of ways when we come out and we get booed, we are kind of interested in how high the volume of the boos are."

The decibels are expected to be high at Lambeau Field, which will be sold out for the 268th straight Packers game.

Cold weather, crowd noise and the explosive Green Bay offense all are legitimate reasons for the Giants to focus on their running game, which was fourth best in the league this season. But it has taken a back seat to the Packers' Ryan Grant, who the Giants traded away for a sixth-round draft pick a week before the start of the season.

The reason the Giants were able to part with Grant is because they have 6-foot-4, 264-pound Brandon Jacobs (1,009 yards on 201 carries) and 5-foot-9, 198-pound rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, a seventh-round pick from Marshall who appears to be a major steal. They also had Derrick Ward, who rushed for 602 yards in eight games, including 154 yards against the Bears on Dec. 2, when he suffered a broken leg.

Jacobs and Bradshaw complement each other well, providing the Giants with a physical, punishing inside runner and a quick, elusive change of pace. Unlike the regular season, when Jacobs was clearly the featured runner, they've split the postseason carries almost evenly, and Bradshaw has been the more effective player with 100 yards on 23 carries to Jacobs' 27 for 88.

"Ahmad is a short, squatty guy, so it's harder to see him in there," Jacobs said, "and when defenses have been running around for three quarters and getting run into every other play, it's kind of difficult for them to (handle) a guy with fresh legs and who is as quick and fast as he is."

What makes the Giants' running back combo so effective is the versatility of both players.

"The two of them create some problems for the defense because of the style they play," Coughlin said. "We use them both, and the interesting thing is both of them can do a lot of things. Jacobs can catch the ball; Bradshaw can run inside. Obviously Jacobs can run inside, so they both can do a little bit of what the other guy does, so you're not restricted in any way in terms of play calling."