Glauber: Giants can learn from ancestors

As the Giants' heroes of the past gather for what figures to be an emotional Ring of Honor ceremony, the Giants of the here and now gather for what they hope will be an inspiring performance in front of their gridiron ancestors.

"Hopefully, we can channel that and build off it and use it to our advantage," defensive end Justin Tuck said about tonight's matchup against the Bears at New Meadowlands Stadium. "It will definitely emphasize things and there will definitely be a certain feeling in the stadium."

Tuck's Giants would do well to draw some inspiration from past Giants greats such as Michael Strahan, Phil Simms, Frank Gifford, Andy Robustelli, Sam Huff and all the others who will gather for a celebration of the franchise's 85 years of existence.

After all, with two straight losses, questions about the team's leadership and an injury to one of their best players, the Giants can use anything to turn their season around.

One other thing they could use: a sense of urgency.

After getting embarrassed by the Colts on national TV two Sundays ago and responding with a mistake-filled collapse at home last week, the Giants would do well to adopt more of a must-win dynamic to their game against the 3-0 Bears.

But all we seem to have heard from the players is that it's still early in the season and that there's plenty of time to correct the mistakes.

Yes, there really is a lot of season left and there really is a lot of time to fix the errors that have plagued them the last two weeks. But it also feels as though the calibration of this team's collective psyche ought to take on a more resolute tone.

Tuck offered a curiously flat answer when asked if he would describe this as a must-win game.

"No. There's no such thing as one until the last game of the season and you need it for the playoffs," he said. "That's a must-win game. It's a long season. I've seen teams win eight games and have made the playoffs, so if I do my math right, we have about six more losses before we have a must-win game."

Perhaps Tuck should recall that last year's team finished 8-8 and did not make the playoffs. In fact, they went 3-8 in their last 11 games to skid out of contention and make coach Tom Coughlin's job security more tenuous coming into this season.

The slow start, coupled with suggestions that there are fissures inside the locker room, only compounds the pressure that underscores tonight's game.

By not expressing outward concern about the difficult circumstances the Giants now face, Tuck appears more intent on allowing the team to perform better without a sense of panic. But there are times, as Strahan likes to say, when you need to grab your teammate by the shoulder pads and implore him to play with more purpose.

This is one of them.

After last week's showing against the Titans, which included three turnovers and 11 penalties - including six for personal fouls - the Giants looked as undisciplined as they have in a long, long time. Perhaps at any time in the Coughlin era.

And with Mathias Kiwanuka - off to the best start of his career with four sacks in three games - out indefinitely with a neck injury, with Osi Umenyiora's knee problems flaring again and with Shaun O'Hara still missing with an Achilles injury, they will need to summon a better effort against the unbeaten Bears.

They need to find a way to run the ball against Chicago's resurgent run defense. They need to protect Eli Manning from the likes of Julius Peppers, especially if the running game fails and Manning needs to put the ball in the air. And they need to apply pressure on quarterback Jay Cutler, who is off to a terrific start under his new offensive coordinator, Mike Martz, creator of The Greatest Show On Turf in his days with the Rams.

It's a tall order for the Giants, no doubt. But what better way to make a statement than to do it in front of so many great Giants players and coaches from the past?