Giants' Boss, Manning are on same page

Usually, Eli Manning could have gone in any number of directions. He was reading a blitz coming from the Jaguars on a critical third-and-10 snap, and any of the receivers who spend time with him on the practice field or in the film room should have been able to read it as well and adjust their routes.

Trouble was, most of those guys were on the sideline. Steve Smith, the go-to guy on third downs? Hakeem Nicks, the team's leader in touchdown receptions? Not available.

But there was one guy Manning knew would be in tune with what was going on. That was tight end Kevin Boss.

"He saw it," Manning said after Sunday's game. "He went up the field looking for the ball. I got it to him."

It wound up being a 32-yard play for the winning touchdown, the third score for Boss in the last four games. With so many injuries at wide receiver, it's been up to Boss to carry the load not only in terms of receptions but also reactions. He's the hard drive that Manning puts all of his files into during the week, then pulls them out as needed on Sundays.

"You can tell him stuff that you don't even get to practice like, 'Kev, if I do this or say this, watch out for these two guys blitzing; I know technically in the book we're not hot, but we've got to throw hot there,' " Manning said. "And he'll say 'OK, I got it.'

"You only have to tell him something one time. He always seems like the guy to bail you out and he is a guy you can sometimes overload with stuff and he accepts it all and just has a great feel for the game and what is going on."

There was a point when Boss was the Giants' leading receiver. On the first snap of the season, he caught an 11-yard pass. Three plays later he was out of the game with a concussion, and he spent most of the first half of the season as a receiving afterthought. Manning starting pumping passes to Nicks and Smith and other targets for yardage and touchdowns. Boss had a 54-yard reception against the Titans on Sept. 26 - no Giant has had a longer one this year - but besides that there weren't a whole lot of big plays.

They were always there, though, in Manning's back pocket, waiting. Waiting for a time when they would be needed. Such as these last few weeks when receivers have become an endangered species for the Giants. Manning has learned over the years that he can count on Boss, whether it's for a big third-down conversion or, in recent games, to become a bigger part of the overall aerial game plan.

Boss has 24 receptions, fifth on the team, but his 16.3 yards per reception are the best on the Giants. He and Mario Manningham are the only receivers with two touchdowns of more than 30 yards this season. When Boss catches the ball, things happen. And the Giants are catching on to that idea.

Tom Coughlin jokingly called him "twinkle toes" for his run after the catch against the Jaguars, eluding a tackle and running into the end zone. But he also called the score "a big play by a guy that gives us those kinds of plays."

Manning raved about Boss' ability to get down the field, run corner routes and take advantage of matchups with safeties. "It seems like every catch he hits is a big play for 19 or 20 yards," Manning said.

The Giants will need more of those going forward.