Giants look forward to return of injured

Help is on the way . . . eventually.

Tom Coughlin said he is optimistic about getting some useful bodies back on the field by the time the Giants regroup after their bye week, but he would make no guarantees about the timing of their readiness.

"We'll just continue to monitor the progress here in the next week and see where it is," he said of players such as CB Prince Amukamara, coming off foot surgery in the preseason, and WR Ramses Barden, who spent the first six weeks of the season on PUP and is eligible to return to practice now.

As for others such as Justin Tuck (neck), Brandon Jacobs (knee) and Chris Snee (concussion), Coughlin said the team eagerly awaits their return.

"We are very much aware and very optimistic that we are going to get some players back," he said. "I think it will be a nice boost in the arm. I don't know exactly when the individuals will be cleared, but hopefully we'll be in a position where they are ready to go when we're talking game week and we get closer to our next opponent."

'D' bounces backMathias Kiwanuka said the Giants focused on preventing big plays last week. So when the Bills scored 14 points in a span of seven snaps in the first quarter, including scoring plays of 80 and 60 yards, it was alarming.

"Those things are going to happen, but it's our job to minimize them," Kiwanuka said. "Going out there and giving one up early is a bad situation to be in, it was tough and disappointing, but the fact that we fought and we got it corrected and we were able to come out with a win is the biggest positive you can take out of this week. We put ourselves in a bad situation, but we came back and we fought and we rose up."

Giant steps

Coughlin said S Kenny Phillips suffered a rib strain but reported no other injuries from the game . . . Kiwanuka was used primarily at defensive end with Tuck sidelined and Dave Tollefson playing more tackle. "It's always going to be there because that is what I have been doing for the last 10 or 15 years going all the way back to grade school," Kiwanuka, now considered a linebacker, said of going back to his natural position. "Whatever circumstance we're in team-wise and who we are playing against will dictate the different positions I will play." . . . Coughlin said the blocked field goal in the third quarter was the result of penetration and not because Lawrence Tynes' kick on the 51-yard attempt was too low . . . Coughlin said one of the areas he wants to stress during the bye week is offensive third-down conversions. The Giants are 23-for-73 (31.5 percent) in that situation, which ranked 27th in the NFL before last nightMonday night's game.