Giants make most of a snow day

As the Giants waited Sunday morning to find out where and when they would be playing the Vikings, the rookies performed an impromptu talent show in a Kansas City hotel.

The best performance, according to Justin Tuck, was by guard Mitch Petrus, who did some "freestyle country" singing and even two-stepped close enough to Eli Manning that Tom Coughlin had to warn him not to topple onto the franchise quarterback.

"We had all the players around each other just kind of hanging out, having a little fun and taking advantage of this opportunity for a little team bonding," Manning said Sunday after the team arrived in Detroit. "It's been different, but I think we've kept good spirits and good focus."

It's the kind of team-building exercise that usually takes place during training camp, not on the verge of a December playoff push. But with the two ingredients that all NFL teams thrive on - information and scheduling - crumpled up like the roof of the Metrodome, the Giants were simply keeping themselves entertained.

Being stranded in Kansas City and playing an unplanned Monday Nighter certainly is not an ideal situation for any team. But ultimately, can it help for the final four games of the season?

"I hope so," Manning said. "I hope it can be something that we can deal with whatever is thrown at us, whether it's controversy or you're traveling around to different cities not knowing where you're going to play a game, getting the time and the day changed on you."

Tuck said he thinks the scheduling fiasco slides the advantage to the Giants. Not only does it rob the Vikings of a home game, but there will be plenty of Green Bay Packers fans left in Detroit who can go to the game Monday night and probably root for the Giants, even though the two teams are in competition for a postseason berth. "They really hate the Vikings," Tuck said.

The Lions helped out the Giants twice this weekend. They not only opened their doors for the game to be played in Detroit but surprised the Packers (8-5) with a 7-3 win that helps thin the top shelf of wild-card threats.

The Giants (8-4) might get another surprise if Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is unable to play. He reportedly has told people he expects his streak of consecutive starts to end at 297 because of a shoulder injury he suffered last week, but coach Leslie Frazier told reporters Sunday that Favre's availability remains a game-time decision. The delay was expected to give Favre more time to recover.

Once the Giants get through this game, they'll have an unexpected short week to prepare for the Eagles in a game that could decide the NFC East title.

Coughlin said the coaches were able to get a jump on game-planning against the Eagles, who played the Cowboys last night. They went into that "Monday night mode" on Saturday when the game originally was pushed back, although they were a little shorthanded.

"We didn't travel with that information," Coughlin said. "We didn't travel with a lot of clothes, to be honest with you. We've got most of our players and coaches here with a couple of days worth of clothes. But we will kick into a preparation mode in the morning and then of course shut it off in the afternoon for the game."

Ultimately, though, the Giants are focused on playing the Vikings, even with all of the adversity and anxiety they have gone through in the last several days.

"We're a tough-minded football team and we know that this game is going to come down to mental toughness," Tuck said. "I think that's one of our strong points."

Even under circumstances so strange that Coughlin had no experience with which to draw a parallel.

"I've tried to think of anything that's even close," he said, "but to be honest with you, I don't think there is anything."