Giants upbeat, knowing they control fate

They have confidence. They have hope. And they have a four-game losing streak.

If you walked into the Giants' locker room this week without having watched a single NFL game for the past month, there is no possible way you could guess they haven't won since beating the Patriots on Nov. 6. Judging by their confidence as they prepare for Sunday night's road game against the Cowboys, there's no way you'd guess they have lost four straight to the 49ers, Eagles, Saints and Packers.

The Giants are 6-6, a game behind Dallas in the NFC East. Because they play the Cowboys again in the last game of the regular season, the Giants would win the division title if they were to run the table.

"We're still in control," defensive end Dave Tollefson said. "This game, we're going to find out if we're ready to take the horse by the reins and keep control. We know we have to keep it."

Coach Tom Coughlin bristled at the suggestion that his team is lucky to be in this position after the four straight losses. "By virtue of how we started the season, we earned the right to be here," he said.

The Giants did look like one of the NFL's elite teams when they opened the season 6-2, especially after their final game before the losing streak, a 24-20 win over the Patriots in Foxboro. The Giants also were impressive in their last-second 38-35 loss to the undefeated Packers last Sunday.

The way the Giants look at it, in three hours Sunday night, they can erase everything that's happened in the past month.

Said Corey Webster: "We all know what's on the line here. You can't get any bigger than this game. We want to have a dominant performance and get the W."

Notes & quotes: Offensive tackle Stacy Andrews was at the Giants' training center for the first time since he was rushed to the hospital last Saturday with blood clots in his lungs. Andrews, who will not play for the rest of the season, said he had been feeling pain around his rib area for several days and had coughed up blood, but he figured it was something that would go away. Said Andrews: "The pain got to be where I couldn't brush it off. I'm just lucky I went in when I did. I'm lucky to be here." . . . DE Osi Umenyiora (ankle), LB Mark Herzlich (ankle), C David Baas (headaches) and LB Spencer Paysinger (hamstring) will sit out Sunday . . . Tollefson (knee), RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), RB Brandon Jacobs (hamstring) LB Michael Boley (hamstring) and WR Mario Manningham (knee) are probable . . . S Kenny Phillips (knee) is listed as doubtful, though he did run on the sideline Friday in practice. Rookie Tyler Sash can expect to see increased time in his place. Sash will be the third safety behind Deon Grant and Antrel Rolle. "They've told me to be ready, so I've been preparing for it all week," Sash said.