‘Things I think’ before Giants-Saints kickoff: Giants have an opportunity

Jermaine Eluemunor out

Starting right tackle Jermain Eluemunor (calf) headlines Sunday’s inactives.

TE Theo Johnson | Neck
S Tyler Nubin | Neck
CB Colton Hood | Concussion
QB Jake Haener | Emergency third QB
DT C.J. Okoye
RT Jermaine Eluemunor | Calf

The New York Giants are staring at a tremendous opportunity.

The 3-1-1 Giants lead a division that is convoluted, to say the least.

To start with, the Giants have not won the division since 2011. That is the last time the Giants won the Super Bowl. So, no one is used to seeing New York atop the standings.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who have won the division the past two seasons and three of the past four and had Super Bowl aspirations, are a mess. They are 2-3, riding a three-game losing streak.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts is out for an undetermined length of time with a ‘superficial’ blood clot in his calf. Running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver DaVonta Smith are out with hamstring injuries. Right tackle Lane Johnson retired midseason. Starting center/guard Cam Jurgens was traded. New offensive coordinator Sean Mannion has yet to prove he is up to the task.

The Dallas Cowboys are also 2-3. Considering Philadelphia’s woes and preseason expectations for the Cowboys, the division should be Dallas’s for the taking. But there are huge questions about whether or not Dallas can take it.

After overhauling their defense and bringing in new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, the Cowboys have still been awful on that side of the ball. They brought in veteran coach Mike Pettine as a consultant this week.

Coach Brian Schottenheimer is under fire after his decision-making helped the Cowboys lose a game to the Baltimore Ravens that they tied with :07 to play. Dallas players held a players-only team meeting this week.

It’s anybody’s guess which direction the Cowboys’ season will go in.

The Commanders (1-3-1) are in crisis after Sunday’s mismanaged game against the Giants. There are questions about head coach Dan Quinn’s fitness for the job. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is being criticized from every direction, including by Green Bay Packers star outside linebacker Micah Parsons.

Washington is 0-3 in the NFC East already. In Week 6, they are on the road to face the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. Their season might already be over.

The Giants? They are just chugging happily along, shrugging off Sunday’s tie. Head coach John Harbaugh has convinced them they have worked hard enough to earn the right to win, and that if they stay on task, they will continue to get better.

“We want to be more consistent with doing the things that are required to win a football game,” Harbaugh said. “It’s really hard to win in this league. You’ve got to do a lot of things right against a team that’s trying to do a lot of things right too. I think they have it. I think they have what it takes. I’ve told them that. They have what it takes. And they’re chasing execution every single day. So, I’m really proud of them. I think they’re really diligent. They’re tough-minded. They work really hard, and they’re very talented. Those are all really important traits.

“So, let’s see what we can do with this. Let’s see where we can go.”

The Giants have an opportunity at home on Sunday against an underachieving 1-4 New Orleans Saints team that has been put on notice by owner Gayle Benson. A win could help the Giants gain more ground and stamp themselves as legitimate threats to win the division.

We will see if they can get it done.

Backfield changes coming?

John Harbaugh is not one to ever discuss who will play or who won’t, and I don’t know that we will ever see him do what Buffalo Bills coach Joe did this week, using the media to warn running back James Cook that his carries will decrease if his fumbling doesn’t. Cook, like Cam Skattebo, has four fumbles in five games.

That, though, doesn’t mean Harbaugh is going to simply stand around and watch Skattebo continue to put the ball on the ground.

“You can definitely coach it. It’s a major point of emphasis. The league is more of a punch-out league than it’s ever been before, and more players are really good at it than they’ve ever been before,” Harbaugh said. “We better ramp it up, just like with everybody else in the league. It’s been a major point of emphasis from day one, and it’s still not good enough. So, we’ve got to get a lot better in that area. That’s been probably the most important thing with our offense. Really, right now, but really all the time. But the fact that we’ve had a number of fumbles, way more than we should, we’re making a big deal out of it.”

The Giants are 3-0 this season and 5-0 over Skattebo’s 13-game career when he carries the ball at least 18 times. Being able to do that has been an indication that the Giants are playing the way they want to play, even if it means the offense is grinding rather than explosive.

Harbaugh did admit on Friday that there is a breaking point where carries would have to be redistributed.

“Of course. Yes. There is a point,” Harbaugh said.

Has he reached it?

We’ll see. We’ll find out,“ is all the coach would say.

According to reports on Sunday morning, it appears Harbaugh has reached that point. Najee Harris is expected to start.

‘Damn good’ Dominic Zvada needs to bounce back

Rookie placekicker Dominic Zvada went 2 of 5 on field-goal attempts last Sunday against Washington, the first three misses of his career after nine made kicks in the season’s first four weeks. Zvada is now 11 of 14 on field-goal tries.

Sunday will be a test for the 22-year-old after the first blip of his professional career.

Zvada told me on Thursday that he “never” questions himself

Special teams coach Chris Horton said Zvada’s alignment was off slightly as he was getting too close to the ball.

“It’s just something that sometimes happens,” Zvada said. “That’s just something we have to be mindful of going forward.”

Horton isn’t worried about Zvada’s confidence.

“You just got to remind him that he is damn good,” Horton said. “That’s one of the things I think when you believe in your players again, and you remind them that they’re here for a reason and you trust in them. You’ve just got to remind them of those things. From a confidence standpoint, that’s solely on him and him understanding that I can go out there and I can do this.

“This kid was nine-for-nine before he came into this game. He missed three field goals. Yeah, it sucks. It’s not our standard. It’s not where we want to be but we do understand that this guy will make kicks and there’s kicks, you watch all these kicks from across the league, these things are happening with big time players. It happens.”

Let’s see how the young man bounces back against the Saints.