Questions face injury-ridden Giants

Eli Manning could miss this week against the Packers with a bruised shoulder.

Osi Umenyiora and Brandon Jacobs will definitely be out of the lineup.

What's left? A decidedly mixed bag of backups and a potential conversion of a convert -- a reconversion, one might say -- that must step up.

For Jared Lorenzen, that would mean a first career start coming a week after he threw his first career pass and made his first career completion.

Lorenzen came in following Manning's final touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress and finished up as Manning's shoulder tightened up.

J-Load finished 1-of-3 for seven yards, and had a rush for two yards.

Anthony Wright is the third-string backup and has extensive starting experience. But coach Tom Coughlin appeared committed to Lorenzen if Manning can' t go.

"Well, let's see where it goes," Coughlin said. "We have a high level of confidence in Jared, but we certainly don't want to be in a position where we're saying anything that concludes Eli won't be able to go.

"He is the No. 2 quarterback."

Lorenzen has a rocket arm, a big factor in the Giants sticking with him as he battled to lose weight off a formerly 300-pound frame his first couple of years. And he did appear to be settling into the offense during training camp, as seen in numerous strong practices.

His performance in preseason games was mixed, however, and he missed the Jets game with a concussion.

Whether he's ready to step in for a significant stretch for Manning is another issue. The starting quarterback's shoulder could be susceptible to fur ther injury now. It's not a stretch to think other hits on the shoulder may cause him more time even after the pain fades away.

The natural replacement for Umenyiora, expected to miss a month with a damaged left knee cartilage, would be Justin Tuck.

But if backup weakside linebacker Gerris Wilkinson can get back into action after missing most of camp with a dislocated kneecap, Coughlin could start Wilkinson on the weakside, flip Kawika Mitchell to strongside, and return current starter Mathias Kiwanuka to the defensive front.

Kiwanuka was on the verge of becoming a star there last season. So Umenyiora's injury could turn into a blessing for him, since his conversion to strongside linebacker has been anything but smooth. He looked lost against Dallas as tight end Jason Witten ran free through the middle the entire game.

If the Kiwanuka move isn't yet possible, then Justin Tuck would be the guy.

He played there once Michael Strahan came in for good at left defensive end and did as credible a job as anybody on an overall horrible defensive night.

Tuck actually had the team's only sack, and chased Julius Jones from the backfield to drag him down for a one-yard gain.

The best looking of the bunch was Derrick Ward, who will now step in while Jacobs rests his sprained MCL for the next three to five weeks. A fourth-year veteran, Ward is well trained in the system, and he showed it with a strong 89-yard performance on 13 carries.

He also caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown, a shovel pass reception highlighted by his fight to get to the goal line as he was going down.

"It's just like practice," said Ward, who popped a 44-yard run. "We go over the same plays every day. You just have to work hard."

Coughlin said he has the utmost confidence in Ward, though Reuben Droughns and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw may also work themselves into the mix.

"I've been very confident," Coughlin said. "I've expressed what we like about Derrick; his quickness, his speed, the fact that he's 230 pounds. People don't a lot of times even recognize that fact.

"He's played enough now to be a guy that has a little savvy about the spot. He showed he can make a play when he has to run through some arms to get to the position where he needs to get to."

The dance of the replacements begins Sunday. How much they accomplish will tell much about how the next month will go for the Giants.

Notes

Backup defensive lineman William Joseph, the Giants' first-round pick in 2003, was placed on season-ending injured reserve with the back spasms that sidelined him for the Dallas game. The move was made to accommodate Monday's signing of nine-year veteran defensive tackle Russell Davis, but it could also be a way of getting rid of a colossal first-round bust. He was given an opportunity this training camp to run defensive end in Michael Strahan's left defensive end spot while Justin Tuck was limited to one practice per day. But he was so unimpressive there that the staff put him back on the second unit as soon as Tuck was cleared. Joseph then took snaps inside and out with the second team the rest of camp.

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