I waited an extra week before coming to the conclusion that the Giants are a vastly different team without Plaxico Burress. It can no longer be ignored, the Giants are lacking a wide receiver who can pull coverage off other recievers and cause chaos among defending secondaries. This is a domino effect that forces teams to be less effective in pass rush, and puts less pressure on Eli Manning. We are now seeing the reversal of this benefit with Burress no longer in the mix.

This week the loss of Brandon Jacobs exacerbated an already depleted offense. While Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw are fine complementary backs, they were exposed in a starting role when put up against a worthy defense. Another disturbing trend is Antonio Pierce getting beat on several big plays the past two weeks. One has to wonder if his off the field issues are having some effect on his focus.

The Giants have to hope that Jacobs can stay healthy the remainder of the season and through the playoffs. I would be cautious with him unless absolutely necessary. If the Giants can beat Carolina next Sunday night, Jacobs should be used sparingly against the Vikings to prepare for the postseason run. He could be the most essential component to this suddenly anemic offense, and the Giants will need to rely on him to return the complexion this team had in the first 12 weeks of the season.

Once he returns, the other dominoes should fall back into place, and hopefully order can be restored.