As fellow writer John Fennelly reported earlier this week Osi Umenyiora may see less snaps this week in favor of Mathias Kiwanuka. Opponents have targetd Osi’s side to run on. Often Osi over pursues the run in an attempt to use his speed, get up the field and get to the Quarterback. The problem is he has only arrived at the Quarterback 5 times this year (arrived is my fancy way of saying sack, Osi has 5 arrives at qb).

Here’s the thing. Now I’m gonna tell you the thing, the thing is  every speed rusher in the league has the tendency to over pursue the rush, from Dwight Freeney to Elvis Dumervil to Trent Cole. The over pursuit is normally countered by the sack totals and quarterback strips, but this year Osi has struggled to get there and so the over pursuing is magnified. Remember this, you don’t just run on one defensive end, it’s the whole side that is being targeted. Kiwi has shown that he can be explosive on the outside as well, but the truth is Kiwi is also a speed guy and I wonder if the same results are in store for Big blue. Kiwi, a younger player, may not feel the freedom to simply rush up the field and may be more disciplined against the run but I think this speaks to Osi’s struggles more then Kiwi’s strength.

It’s not a shock that this move comes on the heels of the Cowboy game. Dallas targeted Osi’s side more then any other team. And lastly this issue is, to me, what made Michael Strahan so great. Stray played the run just as well as he did the pass, he was an all around stud. To me this is why Justin Tuck is our strongest D end, he is stout against the run and pass. All this said, Osi is a very talented pass rusher and this will not be the end of him by any means. Please note, the media loves to use the word “benched,”  but the gmen rotate lineman all the time, Osi will play Sunday and play often.

Michael Johnson’s strained groin has him doubtful for Sunday. In his place CC Brown will start along side Aaron Rouse. Aaron Ross has also been taking snaps at safety and will work into dime packages and perhaps more of a starting role down the stretch. The thought is the Giants would like to have their most talented members of the secondary on the field, even if it means playing Ross out of position.

It reminds me of Spagnuolo’s attempt to get Kiwi, Tuck, Osi and Stray on the field at once. The experiment of having Kiwi play strong side backer never worked out due to a season ending injury, but the idea of having the most talent on the field at once seems to be the right idea. There is also this, Aaron Rouse and CC Brown may make up the worst safety pairing in the league. Romo, Whitten, Williams, Crayton, and Miles have to be licking their lips at the chance to play against these two (stop licking your lips guys it’s disgusting).

More defensive line replacements, according to sources Chris Canty may have overtaken Fred Robbins for the starting defensive tackle spot.

Earlier in the week we dubbed Canty MR. Invisible, clearly the coaching staff was offended by our name calling and will now give Canty an increased role. My question is the same one I had when I heard about Kiwi for Osi. Is this about Canty impressing in practice or Robbins struggling? Fred has been a great addition, and an underrated tackle since arriving from Minnesota but there is no doubt age and an ailing knee have kept him from showing his normal burst this year.

Ahmad Bradshaw returned to practice Friday and is set to be the backup for Brandon Jacobs Sunday.

If I’m Gartrell Johnson, I’m a 5’10” 219 pound black man, but I’m also thinking there may be a good chance I get some carries on sunday with Jacobs and Bradshaw dinged up.