Giants’ Secondary vs. Sam Bradford
Allowing Rex Grossman to pass for 305 yards in Week 1 didn’t do much to help the mood surrounding the Giants’ makeshift secondary, which was weakened by injuries during the preseason. The Giants say their mistakes are correctable, but Bradford — despite an injured finger — has the arm to hurt the Giants if the uncertainty returns. Look for safeties Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips to be more of a force if the Giants are to show improvement.The certainly can’t play much softer than they did vs. the Skins last week .

The Need for a ground game  > 75

That was how many rushing yards the Giants totaled in Week 1, with starter Ahmad Bradshaw recording 44 yards on 13 carries and his backup, Brandon Jacobs, getting only 6 touches for 29 yards. The Giants moved away from the running game against the Redskins, but establishing a ground attack is imperative if they are going to have success. This week could be a prime opportunity for the backs to break out: the Rams allowed 236 rushing yards in Week 1.

The Injury Front

Bradford is still expected to be under center for this week’s contest, the Rams’ first on Monday Night Football since a home date against Chicago on Dec. 11, 2006. Jackson, who ripped off a 47-yard touchdown run on the team’s initial play from scrimmage against Philadelphia, is considered a longshot to suit up, however, while Amendola has all but been ruled out.

The St. Louis defense hasn’t been immune to the injury bug either, with cornerback Ron Bartell sustaining a season-ending neck injury last week and counterpart Bradley Fletcher not at 100 percent due to a sprained toe. All those depletions will provide quite a challenge for head coach Steve Spagnuolo, the onetime Giants’ defensive coordinator who will be facing his former employers for the first time since leaving that post to take his present position.

“In this league, nobody feels sorry for you, and the next game comes and is scheduled and you have to go play it,” said Spagnuolo about his team’s injury situation. “That is the way it is. We will get out here and practice this week and get guys up to snuff and go out there and do the best we can on Monday.”

Spagnuolo has been able to achieve success amidst seemingly long odds before, however. In 2007, his New York defense stymied Tom Brady and the then-unbeaten New England Patriots to help Big Blue to a 17-14 upset victory in Super Bowl XLII.

The current Giants are dealing with some rather extensive health issues of their own at the moment. Two defensive starters, cornerback Terrell Thomas and middle linebacker Jonathan Goff, went down with season-ending ACL tears during the preseason, while the team played without pass-rushing bookends Justin Tuck (neck) and Osi Umenyiora (knee surgery) in last week’s season-opening showdown at Washington.

The current Giants are dealing with some rather extensive health issues of their own at the moment. Two defensive starters, cornerback Terrell Thomas and middle linebacker Jonathan Goff, went down with season-ending ACL tears during the preseason, while the team played without pass-rushing bookends Justin Tuck (neck) and Osi Umenyiora (knee surgery) in last week’s season-opening showdown at Washington.

The short-handed defense had its problems against the Redskins, with quarterback Rex Grossman burning New York’s secondary for 305 yards and two scores to lead Washington to a 28-14 victory.

Tuck does appear to be on track to return this week, though Umenyiora remains sidelined and the offense could be without top receiver Hakeem Nicks, who incurred a bone bruise to his knee in last week’s loss and is considered a game-time decision.

The Giants will be attempting to avoid their first 0-2 start since that historic 2007 season, a year in which three present St. Louis defenders (tackle Fred Robbins and safeties Craig Dahl and James Butler) were on the New York payroll in addition to Spagnuolo.