Based on the line, it seems the wide majority of you believe the Giants won’t have any trouble winning this week.

History must count for something.

I know the Cowboys are all banged up, but 12 of the last 20 meetings between these teams have been decided by a touchdown or less.

Barry Cofield isn’t buying into the hype.

“I’m not reading into that,” he said. “They’ve got a ton of people left. They’ve got a ton of pride. They’re a team that has Super Bowl aspirations and definitely haven’t written off the season.”

Danny Clark stopped just short of calling Dallas the best team money can buy.

“You can’t overlook them,” he said. “They got the best roster in the NFL, in my opinion, man for man. They just got Roy Williams, so this is a team that is loaded on both sides of the ball. At the end of the day, we’re not worried about who’s not there. The team they line up is going to come out and play.”

Kenny Phillips is essentially an outsider, but the perceptive rookie has a pretty good idea of how important this week is to people on both sides of the locker room door.

He’s learning to hate the Dallas Cowboys, too.

“I wasn’t very aware, but when I got here I found out very quickly,” Phillips said. “I guess I was just drafted into it.”

He’s noticed a different level of intensity.

“They hate ’em,” Phillips said of his teammates. “Nobody likes Dallas. You can tell the way guys are practicing, the way guys are carrying themselves this week. You can tell there’s something special about Dallas these guys just don’t like.”

On the injury front, it sounds like Fred Robbins is going to wrap up a beat up hand and go after Brad Johnson or whomever happens to be taking snaps. Bryan Kehl is nearly back to full speed, as well.

So after you heard about Jason Witten’s broken rib, did you just roll your eyes?

He wants to play on Sunday against the Giants, albeit with a little extra padding. Get a pencil. I say five catches for 80 yards and one touchdown. Write it down. You believe it, too.

By the weekend, there’s a good possibility Dallas will get conservative and force Witten to sit down. It makes a lot of sense missing a game here in order to be ready when Tony Romo comes back after the bye week. But if Witten is on the field in uniform Sunday, don’t you just figure he’s going to be a pain in the backside?

We’ll find out later how the Giants are feeling after getting an extra day to rest and recouperate.

There had to be some bumps and bruises. I haven’t been up close very long, but that game in Pittsburgh included some ridiculous hits.

With the weather getting colder, I’m betting the Giants will be looking at the game films and dissecting the running game. Yes, it’s hard to run against the Steelers, but the numbers have to be a source of concern. Don’t forget, the Giants have some pretty good backs, and the line is considered among the best in the league.

I still can’t get over that fourth-and-6 catch by Amani Toomer, by the way. I’ve seen it on replay about four times now, and every time he seems two steps behind the ball. It’s like he’s got Inspector Gadget arms.

I’m wondering if all the folks decked out in Giants apparel this morning at breakfast packed a different shirt in case of a loss.

So did you rest easy?

I’m not getting caught up in pretty or ugly this week because Pittsburgh is a strong defensive team. The concern is finding a way into the end zone. And that doesn’t mean every trip into the Red Zone has to result in a touchdown. They do have to find a way to increase the percentage, however.

Stat of the game: The Steelers were 1 for 10 on third down and both teams get credit for that.

Pittsburgh was awfully banged up by the end of the game. It makes you realize how fortunate the Giants have been this season on that front. It was a huge blow losing Osi Umenyiora, but there have been no other major issues.

Are you worried about the running game?

It was interesting to hear Plaxico Burress explain away the latest miscommunication. Yes, he apparently needs a special invitation to follow up on treatment plans.

Do you wonder if he’s ever going to get with the program?

“I don’t know, man,” Burress said. “I’m just trying to get on the same page, so to speak. The only thing I can do is treat it like a grain of sand and brush it off.”

Right. He’s never going to change, and it’s probably not a major issue until the Giants lose a couple of games.

That’s it for now. Off to the airport. I leaving town before the flakes start to fly.

I went to school out this way a long time ago, so I’d forgotten how the locals dress up on Sundays for breakfast at Eat’n Park.

Even the old ladies are decked out in black and gold.

This is a great atmosphere. I lost count of how many people I just passed lugging cases of Iron City beer to one parking lot or another. And the weather is great. The flags atop the uprights are coming straight in off the river, though. Will the wind affect John Carney?

Let’s see.

The official word from the Giants is that Plaxico Burress will not start because he missed a treatment session yesterday. In other words, he showed up for the flight without a good excuse. No word on when he’ll check into the huddle.

Stay tuned.

Inactives:
Giants—K Lawrence Tynes, CB R.W. McQuarters, RB Danny Ware, LB Gerris Wilkinson, T Adam Koets, WR Sinorice Moss, DE Jerome McDougle.

Steelers—QB Dennis Dixon (3rd), WR Santonio Holmes, CB Bryant McFadden, RB Willie Parker, LB Keyaron Fox, T Tony Hills, T Marvel Smith, DE Orpheus Roye.

(Update 4:24) We saw the importance of getting the running game established on the first series. It’s going to be difficult going deep if Brandon Jacobs can’t slip through. Did you see Kevin Dockery miss on Mewelde Moore? Oops. A lot of pregame talk centered on Steelers TE Heath Miller having a big day. Still no sign of Burress.

(update 5:05) Gotta love strength-on-strength down on the goal line. It only took three carries and two replays to sort everything out. Burress was resting on the bench until the Giants moved within range of the end zone. Do you suppose there’s a chance he won’t play? Imagine the fun we could have if Tom Coughlin had a sense of humor? Let me script this one. Why didn’t he play, Tom? “I had to take my boy to school.”

(Update 5:59) Let’s see, four trips into the Red Zone have resulted in all of nine points. We don’t need to ask what the halftime speech was about. Kevin Dockery suffered a back injury. He will not return.

(Update 7:06) Are you hoping the defense has one more stand left? It certainly seems for all of the weapons, the Giants have no confidence in the shadow of the goal posts. They keep making plays to get into position, but fizzle inside the 10-yard line.

Here we go again.

According to reports on FOX and ESPN, you are not going to see Plaxico Burress in the starting lineup this afternoon for the Giants because he failed to report for treatment as scheduled. We don’t have all of the details yet. Burress did not practice Wednesday or Thursday because of a stiff neck.

It’s unclear how long he will be watching.

Burress will be playing in Pittsburgh for the first time since he left four years ago. Are those Western Pennsylvania snickers I hear?

It’s a beautiful day out here on the banks of the Ohio River, and the hotel is full of Giants fans who are currently rubbing elbows in search of a free breakfast.

Plaxico Burress couldn’t get open in that room.

The weather is not a concern—it’s sunny with a high of 59 degrees expected just before kickoff. There is supposed to be a swirling wind, however, up to 20 mph, but Eli Manning’s used to such resistance.

Are you getting nervous, yet?

In case anybody is worried about the disappearance of Kevin Boss, the question was raised earlier in the week. The answer remains unchanged. Boss is apparently not being ignored, though he’s only caught six balls this season. It seems logical he’s going to have to get more involved against the better teams on this schedule.

“The tight end is involved in the progression of every snap,” Tom Coughlin said. “Now whether the ball ends up going there or not depends on how the thing reads out for the quarterback. There is no less amount of utilization of the tight end. There is no more amount of the tight end. The ball has gone there on occasion – not as many times perhaps as in the past, but there is no intention for it to be that way. It is just the way it has played out. And we have played four receivers more than we have in the past.”

More as game time approaches.

Sorry, it’s been a busy day on the Knicks front, so I’m catching up.

Plaxico Burress was back on the practice field today and expects to be close to 100 percent for a matchup with Pittsburgh cornerback Ike Taylor.

“Ike is a big guy,” Burress said. “Talented, very fast, quick. He is one of the better corners in the league, a physical guy. He is a good friend of mine and I am pretty sure we will have some good things to say with smiles on our faces, and just try to go out and be as productive as we can against each other. That is always a good thing about it when you have people that you know and you try to go out and make them look as bad as possible.”

Love that approach.

The bad news for Burress? He was fined was fined $45,000 by the NFL— $20,000 for comments to head linesman Phil McKinnely after the official called him for an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty in the second quarter, and $20,000 for the penalty itself. The other $5,000 was for throwing a ball into the stands following a touchdown catch.

Burress has only caught seven passes for 82 yards in the last two weeks. He’s scored a pair of touchdowns.He’s been facing a lot of double coverage lately. And when the defense cheats a step in that direction, there’s more room for Amani Toomer, Steve Smith and Domenick Hixon to roam against single coverage.

The best part of that situation is he’s not concerned about where the ball is going as long as the wins continue.

“Teams are not just going to let me line up on the backside and play one-on-one and say, ‘Try to go out and stop me,’ ” Burress said. “Maybe that is the reason why I have been able to move around a little bit, go in motion and basically learn every position on the field so I can go out and be productive week in and week out. Like I said, we have been doing some things differently because of that, we are 5-1, the guys have been out there catching a lot of balls—Smitty and Dom—so it is just making us a better team.”

What do you want first?

Plaxico Burress spent a little time at the hospital today after the sore neck showed no real improvement. He got the once over, and the report is no structural damage. That is the good news. Burress was not able to practice and has to be considered questionable for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh. That is the bad news.

“They say there’s nothing bone, no vertebrae, nothing like that,” Tom Coughlin said. “He’s very sore, still stiff today. The reason all of the tests were made is because he continued to have this stiff neck and issues along those lines. We thought it was down in the trap where it started from, so we wanted to rule everything out. All I got was on the field, that there was nothing of the nature of any vertebrae or anything like that, all muscle.”

Burress was in the locker room, but he didn’t stop to chat.

David Diehl came off the practice field early, just as a precaution. His back spasms have relented.

“Take care of it early and get ready to go,” he said. “If anybody knows me, they know I’m not going to miss any games. I’m not going to miss anything. That’s it. Plain and simple. It’s real easy.”

Antonio Pierce went full speed ahead for the second day in a row, so he’s probably set to go. David Tyree wasn’t at his locker, but it sounds like he suffered a hamstring injury. Coughlin brought it up while discussing the decision to cut Andre Woodson, mentioning they didn’t have enough receivers for practice. Expect Woodson to be picked up again next week, by the way.

Plaxico Burress is not up on the practice field with the Giants at this point. He’s apparently getting treatment for a sore neck.

The only player riding a stationary bike was Gerris Wilkinson.

David Diehl was on the field after missing a day with a sore back. I believe he’s missed two practices now since he was drafted by the Giants in 2003. The guy’s slacking off. Antonio Pierce was also up there, and he appeared to be moving fine during individual drills.

And there was a roster move of note. QB Andre Woodson got cut from the practice squad and was replaced by CB Rashard Barksdale. Don’t know if that’s going to be permanent. I suppose there’s a chance the sixth-round pick will get resigned, but I can’t imagine this kind of move is a positive sign for the rookie.