Things to Watch at the Patriots-Giants Game

The New England Patriots, coming off a bad loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, will host the New York Giants today at 4:15pm.

Here's some things to watch at today's game:

The defensive backfield can't be this bad — can it? The Pats secondary looked positively hapless against the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger was able to complete passes at will, and this kept Brady off the field. The poor performance called the decision to release cornerback Leigh Bodden into question.

Put simply, if this team's defense is as bad as they performed last Sunday, this team isn't going anywhere. The offense cannot be called upon to score on every possession.

Eli Manning is a hot-and-cold quarterback, but he has a good corps of wide receivers (even with the injury to Hakeem Nicks). The Patriots secondary will have to seriously improve their game if they want to stop Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz.

Will Tom Brady rebound? Brady has quietly struggled over the past month, after he started the year on an otherworldly pace. Some of that has to be attributed to the tough defenses he's faced (the Jets, Cowboys and Steelers have well-coordinated units), but he has also been off on some throws.

The Giants defense is certainly no slouch, but they do have some injuries (it remains to be seen if, and how much, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul will play). This could be a chance to show that this year's passing game can produce against quality competition.

Can the team regain its balance? Part of the reason Brady's struggles haven't led to more losses is the efficiency of the team's running game. The duo of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley had performed well against the Jets and Cowboys — they kept the offense moving and kept the defense off the field.

The Steelers negated the Pats running game by getting ahead early and holding on to the ball — the Patriots were down 14-0 quickly, and had to pass to get back into the game.

Who will step up: Chad Ochocinco or Taylor Price? Brady does not have a reliable target behind Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Without the presence of a deep threat, teams can just press the Patriots receivers with impunity (like the Steelers did).

The word out of the Pats organization is that Taylor Price will see more opportunities on offense. There is also still a chance that Ocho could have picked up enough of the playbook to be useful.

Either way, the Patriots need another offensive playmaker.

Welcome back, Kevin Faulk. Faulk, the longtime veteran, was the sole bright spot last week. If he's finally healthy, he can contribute to this offense.

Last year, Faulk's role was filled by Danny Woodhead. With Woodhead not contributing recently, it may be time for the veteran to again be part of the running back rotation.

The Patriots will play the Giants today at 4:15pm on Fox 25.