Knee injury has Giants' Snee iffy for game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Rich Seubert waited for Chris Snee to walk from the trainer's room to his locker before raising his voice for everyone to hear.

"Chris Snee is at his locker," the Giants guard bellowed yesterday afternoon in New York's locker room.

Snee just looked in Seubert's direction and shook his head. No words came out of his mouth, although the "thanks for nothing" was loud and clear.

Snee's health is a major issue as the Giants (7-5) prepare for Sunday's NFC East showdown with the Eagles (8-4).

Probably the Giants' best offensive lineman, Snee is a question mark this week. He injured his left knee in Sunday's 31-24 win over the Cowboys and he did not play in the second half.

Snee did not practice on Wednesday. He worked out on a limited basis yesterday, improving his chances of playing on Sunday and extending his streak of consecutive starts to 77 straight games.

"I have nothing to say," Snee said when asked how he felt. He deferred all questions about his injury to coach Tom Coughlin, his father-in-law.

When told Coughlin said he was limited at practice, Snee laughed.

"I'm always limited," said Snee, who went to the Pro Bowl last season. "I'm a limited athlete."

If Snee is unable to play, veteran Kevin Boothe would replace him. Boothe, who filled in at right guard in the second half in last week's 31-24 win over Dallas, has not started a game since 2006 with Oakland.

Boothe is preparing to play but he also believes Snee will be in the lineup.

"This is Chris Snee we are talking about," Boothe said. "He is as tough as they come."

Boothe, who played well after replacing Snee against the Cowboys, said he is not preparing any differently this week. The Giants dress seven offensive linemen for games and he backs up at both guard and tackle positions.

Whoever plays, the Giants are going to need a big effort from their offensive line, especially if the forecast for inclement weather is on the mark.

Eli Manning is not the best poor-weather quarterback and the Giants will need a running game to slow the Eagles' defense.

"No question, you want that in every game," halfback Brandon Jacobs said. "You want to keep an explosive offense like that off of the field, no matter who you are playing against and no matter how good your defense is. You want to keep an offense like that on the sideline where they can't do any harm."

The Giants' running game has slipped this season. After averaging 157.4 yards rushing last season, New York is averaging 124.6 this year. Jacobs has yet to have a 100-yard game.