Paul Schwartz

Paul Schwartz

NFL

Giants try to cure ‘losing’ disease

Decked out in straw hat and bow tie, the psychologist walks into the clubhouse of the New York Knights and, in a memorable scene from “The Natural,’’ says, “The mind is a strange thing, men. We must begin by asking it … What is losing? Losing is a disease, as contagious as polio … as contagious as bubonic plague, attacking one but infecting all. Ah, but curable.’’

Roy Hobbs, played by Robert Redford, rolls his eyes and walks out.

Cullen Jenkins knows the feeling.

“It’s rough, coming in here on Monday,’’ Jenkins said. “It’s like you’re listening to the same speeches. It’s the same type of feelings.’’

Jenkins continues to wait for the cure for losing. The defensive tackle, in his first year with the Giants, has lost 15 of his past 16 games dating back to last season. With the Eagles, Jenkins lost 11 of his last 12 and now he’s 0-4 with the Giants. The last time he won a game was Dec. 9 against the Buccaneers. If anyone knows the familiar signs of losing, it is Jenkins.

“You have to make sure it’s not the mindset,’’ Jenkins warned. “You don’t want guys thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ or that to even develop.’’

In his 2004 rookie year in Green Bay, the Packers went 1-4 to start the season, then went 9-2 to finish 10-6 and make the playoffs. Right now, 1-4 looks mighty good to the Giants.

“I know that one other team that was 1-4, one of the things that made that team so good was that they were used to success,’’ Jenkins said. “Even when stuff got bad, they expected it to turn around. You kind of have that feeling around here, that this is not something that guys are used to and everybody is trying to find that trigger to get it turned back around, because they know that it can be turned around and they’re expecting it to be turned around.’’

The ‘third’ worst

The Giants are converting just 22.9 percent on third down, the worst rate in the NFL, and they are getting worse, not better. Here’s a closer look:

vs. Cowboys, 6-11 third-down conversions, 55 percent

vs. Broncos, 1-11 third-down conversions, 9 percent

vs. Panthers, 3-12 third-down conversions, 25 percent

vs. Chiefs, 1-14 third-down conversions, 7 percent

Total: 11-48 third-down conversions, 22.9 percent