Paul Schwartz

Paul Schwartz

NFL

Change of face: Beason, Brown lead newbies in boosting Giants

Jon Beason was in Charlotte, N.C., starting at weak side linebacker for the Panthers. Andre Brown was home in his New Jersey apartment, his fractured left leg elevated as he sat in front of the TV.

Will Hill was serving the first game of a four-game suspension. Brandon Jacobs was out of football. John Conner was out of football. David Diehl was left behind with his surgically repaired right thumb. Jim Cordle was on the bench. Trumaine McBride was on the bench.

When the Cowboys take the field at MetLife Stadium for Sunday’s NFC East showdown, it will be more of an introduction than a rematch. Sure, coach Tom Coughlin will be calling the shots, Eli Manning will be behind center, Victor Cruz will be in the slot, Justin Tuck will be down in his stance on the defensive line and Antrel Rolle will be the last line of defense in the secondary. In so many ways though, the Giants — a team that against all odds has earned this pressure-packed moment — are vastly different than when they were burgeoning with expectations before losing 36-31 Sept. 8 in the prime-time season opener at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Almost everywhere you look, players making vital contributions in the four-game winning streak were not on the scene or not on the field the first time around. It took long — far too long — for the Giants to figure things out, and it remains likely their 0-6 start eventually will be this season’s eventual epitaph. The defense has been reinvented and the offense has been redirected, forcing the Cowboys to study up as they see how the Giants have changed in the past 11 weeks.

Beason and Brown have altered the dynamic on their respective sides of the ball. Beason was acquired Oct. 4 and Giants fans are hoping his impact rivals the only other significant in-season trade in franchise history — Ottis Anderson from the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986. Ask any Giants defensive player to pinpoint the reasons for the turnaround and every one immediately offers “Jon Beason’’ so quickly you almost wonder if it’s an inside joke. He has been the “voice’’ for teammates to rally around and his physical presence has been remarkable, considering he was thought to be damaged goods coming on the cheap (a late-round draft pick) from the Panthers.

You want impact? You want attitude? Did you get a good look at his interception return against the Packers? It only went for 9 yards, but Beason was so determined not to go down it seemed as if all 11 Packers on the field tried and failed to bring him to the turf.

“He was like a wild man out there,’’ Rolle said Tuesday on his weekly WFAN spot. “There was one point in time where I tried to get [fullback John] Kuhn off his back and he just kept running. He almost knocked me down and then he almost knocked himself down. I tried to hold him up, then he spun out again I just said ‘Let me get out of this guy’s way before he causes some damage.’ ’’

The praise has been overflowing, even from veterans who have been a part of Super Bowl triumphs and are more than willing to admit Beason is now their leader.

“I’m grateful when I hear the comments,’’ said Beason, who hasn’t stopped smiling during this career rebirth. “I try not to read too much of the stuff that has been written because … there’s so much more that I can do. There’s so much more that I want to do.’’

Brown has played in just two games, yet already leads the team in rushing with 181 yards and has brought stability to the backfield. In the season opener, David Wilson started at running back. but had to be yanked after losing two fumbles in a seven-carry, 19-yard harbinger of things to come. His replacement, Da’Rel Scott, did some nice things before failing to haul in a screen pass that glanced off him and into the hands of Brandon Carr for a game-sealing interception return for a touchdown, the sixth and final turnover by the Giants.

Wilson is on injured reserve with a herniated disk in his neck and Scott has been waived.

Asked how the Giants have changed since then, Brown deflected attention off himself. “It’s definitely a different team because of the offensive line,’’ he said.

James Brewer at left guard made his first (and last) NFL start in the opener and banged-up Chris Snee was finally put on injured reserve. Cordle has calmed things down at center, rookie Justin Pugh has steadily improved at right tackle and David Diehl at least adds a veteran body at right guard. After Henry Hynoski went down for the season with a shoulder injury, Conner was signed and he has been a crunching lead blocker.

In the first game against the Cowboys, Ryan Mundy played 73-of-77 defensive snaps at free safety, Spencer Paysinger played 70 snaps at weak side linebacker and Dan Connor (21 snaps) and Mark Herzlich (25) filled roles at middle linebacker. None are currently a part of the defensive game plan. Hill, moving in at safety alongside Rolle, almost never comes off the field and, though he’s raw, is an athletic force. McBride at cornerback has eased the loss of forever-injured Corey Webster, though he was targeted by the Packers and surely will be thrown at by Tony Romo.

The Giants’ rally cry this week will be easy to detect: We nearly beat them the first time around despite those hideous six turnovers. The better point is that those Giants have been replaced by these Giants.


Dallas getting healthy

The Cowboys have been bloodied a great deal this season, but they are getting healthier.

Owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan radio on Tuesday he expects receiver Miles Austin (hamstring), defensive end DeMarcus Ware (thigh) and cornerback Morris Claiborne (hamstring) to all play against the Giants and believes “They’ll make an impact.”

No opponent has dropped Eli Manning more frequently than Ware, who has 13.5 sacks against the Giants quarterback, though he didn’t get any in the season-opener.

All is not well with the Dallas defense, though, as the Cowboys’ most indispensable player, middle linebacker Sean Lee , remains out with a strained hamstring.