NFL Week 7: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin (left) has words with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell on the sideline early in the first half as the New York Giants play the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Sun., Oct. 19 2014. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Sent DIRECT TO SELECTS Monday, October 20, 2014 00:19:29 3784 2637

(Andrew Mills)

EAST RUTHERFORD — Giants defensive coordinator arrived at work on Monday morning this week short two more defensive regulars, after defensive ends Robert Ayers and Mathias Kiwanuka were placed on injured reserve.

It has been that kind of season for Fewell. Of the 20 players on injured reserve for the Giants, half of them are from the defense, and many were supposed to be key contributors this season.

So when discussing the defense with reporters on Thursday, Fewell could no longer even try to put a positive spin on the team's health problems.

"It is the National Football League, [injuries] happen to a lot of teams," Fewell said. "It seems like it has happened to us more frequently than it should. When you step back and look, we are on our fourth nickel player and cornerbacks we are down three corners. It is quite different than with what we started training camp with."

Fewell is in something of an awkward position at this juncture of the season. All signs are pointing to his eventual exit this season given the defense's terrible performance. Injuries have left the Giants without the horses for him to execute his game plan the way he wants, and there is little value in him playing young guys and backups with an eye towards evaluating for next season, since he likely won't be back.

But whether through marching orders given to him by the front office or Tom Coughlin, or simply as a matter of having few healthy bodies left, Fewell will be forced to give guys like defensive end Damontre Moore and safety Nat Berhe more playing time. Fewell spent most of his availability with reporters on Thursday talking about guys that he probably never thought would see the field regularly.

1. Damontre time

Yes, this has been a running theme all season it seems. It goes something like this: The starting defensive line performs below expectations; Damontre Moore flashes some talent in limited snaps; fans clamor for him to get more snaps; the coaching staff talks a big game about getting him more playing time; Moore still doesn't see the field; coaches say he needs to improve against the run. Lather, rinse, repeat.

But with Ayers and Kiwanuka down, Fewell is now left with no choice but to play Moore for a significant amount of snaps Sunday against the Titans. Fewell basically repeated what he's been saying about Moore all season regarding his weakness against the run, and said that he would be part of a rotation at defensive end.

"How prepared is he to be an every down defensive end? Again, he's a better pass defender than a run defender," Fewell said. "He does play the run. We'd like for him to play the run stouter than he plays it right now, but I think that he'll be in a rotation. He won't be an every down defender for us."

Fewell added that the key for Moore to improve in that area is to add weight and get more physical at the point of attack.

"Strength, power. Those are some of the things. And discipline. It's a combination of the three — strength, power and discipline," he said.

2. Defensive end rotation

It seems like ages ago that defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins hurt his calf against the Dallas Cowboys back in Week 7. Jenkins made it back on the field for one game before re-aggravating the injury again. Now it sounds like Jenkins will play for the first time in nearly a month.

"[Jenkins] looked good today," Fewell said. "Sometimes we see a good flash out of him and then sometimes we don't see the flash, so I think he's trying to work through and find out how fast and how good he really feels, but he looked good to us."

Fewell said that rookie defensive end Kerry Wynn, who had a nice debut last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, recording his first career sack, will also be used on the edge in certain situations.

3. The Nat Berhe package

The Giants have not gotten much production out of their safeties this season. Veteran strong safety Antrel Rolle has showed his age this season, with few of the impact plays the Giants are used to seeing, while free safety Quintin Demps has had mixed success and struggles in pass coverage.

Enter Nat Berhe. The fifth round pick from this year's draft has not seen much time in the base defense, mostly playing on special teams. But Fewell said that he would be part of the safety rotation this week, perhaps when the Giants are in their "Bison" package, using Berhe as an extra linebacker against the run or as the nickel back in passing situations. Fewell indicated that the former is Berhe's biggest strength.

"Coming out of college, [Berhe] was a very good run defender," Fewell said. "He would strike you and he would tackle. We still like those attributes in him. He will strike you and he will tackle, but we would use him for his coverage skills also. We have also explored bringing him in pressure. There are a couple different things we think we can take advantage of his skills with and get him on the field."

Let's see if Berhe can take advantage of the additional playing time.

4. Thin at linebacker

The Giants now have two starting linebackers struggling with a concussion, after Mark Herzlich suffered one against the Jaguars. Jacquian Williams made it back to practice on Wednesday but experienced some symptoms afterwards and was shut down. His status is up in the air for Sunday at Tennessee.

In the meantime, Fewell is grasping for straws when it comes to his linebacking depth. He said the Giants would compensate by mixing in safety packages heavily, but that could leave them vulnerable against the run. Fewell added that he would use Spencer Paysinger and rookie Devon Kennard as his linebackers in the base defense, as well as James Davidson, recently signed from the practice squad.

"We brought Davidson up, he is a player that we brought up to try to help us," Fewell said. "We will be using some different combinations in there to try to help. Obviously Kennard. He can play both MIKE and WILL if he has to. Those are the combinations we are using in practice in order to be more efficient."

Kennard has been a bright spot of late, recording two sacks against the Jaguars, and in a sense it's good for him to get exposure to all of the different linebacking positions. There is a chance he could be occupying the middle for the Giants next season if they decide to cut ties with Jon Beason.

5. Odell Beckham at defensive back?

Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. joked with reporters on Thursday that he wishes he had the opportunity to play defense on Sunday to get a chance to intercept his college quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who starts for the Titans.

When asked about Beckham playing defensive back, Fewell sounded for a second like it was an option he seriously entertained at one point.

"That is no joke," Fewell said. "I have often tried to recruit him during training camp when he had his hamstring [injury]. I think he could be an excellent cornerback."

There haven't been many two-way players in the league over the past decade or so, but wouldn't that be something to see Beckham backpedaling on defense? He certainly has the ball skills to get his hands on an interception or two.

Nick Powell may be reached at npowell@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpowellbkny. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.