The Giants landed in New Jersey on Tuesday morning after being stranded in Wisconsin due to the snowstorm on the East Coast. The Giants, who have been in Appleton, Wis., since Christmas Day for a game against the Packers, finally got clearance to leave following a blizzard in the Northeast that began on Sunday. While they were stuck in Wisconsin, Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff were busy "grinding away" in preparation for the team's crucial game against the Redskins to close the regular season. "Practice would still be Wednesday," Coughlin said on Monday of the team's schedule if it returned home on Tuesday. "I think that our study would continue here [in Wisconsin]. The coaches will go into our first stage which would be, for example, an early Tuesday morning stage of game planning. If in fact we do get to leave, there will be a block of time whenever that is which really will take a half a day by the time you figure on traveling over two hours back to the offices. You will probably lose about half a day if that happens, so we would go ahead and get to work [in Wisconsin]."

Justin Tuck is upset with former teammate Michael Strahan for comments made after the Giants' loss to the Eagles last Sunday afternoon. Strahan said the Giants were "soft" and should be "ashamed of themselves" for coughing up a 21-point lead against the Eagles. "Let me start out by saying that I love Stray to death," Tuck said. "Love him. He's my guy. I wouldn't be where I am today without his guidance and the things that he taught me. But I just don't understand how you can be up-talking us one day and then the next day say that. If I'm in that situation, I might just close my mouth and say nothing. But he's entitled to his opinion, and I'm entitled to not really care. I'll say this: We've all had times in our careers and times we've been on teams where things have went that way. I don't start pointing fingers." Tuck, who said he had heard only "glimmers" of Strahan's criticism until Thursday, said he has no plans to call his old teammate. "I am kind of upset," he said. "But me and Stray will talk about it when me and Stray talk about it."

Eli Manning had to wait a few minutes for the press room to fill up following New York's loss to Philadelphia on Sunday. The media room was empty as the quarterback stood near the podium. The video has been replayed countless times on television and the internet. Manning got dressed and was ready for his news conference while reporters were still interviewing defensive players and special teams players about the Giants' unbelievable defensive collapse and DeSean Jackson's touchdown return.

Eli Manning gave a rare pep talk to his teammates on Monday, one day after New York's stunning loss to Philadelphia. "We can't hang our head, we don't have time to moan about it," Manning said. "We watched the film, we see what went wrong and put it behind us." The Giants led the Eagles by 21 points in the fourth quarter, but lost 38-31. "It is not the time right now to start going into the tank or slacking off or being in a bad mood," the quarterback added. "Now is the time when we got to be excited and look at the bright side of things and be optimistic and say we got a great opportunity to make the playoffs."

Giants punter Matt Dodge insists his confidence isn't shaken. Dodge punted to Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson on Sunday, leading to the wide receiver's game-winning 65-yard punt return for a touchdown. "[My confidence] is good. I'm still here, obviously. I came in and my locker was still here, so that was good. I'm a confident guy," Dodge said. "Football doesn't define me. I know it's my job and everything, and I didn't get it done. But I still walked out with my head high." Dodge said on Monday that he received plenty of support from teammates, family and friends in the aftermath of one of the worst losses in franchise history. "It wasn't like [I] bought a plane ticket tomorrow to leave," he said. "But there's legitimate concern every week, this is a very high-performance job. So when you don't get it done -- and obviously on that last punt [I] didn't get it done -- by God's grace I'm still here."

DeSean Jackson didn't think the Giants would kick to him in the final seconds of Philadelphia's thrilling win over New York on Sunday afternoon. He received the punt and returned in 65 yards for the game-winning touchdown. "I was thinking to myself, like, 'They're not going to kick it to me,' " Jackson said. "I was thinking he was going to kick it out of bounds. But it got to me. From there, I just used my instincts and my speed to get into the end zone." Giants coach Tom Coughlin was so frustrated, he fired his papers into the artificial turf and later screamed at punter Matt Dodge. "Somebody told me that coach Coughlin ran on the field and tried to get his kicker because he was just so (ticked) that his kicker punted the ball to me," said Jackson. "That just shows how mad he was at that punter." Coughlin took responsibility for the final play, which the NFL said was the first walk-off punt return in league history. "I've never been around anything like this in my life," he said. "It's about as empty as you get to feel in this business, right there."

The Giants will be without Steve Smith for the remainder of the season after the wide receiver undergoes knee surgery. Smith underwent an MRI on his left knee on Tuesday, which revealed an articular cartilage injury. He suffered the injury when he was tackled from behind against the Vikings on Monday night. "Steve will not be able to play anymore," coach Tom Coughlin said. "I feel bad for Steve. He fights his way back and then [suffers] this injury. Our entire thoughts for the team are with Steve. First news was it may have been a hamstring or that type of injury." Smith had 48 receptions for 529 yards and three touchdowns.

Brett Favre is inactive for Minnesota's Monday night game against the Giants, ending his streak of 297 consecutive starts. The streak is the longest of any position player in NFL history. Favre sprained the SC joint near his right shoulder when he was tackled by Arthur Moats on his first pass of last Sunday's game against the Bills. Favre's streak started on Sept. 27, 1992 when he started against the Pittsburgh Steelers, replacing an injured Don Majkowski.

The snow that postponed Sunday's Vikings-Giants game may have helped extend Brett Favre's streak of consecutive starts. "Vikings QB Brett Favre texted Ed Werder that, if today's game had kicked off when scheduled, he would not have played," ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday. Favre suffered a sprained sternoclavicular joint on his first pass last week against the Bills. He has started 297 straight game.

The Giants and Vikings will play on Monday night at 7:20 p.m. EST at Ford Field. The two teams can't play as scheduled at the Metrodome on Sunday afternoon because of poor weather in Minnesota.