In the past three games, the Giants have gone from 5-0 to losers of three straight. Eli Manning's plight has mirrored that of his flagging team. He has only three touchdowns to six interceptions over that span. Manning said after the most recent loss, 40-17 to the Eagles, that he is not slumping but also that he doesn't know what the problem is. But something definitely is wrong — and surprisingly so.

The PFW spin

Let's get something out of the way right off the bat. Manning is not struggling because he got a big contract and is getting soft or not working hard. He was playing at an MVP-type of level through five games, so that idea can be ruled out.

Coinciding with his turn for the worst was a heel injury that happened on a strange non-contact play in Kansas City. The next week, against a feeble Raiders team, Manning turned in a very effective half of work, although many of his yards in that game were after the catch, mostly the work of his pass catchers downfield.

Since then, Manning has struggled. There have been some extenuating circumstances that have been out of his hands. First, the defense — also great through five games — has been beset by injuries and taken apart by some good offenses. And the special teams, an underrated component of the Giants' success, have been off, too. P Jeff Feagles, who usually gives the Giants a great field-position advantage, is mishitting some balls of late.

But there's no denying that Manning's game is also off. And a review of the past three games shows, that Manning is not planting and driving off his injured right foot the way he should. It has caused some inaccurate throws, six of which have been picked off. Head coach Tom Coughlin has said that Manning has been guilty of this — but only in practice, the coach said, and not in games.

On the interception by Eagles CB Asante Samuel on Sunday, it was a great play by the defensive back, likely a result of great instincts and film study. On the second, by Eagles FS Quintin Demps, Manning admitted he was in the wrong. "Just a bad decision," he said. "I was kind of hoping Sinorice (Moss) would do something else, and he didn't and I still tried to fit it in there, kind of a hope shot. You can't have those decisions. Throw it away, take a sack. Just don't turn the ball over and give them more momentum."

But that's what he did, and that type of throw has become all too common lately. It was the type of throw Manning was making before the Giants went on their late-season run through the Super Bowl in 2007. For the year-plus since then, including the 10-interception season in '08, Manning had appeared to eliminate that element from his game.

Any kind of injury to an essential body part like this is going to affect a QB's mechanics. It's not the pain, per se; in fact Manning says he hasn't even wrapped the foot or felt it during games. But the combination of compensating for the foot through a week of practice and dealing with treatment and pain other times during the week can have its effect on Sundays.

Blaming the foot for all of Manning's problems would be erroneous. He appears to be trying to compensate for the rest of the Giants' troubles, trying to be too fine and perhaps too heroic. The Giants are best when all three phases of the game parlay into each other: the special teams set up the defense, which sets up the offense, and so forth. It appears that as much defensive talent as they have, this group might not be an elite unit, which makes that kind of harmony — the type we saw the first five weeks — so much more important.

And Manning, even with some talented, young receivers who have blossomed, is not the type of quarterback to carry a team solely on his shoulders and bring them back, week after week. That's not his game. He's gutsy, and his leadership hasn't been questioned the past two years. But he's a system player who is trying to do too much. Every other part of the Giants must help him get back to what he does best.