Giants Approach November Swoon With Hope for Quick Turnaround, Again John Sommers II/Reuters Giants Coach Tom Coughlin is 13-21 in November in nine seasons. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Tom Coughlin must have anticipated the questions that would come after his November record dropped to 13-21 in nine seasons coaching the Giants following Sunday's startlingly lopsided 31-13 road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. But it did not keep him from bristling when they were asked. "I'm sure it's me," he said defiantly. Coughlin's larger body of work, of course, speaks for itself. The Giants are coming off their second Super Bowl triumph in five seasons. They have reached the playoffs five times, with two N.F.C. East titles, in the previous eight years under his demanding leadership. His 80 regular-season victories rank second in club history to Steve Owen's 151. And yet, for all he has been able to solve, the question of why his teams continue to stumble in what is often a pivotal month in the N.F.L. calendar hangs in the air like a well-struck punt. The Giants went 1-3 last November before rebounding to rattle off six consecutive victories, four coming in the playoffs. They dropped to 6-4 with an 0-2 start this November. They played poorly in a 24-20 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 4. It only grew worse when they melted down on offense, defense and special teams against a Cincinnati team that had dropped four games in a row. The Giants enter a bye week with their division lead over the Dallas Cowboys having slipped to one game in the loss column. They will host Green Bay on Nov. 25. "My standard answer for last year was, "It didn't come out too badly," " Coughlin said. Regardless of what it was at what time, it didn't turn out too badly. So I'll stick with that one. He noted that teams and circumstances changed every year. Yet, even against a backdrop of November swoons, the answers seem as elusive as ever. "Obviously, we haven't quite figured it out yet or we wouldn't be going through another one," the offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. It's something you're constantly looking at. Players will not return until next Monday to begin preparing for the Packers. Coughlin and his staff immediately began a self-scouting process. The look within appears to be particularly daunting because recent problems encompass almost every aspect - and start at the top with Eli Manning. After firing for 12 touchdowns through the first seven games, Manning has not found the end zone in three consecutive games. He has not had such a drought since the second, third and fourth games of his rookie season, from Nov. 28 through Dec. 12, in 2004. He hit 29 of 46 passes for 215 yards in Cincinnati but was intercepted twice on consecutive third-quarter possessions and lost a fumble. Although Manning said he would not throw until practice resumed and would get away from the game to spend time with his family, he emphasized that he did not have any arm issues. Gilbride said: "I haven't seen a deadening of the arm. I know that's out there, but I haven't seen that. Manning, a two-time Super Bowl most valuable player, shook his head vigorously when asked if any self-doubt has crept in. "You trust your skills and you trust your past experiences and you know football is a crazy game and it is hard," he said. According to Gilbride, Manning alone is not to blame for a stretch in which the Giants have had three offensive touchdowns in the three games. It comes down to protection. It comes down to guys getting open," Gilbride said. Believe me, it's a collective process. As the Giants look ahead to a difficult six-game stretch - Green Bay, at Washington, New Orleans, at Atlanta, at Baltimore and then home for Philadelphia - their formula for a quick turnaround must involve improved play up front on both sides of the ball. The offensive line had permitted a league-low nine sacks through the first nine games, but the Bengals sacked Manning four times and forced him to rush his throws on numerous other occasions. At times, the line struggled to create holes for the team's leading rusher, Ahmad Bradshaw, who has been slowed by foot problems. A defensive line that has the same personnel that fueled the Giants" Super Bowl run a year ago never sacked Andy Dalton. "You can talk all you want about the three-step-drop business," Coughlin said, "but we've got to get home. You've got to get there. That's our game. Defensive tackle Markus Kuhn, a seventh-round draft choice who was making steady progress, is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.