After the interception was returned for a touchdown, putting the Giants in a 7-0 hole against the Bears a week ago Thursday night, wideout Rueben Randle went straight to the sidelines for a conference with receivers coach Kevin Gilbride Jr.

As Newark Star-Ledger staffer Conor Orr explained this week, in a perfect world, Randle was supposed to use his body language as a signal to Eli Manning, letting the quarterback know that he was extending the route because the corner was sitting, anticipating the short pass.

It’s not easy, Randle admits, showing something with your body in the middle of a play that lasted two seconds from snap to throw. It’s not easy looking at the route through Manning’s eyes.

A few days later, Randle was still going through the play in his mind.

"I think Eli was pressured a little bit and that forced him to throw the ball a little early, force it out a little early, and he didn’t see the cornerback sitting there the whole time," the second-year receiver said.

Manning has 15 interceptions -- which Orr correctly characterizes as "an astronomical total for this point in the season" -- and six of those have come on passes intended for Randle, leading to plenty of speculation about what, truly, is ailing the Giants passing game. Manning had 15 picks all of last season.

From Randle’s perspective, they are just a series of unfortunate plays. He said he has developed a rapport with his quarterback and that the turnovers are not a sign that they’re buried in two different playbooks. After all, he’s caught a third of Manning’s nine touchdown passes.

But as the 0-6 Giants peer into the future and begin forming their long-term plans, Randle knows he needs to continue improving in order to earn their confidence.

"I feel like (Eli and I are on the same page)," said Randle, who has caught 20 passes for 333 yards this season. "I think (the pick-six against the Bears) was just one of the bad plays overall. I think on that play the cornerback did a great job sitting on the route. … We just have to continue to get better at it."

Orr went on to note that trade rumors surrounding receiver Hakeem Nicks brought Randle’s readiness into a different light this week.

Nicks has not received permission to seek out potential deals or been notified of any pending offers, and a deal seems unlikely at this point, but has not been completely ruled out according to multiple people briefed on the matter who requested anonymity in order to speak freely on the matter. However, the thought of the Giants without their true No. 1 outside threat was not made any easier following Manning’s pick-six last Thursday.

"He’s a talented young man who is figuring this thing out," coach Tom Coughlin said last week of Randle. "He brings a lot to the table; we just have to keep working with him and refining that talent."

That is easy to see on the good plays. In Week 5, Randle sliced through four defenders against the Eagles on a 26-yard touchdown. Conversely, he was facing the complete opposite direction on an interception against the Cowboys in Week 1, while Manning was throwing to a different route entirely.

The latter are the moments that Randle’s still sorting out.

"I think that’s for every receiver in the league (to want to be a No. 1)," Randle said. "I just need to try and get better, make a few more plays and see what happens in the future. ..."

Meanwhile, although the Giants signed veteran running back Peyton Hillis last week for depth, the veteran newcomer finds himself in position to play a more significant role in Monday night’s game than initially thought.

Brandon Jacobs, who ran for 106 yards on 22 carries in the 0-6 Giants' most-recent loss nine days ago in Chicago, missed practice Saturday with a hamstring injury and is listed as questionable for the game. The "questionable" designation technically means a 50-50 chance to play, but ESPN.com's Dan Graziano noted this morning "the fact that Jacobs didn't practice represents a setback."

When the Giants held him out of practice last Monday, they said it was a precaution and their plan was to practice him for the rest of the week. That plan changed, and now we're left to wonder whether Jacobs will play at all and, if so, how much they can expect from him.

With rookie seventh-round pick Michael Cox likely still not ready to contribute much on offense, it's the new guy, Hillis, who could get the ball on early downs if they don't have Jacobs or if they have to limit him.

That doesn't mean you should play Hillis; but we all know desperate times often demand desperate measures.