Game Plan Is Quite Simply One of the Best : Giants: They don’t need to get fancy because they succeed with basics--over and over again.

Eventually, they might become known as the team of the ‘90s. But right now they look more like a team of the ‘50s.

In an age of run-and-shoot offenses, situational defenses and computer-calculated game plans, the New York Giants like to keep it nice and simple. As simple as one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and oh. As in 9-0, their record after Sunday’s 31-7 victory over the Rams.

In Pittsburgh, the players not only have trouble understanding new offensive coordinator Joe Walton’s complicated plays, the messengers can’t even remember them long enough to repeat them in the huddle. In Detroit, Houston and Atlanta, coaches run out of blackboard space while trying to diagram four or five different wide receiver routes for a single play. Some teams inundate their players with reams of computer printouts on tendencies. Some coaches script their first 25 plays of game.

The Giants, meanwhile, run off-tackle plays and sweeps. They throw swing passes in the flat to running backs who put their heads down and try to bull out a few yards. They throw 10-yard passes over the middle to their tight end. And on defense, there are no safety blitzes, no eight-defensive-back alignments on third-and-long. They simply line up and make the tackles.

It’s all very, well, boring.

“We go into the game and do the same things, week in and week out,” linebacker Lawrence Taylor said. “We put 11 people out there and say, ‘May the best 11 win.’

“We don’t have to get fancy because we’re putting out a very competitive squad. And we don’t have to worry about making as many mistakes when you don’t do as many things. But we’re not just winning, we’re beating teams, physically beating teams.”

Taylor chose to title Sunday’s victory as “Payback ‘90s Time,” in reference to the Rams’ 19-13 overtime victory over the Giants in the NFC divisional playoff game last January. Ram Coach John Robinson described it simply as “a question of us playing a team that is playing superior football.”

And, that, is what it’s all about. The Giants aren’t high-tech. They don’t wow you with a passing game that offers more options than the menu at 31 Flavors. They just run, block, kick and tackle with efficiency and consistency.

And they don’t win because of one or two superstars’ incredible talent, or an unstoppable offense or an impenetrable defense. They have a total package; straightforward, maybe, but complete.

Punter Sean Landeta, for instance, played a pivotal role Sunday, dropping three punts deep in Ram territory that were downed on the Rams’ three-yard line.

“The Giants place tremendous importance on special teams,” he said. “Our coaches, even the media and fans consider us as starters. A special teams player is not a backup guy on this team. That attitude helps us gain great field-position advantages in many games. And our defensive guys are always sure to let us know how much they appreciate it.”

The final score may have indicated a rout, but this game really was merely another in a long list of Giant victories that can be attributed to perseverance. They led, 10-0, at the half and then just wore down the Ram defense, ending up with almost a 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

The Ram offense, meanwhile, was forced to deal with a growing sense of desperation.

“I guess you can categorize this as just another blue-collar win for us,” running back Dave Meggett said.

New York has been getting early leads, putting their grind-it-out, ball-control offense in its usual low gear, and providing the defense with lots of rest and plenty of room for error. The Rams took over inside their 20-yard line five times in the second half.

“So we do get conservative in the fourth quarter,” said Taylor with a shrug. “It seems to work for us. When we get the lead, it allows the defense do a lot more things when a team has to pass or open up their offense a little bit to get back into the game. Then our offense can take some time off the clock, so (the defense) can go hard for short periods of time.

“So we’re methodical. Who cares as long as we win?”

Not Giant fans, who are anticipating the Dec. 3 Monday night showdown with the 49ers in San Francisco. And not the Giants, who all insist they are on a collision course only with Detroit, their opponent next week.

“Hey, we do things different sometimes,” protested running back Ottis Anderson, while discussing his three-yard run around right end for a fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Giants ahead, 24-7. “But you go with what brought you do the dance.”

These days, opponents are dancing to the Giants’ favorite tune most of time. And it’s usually a waltz.