Kennison has had two days of practice after being signed Tuesday and is expected to play a limited role this week against the Giants. "He looks good," coach Scott Linehan said. "He has a real grasp of the offense because of his background in it, so that makes the learning curve not a factor. He still has to work conditioning-wise because he has not had a camp in him at all. At this point, he is going to be used in certain roles and at this point, it is going to be limited, so he is not going to be as big a factor as if he was playing every down."

PLAYER NOTES

--DE Leonard Little missed another practice Thursday because of a hamstring injury and is not expected to play against the Giants Sunday.

--LG Jacob Bell, who injured his hamstring in the season opener against the Eagles, missed practice Thursday and will likely miss Sunday's game against the Giants.

--DE Chris Long will see time this week on both the right and left side of the line. Long has been starting on the right side but the expected absence of Leonard Little will provide opportunities for Long on the left side. Said coach Scott Linehan, "He is not always going to be over there so my feeling is that is a side that he has played; he played it in college especially when they went into their third-down packages a lot, so he looks comfortable there. Really the side he is on is not a big thing to him. As far as (DE) James (Hall), it is natural for him to be on the right. We are still going to play him (Long) on both sides."

--WR Donnie Avery might make his season debut Sunday against the Giants. Avery missed the season opener because of a sprained knee but practiced both Wednesday and Thursday this week. Said coach Scott Linehan, "He was better today (Thursday) than I anticipated him being. He did mostly everything today and that was good to see."

--OL Adam Goldberg worked at left guard Wednesday with Jacob Bell on the sideline with an injured hamstring.

--DE Chris Long practiced extensively on the left side Wednesday with Leonard Little sidelined by a hamstring injury. Long had a heavy wrap on his left hand to protect a broken pinky.

--RB Travis Minor practiced on a very limited basis Wednesday because of a strained groin.

--P Donnie Jones did not practice Wednesday and had his right leg wrapped after bruising his knee against Philadelphia. Jones punts with his left foot.

GAME PLAN: Offensive coordinator Al Saunders acknowledged getting away from the run too soon against the Eagles, but it was understandable considering the Rams fell behind quickly, 14-0, and trailed 21-0 at halftime. They will try to establish the run against the Giants and limit long-yardage situations. The Rams had 19 plays of 45 Sunday on second or third down that had nine yards or longer to go. The average on those plays was 13.3 yards to go.

Defensively, the Rams have to limit big plays and keep RB Brandon Jacobs from running downhill.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Giants RB Brandon Jacobs vs. Rams run defense - Jacobs rumbled for 116 yards against the Redskins and averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He'll face a Rams run defense that wasn't hurt by Brian Westbrook Sunday but has had issues with big backs in the past.

Rams interior line of possibly LG Adam Goldberg, C Nick Leckey and RG Richie Incognito vs. Giants DTs Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins: The Rams need to establish the run with Steven Jackson and they will have to get help from the line to do it.

INJURY IMPACT: NFL games are decided in the trenches, and Sunday the Rams will likely be without DLE Leonard Little (hamstring) and LG Jacob Bell (hamstring). The Rams are already playing with Nick Leckey at center because Brett Romberg is recovering from a broken hand and G Mark Setterstrom (knee) is lost for the season.