EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants are planning to bring a 53-man roster of players down to Nashville for their Sunday matchup against the Tennessee Titans, a game that the Giants hope will be the end of their seven-game losing streak.

However, the roster that coach Tom Coughlin will be allowing on the team’s charter flight is drastically different from the one the Giants put on the field way back in Week 1 against the Lions.

Injuries have torn through the Giants at an alarming rate. Currently the Giants list 21 players who have no chance of contributing the rest of the season, a list that grew by five this week when New York was forced to put a whopping five players –- offensive linemen Geoff Schwartz and Adam Snyder, defensive ends Mathias Kiwanuka and Robert Ayers Jr. and linebacker Terrell Manning — on injured reserve.

“It has definitely taken its (toll) on this team,” safety Antrel Rolle said. “I don’t know the reason for it; it has just been a weird year all the way around. If you asked me at the beginning of the season if we would have been in this situation I would have put all my chips on ‘absolutely not.'”

While the faces might change, running back Rashad Jennings pointed out that the expectations remain the same.

“You can’t ever let situations or a person dictate your attitude, no matter what you’re doing, especially when you’re a professional athlete. That’s always been my mentality ever since I’ve been in the league,” Jennings said. “Everybody in this locker room, since I’ve been here, has been capable of getting the job done. I wouldn’t say it changes the mentality between the snaps. Obviously let’s not overlook that if somebody pinches you, you’re going to say, ‘Ouch.’ But how you respond to it is important. We come to work every single day and nobody’s satisfied.”

Still the injuries loom large in another lost season, and perhaps the most frustrating part for Coughlin is that there just does not seem to be a consistent thread as to why injuries are hitting the Giants harder than most teams over the last two seasons.

“You’re asking for a comment that has miffed me forever. Why does it happen?” Coughlin said. “We jumped even further in the science of staying healthy in terms of what we’ve done in terms of our soft-tissue stuff and, as you can see, it hasn’t been the soft tissues; it’s been injuries that need surgical repair.

“I wish I had an answer for you. Lots of people want to go on and on about ‘Do we have enough offseason?’ and I think that might be a legitimate something to bring up at some time. But we offer no excuses and we certainly have maintained that position. We feel bad for the guys that are hurt, but it is the nature of our business, and we push forward.”

Coughlin, who famously opined that injuries are more of a mental issue when he was initially hired as the team’s coach in 2004, shook his head when asked whether the injury situation has become unavoidable.

“I don’t think anybody is interested in surgical repairs,” he said. “I understand what you’re asking me. You’re asking me if it’s a losing mentality. I don’t see that on this team.”

The reality is that injuries are a part of the game and they don’t discriminate as to which teams get hit harder than others. According to ESPN Stats and Information, the Cowboys and Seahawks have placed 23 and 21 players on injured reserve since Aug. 1 and both teams are 8-4 and in the thick of the postseason race.

One very strong theory for that is that both the Cowboys and Seahawks have done a better job than the Giants with their drafts over the last several years.

How bad has it been for the Giants? Their draft classes from 2009 through 2013 have yielded one Pro Bowler who is still on the roster (defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul).

They have re-signed only one of their picks from those classes (left tackle Will Beatty).

The most damning stat? Before this week, 38 of their 76 draft picks from 2009 through 2013 were out of the league, while eight others were with other teams.

That’s 46 out of 76 draft picks over a five-year period who are not a part of the 2014 team — a fact that has led to the team having to fill its roster with mostly journeymen whose talent represents a significant drop from the starters.

Regardless of the circumstances, the players realize they are largely to blame for yet another season that will end with a losing record and no playoffs.

“We put ourselves in this hole; we can’t blame it on anyone else,” Rolle said. “We have had several opportunities to go out there and win games and close games out, and we have failed to do so as a team. At this point, we have four games left; let’s go out there and make the best of those four games.”

It’s a difficult and challenging situation for any coaching staff, but Coughlin, who always views the glass as being half full, wants his players and assistant coaches to take away two key messages as they move through this last month of the season.

“The message is keep fighting; that’s what the message has been all along. We’ve gotten the game into a position where the critical aspect is on the line and someone has to make a play for us to win,” he said.

“The other message is opportunity. Guys who have a chance at this point in the season to perform and have an opportunity to participate at this level when perhaps they had no snaps coming in before, now they’re going to get snaps and have a chance to prove their ability not only to the New York Giants, but to the entire NFL.”

SERIES HISTORY: The series with the Tennessee Titans is tied 5-5. The Giants are 2-3 on the road against the Titans. The Titans are one of three teams — along with the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts — that Giants quarterback Eli Manning not beaten.

NOTES: RB Rashad Jennings (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. His status for Sunday is unknown, though Jennings is holding out hope that he won’t miss his fifth game of the season due to injury. … OT James Brewer (concussion) did not practice and is unlikely to play Sunday. … LB Mark Herzlich (concussion) did not practice Wednesday. His status for Sunday is unclear. … RT Justin Pugh (quadriceps) took his full practice workload and is on target to play Sunday after missing the last two games. Pugh told reporters that he was close to being ready to go last week, but the team decided to hold him out another week as a precaution. … CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (back/shoulder) was limited in Wednesday’s practice. Rodgers-Cromartie was injured Sunday vs. Jacksonville.