"Keith Bulluck was just starting to feel like his old self when he added a nasty case of turf toe to his recovering left knee. He was forced to sit out the last three games - the first time he's missed that many in his 10-year NFL career.

Now, the 33-year-old linebacker is ready to return to the lineup for the Giants on Monday night in Dallas, but he's not sure how much of his old spot in the lineup remains. While Bulluck was out, the Giants had a run of success playing a three-safety alignment on defense, using mostly only two linebackers on the field at a time.

That left little playing time for Bulluck's weak-side replacement, Clint Sintim. And it's not clear if, now that Bulluck is back, the Giants' thinking about their defensive scheme will change. "I've been in situations on other teams where good players couldn't get on the field, not because of their talent but just because of how things were flowing," Bulluck said Friday. "If it's not broke, don't fix it. What we're doing works."

It's not that Bulluck doesn't want more playing time. In fact, he even said he hopes the Cowboys run on 75% of their plays, which might force defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to use more linebackers. But it's hard to argue with the numbers in the Giants' three-game winning streak. Using Deon Grant as the third safety, and playing either him or starter Antrel Rolle closer to the line of scrimmage, the Giants gave up an average of just 223.6 total yards and 49 rushing yards in those games.

Would using the 6-3, 235-pound Bulluck more and Grant less make the Giants better? Maybe. But even Bulluck concedes that remains to be seen. "I'm a small piece of the puzzle right now," Bulluck said. "Of course as the season goes on I'd like to become a bigger piece. But if we can keep shutting teams down with a three-safety package, so be it. It's all about getting wins at the end of the day.""