Giants coach Jim Fassel will only go as far as his quarterback will take him.

If you guessed that this represents the ever-changing lead role in the popular Broadway show "Inherit the Wind," you're ... well, you're just not close at all. Just as unlikely, though, is the notion that this lineup would reflect one man's attempt to ascend the ladder of the NFL coaching ranks.

Jim Fassel is that man, and the results speak for themselves. Less than two years removed from a Coach of the Year award, Fassel stands squarely in the cross-hairs of public scrutiny and private pressure as his New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys tonight in East Rutherford, N.J.

In a nutshell, the Giants stink. Not in their entirety, mind you, but in some of the important particulars. Well, a few. One, really.

It either happens behind center or it doesn't, and, thus far in 1999, the Giants' quarterback position represents an enormous amount of stuff not happening. In 63 offensive possessions, New York has produced six touchdowns, five field goals and 10 turnovers.

The Giants haven't scored more than 21 points in a game all season, a mark emphasized by last week's three-point egg laid against Arizona. That game featured the ineffective Collins filling in for the concussed Graham, but it was merely the most egregious of the inoffensive performances by an offense desperately looking for a way to get untracked.

And, of course, it's a team game. Or, as Giants receiver Amani Toomer noted last week, "It's a team game."

"We need the whole team to come through," Toomer said. " Ike (Hilliard) and I can do whatever, but if the whole team isn't doing well, then the whole offense isn't going to operate right."

Um, yeah. What he said. But whatever little gremlins are bedeviling the New York offense, they seem to be spending an awful lot of time right around the quarterback spot.

It's a concept so pat as to sound clichéd, but the QB really is the point of the drill. The Jets went from Super Bowl contenders to sub-average Joes with the injury departure of Vinny Testaverde; the Broncos crashed to earth the moment John Elway decided to hang up his cleats. At the same time, no one is ever willing to completely count out the Cowboys, if for no other reason than that Troy Aikman still takes the snaps.

The Giants' search for that kind of quality at quarterback has become almost Quixotic. Brown now backs up Jake Plummer in Arizona, Graham hasn't been the answer, and Collins' shot at taking the reins last week was an unmitigated bummer. Fans and those who cover the team have responded by taking aim at Fassel's play-calling, which has seemed remarkably conservative for a guy who came to the head-coaching job with a reputation as an offensive guru.

Last week, with the Giants needing two yards on third down, Fassel opted for a wide pitchout to 250-pound running back Charles Way, who was quickly brought down for no gain. Phil Simms himself couldn't have made that one go away; but is it possible that with a little more faith in his quarterback, Fassel wouldn't have felt the need to call such a play?

"When things don't go well," Fassel said, "people say, 'Let's try this. Let's try that. Let's try him.' Pretty soon you're all over the place, and you've got nothing going on. I know my players."

He does. He also knows, or at least strongly suspects, that whatever the Giants accomplish this season most likely will be done coincidentally to the quarterback, not because of him. Big runner Gary Brown, in his third game back from injury, might be ready to become a bigger factor in the offense, a welcome development for a team struggling along at 81 rushing yards per game.

It might be enough to jump-start an offense that looked absolutely battery-drained in Arizona a week ago, but it sure isn't the solution behind center. If you're Jim Fassel, that makes tonight status quo. The quest continues.

Mark Kreidler is a columnist for the Sacramento Bee, which has a web site at http://www.sacbee.com/. During the 1999 NFL season, he will write a weekly column for ESPN.com, focusing on the Monday Night Football matchup.