World Champions!

6 02 2012

It’s hard to imagine a more anticlimactic game-winning touchdown run with :57 seconds remaining in the Super Bowl than the one Ahmad Bradshaw scored last night. On a second-and-goal from the six yard line, Bradshaw took the hand-off from Eli Manning and ran directly up the middle of a gaping hole in the Patriots defensive line. Shocked by this clear path to the end zone, it took a few seconds before Bradshaw suddenly remembered what he had to do, but it was a few seconds too late. Just inside the one yard line, Bradshaw squatted as if he was shrinking away from an imaginary tackler, hearing Eli yelling for him not to score. The momentum of his run was too much to fight though, and it carried him over the goal line, backwards, almost as if he were moving in slow motion.

And just like that, the New York Giants led the New England Patriots 21-17 with :57 seconds left in Super Bowl XLVI and we didn’t know whether to celebrate or be disappointed. So, by default, we celebrated — even if the reaction was a little delayed. After all, wouldn’t it be better to force the immortal Tom Brady to go the length of the field and score a touchdown to win, rather than relying on Tynes to boot a high-pressure kick and then give Brady the ball back needing only a field goal to win?

The decision will be debated, for sure, but not as much as it would have been if the outcome of the game was any different than what it ultimately was. As it were, Brady’s last second Hail Mary pass ended up hitting the turf  just out of the reach of Rob Gronkowski’s fingers and scooted out the back of the end zone, and then — cue the confetti, for the second time in four years.

It’s still far too early for me to accurately put this Super Bowl run and eventual title in the proper perspective, but I can say this much: this one seemed more deserved, like we really earned it, at least more so than 2007. Although 2007 was special for me in its own way (it was the first Giants title that I was old enough to appreciate, we ruined the Pats’ perfect season, etc.), my immediate feeling is that I will come to cherish this victory even more when I look back on it years from now.

To compare the two would be foolish at this moment, before the initial wave of euphoria from last night’s victory has even worn off. If I could put it simply though, I would say that when it comes down to it the 2007 title felt like it was a series of serendipitous events that carried us like a team of destiny, whereas this run felt like we scratched, clawed and fought to the death every step of the way, catching fire at the right time and straight-up beating the best teams in football in the rawest, most pure way possible.

And maybe there are other factors in there somewhere too. Maybe it’s because of the fact that this run seemingly came out of nowhere. Maybe it’s because of the fact that every single win in this six-game stretch dating back to Christmas Eve against the Jets has felt like one big sigh of relief after another. Or maybe it’s because of the fact that I already have such fond memories surrounding each and every playoff game that made up this run. From being there in MetLife Stadium to witness the first home playoff win in the new building against Atlanta, to the improbable win over the 15-1 Packers, to watching us capture the NFC title on a beach in St. Maarten, and finally watching Big Blue wrap up another Super Bowl title in the last minute with my Dad, the only other Giants fan I know more diehard than I am, every step of the way was memorable.

A few years from now, I’ll probably be able to better assess the two Super Bowl runs and how they compare to one another, but right now, I’ll just stick to enjoying this one.

So soak it all in, Giants fans. After the season we just went through, that might very well have taken a few years off of my life, we sure as hell deserve it.


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Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots Position-By-Position Breakdown

30 01 2012

There are about 155 hours left until the kickoff of Super Bowl XLVI, or three viewings of The Tree of Life if you want a rough comparison. The Patriots have already landed in Indianapolis and the Giants are due to arrive today, so in celebration of the official beginning of Super Bowl Week, I’m going to do a position-by-position breakdown of the big game. But before you read all the way through to the bottom expecting to find my prediction, I want to warn you that you’re not going to find it. If you think I’m going to be pressured into giving a prediction that I’ll regret all week, then you must be outside of your mind. It’s not happening.

Quarterback: Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady

If this breakdown was comparing how Eli Manning and Tom Brady played last week, then the outcome might be a little different. If it was comparing which quarterback was hottest at this very moment, then the outcome would definitely be different. But if we’re just comparing Eli Manning and Tom Brady straight-up, with no stipulations, then it’s hard not to tip the scales in Brady’s favor. I know Eli has won his last two games against Tom and I know he’s probably playing the best football of his life right now, but the fact is that Tom Brady is still Tom Brady, official UGG’s spokesman, until further notice. The fact that this is even as close as it is speaks volumes to how well Eli Manning is playing right now. I’ll leave it at that.

Slight Edge: Pats

Running Backs: Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw vs. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead

If this category was “Which running back tandem has the best names” then I’d have to give it to the Patriots. BenJarvus Green-Ellis almost has half as many names as he had rushing touchdowns during the regular season and Danny Woodhead sounds like a comic book character. But if we’re comparing them based on which tandem is more likely to swing the momentum of the game, it’s going to have to be Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw is the heart of the Giants offense, even if his numbers may not always show it. He didn’t play the last time the Giants and Pats met back in Week 9 and the Giants still came out on top, so having him around this time should be a big plus for Big Blue. And if Brandon Jacobs can break a few big runs, the Patriots defense will have major problems.

Edge: Giants

Wide Receivers: Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham vs. Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Chad Ochocinco

Right now, the Giants have the best wide receiving corps in the NFL and it isn’t even close. Each and every one of those three have had a significant impact on the Giants’ postseason run and they are a major reason why the Giants are going to be playing for the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night. Nicks had enormous games against Atlanta and Green Bay, and when he was locked down against San Francisco, it was Victor Cruz that stepped up with 10 catches for 142 yards. And what about Mario Manningham? Well, he has only quietly scored 3 touchdowns this postseason, one in each game so far. His 3rd-and-15 catch against San Fran to put the Giants up 17-14 was one of the biggest plays of the season.

As for the Patriots receivers, we all know that Welker has had a monster season. Although the New England receivers are the exact polar opposite of the Giants’ squad in that they are more prone to controlling the middle of the field and not known for their big-play tendencies the way Nicks, Cruz and Manningham are, they are still dangerous and equally hard to cover in the 10-20 yard range. Plus, Ochocinco just bought a pair of Beats by Dre headphones for every single player on the Patriots which is probably the most important thing he’s contributed all year.

Edge: Giants

Offensive Line: Chris Snee, David Diehl, Kareem McKenzie, David Baas vs. Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Nate Solder

These two units are going to play an extremely important role in Sunday’s game. If the Patriots offensive line can protect Brady and make sure he isn’t running scared and throwing darts into the ground like Alex Smith during the 4th quarter last week, then the Pats should be in good shape. We all know what can happen if the Giants get pressure on Brady. We saw it in Super Bowl XLII and we saw it in Week 9. This is no secret. For the Giants, their line was simply abused by the 49ers defensive front last week. Manning was hit so many times he could have legally changed his name to Tina Turner. Luckily for the Giants’ line, the Patriots pass rush isn’t nearly as ferocious as San Francisco’s. For now though, and since the play of the Patriots’ line is much more closely connected to their success than the Giants’ line is, I’m going to give the edge to New England.

Edge: Pats

Tight Ends: Jake Ballard, Travis Beckum vs. Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez

Much like the wide receiver match-up, this one isn’t even close. Only instead of being in the Giants’ favor, this one clearly goes to New England. Jake Ballard can hold his own with just about anyone in the league and has had a great season filling the shoes of the departed Kevin Boss, but he’s leagues away from Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Gronkowski shattered tight end records left and right this season and even on a bad ankle, he’s the player that the Giants defense needs to make its number one priority going into Sunday night. His high ankle sprain is going to be the big story leading up to the game and it’s not likely that Gronk will be 100%, but Rob Gronkowski at 75% is still more dangerous than 90% of the tight ends in the league playing at full health. Plus, Aaron Hernandez plays like a wide receiver and the Pats have even started using him as a running back too because apparently their offense is run by a 12-year-old playing Madden.

Edge: Pats

Defensive Line: Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul, Chris Canty, Linval Joseph vs. Shaun Ellis, Vince Wilfork, Mark Anderson

This unit is the Giants’ bread and butter. They will set the tone of this game and it’s up to the Patriots offensive line to keep them at bay, which will be easier said than done considering no offensive line has been able to successfully do that in over a month and a half. The Giants’ defensive line is a very close-knit group and they have big game experience too. Tuck and Umenyiora both played huge roles in the Super Bowl XLII victory and Tuck sacked Brady twice in that game. In fact, if it wasn’t for Eli Manning’s late game heroics, an argument could have been made to give Tuck the MVP of that game. Simply put, this game will be determined by how much pressure the Giants’ front four can put on Brady.

As for the Patriots, Wilfork had an enormous game against Baltimore last week, and it will be up to the Giants’ offensive line to keep him at bay on Sunday. If it was legal for defensive tackles to eat their way through the offensive line though, Wilfork would be absolutely unstoppable.

Edge: Giants

Linebackers: Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jacquian Williams, Chase Blackburn vs. Brandon Spikes, Rob Ninkovich, Tracy White

This is a tough category to call because the Giants linebackers have been really hit-or-miss all season. Only in the last five weeks have they begun to really gel and play some quality football. Jacquian Williams is finally making plays, Boley and Kiwanuka are finally both 100% healthy and Chase Blackburn went from eating Cheetos on his couch two months ago to playing a major role in another Giants Super Bowl run. It’s weird how football works. The linebackers are going to really be tested on Sunday with Gronk and Hernandez roaming the middle of the field. If they can cover and not let either tight end go all Vernon Davis on them, then they will severely limit the Patriots’ offensive options.

Slight Edge: Giants

Secondary: Kenny Phillips, Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Deon Grant, Antrel Rolle vs. Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington, Pat Chung, James Ihedigbo, Sterling Moore

I have to give the edge to the Giants here on principle. The Patriots owned the league’s worst passing defense all season, and even though they’ve looked a little better during the playoffs, you need to remember who they went up against the last two weeks: Tim Tebow and Joe Flacco. Two quarterbacks who aren’t exactly known for lighting it up. The most dangerous receiver they’ve had to cover was probably Demaryius Thomas. Let’s get real here for a second. They haven’t had to face a receiving corps like the one the Giants have since the last time they played the Giants. Plus, if they throw Julian Edelman out there on Cruz or Manningham it’s going to be a blood bath. The one thing the Patriots’ secondary has in its favor is that it’s opportunistic. They get a lot of takeaways, so as long as Eli can play mistake-free football and be careful with his throws like he was last week in San Francisco, then the Giants can avoid playing to the Patriots’ strengths.

Edge: Giants

Special Teams: Lawrence Tynes, Steve Weatherford, Will Blackmon, Devin Thomas vs. Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, Julian Edelman, Wes Welker

The Giants special teams play is probably what won the game for them against the 49ers. Weatherford punted the hell out of the ball all night, Thomas’s two fumble recoveries were responsible for 10 points and he might have singlehandedly put the Giants in the Super Bowl and of course Lawrence Tynes was the one who won it with his kick. But the truth is that Big Blue’s special teams have been shaky all season. Another game like last week’s is probably asking too much, but all they really need to do is play smart, mistake-free football. On the Pats’ side, Gostkowski is a model of efficiency and Edelman and Welker are always dangerous in the return game. We’ll call this one even.

Edge: Even

Head Coach: Coughlin vs. Belichick

For the second time in four years, Tom Coughlin has coached himself off of the hot seat and into the Super Bowl. He’s done a fantastic job of getting the team motivated and prepared down the stretch this season and especially in the playoffs and he’s converted guys like Antrel Rolle and Michael Boley and made them believers. In fact, he might be doing the best coaching job of his career right now. But so is Belichick. He’s taken a team with the 31st ranked defense in the league and brought them within one win of a Super Bowl title, which is amazing given the fact that he has based his entire career up until now on his defensive superiority. Basically this comes down to the fact that Belichick is Belichick — the slight edge here goes to the Pats, even though, much like the Manning-Brady comparison, this is much closer than it would have been a few years ago.

Slight Edge: Pats

 

Prediction: No way.


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This All Seems a Little Familiar

24 01 2012

As the minutes leading up to Sunday night’s NFC Championship tilt agonizingly dripped away, I ran through the usual and familiar gamut of pregame anxiety symptoms: the nervous tapping of my right foot, the fingers fidgeting away, the stomach churning in anticipation. What wasn’t usual and familiar, however, was where I would be watching the game. I wouldn’t be on my living room couch at home, leaning forward anxiously like I was getting ready to bolt out of the house any second. I wouldn’t be watching it at friend’s house or a bar either, surrounded by fellow Giants fans masking their anxiety with copious amounts of alcohol.

Nope, none of those places.

Instead, I was sitting on a beach towel with my feet in the sand. In front of me was the Caribbean sea, and directly behind me was the runway of the only international airport on the island of St. Maarten. Off to the left, where I was faced, was a large movie-theater sized projection screen on top of a beachside bar showing the Giants-49ers game. Thankfully, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were drowned out by the Sunset Bar DJ flowing effortlessly from Drake to Usher to Rick Ross, and occasionally he was drowned out by an incoming Airbus A320 that skimmed the tops of our heads.

How did I end up here watching my team try to fight its way into the Super Bowl? Well, it’s funny you should ask. When our trip was booked, back in the beginning of December, the New York Giants were 6-6 and not exactly looking like they were primed to make a Super Bowl run. When we originally planned the dates, January 15-22 seemed sensible — that is until I realized that our flight home at 5:00 p.m. on the 22nd would put me in the air during the NFC Championship game. Although this shouldn’t have been a concern at that time, my first thought was, “What if the Giants are playing? What would happen? How could I live with myself?”

While the thought seemed crazy at the time, changes were made, dates were altered and I decided that if the Giants, by some crazy, improbable turn of events, actually did make the NFC Championship game, watching it in St. Maarten would be better than not watching it at all.

As fate would have it, those same 6-6 Giants did make the NFC Championship game. They made it by dismantling the Jets, then the Cowboys, then the Falcons and astonishingly, the Packers too. And so on Sunday night, I watched the New York Giants win the NFC title in a decidedly unusual place.

What I had hoped for all week was a game similar to the 2001 NFC title game, a simple, easy thrashing that I could enjoy peacefully while buying many rounds of drinks and ideally not fighting back the urge to throw up during an overtime coin toss. As you all know by now, that is not what I got. Instead, what I got was a four-hour heavyweight bout between two fighters who refused to go down. What I got was possibly the most nerve-wracking second half I can ever remember watching.

The game, in and of itself, was almost like a microcosm of the entire season. It was an emotional roller coaster, filled with ups and downs and just about every frustrating aspect of a football game you can imagine: dumb, drive-extending penalties by the defense, Alex Smith eluding sacks and scrambling for big first downs, Eli getting repeatedly battered and abused by the Niner defense, long touchdown passes to tight ends, stalled drives and long-winded Ed Hochuli explanations. But somehow, despite all of this, the Giants were the ones putting on their championship t-shirts and hats after the game.

Despite the fact that Eli might have spent more time on the ground Sunday night than he did standing up, he brushed off every single hit like it never happened and continue to make the plays that needed to be made. The best thing about his performance on Sunday night was the fact that none of it surprised me. In 2007, I would have been in awe of that 17-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham on 3rd and 15 that put the Giants up 17-14. On Sunday night, I expected it, and number 10 did not disappoint.

With the game tied at 17 and heading into overtime, and with the eerie feeling of deja vu that came with yet another overtime NFC Championship game (only this time with shiny new rules), the sky above us on the beach opened up and it began to rain. At the time, I thought this to be a bad omen. We headed under an awning to watch overtime on a much smaller TV screen, with around 10-15 other people that remained at the bar. By the time Jacquian Williams forced the fumble on Kyle Williams and Devin Thomas put his superhero cape on for the second time that night, I was pacing nervously back and forth chain-smoking and hoping that Trey Junkin was far, far away from Candlestick Park that night.

Although I had hoped that Bradshaw would gallop into the endzone and end it swiftly and painlessly, he got us close enough and when Lawrence Tynes trotted out onto the field to kick the Giants into the Super Bowl for the second time in four years, I thought that I could literally taste my heart in the back of my throat. The camera panned to Bradshaw on the sidelines with his helmet off and his eyes closed. His face titled towards the sky, it appeared as if he was repeatedly whispering “Please make this kick” although I couldn’t quite make it out. But it didn’t matter because that’s what I was whispering, and that’s exactly what Lawrence Tynes did.

In the end, it was the image of Steve Weatherford trying desperately to pull his helmet off and begin celebrating that stuck with me on the drive home. It was the image of Victor Cruz, with wide-eyed wonder, looking like one of those kids in the commercials who’s parents just told him they were going to Disney World.

And now, we have two weeks to prepare for a game we had no business being in as little as a month ago. We have two weeks to prepare for a rematch of what might have been the most exciting Super Bowl ever played. Only this time, we are the team that won the regular season meeting, and it’s the Patriots that will be playing with a chip on their shoulders, looking for redemption, looking for revenge.

Although two weeks is a long time to wait, it will give Giants fans just enough time to savor the joy of being back in the Super Bowl when just about everyone thought it would be impossible. After all, wasn’t it supposed to be the other New York team playing in February? Wasn’t GM Jerry Reese openly criticized back in August for failing to make any substantial offseason moves and saying that he was satisfied with the team he had?

Well, I guess that team that Reese was satisfied with back in August was pretty damn good after all. Now, he is one win away from getting to have the ultimate last laugh while the “Dream Team” and Gang Green watch in envy.

Obviously, everyone is going to compare this Giants team with the 2007-08 team, but we’ll have to wait two weeks to see just how accurate that comparison will be.


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Back to Lambeau

9 01 2012

I’ll be honest and admit that it crossed my mind for the briefest of seconds during yesterday’s game. With a little over 9 minutes left in the 4th and the Giants holding onto the ball and a 24-2 lead over the Falcons in an NFC Wild Card Playoff game, I did some quick math in the my head. The lead was 22 points, just one more point than the 21 point lead we held over the Eagles with 8:17 to play in that game last year.

And then, just as quickly as the thought came, it then vanished. And with every time Jacobs and Bradshaw barreled through the exhausted Falcons defensive line to pick up another first down and with every second that dripped off of the game clock, the thought grew more and more distant until it was replaced with something entirely different: that this was not the same football team that let the season slip away on that December afternoon against Philadelphia. Hell, this was not even the same team that showed up and let Rex Grossman slap them around the field just a few weeks ago.

The Giants team that has showed up for the last three weeks now seems like a brand new Giants team, but at the same time they look awfully familiar. Familiar because we’ve seen this Giants team before. They might have had a few different faces back then, but I’ll be damned if they don’t possess that same kind of intensity, the same kind of “nobody believes in us” mentality that propelled them to a Super Bowl title just four years ago.

Last time, we had Plaxico Burress and Steve Smith carrying the load for us. They’ve both since moved on to greener pastures (greener, as in the color they both now wear, but not necessarily better — both the Jets and Eagles missed this year’s tournament) but we have two new faces that have more than replaced them: Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.

Last week, it was Victor Cruz supplying the shot of adrenaline via the electrifying 74-yard touchdown. Yesterday, the Falcons secondary made a concerted effort to minimize Cruz’s involvement, and they succeeded. But they forgot about Hakeem Nicks, and Nicks made them pay with a 72-yard touchdown catch of his own, turning on the burners in the secondary and leaving the Falcons in a trail of smoke behind him on the way to a 17-2 lead.

But it was something else that brought back those feelings of ’07 and ’08 yesterday that seemed to be missing for most of this season. It was the defensive intensity, the feeling that we could stop literally anyone when we needed to. Gone and forgotten were those memories of Rex Grossman and Charlie Whitehurst effortlessly converting 3rd and 14 plays as our winded secondary chased fruitlessly.

Yesterday, it was our swarming and unrelenting defensive line that stuffed Matt Ryan on not one, but two 4th and 1 plays that single-handedly changed the complexion of the game. It was that same stellar defense that held Turner “the Burner” to only 41 yards on 15 carries and the same defense that made big-play threats Roddy White and Julio Jones non-factors all day. And it was the same defense that pitched a shut-out against an Atlanta Falcons team that scored 45 points last week in a rout of Tampa Bay.

It seems cliche to invoke the spirits of the past when talking about the present, because we all know that football doesn’t follow any patterns and has a very short memory, but sitting in MetLife Stadium yesterday among 85,000 other towel-waving fans who suddenly believe, it was impossible not to think of the team that brought us to the promised land four years ago, and impossible not to see the similarities that exist within team we watched completely dismantle a confused and overwhelmed Falcons team yesterday.

Although the offense got off to a slow start, it was Eli Manning, the one who has galvanized this team all year and brought us back from the dead countless times, that put the spark into the team with a 14-yard scamper on a huge 3rd and 2 play that was about as beautiful as it was awkward. But he put the team on his back, like he has so many times this season, and carried it for a first down.

From that point on, the New York Giants would never look back.

And now, it’s back to Lambeau we go, with the hopes of rewriting a story that has already been written once before.


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Home Sweet Home?

4 01 2012

January 14, 2001. That was the date of the last time the New York Giants won a home playoff game. You might remember that game: it was the 2001 NFC championship game, a sound 41-0 beating of the Minnesota Vikings that catapulted us into Super Bowl XXXV.

Since then, in the 11 years that have passed, the New York Giants have played only two playoff games at the Meadowlands and were thoroughly embarrassed in both. In January of 2006, following a successful 11-5 season in 2005, we were shut out 23-0 by the Carolina Panthers in Eli Manning’s first career playoff game. Three years later, in January of 2009, we had locked up the #1 seed in the NFC at 12-4 and were primed for another Super Bowl run. Then Plaxico Burress decided that the waistband of sweatpants were a great place to hold a loaded gun, and the Eagles beat us 23-11 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

Eleven years, two games, two disappointing losses.

Now, on January 8, 2012, the New York Giants will host the first ever playoff game at the new MetLife Stadium. In a season where it was supposed to be the Jets hosting a playoff game and their “little brothers” sitting back and watching them, it’s the Giants who will be extending their season on Sunday, at least for one more week.

On Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons will visit New Jersey for an NFC Wild Card playoff game that many Giants fans didn’t think would even be a possibility as little as three weeks ago after that stinker against the Redskins in Week 15.

Matt Ryan and Michael Turner and Roddy White and Julio Jones and everyone else on that dangerous offense with big-play potential will try to exploit the Giants’ pass defense, which is among the worst in the league. But here’s the thing about Matt Ryan and those Atlanta Falcons: they’re a completely different team away from home than they are in the climate-controlled comfort of the Georgia Dome. In fact, if you look at the home-away splits for Matt Ryan, there is a staggering difference. He is markedly better at home than he is on the road. Will the Giants take advantage of that come Sunday? We won’t know for sure until then.

The last time the Matt Ryan-led Falcons visited the Meadowlands, the stadium was still called Giants Stadium and the giant, gleaming, steel erector set of a building that would later be called New Meadowlands Stadium and even later called MetLife Stadium, was still in the process of being built next door. On that unseasonably warm November afternoon, the Giants, behind two Eli Manning touchdown passes to Kevin Boss, had built a 31-17 lead over Atlanta, only to see it evaporate in the 4th quarter. The Falcons would force overtime, but eventually Eli would do what Eli does — and what he has especially been known for this season — and a Lawrence Tynes field goal would give the Giants a 34-31 win, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Since that day, the Giants have moved into a new home, MetLife Stadium, where they are a slightly average 9-7 over the past two seasons. Playing in a bigger building, complete with more bathrooms (same long lines though) more food and the occasional pyrotechnics shooting from the top of the upper deck, the Giants have certainly sold more tickets, but have they truly made this building feel like home yet?

There is no shortage of criticism to be found about the lack of electricity in the crowd since the opening of the new stadium. “Sterile” is the word most often used to describe the atmosphere at home games. The club seats are empty until the second quarter with people stuck in buffet lines and watching the game from the comfort of the Coach’s Club lounge. Those same seats empty out again at halftime and don’t fill up again until the third quarter. The empty feel of the stadium sucks most of the crowd noise out during crucial moments, noise that is filled in with artificial sound pumped through the speakers to attempt to get the crowd going.

These are all problems that were mostly absent from the old Giants Stadium.

There were only two games during this season where I could feel the same electricity filling MetLife Stadium that used to be present on Sundays at Giants Stadium — the game against Green Bay and last Sunday against Dallas. On Sunday, when the Falcons march into MetLife Stadium, it needs to be even louder, even more electric.

This is the first ever playoff game in our new home, and there’s no better way to break it in and make it ours than with a win — a resounding, convincing playoff win. Hopefully we can begin a new era of playoff memories in a new home this Sunday, and hopefully the fans show up and get as loud as possible, because home field advantage doesn’t exist unless there’s an actual advantage to playing at home.


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Win and In

28 12 2011

As you can probably guess, I had a pretty good Christmas. If you have read this blog at all in the past few years, then you can imagine how satisfying Saturday’s win was, not only for the Giants, but for me and the rest of the Giants fans fed up with hearing Rex Ryan’s overinflated ego parading around in the local media since he arrived here in 2009.

It was a sweet, sweet victory that was made even sweeter by the fact that the Giants were the “road” team in MetLife Stadium on Saturday and had the pleasure of quieting a sea of Jets fans and fire helmet-wearing cheerleaders. Although things got a little harrowing towards the end, the defense came up huge when it needed to and the safety on Mark Sanchez that aborted the Jets’ final chance at a comeback drive before it ever really started was the play that sealed the deal for Big Blue. Seconds later, when Bradshaw pranced across the goal line to make it 29-14, it was pure ecstasy for Giants fans everywhere.

But as we went to sleep on Christmas Eve with visions of Victor Cruz’s electrifying 99-yard touchdown catch dancing in our heads, there was another thought that was struggling to push its way to the front of our conscious: the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, there is one game to go and there is only one team that stands between the New York Giants and their first playoff berth since the 2008 season. For all intents and purposes though, the playoffs began last week for the Giants. The motivation and fire and intensity that was nowhere to be found against Washington two weeks ago, was definitely present against the Jets, thanks in part to Rex Ryan’s week of unabashed trash-talking. Now, it’s the second round of the Giants’ playoffs and Big Blue needs to make like 2007 and dispose of the Cowboys and the battered Tony Romo if they hope to fight another week.

Easier said than done.

It all comes down to one game, a de facto NFC East championship game. The winner will host a playoff game in round one in their building, and the loser will have to deal with an 8-8 record and a once-promising season that ended in bitter disappointment.

On December 11th, the Giants traveled to Dallas and completed a wild and improbable comeback to steal the NFC East throne from the Cowboys, albeit temporarily. With their backs against the wall and down by 12 with five minutes remaining, Eli Manning brought the Giants back from the dead and kept their playoff hopes alive.

On Sunday night, the Giants and Cowboys will have 60 minutes to battle it out on the field for the NFC East title. So while the rest of the world is making plans for New Year’s Eve, Giants fans are hoping that the real celebration comes around midnight on January 2nd, not midnight on January 1st.


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Thanks for the Heart Attack, Giants

12 12 2011

Well, I just found something that pisses me off more than the Giants’ defense: WordPress . I came in fired up this morning and delivered a 1,300+ word column about how even though I was excited to come away from last night’s game with a win, there are still countless problems with the defense that need to be addressed before we can even think about the Giants as possible playoff contenders. Then, when I went to hit submit, POOF! All 1,300 words disappeared. Vanished like a fart in the wind, as Warden Norton would say.

“Okay, that’s fine,” I thought, “I’ll just go back and check the last automatically saved draft.” That sounded like a solid plan, until I checked the last saved revision and found that it, too, was completely blank. So, to make a long story short, I am now attempting to rehash everything I wrote in the last column that I spent almost two hours writing. Maybe I’ll tell a better story this time around because I’m consciously trying to cut straight to the point and eliminate all the fat.

Or maybe, because I’m so mad at WordPress for the events that just occurred, I’ll forget a bunch of the gems I included in my original draft and just resort to bullet points this time around for the sake of time. For example, I could list all the ways in which the Giants defense tried to give away the game (and the season) in the 4th quarter last night:

*Following Sean Lee’s interception of a tipped Eli Manning screen pass (hey Gilbride, how about we rip the page with “screen pass to D.J. Ware” out of the playbook from here on out? Sound good, buddy?), Dez Bryant got behind Corey Webster, the entire cast of Dallas and everybody sitting in the endzone seats at Cowboys Stadium for a 50-yard touchdown catch. It was a break-down in coverage that was “Look away from your TV”-level embarrassing.

That play made it 34-22 Dallas with under six minutes to play, and at that point I was convinced that the Giants’ season was over. The funeral dirge was playing and the Giants’ season was suspended over a freshly dug grave about be lowered into the ground. That was it. And at that moment I was getting ready to throw the towel in on the 2011 NFL season, and I’m sure every Giants fan would have agreed with me. After all, we’ve already seen a handful of remarkable and improbably 4th quarter comebacks this season, but 12 points down with under six minutes left? Let’s just say I wasn’t expecting too much.

*Of course, not only did Eli Manning refuse to throw in the towel, but he then proceeded to twist the towel up really tight and whip the Cowboys defense into submission. Rob Ryan paced the sidelines like a scowling, pregnant Rex Ryan clone as Eli marched the Giants down the field in six plays before finding Ballard in the end zone to cut the lead to 34-29 with 3:14 to go.

With 2:25 to go and the Cowboys facing a 3rd-and-5 from their own 25 yard line, the game came down to one play for the Giants defense. A first down by Dallas would almost guarantee victory and a stop by Big Blue meant that Eli would get the ball back with a chance to complete the comeback. Of course, knowing that the ultimate weakness of the Giants defense is stopping 3rd down plays of between 5 and 10 yards, Jason Garrett chose to go for the jugular and send Miles Austin on a go-route down the near sideline. Austin was working on Aaron Ross in single coverage, and of course Ross got absolutely torched by Austin like you read about. Just flat-out lost. Suddenly, Romo spots a wide-open Miles Austin streaking towards the sideline with nothing but green FieldTurf in front of him. If Romo makes the throw, it’s 41-29 Cowboys a few seconds later and the Giants’ season is as dead as a door nail. This morning, the story would be about how the Giants defense came up flat again and got torched for 41 points and couldn’t come up big when it had to.

But what happens? Of course Romo overthrows Austin by a hair because he’s Romo. The Cowboys are forced to punt with 2:20 and the Giants dodge a bullet the size of Cowboys Stadium. Now, all is forgiven because we know the outcome of the game. But all is not forgotten. That play stuck in my mind all night, and as Mat McBriar trotted out onto the field to punt the ball back to the Giants, Bob Papa summed up the situation pretty perfectly when he asked Carl Banks, “Did the Giants defense just stop the Cowboys, or did the Cowboys just stop themselves?” I’m going to go with the latter.

*So that was instance #2 of the Giants defense trying to give the game away. Let’s fast forward through yet another heroic Eli Manning drive, leading the Giants down the Dallas 1-yard line after passes of 21 and 18 yards to Jake Ballard. Let’s fast forward through the game-winning touchdown run by Brandon Jacobs and the ensuing two-point conversion run by D.J. Ware (yup, same play that they ran against Green Bay last week) and let’s get to the :46 seconds of deja vu that came with the Giants up 37-34.

The Cowboys offense, with no timeouts remaining, was able to effortlessly glide into field goal range, leaving the game in Dan Bailey’s hands with :09 left. Two big passes from Romo to Austin of 22 and 23 yards, respectively, set up what should have been the game-tying field goal. Once again, the Giants defense was primed to let another valiant comeback by Eli Manning slip away because they couldn’t make one stop when they needed to. If Coughlin doesn’t call that time-out and Bailey’s game-tying kick sails through the uprights, it’s an entirely different story today. Instead, the defense gets bailed out yet again.

Only this time, it was one of their own that came through. Jason Pierre-Paul single-handedly (get it, because he blocked the kick with one hand?) saved the game and the Giants’ season, and not only with that blocked kick. His safety in the first quarter gave the Giants 2 points that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.

*Here’s the bottom line: The Giants won, the Giants are now in first place, every one in Giants Nation is happy today. That is all true. But what’s also true is that the Giants defense failed to show up yet again last night and despite the win and the larger-than-life effort of JPP, there are still a ton of problems that need to be addressed on the defensive side of the football. Last night’s win was a good start, and a step in the right direction. But the Giants are basically in their own version of the playoffs from here on out and they are going to have to handle their business once again at home against Dallas on New Year’s Day. If the defense doesn’t fix the problems that are currently plaguing them, they might not get bailed out again.


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NFL Week 13: Things I Know*

5 12 2011

*I don’t actually know anything. This is all purely conjecture, and probably inaccurate conjecture at that.

It’s almost playoff time! Teams are getting ready to make that final push for those precious few playoff spots, Christmas trees are going up in living rooms all over the country and the Giants defensive coordinator is openly questioning the effort of his players!

In other words, it’s December. As you may or may not know, December is also my favorite time for pretending that I know A LOT about the NFL. It’s not too hard to imagine, after all I do watch close to 200 hours of NFL-related programming from the months of August to February. So yeah, I should know A LOT about the NFL. After watching a full day of football yesterday, here is what I learned:

*I’m only going to say a few things about yesterday’s Giants loss because, honestly, there isn’t too much to say. It was an interesting game, it was a competitive game, but at the end of the day it turned out exactly how I thought it would turn out: with a loss. This is the NFL, not the BCS. There are no “good losses” or “bad losses.” There are just losses. Yesterday’s game was a loss, no matter how you choose to look at it. And no matter how you choose to look at it, it all boils down to the fact that, for the second time in the last three weeks, we lost a game that was very winnable in the fourth quarter because our defense couldn’t come up with a stop when it needed to.

Once again, Eli Manning walked off the field late in the fourth quarter with the game tied and needed the defense to come up with just one big play, just as he did in the game against Philly. And once again, the defense folded. Fifty-eight seconds later it was Crosby’s kick sailing through the uprights, and the Packers are 12-0. No style points, no moral victories, no “nice try.” Just our fourth-straight loss and an ENORMOUS game against the Cowboys next Sunday night with first place and our season on the line. Oh and by the way, our defense has given up 87 points in the last two games. I know we played Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, who could probably put up 40 points on the ’85 Bears, but I’m still not happy with our defensive play.

*The 2011 Better Late Than Never award goes to Titans running back Chris Johnson. CJ spent the first ten weeks of the NFL season Dexter-ing my fantasy football team, and I somehow was able to win despite his disappearing act. But in the last few weeks, with the fantasy playoffs drawing closer, he finally woke up and rejuvenated not only my fantasy team, but the Tennessee Titans playoff hopes as well. At 7-5, the Titans are still very much alive in the AFC South, despite the fact that I’m still not sure if Matt Hasselbeck has broken the 200-yard mark all season.

*At one point this season, the Buffalo Bills were 4-1. Remember that?

*My sincerest condolences go out to anyone who watched all 60 minutes of yesterday’s Bears-Chiefs game. I hope you make a full recovery.

*If the Dolphins’ season started on November 6th, they’d be 4-1 while outscoring their opponents 140-53 in the process. Let’s just say that nobody wants to be playing the Miami Dolphins right now with their playoff lives on the line. Luckily, we got them out of the way at the very beginning of their mini-hot streak, or else I could absolutely see Matt Moore throwing for 425 yards against us.

*I’m not even going to attempt to understand how Tim Tebow does what he does. The topic has been beaten into the ground already, and I think at this point we can all pretty much agree that he has something special. It’s something that regular football metrics can’t really quantify, but it’s there and it’s pretty obvious at this point. A 6-1 record, five comeback wins, and a nation of believers. If you don’t get it by now, you probably never will. Next week Denver gets a depleted Bears team at home, without Cutler or Forte? Can we be looking at an 8-5 Broncos team going into what will now be a HIGHLY anticipated Dec. 18 game against the Patriots? Possibly. Tebow vs. Brady? I can’t wait.

*Dan Orlovsky started 10 games for the 2008 Detroit Lions. This means that he has a chance to be the starting quarterback for the only two teams in NFL history to go 0-16. That is, if the Colts can finish off their impressive feat. I’m not sure that is a distinction that Dan Orlovsky wants to be recognized for.

*The Houston Texans are 9-3 despite the fact that they have lost their top two quarterbacks to season-ending injuries and were without Andre Johnson for six weeks (and maybe more after he re-injured his hamstring yesterday). The Titans are creeping up on them in the AFC South, but luckily they get a Bengals team that’s lost three out of its last four games next week, followed by the Panthers and Colts.

*The Cowboys are not as good as everyone seems to think they are. I’ve been saying this all season, and I’m going to stick with it after their 19-13 overtime loss to the Cardinals yesterday. There is not a single aspect of their overall game that impresses me. Of course, we still have to beat them twice in the next four games. But….

*….If you don’t think the Giants are going to run the table in the next four games, then face the 17-0 Packers in the NFC Championship game and beat them, you’re clearly out of your mind.


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Quick Hits: Saints 49, Giants 24

29 11 2011

They are who we thought they were. I’m talking about the Giants, of course. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which means it’s also beginning to look a lot like yet another Giants second-half swoon. There’s no way around this. This is an underachieving team, decimated by injuries and lacking talent in too many key positions. Do you want me to name just a few of the problems with this Giants team?

Let’s start with the linebackers. Our linebacking corps was already paper thin before we lost Michael Boley to an injury last week. Now, with the exception of Mathias Kiwanuka, we’re trotting out a bevy of inexperienced, overmatched linebackers that couldn’t cover furniture. I like Mark Herzlich, he’s got a lot of potential and a ton of heart — but the guy is getting torched in the middle of the field. We are not going to get the job done with Herzlich, Spencer Paysinger and Greg Jones. That trio is not winning us a title. Sure we miss Jonathan Goff right now, but I’m not even convinced that he would be making that big of a difference at this point. The bottom line is that we need to go out and get linebackers that can make some plays.

Moving on, there’s another 270-pound problem I can think of off the top of my head, and his name is Brandon Jacobs. I’ve seriously had enough of Brandon Jacobs as a running back for the New York Giants. Listen Brandon, I’ve cheered for you for 7 years, I was there in Giants Stadium when you trucked your first helpless safety and scored your first career touchdown back in 2005, and we’ve had some special times together. But it’s over. I can’t sit by and watch you tip-toe into a pile of bodies anymore and routinely turn in 46-yard outings like everything’s okay.

And that touchdown dance you did last night with the scoreboard reading SAINTS 21, GIANTS 9? That was embarrassing buddy. I was literally sitting there watching you on TV, getting red-in-the-face embarrassed for you. How you can perform so poorly week after week, constantly run your mouth about everything from the fans to the offensive game plan, and then have the audacity to dance after a touchdown in a game in which your team got its doors blown off, just baffles the mind.

As far as I’m concerned, Brandon Jacobs is dead to me as a football player.

What’s next? How about the fact that this team continues to follow the same script year in and year out? Here’s how it goes: We’re coming off of a disappointing and deflating loss, we talk about how we’re “fired up” and “just focused on preparing for next week” in the media all week, we vow to overcome the disappointment and rise to the occasion, and then we get blown to smithereens on Sunday. It happened in 2009: a heartbreaking loss at home to Philadelphia, followed by momentary signs of life the next week in Washington, and then a complete and utter implosion in back-to-back weeks to end the season, giving up 41 and 44 points to Carolina and Minnesota. It happened again last year: a heartbreaking loss at home to Philadelphia, followed by a 45-17 whacking at the hands of Green Bay. And it’s happening right now: a heartbreaking (and god-awful) loss at home to Philadelphia, followed by Drew Brees putting up 49 points and carving us up like he was playing the scout team defense.

This team has no heart. That’s really all there is to it. Howard Cross put it perfectly last night during the radio broadcast when he said that the Giants are weak right now, and teams are coming in to play them knowing that all they have to do is hit them in the mouth a few times and they’ll just lay down. They just don’t have any fight in them. Perry Fewell is running up and down the damn sidelines last night after the hit on Hakeem Nicks, just trying to get this team fired up and there’s no response. We’re letting Drew Brees run amok, dunking the ball through goal posts when the guy probably needs a ladder to decorate his Christmas tree.

Even last week, our quarterback is clearly hit well after the play on an interception return, a dirty hit that was an obvious attempt to take out our franchise quarterback, and the only response we get is a miffed Antrel Rolle saying after the game that he wished he could have done something to retaliate. Are you kidding me? There’s no heartbeat on this team aside from Eli Manning, Victor Cruz and probably JPP.

Eli’s completing 21 consecutive passes in the second half with two receivers out there (Jernigan and Devin Thomas) who were strictly special teams players a few weeks ago. He’s turned a nobody like Victor Cruz into one of the top receivers in the league this season and we’re all content to just stand around and watch him.

Listen, I don’t want this to sound like another retread of last week’s rant, but frankly nothing has changed from last week to now. And the fact of the matter is that everything is unfolding exactly like I said it would. So am I surprised? No, not really. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t be disappointed. I’m disappointed that a team with so much potential can be bullied all over the field for 60 straight minutes in back-to-back games. It’s only going to get worse too.

I don’t care too much for Russ Salzberg, but what he said on the Giants postgame show last night was perfect: the Giants coming off of three straight losses and having to face Aaron Rodgers and the undefeated Packers is going to be like getting your teeth drilled by an auto mechanic. I’m not even entirely sure what that’s supposed to mean, but it pretty much sums up this entire Giants season. And last season too, for that matter. Maybe even 2009.


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Here we go again…

21 11 2011

I don’t want to focus on one drive because the Giants’ play was so maddeningly uneven last night that it would be unfair to single out one specific series. But, this particular drive was so problematic, so typical of the Giants recent late-season struggles, that it really sort of embodies everything that is wrong with the 2011 New York Giants. And the 2010 New York Giants. Probably the 2009 New York Giants too.

At the 11:36 mark in the 4th quarter, after the Giants had just tied up the game at 10-10 on a 24-yard touchdown pass where Victor Cruz burned Nnamdi Asomugha for the second time in as many games this season, the Giants seemingly had the Eagles exactly where they wanted them. The 4th quarter hasn’t been kind to the Eagles this season, and after being in control for almost the entire game, one would imagine that this touchdown would have sent the Birds spiraling towards other blown 4th quarter lead. At least it seemed that way.

What happened next was an inexplicable 18-play drive that drained almost 9 minutes from the clock and was about as painful to watch as anything I’ve seen from the Giants since that afternoon at the Meadowlands 11 months ago. Out of the 18 plays on this Philadelphia drive, 6 of them were 3rd down plays. Of course, the Vince Young-led Eagles offense converted all 6 of these 3rd downs almost effortlessly, the last one being a 3rd and goal from the 8-yard-line, where Young found Riley Cooper in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Yes, the same Riley Cooper that had a grand total of 0 catches in the 2011 season coming into last night’s game.

That he ended up supplying the dagger in our hearts was not the most maddening part of that series though. The most frustrating thing about the 18-play march was the way in which the Eagles converted 3rd downs of 3, 10, 3, 1, 4 and 8 yards. On each of these 3rd down plays, the pass-rush was virtually non-existent.

Vince Young was able to sit back in the pocket and calmly sling passes over the middle to a fully-exposed area of the field that was being continuously exploited due to the inexperience of the Giants rookie linebackers. Herzlich and Paysinger played well at times last night, but they seemed to spend most of the game getting caught in no man’s land and leaving the middle of the field wide open for the likes of Brent Celek, Riley Cooper and Jason Avant to sit down in coverage and make uncontested catches. And without so much as a hint of a pass rush all night, Young was able to easily make these plays when he had to.

Early on in the night Young looked rusty, which was no surprise. He hadn’t started a game in over a year and hadn’t even practiced with the team until this past week. But after realizing that the Giants weren’t even going to attempt to put pressure on him, he began to settle into a groove. When it comes down to it, Vince Young is still an NFL quarterback, and if you give any NFL quarterback time to throw with no pressure and a trio of rookie linebackers leaving the middle of the field as exposed as it was, he is going to make plays — and he did.

I had a lot of problems with the New York Giants last night, and honestly, that 18-play drive was only the tip of the iceberg. As frustrating as it was to finally win the momentum back by tying the game, only to watch the Eagles march right back up the field on a drive that we had the chance to stop six different times, there were so many other things that frustrated me about last night.

For starters, changes have to be made in the running game. Last night’s performance by Brandon Jacobs was absolutely embarrassing. After the game, Tom Coughlin was quoted as saying their run game was “as pathetic as it gets” and he couldn’t have been more right.

Gaining 21 yards on 12 carries is inexplicable, especially against a weak run defense like Philadelphia’s that has been exposed numerous times this season. As bad as that stat line is, it’s even more misleading than it looks: Jacobs’ long run of the night was a 9-yard carry, meaning that 9 of his 21 yards came on one play. That means that aside from that one run, he gained 12 yards on 11 carries. That’s not New York Giants football. In fact, that’s not even professional football. That’s laughable.

I’m aware that some of the blame for the failure of the running game must be placed on the offensive line. For the most part, the offensive line has done a pretty good job this year of protecting Eli and giving him enough time to throw. However, last night they failed. Eli was constantly under duress, even though the Eagles were sending only four down linemen for most of the night. The fact of the matter is that Jacobs no longer has the explosive I’m-going-to-run-you-over energy that he used to have. There are a lot of changes that need to be made with this team, and they have to start with the running game. If that means that Jacobs and Bradshaw have to go, then so be it. I hope to see more carries from D.J. Ware and Da’Rel Scott going forward, but you know that’s not going to happen.

What else frustrated me last night, besides the 18-play drive, the lack of a pass rush and the slow, painful death of our running game? How about the DeSean Jackson punt return late in the first half that gave every Giants fan watching the game Vietnam flashbacks of December 19, 2010. I’ll ask it again, because it seems like nobody in the Giants organization has an answer to this question: WHY DO WE KEEP PUNTING THE FOOTBALL TO DESEAN JACKSON? I mean, Steve Weatherford might have had the game of his life last night, but that still doesn’t excuse him from trying to pull a Matt Dodge and giving Jackson opportunities to make us look stupid. Why do it? Without that punt return, it’s unlikely that the touchdown pass to Steve Smith (really? Steve Smith?) even happens and it’s probably 3-3 at the half instead of 10-3. That was such an unnecessary, stupid, STUPID decision that I wasn’t even completely sure it was happening while it was happening.

I’m not done yet though. How about we discuss the Giants once again relying on Eli Manning’s late-game heroics to save them? Listen, I know that for five of our six wins this season we’ve come from behind in the 4th quarter and that Eli has proved that he can bring us back time after time, but we can’t keep putting everything on his shoulders. For the second straight week, we played inconsistent, incomplete games and when the 4th quarter rolled around, we put everything in Eli’s hands and basically said “you can take it from here.”

Like we saw against San Francisco and again last night, he’s not going to save us every week. He’s not immortal, and he’s not Tim Tebow. Watching him complete a beautiful 47-yard pass to Victor Cruz and then getting mauled from the blindside and fumbling the game away on the very next play is about as maddening as it gets — but it should have never even come down to that. It should have never even come down to that because the fact of the matter is that we should have gained more than 29 yards on the ground. We should have picked up more than 10 first downs. We should have played a complete 60 minutes of football instead of believing that Eli would clean up the mess for us in the 4th quarter again.

After 1,200 words, I’m finally going to get to the point of this article. Here it is: we’re not making the playoffs this season. In fact, I’d be surprised if we finished better than 8-8. My last column was a few weeks ago now, and I wrote it before the inspiring win in New England gave us all the confidence that maybe we had something special in this 2011 Giants team. In that column I questioned whether this Giants team had the heart to avoid yet another late-season collapse. After beating the Patriots, I thought we did. But after these last two weeks, I know that we don’t. This team is no different from the team that melted down the stretch in 2009 and they’re no different from the team that blew a 31-10 lead at the Meadowlands last December 19th. This team has no heart and no fire, and they are in dire need of a regime change.

I don’t care how much the players like playing for Tom Coughlin, the fact is that he no longer knows how to coach this football team and the countless stupid penalties and lack of preparation for big games is more than enough evidence. The fact that this team continually comes out flat against weaker opponents is a hallmark of poor coaching and poor preparation and that all has to be placed on Tom Coughlin. I love the guy, and I love all that he’s done for this franchise over the last 8 years, but he can’t coach this team anymore.

The same goes for Kevin Gilbride. His play-calling has been atrocious, not only last night, but all season. His unrelenting desire to continue running the football when we clearly have no running game is frustrating beyond all belief, and there are times when his play-calling is so head-scratchingly bad that I’m not sure he even knows what football is.

I hate to say it as a Giants fan, but this team is in the midst of yet another late-season swoon and these demons will not be exorcised until this entire coaching staff is gone and we can start from scratch. I know that the Giants are historically good at preparing for good teams and showing up to play against the best of the best, but the way this team looked last night I can’t realistically sit here and see them having a shot at beating New Orleans or Green Bay. Of course this statement means nothing coming from me because we all know how unpredictable this league tends to be, but it would not go against my better judgment to say that we will likely be 6-6 going into our Week 14 game against Dallas. With the Cowboys’ next two games coming against Miami and Arizona, it’s conceivable to think that we might be two games out of first place by the time we face them, on a Sunday night in Dallas on December 11th. At that point, a loss to Dallas would almost certainly end our season.

Will it happen exactly like that? Probably not. But the fact that the scenario I just outlined above is a real possibility is just as absurd, given the position we were in a few weeks ago, with a record of 6-2 and coming off of a huge win in Foxborough.

This entire team is absurd though, and I’ve come to realize this over the last few seasons, along with every other sane and rational member of Big Blue Nation. The good grace that Super Bowl XLII brought about expired the moment DeSean Jackson crossed that goal line last December, and now, on the verge of our fourth late-season collapse in as many years, we have to start wondering where we go from here. The script for the 2011 season has already been written several times — now we have to see if the Giants are going to follow it.


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