We weren't supposed to:

by GAgiantfan on Jan 18, 2008 6:34 AM EST

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This was originally a diary. It is an excellent entry, so I've moved it here to the main section.]

Beat Tampa Bay. The talk leading up to that game was all focused on how bad Eli had played prior to the New England game, and how good of a pass defense that Tampa Bay had. We all heard of how Eli might have a good day at throwing because it would be warm, and then there were those that thought Eli would go back to bonehead fumbles and interceptions as soon as the game started. At the end of the day, were were victorious and few gave Eli due credit; the Tampa Bay defense tried to blow off the fact that they were burnt many times by making comments that eluded to how simple the Giant's passing game was.
Beat the Cowboys. Their vaunted offense, according to prior meetings, should easily put them in front of the Giants early. Their swarming defense should cause Eli to fumble and mumble and poke his lip out. Hmmm, not much pre-chatter about our defense, except how they wouldn't be able to get to Romo in time to make him mess up. Plus, we're in Dallas - so they have the advantage all around. No one will be able to cover T.O. and Witten should eat the Giants up. It's time for Eli to have a bad game. Did anyone hear similar crap? I'd be willing to bet so. And what do we do? We go in, score when we need to, get ahead of the Cowboys, and hold them to an end-of-the-game scoring opportunity that turns into an interception. We take a 13-3 team and send them home. Wait a minute, this wasn't supposed to happen! Eli has a strong showing and I don't think he had his head down in this one. And turns out that TO had no catches in the second half and Barber had 5 or so yards in the 4th quarter. And what happens in the Cowboys' post-game interviews? They elude to how the better team lost. They talk about all the opportunities that they had left on the field. They still believe that they should be in the NFC Championship, even after we sent them home with T.O. crying. Eli gets a little more respect and the defense gets props as well.

I say all of this to say LISTEN - we've heard it all before. The pre-game chatter this week has been mainly about the weather, which by the way, both teams have to play in. There's been a little about how people would like to see Brett Favre win another one. A few blips about Eli and watching Seinfeld. And now we're hearing about how dirty the Giants players are. What's the story gonna be tomorrow? Who knows, but you can bet there will be a new one soon. Maybe someone will write something about the odd similarities between cast nets and the Packers defensive backfield. Maybe someone will say that the Giants can't win with the injury bug hitting them hard in the defensive backfield.

Maybe, just maybe that next big story will be of an unexpected Giants victory propelling them to the Super Bowl.

We've gone against the grain since week one in the playoffs; now is not the time to turn and run.

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Who's really Cinderella here?

Weren't the Giants a playoff team last year? Don't they have vastly more playoff experience? Who was more likely to be in this game at the begining of the year? No one predicted the Packers in the playoffs, much less hosting the NFC Championship. The whole "nobody give us respect", drama queen angle really doesn't work here. Most of the evaluation going on between these two teams is legit. The GBP hung 42 points on a better defense (according to FO) last week. The Pack's defensive strength is stopping the run which is the Giants offensive strength. The Packers can move the ball. After a couple of tds, do you think Eli can win a shoot out? Neither does anyone else. You may think the Giants "get no respect", but the reality is people are coming around to how good the Packers have become.

by packfan on Jan 17, 2008 10:42 PM EST 0 recs

a shootout

doesn't exactly favor the packers either. as good as favre is, if he starts trying to gun-sling, that's when his vulnerable to throwing picks.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Jan 18, 2008 8:41 AM EST up 0 recs

Who is going to pick Favre?

As I understand it they've had to move Jeff Feagles to nickleback with all the injuries.

by packfan on Jan 18, 2008 10:55 AM EST up 0 recs

actually

if you had been paying closer attention, RW mcquarters has interceptions in both games. he's a backup.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Jan 18, 2008 11:15 AM EST up 0 recs

Huh???

Granted the Giants were a playoff team last year, but 2 playoff appearances doesn't really smell of "vastly". 1st preseason predictions are worthless, but if you actually look at the predictions (I'll give you links if you want) instead of using your green and yellow tinted memory, the Packers were picked by most experts to finish 2nd in the division. The Giants on the other hand were picked all over the place from 2nd to last. My point is that your argument has no basis because neither one of them were picked to do anything.

The whole "nobody gives is respect" angle DOES apply because everyone, for the 3rd straight week, is picking against the Giants. Now how is that garnering respect?

by potroast on Jan 18, 2008 10:04 AM EST up 0 recs

Packfan

The Giants don't have 'vastly' more playoff experience. There is not a 'drama queen angle' here at all.

It is what it is, Packfan - we have been the underdogs from day one in the playoffs. There were so many reasons (from almost all of the experts) why we should have lost each of those games, and we won both of them.

And yes, if you've watched any NFL - related show, you would know that very few have given us respect, Packfan. Even the Cowboys really haven't given us respect after we beat them. They give us lip service as they have to - because we've won the past two games, but that's about it.

But I haven't heard anyone - no, not one - analyst pick the Giants to win on Sunday, for whatever reason.

So, the "Whole 'nobody gives us respect'" idea does work here. It's fact, Packfan.
Oh, and you're welcome for that running back you have.

by GAgiantfan on Jan 18, 2008 10:38 AM EST up 0 recs

Respect

The Cowboys are still saying they were the better team. Both weeks on FOX pre-game all the analysts picked against the Giants. I watched NFL Live last night, and all the analysts there picked Green Bay. So, no, the Giants are not getting a lot of love nationally and are not being given much of a chance Sunday.

by ETVal on Jan 18, 2008 11:09 AM EST up 0 recs

Lets clarify

Anyone who picked Tampa over the Giants was an idiot. NY had a better record than Tampa. Tampa lost to Houston, Carolina and SF in the last month of the season. The odds in Vegas favored the Giants.

There were multiple pundits who picked NY over Dallas (including me and several talking heads @ ESPN). Based mostly on momentum, the Giants can run the football and Dallas' annual December slide.

There are legit reasons that no one has picked the Giants to win Sunday that have nothing to do with "respect". Here are the facts that are causing everyone to pick the GBP. The fact the Packers scored 42 points on a better defense last week. The fact they got down 14 points early and came back showed champion caliber character. The fact the Packers beat the Giants by 3 touchdowns with no running game earlier in the season (against a healthy d backfield). The fact that they are playing in Lambeau, with 68,000 people supporting the Packers, in -5 degree weather.

No one anywhere has made an arguement that the Giants will win based on "on field" arguements. All the "Giants will win" arguements have to do with the Packers screwing up (interceptions or fumbles or cold neutralizing the offense), not on the Giants are better in some area on the field. Give some analasys, not this respect bs.

by packfan on Jan 18, 2008 11:42 AM EST up 0 recs

I think

most of us would agree the Packers SHOULD be favored, and SHOULD win the game. We feel, though, based on how well the Giants have played recently, that they have as good a shot as they are ever going to have at pulling an upset like this.

by ETVal on Jan 18, 2008 11:53 AM EST up 0 recs

True

by packfan on Jan 18, 2008 11:57 AM EST up 0 recs

You want analysis on how the Giants can win?

Here it goes (with a little help from Ralph Vacchiano). No one is better at getting to the passer better than the Giants (and yes that includes Seattle). The Giants will put the pressure on Favre and cause him to make mistakes (THIS is what everyone is actually saying on here ... not just some random "the Packers will srew up" argument). They will do this by bringing Tuck up the middle, where GB is weakest, which will also start to free up Osi & Strahan on the outside. The G-men pass rush is what has carried the Giants here and even you need to admit that your worried about it.

The Giants LBs need to make sure they don't overpersue, which they've been very good at adjusting to recently. Grant will tear them up if they do, but the LBs adjusted to this beautifully versus Barber in the game against Dallas. This will make Grant a straight ahead runner.

The Packers are fast on D, but this is where Bradshaw comes in. His quickness and and surprising power can nuetralize the speed of the Packers LBS, then Jacobs can come in and wear them down.

AND everyone believes that Eli is going to have a rough game in the elements. Not so. As long as the Giants stick to the winning gameplan of the last couple of weeks, which is to be conservative in the passing offense, then Eli will be fine. Eli has also developed a pump fake these playoffs that could prove pivotal versus the overaggressive Packers D.

by potroast on Jan 18, 2008 12:15 PM EST up 0 recs

I know where this is going

Which of the ESPN talking heads picked NY over Dallas?

Listen, how well GB played against Seattle last week HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS WEEK. Better defense? Who says? You? Whoah, that's a stretch of a comparison there. Who are their receivers? Oh ok.

Oh, so we go back to the regular season to get stats or something? You haven't learned that what happened in week 2 during the regular season is not relevant. Many things have changed on both sides of the ball for both teams. And saying that they beat a "better" defense last week is dumb. There's no way to compare the two. We played against Dallas, and you played against Seattle.

by GAgiantfan on Jan 18, 2008 12:21 PM EST up 0 recs

FootballOutsiders says their D was better

and it is. Just because you have two or three guys on the front seven who are decent, I mean.. psht.

The Bible-writers of football said it. Prospectus? They picked the Packers as the dark-horse Super Bowl candidate.

"and there is your dagger!"

by NumberFour on Jan 18, 2008 1:53 PM EST up 0 recs

And acting like the Packers

are the Steel Curtain is ridiculous. I think Eli could pass just fine against the Packers. There are as many holes in the Packers' defensive backfield as there are in that cheese they wear on their heads.

by GAgiantfan on Jan 18, 2008 10:41 AM EST up 0 recs

Hey Pack fan

Eli..Pretty good shootout against Brady with 4 td passes don't you think? And he has done that a few other times, including against brother Peyton last year. Yeah, he's thrown a lot of pics but so has your guy. Doesn't Bret own the record?

It's fair to say that the Giants are underdogs. All the boys on HBO picked the Packers.

Sure, the secondary is decimated, but we managed to hold it together against the odds last week.

If, for some reason Ryan Grant(who was only one of four good runners on our team) went down for any reason, your team would become instantly one dimensional. You have no depth at running back.

Momentum is a powerful force. We've got it, and so do you. Let's play the game and see what happens.

by giant fan since 57 on Jan 18, 2008 6:54 AM EST 0 recs

I appreciate the Packers fans showing up

here this week. They've definitely helped to get me more psyched for the game. I can't say I understand the mentality behind it, which is more or less like wanting to walk into your neighbor's house and cut a noisy fart in front of everyone, but, hey, that's them. Terry ended up having to eat crow, and hopefully the chatty Packers fans will too.

by Mr Met on Jan 18, 2008 7:12 AM EST 0 recs

Mr. Met

LMAO! You must have better (worse?) neighbors than I do.

by packfan on Jan 18, 2008 10:08 AM EST up 0 recs

Mr Met

"I can't say I understand the mentality behind it, which is more or less like wanting to walk into your neighbor's house and cut a noisy fart in front of everyone, but, hey, that's them"

LMAO!!!!!

That is classic....ETVal, that should be up there with the quotes

Giants are playing with house money. They have so exceeded my expectations for this season, and knocked the Romo-sexuals out of the playoffs, I can't ask God for any more favors for the Giants this season. This is definitely a game I think they can win. If they can run the ball, and get to Brett, Giants win close, 17-14

by jrs1940 on Jan 18, 2008 8:04 AM EST 0 recs

Me too,

What a great year this has been, and we are still playing. Gotta keep playing!

I hope the packer fans will be eating crow too, just like terry. haha. I love all this crap talk by other teams, then after our win, they limp back to their respectful blog site and whine. To the opposing teams, watch what is being said for Sunday will be the final nail in the coffin.... (respectful to both teams)

That is all...

by All Day on Jan 18, 2008 9:03 AM EST up 0 recs

Actually,

i don't know what "crow" is, Mr Met said it above. Anyway, it does not sound good... and I hope the packers eat it... whatever it is...

by All Day on Jan 18, 2008 11:31 AM EST up 0 recs

Umm, yeah!

I just wish I hadn't had a mouthful of breakfast cereal when I read it. LOL!!!

by ETVal on Jan 18, 2008 9:26 AM EST up 0 recs

That is great!

Mr Met had a similar comment after the 2nd Dallas game, which was hilarious.

by potroast on Jan 18, 2008 9:43 AM EST up 0 recs

I'd just like to point out...

That there are no Giants fans purposely stirring the pot at Acme Packing Company. Classy fans indeed.

This trolling smells of "bully syndrome" to me. People act all tough, but when it comes down to it they're insecure little weiners (see: Terry).

Screw the packers (at least for this week, lord knows I'm not rooting for the Pats if the Giants lose). GO GIANTS.

by mwilli on Jan 18, 2008 9:34 AM EST 0 recs

You know what,

exactly...

by All Day on Jan 18, 2008 11:02 AM EST up 0 recs

This probably stems from

confidence in your team. Or lack there of.

by packfan on Jan 18, 2008 12:10 PM EST up 0 recs

What

does that have to do with lack of confidence? Please explain....

by All Day on Jan 18, 2008 12:33 PM EST up 0 recs

Or being obnoxious and juvenile.

Or acting like you've been there before and understand the nature of the game.

It's funny because New Yorkers have this reputation for being abrasive jerks but Giants fans are (for the most part) the smartest, most sophisticated fans in the world, and you don't see us talking trash about other teams except in response, and after we have something to talk about.

We don't have to predict the future or give the game away in advance because we've had some key injuries. We just want to root for our team and we know very well that given a good game plan, good in-game adjustments, smart play from the players and a couple of timely breaks, yes, we can pull this game out.

That's called actual confidence, as opposed to the over-wrought bravado I keep hearing from our opponents.

by Mr Met on Jan 18, 2008 12:37 PM EST up 0 recs

wuss

"and there is your dagger!"

by NumberFour on Jan 18, 2008 2:05 PM EST up 0 recs

I hate when people cite

footballoutsiders. They've been mostly negative on the Giants all season. They crunch numbers and try to apply Bill James analysis to football, and when it doesn't work, they just change the analysis or call it "luck" (always careful to include the quotation marks). When it's below zero in the 2nd half on Sunday night, you can pretty much run their numbers through a shredder.

by drunkUncle on Jan 18, 2008 10:14 AM EST 0 recs

Exactly.

And I've come around to the conclusion recently that pundits of all stripes - be they analyzing football, politics, the stock market, you name it - basically don't know what they're talking about. The only ones who are worth listening to are the ones who are unwilling to try to predict the future, and those aren't the ones who get any publicity or airtime.

by Mr Met on Jan 18, 2008 12:40 PM EST up 0 recs

Ahhh let em rant

Monday we'll all be complimenting them on their classiness for coming in here to wish us well in the Super Bowl

Giants 20 Packers 17

by jrs1940 on Jan 18, 2008 12:39 PM EST 0 recs

So you know

Once again, the only whining I hear is from Giant fans. We get no respect, they called us dirty, Favrefest is sickening.. waaa waa waa. We're the better team, who picks the worse team to win? I thought the Cowboys would handle the Giants and for a while, they did. But you won a close game with some luck and dropped balls and ref help so now you're some powerhouse road warrior smashmouth football team. The Packers were ALL OF IT before the Giants were this year, so lets just stop with that nonsense. I'm excited for a great game with a bunch of tough guys who make no excuses. They took some cheap shots, its documented, it happened, but personally.. I'm not calling them dirty. Some players take cheap shots, and they'll learn from their mistakes on Sunday.

Its stupid to call us "trolls". As if to say, you don't want us here. Do you want a debate or not? Is my "mid-western toughness" too much for you? haha

But overall, I'm here to debate, and talk a little smack, and maybe learn something along the way. And hey, if the Giants pull the "upset" and beat us, I will definitely be in here to congratulate you on an awesome season (which it is anyway, win or lose) and luck against the AFC opponent. Will you do the same?

"and there is your dagger!"

by NumberFour on Jan 18, 2008 2:03 PM EST 0 recs

"maybe learn something along the way"

Yeah, good luck with that, Junior. I'll let our guys teach you some humility on Sunday, hopefully.

You should go "talk smack" to some of your mid-western tough guy buddies while the bunch of you stand around in your assless chaps snapping each other with towels.

We don't have to "do the same" because we're not the ones trying to pollute your site with verbal diarrhea, now are we?

by Mr Met on Jan 18, 2008 2:33 PM EST up 0 recs

Mr Met

that was funny... you have me laughing out loud...

by All Day on Jan 18, 2008 2:49 PM EST up 0 recs

Thats what I thought

Typical classless homophobic babble from the Eastern toilet of the US. You sound like those Dallas losers.

"and there is your dagger!"

by NumberFour on Jan 18, 2008 3:40 PM EST up 0 recs

Yeah, they're losers in Dallas alright.

Of course they did kick your asses when the #1 seed was on the line.

by Mr Met on Jan 18, 2008 3:49 PM EST up 0 recs

Chill out

numberfour... This is what you wanted anyway, wasn't it. Just some harmless "slap" talk. Yours is good too... Don't start things that you can't control, especially being on the "Big Blue View" blog site.

by All Day on Jan 18, 2008 5:07 PM EST up 0 recs

DAMN I MISSED THE LOVE FEST

Sorry but , this drama queen was unable to get to the computer for a few days and missed all the fun. So we have more "visitors" I wish I had more spare time these days , cant even get to my own teams site.
The crying has started early eg, We REALLY get no respect, YOUR players are dirty,We put up 42 on a better D than yours, VASTLY, VASTLY ,VASTLY, YOU stupid Giants fans base all your arguments on emotion because you're to dum to see Brett is God.
Well SHOVE THIS DAGGER IN THE SPOT THAT GIVES SWISS CHEESE IT'S DISTINCTIVE LOOK(yeah you're right about the emotional part).
The Giant team who lost the second half of the game to the Pack back in September was in the second game of a new system with a freshly torched linebacker convert playing his second game at a new position , with the spiritual leader of the defense playing his second day after taking the summer off due to old age. Speaking of old age hows Brett? Hell back in Sept our D didn't even know how to pronounce Kawika( do you) for that matter can you pronounce Umeniora? I decided I wouldn't bother to learn it uuntil he earned it, it took about 5 minutes as it will for you packers fans because being driven in to the frozen ground repeatedly does not get any easier with age cheese wiz. As a matter of fact we won't need Feagles to cover too much ( I hope) because on the few plays we need him to get out there he'll be pinning you in the coffin corner as he has with everyone all year.
The fact is most people over here probably have the highest regard for BF, your D backs and we're even happy about Ryan Grants success, this week not withstanding. NOPE THE REASON WE'RE GOING TO WIN IS THE SAME AS THE LAST FEW WEEKS....FORCING THE OPPOSING QUARTERBACK INTO BAD DECISIONS BASED ON CONSTANT PAIN.
Come back real soon.

by big blue wrecking crew on Jan 18, 2008 3:57 PM EST 0 recs