Future looks bright for Giants

by Ed Valentine on Jan 9, 2008 11:57 AM EST in New York Giants News

Paul Schwartz of the New York Daily News says that win or lose on Sunday, the New York Giants have already had a successful season.

I completely agree. Don't get me wrong, I would love to knock the Cowboys off Sunday and quiet some of their overzealous fans, but if it doesn't happen I am not going to moan and groan about how this team didn't accomplish as much as it should have.

The way the Giants are playing right now, there could still be more victories in store. Yet, this season has already been much better than many thought it would be.

Schwartz puts it this way.

If, sometime Monday morning, reality sets in that the season is indeed over and vacation time is upon the Giants, there will be no shortage of winners employed at Giants Stadium.

Tom Coughlin will be presented with a fat new contract - no negotiations until after the season - that could secure his services until he's 64 years old, making this his last job before retirement. Eli Manning salvaged a difficult statistical campaign with strong work when his team needed it most. Jerry Reese, the first-year general manager, in an understated way began building a team to his liking.

Franchise stability is not only assured, but pieces might be in place for an extended run of contention, with several intriguing first-year players (Aaron Ross, Ahmad Bradshaw, Kevin Boss, maybe even Steve Smith) joining talented young vets (Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, Chris Snee, David Diehl and possibly Gerris Wilkinson and Corey Webster) to form a solid growth nucleus.

So, root like crazy for the Giants to stick it to the Cowboys on Sunday. But remember that the world won't end if the Giants don't win.

The future appears bright for this franchise.

Other Good Reads

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Over at our fine Cowboys blog, Blogging the Boys, you can find scouting reports on how the Giants match up with the Cowboys on defense and offense.

Jeremy who? The Giants have not missed Shockey.
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Johnette Howard, Newsday

How the Giants can beat the Cowboys.
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Comments

I think so too.

I think we have a very bright future here. I was also browsing through espn, and found out what the experts are saying about the GIANTS cowboys game. Check it out...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3187853&categoryId=2459789&n8pe6 c=2

by Max G-Men on Jan 9, 2008 12:28 PM EST reply actions

I share your optimism about the future, max

and I think we can beat the 'boys. If we can play the way we have in the past two weeks, we will.

by george cronin on Jan 9, 2008 1:55 PM EST reply actions

Yes,

as Hodge said, they peeked already and they have been spiraling down. The Giants on the other hand have been climbing up. It is a very good assesment.

by Max G-Men on Jan 9, 2008 2:06 PM EST reply actions

Underdogs

The Giants will still be the underdogs Sunday, and winning would still be a big upset. The Cowboys have struggled, but you have to think they will play hard and play well Sunday. It is going to take a monstrous, nearly perfect effort to win that game.

by Ed Valentine on Jan 9, 2008 2:14 PM EST up reply actions

no its not

the same thing happened to the Colts and Bears last season, they had crappy Decembers, but after a weeks rest, got energized and then dominated in the playoffs.

Same thing will happen to the Cowboys, you will see the exact same team that beat you twice this season.

The game will be close because T.O. won't be 100% and the GMen are playing better, but at the end of the day, the outcome will be the same because the Cowboys are simply the best team in the NFC, just like the Bears were last season, after they lost 2 out of their last 3 games.

by Terry @ Big Blue View on Jan 9, 2008 2:17 PM EST up reply actions

The pressure

is entirely on the Cowboys this week, I believe. This is a game they should win, are supposed to win and NEED to win w/all the crap swirling around them right now. The Giants have nothing to lose. If the Cowboys lose, there will be a lot of fingers pointed and questions raised.

by Ed Valentine on Jan 9, 2008 2:36 PM EST up reply actions

well, you could say the same thing

about the Pats because if they lose, the fallout for them is going to be a lot worse than it will be for the Cowboys, and Jax is hot as well.

here is an interesting report from football outsiders which says the Cowboys odds of beating the Giants are 73.7%, which is the best odds of any favorite playing this weekend, including the Colts and Pats.

Very interesting considering football outsiders opinions are dirived strictly from raw data and stats, not speculations and conjecture that you gets from fans and the media.

by Terry @ Big Blue View on Jan 9, 2008 3:11 PM EST up reply actions

Football Outsiders

Their probabilities are based entirely on mathematical projections. The game is played on a field, not a blackboard. This ain't calculus. That said, I like our chances.

by django48 on Jan 9, 2008 3:49 PM EST up reply actions

Nice job Terry.

But isn't it also interesting that according to that formula the Giants had the best ranking of ANY team last weekend. And isn't also interesting that the Cowboys ranking is plummeting and the Giants are rising. This all actually supports what everyone is saying here.

If I'm going to break them, I'm going to break them both. - LT

by potroast on Jan 9, 2008 3:50 PM EST up reply actions

Favorites

That's not surprising. The Cowboys SHOULD be favored, and they SHOULD win the game. They have 12 Pro Bowlers to 1 for the Giants. They won the division while the Giants fought like hell to get the wild-card. They beat the Giants twice, fairly handily. All that said, the Giants come in playing very well. It's a no-lose situation for the Giants, which is why I say in this game all the pressue is on the Cowboys. If the Giants lose, people will say 'that's what was supposed to happen.' If the Cowboys lose, people will say 'what the hell happened to Dallas?'

by Ed Valentine on Jan 9, 2008 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, on the field

django48 is right. This is what I've been saying all of the time. Percentages are math based. Math can not see when teams are hot or cold or getting hot or cold. I see you played football, tell me, did you ever believe in percentages when you played another team? I didn't. I went out there to play regardless of what any percentage has to say. Playoffs is a new season, everyone is even.

Look at the Steelers a few years ago....

by Max G-Men on Jan 9, 2008 4:14 PM EST up reply actions

I totally agree

but what every Giant fan on this site is discounting is the renewed vigor and intensity the Cowboys will play with on Sunday. If you think they are going to allow their play from December to carry over into this game, you're in for a big shock on Sunday because it won't happen. The players simply won't allow it to happen.

The players know whats at stake, that you win or go home. That wasn't the case in December, but its the case now. To think the Cowboys won't be able to play to their ability and potential that they've displayed all season long is a true fallacy on your part.

by Terry @ Big Blue View on Jan 9, 2008 4:26 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, but what you are discounting

is that the sharpness that you play the game can't be turned on like a light switch. Intensity, yes. But the way that they played, the sloppiness that you play with, doesn't just go away because you want it to. You have to work those bugs out.

by potroast on Jan 9, 2008 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

Now this

is an excellent debate with good arguments on both sides. This I'm enjoying, and we all know it's not going to be resolved until Sunday.

by Ed Valentine on Jan 9, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

Definitely on both accounts

Thanks for stepping up Terry.

by potroast on Jan 9, 2008 6:42 PM EST up reply actions

nobody seems to be looking at...

the giants haven't really beaten any good teams....the only teams they beat over .500 were the bucs and the redskins.....and they were both 9-7.....they're 2-5 agaist playoff teams....also the giants are 2-2 in their last four games as well....and in those last four games manning has thrown for less than 185 yards three times....this isn't a giants team that's exactly peaking......

Romo = best QB in the division TO = best WR in the division

by Tuna Helper on Jan 9, 2008 5:38 PM EST up reply actions

Good teams

I agree with you about beating good teams, but the last 3 games the Giants beat Buffalo there (which is very hard as the Cowboys also now, since they were nearly beaten there), the played the Pats very tough (which the Cowboys got beaten pretty badly by them), and won a playoff game on the road, which the Cowboys haven't done in like 11 years?

Also, you are missing the point on Eli. Its not that he is lighting the world on fire, its that he's managing the game better and not making the big mistakes. Only 1 INT in those 3 games.

by potroast on Jan 9, 2008 6:47 PM EST up reply actions

the best indicator....

is head-to-head...which the cowboys have won twice convincingly.....i think that's more persuasive than the victory against the bills...nonetheless...the bills are a tough team at home...so kudos for that win.....the cowboys certainly had trouble with them....the loss to the pats was almost 12 weeks ago so but kudos to the game eli played...although it was the same result...a loss.....again, i tend to believe our head-to-head victories is more persuasive than the fact we lost by 20 to the pats (7 of them which was running up the score) and you lost by three.....

i'm also cautious of accentuating the negative...oh eli ONLY threw one INT....that doesn't sound like a No. 1 draft pick to me...that sounds like a bus driver.....that sounds like a team that's scared to death it's QB is going to ruin their season.....I don't discount that eli has been playing well....but romo is a playmaker that's judged on his continuing excellence.....romo has been judged harshly because he's struggled in december, compared with a scortching performance in the three other months....meanwile eli has thrown as many picks as anybody in the playoffs and is judged well when he doesn't screw up completely...i think that's all anyone needs to know when these QBs, and teams, are compared....

Romo = best QB in the division TO = best WR in the division

by Tuna Helper on Jan 10, 2008 5:54 PM EST up reply actions

OK,

then would you say that beating us twice wasn't beating a good team...? So all other teams can say "the Giants were not a good team that you beat"...

Gotcha...

by Max G-Men on Jan 10, 2008 8:34 PM EST up reply actions

I thought thats what 2 weeks of practice was for

Phillips had them in full pads for the past two weeks, unlike the month of December, when they were just in shells and helmets. Obviously, they are taking this game a little bit more serious than the Philly and Redskins games which in the big scheme of things meant very little, and obviously contributed to sloppy play.

by Terry @ Big Blue View on Jan 9, 2008 5:48 PM EST up reply actions

Now

Your not going to tell me that practicing in pads is like playing well in tough games are you?

by potroast on Jan 9, 2008 6:55 PM EST up reply actions

obviously not

but it can work out the bugs as you put it.

by Terry @ Big Blue View on Jan 9, 2008 9:17 PM EST up reply actions

Hey Terry

your starting to grow on me. I kind of like your up front attitude. You have to be that way to your team. I guess blogs wouldn't be any fun without the opposing team fans. Anyway best of luck cause you gonna need it...

by Max G-Men on Jan 9, 2008 10:10 PM EST up reply actions

lol right back at you mike

by Terry @ Big Blue View on Jan 10, 2008 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

wow, i am impressed

a cogent argument from terry. but tell me, does FO account for the JSIMBOA?

that would be the 'jessica simpson induced mental blunder over average'

just kidding.

anyway, yeah, the vegas line will probably be like DAL -7,-7.5. either way, i think the giants are going to show everyone something this game.

by DieEaglesDie on Jan 9, 2008 4:54 PM EST up reply actions

Good, Good

ok so you don't think the Giants and for that matter, any other NFL team in our positions feel that way? Hey, we don't physically play for our teams, so it is really hard to say that the players won't allow anything to happen. Remember, we are fans, we can't speak for how our teams will really do, we just hope for the best, of course.

Every player knows whats at stake, not just the cowboys. Plus, every fan knows that emotion and upside flows into the next game. Remember, we are 8 straight on the road, so you would have to be some what nervous of us....

Just an FYI for everybody (Giants includeing playoffs)...
Cowboys home 6-2
Giants away 8-1

by Max G-Men on Jan 9, 2008 5:39 PM EST up reply actions