Good morning, fellow Giants fans and hope you had a most excellent Thanksgiving and holiday weekend. We were actually in Queens this past weekend visiting family, and my wife ran the Dick Lynch memorial 5K in Douglaston on Thanksgiving morning. It warmed my heart to see her wearing the commemorative No. 22 t-shirt, and it was also good to be back home for a few days. I got a good laugh Friday morning at the headlines of the Daily News' sports page, "Thanks for Nothing," and a photo from the Cowboys' win over Miami. But I'm back in Wisconsin, and the Giants are on the road facing a potent New Orleans Saints team tonight on Monday Night Football. Most of you know I did not pick the Giants to win, but naturally I hope I am wrong. Despite all of the injuries, this team does have the tendency to rise up when you least expect them to. So let's get our game faces on, and hope for just that -- a much needed win in the Big Easy.
Saints defense wary of what Manning can do | wwltv.com New Orleans
But while everyone is talking about Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans’ Drew Brees, the Saints have their focus on Manning. He isn’t flying under their radar.
NY Giants say they must beat Saint as they try to avoid another late-season collapse - NY Daily News
There is no more margin for error, no more room for Victor Cruz fumbles and slow offensive starts. There can be no more defensive lapses, no matter how youthful the linebackers are. And there are no more excuses for the running game. It must all come together Monday night.
Amen to that.
Will another second-half collapse by NY Giants lead to Tom Coughlin getting fired? - NY Daily News
The outcome of the next three games could be the determining factor whether Tom Coughlin is back next year. The Giants do not want to fire Coughlin. Stability and continuity are rare in the NFL. Coughlin is in his eighth season with the Giants and only Andy Reid, Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis have been with their teams longer. But these second-half collapses are getting a little old. It’s the same thing with the Giants every season: They start off 6-2 and then it’s a different team over the final eight games.
I wonder how much TC's blood pressure spikes every time he hears the C-word. He might say it doesn't bother him, but how can it not? Then again, unfortunately, the shoe has fit more often than not. But a win tonight sure would change things.
Giants and Saints look to take pressure off of their star QBs by running the ball better - The Washington Post
Drew Brees and Eli Manning have racked up elite passing numbers this season by picking up the slack when their clubs’ running games struggled. That could be the case again when New Orleans (7-3) hosts the New York Giants (6-4) on Monday night, yet both teams have emphasized the importance of running the ball more this week in hopes of improving balance and becoming less predictable.
Giants glad they held on to versatile Kevin Boothe | NJ.com
In August, after Jerry Reese had let Kevin Boss and Steve Smith walk out the door while it felt like the Eagles were signing half of the free-agent market, the Giants’ general manager tried to quell concerns by saying re-signing Kevin Boothe was a "priority" he had accomplished.
Giants Punter Weatherford Works Out Maniacally - NYTimes.com
Weatherford’s build is so remarkable that he is featured in the December issue of Men’s Fitness magazine, a rare honor for an N.F.L. specialist and one that is not lost on one of his occasional training partners — Saints punter Thomas Morstead.
Wow. I wonder if the guy can play linebacker. I also wonder what Matt Dodge is doing these days. Oh wait, was that out loud?
Eagles finally showed a nasty side against Giants - BostonHerald.com
And yet, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that these three offenses, all of which drew fines from the league office, were inextricably linked to the Eagles’ upset victory over the New York Giants last Sunday night. They represented a nasty streak that these Eagles had been missing all season. Let’s put it another way: No one was asking Andy Reid whether he thought his team was soft after its gutty 17-10 victory.
That's a fine line, isn't it? A fine line between chippy and nasty, but that sort of play does tend to rattle the opposition. It also makes us hate them even more. That reminds me, we have a game tonight, and the Saints' D-coordinator, Gregg Williams, also has a nasty streak, one that we must be wary of. And also one that the refs must be wary of. Fellas, let's put our game faces on.