NFL Notebook: Giants Still on their Couches Edition

Ed Valentine talked on Tuesday about the Giants not being in the Super Bowl, and how the Packers discussed winning against the Giants in Week 16 as their tipping point to actually steal the last wild-card spot.  Of course, the Packers also won road games against Philly, Atlanta and Chicago--the 3-, 1-, and 2-seeds, respectively.  Could the Giants have also done that?  Yes, I think so.  But they are on their couches this week, thanks mostly to back-to-back losses to the Eagles and Packers in December.  Such is life in the NFL.  Like baseball, it can be a game of inches, or, in many cases, a few points. 

Michael Strahan: Pressure is on Steelers, not Packers - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com
Four days before his team stunned the previously-unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, former New York Giants defensive leader Michael Strahan thought the pressure was on the Patriots to complete their perfect season with a Lombardi Trophy. Those Giants played fast, physical and loose, knowing they had nothing to lose. Asked Tuesday in his role as a Fox analyst who faced more pressure in Super Bowl XLV, the Pittsburgh Steelers chasing a seventh Lombardi Trophy or the sixth-seeded Green Bay Packers, Strahan didn't hesitate. "I'll pick Pittsburgh,'' Strahan said.

I don't know about you guys, but I get a warm, fuzzy feeling this time of year, and have since the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.  That's because the fact that we upset the "previously 18-0" Patriots comes up frequently, as does David Tyree's miracle catch.  But this makes me wonder how much it must hurt New England fans.  Ah, whatever! 

Moore: Having Super Bowl experience may be overrated | Super Bowl XLV News - Sports News for Dallas, Texas - SportsDayDFW
New England was going for its fourth championship in seven seasons in Super Bowl XLII when it faced the New York Giants and a young quarterback named Eli Manning. How did that turn out?

You see what I mean?

Top stories from the 2010-11 NFL season - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
I, a lifelong New York Giants fan, supported Vick's return to the league two Septembers ago. I'd now be fine if he decided to take his talents to the AFC. Vick was a legitimate MVP candidate after taking over for Kevin Kolb(notes) in Week 1, as he was unquestionably a better overall quarterback in 2010 than ever before. He turned the ball at least once in the final seven games of the season and the Eagles were a one-and-done playoff team, but neither fact takes away from Vick's performance during the season. His comeback to greatness could be the biggest story of the season.

Whether or not we as Giants' fans supported Vick's return, I'm pretty sure that when it happened we didn't expect Donovan McNabb to be traded, Vick to become the "guy" in Philly, and then him have an MVP-type season that catapulted the Eagles to the division title.  Yikes. 

Cowboys' Jerry Jones Says 22 Games Would Be Doable - NYTimes.com
The N.F.L. will have no trouble playing 18 and even more regular-season games if it can persuade the players to accept an expanded schedule, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, said Tuesday.

I know the players complain about adding games as being a strong sticking point in labor negotiations, and I know that they don't all play in the preseason, but when Jerry Jones talks about 22 games, that sure seems like a lot to me.  I don't really care how they do this (labor negotiations), and I know most of you feel the same--just get this hashed out so we can watch football as planned in September. 

Until then, we have one more game to watch, and unfortunately, so do the Giants....