There seems to be an assumption, perhaps even amongst the players themselves, that the New York Giants have begun another late-season run that will propel them to the playoffs and give them an opportunity to defend their Super Bowl title.
I have to be honest. I am not convinced yet. Not even close to convinced.
Sure, twice under Tom Coughlin the Giants have turned iffy regular seasons into Super Bowl glory with late-season runs that make you forget the bad football and missed opportunities that preceded those perfectly-timed hot streaks.
Sure, the 8-5 Giants are set up to do it again. That, however, doesn't mean they will. The Giants remind me of a kid with ADD -- they have a short attention span and you are never quite sure how they will behave.
When you consistently put yourself in a position where one stumble can cost you your season, sometimes you stumble. Like the Giants did in 2010, imploding their season by losing two of their last three.
A victory Sunday over the 11-2 Atlanta Falcons will go a long way toward convincing me that the Giants have once again pulled themselves together just in time to rescue a season that -- truth be told -- should not have come down to this.
Osi Umenyiora is absolutely right when he says that when the Giants are at their best nobody is better. The Giants have shown that this season by absolutely dismantling the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. If that team shows up for the next three weeks the Giants will be in good shape.
If the Giants team that handed games to the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins with its own mistakes, that got blown out by the Cincinnati Bengals and that couldn't protect a lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers shows up at all over the next three weeks the Giants could find themselves on the outside of the playoffs looking in.
That would be a shame for a team as capable as this one is.
Which Giants' team will show up for the next three weeks? I don't really think anyone knows the answer.