Good morning, Giants fans. This post is up a little later than usual because the Internet is screwy at my parents house, which I'm visiting for Christmas. And yes, I am currently typing this post from my mother's basement. Buzz Bissinger rejoices.
As I mentioned the other day, I went to the game Monday night and came away equal parts impressed and perplexed. Are the Giants really that good, and if so, where has that team been the past two months? Or are the Redskins really that bad, and if so, how did they almost beat the Cowboys, Eagles, and Saints?The Giants are a strange team this year, having been on both the giving (Bucs, Raiders, & Redskins) and receiving (Saints, Eagles, & Broncos) ends of 3 absolute beatdowns. Much like the similarly inconsistent 2007 team, the Giants will be defined by what they show over the next two weeks and potentialy beyond. I'm not saying I expect another Super Bowl run, but I am saying it's not out of the question. On the other hand, it's also entirely possible that the Giants will lose their next two games and go quietly into the night. With that said, onto the links:
- According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Giants 45 points on Monday was their most in a road win since they put up 51 on the Redskins way back in 1954. More interestingly, at least to me, was that Eli Manning was the first Giant to have consecutive 3+ TD, 0 INT games since Phil Simms back in 1984. Eli was fantastic on Monday. Sitting in my seats way up in the nosebleeds, I can usually see the plays as they are developing, and often am able to spot the open receiver before the QB can. On Monday, though, Eli was hitting some guys I wasn't even seeing, and he's down on the field with humongous defensive players charging at him. He also had a few plays where guys were wide open (all 3 TD passes, for example), but even on those he made great throws. Eli just seems locked in right now.
- Brandon Jacobs is claiming that his "punch" on Monday night was actually open-handed and he shouldn't be suspended. I still haven't seen any video of the fight, so I really can't weight in on this, except to say that I really hope the NFL agrees with Jacobs. He may not have had his best statistical night on Monday, but he had a few nice runs early on and opened things up for Ahmad Bradshaw, which is how the Giants running attack works best.
- The Giants have signed tight end Scott Chandler off of the Cowboys practice squad. I hope he doesn't replace Bear Pascoe, who had a nice night on Monday and has quite possibly the best name in the NFL. Still, always nice to poach the Cowboys for possible talent.
- Ralp Vacchiano says that Monday nights win brought back memories of 2007.
- Filip Bondy echoes what I said above (or did I echo him, since I wrote mine later, but before I read his article...?) about the Giants being hard to figure out.
- Joe Lapointe writes in defense of Bill Sheridan.
- Finally, the NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its countdown of the top 10 Giants moments at Giants Stadium, with the 1986-87 NFC Championship Game victory over the Redskins (the Giants just seem to be picking on the 'Skins this week, huh?.) Defined by legendary wins and a dominant defense, this is the game that sent the Giants to their first ever Super Bowl. I was only two when this game was played, so I have no first-hand memory of it, but I'm hoping I'll get to watch it in its entirety in a few days, assuming someone gets me the Giants Greatest Games DVD for Christmas!