Good morning fellow Giants fans, and welcome to the Friday before the Christmas Eve showdown between the Giants and Jets, with the game having a crap load of meaning. The Giants need to have fixed their creaky defense, or at least figure out how to score enough points to overcome their creaky defense again. I'm going to go with the latter. You know what would help this offense score points? The shotgun draw. Yeah, Rex hasn't seen much of that on tape, right? I digress, but my point is, I sure would like to see some imagination on the offensive side of the ball, and a few sustained drives. Wouldn't you? But hey, you came here to see what's going on in Big Blue web-ville. So let's have at it.....
Dyed in Blue: Unable to Stand a House Divided - NYTimes.com
As a Giants fan I hate the idea that my team shares a stadium with the Jets. I hate seeing the stadium decked out in green. It just looks wrong. I hate those green end zones emblazoned with J-E-T-S. I hate seeing the maniacal fan Fireman Ed inside the building whooping it up. I hate that "J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!" chant. Unfortunately, when the Giants and the Jets meet on Saturday, that is what I am going to have to look at on my television screen and listen to coming out of my speakers. I know that without the fancy new stadium the 2014 Super Bowl would never be coming to New York/New Jersey, and that is an incredible thing. But I don’t have to like how it came about.
Nice work, boss!
NY Giants' leadership around the locker room nothing to shout about - NY Daily News
Bill Parcells once walked into the Giants’ locker room at halftime and threw trash at his players before smashing a garbage can against the wall. As he did, he screamed, "You guys belong here with the rest of this (trash)." The Giants were winning at the time. They were 13-2. They would soon win the first Super Bowl in franchise history. And it worked. A team that had sleep-walked its way to a 24-17 halftime lead against the Green Bay Packers at home in the ’86 regular-season finale won in a 55-24 rout. Parcells knew that football is a game of emotion, passion and energy.
I remember that game, because I was at that game. I remember it being so cold that I ripped up my hands trying to open beer bottles in the parking lot before the game. Other than that, I don't remember much because I had too many of those beers, but I know we scored a lot of points, something we'll need to do Saturday. And boy, do I miss the Parcells days. Sorry, couldn't help it.
New York Jets' Plaxico Burress Ready to Face New York Giants | New York Jets
This Saturday, New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress (#17, above) will do something he’s never done in his NFL career when he faces the New York Giants, a team he played four seasons for from 2005 to 2008. Burress won a Super Bowl with the Giants, catching the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII, ending the New England Patriots’ hopes for a perfect season. He hasn’t played in a playoff game since that Super Bowl, thanks to the infamous nightclub incident in 2008 that cost him two full seasons as he sat in a jail cell for two years.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Cowboys may have no reason to fear Philly - The Washington Post
Almost completely out of character for Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner has publicly expressed fear about facing Philadelphia again after what happened earlier this season. Dallas (8-6) is the only team that doesn’t need help to win the NFC East, and the outcome of the game may end up having no effect at all on who does.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Giants also control their own destiny?
Many in the New York Giants ands New York Jets matchup have a lot to lose on Saturday. - ESPN New York
Times, owners and ambitions have changed. The Jets no longer strive to avoid embarrassment, but to impose it on the other team. They've talked and played their way into a position of temporary superiority in the marketplace, establishing something of an evil-empire identity without the championship rings often required for evil-empire status.
New York Giants team report: Coming off poor outing, Eli Manning ready for retribution - NFL - Sporting News
The team believes it has a decided advantage at quarterback in Saturday’s game against the Jets, with Manning far more experienced and accomplished than Mark Sanchez. The Giants have come to rely on Manning’s long-distance passing game to bail them out when defensive lapses and a shaky running game combined for some down-to-the-wire drama in several games.
No, seriously, can we just try a few short passes?
Jets, Giants: Forget scenarios, just win! Part 2 - New York Amsterdam News: Sports
The frustration among the Giants was reflected in both their tone and demeanor. No one could conjure a reasonable explanation for how they could play with minimal focus and little spirit with so much on the line, particularly one week after an inspiring 37-34 victory over the Cowboys in Texas.
NY Jets have a picture of the old Eli Manning on their playbook, but NY Giants QB is a different player now - NY Daily News
The Jets defensive players were handed their playbooks by coordinator Mike Pettine on Tuesday and there was Eli on the cover getting mauled by the Jets in last year’s preseason game. The violent picture − if the Jets used the shot a couple of frames later, it would have showed Manning as a bloody mess sends a clear message heading into Saturday’s crucial Jets-Giants game: Manning Must Go Down.
Giants' Travis Beckum, Bear Pascoe set to fill in for Jake Ballard against Jets | NJ.com
Ballard has a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament, though he’s hopeful he’ll be ready to go Jan. 1 against the Dallas Cowboys. That means Beckum and Bear Pascoe must buck up — and as you’ll see, we do mean buck — for Saturday’s game against the Jets. Both players will battle through injuries to play.
Baas expects to be back as starting center - Giants Blog - ESPN New York
New York Giants center David Baas is expecting to return to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Jets after missing the previous three games with a neck injury as well as intense headaches.
Giants' Prince ready to return
Prince Amukamara sat at his locker and wracked his brain, thinking back to every game and sport he played growing up. All through youth leagues, high school, college. He was trying to recall when he might have been benched. "I can't think of a time," he said after a long pause. Then, with some gallows humor, one came to mind. "Sunday's game?"
To those of you in the fantasy title game, good luck this weekend. I believe I'm only playing for ninth place in one league and out of it completely in the other. So much promise, with Aaron Rodgers and great receivers in both leagues, but with not much of a running game with the likes of Shonn Greene, LeGarrette Blount and James Starks. Oh well. There is always next year. And boy, do I not want to be uttering those words Saturday night. I sincerely hope Week 17 matters. And I think that's something we all want as a holiday gift--a game that matters on New Year's Day.
Beyond that, be safe, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and LET'S GO BIG BLUE. Oh, and get your game faces on felllas, it's go time.