New York Giants News and Notes: Ain't No Scrimmage Edition

Good morning fellow Giants fans. Okay, we are about 60 hours away from kickoff, and I'm already chomping at the bit. Being a Giants fan is something that defines us, sometimes to the chagrin of our families. Sure, there are way more important things in life and we often have to keep that in perspective. But there is nothing wrong with being a passionate fan, and part of that is experiencing the highs and lows. We Giants fans know all about both ends of that spectrum, and Sunday night's game against Dallas is one of the biggest--maybe THE biggest--most of us have ever seen. It's the one-game playoff; the play-in game; the game that ain't no scrimmage, because it's for the NFC East crown.

Tom Coughlin was asked on Thursday to contrast Eli Manning (and his fourth quarter abilities) and Tony Romo:

Q: With Eli, what changes in the fourth quarter?

A: The execution. The consistency. His ability to make plays whether he's moving, whether he's had to do something to adjust, whether he's changed the protection, whether he's changed the pattern. Whatever he's done, he's done it having fully thought it out and reacted well to it and then just executed and made it happen.

Re: Tony Romo.

A: He's dangerous because he extends the play. You can't allow him to do that. When he does extend it, as he did a couple of times on us in Dallas, he makes big plays. He's probably not running as much as he once did, but he is running enough to get the ball down the field. He sees things very well. You just have to do something about trying to force him to step up in there rather than get to the outside. He can get to the outside to his left as well as to his right.

And defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was asked about preparing for the Dallas offense and making sure the Giants did not give up big plays this time:

"We plan on having a more cohesive product on Sunday night than we had the first time we played them. I think the Cowboys are a very talented football team. They can buy time because they can block, Romo can scramble and they can do a lot of things to hurt you and break down your coverages. I think that we're playing better than we've played and I think our guys feel a lot more confident in the things that we're doing."

And whether you love or don't love Brandon Jacobs, you have to love his passion:

"When I come into a game like this, I am thinking about what is at stake. I don't too much focus on the team that we are playing, I am thinking about what is at stake and we have to get it done. There is no ifs, ands or buts about it and they think the same. It is going to be a lot of people out there rooting us on and the stadium should be crazy. That is what we are hoping and that the fans are loud and on their feet and guys are out running around and hitting hard, playing football."

Let's see what news is floating around the Big Blue Web:

Dallas Cowboys should no longer be referred to as 'America's Team' - NY Daily News
There needs to be an expiration date on the Cowboys being known as America’s Team. And it needs to be soon. How ’bout them Cowboys? Yeah, How about them? They have not been to the Super Bowl in nearly 16 years. It was their third title in four years when they beat the Steelers following the 1995 season, but they have won just two playoff games since – wild-card victories in 1996 and 2009.

I want to point out that I am not the source of this article, I'm just the messenger. And I thought you guys might find it interesting. And by "you guys" I don't mean Cowboys players.

Giants' Chris Canty hoping for a different fate than his last game with Dallas Cowboys | NJ.com
Chris Canty was telling Antrel Rolle he feels different this year. He’s fresh, he’s healthy and he’s ready to play a lot more football. That hasn’t always been the case for the Giants’ defensive tackle, particularly in his last game with the Dallas Cowboys, a 44-6 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a 2008 Week 17 matchup to determine the final wild-card team.

The new biggest game of Tony Romo's life - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
Doesn't matter how big a reason he is for the Cowboys' eight wins. All anybody ever seems to talk about with Romo is that he's the reason for two of the seven losses. And that he's still only won one playoff game. That December record. The botched field goal snap from five years ago. This is the stuff that sticks to Romo, for whatever reason, and that's why Sunday's game is the biggest of Romo's career to this point.

Politi: Giants' playoff future could rest on Justin Tuck as they face Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys | NJ.com
Decades? Eons? Forever and a day? Justin Tuck was trying to explain how long it feels like since the Giants last made the playoffs, and this is what he came up with before he realized he wasn’t exactly driving home his point: "It seems like years," he said. Of course, it is years — two years, 11 months and 19 days since the Giants last played in the postseason, to be exact. Or, since bigger numbers always create the illusion of more time, more than 93 million seconds. Maybe Tuck can save that number for next time, should the question come up again.

Emmitt Smith wonders if Dallas Cowboys are mentally tough - ESPN Dallas
Emmitt Smith still bleeds Cowboys silver and blue, but the NFL's all-time leading rusher is not sure his former team is mentally tough enough to go to MetLife Stadium on Sunday to beat the New York Giants in a game to decide the NFC East champion.

Giants hot topic: Does this season remind you of 2007? | NJ.com
Something that reminded me of the game here from '07 late in the year where inexplicably they didn't show up in a game they needed. Let's take a closer look at the similarities.

This, of course, is really jumping the gun, but it sure is interesting.

NFL Analysis: Bengals, Giants Dark Horse Candidates to Win Super Bowl

Neither the Bengals and Giants have season records that are nothing to write home about, but if they get into the tournament, a valid argument can be made that they can win their first round game, and after that, anything can happen. While making the Super Bowl is a tall order for either team, stranger things have happened and that is what makes the NFL great on any given Sunday....At 110 to 1 for the Bengals and 33 to 1 for the Giants, you just might strike gold placing a few widgets on these two teams before they play their Week 17 game.

One word in that paragraph says it all: "if," because it's Friday and the game is on Sunday, so no one knows how things will turn out, and anything can truly happen. But I know this--my game face is on right now, and I'll be ready from my Big Blue Recliner, ready to experience maybe the biggest regular season game I've personally ever seen. I hope you guys are ready, too, because this one is for all the marbles, and it's GO TIME.....