It is hard to know what to think of the New York Giants this morning, the day after they played a tremendous game Sunday but fell just short of upsetting the 12-0 Green Bay Packers, losing 38-35.
- You can look at Sunday and say the Giants played a tremendous football game and, in the end, simply got beat by the best team in the league.
- There are, in reality, no moral victories but you can look at Sunday's game -- in which the Giants played with tremendous passion, played good defense despite the score, made big plays on offense and ran the ball well -- and feel good. You can feel like they should be able to use a performance like that as a springboard to a strong finish over the final four games.
- You can look at Sunday like exactly what it is in the standings, nothing more and nothing less. That, of course, is a fourth straight loss that put the Giants at 6-6 after a 6-2 start.
- You can look at what happened around the rest of the NFC on Sunday, and feel like it was a good day for the Giants despite losing the game. The Giants played an excellent, exciting football game -- albeit one they lost. And everyone the Giants are competing with also lost. Dallas was upset by Arizona, staying just a game in front of the Giants in the NFC East. Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit also lost and with all of them at 7-5 the wild-card is very much in play for New York.
So, how do you feel this morning? Which side of the glass are you, the half-empty side or the half-full side?
Personally, I prefer the half-full side myself. It was incredibly difficult to have any hope for the Giants' season following last Monday's awful loss to the New Orleans Saints. Despite Sunday's loss it is not as difficult today to believe the Giants can right the ship and make the playoffs.
The Giants, of course, have to go to Dallas on Sunday night. And, realistically, they have to come out of the Jerry Dome with a victory. If there is going to be a resurgence and a real playoff push it simply has to start there. It is the only thing that makes an NFC East title title a realistic possibility for the Giants.
A week ago when you looked at the NFC playoff picture, you would have though it was NFC East title or bust for the Giants' playoff hopes. That isn't the case today.
The teams in front of the Giants -- Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit -- are all 7-5. The Falcons are the best of that bunch, and I can't imagine them not securing a playoff berth. Look, though, at what is going on with the Bears and Lions.
Chicago has lost two straight since Jay Cutler went down for the season with an injury. The Bears thought they could get the job done with defense and with Caleb Hanie at quarterback. Now, though, they look more than vulnerable. They scored only three points Sunday's loss to Kansas City, and might have lost running back Matt Forte. Does anyone really think Donovan McNabb can ride in and rescue the Bears?
In Detroit, the Lions are imploding in a sea of immaturity. Once 5-0, the Lions are now 7-5. A week after Ndamukong Suh's stomp of a Green Bay Packer led to a suspension, tight end Brandon Pettigrew shoved an official during Sunday's loss to New Orleans. The wheels are coming off the bus in Detroit.
All of that means that despite having gone from 6-2 to 6-6 there is still opportunity for the Giants. The door remains wide open for the Giants.
Question is, do they have what it takes to step through that door? Will the team we saw Sunday against the Packers -- and in victories over Philadelphia and New England -- be the one that shows up for the remaining four games? Or, will we see the team that looked awful in befuddling losses to Seattle and Philadelphia rear its ugly head?
So, what is it, Giants? Do you see the glass as half-empty today? Or half-full?