Well, it seems we have started a weekly ritual here--letting you all vote on the game ball recipient. That means a) we are winning, and b) there are plenty of candidates for said game ball. And honestly, we could give the share of the honor to more than half of the Giants' roster and coaching staff, but for the sake of being true to this weekly tradition, let's have at it. The options:
Entire defense--This unit pitched a shutout reminiscent of some of the best defenses in Giants' history, something that is especially remarkable considering how bad they looked at times during the regular season. This would also include defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
Hakeem Nicks--No longer in the shadow of Victor Cruz, Nicks caught 6 passes for 115 yards and 2 scores, including a 72-yarder in which he split two defenders and raced all the way to pay dirt. When he's on, Nicks is one of the best in the game.
Eli Manning--He's almost always prominent here, and rightly so. On Sunday, Manning threw for 277 yards, 3 touchdowns and zero picks. Oh, and he was 23 of 32 for a robust 71.9 completion percentage, and a 129.3 QB rating. The dude is just money right now.
Brandon Jacobs--Jake had 14 carries for 92 yards and a sick 6.6 yards per carry average. He also had 2 catches for 8 yards to give him 100 all-purpose yards. But mostly, Jacobs just ran over and through defenders the way he used to.
Tom Coughlin--How do you like him now? TC might be old school, but he has class and dignity, and always stresses hard work and team before anything--something that is paying huge dividends right now.
That's it, cast your votes now!
Oh wait, one more thing. I want to thank Chase Blackburn for answering the phone when it rang as he sat on his couch. Boy, has that guy been a catalyst. Just wanted to add that as punctuation.