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November swoons: Coughlin says 'I don't know for sure' why they happen

Why has the November swoon become a New York Giants' tradition? Tom Coughlin really doesn't know.

Andy Lyons

We all know the New York Giants' November history under head coach Tom Coughlin. The Giants are 13-20 overall during November under Coughlin, and have now lost six straight. Coughlin Tuesday told Mike Francesa of WFAN he has no answer as to why the November swoon has become a Giants' trademark.

"I've been asked that many times and I wish I had something novel to relay to you, but I don't. Our byes have fallen at different times, and we've fought our way through that and still - as you say - been, in the middle of the season, perhaps 6-2, whatever, but have got into a little bit of a tailspin for a while and have - thank goodness - been able to pull ourselves out of it. But as to why it takes place, I could give you a litany of reasons that I don't know for sure whether they're correct or not. But everyone gets to a certain point of the season. In this case for us, this year, the bye came late. We looked at it as a positive. Didn't expect to play the way we have the last couple of weeks, but it's reality now. And so the best thing we can do is try to learn something from it and go forward. But if I had an answer, it definitely wouldn't happen."

Do you guys have an answer? This year maybe Hurricane Sandy had something to with it. Maybe the late bye week had something to do with it. Injuries sometimes have something to do with it. Does Coughlin's style have something to do with it? Do NFL schedule-makers just routinely backload the Giants' schedule? Is there a common denominator?

If you have an answer I'm sure the Giants would love to hear it.