Good morning fellow Giants fans, and welcome to the Friday before Super Bowl 46. In about 57 hours, the Giants and Patriots will kick off and we will witness history, win or lose. I kind of feel like the fact that we are in this thing for the fifth time in the last 25 years puts the G-men in some very elite company franchise-wise, and that's a pretty cool thing to consider. The Steelers and Pats are both in that category. The Cowboys would be, but they haven't gone to the playoffs in a very long time. The Eagles and Jets tend to get near the top of the mountain before stumbling. You get the idea. However, we just HAVE to win this thing. We have to win to complete the storybook finish we've been enjoying for the past month and a half. We have to win to get Eli a second ring. We have to win to put both he and TC in the Hall of Fame conversation. We have to win because we know what losing the big one feels like. So here we go, let's see what is floating around the Big Blue Web this Friday morning.....
Trash-talking NY Giants like Chris Canty, Jason Pierre-Paul should embrace underdog role as in years past - NY Daily News
The coach of the Giants says that the team’s mentality is still "us against the world" even after Chris Canty has told Giants fans to get ready for a parade. It is a good thing there is no more player availability at Super Bowl 46, Thursday was the end of it, just because all it takes is a few comments such as Canty’s to get everybody thinking the Giants have suddenly turned into the Jets.
Victor Cruz's meteoric rise has powered New York Giants to Super Bowl XLVI - Don Banks - SI.com
There are at least two questions that come to mind when beholding the out-of-nowhere monster season turned in by salsa-dancing second-year Giants receiver Victor Cruz: Where in the world would this New York team have been without him? (Already home, immersed in the offseason). And when was the last time you heard anyone who cares about Giants blue bemoaning the loss of veteran slot receiver Steve Smith to Philadelphia in free agency? (Early September 2011, give or take a week).
I think we'd all agree that the 99-yarder against the Jets was the turning point in the Giants' season.
Super Bowl 2012 -- New York Giants will be history's punch line if they lose - ESPN New York
For blustering their way to the big game, for carrying themselves with as much championship-round swagger as any New York team since the '86 Mets, the New York Giants might want to find a way to beat the Bradys and Belichicks on Sunday night. If they fail to stage a Super Bowl XLII sequel in this rematch, if they make prophets of the Vegas bookies who have them placing second in Lucas Oil Stadium, the Giants will go down as contenders who talked their way out of a title. Fair or unfair, right or wrong, history won't remember the runner-up Giants as kindly as a 7-7 team that advanced to the Super Bowl should be remembered.
What happened to "Talk is cheap, play the game?"
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is easy-going, but don't let that fool you | NOLA.com
"He has a wonderful way of taking whatever comes and moving on," said Cooper Manning, Eli Manning brother. That’s what the elder statesman of the Manning brothers offered as an intriguing, spot-on feeling of what keeps the quarterback of the New York Giants ticking merrily along. It’s a simple game plan. Enjoy life. Stay cool
Giants Are Endearing Because They Suffer to Succeed - NYTimes.com
No New York-area team since the turn of the century has generated more admiration than the Coughlin-coached Giants of four years ago. It was not just that they won; it was how they won, with mastery and a miracle, leaving the Patriots in despair and millions to parse the difference between destiny and opportunity. Now they have a chance on Sunday to reprise their historic reinvention by repelling Tom Brady and the Patriots as they did the first time around, pretty much out of thin air.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning no longer the 'other Manning' - San Jose Mercury News
Rev up those chainsaws, though. More forests must fall. Peyton's little brother Eli is the "other Manning" no more. Brady vs. Manning will not die. The Manning who four years ago engineered the last-minute scoring drive that derailed New England's pursuit of perfection in Super Bowl XLII gained admittance this season into the NFL quarterbacking elite. NFL know-it-alls now speak of the 31-year-old Eli as respectfully as they do Peyton and Tom and Aaron and Drew. Next Sunday in the House That Peyton Built -- Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium -- Eli will oversee the family business of rivaling Brady when the Giants and Patriots meet in Super Bowl XLVI.
New York Giants’ Eli Manning shows he’s comfortable on big stage - Edwin Pope - MiamiHerald.com
Eli pauses, not for dramatic effect but because he’s bracing for the next question. For a 31-year-old who grew up way down yonder in Louisiana (I mean, it’s out there and then some), he has made a graceful transition to New York’s big city and big stage. We should have known he would, because his big brother Peyton always had such a grip, and still has. I’m not sure Eli will ever be quite as smooth as Peyton. Still a little too much Mississippi mud in his makeup from his days at Ole Miss. But Eli’s sincerity soars and scores.
Giants news conference: Coughlin seizes underdog role at Super Bowl 2012 | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
The New York Giants are back in the Super Bowl for the second time since 2008, trying to add to their trophy case. But being Super Bowl champions four years ago at New England's expense hasn't guaranteed the Giants anything this week in preparation for Sunday's game against the Patriots. "It's still us against the world," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said this morning from the Downtown Marriott. "We're still underdogs."
Madonna channels Victor Cruz with salsa dance - chicagotribune.com
Madonna won't explicitly say who she's rooting for, but her spot-on salsa dance in honor of the New York Giants Victor Cruz may have revealed where her allegiance lies. At a news conference Thursday to promote her halftime Super Bowl performance, she was asked what she thought of the wide receiver's touchdown celebration dance and if she had any criticisms of his moves. "I have no criticism ... actually, he's inspired me. I've been practicing," said Madonna, who lives in New York, before busting a move in front of the few hundred media members in attendance.
2012 Super Bowl -- New York Giants' Ahmad Bradshaw, Osi Umenyiora limited in practice Thursday - ESPN New York
The Giants are getting healthier as the week progresses as wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (shoulder), cornerback Corey Webster (hamstring) and linebacker Jacquian Williams (foot) participated in a full practice on Thursday. Bradshaw and defensive end Osi Umenyiora (ankle/knee) were the only Giants who were limited in practice.
New York Giants' Tom Coughlin remembered for nasty style | The Tennessean | tennessean.com
His current players say Coughlin has lightened up — some. After orders from management several years ago to tone it down, he had no choice. But the same players who admit Coughlin can be a bear to play for also say he’s successful because of his no-nonsense, demanding style. And as long as it produces wins, most agreed that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Super Bowl XLVI: A deeper look at a few Giants, from farmer Mitch Petrus to rodeo-lover Bear Pascoe | NJ.com
It's easy to label Mitch Petrus as a backup offensive lineman. But did you know he hopes to one day be flush with John Deere equipment? It's convenient to only think of Chris Snee as the starting right guard. But just picture him having to find a quiet moment with Tom Coughlin to ask about marrying the coach's daughter. These are some of the eclectic stories of these Giants, beyond football.
For Mara family, owning Giants has provided stabilizing force for NFL, rich history for team | NJ.com
In many ways, buying the Giants in 1925 was another of Tim Mara’s many bets. A bookmaker in the days when it was legitimate work, Mara paid $500 for the franchise when the National Football League was in its infancy and baseball and boxing overshadowed the sport. Eighty-seven years later, the Mara family’s hold on the Giants is still strong as the team prepares to play in its fifth Super Bowl. Only the Chicago Bears, owned by the Halas-McCaskey clan, have been in the hands of one family longer than the Giants.
Giants' Herzlich, Blackburn embody perseverance to perfection - NFL - Sporting News
Could Blackburn grasp what Herzlich felt about getting what, for many, is a death sentence two years earlier? Could Herzlich envision being let go by his team and being so unwanted in the sport he'd sacrificed for that he'd be a phone call away from giving up and becoming a math teacher? On both counts … yes, in a way.
Are the Giants in Brady's head? 'The Flinch' would suggest they are - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice
It's hard to imagine a quarterback as great as Brady having anyone or any team inside his head, but that's the feeling I get after watching him and his New England Patriots play the Giants in Week 9 this season and in the Super Bowl the previous time they met. How else can we explain "The Flinch?"
Tom Brady, New England Patriots get New York Giants in Super Bowl - Jim Trotter - SI.com
Brady often projects an image of calm and cool, whether facing a rush of defensive linemen or the crush of paparazzi. But former teammates speak of a different Brady, one whose competitive engine has no kill switch. To see this, you must journey behind the Iron Curtain that is a Patriots practice.
Eli Manning: the joker leading the Giants into Super Bowl 2012 | Sport | guardian.co.uk
It is no secret that Eli Manning enjoys a practical joke. Ask any of his New York Giants team-mates, and they will be quick to regale you with the story of how the quarterback switched the language settings on their phone to Japanese, filled their gloves with purple dye or stuffed their shoes with salami. Ask Manning's oldest brother, Cooper, and he might just explain why he has to treat his own toothbrush with suspicion when the pair get together at the family's annual summer coaching camps.
We're almost there, folks. Get your game faces ready. It's GO time. No, I mean, it's really GO time. Let's do this thing.