Sports Illustrated has been doing team-by-team offseason breakdowns, and today our friends at SI got around to the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. SI concludes that anyone expecting back-to-back Super Bowl titles will be "sorely disappointed."
This does mean the writer, Chris Burke, does not think the Giants will be a good team. It's also not a shot at the defending champs, just a realistic assessment of the schedule and how difficult it is to win back-to-back titles. Here is part of Burke's summary:
"Last year's team got hot at the perfect time, with a six-game win streak allowing them to end the year with a title. It will be difficult to repeat, even as NFC East champs. Anyone expecting the Giants to cruise to another division crown will be sorely disappointed, as just qualifying for the playoffs will be a tall task."
I know some of you will take issue with this, or will feel like Burke is slighting the Giants. Not me. The Giants will be good. The schedule, though, is brutal and every team in the NFC East is better than it was a season ago. Repeats are rare in sports nowadays, anyway.
Like last season I would think we will witness another year during which the Giants come to the last couple of weeks with a chance. And, if they make it to the playoffs they will be a tough out. Pretty hard to be too disappointed by that.