HOF Game Countdown: Giants Football in 17 Days

Nov 24, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback

(17) and head coach Tom Coughlin share a fist-bump before the start of a game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Hall of Fame Game Countdown: 17 short days… 

In the land of the GIANTS, 17 these days signifies one man… and that man is Curtis Painter, the New York Football Giants backup quarterback. Painter has attempted 16 passes for Big Blue, completing eight for 57 yards (3.6 Y/A) and a pair of interceptions. He’s also fumbled twice, but neither was lost. So things are looking up.

First round Supplemental Draft choice Dave Brown made 17 starts in New York between 1992-1997, a six-year period Giants fan would prefer to erase from memory. Brown was sacked a staggering 135 times between ’94-’96, and finished his Jints career with a 40:49 TD:INT ratio. Let’s move along before someone loses their breakfast…

On the other leg, you have WR Plaxico Burress. In 2005, Plax galloped his way to 1,214 receiving yards, good for the 4th best single season mark in Giants history. And of course, Burress scored the game winning TD in Super Bowl XLII, abusing Ellis Hobbs with his patented “Sluggo” route.

Credit: Jared Schain on YouTube (NFL on Fox)

… And now we’re officially short on representatives of 17. Quick someone call Jeff Feagles and Jeff Rutledge, surely the Fighting Jeff’s can do something with this punderful paragraph. Coincidentally, the number of points the opposition scored in both the 2011 NFC Championship and Super Bowl? You guessed it:

If you want to incorporate Plaxico into the fold and see if the 17 reference has a leg to stand on, just check the 2007 Super Bowl win score:

It’s obvious the Giants are the only team in the NFL to utilize the number 17 effectively — with Super Bowl efficiency. Is it football season yet?