The running backs are going to look a whole lot different in 2013 after Ahmad Bradshaw, who led the team in rushing carries and yards each of the last three years, was cut this offseason. While the veteran running back is only 27-years old and remains unsigned, it’s unlikely that the Giants would bring him back with the level of depth they already have at the position. Let’s take a look at that depth:

The Returnees

Andre Brown: Brown figures to enter training camp with the inside-track to get the majority of the team’s carries. While Bradshaw suffered through injuries most of last year, Brown emerged to average 5.3 yards per carry. He doesn’t have the same pass-catching or pass-protection ability as Bradshaw (at least not yet), but he might already be a better rusher.

David Wilson:  After fumbling away his first career carry and ending up in Tom Coughlin’s doghouse for most of the season, Wilson showed some home run ability towards the end of the year. He had a couple big runs from the backfield, but his most electric plays came on the kick return. Wilson probably opens the year as the third-down back, but he’ll need to improve his catching skills.

SIGNED 

T Will Beatty – A priority coming into free agency, Beatty re-signed to a 5-year deal. Will likely be the opening day left tackle. 
DT Cullen Jenkins – Perhaps the team’s biggest offseason addition, the Giants signed Jenkins away from the rival Eagles to fill the starting DT spot vacated by Chris Canty’s departure.
CB Aaron Ross – Our old friend is back to provide depth and guard against another year of Corey Webster underperformance.
DT Shaun Rogers – Back after blood clot kept him out last year.
RB Ryan Torain – Back to add RB depth behind Andre Brown and David Wilson.
K Josh Brown – With Lawrence Tynes on the way out, Brown is the frontrunner to win the kicker’s job.
LB Keith Rivers – Signed one-year deal and will have first crack at replacing Michael Boley’s role. Played well in the limited time he saw last year.
S Ryan Mundy – Steelers castoff will try to be the Giants 3rd safety behind Stevie Brown and Antrel Rolle.
TE Brandon Myers – Hopes to follow in the footsteps of Kevin Boss, Jake Ballard and Martellus Bennett as TEs that Eli Manning turned into household names.
LB Dan Connor – Expected to replace Chase Blackburn at MLB.
WR Louis Murphy – Will provide Depth at WR with Domenik Hixon and Ramses Barden both free agents and likely to sign elsewhere.
QB David Carr – The only tandem of #1 draft pick QBs in the NFL stays intact for another year.
G Kevin Boothe – Versatile offensive lineman is back for another year.
DT Mike Patterson – Another former Eagle DT to help fix the run defense.

GONE

TE Martellus Bennett – Signed four-year, $20 million deal with Chicago. Leaves the Giants after short-lived success playing with Eli Manning. This worked out really well for Kevin Boss.
S Kenny Phillips – Signed with Philadelphia for one-year deal for very little money. Have to believe Jerry Reese doubts his ability to stay on the field.
DT Chris Canty – After being released, landed with Ravens. Maybe the biggest loss of the offseason, but offset by the addition of Cullen Jenkins.
LB Chase Blackburn – Agreed to two-year deal with Carolina after Connor addition. The Super Bowl folk hero will be missed.
DE Osi Umenyiora – Signed with his hometown Atlanta Falcons after publicly feuding with management for years. Sad to see him go nevertheless.
WR Domenik Hixon – Another Giant heads to Carolina to join Dave Gettleman.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS 

K Lawrence Tynes – The team wanted to re-sign Tynes, but his asking price was too high. Will always be remembered for sending the Giants to 2 Super Bowls with clutch overtime field goals.
DT Rocky Bernard – Good player, but may be the odd man out with all the other additions to the defensive line.
WR Ramses Barden – We’ll always have the Carolina game.
TE Travis Beckum – Injuries hampered Giants career.
T Sean Locklear – We’ll see later this summer based on knee recovery.
CB Justin Tryon – The Giants need corners, but maybe not this one.
RB Kregg Lumpkin – Likely gone with Brown, Wilson and Torrain already in the mix.
CB Brian Witherspoon – Has to come back from another ACL tear.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

WR Victor Cruz – You may have heard of him.
S Stevie Brown – Signed his second-round tender. Gave Giants the freedom to let go of Kenny Phillips. Led the league in takeaways last year.
RB Andre Brown – Tendered at second-round level. Should be the opening day starter to replace Ahmad Bradshaw.
TE Bear Pascoe – Giants already re-signed blocking tight end.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS

DE Adrian Tracy – Already tendered. Could compete for fourth DE spot. Has already drawn comparisons to Osi Umenyiora, which isn’t too shabby.
C Jim Cordle – Re-signed and back to provide much-needed O-line depth.
DE Justin Trattou – Trattou is back and may compete with Tracy as extra pass rusher.

(list C/O ESPN)

First, a primer: Veterans can have their contracts restructured once per calendar year. To restructure, team and player agree to turn a portion of the player’s salary for the upcoming year into a signing bonus. The benefit of doing so for salary cap purposes is that a player’s signing bonus is prorated over the length of the contract to determine its effect on the salary cap. This means that if a player has a 5-year contract and a $6 million salary ($6 million cap number), turning $5 million of that salary into a bonus will reduce that player’s cap number by $4 million ($1 million salary + $5 million/5 years = $2 million cap number). The team can do

While the benefits of doing so should be obvious, restructuring a contract also pushes salary into the future, and can hamstring a team for years into the future. This matters because not only is the Giants cap situation perilous right now, it likely will be next year as well. And if you think the Giants have a lot of free agents to worry about now, remember that Justin Tuck, Andre Brown, Hakeem Nicks and – assuming he comes back on his restricted tender – Victor Cruz will all be unrestricted free agents after next season.

The point is that the Giants, like all teams, have the option to ease their cap situation this year at the expense of the cap in other years down the road. But should they? John Mara doesn’t seem to think so:

We haven’t really talked about [restructuring Manning's contract]. That’s always an option at some point in time, but he’s proven to be worth the amount of salary-cap space that’s been allocated to him.

The Giants are obviously in win-now mode, with a roster filled with expensive talent (which is what got us into this mess in the first place). No team can stay competitive for long in the NFL, but the biggest factor for a team’s success is clearly the presence of a franchise-quarterback. So long as the Giants have Eli Manning and a reasonable level of talent around him, the team will be contenders. Eli is 32 years old, meaning he has about 5 years left in his prime, and a few years thereafter when he will still be productive. When Eli gets to the tail-end of that window (like Brady), it might make sense to mortgage the future to squeeze as much production out of our star quarterback as possible. But until then, flexibility is the most valuable asset.

“I thought it was this (past) season,” Thomas said on NFL Network. “But I think he has one more in him.”

It’s pretty apparent that Coughlin has at least one more in him, as there have been no serious talks within the organization about his possible retirement. Coughlin himself has shot down such rumors, but at age 66, questions about how much longer he can coach will only get louder as seasons pass.

If 2013 is Coughlin’s last year, and I think every rational Giants fan hopes that it’s not, it will mark the end of one of the most successful runs of any head coach in Giants history. Coughlin’s tenure with the Giants coincided with the drafting of Eli Manning, who took the reigns from Kurt Warner as the starting quarterback partway through the 2004 season. From 2005 – Eli’s first full season as the starter – until 2007, the Giants made the playoffs in 5 of 7 seasons, winning two Super Bowls in the process. The only comparable stretch in the teams history came from 1984-1990, where coach Bill Parcells led the Giants to the playoffs in 5 of 7 years, and won two Super Bowls as well.

I am too young to remember the success of Parcells and Lawrence Taylor in the 80s and early 90s, but I consider myself very fortunate to be able to watch the Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning led version. Despite his teams rarely looking dominant, Coughlin’s Giants have amassed nearly as good a winning percentage as the Giants of the 80s (.611 vs. .576) and have the exact same playoff record (8-3) and number of Super Bowl wins (2). With Bill Parcells recently being inducted in the the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it’s not crazy to imagine Coughlin eventually joining him there.

All that is to say, Tom Coughlin can coach my favorite team for as long as he likes.

Two plays after that Jones TD, half of the Superdome lost power, causing a 34-minute game delay. The 49ers returned from the delay with an ill-fated 3rd down play that made it look like the game was just about over. But San Francisco responded with 24 points on their next four drives, pulling to within 2 points with 10 minutes left in the game. After a Ravens field goal from the 2-yard line, the 49ers drove to the 5-yard line before turning the ball, and ultimately the game, over on downs. An intentional safety and a failed punt return later, the Ravens are champions of Super Bowl 47.

- Just to get this out of the way: Beyonce is awesome. The halftime show may have been more impressive than the entire first half. She certainly appealed to the young’ns more than Madonna did last year.

-  The biggest play of the game was unquestionably the no-call on the 49ers fourth-down play that would have given them the lead with 2 minutes left in the game. The Ravens came with an all-out blitz and Kaepernick lofted the ball in the direction of Crabtree, who was blanketed and couldn’t quite reach the throw. To my eyes, it looked like the corner was holding a littttttle too much jersey and probably should have been flagged for holding as Jim Harbaugh so vehemently declared, but those are the breaks.

- That power outage was pretty weird. For one, it reminded me a lot of that game back in 2010 when the lights at MetLife Stadium (before it was named that) cut out in the middle of a Giants-Cowboys game. But for another, it gave us some pretty trippy photos. On the whole I’ll say I was pro-blackout. Bravo, Superdome.

- Flacco was named Super Bowl MVP and deserved it 100%. The guy has had a very Eli-like run through these playoffs, stepping his game up in ways his detractors didn’t think possible. Ever since the Ravens played the Giants back in December (ugh) he has played at an unbelievably high level, capping the run off with a 287 yard, 3 touchdown, 0 interception performance in the big game.

- Obligatory mention of Ray Lewis’ last game. I’ve never been a huge fan of his personally, but he is probably the best defensive football player that I’ve ever seen play (I was too young to catch Lawrence Taylor). He’s had a helluva career that now includes two Super Bowl championships (double ugh). Enjoy retirement Ray, I won’t miss playing against you every 4 years.

Thus ends the Giants’ run as Super Bowl champions. It was a great ride, and it’s at least somewhat comforting to know that it came to an end at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champions. Let’s get Nicks and Cruz signed and make a run at a home game for the first New York/New Jersey Super Bowl in 2014. See ya’ll next year, and go Giants!

The Broncos and Ravens kicked off the weekend with a crazy double-OT game in Denver. This one was tied at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 before finally being decided by Justin Tucker’s game-winning 47-yard field goal. An emotional Ray Lewis played in what will most likely be his final game in Baltimore. The Ravens go to New England next week for a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game.

Green Bay 31, San Francisco 45

Despite being closely contested for three quarters, this game turned into a blowout in the fourth on the strength of 3 straight 49er touchdowns. Colin Kaepernick had one of those video game days for San Francisco, racking up over 440 yards, including 181 on the ground (single-game record for a quarterback). The 49ers will go to Atlanta for next week’s NFC Championship game.

Seattle 28, Atlanta 30

For my money, this was the best game of the weekend. Atlanta jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime that looked all-but insurmountable, until Russell Wilson led a Seattle comeback that saw them take the lead with 31 seconds left. But just when it looked like Atlanta would suffer another disappointing early-round loss, Matt Ryan led the offense on a last-minute drive to set up a a 49-yard Matt Bryant field goal to give Atlanta the win. The Falcons will host the 49ers next week.

Houston 28, New England 41

A game that many people expected to be a blowout was closer than that – but not by much. New England dominated the majority of the game, seemingly doing whatever they wanted on offense, whether through the air or on the ground. The Patriots advance to something like their 15th AFC Championship game in the last 10 seasons, and will host the Ravens next week.

- Giants beat Eagles at home

- Redskins beat Cowboys in DC

- Lions beat Bears in Detroit

- Packers beat Vikings in Minnesota

None of these outcomes are totally impossible, but the Lions beating the Bears in a game Chicago has to win is the most unlikely. Although, the way the Giants have been playing lately, their game against the Eagles (in what will likely be Andy Reid’s last game as coach) might be a problem as well. It’s really difficult to understand how a team that returned nearly every starter from a Super Bowl champion and that tore apart the 2 best teams on their schedule (San Francisco and Green Bay) is staring down the possibility of missing the playoffs, but here we are.

It’s true that the Giants probably don’t deserve to be in the playoffs if they can’t win the games they know they need to, but it’s still disappointing to see them play their worst so often when their best is still so good.  Yes, the Giants have championships in 2 of the last 5 years, and have won in the most dramatic ways of any team in recent memory, but you never know how long these championship windows will remain open. The only teams that win in today’s NFL are ones that have franchise quarterbacks, and the Giants are one of the few teams that do. They were lucky to have the #4 pick in a 2003 draft with 3 great quarterback prospects, and they were lucky that Ernie Accorsi pulled the trigger on a trade that landed them the guy who eventually became the best of the bunch. You just can’t know when the stars will align like that again.

The point is this: I’m not ready to give up on the 2012 Giants. I’m hoping against hope that everything breaks the Giants’ way on Sunday and they sneak into a playoff spot that they couldn’t earn for themselves. It’s not because I’m a desperate fanatic who’s lost grip on reality, but because I’m a desperate fanatic who knows that his team is capable of putting together a Super Bowl run when the football world least expects it. I was shocked when the Giants didn’t pull out a win in Baltimore because they’ve proven that they play their best when it’s most necessary, and that their best is better than anyone else’s in football. I know it’s in them to shock me again by making a run deep into the playoffs – I’m just hoping they somehow get that chance.

Taking away those two plays, Wilson still had a very efficient game both running and returning. Over the rest of the game, Wilson had 12 carries for 44 yards and a mediocre-to-decent 3.7-yard average. Aside from that carry, he’s averaging 3.9-yards per carry on the year. As for special teams, Wilson had returns of 58, 52 and 20 yards besides the big 97-yarder, which continues what has been an extremely impressive season for him returning kicks. For much of the season, his teammates treated a touchdown return for Wilson as an inevitability, and Sunday we saw why.

What makes Wilson such a great weapon is his aggressiveness and his breakaway speed. Despite his struggles through the first half of the season, he is going to be an important piece of the puzzle going forward with Brown unlikely to play another game this year. Wilson doesn’t always need to be as spectacular as he was on Sunday, but if he can keep up with his averages he’ll justify the first-round pick the Giants spent on him back in April. And if he breaks a few long touchdowns along the way, even better.
A few other things I noted from Sunday’s game:

- Hey Ravens and Bengals, WHAT THE HELL?!? Through 3+ quarters, it looked like both teams were going to give the Giants a little breathing room in the division by beating the Redskins and Cowboys, but both teams eventually lost on last-second field goal tries. Although knowing the Giants, the added cushion probably would have led to a loss to the Saints, so I guess it’s ok.

- Wilson was the most dazzling, but Antrel Rolle may have had the better game. After publicly calling out his teammates prior to the game, Rolle forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, tipped an eventual interception and made a huge tackle on a big 3rd-and-short. Woof.

- Ahmad Bradshaw hurt his knee in the first half and spent most of the game on the sideline. Despite Wilson’s big game, losing Bradshaw for any amount of time would be devastating. Not a lot of teams can withstand injuries to their top two running backs. Get well soon Ahmad.

- Eli Manning had two “bad eli” interceptions, one of which was returned for a long touchdown. The Giants opened the game with 4 drives starting in Saints territory, which resulted in 7 points for the Giants and 7 points for the Saints. That’s not good. But the offense picked it up in the second half with two touchdowns each in the 3rd and 4th quarters. That’s not bad.

Next week bring’s the Giants’ third and final “revenge game” of the season, as we go to Atlanta to play the team that was the first stepping-stone to the 2011 super bowl. Perhaps the Falcons have learned from the 49ers’ and Packers’ mistakes, because I haven’t heard nearly as much chatter from them. Or maybe it has something to do with them losing to the 4-9 Panthers this week. In any event, it should be another good one, and an important one as the Giants look to maintain their division lead. See you in Atlanta.

- The Redskins’ first touchdown came off of an amazing stroke of luck/horror (depending on your rooting interest) when RG3 fumbled the ball into Josh Morgan’s hands, who subsequently ran it in for the score. There’s not a whole lot the defense can do about a play like that, but it was good to see they were going after the ball, as a fumble by Alfred Morris bounced the Giants’ way later in the game. I don’t know what Griffin did in his past life to amass his unbelievable karma. He’s like Mark Sanchez, only the exact opposite.

- Ahmad Bradshaw was amazing. He carried the ball 24 times (his third-highest total of the season) for 103 hard-earned yards, and converted every big third-and-short against a Redskins running defense that only allowed 89.2 yards/game coming in (3rd-best in the NFL). We’re going to need more performances like that out of Bradshaw with Brown likely out for the season, and he appears to be up to the challenge.

- Sean Locklear went out with a gruesome knee injury in the fourth quarter. I assume it was gruesome because that’s what everyone’s calling it, but I’ve learned not to look at football replays that are described that way anymore so I never actually saw it. I did see that the Giants’ pass protection, which was pretty good up to that point, really suffered after he was replaced by David Diehl. If Locklear is out for an extended period (and it sounds likely), this will continue to be a problem.

- Eli Manning looked good for most of the night. The Giants offense started out really agressive, going for a couple passes deep down the field to Nicks and Cruz that juuuuuuuuust missed, and a ton of connections to Martellus Bennett. Eli finally hit Cruz on a big 49-yarder in the second half, but barely went down the field after that. As soon as the Redskins took the lead, Bradshaw started getting carry after carry, whether called by the sideline or checked to by Manning at the line. Considering they were going against the 3rd-ranked rushing D and the 29th-ranked passing D, I thought this was somewhat quizzical.

- The Giants’ run defense had a tough night, but I find it pretty hard to blame them. ESPN highlighted a bunch of plays where the defensive ends got caught guessing wrong on the Redskins’ pistol option plays. I was watching at home and trying to guess where the ball was going on those plays, and I did NOT do well. Hard to expect our lineman to do much better in the heat of the game.

- The red zone: our old nemesis. The Giants came into the game scoring touchdowns on about 49% of their red zone possessions, which isn’t gonna get it done. I was hoping that these concerns were behind us after that number jumped to 83% last week against the Packers, but alas, no such luck. Despite moving the ball well through the first 3 quarters, the Giants could only muster 16 points due to 3 promising drives that stalled out, leading to Lawrence Tynes field goal attempts. The second try saw the usually-automatic Tynes miss from 43-yards away, which turned out to be sorta important.

- The Giants came in to this game as the second-least penalized team in the NFL, averaging only 4.4/game. Well, that average is gonna go up a bit. They were called for 9 penalties, two of which put the Giants in tough field position coming off kickoffs and one that wiped out a first down on what ended up being the Giants’ final offensive possession. I suspect Coughlin may mention this in practice before the next game.

Despite all that, the Giants had the ball with 5 minutes to go, down only one with a chance to take the lead. With Eli at the helm, we usually do pretty well in those circumstances, but a win last night would have put the Giants in a great position to coast into the playoffs without much stress over these last 4 games, so obviously they could have none of that. Part of the beauty of being a Giants fan is their knack for putting together dramatic victories, but part of the horror is the anxiety they induce along the way. Next Sunday, an afternoon home game looms against the Saints. The Giants must win that one to ensure they maintain their lead in the division.

What, you thought it would be easy?

Belcher was a 4th year player out of the University of Maine, and had started 44 out of the 59 games he’d played for the Chiefs since being drafted before the 2009 season. Belcher and his girlfriend are survived by their 3-month old daughter.

Our hearts go out to the friends and family of those involved in today’s tragic events. Please follow our sister site, Arrowhead Addict, for any further developments.

- The game opened with the Giants and Packers trading opening drive touchdowns thanks to a couple big plays from Ahmad Bradshaw and Jordy Nelson. The screen to Bradshaw was a perfect mix of great scheme, perfect blocking and an amazing individual effort by Bradshaw. He’s one of several Giants players (see: Hakeem Nicks) that obviously benefited from a perfectly-timed bye week. He looked energized all game and set the tone for the offense with his running. The Packers touchdown came after Webster bit badly on Nelson’s fake stop route, but he made nearly the same play later in the game and picked off a real stop route, so all is forgiven.

- The offensive line. Holy crap were they amazing. Eli was only sacked once (although I honestly can’t remember it) and had plenty of time in the pocket to pick apart a pass defense that was below-average even before they lost 4 starters for this game. The line also opened up huge holes for Bradshaw and Brown (more on him later), who averaged over 5 yards per carry between them and scored 2 touchdowns on the ground.

- The O-Line looked even better when compared to that of the Packers. The Giants’ D punished Aaron Rodgers to the tune of 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception. Rodgers was pressured on 17 of his 33 dropbacks, which is unbelievable, but I was actually more impressed by the secondary than the defensive line. There were a few times in the first half when Rodgers had all day in the pocket and no one to throw to, forcing him to either throw the ball away or tuck it down and run. When the score got out of hand in the second half, that’s when the D-line took over.

- We have to talk about Eli’s 13-yard run. On 3rd-and-7 from the Green Bay 34-yard line, the seas parted and Eli had a clear path to run for the first down. But our hero didn’t run to the first down line and slide, oh no. He lowered his shoulder into Tramon Williams and plunged forward for another yard. I’d like to believe that Eli fought for that extra yardage to inspire the team, but I think the much more likely explanation is that he’s afraid to slide after this. In a perfect world, I’d like to see him slide – properly – in that situation, but I honestly don’t know if he’s capable. After the game, Eli said he didn’t slide because he wasn’t sure whether he had the first down even though he was 6 yards past the marker, which is so Eli. I also don’t believe it for a second.

- The only damper on the evening was obviously the news of Andre Brown’s broken fibula, which puts his season in jeopardy. Brown has been great as a handcuff for Bradshaw, who always seems to be less effective when asked to carry a heavy load. Brown actually had more carries than Bradshaw last night (13 vs. 10), but Ahmad will obviously be the workhorse from here on out with David Wilson serving as the primary backup. Back in September, I wrote that the Giants may have wiffed on Wilson if all he turned out to be was a decent kick returner and he continued to be irrelevant on offense. Ignore that. He’s super important now.

That’s it for now. The Giants have another big game coming up next Monday night versus the suddenly second-place Redskins with an opportunity to put some real distance between themselves and the rest of the NFC East. The sun is shining and the Giants are 7-4. Today is a good day.

One of the most troubling things about the team’s recent swoon has been the struggles of the offense, and particularly Eli Manning. After having thrown for 200 or more yards in 24 straight games prior to his week 6 performance against the 49ers, Eli has now thrown for fewer than 200 yards in 3 of his last 5 games. This comes after the Giants’ passing offense looked like perhaps the best in the NFL through the first half of the season.

So what changed? Much of the focus has been on Eli supposedly having a tired arm, but his passes don’t seem to have any less velocity than they did early in the year (and he himself has denied this). Part of the explanation is that the defenses have gotten better. The first half of the season included games against Tampa Bay, Carolina, Washington and Cleveland, who are all in the bottom half of the league in terms of passing defense. The start of Eli’s current swoon has been generally identified as week 8 when he threw for only 192 yards in Dallas, but he threw for only 213 against that same team in the first game of the year. And despite the blowout victory, Eli had a far from stellar game against San Francisco (and their 2nd ranked pass defense), completing only 53% of his passes and compiling 193 yards.

The only game where Eli played worse than he did in San Francisco was home against the Steelers, the 1st ranked pass defense in the NFL. In that game, he had a completion percentage (41%) and yardage total (125) that set season totals by a wide margin. His struggles in Cincinnati were a bit more surprising, as the Bengals have a roughly league-average pass defense. But a lot of that performance can be attributed to factors other than Eli. Hakeem Nicks has been hobbled for weeks and had a very sub-par game. Victor Cruz, who surprisingly leads the league in drops, didn’t provide the security blanket he usually does. And an offensive line that had only allowed 8 sacks all year to that point gave up 4 in one game. Not to mention that the Bengals jumped out to a 14 point lead, forcing the Giants to pass early and often and the Bengals to rush the quarterback without much threat of the run.

All that is to say that my answer to the question of “what’s wrong with Eli?” is “probably nothing.” Eli has proven himself too reliable for too long to expect his recent struggles to continue, and the week off should prove invaluable time for his receiving core, particularly Nicks, to return to something close to full strength. If it doesn’t, then upcoming games against Green Bay, New Orleans, Washington and Baltimore and their poor pass defenses should. One way or another, expect the old-Eli to return after the bye.

- Car: Though many of the backroads are still covered in debris from the storm, the major parkways are clear and all bridges are open. The temporary ban on passenger cars holding fewer than 3 people will also be repealed today, and won’t be in effect on Sunday. The bridges are the best option for driving into/out of New Jersey, as many of the tunnels around the city remain flooded. Driving directions are provided on the stadium’s website, and the parking lot will open at 11:00 am for the 4:25 pm start.

- Bus: Buses will provide travel between the stadium and the Port Authority, but may have to take some detours around closed roads. Expect huge lines, however, as this is the only way to get to the stadium via public transportation from New York City. Also, keep in mind that the subway is still only partially operational. A map of the lines currently open for service is provided here.

NJ Transit has been crippled by damage to their rail operations center and the debris covering their tracks. Their website has a pretty intense slideshow of the damage their tracks have suffered. As a result, NJ Transit trains will not be traveling to MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

The Giants have just posted a notice on their website indicating that they will provide free park and ride service in two locations: the parking lot at the Secaucus train station (675 New County Road at Seaview Drive, 4.5 miles from the stadium) and at 20 Murray Hill Parkway in Rutherford. There will also be limited cash parking available at the stadium, although it is not clear how much those spots will cost.

For those of you who decide to sell your tickets rather than go, the cheapest pair on StubHub is going for $135/ticket, still far above face value despite the extraordinary difficulty of getting to the stadium this week. For those of you who do go, make sure to leave extra time and try to be patient with the long lines your sure to face no matter which transportation option you choose. Stay safe out there and let’s go Giants!

P.S. The NYC Marathon, which was scheduled for Sunday, has just been cancelled. That should free up some congestion around the city on game day.

This coming offseason, Cruz will be a restricted free agent. Assuming they place a first-round tender on him, he’ll be slated to make something in the neighborhood of $2.7 million next year. That would be a huge increase over what he’s making now, but nothing close to Cruz’s value on the open market – and the open market is exactly what the Giants want Cruz to avoid. By signing him to a long-term contract soon, the Giants would be able to get him for below market value, with the benefit to Cruz being that he would get to stay home and that he’d get his money sooner, eliminating the risk of a possible injury that would wreck his value.

“I love this team. I love this organization. I want to, God-willing, one day retire a Giant. I want to stay here and fulfill my journey with the New York Giants.” – Victor Cruz

If the Giants allow Cruz to play out the next year under only his tender offer, he would become an unrestricted free agent after next season. If that happens, and he stays healthy, his value will skyrocket. To give you an idea, Vincent Jackson was rewarded with the most lucrative contract of any free agent receiver this past offseason, getting five years and $55.5 million from the Buccaneers. Cruz has much better statistics than Jackson and is 4 years younger.

The Giants are going to have to make some tough decisions over the next few years with many of their own free agents. The contracts of Kenny Phillips and Martellus Bennet both expire after this year, and Hakeem Nicks, Justin Tuck, David Diehl, Linval Joseph, Michael Boley and Corey Webster will need to be resigned or let go in 2014. Not all of those players will stay, but keeping Cruz should be a no brainer. The Giants’ passing attack has carried the team over the past two years, with Eli throwing for 4,933 yards in 2011 and 2,109 so far this season – which leads the league through 7 weeks. None of that is possible without Cruz, especially considering Nicks’ recent injury problems.

The Giants know they struck gold with Cruz, an undrafted free agent from UMass Amherst. When these types of success stories fall into your lap, you can’t simply let them go. To Cruz’s credit, he’s said all of the right things so far, insisting that he wants to retire a Giant and that he’s confident the contract situation will work itself out. But the fact that he’s been so mature about the process only makes it all the more urgent to keep him in a Big Blue uniform for the foreseeable future. My instinct says a long-term deal will get done this offseason, if not sooner. The Giants understand what they have, and Cruz deserves to be rewarded for his tremendous production over the past year and a half. One way or another, Cruz figures to be a Giant for a long, long time.

But while Griffin’s most spectacular highlights may come as a runner, defenses would be foolish to stack up against the threat of the run. Through 6 games, Griffin has arguably been the best passer in the league. Griffin is currently ranked 3rd in the NFL in passer rating, behind two Super Bowl MVPs, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning. He also has fewer interceptions than either of them, and the highest completion percentage in the league. Add that to the threat he poses as a running, and he might be the most efficient offensive weapon in the league.

So what can the Giants do to slow him down? The good news is that they have the right personnel. Where teams often get into trouble against running quarterbacks is either by blitzing to create pressure, which he can run past if the blitzer doesn’t hit home, or by putting a spy on him, which takes a man out of coverage and helps the QB to pick apart the secondary. But the Giants are unique in that they are able to create pressure using just their front four, allowing all 7 of the other guys on the defense to focus on locking up potential receivers. Even if they don’t get many sacks – and it’s hard to imagine they will against such an agile QB – making him move around in the pocket without sending extra rushers should be enough.

When they do send extra rushers, the Giants have to do so smartly. Quarterbacks like RGIII are most dangerous when they break the pocket to the side of their throwing hand (in Griffin’s case, his right). When that happens, and he has the opportunity to throw or tuck the football and run, there is virtually no way to stop him. To combat this, the Giants can send extra rushers from Griffin’s right side, ensuring that if he breaks the pocket, he’ll have to do so away from his throwing side, which makes it much more difficult to complete a pass on the run.

The next way to neutralize any rushing quarterback is to play a lot of zone. In a zone defense, the front 7 defenders (at least) face the quarterback and react to his movements, rather than following a particular player. For obvious reasons, having as many eyes on the ball as possible is ideal. The problems that playing zone pose are that a) it’s more difficult to send extra rushers, and b) it’s a less effective defense against the run. But again, the Giants talented front-four will mitigate both of those issues. Obviously, you have to mix in some man-coverage to keep from being too predictable, but playing as much zone as possible will limit Griffin’s effectiveness as a runner.

Neither of these strategies are a total fix and they all both their downsides, but there are only so many ways to attack a player of Griffin’s talents. As it usually is, the onus will be on the Giants’ D-Line to lead the way. Based on their comments this week, it certainly seems as if they understand the challenge. Based on their past success, they’re probably up to it too.

Last year, both the Giants and 49ers were teams of extremes. The Giants had a terrible run game, but a high-flying pass offense that led them to multiple come-from-behind victories. Their defense had the best pass-rush in the game, but was very weak behind it. The 49ers, on the other hand, were a conservative pass offense with an excellent run game and arguably the best overall defense in the NFL. A season later, The G-men have become more balanced, while the 49ers have stuck to the blueprint of defense and ball control.

The Giants again have a high-flying pass offense, averaging the third most yards through the air of any team in the NFL. But this year, that passing attacked is flanked by a serviceable, if not dominant, rushing attack. Through week 5, the Giants have averaged 120.2 yards per game on the ground, good for 12th in the league, and have already matched the number of 100-yard rushing games they had all of last year (2). Most importantly, the Giants have turned these yards into points, outscoring every team other than the New England Patriots.

On defense, the Giants have had similar results, but achieved them in a very different way. A season ago, the Giants compiled 48 sacks, behind only Minnesota and Philadelphia for the league lead. This year, they have only 8, placing them 24th in the NFL and prompting the defensive line to express frustration at their own lack of production. Despite so few sacks, however, the overall performance of the defense hasn’t been that different from that of the Giants’ Super Bowl team in 2011. If anything, this year’s version has been slightly improved, as they’ve allowed fewer yards (376 v. 372) and fewer points (25 v. 22) per game.

The 49ers, on the other hand, have stuck to their blueprint from a year ago that saw them improve by 7 wins over 2010. Last year’s team was led by its defense, which allowed the fourth-fewest yards per game and the second-fewest points of any team. This year’s ranks? Second in yards, and first in points. On offense, the additions of Mario Manningham and Randy Moss were intended to bring the 49ers passing offense into the 21st century, but those two moves have accounted for a measly 12 yard improvement in passing yards per game. Where their offense has improved is in the running game, where what was already a solid attack in 2011 (127 yards/game, 8th in the league) has become the best in the NFL (196 yards/game, 1st in the league).

These are two very different, yet incredibly well-matched teams, with the Giants’ strength on offense nearly equaled by the Niners success on defense and vice versa. The most notable difference between this match up and the NFC championship game will likely be the weather, with sloppy and cold conditions replaced by sun and 70 degrees. Though I doubt the game will follow the same dramatic narrative of last January, one thing should stay the same: this is gonna be a good one.

Most people have rightly been pointing to Ramses Barden’s offensive pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter as the play that cost the Giants the game. Putting aside the terrible result, let’s try and examine whether throwing the ball was the right decision in the first place. After being given great field position by a David Wilson kick return, the Giants moved the ball through the air to the Eagles’ 26-yard line with 25 seconds to play and no timeouts. On second down, the Giants had three options: run, pass or kick the field goal.

Run: If they run (which they did on the previous play for a 1-yard gain), the Giants would kill more time off the clock and have to spike on third down to set up a field goal try. Neither Ahmad Bradshaw nor Andre Brown had had much success on the ground to that point, averaging 3 and 2.8 yards per carry, respectively. It would also carry the possibility of losing yardage or fumbling.

Pass: To that point on the drive, the Giants had attempted 7 passing plays and had positive results (a completion or a defensive pass-interference penalty) on 3 of them. One of those incompletions came after Eli threw a botched snap out of bounds and another when Victor Cruz slipped on a hook pattern. Passing also had the benefit of providing the opportunity to pick up a chunk of yards for an easier field goal attempt, while stopping the clock on an incompletion or leaving plenty of time for a spike if a receiver was tackled in bounds.

Kick: From the 26-yard line, a field goal would have been 43-yards. Since 2010, Lawrence Tynes has made 8 of 11 field goals of between 40 and 49-yards. He also converted 3 of 6 from 50+ yards during that span. The kick would have been within Tynes’ range, but it was far from a chip shot. Also, with about 20 seconds remaining, the Giants would have had to kick the ball back to the Eagles. While a kick return touchdown would have been an unlikely way to end the game after a converted field goal, we know from past experience that it’s not impossible.

The sad truth is that there is no perfect answer, but I think the Giants made the right call. Eli had been throwing very well in the second half (aside from the terrible endzone interception) and it made the most sense in light of the time remaining.

These Giants are Eli Manning’s team. He made a terrible throw that forced Barden to take a penalty rather than have the ball be intercepted, but those things are going to happen when you consistently put the game on his shoulders. Giants fans had to feel good about the team’s chances when they took over at the 35 needing only to get into field goal range, and that’s because of Eli’s past success in those situations. If they are put in the same situation next week against the Browns, I will feel just as comfortable. It stands to reason that if you have the best clutch quarterback in the league, you would want to put the outcome of the game in his hands rather than on the foot of a kicker. It didn’t work out this time, but letting Eli decide the game was the right call.

Wilson has been virtually invisible since he fumbled the second carry of his career in the opener against Dallas. Since that mistake, he has only been given 4 carries and managed 4 yards, including one carry for -2 yards on Thursday night. To make matters worse for Wilson, Ahmad Bradshaw’s injury should have given him a chance at redemption. Instead, there’s a brewing controversy over the starting running back position… and Wilson’s not in the conversation.

Although it’s hard to look at Brown’s success as anything but a positive for the Giants, Wilson’s disappearing role on offense recalls the question of why the Giants felt the need to burn a first-round draft pick on a running back back in April. As Bill Barnwell over at Grantland wrote before Thursday’s game, the Giants have a checkered history when it comes to investing heavily in their backfield. And with the two most important running backs of the last two Super Bowl teams being Brandon Jacobs (4th-rounder) and Ahmad Bradshaw (7th-rounder), the Giants probably should have known better before paying such a premium for a position that can be filled more cheaply without much loss of production.

The one area where Wilson has made somewhat of an impact is on special teams. Wilson has averaged a respectable 25.1 yards per attempt as the Giants’ primary kickoff return man – good for 9th in the league among players with at least five attempts. However, the usefulness of returners has diminished significantly over the past two seasons with the kickoffs now coming from the 35-yard line. Despite Wilson’s spark in the return game, the Giants rank 15th in the NFL in average starting field position – almost exactly middle of the pack.

It’s unclear where all of this this leaves Wilson for this season and beyond. It appears he won’t be getting major carries for the Giants any time soon, as even Da’Rel Scott (6 carries, 9 yards) saw more time than Wilson did in the closing moments of Thursday’s blowout win. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that the Giants would give up so quickly on a player they valued highly enough to pick in the first round just five months ago. If Wilson wants to be a part of this offense going forward, he’s going to have to follow Brown’s lead and make the most of what few opportunities come his way.

We all know about the huge stats Kevin Olgetree put up on opening night against the dregs of a depleted cornerback group (lookin at you, Justin Tryon), but what’s been most concerning to me is the play of Corey Webster. After Amukamara’s injury, I said that Webster would have to hide the secondary’s deficiencies by locking up the other team’s best receiver every game. That hasn’t happened. In Week 1, Webster was mostly matched up with Dez Bryant, who torched him on slant after slant to the tune of 85 yards receiving. Against the Bucs, Webster allowed Vincent Jackson to amass 128 receiving yards, including a 29-yard touchdown.

The Giants’ secondary problem isn’t likely to fix itself, but what we can expect to see is an improvement against other teams’ second- and third- receivers. With  Amukamara or Jayron Hosley guarding Ogletree, rather than Michael Coe and Justin Tryon, there’s no way Ogletree would have totaled his ridiculous 114 yards and 2 touchdowns (for comparison, he had only 1 catch for 29 yards in Week 2 vs. the Seahawks). The more pressing long-term issue is the showing of Webster against the top guys. He was able to intercept Josh Freeman on Sunday, but that one play doesn’t excuse 2 games of otherwise sub-par performance.

As the only established cornerback on the team, Webster quietly might be the least replaceable player on the roster outside of Eli Manning. With games against Steve Smith and DeSean Jackson coming up, Giants fans have to cross our collective fingers that Webster will return to the level of play we’re accustomed to seeing from him soon. If not, expect to see a lot more shootouts like Sunday.

But it is an important game, if for no other reason than the schedule. Based on last year’s winning percentages, the Giants have the most difficult schedule in the NFL, with 7 of their 10 out-of-division games coming against playoff teams from last year. The situation is made more dire by the fact that they lost at home to a divisional rival, while every other team in the NFC East won on the road in Week 1.

All three games on the Giants’ schedule versus non-playoff teams outside of their division will be played in the next four weeks, which makes this a very important stretch. A year ago, the team got out to a hot start, struggled in the middle weeks, and finished the season strong to barely make the playoffs at 9-7. This year, they may not have that luxury. Six of the Giants’ final eight games come against playoff teams from a year ago, with the other two games coming against the Redskins and Eagles, who may be battling for control of the NFC East themselves.

Looking at the next four teams on our schedule, you’ll realize that these games aren’t going to be cakewalks either. The Giants had enough difficulty bottling up Tony Romo, but in the next three games they’ll match up against Josh Freeman, Cam Newton, and Michael Vick – arguably the three most mobile quarterbacks in football. The fourth game brings rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden and the less intimidating offense of the Cleveland Browns, but also a defense that showed on Sunday it is not to be taken lightly. Nevertheless it is, on paper, the easiest four-game stretch the Giants will face.

Fans of the Giants know that the team tends to play best when its back is against the wall. Well, they’re against it. If they want to go on a run like they did last year, the Giants have to put themselves in a position where they control their ability to make the playoffs late in the season. To do so, they have to start racking up wins right now.