In twenty-four hours the conversation about the Giants has switched from the most consistent team in the NFL to an injury riddled team who’s mistake prone. It’s safe to say after their embarrassing loss to the (2-7) Cowboys, The Giants ,now 6-3, were getting a little to comfortable in their own skin. Until yesterday, they had won five straight, two of which in a dominating blow out style. The media and analysts bought into it, praising them as the most complete team in the NFC and possibly in the NFL. On this Monday, the Giants and their entire fan base are experiencing a football hangover, one which was derived from buying into all the talk and then getting humiliated on their own field by the Cowboys. There is a disgusting, stale taste in our mouths from yesterday and a huge headache knowing what next week brings. It’s time to get out the Listerine,take some Tylenol, and WAKE UP!
With seven games left , four divisional, the Giants need to break the “second half” curse and get back to their winning ways or they might find themselves missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season. However, yesterdays debacle against the Cowboys could have been a blessing in disguise according to Justin Tuck. In his post game interview he mentioned how he wasn’t “mad or sad” about the game he was actually “glad”. “It’s that wake up call we could use, this is a chance for us to look at ourselves and say we aren’t as good as we thought we were. Sometimes when you win games like we have in the last month and a half you become complacent and start not going through your daily routines, crossing every T and dotting every I. It gives us an opportunity to get back to the grind, like where we were after the Tennessee game and hopefully that’s how we respond to it” Tuck said. He also mentioned that the team isn’t making excuses like they were last year when they had problems, they have confidence in their talent and their ability to rebound.
In today’s press conference, Tom Coughlin faulted the preparation and stated that last week’s practices were not as productive as he would have liked. He said, “we’ll get right back out there this Wednesday and get back to it.” Entering a week of preparation for Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, the Giants need to work on limiting the penalties and mistakes as well as the big plays from their opponents. The Giants committed 8 penalties for 69 yards, two crucial by the O-Line which prevented touchdowns. Jon Kitna had a QB rating of 124.1 and threw for 327 yards off of only 13 completions, averaging 15 ypp. Matching up against the Eagles, these two points can’t be stressed enough. The Giants O-Line must be able to limit the mistakes and not restrict the passing and running game against Philadelphia. Going against a team with Michael Vick and Desean Jackson, the defense needs to be able to regroup and prevent big plays.
There are still seven games yet to be played, but this Sunday’s match-up with the Eagles could end up having playoff implications and very well be a make or break game for the Giants. Over the recent past, games between the two have been shootouts and known for going down to the wire. There is no doubt it will be a close, physical game and the winner will pick up momentum in the NFC East.