If someone would have predicted during
the off season that the Giants would
have a 3-6 record, any self respecting Giants fan would have thought that those
two numbers were accidentally switched.
Unfortunately this is not the case, and
even worse, this is the most hopeful that Giants fans have been all season,
after losing the first six games. Winning the last 3 games have put the Giants
ahead of much of the pack already.
Even Antrel Rolle has
toned down the smack talk amidst the Giants' three-game winning streak. “With winning comes more confidence,” Rolle said a week ago, a
day after the Giants stretched their winning streak to three with a 24-20 win
over the Raiders. “I think that’s a no-brainer. But, like I said, we’re just
going out there competing as Giants. This team has shown a lot of resiliency.
We’ve overcome adversity. We’ve been the lowest of the lows.”
The Giants sure were chirpy back when they were 0-6 and talked freely
about winning the rest of their games. They didn’t shy from saying how much
better they were than their record, and how they expected to get back in the
playoff run.
Yet now they’re miraculously just 1½ games out of first
place in the NFC East with just seven games to go, but the locker room talk has
lessened. All the talk of making a run has been replaced by talk of the reality
of their 3-6 record.
And instead of boasting about what they will do the rest of
the season, they’re talking about all the work that has yet to be done.
Giants fans are thinking quite the opposite.
“When they were losing all of those games it became a
running joke within my group of friends that the Giants would eventually come
back and win it all. But now that the Giants actually have a chance to make it
into the playoffs its crazy. The sky is the limit and the Giants truly have
nothing to lose at this point. They should just play their hearts out,“ said
Carl Tiwari, a diehard Giants fan.
Coughlin feels the same as his players and really doesn’t
want to get ahead of himself, and believes that taking things on as they come
is the best way to go about things.
“It’s smart,” Tom Coughlin said during a press conference
last week. “It’s one game at a time. Where are you? You’re right where you are.
And obviously you keep your dreams alive, but you focus on the task at hand.“
With the Giants winning Sundays game against the Packers
and the Cowboys being knocked down to second place, the Giants are still third in
their division.
A quick look at the Giants’ division-title and wild-card
circumstances are eye opening. The Giants hold third place over the Redskins on
account of a better division record (1-2 vs. 0-2).
The Eagles hosted the Redskins Sunday in an important
divisional matchup, which they won. With the Eagles winning, they took a
half-game lead over the Cowboys for the division lead. The Giants continue to
fight to stay in the top rankings and if their defense continuous to be as boisterous
as its been the past month, a playoff spot isn’t too farfetched. This is great
news for Giants fans, though casual fans seem to be much less optimistic.
“Are you serious? The Giants have no chance in the
playoffs. Giants fans need to stop being so hopeful and just deal with reality.
I’m a Jets fan, I have to deal with it all the time,” said John Mastrango, a
junior at St. John’s University.
A Redskins win and a Giants loss to the Packers would give
Washington sole possession of third place in the East. However, if the Giants
and Redskins each win, the Giants will keep third place, as they would have the
better record in games against common opponents. The two December meetings
between the Giants and Redskins could be key in separating the two teams.
Also, the Giants can’t afford a loss to Dallas next week. A
Cowboys win would give them the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Giants. That
could be devastating to Big Blue, but fans think that anything is possible at
this point
“Its crazy that now Green Bay at 5-5 is
out of the hunt and the Giants at 4-6 are back in the hunt? Pretty odd
statement. If the Giants win 10 straight and then the Superbowl, it would be
insane,” said Dominic Marcone, a freshman at St. Johns University.
Either way, another
game, another must-win for the Giants. If all else fails the Giants will leave
behind a memorable season, whether its good or bad.
The good news is that
the Jets, who are 5-5, are finally getting some shine, something that they
shouldn’t get to used to.
