They Could Have Been Giants

There has been a common theme with the New York Football Giants lately: Missed Opportunities. By now Giants fans should be tired of hearing it. A convenient excuse echoed by the head coach and players seemingly after every recent loss. Fans are even more tired of seeing the same mistakes, penalties, and poor execution every single week. Yet each and every week the Giants have had a chance to turn things around and take control of their season. The Giants have had chance after chance to prove they can compete with the elite of the NFC and week after week they lay an egg. This past Sunday at home against the Saints, the Giants played their worst game of the season. At the time of the year when teams should be peaking, the Giants are regressing.

The Giants head into Saturday night's game against the Washington Redskins with a record of 7-8. They have won exactly one time in their last 7 games and just demoted their offensive coordinator with one game left. Yet a win at Washington puts Big Blue in the playoffs (unless the Packers win, 4 other teams lose, 7 other teams win, Florida beats Ohio St by at least 3 touchdowns, and Notre Dames loses to LSU by less than 20). The fact that the Giants can claim a playoff berth by finishing the season 2-6 is downright amazing and utterly pathetic. Talk about backing into the playoffs. Welcome to parity in the NFL.

It has been an interesting year in the NFC. The dominant team in the conference all year long has been the Chicago Bears and yet suddenly there may be a quarterback controversy brewing in the Windy City. Then there are the feel good New Orleans Saints who clinched the South Division title the same week they lost at home to the Redskins. The Saints redeemed themselves this past week by throttling the NYG. Much like the Seattle Seahawks did in Week 3. The Seahawks have been on a bit of a streak lately, losing 3 in a row and clinching the NFC West in the process. Nice. And only in the NFC 2006 can a .500 team lose their star quarterback (who was playing like an MVP), replace him with a guy who has been in the witness protection program since 2002, then go on to win 4 in a row and be in the driver seat to win their division. Crazy.

So I guess the more I think about it the more sense it does make that the Giants control their own destiny this weekend. A team with enough talent to defeat anybody in the NFC. A team that in week 10 of this season was playing at home on national television with first place in the NFC on the line. So what happened? Were there too many injuries? Is it that QB1, Eli Manning, just hasn't played well? Is it that the offensive and defensive coordinators seem to be completely lost? Is it that coach Tom Coughlin just doesn't get through to these players?

But why worry about all that. A victory on Saturday night puts the Giants in the playoffs. Only this team may be better off losing on Saturday night. A playoff berth gives the Giants an extra week of life, but only disguises the reality of the situation. The fact is that the Giants are not a good football team right now. They should be better. The players certainly think are better than the team's record, but have not done anything on the field to prove it. The Giants may be able to back their way into the playoffs, but the organization can't back away from the fact that something has to change before next season.

If not, it's going to be the same old story, same old problems, same old Giants.