Getting Real about Big Blue

I’m not mad at the Giants. How could you be? These guys have busted their ass to get in the position they’re in and they deserve every bit of credit that they’re getting. There are some guys on this team who really work hard on the football field and on the sideline. Think about what the Giants will have to fight through in order to beat the best team ever assembled that didn’t have Michael, Magic, and Bird on it.

First the Giants have to survive Tom Coughlin. Coughlin really may be the worst Super Bowl coach this side of Mike Martz. Only my Redskins can make Coughlin look good–by reinterviewing Jim Fassel yesterday for a second time in the search to replace Joe Gibbs. Yes, the dude most remembered for looking like the dad in American Beauty who tries to make out with Kevin Spacey and for bringing Big Blue to that Superbowl that everyone outside of Baltimore and New York tried so hard to forget.

That is the look of a guy who knows his fans support him!

Coughlin’s bad. In the both the Patriots and Packers’ games he played not to lose down the stretch. He was fortunate to only lose one. This time Eli Manning and Brandon Jacobs wouldn’t let Coughlin beat them. They fought hard and played well. But can they do it again against Bill Belichick? Do you think Belichick will be unprepared?

I just looked up the Pats record after a bye week since the Belichick/Brady era began in 2001. Do you know how many times they’ve lost after a week off? They never have. That’s how many times.

Can Bradshaw and Jacobs continue to be so effective? If you talk to New Yorkers you would think that they have an actual Cloverfield-esque two headed monster in their backfield. They don’t. It’s just some guys named Ahmad and Brandon. And these guys could be the kind of random tandem that wins a Super Bowl. The Skins’ 87 team got 206 yards from a guy named Timmy Smith in the Super Bowl.

But can Bradshaw and Jacobs be GIANT against Harrison and company? During the regular season Brandon Jacobs rushed for just over a thousand yards in 11 games–which is solid. It made him the 15th best rusher in the NFL. Bradshaw played in 12 games and rushed for just under 200 yards. He rushed for five more yards than Redskins semi-mobile QB, Jason Campbell. If you turn on sports talk radio in New York, though, all you hear is “You know when you got a tandem this dangerous, anything can happen”. Ahmad Bradshaw is a poor man’s Ron Dane. And Ron Dane is a poor man’s Ron Burgandy.

Then there’s Eli. A friend from DC told me today that he hates Eli because he’s “overrated”. I was floored. Overrated? My thoughts about Eli’s perception are completely skewed, though, because I live in a city that for 15 weeks hated Eli Manning–which ties into another thing the Giants have to fight through–their own fans.

You know how much New York loves the Giants now?! When a few of the G-Men were announced at the Knicks-Celtics game on Monday, you would have thought Patrick Ewing or Willis Reed were being honored or that the loudspeaker at the Garden announced that everyone in attendance won a free coupon for Dippin’ Dots. It was insane.

Giants fans love their team so much now that you almost forget that the Giants could only muster two wins at the Meadowlands this season. People always ask the Giants’ players why they win on the road so easily. It’s pretty simple I think. Dealing with booing from fans on the road isn’t really dealing with that much. The crowd noise is a little distracting, but you’re supposed to be booed on the road. I think it’s much more difficult to play through constant boos at home. These guys are pros, but it has to wear on you.

You really have to give the Giants’ players credit. And you may think I’m being sarcastic but I’m not. I will be cheering for the Giants in 11 days–though I did bet DJ Premier 20 bucks on the Pats straight up (he suggested a hundred dollar bet but my WASP’d em down to 20.

The bottom line is that the Giants are a hardworking likable team– with SOME lazy fairweather fans. If I’m not talking to you–this shouldn’t hurt your feelings, because you probably agree. Obviously there are true school Giants heads out there, and I assume this bothers you a lot more than it does me.

Go Giants! Uch…that hurt to say.

** Please don’t get sensitive on me New York. I love New York Cirty and I’m happy the city is happy and I look forward to legitimately pulling for the Giants on Super Bowl Sunday. This just had to be said. I had my friend Indy spend every one of the last 10 Redskins seasons objectively explain what makes DC insane when it comes to the skins. So just appreciate the perspective.