Jan 10 There are any number of reasons for the delay in announcing either that Coughlin is staying for the final year of his contract, that he has signed an extension or that he's being let go. If co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch want to have a GM in place before they determine Coughlin's status, Monday's rebuff by Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli could have set them back.
The Giants did quash one of the many rumors circulating Tuesday when a team spokesman categorically denied a report that Cowboys coach Bill Parcells had, through an intermediary, reached out to the Giants to see if he could become their next GM. The report said the Giants turned Parcells away, but the spokesman called the report "totally inaccurate."
Cowboys coach Bill Parcells was so angry about reports that he had expressed interest in the Giants GM job that he called team co-owner John Mara yesterday to put out the fire. "There is absolutely nothing to it," Parcells said from Dallas. "Absolutely nothing. There has been no contact, either directly or through an intermediary. Whoever said it is a liar." Parcells is trying to decide whether to return for a fifth season as the Cowboys coach, but he's not ready to make that decision so soon after Dallas' crushing wild-card loss to the Seahawks last weekend.

Yesterday morning, the Giants were hopeful they would release their final decision on the embattled coach's fate by the end of the day. But most employees of the organization attended an 11:30 a.m. memorial service for longtime Giants financial advisor Roy Posner, who died late last month. The service delayed meetings that entailed what VP of communications Pat Hanlon termed as "review/discussions." Late in the afternoon, Hanlon said those talks "continue."
Such discussions are a positive sign for Coughlin. If the team was going to fire him, it likely wouldn't take three days of meetings. A member of the organization said Coughlin is likely to return for at least one more season. The individual requested anonymity because the team has not made its final decision public. But barring a refusal from Coughlin to budge on a given issue, the decision will be to keep him as coach.

Indications continue to point to Coughlin's return, but bringing him back is not a quick and easy process. Undoubtedly, Coughlin will be instructed to fire several of his assistant coaches - defensive coordinator Tim Lewis could join already-departed offensive coordinator John Hufnagel - which is never a pleasant experience. Also, there's virtually no chance Coughlin will return without a modest contract extension, as the Giants have a longstanding tradition of not allowing a head coach to go into a season as a lame-duck.
There is much for owners John Mara and Steve and Jonathan Tisch to consider. They need to hire a new general manager - likely an in-house candidate, Jerry Reese - who can work with Coughlin. Upper management knows it will take a serious hit in the form of a media firestorm if Coughlin is retained. In fact, there's not much fondness of Coughlin from his players, the fans or the media. This would be an extremely unpopular move if the Giants make it.

The Giants appeared to be all set to reveal that Tom Coughlin was going to return for at least one more season as their head coach, but they ended up scrapping plans for a late-afternoon announcement. Despite reports that Coughlin had agreed to a one-year contract extension and that Jerry Reese was going to be named the new general manager, one source insisted yesterday evening that "nothing has been decided yet."
Still, that does remain the likely scenario, with indications from inside the Giants' organization that the embattled Coughlin will return. He met with his assistant coaches in the morning for their annual personnel review, and the atmosphere was described as business as usual. The subject of his job security - and their job security - didn't even come up.

Now that Tom Coughlin has apparently saved his job, he must repair his fractured relationship with his players. The healing process from three years of turmoil starts today, when the Giants are expected to announce Coughlin has agreed to a one-year extension and Jerry Reese has been promoted to general manager. Coughlin is one of only five coaches to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and he's the first Giants coach to get there in back-to-back seasons since Bill Parcells 16 years ago. If that was all he was judged on in the postseason evaluation with his bosses on Monday, then his job status never would have been an issue. But there is discontent and hard feelings in the organization with the rigid and harsh ways he deals with his players and conducts his business. That nearly cost him his job.

By keeping Coughlin at a time when it will likely replace retiring GM Ernie Accorsi with Jerry Reese, Big Blue ownership will be selling stability to anyone who will listen. In truth, what they will really be selling is mediocrity, and stiff-arming the notion that if you never dare to be great, you never will be great. In one noble sense, ownership keeping Coughlin tells the inmates that they will not run the asylum or kill another coach. Unfortunately for John Mara and Steve Tisch, the inmates will run it anyway and kill him anyway if the environment doesn't change and the coaching staff doesn't change and the franchise quarterback doesn't start playing like one. Because how, exactly, is Coughlin going to negotiate the Big Blue waters as a lame duck when too many of the players currently regard him as a quack?

Phil Simms weighed in strongly yesterday in support of embattled Giants coach Tom Coughlin and also expressed disgust with the behavior of some in his former team's locker room. On a CBS conference call with fellow analyst Dan Dierdorf, Simms said he "can't imagine the Giants changing and going in a whole other direction" and added he has been "surprised" at what he has seen and heard. "He stands for discipline, he's organized, all the things that make a team successful, [are] part of his makeup and character. But it's not gone that way for the Giants. The culture he walked into, or the environment, he couldn't overcome it."

Another potential controversy for the Giants popped up yesterday afternoon when Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown spoke about an on-field chat he had with tight end Jeremy Shockey in the second quarter of Sunday's playoff game in Philadelphia. "He told me he wants to play here," Brown told the Philadelphia Inquirer. But Shockey immediately squashed any possible rumblings that he doesn't want to be a Giant anymore. "You're kidding me, right?" Shockey said through a team spokesman when informed of Brown's comments. "There are two teams that I love beating: Dallas, because I'm from that part of the country, and Philly, because they have won the NFC East for five of the last six years. We're 90 minutes away, and we can't stand each other."

Jan 9 The Giants have rebuffed an overture from Cowboys coach Bill Parcells about returning to the organization as general manager, according to a high-ranking NFL executive familiar with the team's thinking. Parcells had informed the Giants through an intermediary that he would be interested in returning to the organization to replace the retiring Ernie Accorsi, according to two NFL executives and a player. The sources requested anonymity because of the private nature of the search.
The revelation came after the Giants were snubbed by Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli. As reported in yesterday's Star-Ledger, the Giants planned to interview Pioli and were granted permission from New England. But yesterday Pioli declined to be interviewed, saying in a statement he will remain with the Patriots "for personal reasons.
So far the Giants have interviewed four in-house candidates: Reese, VP of player evaluation Chris Mara, assistant GM Kevin Abrams and director of pro personnel Dave Gettleman, along with former Texans GM Charlie Casserly. Reese is also a candidate for the Tennessee Titans' GM job, though the Titans have not asked permission to speak to him yet. The 65-year-old Parcells has one year left on his contract with the Cowboys, which means he wouldn't be able to coach the Giants unless they offered the Cowboys compensation - and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likely wouldn't allow that to happen anyway. But the Tuna would be allowed to leave to take a GM job in another organization. According to his Dallas contract, he must make a decision by Feb. 1.

Bill Parcells agrees with Texas like the Hackensack River agrees with the Rio Grande. That's why he spent too much of 2006 with slumped shoulders and glazed eyes, doing a convincing impression of a beaten man in search of an exit strategy. Parcells is adrift the way the Giants are adrift, and with both parties deliberating their futures, this question begs to be asked: If the Giants need a new coach, why wouldn't they check on the availability of the old coach, the only one who's given them a Super Bowl title, never mind two?
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells of Oradell is still the best man for the job. Always has been, always will be. Tom Coughlin is a cheap imitation, a protege who can't play on the mentor's grass. He should've been fired Monday, and there's a legion of interested observers hoping the Giants don't decide to keep him. If the team does the right thing and votes for change, Parcells' should be the first number called.

It's like they always say: The longer a jury is out, the better it is for a defendant. Tom Coughlin will soon find out if that's truly the case -- perhaps as soon as today. The Giants coach continues to wait for his verdict after a disappointing 8-8 regular season and a first-round playoff loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Coughlin, who has one year remaining on his contract, did not hold his standard day-after press conference yesterday because he knew there would be questions about his job status. And frankly, he didn't have any answers yet. As for his players, they could only guess. "I really haven't heard all this negativity toward him. I don't know where all those reports are coming from," said right guard Chris Snee, who is Coughlin's son-in-law. "As far as I've observed, he was respected for the most part."
The Giants unloaded their lockers into large plastic trash bags and headed out the door and into the offseason not knowing if they will be subjected to another year of Tom Coughlin. Even one more year of Coughlin is one year too many. Still, several sources indicated yesterday the Giants may be on the verge of offering him a one-year extension rather than firing him. That would give Coughlin one final opportunity to get his program under control and perhaps make the timing better for the Giants to go after Charlie Weis, Bill Cowher or maybe even Bill Belichick one year from now.
Regardless, buying another year of Coughlin is a poor purchase. "That team is underachieving. There is too much talent there," one GM said yesterday. "I don't feel Tom has their respect. I don't see the same grip on the players that I saw in Jacksonville. Obviously, it's harder to do where he is now. He has bigger personalities." And what would another year of Coughlin accomplish? "It delays the inevitable," the GM said.
The fact that there was no announcement could be because there are still things to discuss as the owners review a chaotic season. Even if they did decide to bring Coughlin back for the final year of his four-year, $12 million contract, they had to figure out how to do it. Their options included a one-year contract extension - the route they took when they were undecided about Jim Fassel in 2000 - allowing Coughlin to coach out the final year of his contract, or making his return conditional on him making changes in his coaching staff. Coughlin refused to speak to the media yesterday, and wouldn't discuss his status when contacted at home last night by the Daily News. A team official said an announcement on Coughlin's fate likely would come by tomorrow, though it could come today..

On camera, Coughlin comes off as either angry, bewildered or frustrated. He never appears cool, calm and in control. Coughlin's discombobulated nature may produce compelling TV. Still, despite all the technology at Fox's disposal, neither the network nor its announcers can reveal what exists inside Coughlin's heart. It's much easier for Fox, as it did Sunday, to attempt to expose Coughlin as a buffoon. During the third quarter, Fox aired a shot of Jeremy Shockey pulling back the left earphone of Coughlin's headset and whispering something in his ear.
The visual implication was apparent. Who really is in charge here? The closest anyone came to offering anything positive was Troy Aikman, who said that although Coughlin gets blamed for everything "bad," he also coached the team during Tiki Barber's three most productive seasons.
The verdict is in, and the choice is clear: If it were up to Giants fans to decide Tom Coughlin's fate, they'd fire him now. After a disappointing season that began with legitimate hope of a Super Bowl run and ended with David Akers' upright-splitting dagger through the heart with no time remaining on the clock in Philly, Giants fans would simply do away with the dictatorial coach and start fresh with someone else. Anyone else. I say it's not time. I say bring Coughlin back next year - with changes to the coaching staff - and give this thing one more chance, because there is every reason to believe that the Giants can compete in a watered-down NFC with their roster as currently constituted, plus a few more pieces.
Those thirsting for Coughlin's job may not like what Mara tells them. Indications are he and co-owner Steve Tisch will not fire the head coach but in time, will demand he dismiss several assistant coaches. It's not likely Coughlin will fall on his sword and refuse, and the logical next step is to present him with a modest one-year contract extension, in effect creating a make-good scenario. Win in 2007 or else, as the coaching candidate landscape after next season could include Bill Belichick, Bill Cowher or Charlie Weis. The head coach of the Giants almost always, with few exceptions, meets with the media the day after the season ends, but as players stuffed belongings into large black plastic bags, exchanged autographs on helmets and cell-phone numbers, Coughlin kept out of sight. The explanation given was that it was somewhat awkward for Coughlin to speak about next year's team with his job status undetermined for next season.

It's unusual when a kicker serves up biting and harsh analysis about what went wrong in an NFL season, but Jay Feely has never been bashful about offering his take on any situation. Feely is popular with his Giants teammates because, they say, he works and acts like one of them. That is why his words resonate more sharply than most when he blamed poor team chemistry as a major reason for this season's flop. "I think we teetered on the brink and we weren't really as committed to each other as we needed to be to be a championship team," Feely said yesterday.
"We have some players who won't kind of submit to a coach unequivocally like I think you need to. Coach [Tom] Coughlin is a disciplinarian; sometimes that rubs players the wrong way. If you don't have players who will put that aside, put their own ego aside and commit to a coach even when he's not necessarily that touchy-feely type guy, then that can create an abrasive-type attitude."

They can find another Tom Coughlin, if they choose. Good luck getting another Barber. The Giants diversified their offense so they wouldn't rely so much on Barber, and what happens? They relied on Barber, for good reason: He was their only reliable weapon. Over the last few years he was good for roughly 1,500 yards rushing and at least 50 catches and when he played well, the Giants usually did, too. When they used him correctly, and that didn't always happen under coordinators Sean Payton and John Hufnagel, Barber was a threat to crack the open field and score, especially when he learned to stop fumbling.
Along with LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander and a select few other running backs, Barber meant a lot to his team, sometimes responsible for most of their team's points on touchdowns they scored or set up. Finally, and just as important, Barber was durable and missed only two games in his last nine years, a remarkable feat for someone who touched the ball so much and stood only 5-10. "Obviously we're losing our guy, our workhorse," Eli Manning said. "It's going to affect some things."

When asked about the possible changes to the offense next year, Brandon Jacobs said there shouldn't be any. "I can pass-block, I can catch, I can do all those things," he said. "The offense shouldn't have to change at all." But the roster might. Jacobs will probably have some new company in the backfield with him next season. Early indications are the team will be interested in Packers running back Ahman Green, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Green turns 30 next month.
There's also a chance the Giants will pursue Chargers backup Michael Turner, who rushed for 506 yards on 80 carries (6.3 average) this season behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Turner, who turns 25 next month, will be a restricted free agent, so the Giants would be forced to cough up a draft pick to sign him. They could also work out a trade with San Diego. Yes, another trade with San Diego.

Plaxico Burress was blanketed by the Eagles secondary most of the game, but he managed five critical receptions for 89 yards and was one of the main catalysts in the Giants' late drive to tie the game. Yet, despite the effort, the Giants eventually came up short, unable to stop the Eagles from scoring on the game's final drive. "It doesn't matter how much talent you have or how many Hall-of-Famers you have on your team (when) you go out and make mistakes," Burress said. "We didn't let our ability and our talents shine because we keep hurting ourselves. Talent doesn't overcome mistakes and I think we learned that in the hardest way."

Tiki Barber ran for 371 yards in the final two games of his extraordinary career. But all that running hasn't caused him to second guess, even for an instant, his decision to walk away from the Giants and the NFL. "(Philadelphia's Pro Bowl safety Brian) Dawkins came up to me and said, 'You're a warrior,'" Barber said after the game. "That means a lot to me coming from him because that's been his mentality and how he plays the game. It made me feel good." But Barber no longer wants to play the warrior role. He revealed in October that this season would be the last of his 10-year career. The Giants must somehow replace the production that Barber gave them. It's a prospect neither his coaches nor teammates look forward to.

Jan 8 Giants lose to the Eagles in the Wildcard playoff 23-20.

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On The Game: Game 17 (Wildcard) Recap Gamegirl.... "The Eagles were the big favorites, but it took until the last play of the game for them to beat the Giants 23-20. It was the usual NFC East battle you've come to expect and Tiki Barber had his best performance against the Eagles this season in his last football game playing against them. Tiki had 137 yards on 26 carries, and caught 2 passes for 15 yards. We'll really miss him next year......" Mikefan.... "The Giants were one and out again in the playoffs. Although this was a much better showing than the last time, nothing inspired you to feel comfortable with the way they played, that the Giants would have lasted very long had they won....It was a dificult year for them with a tough schedule, with all the injuries and with working under a dificult head coach......"

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ESPN - Westbrook, Garcia keep streaking Eagles' train rolling.
Giants.com - Giants Fall to Eagles, 23-20.
MSG.com - Jacobs should've gotten the rock in the redzone.
Philly.com - Coughlin's petulance won't be missed.
Philly.com - Barber ends career with another big day.
Philly.com - Better effort will be needed against Saints.
StarLedger - Failures doom team again to cap disappointing season.
StarLedger - Barber: Walks away a winner in eyes of peers
StarLedger - Giants notebook: Manning better? Jury's out.
StarLedger - Westbrook guts out yards with game on line.
StarLedger - Defense missing in time of need.
StarLedger - Pats' Pioli on radar for GM job.
StarLedger - Giants Rail.
StarLedger - Eagles' Akers kicks in comfort with old holder.
Newsday - Same sad story one last time.
Newsday - Time runs out on Tiki.
Newsday - The sons will rise - Big Blue Way will save coach.
Newsday - Ground down at end.
Newsday - Sitting not option for ill Westbrook.
Newsday - Can't keep saying Eli's coming.
DailyNews - Clock strikes for Tom, Blue.
DailyNews - Eli, Giants let shot slip away.
DailyNews - Dumb plays from start to finished.
DailyNews - Coughlin must go - Ax can't fall fast enough.
DailyNews - For Tiki, Big Blue loss means one & done for good.
DailyNews - Plax finally shows up for playoffs.
DailyNews - McQuarters earns stripes.
DailyNews - Blue goes yellow.
HartfordCourant - Giants Sidelines.
HartfordCourant - Barber (137 Yards) Closes Up Shop.
JournalNews - Now the guessing starts.
JournalNews - Giants' Barber runs to the finish line.
NYPost - Magic runs out this Tom.
NYPost - Coughlin should be through withLittle Blue.
NYPost - If Eli talks, they'll listen.
NYPost - Jints feel blue after Tiki Finale.
NYPost - Tiki's out of time.
NYPost - Plax invisible most of game.
Record - Giants repeat season's errors
Record - Send Coughlin on his way today.
Record - Barber earns high praise from teammates.
Record - No point in keeping Coughlin around.

Special Report - It is way too soon to pass judgment. The season has just ended. Time is the ingredient most needed for now, and then will come reason and logic. But there is talent here. The Giants scored a fourth quarter touchdown when faced with a first-and-30 situation, and Coughlin referred to that, perhaps with some anger. "Let's face it, we had first and 30," he said. "We still got a touchdown. Who wants to talk to me about that one? Let's not lose track of the good things, as well. I know we are in a mood and we have been that way for most of the year, where it's all negative, but it's not all negative."
It is surprising just how tired statements like that can become. Coughlin is super-sensitive to criticism, constantly deflecting such questions and asking, instead, that everyone focus on the positives. Well, there are few positives -- excluding occasional plays and individual performances -- in a losing season, and when the Giants lost their wild-card game yesterday, they finished with a losing season.

Jan 7 Wildcard Game preview - Giants (8-8) vs Philadelphia (10-6).
How hot is hot? The Eagles have won five straight games coming into this matchup. That meant winning over all their division rivals away from home, Giants included. The Eagles are hoping to play a game in front of their fans that will erase everything they saw last time when the Giants rallied after trailing 24-7 in the fourth quarter, to leave the Linc with a stunning 30-24 overtime win. The Eagles would like to show that regular season Game 2 was a big nightmare mistake that could never happen again, and that the followup 36-22 win at Giants Stadium was the reality.
Last Week.
Knowing Dallas had lost, the Eagles were able to rest players in their final game of the season, a win over the Falcons. Meanwhile, the Giants needed everyone they could lay their hands on to beat the Redskins. Even Bob Whitfield, sitting in Tom Coughlin's doghouse, was called off the bench to play when Grey Ruegamer left the field with a cut on his shin. Jeremy Shockey didn't make the trip (out with a sprained ankle), and Visanthe Shiancoe started in his place. Even backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen got in the game at one point for a surprise 2 yard sneak on a third-and-one.
This Week.
Both teams need this game just to stay alive and a convincing win will instill an extra measure of confidence before heading off to face well rested teams coming off first round byes. Eagles would get New Orleans (10-6). Giants would get top seed Chicago.(13-3). The Giants were able to come back in their first matchup and the Eagles were able to control things in the second. The Giants haven't won two straight games since Oct. 29 and Nov. 5. The Eagles have won five straight. Both teams know each others strengths and weaknesses. One team may be playing with misplaced optimism and the other with misplaced confidence.

Tom Coughlin was the wide receivers coach with the Giants under Parcells from 1988-1990. Eric Mangini is a second-generation Parcells trainee, having studied under Bill Belichick, who of course was Parcells' defensive coordinator for two Super Bowl wins with the Giants. These are not renaissance men. Coughlin and Mangini are both workaholics, demonstrating few interests outside the lines. The season ends, they fold their lives neatly in a drawer until July. That's the way it looks, anyway. But the two coaches bring different sets of values and temperaments to their wild-card playoff games today. Because neither fellow is a great verbal communicator, those distinctions are hard to explain unless you have been inside their sacrosanct kingdoms.
Walk into the Giants' locker room, the bromides and motivational placards are plastered everywhere on the walls for the players. These are not snappy or happy phrases. The wording is a bit clumsy and often requires re-reading. Mangini is another man, another matter. His greatest skill may be his ability to simplify the hopelessly complex opus known as the NFL playbook. Coughlin has 11 areas that he concentrates on with his players. Mangini mainly stresses three "core Jet values" - communication, focus, finishing.
His body of work does not inspire New York to believe he will deliver it a championship any time soon. There isn't a Giant fan who longs for the young Bill Parcells, or even for the young Eric Mangini, who will tell you today that Tom Coughlin is a great coach. It means he needs to coach a great game against the Eagles today to keep his job. Coughlin has the same Us-Against-the-World scenario that Parcells had at Candlestick Park when he and Bill Belichick denied Joe Montana a threepeat in the 1990 NFC Championship Game. Let's see what Coughlin can do with it. Coughlin has the underdog team, the undermanned team, and no one who has been waiting 16 years for a third Lombardi Trophy particularly cares. A fan base that was promised a disciplined Super Bowl contender feels betrayed.

Go ahead, say it: Eli Manning is a playoff quarterback. Again. Sounds funny, doesn't it? For the amount of abuse the 26-year-old Manning has taken this year, one easily might think the Giants' quarterback was barely hanging on, riding out a final, failed season before his organization started the search for a new leader. Though statistics and performance look more like Dave Brown than Phil Simms, Manning goes into today's 4:30 p.m. wild-card playoff game against the Eagles (10-6) as not only the Giants' quarterback of the present, but also the future.
As the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and brother of Peyton Manning, the All-Pro passer for the Indianapolis Colts, he is probably the most analyzed quarterback in the NFL. And as he leads the Giants against the Eagles in an NFC wild-card playoff game today at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, he has a chance to silence critics who have been yapping louder than the trash-talking Eagles. Fans worry about his lack of passing accuracy and his obvious anxiety when throwing under pressure. TV analysts and sports talk radio hosts question his leadership abilities. Bloggers insist the Giants committed a major blunder when they traded for him on draft day in 2004. But most often, the debate comes down to this: Does Manning have the fire and the personality to succeed as a pro quarterback in the sports world's toughest market?
If he throws the ball today the way we have seen him throw it before against the Eagles - in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the regular season - then he can start to put an end to the biggest single quarterback controversy in his entire sport right now: Himself. This kid, all by himself, because he wanted to be here so much and because of what Accorsi gave up to get him, has become a bigger and better controversy - in just his third season in the league - than Simms and Hostetler ever was. Everything will only get worse for Manning today if he loses to a quarterback, Jeff Garcia, who wasn't supposed to be anywhere near first place in the NFC East this season, anywhere near a game like this - at home - against the Giants.

One hundred yards from Tiki Barber will not be enough for the Giants this afternoon in Philly, not when Eli Manning is struggling to throw for 100. The Giants need another 200-yard performance for the ages from their soon-to-be ex-running back to get past the Eagles in the wild-card game at The Linc, where it's going to be loud and hostile, and into the second round next Sunday in Chicago. They never thought they would get stuck in the wild-card round after starting the season 6-2, but were fortunate that this was such a bad year in the NFC. Finishing up 2-6 should have sent them home. They are in the tournament, which means they can still get to Super Bowl XLI. "It will be hard, but I think we can," Barber said.

EAGLES (-7; under 461/2) over Giants: Largely on the strength of Tiki Barber's premier statistical performance as a professional, Big Blue collectively pulled the emergency brake and refused to over the cliff quietly, in their season-extending performance against the Redskins. It was the Giants' most professional performance since their seasonal high point, the Oct. 23 win in Dallas. But as that win was the story of a quarterback (Drew Bledsoe's inability to thwart a pass rush), so is this - and we're not talking about Eli Manning, yet. The Giants got a reprieve from the governor in Washington, facing a diminished secondary, and with Barber coming up big in his final league moments. The matchup of the Eagles' blitz packages against Manning is unlikely to wind up so pleasantly.
It sounds as if the Giants grew just a bit tired of hearing about all that fearsome defensive pressure the Eagles are going to throw at Eli Manning this afternoon in an NFC wild-card playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field. Reminded in ominous tones that the Eagles love to come with the blitz, left guard Rich Seubert feigned astonishment. "They do?" he asked. The onus is on the Giants offensive line to deal with the heat. "The pressure is twofold," center Shaun O'Hara said. "Either they're going to make a big play or we're gonna make a big play. They brought pressure on us the last play of the game down there and we threw to Plaxico [Burress] for a big score. Sometimes you welcome pressure because it provides opportunities for big plays."

It has been almost a year now, but not a day has gone by when someone in the Giants' locker room hasn't thought about what happened. They were humiliated in the playoffs last year. They were embarrassed at home. It's a painful memory they've been unable to forget. "Every day I can come here and stare into my locker and I think I see 23-0 on the back," said running back Brandon Jacobs. "It just sticks to you." "You never lose that taste," added tackle David Diehl. "Those things that happen in the past, those goals that you didn't achieve, it's definitely something that's a taste in our mouth. "So now it's not just about getting to the playoffs. It's about doing something in the playoffs.
So even though they went 8-8, even though their coach still is on the firing line, even though their quarterback is not progressing and their defense is battered and soft, the Giants view today as something they have earned - an opportunity to be the team they thought they would be in August. "We're here and we're not going to apologize to anybody for being in the playoffs," center Shaun O'Hara said. "Now we understand where we are. The past doesn't matter."
How they got here defies logic and reasoning. Losers of six of their last eight games, stripped of the swagger they wore at mid-season, reminded endlessly about their humiliating playoff flop one year ago. The scuttlebutt is Tom Coughlin almost definitely needs to win this game to keep his job, and the Giants have the look and feel of a one-and-done postseason interloper. After so much blather in the preceding months, the Giants haven't said much this week to counter any of that. They insist the product they hit the Eagles with is all the statement they'll need.
It's been a season of dramatic swings for the Giants - the blowout loss in Seattle, a two-game division lead in November, a four-game losing streak and a struggle to get things straight. But their circuitous trip, which ended with six losses in eight games, has brought them to the playoffs for a second straight season - the first time the Giants have made consecutive playoffs since Bill Parcells' final two seasons (1989-90). And that gives the Giants hope today against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

In the 47 seasons they've shared the city, this is only the fifth time the Jets and Giants have been in the playoffs together; beyond that, this is only the second time ever that they've played playoff games on the same day. On Dec. 27, 1981, the Jets (as they are today) played an AFC East rival (Buffalo) in the early game and got their hearts crushed, 31-27; the Giants (as they are today) played the Eagles at Philly in the late game and earned their first postseason win in a quarter of a century, 27-21.
The great migration started yesterday as Giants and Jets fans piled into cars, buses and campers and headed north and south for Wild-Card Weekend. Although both teams are pegged as underdogs in today's games, the faithful had no patience for the oddsmakers and nothing but scorn for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots.

The Post's Steve Serby sat down with Brandon Short, the starting right outside linebacker two days before the Giants' NFC wild-card showdown with the Eagles:
Q: First time you put on the Giants uniform?
A: A pre-season game against the Ravens. Driving to the stadium, my car conked. Me and Ron Dixon had to push it off to the side of the road, and a teammate [George Williams] rode past (on Route 17), picked us up and took us to the stadium.

Jeremiah Trotter was a struggling rookie in 1998 when Ray Rhodes, then the Eagles head coach, told him there was someone he should meet. Someone from whom he could learn a lot. Someone to whom he bore an on-field resemblance. That someone was Harry Carson.

They are a couple of guys named Brian, alike in many ways. Neither is physically imposing. They each have intangibles that set them apart, make them the Eagles' No. 1 playmakers on each side of the ball and the players the Giants must worry about the most in today's NFC wild-card playoff game. Brian Dawkins and Brian Westbrook were the key to the Eagles beating the Giants, 36-22, just three weeks ago, turning in big plays when they mattered most.
The seemingly ageless Dawkins won NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for making 16 tackles, forcing two fumbles, picking off a pass and knocking down two others. Westbrook compiled 137 yards of offense and scored two touchdowns. In fact, he has scored 10 touchdowns and compiled 1,011 net yards in his last 10 games against the Giants.

NFL East News
Cowboys - All Tony Romo had to do was put the ball down and let Martin Gramatica make an easy kick - just 19 yards, even closer than an extra point. He couldn't do it. And just like that, it all slipped away from the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's bobble on the field-goal try with 1:19 left led to a scramble that ended two yards shy of the end zone and a yard short of a first down, preserving a 21-20 victory for the Seattle Seahawks in the wildest of wild-card games last night.

NFL News
Sean Payton might have had the toughest coaching job in football this season, making his selection Saturday as The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year that much more impressive. Payton, in his first year as a head coach, didn't just lead the New Orleans Saints to a 10-6 record, the NFC South championship and a first-round playoff bye. He helped revitalize a battered city's spirit.
The Colts put away the Chiefs, 23-8, yesterday, a game that looked more like early August than the first step to the Super Bowl. The truth is, these teams shouldn't have been playing under the same roof in the first place. Kansas City needed a nice-sized miracle to get this far.

Jan 6 Jeremy Shockey's left ankle may not be 100%, but it appears it will be good enough for him to start tomorrow. Though Tom Coughlin remained non-committal, the Giants tight end is expected to start the wild-card matchup with the Eagles. Shockey was still limping in the locker room yesterday, but after he made it through a second straight practice without a setback, Coughlin said "I think Jeremy has made good progress" this week. Asked directly if Shockey will be playing tomorrow, Coughlin paused before saying "We'll see."
Shockey was not made available to the media Friday. His progress will be monitored through today's walk-through and a decision will likely be made 90 minutes before kickoff. "I cannot imagine that Shockey will not play," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "Right now, we are going into the game saying that Shockey will be there. He is such a great competitor. [Backup] Visanthe Shiancoe played well against the Redskins. So we are preparing for both. That's part of the game plan. But like I said, we believe Shockey will be out there."
Shockey leads the Giants with 66 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns despite another injury-filled season. Foot and hand injuries preceded his ankle injury, sustained when Saints safety Jay Bellamy chop-blocked him during the Giants' 30-7 loss Dec. 24. Shockey made eight catches for 70 yards in a loss to the Eagles Dec. 17 at Giants Stadium. "He's made a lot of big plays," Manning said. "You definitely want your better players and starting tight end out there with you."

Out of a wretched season of rubble, out of the ashes of despair, rises a New York Giants football team that expects to win tomorrow in Philadelphia. "I love this game plan!" Tiki Barber said outside the Big Blue locker room, across from the Super Bowl XXI and XXV insignias on the wall. Why is that? The best player on the team hasn't always liked Tom Coughlin's game plans, and the one that irked him the most was the 23-0 playoff disgrace a year ago against Carolina, when Barber carried the ball 13 times for 41 yards and was helpless to stop Eli Manning's fall.
This marks a 180-degree reversal from the immediate aftermath of that day, when Barber railed that John Fox outcoached Coughlin. "I think what Carolina tried to do to us, we're trying to do to Philly," Barber said. "If we lose this game it'll be because we got beat by a better team, or we made mistakes," Barber said. "Because, we're confident right now in what we have planned for these guys. We know we're gonna give a great effort. We know we're gonna play as hard as we can. It's just a matter of doing it consistently."
Every game Tiki Barber plays from here on in could turn into his farewell appearance. And there's nothing the Eagles would like to do more in tomorrow's wildcard playoff matchup than to give him a big, bruising sendoff. Jeremiah Trotter knows all about the bruising part. For two games this year, he knocked the heck out of Barber. In Game 2 this season, his work at middle linebacker helped limit Barber to just 51 yards on 21 carries. And he got quite a few licks in on Barber during a 75-yard, 19-carry effort in the second meeting just three weeks ago. So Trotter knows exactly what needs to be done to limit the Giants' all-time leading rusher, which means Barber knows what's coming, too. "I know them better than anybody. We expect eight, nine guys in the box, but we're going to try to be successful anyway," Barber said.

Eli Manning was under intense pressure from the Eagles on Sept. 17, when they sacked him eight times. Yet he still threw for 371 yards and completed a game-winning touchdown pass under pressure in overtime. That's given him a little confidence that he won't be overwhelmed. "If they want to bring it, we're going to have to do a good job of blocking it up and try to get the ball down the field," Manning said. "If we hit a few of those, we'll get them out of the blitz."
The Eagles' two starting cornerbacks are 5-10. The Eagles' two starting safeties are 6-feet. Plaxico Burress is 6-5, has ridiculously long arms and an incredible leaping ability. He is a gigantic mismatch for the Eagles, especially one-on-one. And he's likely to be single-covered if you believe the talk coming out of the Philly locker room. They've put a bull's eye on Barber and plan on loading eight defenders in the box. They also plan to blitz Manning all day long. If they do, they won't have enough defenders to double Burress. That's what happened in the first game, when Burress caught six passes for 114 yards, including the game-winning 31-yarder in overtime.

One source with knowledge of the thinking of the owners said if the Giants do not upset the Eagles, Coughlin gets fired. Up on the board was a list of all the veteran players, and next to their names was the number of playoff appearances for each of them. Bob Whitfield: 15 years in the league, six playoff games. Antonio Pierce: Six years, no playoff games. Tiki Barber: Nine years, six playoff games. Jeff Feagles: 19 years, five playoff games. Giants coach Tom Coughlin wanted to make certain the message was seen and heard, loud and clear: Only the foolish take this opportunity for granted.

Statistics can be deceiving, but it is interesting to note that for all the hand-wringing over the Giants' offensive shortcomings, New York averaged just two fewer points per game over the final five weeks of the regular season than last year's team. The difference has come on the other side of the ball, where the Giants' defense allowed five more points per game in the final five games of 2006 compared to 2005. A spate of injuries this season somewhat skews the comparison, but the numbers reflect a big step backward.

Congratulations, Giants fans! Your team is in the playoffs. And do you know what this means? That's right! You have to watch this team for one more week! Has there ever been a less satisfying NFL playoff team than these Giants? They are 8-8, tied for the worst record ever among playoff teams. And that might be the best thing you can say about them. What is the worst you could say?

It's pretty obvious who won the battle of X's and O's the last time the Eagles played the Giants. Andy Reid was voted Coach of the Week, which made the Giants the most out-coached one of the week. Luckily for the Giants, they know what kept them off-balance in that game. Whether they can fix it comes down to several matchups. In general, the Giants have to control the game offensively because their defense has become a weak spot. In particular, they have to play the game so that a struggling Eli Manning can just manage the offense and not carry it.

Head coach Andy Reid handed over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg in the middle of the season. The former Lions head coach has gotten Westbrook more involved in the offense. He ran for 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns this season. "This is everything I've been asking for," Westbrook said. "To just get the opportunity to run the ball a little more, to get the opportunity to get the ball in my hands a little more. I'm happy coach is finally giving me the opportunity. I've worked hard before and at some point he made up his mind to give me the ball more and I've made the most of my opportunity." Westbrook has been aided by one of the best offensive lines in the league. Andrews made the Pro Bowl this year and tackle Jon Runyan always is among the league's best.

Wilma McNabb may be the Eagles' team mom, but when it comes to Jeff Garcia, it's no soup for him. In a blog on her Web site last week, Donovan McNabb's mom - who co-stars with her son in soup commercials on TV - stirred it up by writing that it would be "bittersweet" if Garcia leads her beloved Birds to the Super Bowl. She fears fickle Philly fans would "crucify" her son, the Eagles' injured quarterback. She may not be very sporting, but she could be right. In an unlikely courtship, Garcia has won the hearts of this gritty city without pity. He's done it not just by being the caretaker of McNabb's offense but by helping it to evolve into a more diverse challenge to defensive coordinators.

When David Diehl anchors an offensive line that allows running back Tiki Barber to rush for an NFL season-best 234 yards, as he did last week against Washington, to virtually clinch the 8-8 Giants' playoff berth, he is continuing the success his father always saw for him. "He'd work these long hours [as a milkman in their native Illinois], leaving first thing in the morning and not getting back until dinnertime, and all those years he was doing that, I knew he was doing it for us," Diehl said of himself and his two older brothers. "I never heard him complain. ... I'm proud to be just like my dad."
Diehl has missed only one practice since becoming a Giant, and that was last week when his wife, Nicole, gave birth to their first child, daughter Addison Elizabeth. The absence gave Diehl only one real day of practice at his new position (the usual left guard also filled in at right tackle this season), but the natural high of his family addition propelled him to play so well.

Amani Toomer can't figure out what's more painful: missing the playoffs or missing out on another chance to face the Eagles. They're both equally enjoyable to him, especially considering he caught 12 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns the first time around in Philadelphia. Surgery to repair a torn left ACL at midseason waylaid his plans, and Toomer is now just trying to get back in time for next training camp. But his heart was with his teammates as he continued his rehab yesterday.
"I love playing against the Eagles," Toomer said. "And not preparing for them, plus how wide-open the NFC is - it hurts. We have a good chance to win the whole thing here. Everybody in our conference is struggling." Toomer had his operation eight weeks ago yesterday, and has regained total range of motion. It's a matter of regaining strength now. "I wish I could be out there," he said.

He is still awed by his locker at Giants Stadium. As Giants defensive back R.J. Cobbs sits in front of it, the shadow it casts is bigger than he can fill. It's not because Cobbs is a rookie free agent on a playoff team. No, it's because his locker once belonged to the one man whose shadow no one can fill: Lawrence Taylor. "He's L.T., man," Cobbs said. "He basically is the Giants. He's the G-man. To be a part of this and be in this man's locker is unreal."
If Cobbs sounds like he's speaking with childlike exuberance, it's because the Parsippany Hills High School graduate grew up with the Giants. He is old enough to remember when Taylor led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles, in the 1986 and 1990 seasons. And even though it's now his, Cobbs treats Taylor's locker as if it were made of porcelain.
Seemingly from out of nowhere, cornerback R.J. Cobbs is set to be in uniform and play for the Giants tomorrow. Who? Cobbs, signed to the practice squad Dec. 19, was placed on the active roster Tuesday when Corey Webster was put on injured reserve. Cobbs grew up 25 minutes from Giants Stadium, attended Parsippany Hills High School and later UMass, and was assigned the locker once used by Lawrence Taylor, a stall adorned with a gold plaque with Taylor's name inscribed on it and a huge color poster of Taylor in action.

The Giants and Jets are both in the playoffs for the first time in four years. Both are playing division rivals on Sunday within driving distance for most fans. Tickets haven't exactly been scarce, but they've been selling at a premium -- an average of $309 for each ticket to the Giants-Eagles game sold through StubHub.com, and $226 for each ticket to the Jets game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. One pair of front-row Giants-Eagles tickets sold for $1,500 on eBay on Wednesday. For many fans, those prices simply were too high.
For others, the idea of spending four or five hours rubbing elbows with Eagles fans, who have a reputation for treating visitors with malice, was not appealing. After all, these are the people who pelted Santa Claus with snowballs during a 1968 game at Franklin Field. There were so many fights at the old Veterans Stadium that the city posted a judge there on game days to dish out fines and jail time in a makeshift basement courtroom.

The New York Jets might lead the league in being overshadowed. They've routinely been bumped off the back pages of New York tabloids this season in favor of the Giants, and have often been a secondary topic of conversation on local sports radio and television talk shows. Apparently in New York, good news is no news. That's fine with the Jets, who are headed to the playoffs -- just like the Giants --- but on a vastly different path. The Jets won their last three games to clinch a surprising trip to the playoffs with their innovative young coach, Eric Mangini, and comeback kid, quarterback Chad Pennington. Even a day after Pennington was named the AP Comeback Player of the Year, it wasn't enough to warrant the top story in New York. The back page was shared by the Giants and the Yankees' trade of Randy Johnson.

Jan 5 As the Eagles and their rabid fans line up to throw everything and everyone from Chuck Bednarik to Bill Bergey to Jeremiah Trotter and Brian Dawkins and maybe even Vince Papale to ambush Tiki Barber, anxiety-stricken Giant fans awaiting doomsday cringe at a sobering reality: This is ELI-mination Sunday. A year ago, John Fox - and Tom Coughlin - eliminated Barber (13-41 rushing) from the gameplan and dared Eli Manning to beat his Panthers in his first playoff game. Manning (10-18, 113 yards 3 INTs) was a disaster in the 23-0 embarrassment, as he couldn't even complete a single pass to Plaxico Burress. Now Andy Reid and wily defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who will not allow Barber (40-126 in two games against the Eagles this season) to run for 234 yards, will dare Manning to beat them.

The Eagles lived in the Giants backfield in the first game the teams played this season, sacking Manning eight times. He came back, though, with a huge fourth quarter and overtime in the Giants' 30-24 win. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said that performance will be in the back of the Eagles' minds Sunday. "I think they still know what a good quarterback he is," Johnson said.
"He can get on fire. I think guys watch film [of him] against us that first game in that fourth quarter when got on fire, so I think they have respect for him and I know I do."
Said Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown: "People don't watch the film and watch the 60 plays he's playing. They just see the three or four errors and say, 'What was he thinking about?' " Brown was one of the players the Eagles used to pressure Manning when the Eagles and Giants met three weeks ago - a 36-22 Philly win.

The Eagles know Tiki Barber better than any other opponent, know his style, his traits, his football psyche. Advantage Eagles? "I know them better than anybody as well," Barber shot back. The Eagles have informed the Giants and the world that they will target Barber, coming off a franchise-record, 234-yard outburst, more feverishly than ever, putting an extra defender such as menacing safety Brian Dawkins up at the line of scrimmage, daring Barber to run into a big green wall.
Doesn't this mean Barber will accept a lesser role while others on the Giants offense make the Eagles pay for this strategy? "You can't ever believe that," Barber retorted. "You can't ever start to say 'I'm out of this gameplan, let's see what else is going to happen' because when you start doing that, you've destined yourself for failure. I've never, ever taken that approach to anything. I've always told myself I'm going to be successful no matter what the circumstances."

New York Giants center Shaun O'Hara can spend hours watching videotapes of the Philadelphia Eagles' blitz package, knowing that there is going to be something new on game day. It's almost a guarantee. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson always seems to come up with a new wrinkle for his blitzes, and O'Hara expects the same when the Giants (8-8) play Philadelphia (10-6) in the NFC wild card game on Sunday.
Like almost all NFL teams, O'Hara said, the Eagles have three or four standard blitzes in their package. "You prepare for that," O'Hara said Thursday. "Philly does a lot of one-time blitzes. That's what makes their package so tough. They will do something one time and if you focus on that one, they'll come up with another one. You don't have enough time in a day to go over all the one-time blitzes."

In basketball, they say you can't teach height. That's true in football, too, especially when you're a 5-foot-something cornerback trying to defend 6-5 Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress on a fade route in the end zone. In two regular-season meetings, Burress has burned the Eagles for a combined 12 catches, 234 yards and one touchdown. The score was a 31-yard catch in overtime to cap the Giants' comeback win in Week 2. Philadelphia's starting cornerbacks are Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, both listed at 5-10 but in reality more like 5-8. You do the math.
"If it's a jump-ball situation, it's almost like playing against Shaq in the paint," Brown said yesterday after practice. "If it's just regular route running, then it's just like any other wide receiver." Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is concerned about Burress' size, especially since the Eagles love to blitz and leave their corners on an island. It's a risk they'll probably take, but there's only so much a defensive back can do to offset a six- or seven-inch height advantage.
Tim Carter has been the forgotten man for a long while in the Giants' passing game, even after he took over as the No. 2 wide receiver midway through the season, when Amani Toomer went on injured reserve with a torn ACL. Carter had half of his 22 catches during the final eight games, when he was on the field far more than he'd ever been in his five seasons with the Giants. Tom Coughlin went out of his way to praise Carter's route-running in Jacksonville. Perhaps that was a public reminder to Eli Manning that there were other receivers to throw to besides Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey, who had 67 of Manning's 141 completions in the final eight games.
Carter, David Tyree and rookie Sinorice Moss had 14 of Manning's 26 passes thrown their way against the Redskins on Saturday. There were only four completions, but three drew penalties on the Redskins' secondary, including a 31-yard interference call against Sean Taylor covering Carter that set up a 6-yard TD pass to Carter. Carter has dropped a few passes thrown his way, but even reminding the Eagles that another wide receiver besides Burress, who had 12 catches for 234 yards in two games against Philadelphia this season, can be a threat is important. "Spreading the ball around, it's definitely a better way for us to succeed," Carter said.

Jeremy Shockey slowly is working his way back into the Giants' lineup. And his teammates can't wait for him to arrive. "He's our emotional leader," center Shaun O'Hara said. "Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but you know you're going to get the same thing from him every time. And I love him for it. We're hoping we can have him." Shockey's status for Sunday was still questionable yesterday after he was unable to make it through a full practice because of his injured left ankle. It was his first attempt at practicing since he suffered the injury on Dec. 24 against the Saints.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, the man responsible for containing the likes of Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress and a hobbled Jeremy Shockey, is sure he'll see the main Giants offensive weapons on the field Sunday in the NFC wild card. "I cannot imagine that Shockey will not play," Johnson said. "Right now we are going into the game saying that Shockey is going to be there." Shockey yesterday returned to practice for the first time after missing last week's regular-season finale in Washington with a sprained left ankle. Shockey looked spry running and catching during individual drills. He did not participate in every portion of the team period, he did enough to leave the Giants optimistic that, unless he suffers a setback, he'll start.
Backup tight end Visanthe Shiancoe started in Washington and had 1 reception for 8 yards in the Giants' 34-28 victory. Tiki Barber rushed for a club-record 234 yards on 23 carries. Coincidence? Shiancoe said he did not think so, and he may have had a point. The Giants appeared to stick with the running game longer than they would have had Shockey been available. The Giants also did not miss a beat when Shockey was limited by an injured right ankle at the start of the season. They won six of their first eight games with Shiancoe occasionally filling in.
With Shockey sidelined in the overtime of the Giants' 30-24 victory in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, Shiancoe wrested away a 9-yard pass from safety Brian Dawkins, sustaining the game-winning drive. But Shockey is clearly a better fit in the offense. When Barber was asked Tuesday about the impact Shockey's absence had in Washington, he said: "We were forced to run the ball. It hurts our intermediate pass game, and this is not a slight on Shiancoe at all. But he's inexperienced in there." Barber, who ran for touchdowns of 15, 55 and 50 yards against the Redskins, added that Shiancoe was a good blocker.

If the Giants don't have a good plan to slow the Eagles' two runners -- while also making sure they keep Garcia pinned in the pocket -- they will be in for a very long wild-card playoff afternoon Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. After shocking the Giants with their running attack, Philadelphia rolled up 204 yards on the ground the next week in beating Dallas in what proved to be the NFC East title-deciding game. Meanwhile, the Giants were gutted for 235 yards on the ground the next week by New Orleans. They cut that number to 128 in beating the Redskins last week, but still showed vulnerability against the run they did not demonstrate earlier in the season.
The middle of the Giants' defense, where few dared to tread early in the season, has become the latest problem area for a defense ranked lower than that of any other playoff team. With close to a half-ton of interior linemen, the Eagles will look to pick up where they left off three weeks ago. This offensive line, which offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg says is the best he's ever coached, has been pounding the run since the Eagles changed their approach at midpoint of the season and is getting more in sync each week after starting all 16 games together.
The guys Andy Reid calls his "big lug nuts" surprised the Giants three weeks ago by attacking inside, paving the way for Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter. But even if they know it's coming this time, can the Giants stand up to it? Defensive tackle Barry Cofield was a splendid surprise earlier this season, but he hit a rookie wall and is being spelled by William Joseph more and more. Fred Robbins has been the Giants' most consistent player all season but he can't hang in there alone. Michael Strahan was superb against the run but he's gone, and middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, unlike Eagles counterpart Jeremiah Trotter, isn't a point-of-attack player. His production has gone down as he has been swept up in the traffic.

The New York Giants have a message for Philly: Bring on the boobirds. Heading into Sunday's first-round playoff game against the Eagles, the Giants expect plenty of venom from the notoriously boorish fans at Lincoln Financial Field. And that's just the way they like it. "We love boos," linebacker Antonio Pierce said. The Giants (8-8) have embraced their underdog status against the Eagles (10-6). They've been written off by the media, and have adopted the us-against-the-world mentality that troubled teams always seem to use as a rallying point.
"That's the way the season has been all the way with the media," Pierce said. "Everybody picked against us, so we're just going to go with that theme and stay with it." They won't get any sympathy from the Eagles, who were counted out when they were 5-6 and Donovan McNabb was lost for the season. Typical of most division rivalries, the teams don't like each other much.
After the Colts beat the Eagles 45-21 Nov. 26 to drop Philadelphia to 5-6, Andy Reid walked into the postgame press conference as glum as anyone had ever seen the Eagles coach. "We'll go back and look at [things], try to correct them and move on from here," Reid said. All appeared lost, but the Eagles won their last five games, their longest season-ending streak since 1949, to win their fifth NFC East title in six seasons.
After the Giants beat the Texans 14-10 Nov. 5 to improve to 6-2 and increase their lead in the East to two games, center Shaun O'Hara stood in front of his locker with a satisfied look. "We found a way to win," O'Hara said. "That's what you have to do to become a great team." All appeared rosy, but the Giants lost six of eight to squeeze into the playoffs as a wild card. These rivals meet for the third time Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in the first round of the playoffs. They are already tossing rhetorical footballs in preparation.

The Giants are up against it - even if you couldn't hear their knees knocking - but they would have people believe that January is the new September. They call this the start of the second season, and insist that nothing that came before it matters, which is the same pregame speech used by the coach of the Washington Generals. "We can't worry about what our record is because we don't have a record right now," says cornerback Sam Madison. "It's zero-zero. We're starting over."
And linebacker Antonio Pierce adds, "It's a brand new season because who wants to remember the old season?" Right. That old season, those 16 bothersome games, didn't work out the way the Giants expected them to. They were 1-2, 6-2, 6-6, 7-8. And on the last weekend, when they'd crawl into playoffs if the right teams lost, and great quantities of trans-saturated fat were tossed into the Hudson, the Giants beat a down-and-out Washington team. Just barely beat the Redskins. So here they are, making their new-season speeches, and wishing on a star.

For the last 10 years, the Giants have suffered through bad playoff experiences, some so extreme that the NFL history book was rewritten just for them. It began in 1997 when they choked away a nine-point lead with two minutes left in the wild-card game against the Vikings, and continued last season when Carolina came to the Meadowlands and issued a punishing and embarrassing shutout. In each instance, the Giants didn't lose gracefully or honorably; they left the field in shame, dragging their egos and reputations behind them.
The good thing about their latest trip to the postseason is nobody expects much from them. The stakes, along with any hopes to last more than a week, are much lower now. Therefore, if the Giants fall as most expect Sunday in Philadelphia, at least they won't fall too far. Only Goliaths topple like trees; after a 2-6 finish to the regular season, the Giants are more like bushes, just hoping not to blow away or get trampled on.

The one thing these Giants have been consistently good at all year is talking a very good game. Often they talk a better game than they play. Yet when Eagles defensive end Trent Cole said, "We can get (Eli Manning) rattled. You get him rattled and his game starts going downhill," the Giants simply smiled and said they would do their best to protect their quarterback. When the Eagles said they'd put a "bull's-eye" on Tiki Barber and Brian Dawkins said their defense planned to be "dominating," all the Giants said was, "We'll see." "We talked a little earlier in the preseason about the Super Bowl," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "Then in the regular season we talked about this team and it got us nowhere. It got us 8-8. And everybody's been on us about talking so much. This is about going out and playing the way we want to play. Hopefully we'll let our play do the talking."
It seems as if Giants CB Sam Madison is tired of talking about Sunday's wild-card playoff game against the Eagles. The 10th-year veteran, who signed with the Giants before this season after nine years with the Dolphins, got snippy with a few reporters yesterday, especially when asked if he felt he was being picked on in the Giants' Week 2 comeback win over the Eagles. Madison was the closest defender for six completions for 93 yards and a touchdown. "Pick on me? I had one play where I slipped and that was pretty much it," he said. "So I don't understand your question."
Madison was then told he was close on several completions, including four to Donte' Stallworth, who beat him for a 20-yard touchdown on a stop-and-go route (the play on which he slipped). Stallworth also was open on a short out that was underthrown and later dropped a ball when he had beaten Madison on a hook. "Do you know what coverage we were in?" he asked. "So how were they picking on me?" When asked what coverage the Giants were in, Madison said, "I don't know."
He then said he went back and looked at the film after the game. "I wasn't in coverage," he said. At that point, Madison ended the exchange by facetiously agreeing he was picked on and promising to play better on Sunday. "No, (Stallworth) beat me up and down the field, so yeah, I'm going to be focused," he said.

Jan 4 After rushing for a career-high 234 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-28 win at Washington, Tiki Barber was named as the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday. Barber's total was the highest by a running back in his final regular-season game, surpassing Hall of Famer Cliff Battles' mark of 165 yards set in 1937. In his 10th and last season with the Giants, Barber has earned seven NFC Player of the Week awards, including two this season.

Jeremy Shockey is back to practice. Well, almost. The Giants' Pro Bowl tight end did light work on the sideline yesterday, but did not participate in the team portion of practice because of a sprained left ankle. He's listed as questionable for Sunday's playoff game against the Eagles after missing the regular-season finale against the Redskins. "The swelling is down considerably from what it was last week," coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday morning.
"He improves each day. We're just going to have to see about that." Shockey spoke to reporters for the first time since Saints safety Jay Bellamy dove onto his ankle late in New Orleans' 30-7 win at Giants Stadium on Christmas Eve. He said he "did everything last week" to play against the Redskins, but was unable to make enough progress.
As you might expect, that didn't sit well with Shockey. Nor would sitting out a playoff game. He wasn't able to practice yesterday, but he did some individual work on the side while his teammates practiced and Coughlin said Shockey will try to practice today. Even if he runs only one route this week, he'll be out there. "I did everything last week I could to make that game," Shockey said. "You lose and you're out. I want to be with that team. I felt bad not making that trip. So I want to do everything I can this week, I told [Coughlin], to get back and to push it. We'll see how it feels and get an early signal in the week and just move from there."
Even missing the finale, Shockey ended the season as the team leader with 66 catches and had seven touchdowns. He wasn't always used the right way, with only 25 of his receptions coming in the first half of games, when the emotional tight end has been at his most excitable and his healthiest. But he is still one of the top pass-catching tight ends in the game, so if he plays, the Eagles will have to account for him.

The plan is for Shockey to practice today. If he does, it will be a major step forward in the return of the Pro Bowl tight end to a Giants offense that sorely misses his production and emotion. "He wants to play, very badly," Coughlin said. The injury occurred two weeks ago against the Saints, when Shockey felt he was hit with a cheap-shot by safety Jay Bellamy. There was no penalty called on the play, which continues to irk Shockey. "They probably won't be calling the Super Bowl game," Shockey said of Bill Carollo's officiating crew. The ankle, Shockey said, remains sore, and he's listed as questionable to face the Eagles, the team he burned for eight catches back on Dec. 17. "It's the nature of this sport, getting hurt," he said. "You have to deal with the injuries. It's the one thing I don't deal with very well."
Shockey's presence would be important for the Giants to have a chance against a Philadelphia defense that has vowed to limit the running of Tiki Barber. Without Shockey to concern them, the Eagles could stick nine men in the box, plaster two defenders to Plaxico Burress and dare Eli Manning to beat them with the other alternatives: Tim Carter, David Tyree, Sinorice Moss, Visanthe Shiancoe, etc. The Redskins could not limit Barber, and that's why the Giants still are playing.
Shiancoe and Johnson, playing in his first NFL game after being signed off the practice squad, handled the tight end duties. Shockey said his two replacements played well and certainly had blocking input into Barber's 234-yard outburst. But neither presents the pass-catch threat that Shockey, who had 66 catches in the regular season, provides when healthy. "Shockey has been one of the better tight ends in the league, so whenever he's on the field you have to keep a close eye on him," said Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. "But our game plan doesn't change.''

Plaxico Burress thinks he knows exactly what the Eagles' defense is going to do on Sunday in the NFC wild-card game. "Oh, yeah. They haven't changed in the four or five games I've played them," the Giants' No. 1 receiver said yesterday. "They're still the same team. They probably have a couple of guys that are different on defense, but their scheme is pretty much the same. "They bring pressure, blitz and try to make a quarterback uncomfortable." In any other week, Burress' confidence might be construed as more unsubstantiated trash-talk from the Giants' locker room. But he wasn't simply giving his opinion; Burress was stating a fact: The Eagles will be gunning for Eli Manning.
The play of Manning this time probably will decide if there is another playoff game this season. "Eli is easy. You don't need to rah-rah him," Tiki Barber said. "This is about doing your job the best you can. Listen, I haven't been through the wringer that much, either. I've only been to [six] playoff games in my career. It's a different season. He's aware of it. He'll be better. It's good to have adversity. It's made me into the player I am. It's hard to be a quarterback in this league, especially when you've struggled because they come after you." While the Giants say they trust Manning with a big game, it's clear the Eagles have a different opinion. Their swarming defenders, urged to blitz by defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, have promised to rattle Manning into mistakes. Manning's 18 interceptions puts him in the top five in the league.

Antonio Pierce is readying himself for the first playoff game of his career, preparing for battle at that Philly loony bin called Lincoln Financial Field, where, he says, "They boo you, they flip you off, they moon you, they do everything to make you want to play football over there." Usually good for an incendiary remark or two, Pierce is admittedly jacked-up for his postseason debut, but the only trash he's throwing around is in large garbage bags back at his North Jersey townhouse. If anyone is going to light a fire under the Eagles, it will not be Pierce, who yesterday doused any potential sparks before even the threat of ignition.
Antonio Pierce hated every minute of last year's playoff game, watching it from the sidelines while leaning on crutches. He had waited five years to step into the playoff spotlight. It killed him to be unable to run onto the stage. So consider it extra motivation for the chronically underappreciated linebacker that one year later he's been given a second shot at postseason stardom. He's waited his entire six-year career for a day like this Sunday, when the Giants (8-8) play a wild-card game at Philadelphia (10-6). He doesn't plan on wasting his big chance. "It's the month of January," Pierce said yesterday. "Everybody remembers people in January. They don't remember you in September, October or November. Not even in December. But they remember you in January and February."

The Eagles are a far better team than Washington, though hardly a dominant one despite five straight wins heading into the playoffs. Their running game is just as potent as the Giants', with Westbrook finishing fourth in the conference with 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns. Given the state of the Giants' run defense, even with a perfectly healthy Pierce in there, it will be a big task trying to stop him.
"They make plays," Pierce said after a reporter noted that Westbrook got a lot of his 97 yards and two touchdowns up the middle, where Pierce patrols, in the team's last meeting. The Giants lost that one 36-22. "It was one of those things where, not just me, but everybody in our defense has to play better. And the way (the Eagles) have been playing, it doesn't seem anybody has been doing well against them the last five games."
Actually, Westbrook has gone over 100 yards only once in the winning streak, in the 23-7 win over the Cowboys the week after the Giants game. Since they only just met three weeks ago, at least the vision of Westbrook making yardage on Pierce will be fresh in the middle linebacker's mind. Maybe too fresh. Maybe too many people have run for too much against a defense that must come together in short order.

Mathias Kiwanuka has seen all kinds of quarterbacks this season - ones who run to gain yards, ones who run to find space to throw, and ones like the Eagles' Jeff Garcia, who can do both. The rookie defensive end played in all 16 games but Sunday will be the first time he'll see a quarterback start against the Giants for the second time. Kiwanuka played the second half in Dallas on Oct. 23, when Tony Romo stepped in for Drew Bledsoe, but the Giants hadn't planned on seeing Romo. "I always understand what the coaches are saying, what they're talking about, and now I'll see it on the field, too," Kiwanuka said. "You know you have to keep guys like [Garcia] in the pocket because once you start chasing them, you open up too many things."

Ever since T.O. was run out of Philly, it has been smooth sailing for the Eagles - at least off the field. "I've never been through a year like this," Brian Dawkins said after the Eagles clinched the division last Sunday. "This has definitely been a year of some real lows. To hang together, to not point fingers, to stick with it, to not backbite each other ... that says a lot. When we hit the field now, we expect to do special things."
The players "weren't questioning coaches," said Andy Reid, who didn't get second-guessed by his stars like Tom Coughlin did by Jeremy Shockey after a loss in Seattle and Tiki Barber after a dismal defeat in Jacksonville. Reid also didn't have to deal with players going on radio stations questioning teammates' efforts like Michael Strahan did to Plaxico Burress after a loss to Tennessee, or team leaders Strahan and Barber taking on media members.

Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid and his teammates will be counting on Brian Dawkins' fire and intensity on Sunday when they face the Giants in the first round of the playoffs. With so many Eagles making their first postseason appearance, the veteran leadership of Dawkins will be key. "He's a Hall of Famer if you ask me," Eagles rookie linebacker Omar Gaither said. "He showed us how to do it during the tough times. I don't think you can ask for more from anybody." In the Eagles' past eight games, Dawkins has been all over the field -- forcing two fumbles, picking off three passes and recording 44 tackles. It's no coincidence that the Eagles have gone 6-2 during that stretch as Dawkins' play has taken some of the weight off of the others on defense.
Eagles free safety Brian Dawkins has faced the Giants 22 times in his career, so he knows what to expect Sunday when the teams meet in an NFC wild-card game. "It's going to be a war," Dawkins said. The Pro Bowl safety is preparing his teammates for a game featuring bone-crunching hits and more talk than "Letterman" and "Leno" combined. "I believe this is going to be a hard-hitting game," Dawkins said. "It's going to be a trash-talking game on the field. And it is going to be a game where two teams that respect each other, but probably don't like each other a lot, are going to touch the field."

Jan 3 In the days after the Eagles' 36-22 win at Giants Stadium last month, a few of the Giants' defensive players admitted privately they weren't ready for Philadelphia's offensive game plan. "We thought they might try to run the ball a little bit," one player said, "but all those leads and power runs? We had no idea they would try that." As Tiki Barber or Jeremy Shockey might say, the Giants' defense was outcoached. But the defensive players weren't saying such things publicly because they didn't want to be cited as questioning their coaching staff's preparation.

The Giants could barely get into 2007 before another season-ending injury befell them. Cornerback Corey Webster re-injured his toe Saturday and was placed on injured reserve, making him technically the sixth starter to be lost for the season. It's technical because Webster, the 2005 second-round pick, began the season as a starter, sat out four games with the initial toe injury and returned to be the nickel corner, with R.W. McQuarters having taken Webster's starting spot.

Standing in the parking lot outside Giants Stadium, not quite far enough north on the Turnpike to truly feel safe from the brutalization that awaits him from Jeremiah Trotter in the modern-day version of Sam Huff versus Jim Brown or Jim Taylor, Tiki Barber smiles a masochistic smile as he imagines the imminent bloodbath when the Second Season begins Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Linc.
"There's no other team that we can be as excited to play as the Eagles, specifically because they are such an intense rival for us," Barber said. "It's weird, because the relationship with the players ... it's a contradiction, because some of those guys are good, close friends. But then we're on the field and we both want to take our heads off. I think we're all driven and we're all excited when we win over this team."
The "S" that Tiki Barber seemed to have on his chest on Saturday night has already been replaced by a bull's-eye courtesy of the Eagles' defense. But that doesn't mean the Giants' star running back can't give another Superman-like performance. The way the Giants (8-8) had stumbled over the second half of the season, that's exactly what it might take for them to beat the Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) in their wild-card playoff game on Sunday. Eli Manning is struggling, and the rest of the Giants' offense has been stagnant. That puts a lot of pressure on the retiring running back to carry his soon-to-be-ex-teammates once again.
The Giants know they can't rely on the offense revolving around the 234-yard rushing outburst by running back Tiki Barber that saved them last weekend in Washington. The Eagles are going to fill the box with run-stoppers, including safety Brian Dawkins, and dare Manning to beat them with his arm. It's a simple strategy and also completely appropriate, given Manning's inability to make a defense pay. "Eli's a young kid still," Barber said. "People are expecting him to play like a 28 year old. He's 25 years old [turns 26 today], he's in his third season in the NFL, everything doesn't happen quickly. I didn't get it until five years. You give him time, you support him and you build around him as it goes.
The Eagles contained Barber both games, forcing Manning to do more. The Giants believe they have answers for whatever the Eagles' defense tries on Sunday. "If teams want to blitz, it puts our receivers one on one and we feel that we've got the best matchup," Manning said. "The first game they blitzed us and did a good job for a while and then we finally hit some big plays on it. The last game, we had some chances, they blitzed and they had a couple of big plays. We've got to eliminate that and make sure if they do come with a blitz, the best thing they get is a throwaway or a sack. Not get turnovers or mistakes."

Tiki Barber said the offense benefited from Kevin Gilbride's willingness to listen and incorporate. "Kevin is not only great at telling us what we do wrong, but in telling us what we do well," Barber said. "He took input from us on Saturday night, particularly with the running game. If I saw something I'd tell him, and he'd eventually come back to the play or adjust it in a way we needed for it to be productive. And that was an integral part of the victory for us." What seemed to help the Giants more was building a 13-point halftime lead (20-7) which grew to 20 with 24 minutes to play. That enabled Gilbride to accentuate the positive (Barber) and minimize the uncertainty - the play of quarterback Eli Manning.
Kevin Gilbride stuck with the run even after the Redskins closed to 27-21 in the fourth quarter. Barber carried the ball on five of the six snaps on the ensuing possession, which ended with his third touchdown of the game. "But like I've said before," Barber added. "It's not just the play-calling, it's us playing to a higher level. For instance, the final touchdown [50-yard run] was a broken play. Eli [Manning] didn't get the play call coming in, we didn't line up right and it was blocked incorrectly. "But guys like Chris Snee and Shaun O'Hara were able to adjust and [tight end] Darcy Johnson made his block and we wound up with a touchdown. It was guys doing what they had to do even though things weren't going like they were drawn up in the playbook."
The Giants are going to need that kind of execution to be successful against the Eagles and coordinator Jim Johnson, who loves to pressure the opposition. Philadelphia is certain to load up the box with eight or even nine guys to stop Barber. "That's what they've said, but you can't ever know until the actual first few series and you get to diagnose a little bit what their plan is," Barber said. "But that's what we expect, especially after what we did last week in the run game. "That's going to give us opportunities to throw the ball downfield. Plaxico [Burress] and Tim Carter have to rise to another level. And I think they're capable of doing that. It's exciting for those guys."

When the Giants faced Baltimore for the championship in 2001, they were arguably one of the very worst teams ever to reach the Super Bowl. And now, as they prepare for the Eagles on Sunday, they may well be one of the worst teams in NFL history to make the playoffs. Their defense has been spotty. Their quarterback, Eli Manning, has been erratic. They've made more stupid mistakes, committed more infractions than Alan Hevesi. Fortunately, the Giants have one game in Philadelphia to redeem themselves, to make their doubters look like hopeless, snarky cynics.
But the deal works like this: The Giants have got to win a playoff game, finally, if they want everyone to believe that there is some sense of continuity and progress with this franchise. They've got to turn this season into something better than 8-9 and out, because that isn't going to convince anybody that Tom Coughlin is the right coach or that Manning was the right trade.

David Diehl's play might determine whether the Giants move on or lose and see Coughlin twist in the wind. If the Giants' running game is adequate, they stand a reasonable chance of upsetting the Eagles. More struggles on the ground, and they're finished. Maybe the coach, too. Diehl has been one of the most focused, if largely ignored, players on the Giants since joining the team as a fifth-round pick in 2003. He has started every game in that time, mostly at either guard, but also at right tackle. Saturday was his first try at left tackle, and he was brilliant. "David does so many things well," Barber said. "He's a perfectionist, so he is technically very sound." Diehl's contributions allowed the Giants to show the kind of versatility in the running game that they had with Petitgout but couldn't recapture with Whitfield, whose skills have eroded. With Tiki Barber running more to the left side than at any time since Petitgout went out Nov. 12 with a broken bone in his lower left leg, the Giants' tailback rushed for a career-high 234 yards in a season-saving 34-28 win over the Redskins.

If there's one guy in the Giants locker room who isn't worried about spending the postseason on the road, it's Brandon Short. He knows winning road playoff games is not an impossible task; not after having watched Pittsburgh win a Lombardi Trophy last year with three road wins. Certainly not after having experienced two road wins himself last year as a member of the Carolina Panthers. Take all that into account, add a 3-5 home record this year, and the fact that the first of those Carolina wins came at Giants Stadium last playoffs, and maybe it's a good thing the 8-8 Giants have to play Sunday's wildcard game in Philadelphia.
If only because of the mentality such circumstances breed. "It takes everybody understanding that all that matters is the guys on the club," Short said. "To a certain extent, guys can feed off of that because it's an us-against-the-world mentality. When you're on the road, it draws you closer together as a team." Short admitted that, despite that advantage, the preferred way to head into the postseason is at home, in front of the home fans.

Jeff Feagles, who went to the playoffs with the Eagles in 1990 and '92, Seattle in 1999 and the Giants last season, couldn't be happier. When he decided to return for a 19th NFL season last spring, it was largely because he wanted another shot to win a ring. He is 40 years old, but Feagles is still chasing a dream shared by much younger men. "That's really the reason I came back, to try to get to the Super Bowl, and this is the first step," Feagles said. "For it to happen means a lot to me. It means a lot to me because I still have the ultimate goal of getting to the Super Bowl that has never been achieved."

Jan 2 Tiki Barber absorbed several verbal body blows during the NFL Network's three-hour pregame show before the Giants faced the Redskins, with Deion Sanders and Steve Mariucci questioning his priorities and Marshall Faulk his ability to lead. Reporter Adam Schefter put it most pointedly: "You know what, he's mentally checked out right now, and he is more focused on becoming a great broadcaster than he is on being a great football player."
A team-record 234 rushing yards and three touchdowns later, Barber had emphatically shut up assorted media and fan critics, put on a suit and visited the network's set. There he found himself kibitzing about his future with Sanders, who tried to prod him into confirming the poorly kept secret that his most logical landing spot is ABC/ESPN - for a deal that could approach $3 million per year.

Tiki Barber carried the Giants when they needed it most on Saturday night. Now they're hoping Eli Manning can step up and do the same. There hasn't been much evidence of that in what has been a disappointing second half of the season for the Giants' quarterback, who turns 26 tomorrow. He ended the regular season on a down note in Washington Saturday night, completing just 12 of 26 passes (46%) for only 101 yards in the Giants' 34-28 win. But Tom Coughlin is sure he saw signs that Manning is improving. If he's right, with a first-round playoff game in Philadelphia coming on Sunday, the timing couldn't be better for Manning to emerge.
As the Giants head into Sunday's wild-card game against Philadelphia, only the eighth 8-8 team to make the playoffs, Tom Coughlin knows Eli Manning's performance must improve. How much it realistically can is the question. Coughlin would settle for a few more completions after having watched Manning complete just 12-of-26 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins. It marked the second straight week Manning's completion percentage fell well under the .500 mark, a far cry from the 60-percent rate of the first five games of the season.
"The thing that would really make this whole situation that much better, obviously -- and he'd tell you this himself -- is if that (26) passes thrown had like 20 completions," Coughlin said. "We certainly would like to have a higher percentage." Manning certainly needed every yard and every point of Tiki Barber's frachise-record 234 rushing yards and three touchdowns to get this win.
Way back on Sept. 17 in Philadelphia, Manning rebounded from a career-high eight sacks to lead the Giants back from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit to a 30-24 overtime victory. Even in the Giants' 36-22 loss to the Eagles Dec. 17 at Giants Stadium, Manning completed 28 of 40 passes for 282 yards, although he did throw two interceptions. In fact, Manning's top two passing games in terms of completion percentage and passing yardage were against the Eagles this season. Even stranger: His two best completion percentages of 2005 were against the Eagles.

Think of how drastically Manning has regressed. Of the 11 other playoff quarterbacks, who elicits less confidence than Eli? Old men Jeff Garcia and Steve McNair? Young gun Philip Rivers? Untested Tony Romo? Surgically-repaired Chad Pennington? The only quarterback who appears as stunningly incapable of leading a playoff surge is Rex Grossman, but he has the luxury of a dominating Bears defense to fall back on. Not so the Giants. There is no sense waiting or even hoping for a huge defensive stand from this group.
Without Strahan, defensive coordinator Tim Lewis has been completely baffled trying to create even a hint of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. He's hardly dealing off a stacked deck but another formula is needed, or else the back line will continue to be exploited. When young Jason Campbell throws for 220 yards and the Redskins amass 393 total yards and 28 points, it's time for something new.
The defense's biggest problem is the same issue that hurt the unit early in the season: a lack of a pass rush. Only this time it's not because of scheme issues that can be adjusted and corrected. It's because they're missing defensive end Michael Strahan, who's on injured reserve and won't be coming back until next season. "I mean, anyone can see that the pressure is not on the passer the way you'd like it to be," Coughlin said.
"There's just too much time back there." Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell had plenty of time to scramble and freelance in the backfield. Before going 0-for-4 on his final series, Campbell was 21-for-27 for 220 yards while being sacked only once.

This time last year, Tom Coughlin had his headset handed to him by Panthers coach John Fox in a first-round playoff game on the Giants' home field. Barber had the unmitigated gall to say so before a live mike, and after watching and listening as Coughlin pointed out all the flawed athletes wrecking his infallible schemes, he tempered only his public comments for the good of the team. But nobody has to back away from the naked truth this week. Coughlin was an embarrassment in his one and only playoff game as a Giant, and he's not about to get a strike three.
Jim Mora got fired Monday, and so did Dennis Green. Coughlin deserves to join them if his team doesn't beat the Eagles on Sunday in Philly. No, the odds aren't in his favor. On any position-by-position matchup of the Giants and Eagles, the coaching check mark goes to Andy Reid. Without Donovan McNabb, he just turned a 7-9 season into a 10-6 that claimed the NFC East. With Eli Manning, Coughlin turned an 11-5 season into a third-place 8-8. This wasn't what the Giants were paying for when they gave Coughlin a cool 12 million bucks.

Some funny things happened en route to the Eagles' fifth NFC East title in six years. Donovan McNabb (knee) was lost in November, but Jeff Garcia played like a quarterback with Pro Bowl flashbacks. The defense started to resemble an aggressive, Jim Johnson-coordinated unit. And the pass-happy coach, who went to the air at least 60 percent of the time the last two seasons to lead the league, started calling more running plays. During the four-game winning streak before Sunday's meaningless finale, Reid called runs nearly 51 percent of the time. Brian Westbrook's 1,217 rushing yards eclipsed his previous high by 405 yards and didn't preclude a team-high 77 catches for 699 yards. After three NFC title losses and a Super Bowl loss, perhaps the more potent run attack will be the clincher.

Just minutes into a 4:15 p.m. kickoff at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, Detroit Lions linebacker Ernie Sims tackled quarterback Tony Romo short of the goal line in Dallas, securing the Eagles' fifth NFC East crown of the millennium. And if that wasn't enough to make everyone forget things such as a 5-6 start, Donovan McNabb's injury and the Terrell Owens fiasco, the Eagles' backups went out and made it five straight by beating the Atlanta Falcons. And so, thanks to a 17-hour stretch of pure NFL bliss, the stage is set for the most intriguing Wildcard Sunday ever for local fans, with storylines that seemed farfetched two months ago.
The playoffs are supposed to be a new season, so maybe Eli Manning has it in him to complete 50% of his passes, Carrie Underwood's friend Tony Romo will stop turning the ball over and Rex Grossman can get red-hot and actually register on the quarterback rating chart. And maybe one of these years, though it probably won't be this one, Peyton Manning will even make it to the Super Bowl with the one-dimensional Colts. Misery loves company and coaches worrying about quarterbacks have plenty of it. It's the dominant theme of the postseason as Bill Belichick is the only one who can sleep peacefully. Tom Brady is 10-1 with three Super Bowl victories. Now consider the rest of the field.

Jan 1, 2007       --   Happy New Year from Everyone at TeamGiants.com     --
There will be a limited number of tickets for the Giants-Eagles game available beginning Wednesday at 10 a.m. They can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster (215-336-2000) or over the Internet via PhiladelphiaEagles.com. There is a limit of four tickets per order.

The Giants will face their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, in an NFC Wild Card Game in Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m. When they last visited Philly on Sept. 24, the Giants rallied from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 30-24 overtime victory. Two weeks ago, they lost to the Eagles at home, 36-22. "We certainly do know each other," Coach Tom Coughlin said. "Whether it helps or not, we'll have to wait and see, but there's going to be tremendous information gathering that's going on right now as we put this thing together. That's the critical thing." Should the Giants win the Wild Card game, they will advance to the divisional round against the conference's top seed, the Chicago Bears.
The last two opponents on the Giants' 2007 schedule were determined yesterday: they'll face the Falcons for the fifth time in six seasons (in Atlanta for the second year in a row), and will play host to the 49ers for the first time since 2002. In addition to six games against the NFC East, the other opponents are the Jets, Green Bay, Minnesota and New England at home; and Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo and Miami on the road.

The Giants' new offensive play-caller, Kevin Gilbride, won't ever have to worry about getting interference from former offensive coordinator John Hufnagel, whom Tom Coughlin deposed Christmas morning. Hufnagel, originally described as having been reassigned to "administrative" duties, took leave of the team and is no longer in the employ of the Giants. "We worked together on (preparation) last week, and then John felt it was best for him to move on," Coughlin said.
Tom Coughlin is the first Giants head coach in 16 years to steer the franchise into the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, yet there's a chance he'll be dismissed with one year remaining on his contract unless the Giants beat the NFC East champion Eagles in a first-round game Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.

If the Giants want to win in the playoffs, they'd better get their passing game going. To do that, they need their leading receiver on the field. So, Tom Coughlin, will Jeremy Shockey's sprained left ankle heal enough to allow him to play on Sunday against the Eagles? "I'm not sure about that," the coach said on a conference call yesterday. "We're going to have to progress and see." The good news is Shockey can wait two more days. The Giants don't return to practice until Wednesday. But chances are, Shockey will still be limited at best while recovering from an injury that was serious enough to keep one of the toughest players in the league off the train to Washington over the weekend.

With the Dallas Cowboys losing to the Detroit Lions in an early game, the NFC East title had been awarded to the Eagles a few minutes after kickoff. So, they yanked their most prized starters and played the scrubs. That served two purposes: It gave their best players an impromptu bye week, and it gave them an extra three hours to start thinking about the Giants. And Manning. "We can get him rattled," linebacker Trent Cole said. "You've seen it for yourself. You get him rattled and his game starts going downhill."
While Manning was magnificent in leading the Giants back from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit against the Eagles in Philly in Week 2, he has wavered more recently in the face of pressure like the Eagles can bring. That's especially true when teams have been able to contain Barber, who in the two games against the Eagles combined had 40 carries for just 126 yards.
Defensive mastermind Jim Johnson stacked the line and brought the blitz in the last game after the Giants succeeded in spreading the field to stage their impressive Week 2 rally. MLB Jeremiah Trotter was a force in the first game, battering Barber until the Giants got him off the field by forcing the Eagles' nickel alignment to stay on late in the game.

The pattern was becoming more and more obvious as the early part of Saturday night's Giants-Redskins game went on, and Tiki Barber knew good things were about to happen. Barber can tell almost immediately how a defense is trying to contain him, and he knew the Redskins were pinning their hopes on the blitz, sending an extra linebacker and sometimes a defensive back on most plays in the first quarter. He knew then that he would have a big night.
So he turned to fullback Jim Finn and told him to be more patient with his blocking, particularly on a run to the left side. After Barber was stopped for a 1-yard gain early in the second quarter, he told the fullback that if Finn stopped running after the linebacker and instead waited for the defender to run toward him, he could break a big one. Later, on first down from the Giants' 45, Barber ran a similar play between left guard and left tackle, Finn delivered his block, and Barber was gone for a 55-yard touchdown run.

Three days before the Giants would sneak into the NFC playoffs, Brandon Jacobs delivered a bold proclamation to the media. "People that are seeded higher should be worried about the New York Giants," he insisted. At the time, even some of his teammates rolled their eyes. But after their 34-28 win over the Redskins on Saturday night, they don't find those words all that outrageous anymore. "I think it would be a mistake by anyone to not take us seriously," said guard Chris Snee. "We won eight football games. We're in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if anyone thinks we deserve to be in. We know that we deserve to be in."
And now that they are in as just the eighth 8-8 team in NFL history to make the playoffs, the Giants have no intention of making it a short trip. They'll head to Philadelphia on Sunday for their Wildcard game against the Eagles (10-6) brimming with confidence - something they haven't had since they were 6-2 back on Nov. 5.
The Giants meet the Eagles in an opening round match-up that may actually play into the Giants' favor. Sure, the Eagles are on a roll behind the rejuvenated Jeff Garcia, and the Giants have bombed in the first round of their two playoff outings since the 2000 Super Bowl season. But the Eagles are a familiar foe and the Giants won their first meeting in Philly this year when a lot less was on the line. There should be no surprises. Eagles-Giants usually comes down to heart and turnovers. It's a rivalry of respect. The Giants have no reason to feel they can't win.
"We're all excited about this opportunity," Coughlin said. "We've got to have great energy and great focus to beat a team like the Eagles." Truth is, the Giants have nothing to lose. No one expects them to win and advance, not after the Eagles whipped them 36-22 on Dec. 17. You figure the Eagles' defensive pressure will overwhelm Eli Manning like it did a few weeks ago. But Manning can quiet a lot of doubters by winning his first post-season game on the road. "We've just got to find ways to win a game," Manning said. "It won't be easy."

Here are the Giants' two big problems heading into Philadelphia:
- Eli Manning: In the last two games, he's 21-of-51 for 174 yards. New play-caller Kevin Gilbride showed no faith in him with 2:33 remaining and the Giants facing a third-and-10 at their 28 trying to protect a 34-28 lead. Instead of having Manning throwing for the first down, he ran Barber, who picked up seven yards. It's almost impossible to play around the quarterback in the playoffs and unrealistic to think Barber can run for 200 yards against the Eagles after getting just 126 in the two games against them this season.
- The defense: Can Coughlin have any confidence they can shut down the Eagles? They just gave up 393 yards to Washington. They get little pressure on the quarterback and the secondary can't cover. It's a formula for disaster. "Anybody can see the pressure on the passer is not the way you would like it to be," Coughlin said. "There is too much time back there."

As part of a massive four-year, $10 million contract with Disney, Tiki Barber is expected to work for both ABC News and ESPN, The Post has learned. For ABC, Barber will be on two of its most prominent news programs. The agreement calls for Barber, 31, to work on both Good Morning America and 20/20. His exact position has yet to be fully defined.
For ESPN, his role is unknown, but Barber would figure to be a prime candidate if Tony Kornheiser were to decide to leave the Monday Night Football booth. An ESPN spokesman declined comment. By retiring now, Barber relinquished a total of $8.3 million he was owed over the next two years by the Giants.
Instead Barber - barring an injury in the playoffs - will leave the game with his health and will make more money in total over the next four years. While the average per year is less, the chance at a long TV career could prove much more lucrative than a few extra NFL paychecks.

Roy Posner of Haworth, a financial adviser to the Tisch ownership segment of the Giants for 15 years, suffered a fatal heart attack early Sunday morning as the Giants were boarding the train for their return home after the Washington game. Posner, 73, was the chief financial officer and senior vice president of Tisch's Loews Corporation from 1973-97.

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