Dec 31 Just two weeks ago, Perry Fewell oversaw the hottest defense in the NFL. His unit had allowed only 20 points in 11 quarters, a pace that would be nearly impossible to maintain but one that demonstrated the defense's potential. Then, the fourth quarter in Philadelphia happened. In the past five quarters, the Giants have allowed 73 points. Not all are on the defense - few can forget DeSean Jackson's punt return at the end of the Philadelphia game - but the Packers' 45 points last week served as evidence of a defense missing what it once possessed.

In 2006, there was a game sort of like the one the Giants have this weekend: in Washington, Week 17, with calls for Tom Coughlin to be fired, one last shot at the postseason, against a Redskins team whose season was over. Asked this week if he was harkening back to that Saturday night, Coughlin offered up very few memories. "We ran the ball really well that night," he said. They certainly did, with one of the biggest Coughlin criticizers - Tiki Barber - rushing for a career-high 234 yards.
Rip pages calling for Eli Manning to put the football into the air out of the playbook. In doing so, Big Blue might just be able to re-establish the identity they seemingly had figured out just a few weeks ago with a bruising running game behind a love-to-smash-people offensive line. Coincidently, it was also the first time they saw the Redskins. "That's the way we would like it to be," McKenzie said. "But obviously we can only run what's called."
Coughlin is challenging his offensive line and running backs to get it going again and probably reminding offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to stick with the run he got away from last week. Even after the Giants tied the game back up at 14-14, they never got back to pounding the football. They eventually allowed the Packers to win the physical battles up front. "That's something that has to be a strength of your offense to open up things," offensive lineman David Diehl said.

Shaun O'Hara thinks there is a "good chance" he will have to have surgery on his ankle after the season. The Giants' center missed his second day of practice Thursday with a flareup of the lingering ankle/Achilles injury, and could only be hopeful about Sunday's regular-season finale in Landover. He said he felt the pain and soreness about midway through the first quarter of Sunday's loss in Green Bay, his second game back.
O'Hara admitted his performance the past two games was compromised by his physical condition. "It's been tough," he said. "I don't feel like I've been able to move like I normally have." Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said it was "very courageous" for O'Hara to play the past two weeks. "I think that's the love and affection he has for the team, he wanted to go out and give it a shot," Gilbride said.

Signed a day apart in late November, Michael Clayton and Devin Thomas have been with the Giants for five games, and if you told either of them heading into the regular-season finale they wouldn't have a single reception, they would have been, well, more than surprised. "I'm definitely hungry, waiting for my first one, we'll see what happens on Sunday," Clayton said. It's been a long wait for both receivers, but at least one of them figures to be needed against the Redskins.

Tom Coughlin ought to keep his job whether or not he beats the Redskins on Sunday. And whether or not the Packers beat the Bears. The idea that everything should come down to one roll of the dice in Washington is ridiculous. If you want to fire him for losing to the Redskins, fire him now. It's not just the wildly inconsistent quarterback. The big, bad Giants defense has wildly underperformed for weeks. The way their new defensive coordinator, Perry Fewell, has. The guys up front knocked out some quarterbacks and decided they were the modern version of the Fearsome Foursome. Well, not lately.
For so many of them, Sunday becomes more than a last gasp at making the playoffs. For so many of them, Sunday becomes a last chance keep their Giant careers alive and Honor Thy Boss. You can bet that Mara, who was not available yesterday, is seething right now. "We're all pretty angry," Umenyiora said, "but we're angry at ourselves. We're a much better team than this. He probably wouldn't be as angry as he was last year, 'cause I don't think a lot of people have just laid down." But if this team lays down Sunday?

They need to beat the Redskins in Washington on Sunday and hope the Bears -- who likely will have nothing to play for when the game kicks off -- knock off the Packers in Green Bay to make the postseason. It is a scenario that would have been unfathomable when the team held a 31-10 lead over the Eagles in Week 15 with eight minutes to go before Philadelphia scored 28 unanswered points. But it's certainly not unprecedented as the Giants have a penchant for fading late in the season under coach Tom Coughlin.
The Bears insist they'll play their starters against the Packers on Sunday. Of course, the Giants need a win and a Bears win in order to make the playoffs. Coughlin said in his experience, playing the Week 17 game "is the way to go." Justin Tuck, Shaun O'Hara and Keith Bulluck have all pointed to the 2007 Giants as an example of a team that played starters in Week 17 and reaped the benefits in the playoffs. "I guess you could say that it's good karma," Tuck said.

It has all gone so terribly wrong so terribly fast that the Giants barely know what hit them as they try to arise from their stumbles for the regular-season finale against the Redskins. "Two weeks ago when we played Philly, I'm thinking we're gonna win the NFC East and now we're in a situation where we might not even make the playoffs," tight end Kevin Boss said yesterday. "I think we're all still hopeful we'll take care of our business and get some help from Chicago and we'd love to see Philly again in the playoffs. But it did change pretty quickly."

Dec 30 We all saw how the Vikings, with absolutely nothing to play for, took it to Michael Vick, if for no other reason than to make their case for keeping coach Leslie Frazier. If the Giants want their coach, Tom Coughlin, back next season, they had better make their argument Sunday against the Redskins, and make it loud. Because over the last 68 minutes of game time, they have sent a powerful message to the powers-that-be that they want Coughlin gone.
With the Giants' postseason fate out of their hands, Tom Coughlin told his battered team Wednesday that its motivation for its season finale is to "give ourselves something to be proud of here." But the Giants also might be playing for something more significant than that. They could be playing to save Coughlin's job.

Eli Manning, the most important voice on the team, came out strongly in support of Coughlin Wednesday. Of course, if Coughlin gets fired, Manning's poor play down the stretch and his league-leading 24 interceptions might be the biggest reasons. Manning, who has played only for Coughlin in his seven years in the NFL, said "of course" he wants him back in 2011. He feels it's unfair to blame Coughlin for the Giants' problems.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin on the hot seat? Been there, done that. "We've heard it before," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "After my rookie year [2006] there was a lot of clamoring about whether he would be back. He turned around the next year and he won the Super Bowl. It's not uncharted territory for us. "Whatever the ramifications may be of this last game we know winning, if not cures all, it helps everything."

Center Shaun O'Hara last Sunday in Green Bay aggravated the ankle and Achilles' injury that bothered him during the summer and earlier this season and probably won't be able to play in the regular-season finale against the Redskins. O'Hara has already missed nine games this season, first sitting with the ankle issues and more recently missing six straight games with a mid-foot sprain. He started the past two games but clearly was rusty and this latest setback will likely end his season.

On Sunday, Manning and the Giants play the Redskins again, in the regular-season finale. After losing two straight games and putting their postseason aspirations in peril, the Giants must win to even consider other playoff scenarios. And they'll need to do so without Smith, who's on injured reserve, and likely without Nicks, who coach Tom Coughlin doubted would play after Hakeem Nicks suffered a broken big toe in his left foot.
Nicks, the second-year receiver who has 1,052 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, did not practice Wednesday. With receiver Steve Smith already out, the offense will be grounded more than usual. Coughlin cited the first game against the Redskins, which the Giants won, 31-7, on Dec. 5 without Smith or Nicks as the road map for this game. "We rushed for 197 (yards), we had time of possession at the 35-minute mark," Coughlin said. "Those were the difference makers."

With Hakeem Nicks likely out for Sunday's game with a broken toe, there's a chance Manningham will see plenty of DeAngelo Hall, who was named to the Pro Bowl after recording six interceptions, four of which came in a game against the Bears. Asked why he's looking forward to the challenge, Manningham replied, "Bring out the edge. Bring out the best in me." The Giants will need the best out of Manningham, who had only two catches for 36 yards in his last matchup with Hall and the Redskins, this Sunday.

Tom Coughlin's focus is on winning this game and then seeing what happens in Green Bay, where the Bears may have lost some of their incentive when the Eagles lost Tuesday night, clinching the second playoff seed for Chicago. "The individual battles have to be won," he said. "Let's get real serious about the fact that we're football players. We've had this thing for the last two weeks set up the way we wanted it, but did not get what we wanted. We have one game to re-establish ourselves."

The Bears vow they will be playing to win, playing to beat the Packers, playing to knock them into next sea son. Grin and bear it, New York Giants: "We're playing to win the game. It's a typical Wednesday and we have Green Bay coming up," Lovie Smith told the Chicago media yesterday. The Bears, remember, have a first-round bye, so resting players is not a critical concern. "We don't want to sit out three weeks," Hester said. "That's a long time for a player to sit out and not get the game atmosphere and the conditions and things that we need to do. . . . I would love to go out and play the whole game."

The Giants are hoping their staying in Green Bay for nearly two days after their loss to the Packers will help sharpen their focus heading into Sunday's season finale against the Redskins. Safety Antrel Rolle said the time in Appleton have him an opportunity to "do a lot of self-reflecting." It also sounds like he reflected on the way the entire team has been playing the past 4 1/2 quarters of football, and that he didn't like what he saw. "I know guys want it, I know we practice good, we practice hard, everyone is mentally ready for it. But for some reason it hasn't been translating to the field."

Former Giants
Harry Carson, for so many years the Pride of the Giants, has been wounded by what his Hall-of-Fame eyes have had to watch with a playoff berth now on life support. "I've always said Giant fans are very knowledgeable," Carson said, "and if someone just beats your ass physically, they can appreciate it. If you go out and stink up the place and sort of beat yourself and you play poor football, then the fans are gonna be very unforgiving. I think they deserve better. I'm a fan as well. I think the Maras and the Tischs deserve better. The players who are busting their ass, they deserve better. We should have a proud team, a team that should be competitive in every game."

Dec 29 Four players on the Giants made the 2011 Pro Bowl roster: Center Shaun O’Hara, safety Antrel Rolle, guard Chris Snee and defensive end Justin Tuck were all selected for the Jan. 30 game in Hawaii. That matches the team's total from last season. Snee, who is making his third consecutive appearance, is the only starter. The other three players are reserves.
Chris Snee will be playing in his third straight Pro Bowl and it's the second for Tuck. Rolle, who made the Pro Bowl last season with Arizona, is the first Giants' defensive back selected to the Pro Bowl since safety Terry Kinard in 1988. "Pro Bowl is a great achievement and you can't take anything from that," Rolle said. "But if I had a choice of going to the playoffs as a team or making the Pro Bowl myself, a hundred out of a hundred times, I'd take going to the playoffs as a team."

The Giants' playoff chances took another hit last night, and it was their old nemesis that applied the latest dagger. The Eagles did it again, this time with their stunning 24-14 loss to the lowly Vikings last night. Philadelphia's loss gave the Bears at least the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs, giving Chicago less incentive to play hard against the Packers this Sunday.

The Giants' road to the Super Bowl - if they manage to make the playoffs - will almost certainly run through Philadelphia. If the Giants get in - and they'll need to beat the Redskins on Sunday and hope the Bears beat the Packers to do it - the Eagles (10-5) are locked in as the Giants' looming opponent in the wild-card round. The Eagles, of course, have beaten the Giants twice already this season.

Unfortunately, barring a Giants win and Packers loss to the Bears, there will be a postseason status quo. And considering the expectations, the roster, and the way things looked just two weeks ago, it is not acceptable on any level. "I'd like to see us get the 10th win," coach Tom Coughlin said after the Packers debacle, when asked what was the motivating factors for the final week of the regular-season. "I'd like to see us come back from a game of this nature where there is not a whole lot out there to be proud of. And literally stop talking about it and do it." Bingo!

There really is no greater clarity when analyzing what will be the ramifications of another season-ending Giants collapse than to hear from defensive tackle Barry Cofield, one of the wisest of them all. "The guys who aren't playing well enough will suffer," Cofield said. With labor uncertainty, the looming lockout and the possibility of no contact between players and coaches until August, this is not the offseason to make wholesale changes. But you do what you gotta do.

Eli Manning stood up in a players-only meeting last Monday and put the weight of the Giants on his shoulders. Then six days later he looked like a player incapable of handling such a heavy load. We all know better, of course. Or at least we did. Anyone who saw Manning's outstanding, and sometimes brilliant, run to Super Bowl XLII knows what he's capable of doing in a very big game. But that was nearly three years ago and he hasn't come up really big in a really big game since.

Stadium News
From the tailgaters to the teetotalers, reviews of the new $1.6 billion stadium are being expressed with each game in the building's first season, ranging from complaints of congestion on escalators to wonderment over the video boards. With 15 game days complete, both the Giants and Jets, equal partners in the venture, along with the facility's management, have received wide-ranging complaints about the new digs. Concerns include easing congestion on concourses down to the average wait time at bathrooms.

NFC East News
The Eagles face a short week of preparation for Sunday's Cowboys game that no longer has any playoff implications. The Eagles, locked into the No. 3 seed, will host the final wild card team in a first-round playoff game. Green Bay, the Giants and Tampa Bay are the remaining teams alive for the NFC's final playoff spot.
The Redskins played the Giants just a few weeks ago and did not stop the run at all the first time around. So the main focus will be to stop the New York run. The Giants will try to establish the running game right away. If they are successful, the odds will swing in favor of the Giants.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones expressed reservations Monday about considering a coaching candidate who had previously led a team to a championship, saying that one man has never steered two different teams to a Super Bowl title. "That's worth noting," he said. "I'm a big believer in having never done something and then getting the opportunity to do it."

Dec 28 There was no escape for the Giants. Instead of getting out of town as quickly as possible following their terrible 45-17 loss, the Giants were forced to linger near the scene of the crime. Their charter flight could not leave immediately, making a forgettable road trip longer as misery had plenty of company.
The Giants typically return to Newark immediately after road games, but they needed to spend two extra nights at the Radisson in Appleton after a 45-17 loss to the Packers, a defeat that put the team’s playoff hopes in jeopardy.
The Giants' coaches, as they would've done had they been home, worked through the night and got an early start Monday morning "kind of grinding away at our work" preparing for the Redskins, Coughlin said.

The Giants'' playoff scenarios became easier to understand Monday night after the Saints topped the Falcons to ensure a playoff spot and prevent a scenario of two Saints losses that would have put the Giants in the playoffs with a win.
But the simple fact is that none of the possibilities is possible if the Giants don't win. "There is a chance," Coughlin said on a conference call. "We have to have a little bit of help to get it done, but there is a chance. That's the incentive for us to regroup and kind of put together the kind of game that we can be proud of."

With the Giants collapsing once again at the end of the year, disposing another promising season in the garbage can, what Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning have accomplished just doesn't feel like enough anymore. It feels like they have underachieved. They've made it into so many Decembers looking like the best team in the league before just running out of gas.
Coughlin has arrived again at his personal Waterloo. One game that may very well decide whether he stays or goes. Because the Giants have fallen apart again when it counts, and given us a December to dismember. They had playoff destiny in their hands, and turned it over, and now they need help. Shaun O'Hara is adamant that Coughlin should in no way be fighting for his coaching life.

Where would you take Eli Manning? This season has muddled that answer. He will turn 30 next week, so he no longer can be considered a young quarterback. He has that Super Bowl MVP, but other than that great five-week stretch in the winter of 2008, has zero playoff victories. He was supposed to be a rising star after beating the Patriots that year in Arizona, but his decision-making this season makes you wonder how much he’s improved since.

Over their last 68 minutes of game action, the Giants have allowed an astounding 73 points, and have watched their season quickly spiral out of control. Here is a look back at some of the key plays in losses to the Eagles and Packers that could mean the end of Big Blue’s season - and of Tom Coughlin's tenure as Giants coach.

After helping the Jets get into the playoffs last Sunday, the Redskins will try to do the opposite to the Giants this weekend. Recent history is very much in favor of Big Blue, who have won the past five meetings with their NFC East rival, but Washington has been anything but predictable this season.

Dec 27 Giants lose Green Bay 45-17   |    Photos   |     |    PLAYOFFS

Game 15 Preview - Giants (9-5) vs Packers (8-6)
On Sunday night Green Bay had New England on the ropes. They were up 27-21 in the fourth quarter with backup Matt Flynn filling in for Aaron Rodgers who should be back this week. Flynn threw for 251 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, but after falling behind, his late comeback drive ended with a sack and a 31-27 loss.
The Giants blew a division clinching game against the Eagles. They let a 31-10 fourth quarter lead turn into a 38-31 loss. The only way the Giants can win the division now is with two victories and two losses by the Eagles. The wildcard is theirs if they win this game or a possibility with a win next week in Washington.

Dec 26 The Giants are in the playoffs with a victory over the Packers. That’s the simplest part. The next question is how can they get the fifth seed and a first-round matchup with the winner of the NFC West, an opponent guaranteed to be no better than 8-8 at season’s end? The simplest scenario is for the Giants to beat Green Bay and Washington while the Saints lose to the Falcons and Buccaneers. At 11-5, the Giants would earn the first wild-card spot - assuming the Eagles win one of their final and clinch the NFC East.

They allowed the suffering to linger for about 24 hours, maybe a little more. They got angry. They got sad. They relived the horror, and tried to figure out what went wrong. But when the grieving was over, the Giants reported back to work, just like quarterback Eli Manning instructed, focused on the important truth of their suddenly perilous situation: If the Giants win Sunday, then last week's collapse doesn't matter. Win Sunday and they lock up a playoff berth.
There are no guarantees the Giants will come out of Lambeau Field with a victory and a playoff berth. But given Coughlin’s track record in such situations, don’t expect them to lie down and quit. Linebacker and special-teams ace Chase Blackburn cited Coughlin’s tight schedules and discipline as keys to players snapping right back in line after a devastating loss. You read that right: The same things that drive guys nuts are the same things that make them successful in difficult situations.

Coughlin and Manning and the big Giants on defense try to show us that they still have it in them to win a game like this at this time of year, the kind they should have won last Sunday at their new stadium. Nearly three years from Glendale, the end of those four games they won in the playoffs that year, they try to prove they are more than a one-hit wonder.
It has been three years since Eli Manning won a Super Bowl and changed his life and the conversation around New York. In the biggest game he has played since outdueling Tom Brady, the only playoff game he has quarterbacked since ruining the Patriots’ perfect season, he threw two interceptions without a touchdown in a 23-11 loss to the Eagles and the Giants Stadium wind.

Giants cornerback Corey Webster Giants fans remember Webster’s last visit to Green Bay, complete with an interception against Brett Favre to help send the Giants to a Super Bowl. He’s also defended some of the NFL’s top receivers, which will be the case again this week when Webster will need to help cover Greg Jennings. Jennings has already eclipsed 1,000 yards and matched a career high with 12 touchdowns. Webster is tough and physical, two attributes that can help against Jennings.
The Giants defense hasn't scored this season. The Packers' defense has scored three touchdowns and is not happy it's not more. The Giants heading into today's game will take just one. "This week we're going to run into bad weather conditions. When you have a situation like that you have to put points on the board and help your offense out," Grant said. The defense has been excellent at creating turnovers, recovering 19 fumbles and getting 15 interceptions.

Back in 2007, Lawrence Tynes heard throughout the season how he had never been put in a position to attempt a true game-winning field goal in the closing minutes of a game. The same can be said this season. Tynes is 17 for 20 on field goals and has connected on 14 straight, yet he hasn't been asked to drill one with the game on the line in the last seconds. "It's weird, we haven't had one yet," Tynes said. "It's kind of the same questions I was posed [in 2007]. We hadn't had one. You do prepare every week that's the situation you're gonna be in. I've made 'em in my past, so I feel I'll continue to do that."

The obstacles just never seem to stop coming for Aaron Rodgers. There was the 2005 NFL Draft, when he dropped all the way to the Packers with the 25th pick when many observers had the strong-armed quarterback pegged as high as No. 1 overall. Then there were the three interminable seasons behind Brett Favre, when Rodgers sometimes wondered if he would ever get the chance to take over. Now, even after Rodgers piled up consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons and stands as the second-highest rated career passer in NFL history, it’s the concussions and the doubters.

Stadium News
A lightning delay, an in-game power failure, several monsoons and some frigid weather — the first year of the New Meadowlands Stadium has been a challenging one at times for fans and stadium officials. "I can certainly say we've been battle-tested, but the problem is you have to go through the battles to get there," stadium Chief Executive Mark Lamping said with a rueful chuckle.

NFC East News
Dallas (5-10) rallied from 18 points down to take a 26-24 lead when Stephen McGee, in his first NFL game, threw 45 yards to Miles Austin for a touchdown with 1:46 to play. But David Buehler's extra point attempt went wide left. Jay Feely's 48-yard field goal barely cleared the crossbar with 5 seconds to go to thwart a big Dallas rally and give the Cardinals a 27-26 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night.
Washington - Since the Redskins last won a division title, way back in 1999, they have used 16 quarterbacks, everyone from Jason Campbell (52 games between 2006-09) to Gibran Hamdan and Todd Husak (a game apiece in 2003 and 2000, respectively). In between, there was the the turmoil of Jeff George, the indifference of Tony Banks, the occasional promise of Patrick Ramsey, one playoff run with Todd Collins and another with Mark Brunell. Only two franchises, Oakland and Chicago, have used more signal-callers over the past dozen seasons.
Philadelphia - The Eagles are again in need of a kickoff returner now that Jorrick Calvin is out for the season. Calvin, also a backup cornerback, injured his back in the Eagles' 38-31 win over the New York Giants last Sunday and was placed on Injured Reserve on Thursday. Calvin was acquired over the summer from the Arizona Cardinals. He took over as the team's main kickoff specialist after Ellis Hobbs was injured in the Eagles' first meeting with the Giants on Nov. 21.

Dec 26 The Giants are in the playoffs with a victory over the Packers. That’s the simplest part. The next question is how can they get the fifth seed and a first-round matchup with the winner of the NFC West, an opponent guaranteed to be no better than 8-8 at season’s end? The simplest scenario is for the Giants to beat Green Bay and Washington while the Saints lose to the Falcons and Buccaneers. At 11-5, the Giants would earn the first wild-card spot - assuming the Eagles win one of their final and clinch the NFC East.

They allowed the suffering to linger for about 24 hours, maybe a little more. They got angry. They got sad. They relived the horror, and tried to figure out what went wrong. But when the grieving was over, the Giants reported back to work, just like quarterback Eli Manning instructed, focused on the important truth of their suddenly perilous situation: If the Giants win Sunday, then last week's collapse doesn't matter. Win Sunday and they lock up a playoff berth.
There are no guarantees the Giants will come out of Lambeau Field with a victory and a playoff berth. But given Coughlin’s track record in such situations, don’t expect them to lie down and quit. Linebacker and special-teams ace Chase Blackburn cited Coughlin’s tight schedules and discipline as keys to players snapping right back in line after a devastating loss. You read that right: The same things that drive guys nuts are the same things that make them successful in difficult situations.

Coughlin and Manning and the big Giants on defense try to show us that they still have it in them to win a game like this at this time of year, the kind they should have won last Sunday at their new stadium. Nearly three years from Glendale, the end of those four games they won in the playoffs that year, they try to prove they are more than a one-hit wonder.
It has been three years since Eli Manning won a Super Bowl and changed his life and the conversation around New York. In the biggest game he has played since outdueling Tom Brady, the only playoff game he has quarterbacked since ruining the Patriots’ perfect season, he threw two interceptions without a touchdown in a 23-11 loss to the Eagles and the Giants Stadium wind.

Giants cornerback Corey Webster Giants fans remember Webster’s last visit to Green Bay, complete with an interception against Brett Favre to help send the Giants to a Super Bowl. He’s also defended some of the NFL’s top receivers, which will be the case again this week when Webster will need to help cover Greg Jennings. Jennings has already eclipsed 1,000 yards and matched a career high with 12 touchdowns. Webster is tough and physical, two attributes that can help against Jennings.
The Giants defense hasn't scored this season. The Packers' defense has scored three touchdowns and is not happy it's not more. The Giants heading into today's game will take just one. "This week we're going to run into bad weather conditions. When you have a situation like that you have to put points on the board and help your offense out," Grant said. The defense has been excellent at creating turnovers, recovering 19 fumbles and getting 15 interceptions.

Back in 2007, Lawrence Tynes heard throughout the season how he had never been put in a position to attempt a true game-winning field goal in the closing minutes of a game. The same can be said this season. Tynes is 17 for 20 on field goals and has connected on 14 straight, yet he hasn't been asked to drill one with the game on the line in the last seconds. "It's weird, we haven't had one yet," Tynes said. "It's kind of the same questions I was posed [in 2007]. We hadn't had one. You do prepare every week that's the situation you're gonna be in. I've made 'em in my past, so I feel I'll continue to do that."

The obstacles just never seem to stop coming for Aaron Rodgers. There was the 2005 NFL Draft, when he dropped all the way to the Packers with the 25th pick when many observers had the strong-armed quarterback pegged as high as No. 1 overall. Then there were the three interminable seasons behind Brett Favre, when Rodgers sometimes wondered if he would ever get the chance to take over. Now, even after Rodgers piled up consecutive 4,000-yard passing seasons and stands as the second-highest rated career passer in NFL history, it’s the concussions and the doubters.

Stadium News
A lightning delay, an in-game power failure, several monsoons and some frigid weather — the first year of the New Meadowlands Stadium has been a challenging one at times for fans and stadium officials. "I can certainly say we've been battle-tested, but the problem is you have to go through the battles to get there," stadium Chief Executive Mark Lamping said with a rueful chuckle.

NFC East News
Dallas (5-10) rallied from 18 points down to take a 26-24 lead when Stephen McGee, in his first NFL game, threw 45 yards to Miles Austin for a touchdown with 1:46 to play. But David Buehler's extra point attempt went wide left. Jay Feely's 48-yard field goal barely cleared the crossbar with 5 seconds to go to thwart a big Dallas rally and give the Cardinals a 27-26 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night.
Washington - Since the Redskins last won a division title, way back in 1999, they have used 16 quarterbacks, everyone from Jason Campbell (52 games between 2006-09) to Gibran Hamdan and Todd Husak (a game apiece in 2003 and 2000, respectively). In between, there was the the turmoil of Jeff George, the indifference of Tony Banks, the occasional promise of Patrick Ramsey, one playoff run with Todd Collins and another with Mark Brunell. Only two franchises, Oakland and Chicago, have used more signal-callers over the past dozen seasons.
Philadelphia - The Eagles are again in need of a kickoff returner now that Jorrick Calvin is out for the season. Calvin, also a backup cornerback, injured his back in the Eagles' 38-31 win over the New York Giants last Sunday and was placed on Injured Reserve on Thursday. Calvin was acquired over the summer from the Arizona Cardinals. He took over as the team's main kickoff specialist after Ellis Hobbs was injured in the Eagles' first meeting with the Giants on Nov. 21.

Dec 25 For four seasons, Giants cornerback Aaron Ross has campaigned for the opportunity to return punts. The 2007 first-round pick was an accomplished returner at Texas who believes he possesses the skills necessary to excel at the spot. He has been impeded only by the depth chart. After Domenik Hixon suffered a season-ending injury during the offseason, Ross appeared the likely candidate to replace him. It's a possibility because Will Blackmon, the Giants' regular punt returner, is ruled out of Sunday's game in Green Bay with a knee injury.
Ross had a 45-yard return in the exhibition game against the Steelers, but injured his foot in that game and was sidelined for awhile. He had some experience returning punts during his collegiate days at Texas, averaging 11.8 yards per runback "It's something I do really well," Ross said. "The first thing is to catch the ball, the second thing is to make people miss. And I think I have the God-given ability to do that."
Tom Coughlin wouldn't commit to his replacement, but Ross, receiver Darius Reynaud and cornerback Corey Webster have all been returning punts in practice this week. Given Ross' reduced role in the defense - he plays sparingly as the third cornerback - and the fact that Reynaud struggled as a punt returner earlier this season, it seems likely that Ross will be the returner against the Packers. And he has the skills to do it. Ross was outstanding in that role at the University of Texas, where he averaged 11.8 yards per return - the fourth best total in Longhorns history.

The players lauded Tom Coughlin for his upbeat, unifying message and approach all week. There is every reason to believe that Matt Dodge will punt the ball out of bounds the next time he is instructed to do so. "I'm in all the special teams meetings, but this week I've kinda come down a little bit earlier, and just visited with people coming through the hallway and things like that," Coughlin said. "I've been pretty pleased with the response." The Giants leave Newark Airport on their charter flight this afternoon. Coughlin likes his team's frame of mind. "I think energetic, focused, and looking forward to playing," he said.

With Steve Smith sidelined essentially since Week 10 because of injuries, the Giants (9-5), who face the Green Bay Packers (8-6) on Sunday looking for a win to clinch a playoff berth, have been forced to adapt to life without one of their best offensive players. The results have been most apparent in third-down situations. "You have guys running routes that they’re not really used to running," Manning said. "You’re trying to mix and match. "

The object of tomorrow's exercise will be to make the Packers, 17th against the rush in the NFL, cease to care by the fourth quarter. "If we're running it, we'll have pretty good play-action," Coughlin said. And that's true in any weather, on any kind of turf. The forecast for tomorrow is 25 degrees and possible snow showers - Meadowlands kind of weather as much as Lambeau kind of weather. It was a helluva lot of colder the last time Coughlin took a team there.

Dec 24 There are so many Giants -- 19 of them, to be exact -- still filling prominent roles that were part of the Super Bowl run three years ago and rank what they accomplished on that frigid day in Green Bay as high, or higher, than what went down two weeks later in Glendale, Ariz. Eli Manning has said that tundra victory is his most favorite game.
Justin Tuck remembers a lot about that game in Green Bay: "My mouthpiece getting frozen to my helmet and having to play without a mouthpiece for a couple of plays. I still remember the Corey (Webster) pick. I still remember Coach Coughlin's face. I still remember the back of David Diehl's head where the sweat had dried up and froze into icicles inside his helmet."

The 47-yard field goal Lawrence Tynes made in overtime in Green Bay, sending the Giants to the Super Bowl three seasons ago, is the one that has become legend. The two attempts Tynes missed in the fourth quarter of that game, the ones that could have signaled the end of his time with Big Blue, are forgotten because of the game-winner that cemented his place in team history, and on the roster.

Punter Matt Dodge and special teams coach Tom Quinn exchanged several text messages last Sunday night. "Just going back and forth, trying to support each other," Quinn said yesterday. It was Dodge who failed to adhere to coach Tom Coughlin's order to punt the ball out of bounds with 14 seconds remaining, leading to DeSean Jackson's 65-yard game-winning return to complete a magnificently disastrous 38-31 loss to the Eagles.
Quinn wanted to check the psyche of his punter, who expressed to Quinn that he felt he “let the whole city down.” “Matt, I feel the same way,” Quinn responded. Quinn was responsible not just for Dodge’s punt in the final minutes, but for the other 10 Giants on the field who failed to tackle DeSean Jackson on a 65-yard touchdown return. His unit also appeared stumped by an Eagles onside kick that altered the momentum in the Giants’ fourth-quarter collapse.

The television camera has never been flattering to Tom Coughlin. That's putting it mildly. When Coughlin is caught on camera cursing, or wildly gesticulating, or tearing off his headset, or freaking on punter Matt Dodge after the Giants choked at the Meadowlands last Sunday, the picture is self-explanatory. It's a portrait of a coach as a lunatic. "You're not going to get a stuffed shirt on the sideline when you get me," Coughlin once said.

For years, Dave Tollefson has received pep-talk phone calls from his football-loving mother. Debi Crocker was watching her son from the stands and knows her son’s movements so well she could tell he was hurt just by the way he rolled over. She was anxious all the way to the tunnel outside the locker room where Tollefson’s relieved expression told her he had avoided a serious injury. He then informed her he suffered a sprained MCL, not a torn ACL. So she celebrated the relatively good news the only way she knew how: by laying into her son.

The NFL has a collection of stats to evaluate nearly every player's performance. But the league has long lacked a concrete method of grading offensive line play. That's a deficiency that sports statistics company Stats Inc. has endeavored to fix. Stats Inc. recently introduced the New York Life Protection Index, which grades each team's ability to protect its QB. It focuses on passing plays and takes sacks, QB pressures, knockdowns and penalties by offensive linemen into consideration.

Dec 23 After getting forced out of the Dec. 12 game against the Lions with his second concussion of the season, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sat out last week's loss to the Patriots. But he is ready to return for Sunday's game against the Giants. The Giants know all about Rodgers' medical history, but there is a playoff berth at stake here.
Beat the Packers (8-6), and the Giants are in the playoffs. That's all they're thinking about. Not about Michael Vick or DeSean Jackson or about a punt that should have gone out of bounds. "Everything we want to do is still right there in front of us," Canty said. "We have an opportunity at the postseason. What we've got to do is collectively as a team put our minds to it and give ourselves the best opportunity to go up there and win on Sunday."

The Giants have done it before, but that doesn't mean they will do it again. But they need to do it again. "This team has to make its own way," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. The only way for the Giants to guarantee themselves a playoff spot is to take the road-warrior mantra that three years ago fueled their Super Bowl run and once again turn a slogan into reality.
In Lawrence Tynes' basement is a 16-by-20-inch picture of his winning kick against the Packers in the NFC Championship Game three seasons ago. Underneath it is the ball that was frozen so badly that day it helped form a black bruise on his right foot. Tynes has received several offers from collectors for the since-thawed ball. "It's not for sale," the Giants' kicker said Wednesday.

Tom Coughlin thinks it may have taken a little time, but his players have moved forward from the disaster that was the final 7:18 of Sunday's loss to the Eagles. "I think they were a little quiet, but I think they will be all right," he said. "They responded well in my meeting. There's a bunch of new stuff that happens on Wednesday, and they really have to focus on the learning. So that's the stage they are in right now."
In fact, center Shaun O'Hara said you wouldn't know the Eagles game occurred by the way the team worked Wednesday. "Only if they hung out with you guys," O'Hara said, referring to reporters who asked about the Eagles game. "I don't think anything has changed from today's preparation and today's energy, from last week."

Dave Tollefson's mother, Debra, went down to the hallway outside the Giants' locker room after her son left Sunday's loss to the Eagles with a sprained knee ligament. When the defensive end came out of the X-ray room after being told by team doctors he was done for the day, Debra recommended a different form of treatment. "You can't tape it up? I didn't fly in from California to watch you ride the pine."

Four years ago, football to Mr. Pierre-Paul was following arrows on the play cards his coach made him. Four years ago, Mr. Pierre-Paul didn't know the guy he had to beat to get to the quarterback was called a tackle. Four weeks ago, Mr. Pierre-Paul sacked Jacksonville's David Garrard twice. "Well, I think football is more a physical game than baseball and basketball,'' Giants tackle Barry Cofield said. "Especially defensive line; a lot of playing there is mentality and physicality and a lot of that will make up for technique flaws."

Barry Cofield heard about the shots Michael Strahan took at his former teammates on Tuesday, and he respects Strahan's opinion. But he did question Strahan's memory. "Guys forget," Cofield said Wednesday. "It's like they never lost games. Once you go to the media and start talking it's like you don't remember any of the bad losses that you had."
Tom Coughlin is revered in New York, but another late Giants collapse could be the last straw. Coughlin may have a Super Bowl ring, but more often, the staple of the Coughlin Era has been watching Big Blue disintegrate down the stretch of the regular season.
Tom Coughlin could use a little help here from the front office, a line or two that would make the uncertainty go poof in the night. Twice this season team owner and president John Mara has mocked the stubborn Cowher-to-the-Giants reports, though he's never definitively said Coughlin would be back next year.

This is usually the point where Tiki Barber point where Tiki Barber would jump on Tom Coughlin for coaching the Giants to a terrible loss to the Eagles. Instead the Giants’ all-time leading rusher showed support for Coughlin in an interview on Yahoo.com. "''I don't think it is,"' Barber said when asked if Coughlin’s job was in jeopardy. "Earlier in the season when I was criticizing the Giants they were playing lackluster and lackadaisical football. Now they are playing pretty good football, this is a team effort of just letting it collapse."

Dec 22 Before coach Tom Coughlin spoke to his players the day after the Giants’ devastating loss to the Eagles, he directed a staffer to conclusively determine the playoff scenarios entering this weekend’s game against the Packers. The research proved what was expected: If the Giants beat the Packers, they clinch an NFC wild-card spot.

Tom Coughlin must take his 9-5 team into Lambeau and defeat a Packers team facing pretty much the same fate: win and you're in, lose and you’re out. Once the Giants stop looking deep in their souls for reasons for Sunday's collapse, they can look into their hands and find destiny. They still hold it: a victory and they are in the playoffs.

The Green Bay Packers medical staff has cleared quarterback Aaron Rodgers to return to the practice field, and possibly to play Sunday against the New York Giants, after he sat out for a week with a concussion, according to a report.

Tom Coughlin's Monday press conference was more like confession when he started talking about the "sins" the team committed in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. The first sin he mentioned: the surprise onside kick Philly recovered. Coughlin wasn't the only one expressing regret for the play.

This isn't about whether you want Tom Coughlin to go or stay. And just so you know? If it's him or Bill Cowher, who either shamefully leaks his wish list of coaching jobs or has it leaked, I take Coughlin any day. You want to know something else about Coughlin? He doesn't leak stories about somebody else's job.

The Giants are in as good a position as they possibly can be in right now, despite all that swirls around them, for one important reason: They have Coughlin coaching them. He is their greatest asset in times of trouble, a lightning rod who welcomes the blame, who stands up and demands it, and who has -- Bill Parcells' term -- pelts on his wall that prove he does some of his best work when the wolves are baying and the drawbridge is closing over the moat.

John Mara knows what sloppy coaching and dysfunctional teams look like and he sees none of that with Coughlin in charge. Mara prefers continuity over commotion. Mara, unlike many other owners, understands what an upheaval it is to fire one coaching staff and bring in another and realizes such drama only should be foisted on an organization out of complete necessity.

Brandon Jacobs flashed a grin as he stood behind two glass bowls crammed with milk cartons. The sight of Jacobs signing miniature footballs and discussing the benefits of milk as part of a "Breakfast of Champions" program at Truman High School Tuesday in the Bronx was in contrast to the misery that surrounded the Giants' collapse on Sunday, when they blew a three-touchdown lead in the final 8:17 against the Eagles.

Former Giants
Michael Strahan said the problem for the Giants has been closing out games. “The Giants have not finished," he said. "I don’t know if they know how to finish and they need to learn how, if they expect to do anything this year. You have to have a killer instinct. You have to finish teams."
Michael Strahan, in September, piled on to the team for its apparent lack of leadership and on-field demeanor during its 1-2 start, saying in part "It doesn't look like they're having fun. They're not looking inspired and (they're) undisciplined and all that stuff."

Dec 21 Eli Manning was the only speaker at a players-only meeting he called Monday in a desperate attempt to save a season that is now virtually beyond repair. The colossal collapse against the Eagles was so depressing that Tom Coughlin went home Sunday night and sat in a room with the lights out for two-and-one-half hours.
Eli Manning wanted everyone to know what he felt, that as painful and terrible and disheartening as it was to collapse in such spectacular fashion and blow a game to the Eagles, all is not lost. And so Manning did what he's never before done, not in his seven years with the Giants. He approached coach Tom Coughlin yesterday and asked if he could "beat him to the punch a little bit and address the team before he came in." Coughlin obliged. "We're going to write the ending to this story, no one else," Manning said forcefully.

Tom Coughlin took the blame Monday for the onside kick the Eagles recovered midway through the fourth quarter that jumpstarted their comeback on Sunday. But the real credit should have gone to Andy Reid. It appears he may have out-smarted the Giants with a little of what Giants special teams captain Chase Blackburn called "trickeration." Just before the kickoff an Eagles player came running off the field, leaving them with only 10 men on the kickoff team. And that apparently caused some momentary confusion for the Giants, who then forgot that Coughlin had just warned them to watch for the onside kick.
It will be bitterly cold and frozen inside the venerable igloo known as Lambeau Field on Sunday, and should Manning's pep talk fall on deaf ears, if Coughlin cannot inspire his bloodied troops to get off the deck, then Coughlin will be bringing the hot seat back home with him. But understand this about Coughlin: He will fight harder than ever now to keep his dream job, if in fact it is on the brink of being taken away from him in the event the New Miracle at New Meadowlands Stadium unleashes a tsunami of self-doubt and crisis of confidence and floods the Giants off Playoff Island. He will not cower.

Tom Coughlin's message to Matt Dodge this morning was "move on." Not move on, as in leave. Move on, as in start looking to next Sunday's game against the Packers. The Giants' coach said the team will stick with its rookie punter despite his not kicking the ball out of bounds, as Coughlin requested, on the final play of Sunday's loss to the Eagles. DeSean Jackson returned the kick 65 yards for the game-winning score.
Matt Dodge came to work early Monday, eager to work out and watch some film. Just to be safe, though, he first stopped by his locker to make sure his name plate and gear were still there. They were. After 14 weeks of ups and downs from his rookie punter, Tom Coughlin wasn't going to suddenly cut him in a fit of rage. But less than 24 hours after Dodge's inability to punt one last ball out of bounds became the signature moment of the Giants' crushing, 38-31 loss to the Eagles, the 23-year old couldn't be sure he was safe until he saw it for himself.
Dodge's teammates went out of their way to defend him, saying he did not deserve all of the blame for allowing the Eagles to erase a 31-10 fourth quarter deficit. "It's not on him," linebacker Chase Blackburn said. "He's not supposed to be down there tackling . . . He's not supposed to be covering his own kick. You don't ask a pitcher to go catch the ball, too."
Matt Dodge botched the kick Sunday that sent Big Blue to a disastrous loss to the Eagles, and then fuming New York fans took to Twitter to rip him -- only they got the wrong Matt Dodge. Instead of tackling the NFL player Dodge, 23, of Morehead City, NC, with their Web rants, misguided fans sent seething tweets to Matt Dodge, 23, a newspaper reporter from Portland, Maine. "You need to go into witness protection . . . NOOOOW!!!!" read one nasty post sent to the Matt Dodge of Maine. "You better, run, run," read another.

Remember that awful game Eli Manning had back in 2007, four picks against the Vikings, three returned for touchdowns, and the growing notion he'd never amount to much as an elite quarterback? Exactly 70 days later, he was lifting a Super Bowl MVP trophy over his head. It's good to be optimistic. It's a fan's prerogative -- actually, a prerequisite -- to believe in the craziness of sports. Otherwise how do the 1969 Mets happen? How do the 2007 Giants happen? If sports proceeded logically all the time, that would take a lot of the fun away. Only there's one problem with that: Most of the time, sports do proceed logically. Most of the time, if your gut tells you you're toast, you're extra-crispy toast.

It’s still not official, but what we’ve been telling you is accurate: the Giants are in the playoffs with a victory over the Packers on Sunday. That’s the good news after the meltdown against the Eagles. With a victory over Green Bay, they’d be one game ahead of the Pack plus the head-to-head tiebreaker with one game to play. The NFL confirmed last week the Giants have clinched the strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Buccaneers, so they’d get in ahead of both of those teams should they have equal 10-6 records at the end of the season.
For what it's worth, the division race isn't officially over yet. But the Giants would have to win their last two, while the Eagles lose their last two. The Giants could also get in as the NFC's fifth seed - earning a date with the winner of the pathetic NFC West - but that would take two wins by the Giants and two losses by the Saints.

Dec 20 Giants lose to the Eagles 38-31   |    Photos   |      |  Best Story

ESPN - DeSean Jackson's 65-yard punt return caps Eagles' 21-point comeback.
Giants.com - Final: Eagles 38, Giants 31.
Giants.com - Giants Postgame Quotes.
Giants.com - Eagles Postgame Quotes.
StarLedger - Live coverage: Giants collapse, Eagles win 38-31.
StarLedger - Giants offense came up empty when it counted.
StarLedger - Giants defense takes blame, gives credit to Michael Vick.
StarLedger - No shortage of blame in Giants' collapse.
StarLedger - Herm Edwards remembers well the first 'Miracle at the Meadowlands.
StarLedger - Giants tackle says Eagles offensive linemen are 'dirty' birds'.
StarLedger - Giants 38-31 loss to Eagles conjures memories of an earlier 'miracle' loss.
NYDailyNews - DeSean Jackson's punt return touchdown caps Eagles comeback.
NYDailyNews - Giants season could be history after collapse for the ages vs. Eagles.
NYDailyNews - Coughlin screams at Matt Dodge, but Giants coach deserves most blame for collapse.
NYDailyNews - Matt Dodge becomes poster boy for Giants collapse.
NYDailyNews - Mara: Talk of Cowher is just 'ridiculous'.
NYDailyNews - Rank'em: Giants all-time worst losses.
NYPost - DeSean punt-return TD, Vick heroics cap collapse.
NYPost - Big Blue D can't close versus high-flying QB.
NYPost - Giants' O runs a-ground in 2nd half.
NYPost - Teammates can't 'Dodge' blame in historic horror.
NYPost - Dodge drops ball by punting to Jackson.
NYPost - Onside kick catches Coughlin's guys napping.
NYPost - Choke echoes 'Titan'-ic flop.
Record - Giant suffer 4th-quarter collapse as Eagles win 38-31 on final play.
Record - Giants speechless after late, inexcusable collapse.
Record - Giants instant replay.
Lehighvalleylive.com - Philadelphia Eagles' comeback for the ages stuns the New York Giants, 38-31.
PhiladelphiaEagles.com - Jackson's TD not only "Special" play.
PhiladelphiaEagles.com - Better Than The 2003 Miracle? You Bet.

Dec 19 The old champion Giants never let Joe Montana shatter their dreams, and if these Giants have what it takes to be champions, they will not let Michael Vick and the hated Eagles swagger into their house, their new house, and beat them with first place, and maybe so much more, on the line.
It's a game that will give the winner a one-game lead in the NFC East with a chance to clinch the division next week. It's yet another huge December matchup between these teams, one that would stoke Manning's competitive fire no matter what happened the first time around. But the way the first meeting ended has a player as competitive as Manning -- despite outward appearances that often suggest otherwise -- carrying some extra motivation.

Brandon Jacobs was asked On a scale of 1-10, how emotional and passionate his pregame speech will be. " Probably a 12. We need to get everyone who’s gonna be at the game in the game. We need the tailgaters who are gonna be outside tailgating with their little portable TVs. We’re gonna have to get them screaming outside."

The offensive line is intact and healthy, and running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have fresh legs and are surging at the right time. But can the Giants move the ball on the ground today on the Eagles? They couldn't budge the Birds on Nov. 21, with season-lows in rushing attempts (19) and rushing yards (61). A repeat of that inefficiency will put too much of a burden on quarterback Eli Manning, who was responsible for four turnovers in the 27-17 loss in Philadelphia.
The Giants' defense has prepared all week to throttle Vick. Yet it might be the Giants' offense that has the biggest say in how much of an impact he will make today when the teams meet at New Meadowlands Stadium with the NFC East title all but in the balance. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, not Justin Tuck and Antrel Rolle, could be the keys to the Giants’ chances.

With his celebration antics, openly defiant attitude and increasing anger over his contract situation, DeSean Jackson is proving to be almost as much of a diva for the Eagles as he is a handful for their opponents. "Do I like those things? No, I don't like them," Reid said this week. "Do I express that to him? Yes. I do. And I'll leave it at that." Reid was talking about the aftermath of the latest Jackson controversy.

Former Giants
David Tyree blasts Jets for a 'lack of integrity' The Jets' wall was in the area behind the white border that is supposed to be occupied only by coaches and situational substition players. Alosi and his five inactive players were standing right on the edge of the white border. They were not supposed to be there. Clearly, they were there to obstruct the path of the gunner. Still, Miami's Nolan Carroll would not have run into the wall and the incident would have gone undetected if Alosi didn't stick out his knee, sending Carroll flying and landing at Rex Ryan's feet.

Dec 18 It appears that Giants center Shaun O’Hara will finally rejoin the offensive line, reuniting the season’s original five linemen for just the fifth time this season. O’Hara has been limited to four games and missed the past six with a foot injury. After practicing throughout the week, O’Hara is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Eagles. Barring something unforeseen, the Rutgers product expects to finalize the five-man puzzle that helped the Giants win Super Bowl XLII.
The Giants will have their entire starting offensive line in place for the first time since Oct. 25. Shaun O’Hara is not quite 100% and knows he'll be a little rusty. But with just three games left, he knows he can no longer afford to wait. "I don't think I'd say I'm healed, but I think it's to the point now where I don't know how much better it's going to get," O'Hara said. "So you know what? We just got to go. I don't think I could wait much longer or the season would be over. It's now or never. I've been managing pain all year. It's nothing new."
With Shaun O'Hara all but set to return at center tomorrow versus the Eagles, Seubert likely will have to switch back to guard. He has been O'Hara's replacement in the middle for the past six games, but said he does not need to prepare for both positions. Rich Seubert said he will have no problem switching back to his normal spot at left guard on the Giants' offensive line. "I'm playin', I'm happy," Seubert said yesterday. "We're all here to win football games, and we need everybody back."

"There's not a soul in this locker room that isn't looking forward to this game," defensive end Dave Tollefson said. "We're just champing at the bit. We cannot wait to play this game. "You can see it in practice. Everybody's screwing down the hatches. The storm's brewing. And it's coming up the turnpike, ya know? And we're getting ready." Justin Tuck also said he senses the anticipation. "Obviously we didn't overlook any teams, but in the back of our mind we're like, 'Yeah, we got Philly next week,' or, 'We got Philly in two weeks' " Tuck said. "We kinda circled this game."

The Giants have heard the complaints from Philadelphia about how the NFL hasn't done enough to protect Michael Vick from violent hits. They know that likely means the refs will be watching Sunday. But they are still coming hard after the Eagles quarterback, whether Philly likes it or not.

Perry Fewell and Terrell Thomas both say their focus is on LeSean McCoy. According to the Giants' defensive coordinator and cornerback, the biggest key on the Eagles' offense, the explosive unit that Big Blue will look to contain in tomorrow's critical NFC East battle, is not resurgent quarterback Michael Vick but McCoy, the impressive second-year running back.

On offense, the Giants will look to exploit new Eagles MLB Jamar Chaney. The rookie, a seventh-round pick, will make his first NFL start in place of Stewart Bradley, who dislocated his elbow against the Cowboys. One of the big keys as to whether Chaney will struggle could be the play of Eagles DTs Mike Patterson and Antonio Dixon. If those guys get knocked back at all by C Shaun O’Hara and Gs Rich Seubert and Chris Snee, it’ll make Chaney’s life that much more difficult. So I know I’ll be watching O’Hara in his first game back in action against Patterson and Dixon.

No one could blame Asante Samuel for rushing back to the Eagles' lineup this week. After all, when a Manning brother is under center for the opposing team, that's known as a golden opportunity in Samuel's world. The Eagles' cornerback has made a habit out of tormenting Eli and Peyton Manning, notching a combined seven of his 42 career interceptions against the two Super Bowl-winning passers. The timing of Samuel's return -- especially after his two interceptions and fumble recovery keyed a 27-17 home win over the Giants last month -- does not appear to be entirely a coincidence.

Dec 17 One week after Michael Vick torched the Redskins for 413 total yards and six touchdowns, he turned in a relatively modest performance against the Giants by throwing for 258 yards and rushing for only 34 yards while finding the end zone just once. Sure, the Giants wound up giving up 27 points and surrendered the game-winning 50-yard touchdown run to LeSean McCoy, but they contained Vick.
When you've dropped five straight to a division rival, there are no moral victories. But as tired as the Giants are of losing to the Eagles, at least Vick got tired of seeing Antrel Rolle. Rolle knows this because for once he was too weary to criticize anybody's fans or coach Tom Coughlin's bus times from the hotel. "I think we got to [Vick] definitely," said Rolle yesterday. "You could see it in his face and see it in his movement. I know I was exhausted, so I know he was exhausted. I know I never blitzed so much in a game."
There is a singular play, one out of the hundreds in the first 13 games of the season, etched in the minds and perhaps in the broken hearts of Giants defensive players who are eager to undo something they couldn't do nearly a month ago. "We needed a stop, we were like, 'If we get this stop, give our offense the ball back we win this game.' That was out mindset," linebacker Michael Boley recalled. "And we didn't do that." They didn't come close.

The Eagles have won five straight against the Giants. In the NFL that's an eternity. Enough is enough. That was the clear message that came out of the Giants' locker room yesterday. In the parlance of players, here is one saying that makes football so much fun: "It's time to put on your big-boy pads." That always means big-time hitting. The Giants have had enough of that Eagles winning streak.
The Eagles say officials treat Michael Vick differently because of his running ability, not throwing flags on what would be called illegal hits on other quarterbacks. But Justin Tuck said it's not going to stop him from going after the guy. "To be honest, I'm going to err on the side of knocking him out because we've seen so many times where a guy like Vick tip-toes up the sidelines, catches his balance and keeps going for another 50. So on that situation, I'm going to hit him, simple as that."

The Giants are in control of their own destiny, which is where every team wants to be in mid-December. Smack around the Eagles, win a game in Green Bay - if you remember, they had a positive experience on the frozen tundra a few years ago - and then take care of the Redskins, and they would win the NFC East and get a first-round bye with an outside shot at the No. 1 seed.
The Giants are capable of a Super Bowl run similar to the one they had in 2007. But there’s one little problem, said former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck. They have to get there first. "The Giants may win 10 games and be out of the playoffs," said Hasselbeck, who spent 2005-2006 with the Giants and is now an analyst for ESPN.

For the Eagles, it's a match made in football heaven. They lead the league with 22 interceptions. Giants quarterback Eli Manning leads the league with 19 interceptions. Manning just lost No. 1 receiver Steve Smith for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. Mario Manningham is playing with an injured hip flexor. And, when the teams meet here Sunday afternoon, ballhawking cornerback Asante Samuel might be back.
What ever happened to run long and cut right at the tree? Wide receiver Michael Clayton has been a Giant for four weeks now. He still uses a highlighter in his playbook. He still makes flashcards of plays and he definitely still thinks the Giants' passing offense is the most complex he's ever been a part of. He also likes it the most. "When you give players the flexibility to make the correct decision during the play, that makes an offense so much more efficient," Mr. Clayton said. "That's football at its best."

Trouble in paradise? While Michael Vick throwing deep to DeSean Jackson remains one of the NFL's most terrifying combinations, there were definite signs of friction yesterday between the Eagles' star quarterback and explosive wide receiver. Jackson, whose simmering anger over the lack of a new contract keeps threatening to boil over, said repeatedly he "could care less" about Vick's opinion of Jackson's controversial touchdown celebration last week at Dallas.
Since entering the league two years ago, Jackson leads the NFL in touchdowns of 50 yards or more with 13, including that 91-yarder against Dallas when he turned a quick out into a dazzling highlight-reel dagger in the Eagles’ 30-27 victory. DeSean Jackson can turn one mistake into an embarrassment for anyone charged with attempting to cover the Eagles’ playmaking wide receiver.

The Giants already know WR Steve Smith won’t return this season. The question is whether Smith will be healthy for the beginning of next season. Coach Tom Coughlin said doctors expect Smith to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of the 2011 season -- pending resolution of the league’s labor issues and a new contract for Smith..
According to Tom Coughlin, Smith's prognosis is good. "The doctor said that he expected him to make a full recovery," Coughlin said. In time for next season? "That is what I have been told," Coughlin said.

Michael Vick's desire to be a dog owner in the future was met with anger by his harshest critics and a call for patience from the group he is working with on animal-rights issues. Vick is banned from dog ownership for 3 years under the terms of his supervised release from federal prison.

Dec 16 The stretch run of the season will go on without Steve Smith, widely considered the team's most reliable receiver and a wizard in the slot as Eli Manning's favorite target. What at first was thought to be a hamstring injury coming out of last Monday night's 21-3 victory over the Vikings has been diagnosed as damage to the articular cartilage in his left knee. Smith needs surgery, his season is over -- playoffs included -- and he will be placed on injured reserve.
Two receivers appeared on the injury report: Steve Smith and Mario Manningham. Smith won't play again this season. Manningham insists he'll play on Sunday against the Eagles. He suffered an injury of the hip flexor blocking Antoine Winfield on Brandon Jacobs' 73-yard run on Monday. Tom Coughlin said Manningham has an "issue." Manningham did not know how much he'll participate in practice this week, but he was sure of one thing: "I'll be alright. Trust me. I'll be good to go Sunday at 1:00."
The Giants need Manningham to fill a starting role alongside Hakeem Nicks. Manningham has started six games this season, with Smith and Nicks both missing time with various injuries, but now he knows he’s going to be a starter for the remainder of the season. "I have to work harder, I have to watch more film, just prepare myself harder knowing I'm going to play that position for the whole game for the rest of the year."

Eli Manning has already survived a month without Steve Smith in the lineup, and two weeks without either of his starting receivers. The Giants managed to win both of those games. That's a big reason why he didn't seem shaken Wednesday by the news that Smith, his lone Pro Bowl receiver, is now out for the rest of the season. Even without him, Manning is still convinced there's enough talent around him for the Giants to complete their playoff run.

The Eagles are just going to come right out and say it: They hope Eli Manning throws the ball early and often Sunday. Though that might seem like a odd wish for a quarterback with a Super Bowl ring, Manning's blizzard of turnovers this season -- 19 interceptions and five lost fumbles -- has the Eagles crossing their fingers that Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride's game plan is filled with pass plays this weekend.

The Giants get a second crack on Sunday at stopping the quarterback sensation that Michael Vick has become this season, and if this encounter is anything like the first, expect plenty of heat. Eagles coach Andy Reid said yesterday that the Giants "had a great game plan" the first time around and that plan included increased pressure, particularly from safety Antrel Rolle, who charged at Vick on a variety of blitzes.
Durability has always been a part of the Vick equation. Capable of escaping pressure with his feet, he has at times run into trouble instead of pulling up. His coach, Andy Reid, and teammates believe this is different, however, especially during a season in which player safety is being watched closely by the league's office. The Eagles have already seen Vick miss three games this season, the result of the chest and rib injuries he sustained at the end of a maddening scramble against the Washington Redskins in October. On Sunday, he will face a physical Giants defense. "A very tight-knit group," Vick said of the Giants' front four. "Always willing to enforce their will."

Victor Cruz feels as good as he has in two months - good enough, even, to help the Giants' battered receiving corps. If only the rookie sensation from Paterson, N.J., wasn't stuck on season-ending injured reserve. He has been there since Oct. 16, five days after he suffered what he now says was a "slight tear" of his hamstring during a conditioning drill. At the time, the undrafted rookie out of UMass thought he could have been back in a week, but the Giants' doctors disagreed. And then the Giants ended up needing his roster spot to sign emergency kicker Shayne Graham. The decision was costly for Cruz.

Former Giants
Jim Fassel could be considered for Broncos job. The Denver Post expects the former Giants head coach to be considered for that position with the Broncos.

Dec 15 Wide receiver Steve Smith may have suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Giants' 21-3 win over the Vikings on Monday night, according to two sources familiar with his ailment. The injury is believed to be a tear to the meniscus cartilage, though the source did not know the severity.

Is Eli Manning playing well enough to lead his team where it needs to go? Especially now that two more receivers, Steve Smith (again) and Mario Manningham, are injured and probably won’t be available for the NFC East first-place showdown. “I don’t think we were as effective with the passing game as we have been or will be,” coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday.".

The win over the Vikings moved them into a tie for first place in the NFC East with the Eagles. That sets up a showdown for supremacy in the division when the Giants and the Eagles meet at the Meadowlands Sunday afternoon. "These are the kinds of games you want to be playing in the middle of December," Tom Coughlin said Tuesday.

The Giants' preparations for Sunday's game against the Eagles began at the Westin Hotel in Detroit on Monday morning -- not what the team anticipated when it boarded a charter in Newark on Saturday morning. By the time the Giants began working Monday, the Eagles were a few hours past a victory over the Cowboys and the Giants were a few hours away from a victory over the Vikings.

Unseen in public, the Giants in the minutes following Monday night’s 21-3 victory over the Vikings in a game played at Ford Field in Detroit made a quiet, meaningful gesture to a special child. Tom Coughlin presented the game ball to Kelvin Thomas, a 13-year old from Brooklyn who is battling lymphoma.
"If (Kelvin) can go through it under their conditions, then we should definitely (handle) ... the minor adjustments we had to make throughout the trip," Antrel Rolle said of the constantly changing travel plans, minutes after Kelvin received his game ball. "We came out and played hard for (Kelvin). We gave him a game ball. I know he's very appreciative of it and we're appreciative he made this trip."

Dec 14 Giants win over the Vikings 21-3    |    Photos    |    

ESPN - Brett Favre sits out as Vikings can't stop Giants in Detroit home game.
Giants.com - FINAL: Giants 21, Vikings 3.
StarLedger - Giants beat Vikings, 21-3, in bizarre matchup at Ford Field.
StarLedger - Giants' defense dominates the Favre-less Vikings in 21-3 win.
StarLedger - Giants see return of receivers Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith, but lose Mario Manningham.
StarLedger - Ending streak at 297 consecutive starts, Vikings QB Brett Favre won't hang head.
StarLedger - Fans travel rough road to Detroit, but end up seeing Giants win.
StarLedger - Nine wins for Jets and Giants isn't too shabby.
NYDailyNews - Giants Bradshaw, Jacobs and 'D' trounce Vikings.
NYDailyNews - Giants roll in winter wonderland.
NYDailyNews - Big Blue leaves Minny battered.
NYDailyNews - Weather or not, fans won't be left out in cold.
NYPost - Giants dominate Brett Favre-less Vikings 21-3.
NYPost - Defense keeps Peterson under wraps.
NYPost - Giants stomp Favre-less Vikings.
NYPost - Giants WR Nicks returns; Smith, Manningham hurt.
Record - Vikings' Brett Favre inactive, streak ends at 297.
Record - Giants' run past Vikings in Detroit, 21-3.
Startribune - Giants dump Favre-less Vikings.
Startribune - Jackson struggles again as starter.
Twincities.com - Loss to Giants eliminates Vikings from playoff contention.