I always liked that slogan that TNT used for their basketball playoffs. It’s most appropriate for football. All that hard work which started back in training camp up in Albany comes down to one week of preparation for Tampa Bay. First, I’d like to take a look back at the New England game. There had been speculation all week on how the Giants would play it. Play starters, rest starters, some combination of the two. Well the Giants played it perfectly in my opinion, going all out to try and defeat the unbeaten Pats. While they lost, it was a very entertaining game where the Giants made the Pats earn that undefeated title. Manning and the offense played very well, and again, the defense did just about everything it could to slow down Tom Brady. His offense is just outstanding. When Randy Moss dropped that slightly underthrown bomb by Brady in the fourth quarter, I thought to myself this is the night they lose. Then James Butler simply let “sideline” Moss run free as a birdie again on the very next play, which was the single play of the night that dissapointed me. New England is the best team this year, but I’d be bit leary if I was part of the Pats’ faction. Their defense, while still good, reminds me of the 1990 Giants’ defense. Aging. And their offense has been putting themselves in a lot of third and longs that they always seem to convert. Come playoffs, that might be a different story, especially in colder weather. Just a hunch, but I see either New England or Dallas getting knocked off before the big game.
The Giants get a third crack at Jeff Garcia come playoffs. 2002 needs no mention. Last year, he did it as a member of the Eagles. Both times, Garcia was playing against Johnnie Lynn and Tim Lewis vanilla defenses. I like the matchup of Spagnuolo against the Bucs’ offense. If our offense can play a smart game (note to Gilbride: run first to setup play action, please), I think the Giants can get the game. I’d love a rematch in Dallas.
