The New York Giants on the Verge of Second Half Collapse….Or Are They?

As we all wake up on this Black Friday most of us have a lot to be grateful for. We have a couple of days off from work, spending quality time with our families and our freedom because of those who fight for our country in the armed forces. On a lighter note though, many of us Giants fans out there go into this weekend with many question marks about the remainder of the 2011 season. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember what has happened since 2008 when the Giants won that miraculous Super Bowl in Glendale, AZ.

As with many other seasons since Tom Coughlin took over in 2004, the Giants looked promising in 2008 coming off their Super Bowl win. In 2008 the NY Giants began the season at 10-1 going into Thanksgiving weekend. On November 28th, 2008 Plaxico Burress shot himself in the right thigh and the Giants went on to finish that season at 12-4. Although winning the division (and being the number 1 seed), they lost the Divisional Playoff game to the Eagles 23-11.

In 2009 the Giants began the season 5-0 and then went on to lose 4 straight games. After having a chance to possibly squeak in to the playoffs at the end of the season they were embarrassed at home with a pitiful showing against the Panthers losing the season finale and final game at Giants Stadium 41-9.

In 2010 the Giants moved into their new stadium and had another fairly promising beginning of the season being 8-4 and tied for first place with the Philadephia Eagles. They were due for a NFC East showdown at Giants Stadium on December 19th. It was 31-10 with 5:40 left in the 4th quarter when our friend Michael Vick went up and down the field as if our defense was already celebrating our NFC East division crown. With the game tied at 31-31 we punted to DeSean Jackson and we all know what happened after that and to our beloved Giants for the rest of the season.

Fast forward to 2011 and the Giants again come into the season with some question marks. Injuries galore, free agents fleeing to other teams and Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese on the hot-seat. Somehow though on Monday November 7th the Giants were sitting at 6-2 and coming off one of the biggest wins in recent history over the New England Patriots.

So the question remains are the Giants due for another collapse? The Giants have lost the last 2 games, most recently a truly uninspired performance by the Giants at home against the Eagles. The fans are booing, the media is swarming and the Giants PR spin doctors are in full force. This week if you listened to quotes by players like Chris Canty and others the Giants were saying things like this: “Everything that we still wanted to do at the start of this season is right there in front of us. Everything we wanted to do we still have the opportunity to do. We control our own destiny. It starts with this week of preparation.”

This is what Justin Tuck said when he was asked about how much concern the Giants have six games left: “I don’t know if there’s any concern. There shouldn’t be. The only thing we have to do is win football games. We still own our destiny. We still have three divisional games left with Washington and two against Dallas. We’re still where we want to be, but we can’t afford to play like we did last night.”

So again this brings us to the question are the Giants on the brink of another second half collapse? If you look at the schedule ahead and the resurging Cowboys you may be saying yes. If you look at the injuries piling up and some of the inconsistency of messages coming from the Giants coaching staff and players you may be saying yes. That is the beauty of watching NFL football though in this day and age. You never know what can happen. The Saints and Packers could both be wins for the Giants. The Giants may run the table on the Cowboys and win the division and hold all tie-breakers in the NFC East. Plus you have the Giants players telling us we are in the driver’s seat and control our own destiny.

So I ask you all what are your thoughts on the remainder of the season. I would say we have…uhh… nothing at all to be worried about.

Sources:

Wilkipedia.com : New York Giants history 1994-2010, Plaxico Burress

Giants.com: News Home, Transcripts Posted Nov. 21, 2011


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