New York in Giant Trouble As They Begin a Four Game Season

One month ago today, the New York Giants were 6-2, atop the NFC East, playoff bound. It was common to hear about the 'GMen' and the 'Super Bowl' in the same sentence.

Well, that was a month ago.

After a nightmarish November and a heartbreaker against Tony Romo and friends, the Giants are 6-6, and their postseason chances are slowly fading.  Four consecutive losses, one of them a total collapse, have put them behind the Cowboys. Even worse: After this Sunday, they may not be able to control their own destiny.

New York has been in shambles since Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Lavar Arrington went down with injuries...and the ensuing locker room nonsense hasn't helped.  With Tom Coughlin receiving criticism on all fronts, Tiki Barber talking like the offensive coordinator, Plaxico Burress "quitting" in games, and Strahan running his mouth, Eli Manning's late-game interceptions have almost seemed benign.

It appears that the Giants' personal problems have finally been put aside, but it might be too late.  Their most recent loss to Dallas showed the team's need for a stronger defense.  On top of that, Eli and the Giants have also forgotten how to execute. Hopefully some of the boys were taking notes when Vince Young staged a repeat of his 2006 Rose Bowl performance, rallying Tennessee from 21-0 to win 28-21 in the fourth quarter.

While their loss on November 12th to the conference-leading Bears might be justified, nobody can excuse the Giants' performances against a mediocre Jacksonville squad, a horrific Titans team, and a Dallas club that they had already dominated back in October.  A team that was a couple weeks away from clinching their division have nearly put themselves in a position of dependence, praying that other organizations might lose so they can eek out a wild card bid.

But there is a bit of hope. The Eagles did their part on Monday night by beating the Carolina Panthers, who are in the same boat as New York.  However, the victory proved that Philadelphia themselves are still in the hunt at 6-6, even without Donovan McNabb. Some could argue, in fact, that whatever good came out of the Panthers' loss was undermined by the bad omen of the Eagles' win. The Giants face Philly on December 17.

Outside of that matchup, the G-Men have Carolina (6-6), New Orleans (8-4), and Washington (4-8) left to play in the regular season.  It's hard to imagine a more daunting run of games given New York's current situation, but the Giants have no one to blame but themselves.  Their .500 record places them in a wild card tie with the Panthers, Eagles, and Falcons.  On the plus side, their strong division performance will serve as a very fortunate and possibly very necessary tie-breaker, given that the other three 6-6 teams—especially Carolina—face uphill battles in the last month of the season.

The Giants can still shape their own future so long as they commit themselves to perfection.  If they go 4-0, they're in.  A single loss leaves them with hope but no guarantees, and even a 2-2 finish will have them done early.  It's a brand new season for the Giants...one with four weeks, four games, four opponents, two wild card spots, and one New York team who better show up for December if they want to play in January.

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