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With Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles in back-to-back games, New York Giants done in NFC East
Gary Myers
Tuesday, December 1st 2009, 4:00 AM
Puskar/APThe New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning have nowhere to run with the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys next up on the schedule. Related NewsSmith still starter, Kerry earns timeVoice of the People for Dec. 1, 2009Weiss: Irish would be lucky to land DungyFantasy Football: Breaking down the Jets vs. BillsFormer Yankees star 'Old Reliable' Henrich dies at 96The Giants have turned this into a forgettable season. They've lacked their trademark resilience, don't fight through adversity, no longer impose their will. They don't look anything like the team that won the Super Bowl two years ago.
Now they face a two-week battle for playoff survival against the hated Cowboys and Eagles.
There's no indication they have it in them to reach down deep, show some of the old Giants pride and put this season back together. That means by the time they absorb the one-two punch from the Cowboys and Eagles in back-to-back home games, they will be knocked out of the NFC East race and hanging on the ropes in the wild-card fight.
The Giants have made the playoffs four straight years, the second longest current streak in league behind the Colts, who have made it seven straight. The Giants were due for one of these down years.
The unknown: Just how hurt is Eli Manning? He predictably downplayed the latest development with his right foot. It started out as plantar fasciitis in October, but two weeks ago an MRI revealed it had progressed to a stress reaction. Any further damage could lead to a stress fracture. "I'm going about my business," Manning said Monday. "It hasn't affected my practicing and my playing. Hopefully, it doesn't get worse. I feel like it's getting better."
It just doesn't sound good that the $106.9 million quarterback has a messed-up foot as the Giants try to show some heart and make a playoff run.
Manning says he's not worried about his foot. How can he not be worried about his team?
The annoying part for Manning is having to show up early and stay late for treatment sessions. But there is nothing in the trainer's room that can fix this broken season.
The surgery will come in the offseason when Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin decide who stays and who goes. One of the first casualties could be linebacker Antonio Pierce, who missed the last two games and Monday was put on season-ending injured reserve with a neck injury. Pierce wasn't having an impact season, but his leadership will be missed.
The Giants (6-5) trail the Cowboys by two games in the East. They are one game behind the Eagles and Packers in the wild-card race. One year ago after 11 games, the Eagles were 5-5-1 and wound up in the NFC title game. The Cardinals were 7-4 and wound up in the Super Bowl. Neither the Cardinals nor Eagles won 10 regular-season games. Mathematically and historically, there is hope for the Giants. Realistically is another matter.
The Giants were clearly uninterested in Denver. They played as if they already had their bags packed for the offseason. After losing four straight, the overtime victory against the Falcons should have energized them, even with the disadvantage of having to travel to Denver in the short week. Instead, the Giants put on one of their more humiliating performances in years. Already, they have lost three times by at least 20 points for the first time since Coughlin's first season in 2004.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...yers_giants_eagles_cowboys.html#ixzz0YThCnQKg
Page 2 of 2)
"There's got to be a sense of urgency," Manning said. "We don't have time to kind of figure out and slowly become a better team and take strides. We've got to make a jump. Jump back to playing good football."
They've already had the last-ditch players-only meeting in the last couple of weeks. That did not work, obviously. Sometimes teams just have seasons like this. Players get hurt. Nobody steps up. The running back takes a step backward. The defensive ends don't get sacks. The quarterback has a bum foot. The head coach can't come up with a plan. The new defensive coordinator looks like a bad fit.
The Giants play three straight NFC East games. That should appeal to their competitive instincts. And when the calendar flips away from November, that is when the Cowboys tend to play their worst. Since Tony Romo took over as quarterback early in the 2006 season, the Cowboys are 5-10 after Dec. 1, including 0-2 in the playoffs.
When Justin Tuck was asked Monday about his level of optimism going into the most important part of the season, he said it was "11" on a scale of one through 10. How is that possible? "Call me ignorant or foolish, but that is the only way I know how to approach things," he said.
The Giants' only quality victory came in the second week in Dallas when they ruined the opening of Jerry Jones' new playground. Even with three interceptions thrown by Romo, the Giants needed Lawrence Tynes' 37-yard field goal on the final play to win 33-31. Dallas ran for 251 yards. The Giants can expect to see an awful lot of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice on Sunday.
The 5-0 start created false illusions about this team. And they have never recovered from the 48-27 spanking they took in New Orleans on Oct. 18. Now the Giants are a desperate team. The next two weeks will say a lot about their pride.
gmyers@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...ants_eagles_cowboys.html?page=1#ixzz0YTh1CfAj
Gary Myers
Tuesday, December 1st 2009, 4:00 AM
Puskar/APThe New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning have nowhere to run with the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys next up on the schedule. Related NewsSmith still starter, Kerry earns timeVoice of the People for Dec. 1, 2009Weiss: Irish would be lucky to land DungyFantasy Football: Breaking down the Jets vs. BillsFormer Yankees star 'Old Reliable' Henrich dies at 96The Giants have turned this into a forgettable season. They've lacked their trademark resilience, don't fight through adversity, no longer impose their will. They don't look anything like the team that won the Super Bowl two years ago.
Now they face a two-week battle for playoff survival against the hated Cowboys and Eagles.
There's no indication they have it in them to reach down deep, show some of the old Giants pride and put this season back together. That means by the time they absorb the one-two punch from the Cowboys and Eagles in back-to-back home games, they will be knocked out of the NFC East race and hanging on the ropes in the wild-card fight.
The Giants have made the playoffs four straight years, the second longest current streak in league behind the Colts, who have made it seven straight. The Giants were due for one of these down years.
The unknown: Just how hurt is Eli Manning? He predictably downplayed the latest development with his right foot. It started out as plantar fasciitis in October, but two weeks ago an MRI revealed it had progressed to a stress reaction. Any further damage could lead to a stress fracture. "I'm going about my business," Manning said Monday. "It hasn't affected my practicing and my playing. Hopefully, it doesn't get worse. I feel like it's getting better."
It just doesn't sound good that the $106.9 million quarterback has a messed-up foot as the Giants try to show some heart and make a playoff run.
Manning says he's not worried about his foot. How can he not be worried about his team?
The annoying part for Manning is having to show up early and stay late for treatment sessions. But there is nothing in the trainer's room that can fix this broken season.
The surgery will come in the offseason when Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin decide who stays and who goes. One of the first casualties could be linebacker Antonio Pierce, who missed the last two games and Monday was put on season-ending injured reserve with a neck injury. Pierce wasn't having an impact season, but his leadership will be missed.
The Giants (6-5) trail the Cowboys by two games in the East. They are one game behind the Eagles and Packers in the wild-card race. One year ago after 11 games, the Eagles were 5-5-1 and wound up in the NFC title game. The Cardinals were 7-4 and wound up in the Super Bowl. Neither the Cardinals nor Eagles won 10 regular-season games. Mathematically and historically, there is hope for the Giants. Realistically is another matter.
The Giants were clearly uninterested in Denver. They played as if they already had their bags packed for the offseason. After losing four straight, the overtime victory against the Falcons should have energized them, even with the disadvantage of having to travel to Denver in the short week. Instead, the Giants put on one of their more humiliating performances in years. Already, they have lost three times by at least 20 points for the first time since Coughlin's first season in 2004.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...yers_giants_eagles_cowboys.html#ixzz0YThCnQKg
Page 2 of 2)
"There's got to be a sense of urgency," Manning said. "We don't have time to kind of figure out and slowly become a better team and take strides. We've got to make a jump. Jump back to playing good football."
They've already had the last-ditch players-only meeting in the last couple of weeks. That did not work, obviously. Sometimes teams just have seasons like this. Players get hurt. Nobody steps up. The running back takes a step backward. The defensive ends don't get sacks. The quarterback has a bum foot. The head coach can't come up with a plan. The new defensive coordinator looks like a bad fit.
The Giants play three straight NFC East games. That should appeal to their competitive instincts. And when the calendar flips away from November, that is when the Cowboys tend to play their worst. Since Tony Romo took over as quarterback early in the 2006 season, the Cowboys are 5-10 after Dec. 1, including 0-2 in the playoffs.
When Justin Tuck was asked Monday about his level of optimism going into the most important part of the season, he said it was "11" on a scale of one through 10. How is that possible? "Call me ignorant or foolish, but that is the only way I know how to approach things," he said.
The Giants' only quality victory came in the second week in Dallas when they ruined the opening of Jerry Jones' new playground. Even with three interceptions thrown by Romo, the Giants needed Lawrence Tynes' 37-yard field goal on the final play to win 33-31. Dallas ran for 251 yards. The Giants can expect to see an awful lot of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice on Sunday.
The 5-0 start created false illusions about this team. And they have never recovered from the 48-27 spanking they took in New Orleans on Oct. 18. Now the Giants are a desperate team. The next two weeks will say a lot about their pride.
gmyers@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...ants_eagles_cowboys.html?page=1#ixzz0YTh1CfAj
