Keidel: Table Set Nicely For Giants To Return To Postseason

By Jason Keidel
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To the natives, there's no greater fraud than those who root for both local football teams. Indeed, nothing makes us wince more than, "I'm cool with whoever wins. I'm just a New York fan."

Fortunately, fans don't have to spread their loyalty over the Jets and Giants, as both could easily make the playoffs this year.

In a rare role reversal, the Jets are considered the local chalk, based on their 10-6 season in 2015. Of course, there are other legitimate reasons the Giants are the lower-tier local team in 2016 -- a new head coach, last year's eyesore of a defense, a questionable running game, Victor Cruz finding new muscles to pull.

But there's no reason the Giants can't be just as competitive in the NFC East as the Jets are in the AFC East.

And unlike the Jets, who must always crank their heads up at the Patriots -- not to mention Gang Green has the seventh-hardest schedule in the NFL -- there is no New England equivalent for the Giants.

Few doubt their bona fides on offense. Eli Manning will play with typical aplomb while never missing a snap. Odell Beckham Jr. is one season from overtaking Antonio Brown as the best wide receiver in the NFL (with a gifted rookie ready to join him on the field). And offensive guru Ben McAdoo will be coaching them all up after replacing Tom Coughlin as sideline czar.

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So with few questions on that side of the ball, the Giants got all OCD on D this year.

Big Blue spent nine figures on defense in the offseason -- among the big-ticket defenders are cornerback Janoris Jenkins, defensive tackle Damon Harrison and defensive end Olivier Vernon -- to patch up their woeful defense from 2015, which hemorrhaged passing yards at epic rates.

Then they doubled-down in the draft, plucking cornerback Eli Apple in the first round, safety Darian Thompson in the third and linebacker B.J. Goodson in the fourth.

Then consider the Giants' emaciated division. The NFC East has been increasingly starved since the Giants won their last Super Bowl, all but rotating division winners, with the Washington Redskins winning it last year by default. Adding Josh Norman makes them a bit more formidable, but it hardly makes them the Joe Gibbs juggernaut of the '80s.

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The Dallas Cowboys still have a haunted defense. First-round draft pick Ezekiel Elliot is already being hailed as a hybrid of Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. But forgive us if we'd like to see him play an NFL game before we agree. Tony Romo is one sack from breaking a clavicle and one wrong twist in the pocket from wrenching his historically bad back.

The Philadelphia Eagles were supposed to hijack the sport under coach Chip Kelly. Until they fired him, traded away prized running back DeMarco Murray and started shredding the incongruous roster that Kelly -- the mad scientist who destroyed his chemistry set -- created.

No Giants rival enters this season with great pedigree under the headset. Dallas' Jason Garrett, a very nice man, is largely viewed as little more than Jerry Jones' coaching minion. Doug Pederson is a rookie coach in Philly. And the Redskins' Jay Gruden isn't even the best coach in his family.

So you could argue that the NFC East has more variables than any division in the league. And the Giants, if nothing else, have long been respected as the emblem of consistency in the mayhem of the NFL, which feasts on its acronym -- "Not For Long."

Then consider their competition. New York has bumped into the serendipity of the second-weakest schedule in the NFL. Only the Green Bay Packers have a softer slate of foes than the Giants, whose opponents had a combined .461 winning percentage (118-138) in 2015.

And while the Jets are secretly thrilled to have Ryan Fitzpatrick locked and loaded under center, the Giants have easily the most overlooked and underappreciated QB in the sport. For a future Hall of Famer, Eli Manning is oddly omitted from the list of high-end quarterbacks in the league.

Beckham should have a cinder block on his shoulder after the ignominious ending to last season, when he allowed Norman to play the puppeteer for four quarters, appropriating Beckham's name and game on national television. By all accounts, his new wingman at wideout, Sterling Shepard, is living up to his first name.

Big Blue often does well residing under the radar. They've lost their Olympic-style, Super Bowl rhythm, when they seemed to win a Lombardi Trophy every four years under Coughlin. So no one is rushing to Vegas windows to drop a few quid on the G-Men, who are 30-to-1 to win their fifth Super Bowl title.

But give me a vastly improved defense, the best wide receiver and quarterback in the division, a burgeoning sidekick for Beckham and the collective hunger of a team that hasn't won a playoff game in five years, while playing in the most uncertain division in the sport.

Big Blue may not win the Big Game in February, but don't be shocked if they at least earn a ticket to the playoff dance. When you're ready to forget about the Giants, they usually remind you why that's a bad idea.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel