Keidel: These Giants Stack Up Favorably To Super Teams Of The Past
By Jason Keidel
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When the Pittsburgh Steelers stomped the Giants at Heinz Field earlier this month, the cynics were lined up around the block, hammers in hand, ready to pound the final nail in their playoff coffin.
Like there's some shame to losing a road game to a perennial playoff team, much less the club with the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. All it did was nudge the Giants down to 8-4, a .667 winning percentage and still leaders in the wild-card race. But to hear the critics, the Steelers exposed the Giants as the faux football team they really are, the gridiron iteration of Trevor Berbick -- someone to keep the throne warm until Mike Tyson comes along.
Maybe the Giants aren't the chalk to walk out of the NFC with the George Halas Trophy. But the one team decidedly better than the Giants has already lost twice to them. For all the admonitions that you'd hate to play a team a third time in January, Big Blue is probably drooling over the idea of a Cowboys trilogy.
And the Giants are hardly NFL neophytes. With their 17-6 win over Detroit, the Giants have won 707 games, third most in league history, behind the Bears and Packers. And let's parse their recent particulars. The Giants just beat two teams with a combined record of 20-5 at the time they played. Dallas had won 11 straight, and Detroit had won five straight.
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Doesn't this feel familiar? Aren't the Giants known for occasionally getting the hottest when it's the coldest?
Rarely do free-agent splurges yield the production commensurate to their salaries. You may recall the Philadelphia Eagles, led by new cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, were once branded a "Dream Team," only to tank in real life. The list of modern, big-ticket defensive players checking out to count their checking account is endless, from Asomugha to Deion Sanders getting $56 million at age 33, to Albert Haynesworth, Adam Archuleta, Byron Maxwell, Curtis Lofton and Larry Brown.
But so far, Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and Damon Harrison have been worth every dime of their collective, nine-figure contracts. And they, like the defense they lead -- plus the emergence of Landon Collins -- are only getting better. The Giants' D is allowing 14.9 points per game and a aggregate passer rating of 70 since Week 7, best in the league. They're also fourth in rushing defense (90.1 yards per game) and third in scoring defense (17.9 points per game) overall.
And we're hearing the same lamentations when the Giants warm up for a playoff run. Eli Manning is mediocre, playing with the same statistical and emotional inertia. We want our quarterbacks equal parts cheerleader and drill instructor, deep in the faces or up the rumps of their teammates, eyes bulging while shouting in the huddle.
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Over a dozen years into his career, we're still waiting for Manning to morph into Jim McMahon, or even his own brother. The two Super Bowl MVP awards aren't enough proof of his talent or temerity. At this point, we should have long accepted Manning for what he is -- a winner. Maybe he's led the league in interceptions too often. Maybe he isn't Knute Rockne. But there have been some stoic QBs on the right side of history -- Joe Montana, Roger Staubach and Bob Griese.
If there's a glaring difference between these Giants and their Big Blue brethren of Super Bowl vintage, it's the running game. Not only is the oft-injured Matt Forte ahead of Jennings in the RB rankings, but so is Forte's backup, Bilal Powell, who has more yards on 60 fewer carries. Indeed, Jennings is tied with Todd Gurley, of all players, for the fewest yards-per-rush among the NFL's top 30 runners (3.2).
Doesn't exactly summon memories of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw -- bruising backs who softened defenses and allowed Manning to work the play-action passing game. Of course, these Giants have Odell Beckham Jr., who's infinitely more gifted than Mario Manningham, Amani Toomer or David Tyree.
Is that enough to beat Dallas? They already have. Is it enough to beat Detroit? They already have. Is it enough to win the Super Bowl? They already have ... proved the question deserves to be asked.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
