2012 NY Giants: Season Reflection

I hope everyone had a happy holiday and New Year's, and are ready to go back to school/work for a dragging 3 months until baseball season begins. Sorry for the delay; I needed time to get over the Giants' collapse.

The New York began defending their title at home on a warm September night against the bitter rival Cowboys. The MetLife crowd was fired up, but the crowd slowly joined in silence as the Giants dropped the opening game to the Boys' by a touchdown. From there on out, the Giants survived a scary home game against the Bucs with a late score in the final second of the fourth quarter, and went on to crush a Panthers squad on Thursday night in Carolina.  With a 2-1 record, the Giants lost the next week to the Eagles in Philly by a short Lawrence Tynes field goal, and a controversial offensive pass interference penalty on Ramses Barden. At 2-2, the Giants felt as if they should have been 4-0, but as we all know as Giants fans, the team shifts gears very, very quickly.

In the next four games, the Giants won four straight games. The Gmen defeated Cleveland with Ahmad Bradshaw running for over two-hundred yards. The next week, the Giants made a west coast trip to Candlestick Park, and made a statement win against a 49ers team that gave up twenty-six points, and only scored three on a David Akers field goal. At a record of 4-2, the Giants played rookie quarterback RG3 and the Washington Redskins, and defeated them on a long bomb connection from Eli to Cruz in the closing minutes. The Giants kept the winning streak alive once again in the late minutes in Dallas by stopping wide receiver Dez Bryant on a Hail Mary catch in the end zone, which was over ruled as incomplete by replay. The Giants were flying high at 6-2, going back home to play the Steelers, intending to take total control of the NFC East.

During the week of October 28, Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast brutally, putting many millions of  citizens surviving with no heat and electricity. The devastation was enormous, and the hospitality of others was brought to ones in need. The country came together as a whole, and fought to recover from the tragedy that occurred that shook the nation. After the storm left the area, the NYC Marathon was cancelled due to the harsh conditions in Long Island and the rest of the five boroughs. Surprisingly, the NFL decided to keep the game on against the Giants and Steelers. The Giants were playing in a time of need for not only playing for eighty-thousand fans in the stadium, but for the rest of the tri-state area. Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, and head coach Tom Coughlin believed the greatest thing the Giants could do is win this game for New York. The Giants began red hot, leading at halftime, but came out flat in the second half, losing to Ben Roethlisberger's passes and the rushing from Steelers' rookie running back Isaac Redman. A depressing loss for Giants fans and for the recovering states in a state of emergency. The next week, the Giants seemed to have left their talent at the airport, a was beat up by a streaking Cincinnati Bengals team 31-13. The Giants went into their bye week with a record of 6-4, leading the division by a thread in front of the Cowboys and Redskins.

During the bye week, many questions were brought to media attention. Is Eli Manning the "elite" quarterback we thought he was? Will he stay inconsistent throughout the season? Why hasn't the defense shown up in the first and second halves? Were the Giants going to have another second half collapse as they did in the previous years? Many questions were not solved, but Giants stayed proud and confident, being given two weeks to prepare for a fierce competition at home against the Green Bay Packers.

The Giants came out soaring, leading 21-0 in the second quarters, along with Eli Manning picking apart the Packers weak secondary, and the Big Blue defense rushing Aaron Rodgers showing no mercy. The Giants rolled 38-10 in an impressive victory that gained the Giants their swagger back, and brought them back into the category of possible teams to make a run in the playoffs. At 7-4, the Gmen played their first Monday Night Football game of the season, coming in to FedEx Field to play a red hot Washington Redskins team. The Skins made more plays than the Giants, and Eli Manning did not have enough tricks in his pocket to sneak another win. The Giants dropped a crucial division game 17-16 to RG3. All of the sudden, in a matter of days, the Giants were once again questioned as serious contenders. The test only got harder, as Drew Brees and the Saints came into town before the Gmen traveled to Atlanta and Baltimore for two very important late season match ups. The same Giants team that showed up against the Packers showed up against the Saints, as Eli Manning and defensive plays aided the Giants in a stunning 52-27 victory, putting the Giants at an 8-5 record going to the Georgia Dome.

The Atlanta Falcons looked at the Giants as just another game before the playoffs, as they already had cliched a playoff spot and was at the time the number one seed in the NFC at 11-2. Long story short, the Giants were far from playing football that afternoon, and were shut out by the Falcons 34-0. The Giants went down in NFL history as the first defending Super Bowl champs to have been shut out in their next season. The Giants created a very poor statistic in the record books, and the momentum of the offense and defense diminished.

In Week 16 with a record of 8-6, Big Blue entered M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to play Joe Flacco and the Ravens. The Ravens, who had lost five straight games, were digging deep for a win they desperately needed. Many New York fans held their heads high going into this game, feeling confident that they could get the job done and lock up the NFC East and clinch a playoff spot. Before the game over in Dallas, the Saints beat the Cowboys in overtime to possibly eliminate the Boys' with a Giants win. In a short span of only two weeks, the Giants were outscored 77-14 by their opponents, and lost all confidence from the players, staff, and most importantly the fans.

As a Giants fan, we all understand how the football season seems to repeat over and over each year as a roller coaster ride from the first week until the last. The Giants flourish in the first half, and skid during the second. The Gmen had trouble turning on the "on switch" each week during desperate times. Sadly, the Giants' chances of making the playoffs would be decided on a number of match ups. Not only did the Giants have to defeat the Eagles at home, but they also needed a Detroit Lions win over the Chicago Bears and a Washington Redskins win over Tony Romo and the Cowboys. The Giants dug them self into a gigantic hole, which took them out of  the division race, and resulted in them only competing for a wild card spot.

At 8-7, the Giants marched with their heads high as the Sandy Hook Elementary School was in attendance to be remembered for the tragic school shooting that occurred in mid-December. The Giants were playing for pride, honor, and for over twenty people consisting of students and staff in Newtown, CT.
The Giants began their hopeful run for the playoffs with an impressive half time score of 35-7, out playing the Eagles in all three phases of the game. Eli connected with Reuben Randle twice in the end zone, and David Wilson and Henry Hynoski contributed with a touchdown of their own as well. Eli threw five touchdown passes, as the Giants ended their season on a high note by a score of 42-7. Fortunately, the Eagles suffered throughout the whole entire season with injuries and managerial problems, with an overall record of 4-12. The Giants took care of business as their playoff chances were put on the shoulders of the Detroit Lions. Leading the whole entire game, Jay Cutler in the Bears seemed quite confident they could keep a slim lead against a faithful Lions team. In the fourth quarter, Lions QB Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown pass to give Detroit the lead, but the offense gave Chicago enough time on the clock to march down the field and score in retaliation. The Bears did so, and defeated the Detroit Lions in a nail biting game 26-24. The Lions loss ended the New York Giants season, eliminating Big Blue's chance of a playoff spot and a defending Super Bowl campaign.

The 2012 New York Giants ended 9-7 not making the playoffs after a triumphant Super Bowl XLVI victory over the Patriots. Even though the Giants showed inconsistency against weak opponents, the Gmen did defeat the Saints, Packers, and Niners in a commanding fashion. Those three wins were not enough for New York, and they slipped away from contending their title as champs. Eli Manning showed weaknesses in many occasions, but performed greatly under pressure with a season consisting of more touchdown passes and fewer interceptions. Questions still remain with the loyalty of Ahmad Bradshaw and Osi Umenyiora, and whether or not they will return as Giants next season. The Giants have high hopes out of their rookie running back David Wilson, and hope to re-sign tight end Martellus Bennett, who was under a one year contract. There are many holes in the defense, and the corner back performance was sub-par this season with Terrel Thomas injured and from the poor play of veteran Corey Webster and Sophomore Prince Amukamara. Tom Coughlin's coaching staff met expectations once again, and there is no reason to blame Coughlin for the Giants' debacle this season. I have no concerns that this Giants team will be prepared to make off season moves that will make this club once again a Super Bowl contender as they have been in the last five-plus years.

Even though the Giants schedule has not been created, and will not be developed until the Spring, the match ups have been released. At MetLife Stadium in 2013, the Giants will host the Seahawks, Packers, Vikings, Raiders, and Broncos. On the road, the Gmen will face the Chiefs, Chargers, Bears, Panthers, and Lions. The "Manning Bowl" will be a the game of the year between Eli and his Hall-of-Fame brother Peyton, who I also believe will be carrying the defending Super Bowl champions into the Meadowlands that week (Yes, I have the Broncos beating Green Bay in SB 47). The Giants of course play a home and away series against their division opponents, but play the NFC North. In my opinion, it seems the toughest games will be fought at home, and the advantage will go to the Giants automatically. The road schedule is weak for the Gmen, and is considered a breeze with four of the opponents consisting records under .500 this season. It's only the first week of January, and we will discuss the schedule more in depth when the time comes.

Overall, the 2012 New York Football Giants were a team of ups and downs, as the downs but a drastic ware on their outcome for the playoff dreams and a repeat of a Lombardi Trophy ceremony in New Orleans. I hope this team ends the skids they seem to have in the second half of the year, and find out how to successfully stay consistent from Week 1 until Week 17. Thank you Giants for once again a wonderful year of football played at the highest class. We are Super Bowl champions until February 3, so enjoy the remaining days of our reign.