DIVISION QUEST
Giants set sights on outlasting weak foes
THE collaborative effort to get the Giants into Thanksgiving leading the sadsack pack in the NFC East is truly inspiring.
It has taken all four teams working together, to somehow, against all odds, push a flawed, .500 team to the top of the heap. In another year, the Giants would be in wildcard scenario hell, looking to the North (Vikings, Packers), the South (Falcons, Buccaneers) and out West (Seahawks) to see teams in the same, or, in most cases, better position to squeeze into the playoffs.
This holiday season, the Giants should be truly thankful for the company they keep. Thankful the Cowboys lost their two stars (Tony Romo, Dez Bryant) and quite possibly their moral compass (employing Greg Hardy) and showed little character in losing seven straight Romoless games.
The Giants should raise a glass to Chip Kelly, newage mastermind, for dismantling what was working and for putting his faith in quarterbacks (Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez) who might as well create a startup company called CoachKillers LLC.
The Giants should take a moment for silent reflection as they carve their turkeys, grateful they were wrong a few years back about Robert Griffin III taking over the division as they bask in the knowledge that a Daniel Snyderrun team is destined to underwhelm.
The Giants enjoyed the view last weekend as they vacationed, many in the warmth of the sun, seeing the Eagles (at the hands of the Buccaneers) and the Redskins (in Carolina) get demolished in games that deserved to count as two losses.
“I went home to Florida,’’ cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “Rest, relaxed, stay around family, but you kind of get back into it, Sunday you watch all the games.
“The Eagles game surprised me, them playing Tampa Bay, at home, I thought it would be a better match. They came out, they were neck and neck and then a few plays got away from them.’’
Linebacker Mark Herzlich was on a JetBlue flight home after a stay at Marco Island and was able to watch all the football he wanted. “It was not bad,’’ he said of what he saw. He certainly paid extra attention to the Redskins — up next for the Giants Sunday at FedEx Field — and took notice of how the Panthers harassed Kirk Cousins in a 4416 beatdown.
“I think the final score was surprising,’’ Herzlich said. “In the Redskins game you saw what the defensive pressure was doing to the quarterback. You’re also seeing a really young quarterback come into his own in Tampa Bay. You’re like ‘OK, this guy is pretty good.’ ’’
If the Giants win the division, they should give Jameis Winston a playoff share. He has beaten the Cowboys and Eagles and the Giants beat him in Tampa.
As he was seeing the Redskins get dominated, Herzlich fastforwarded to this weekend.
“It becomes a trap game,’’ he said. “If you start to think maybe they’re not that good, but you’re playing divisional football now and everybody’s good.’’
Or, more accurately, everyone might not be very good, which is why the Giants should feel emboldened to be where they are, in the lead, knowing if they beat the Redskins on Sunday, beat the Eagles in the season finale and perhaps find a way to win only two of the other four games, they’ll probably be sitting pretty with a division title.
“I think it’s great to control our own destiny,’’ cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “We know that this game, coach Coughlin says, is worth two points because it’s in the division and we know that if we take care of what we have to take care of I think we’ll be good. We’re in the driver’s seat and if we win out then we will be happy at the end.’’
The Giants do not need to win out, they need to win on Sunday and then not fall apart. They get to sit back on Thanksgiving and hope for more pleasant viewing when the Eagles kick things off at Detroit against the rejuvenated Lions and the Cowboys face the undefeated Panthers in Arlington, Texas. One more loss gives the Cowboys eight — say goodnight. One more loss makes the Eagles 47 and on the brink of falling by the wayside.
“When you come out of a bye week and you’re sitting in first place, it’s exciting for everybody,’’ Herzlich said. “You want to get to a point where you’re playing in December for a playoff spot and that’s what we intend to do.’’
To get there, the Giants don’t have to be perfect. They just have to stay ahead in the most imperfect division in the league.