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New York Giants know how tough it will be to repeat as champs
By RANDY COVITZThe Kansas City Star
(Are you listening, Kansas basketball team?)
“I hope it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Coughlin said after presenting President Bush with a Giants jersey.
Three months after New York stunned the football world by winning three straight road games in the playoffs and shocking the unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, the Giants have been basking in the glow of the championship.
They’ve made the obligatory appearances with Letterman, Regis and Kelly, and even Ellen DeGeneres. Coughlin, whose job was in jeopardy in December, signed a rich new contract.
They’ve replayed the pivotal play in the Super Bowl, when quarterback Eli Manning made an amazing escape from the rush before wide receiver David Tyree made a remarkable catch with the ball pinned against his helmet, setting up the game-winning touchdown.
They’ve relived the incredible feat of marching through Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay in the playoffs as part of winning 11 straight road games (including one in London and the Super Bowl).
And they’ve remembered what it was like to start the season 0-2 and see their coach and quarterback skewered in New York, particularly as Manning tied for the lead league with 20 interceptions.
But as difficult as it was to get there, the Giants realize how much tougher it is to repeat. The Patriots, in 2004 and 2005, and the Denver Broncos, in 1998 and 1999, are the only teams to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the salary cap/free agent era began in 1993.
“That’s always the question,” Coughlin said. “The one thing that came out of last year … the players believed in themselves and the idea of team and the sharing of the team concept gave them greater confidence.
“There were people who counted on each other and relied on each other. Our approach will be the same. One meeting, one practice, one day at a time. You do the best you can, try the hardest you can and surround yourself with people with a singleness of purpose.”
The club’s biggest leap of faith was to believe in Manning, even though his play was inconsistent during the regular season and his passer rating was a pedestrian 73.9.
But Manning, in his third full year as the starter, was brilliant in the regular-season-ending loss to New England, completing 22 of 32 passes and throwing four touchdowns. And he lit it up in the playoffs, completing 72 of 119 passes for 854 yards, six touchdowns, one interception and a 95.7 rating.
“Most quarterbacks, it takes three to four years to produce the kind of numbers he started producing in the playoffs,” said Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce. “It came down to his being comfortable, putting his blinders on, not really focusing on what the outside world was thinking, really focusing on what the 53 guys, the coaches and the organization were really believing in him, and that’s what we did.
“We believed in him. We had nobody else. Who else were we going to believe in? This is who our franchise quarterback is, and he started believing that we were believing in him, and he played lights out.”
Coughlin is convinced Manning is only going to get better.
“The way he played in the playoffs, his decision-making, the releasing the ball on time, all of those things, the view of the field, they were things he did very well,” Coughlin said. “He’s now had the reinforcement of having done that, and I think that he’ll continue to grow and go from there.
“He’s played himself through the playoffs and had the opportunity to win. I think you play your way into those situations. It’s cumulative. You have so much time developed over the years and all of a sudden it came together. I expect him to be on the incline.”
Still, there are going to be plenty of skeptics about whether Giants, 10-6 and a wild card a year ago, will be the best team in the NFC East, much less the NFC or NFL this season. There are plenty of off-field issues, even for champions. Or especially for champions.
Will defensive end Michael Strahan retire? Will unhappy tight end Jeremy Shockey be traded? Who else wants new contracts?
“You hear the whispers,” Pierce said. “Maybe Eli, that was a lucky four games for you … maybe Antonio Pierce is on the downside … maybe (defensive end) Osi’s (Umenyiora) contract thing is going to blow him out … maybe (wide receiver) Plaxico (Burress) isn’t healthy…
“Guys know that, guys hear that. We still listen to the media, we still take our little notes and put them up on the board. There’s nothing changed because we won the Super Bowl. We’re still going with that ‘us against the world’ mentality. I’m going to make sure our team stays that way.”
WHO’S NEW: LB Zach Thomas (Miami); CB Pacman Jones (Tennessee)
WHO’S GONE: RB Julius Jones (Seahawks), DT Jason Ferguson, SS Keith Davis, LB Akin Ayodele, TE Anthony Fasano (all with Bill Parcells in Miami)
BEST DRAFT PICKS: RB/KR Felix Jones, CB Mike Jenkins and TE Martellus Bennett all will play.
KEY QUESTIONS: Will the Cowboys win a playoff game for the first time since 1996? Can Terry Glenn return to form after two knee surgeries kept him out of 15 games last season? How does CB Pacman Jones, if he is reinstated, fit in the locker room? Is this Wade Phillips’ last season?
GAMES TO WATCH: Games after Dec. 1. QB Tony Romo is 4-7 in December and January, with 11 TDs, 14 interceptions and one fumbled hold. In 2006, the Cowboys lost four of their last five games, and last season they were 1-3 in their last four games.
WHO’S NEW: S Sammy Knight (Jacksonville), QB David Carr (Carolina), LB Danny Clark (Houston)
WHO’S GONE: LB Kawika Mitchell (Buffalo), S Gibril Wilson (Oakland), LB Reggie Torborg (Miami).
BEST DRAFT PICKS: S Kenny Phillips could replace Wilson right away. WR Mario Manningham could be a steal in the third round, as could QB Andre Woodson in the sixth.
KEY QUESTIONS: Will QB Eli Manning be the postseason Eli Manning or the regular-season version? Will Michael Strahan announce his retirement soon or again report after training camp? Will TE Jeremy Shockey get with the program or be traded?
GAMES TO WATCH: For a Super Bowl champion, the schedule is pretty favorable, starting with Washington at home, at St. Louis and Cincinnati at home before a bye. Tough stretch starts on Oct. 26 with games at Pittsburgh, home to Dallas and at Philadelphia.
Coming Monday: NFC North
WHO’S NEW: CB Asante Samuel (New England), DE Chris Clemons (Oakland), RB Lorenzo Booker (Miami), FB Dan Klecko (Indianapolis) and LB Rocky Boiman (Indianapolis).
WHO’S GONE: CB Will James (Buffalo), FB Thomas Tapeh (Minnesota) LB Takeo Spikes (released), DE Jevon Kearse (released).
BEST DRAFT PICKS: WR/KR DeSean Jackson provides much-needed big-play possibilities. S Quintin Demps is the heir apparent to Brian Dawkins.
KEY QUESTIONS: Can QB Donovan McNabb stay healthy for 16 games? Can CBs Lito Sheppard, Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown coexist in the secondary? Can WR Reggie Brown elevate his game?
GAMES TO WATCH: Sept. 15 at Dallas; Dec. 28 at home vs. Dallas. NFC East title could come down to these two games.
WHO’S NEW: KR Jerome Mathis (Houston).
WHO’S GONE: QB Mark Brunell (New Orleans), WRs Reche Caldwell (St. Louis) and Brandon Lloyd (Chicago), CB David Macklin (St. Louis), G Rick DeMulling, LB Randall Godfrey, TE Brian Kozlowski, WR Keenan McCardell, S Pierson Prioleau, G-C Mike Pucillo, S Omar Stoutmire not re-signed.
BEST DRAFT PICKS: WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly will vie for the third receiver job. TE Fred Davis could play a lot — if he doesn’t oversleep. CB J.T. Tyron could be nickel back while Carlos Rogers mends. P Durant Brooks is favored to unseat Derrick Frost.
KEY QUESTIONS: Is Jim Zorn, never even a coordinator, ready to succeed Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs? Can QB Jason Campbell master a third offense in four years? Can the oft-injured 30-somethings in the front seven stay healthy?
GAMES TO WATCH: Opener at Giants will give Washington an indication of how it will stack up in ’08. Club finishes NFC East road games with visits to Dallas on Sept. 28 and Philly on Oct. 5. Zorn returns to Seattle on Nov. 23.