It took over 72 hours, but I think I've found a positive spin to be put on the Giants' collapse Sunday against the Eagles. It's not that champions have come back from "rock bottom" losses. That's true, but...been there, done that. And this was more a gut-punching loss than a rock bottom loss.
It's simply: Wake-up call. They can learn from it, use it as a rallying point, and come back more determined. The closest comparison I can make to this game, is not the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" (that game decided nothing but draft status for a sub-.500 Giants team), but the 2002-03 Wild Card loss to San Francisco. In it, they led by 24 points late in the 3rd quarter only to let the 49ers come all the way back, and also lost that game on a special teams gaffe.
It's simply: Wake-up call. They can learn from it, use it as a rallying point, and come back more determined. The closest comparison I can make to this game, is not the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" (that game decided nothing but draft status for a sub-.500 Giants team), but the 2002-03 Wild Card loss to San Francisco. In it, they led by 24 points late in the 3rd quarter only to let the 49ers come all the way back, and also lost that game on a special teams gaffe.
So, better to learn this lesson (if you have to learn it, I suppose) in the regular season, than in the postseason. As for whether they'll rise to the occasion and come out fighting in Green Bay, or let the collapse define them...we'll find out Sunday.
And while I'm here, I'd also like to put to rest any notion that the best case scenario for the Giants is to miss the playoffs, fire Coughlin, and hire Bill Cowher. I like Bill Cowher, but Coughlin is a proven winner too. Plus, this is a team built to win now. A new coaching staff means a change of schemes, likely on both sides of the ball. That usually takes years for a team to master - and that's for the players who are even kept around. What if Cowher wants to play a 3-4 defense like he had in Pittsburgh, and half the Giants' defensive personnel aren't a good fit for that? There is no reason to go down that rebuilding road any time soon. The best case scenario is to win with what they have, and I think they can still do it.
And while I'm here, I'd also like to put to rest any notion that the best case scenario for the Giants is to miss the playoffs, fire Coughlin, and hire Bill Cowher. I like Bill Cowher, but Coughlin is a proven winner too. Plus, this is a team built to win now. A new coaching staff means a change of schemes, likely on both sides of the ball. That usually takes years for a team to master - and that's for the players who are even kept around. What if Cowher wants to play a 3-4 defense like he had in Pittsburgh, and half the Giants' defensive personnel aren't a good fit for that? There is no reason to go down that rebuilding road any time soon. The best case scenario is to win with what they have, and I think they can still do it.
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