As we head into the first week of playoffs in the NFL, both New York City football teams are in the playoffs, something that doesn't happen very often. However, there is a huge difference in attitude, as well as expectations, from the two sides.
For Jets fans, coming into this season without one of the best running backs in NFL history, Curtis Martin, and with rookie Head Coach Eric Mangini, brought a lot of unanswered questions. Mangini did his part in answering at least a few of them.
Witha game plan that got many players involved -- and at the same time kept his quarterback, Chad Pennington, who hasn't been healthy in years, healthy, Mangini employed a system and produced results that Jets fans have been waiting for since Parcells took them to within one game of the big dance.
At one point, mired in a 2-3 record and without much light at the end of the tunnel, the J-E-T-S rolled off wins in three of their next four games -- and fresh off of a win in New England -- had new hope with a 5-4 record. With other teams in the same position, the Jets and their fans were thinking of a post season.
With the help of their schedule, New York went on to win five of their last seven games, including an impressive win in Green Bay.
The Jets are going into the post season playing with house money, and as long as they don't embarrass themselves, their fans should have nothing to complain about if (when) they get knocked out of the playoffs.
The Giants, however, are a completely different story. In fact, I don't think that you could have a season where two teams went to the NFL playoffs by taking such contrastingly different routes.
The Giants started the season sluggish, albeit with a tough schedule, and at their week-three bye found themselves at just 1-2. Then they ran off five straight wins, and after week nine they were at 6-2, had a division record of 3-0, and were considered one of the top teams in the NFL.
Then Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and "Mr. Nickles," LaVar Arrington, all got hurt. That led to holes in the defense, which somehow carried over to holes in the offense.
Offensively, wide receiver Amani Toomer and left tackle Luke Petitgout went down with season-ending injuries, and the Giants simply were not the same ball club that was at 6-2.
They lost four straight and six out of seven. Their saving grace was a week-17 win at Washington so that they could escape with an 8-8 record and qualify for the playoffs in a very mediocre NFC.
The Giants' season went on a downward spiral on Nov. 12 with a horriffic 38-20 loss at home to Chicago on national television. The pinnacle of the misery was when the Bears took a missed-Jay Feely field goal attempt and ran it all the way back for a touchdown, capping a dismal night for New York.
Then they went to Jacksonville and lost by 16 points, and followed that with a trip to Tennessee which saw another Giants' implosion that led to Vince Young's coming out party.
They lost a close one in Dallas before stopping the bleeding with a win at Carolina, but that didn't last long, as they once again imploded against the Eagles, allowing late turnovers come back to bite them. They got stomped on by the Saints in their own house, and then came back to somewhat salvage their season by beating the Redskins to make the playoffs.
The way the Giants have played since November, there is absolutely no reason in the world why Giants fans should expect anything positive to happen this weekend in Philadelphia. Philly has been riding a high for the second half of the season, ironically enough when they lost their starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb. Jeff Garcia took over and ignited this team with a confidience they had not shown to this point all season. Their offense is scoring, and Philadelphia's defense is playing their best football of the season.
Should the Giants accomplish anything this Sunday? Not if they play the way they have played for most of the last six weeks, and there isn't much reason to think that they won't.
As for the Jets, no matter what the scoreboard says, they come out winners. If they win the game, they beat one of their bitter rivals, the New England Patriots, and move on to the second round of the AFC playoffs, an amazing accomplishment for a team that was still looking for an identity midway through the season. If they lose the game, so what, they would have lost to a team that has won a few Super Bowls recently, and just making it to the post season was more than Jets fans could have asked for out of their first-year, rookie head coach, who just may win Coach of the Year.
For Jets fans, coming into this season without one of the best running backs in NFL history, Curtis Martin, and with rookie Head Coach Eric Mangini, brought a lot of unanswered questions. Mangini did his part in answering at least a few of them.
Witha game plan that got many players involved -- and at the same time kept his quarterback, Chad Pennington, who hasn't been healthy in years, healthy, Mangini employed a system and produced results that Jets fans have been waiting for since Parcells took them to within one game of the big dance.
At one point, mired in a 2-3 record and without much light at the end of the tunnel, the J-E-T-S rolled off wins in three of their next four games -- and fresh off of a win in New England -- had new hope with a 5-4 record. With other teams in the same position, the Jets and their fans were thinking of a post season.
With the help of their schedule, New York went on to win five of their last seven games, including an impressive win in Green Bay.
The Jets are going into the post season playing with house money, and as long as they don't embarrass themselves, their fans should have nothing to complain about if (when) they get knocked out of the playoffs.
The Giants, however, are a completely different story. In fact, I don't think that you could have a season where two teams went to the NFL playoffs by taking such contrastingly different routes.
The Giants started the season sluggish, albeit with a tough schedule, and at their week-three bye found themselves at just 1-2. Then they ran off five straight wins, and after week nine they were at 6-2, had a division record of 3-0, and were considered one of the top teams in the NFL.
Then Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and "Mr. Nickles," LaVar Arrington, all got hurt. That led to holes in the defense, which somehow carried over to holes in the offense.
Offensively, wide receiver Amani Toomer and left tackle Luke Petitgout went down with season-ending injuries, and the Giants simply were not the same ball club that was at 6-2.
They lost four straight and six out of seven. Their saving grace was a week-17 win at Washington so that they could escape with an 8-8 record and qualify for the playoffs in a very mediocre NFC.
The Giants' season went on a downward spiral on Nov. 12 with a horriffic 38-20 loss at home to Chicago on national television. The pinnacle of the misery was when the Bears took a missed-Jay Feely field goal attempt and ran it all the way back for a touchdown, capping a dismal night for New York.
Then they went to Jacksonville and lost by 16 points, and followed that with a trip to Tennessee which saw another Giants' implosion that led to Vince Young's coming out party.
They lost a close one in Dallas before stopping the bleeding with a win at Carolina, but that didn't last long, as they once again imploded against the Eagles, allowing late turnovers come back to bite them. They got stomped on by the Saints in their own house, and then came back to somewhat salvage their season by beating the Redskins to make the playoffs.
The way the Giants have played since November, there is absolutely no reason in the world why Giants fans should expect anything positive to happen this weekend in Philadelphia. Philly has been riding a high for the second half of the season, ironically enough when they lost their starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb. Jeff Garcia took over and ignited this team with a confidience they had not shown to this point all season. Their offense is scoring, and Philadelphia's defense is playing their best football of the season.
Should the Giants accomplish anything this Sunday? Not if they play the way they have played for most of the last six weeks, and there isn't much reason to think that they won't.
As for the Jets, no matter what the scoreboard says, they come out winners. If they win the game, they beat one of their bitter rivals, the New England Patriots, and move on to the second round of the AFC playoffs, an amazing accomplishment for a team that was still looking for an identity midway through the season. If they lose the game, so what, they would have lost to a team that has won a few Super Bowls recently, and just making it to the post season was more than Jets fans could have asked for out of their first-year, rookie head coach, who just may win Coach of the Year.
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