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Giant opportunity
There was a lot of discussion and arguing last week over how Tom Coughlin and the Giants should have approached Saturday’s game against the 15-0 Patriots.
Some felt that the Giants should have played their starters and played to win, that they owed it to their league and their sport to try and win what could be a historic game. Others looked at the game as a lost cause saying that the Giants should have rested last week and focused on playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs this week.
While the Giants didn’t back into the playoffs like they did last year, they’re not playing playoff football. Their defense takes full quarters off and their offensive players look at times to be running plays out of different playbooks.
This game is more than just an opportunity for the Giants to iron out some wrinkles, however. By deciding that the Giants would play to win, in not looking ahead to next week, Tom Coughlin told his team that he believed they could win.
This decision should instill a newfound confidence in his players. The Giants were expected to lose – some regard the Patriots as the best team in the history of the sport. But in the days leading up to the game, one potential outcome was lost on many – a win could propel the Giants into the playoffs with the belief that they could make it to the Super Bowl instead of playing not to lose in the first round as they have in recent years.
Was Coughlin risking injury to an impact player? Sure. Was he taking a chance on not being as prepared for the playoffs as they could if they had looked past the Patriots? Absolutely.
But you know what, Giant fans, he rolled the dice to give your team the best chance it has to play in the big game. He told a team of underachievers that he believes in them when no one else does, and every team would be lucky to have a coach like that.
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