Evading the Pressure

 By Thomas Rende

For a team that has the capabilities of putting constant pressure on a quarterback, it makes sense that they would value the art of protecting the quarterback. Making sure the elite pass rushers are put on waste ends and making ensuring that the jersey of Eli Manning remains cleans when he walks off the field. This Giants team revels in this type of pressure but shutters at another: the pressure of being considered “the best”, “Super Bowl contenders” or “divisional winners”.

See, most people will either become angry or confused with my statement considering that the team just won a Super Bowl, but hear me out. The Giants have snuck into both of their recent Super Bowl victories by finishing the regular season at 10-6 and 9-7 (one was a Wild Card berth, the other a divisional title). Both of those seasons were marked by sporadic streaks of strong play, many road victories in the post-season, and a final victory over the Patriots. Both of these teams carried moderate expectations into the postseason and proved the doubters wrong. They created an “us versus the world” attitude that seemed to become a mantra for the team.

AP Photo/ Tom Uhlman

Fast-forward to this off-season and the same pattern is forming, except in rarer fashion. The defending Super Bowl champs were receiving little media attention due to a New York Jets addition (I promise I won’t take the praise away from the Giants by writing the name). They took notice as many of the players were quoted by chanting the same “us versus the world” attitude.

The plan worked. The Giants lost the first game of the season to the division rival Dallas Cowboys, but they would go on to reel off victories versus tough opponents to put them atop the division. The inevitable week-to-week power rankings followed and after a gritty win in Dallas, the Giants were ruled one of the few elite teams, possibly the best team in the league.

The news caught the Giants off guard and you know what happened next? Tom Coughlin instructed Eli Manning to throw a couple games, asked the defense to stop defending against the run, and demanded that Victor Cruz stop his salsa dances. The play of the Giants fell apart in this two game span, due to Coughlin’s instructions or not. Now there is no more talk of winning a Super Bowl or making a deep run in January. The talks have shifted to what is wrong with Eli Manning and this Giants team. You can believe what you like but I will tell you if you go to see a movie for a third time, are you still surprised by the ending? This writer won’t be.