NYGiantscast’s biggest fan Kevin Eliasen sent me this recently, and I’d like to show everyone out there how this man braves the enemy territory every day.

Keep up the good work out there Kevin, and spread the good word of NYGiantscast and the Giants. Brown and I like to think of ourselves as God and Jesus, and you are our disciple. Keep it up man.

And congrats on the air time. Nice job reppin your team in a hostile location.

Philadelphia’s Bravest Giants Fan

Here are some scenarios I will lay out for the Giants to make the Super Bowl:

Scenario 1: The seeds play out
-Week 1: Minnesota beats Philadelphia, Arizona beats Atlanta (Giants play Arizona in week 2)
Because of the distance between the divisions, I see this being the least of possible scenarios.  However, it would be one of the more desirable scenarios because the Giants would be playing Arizona in their first game.  A piece of cake.  The Giants roughed up the Cards the first time around, and Arizona hasn’t done anything to impress anyone since then.  They’ve actually taken a downslide.

Scenario 2: Upset city/The Birds
-Week 1: Philadelphia beats Minnesota, Atlanta beats Arizona (Giants play Philadelphia in week 2)
As weird as it is, this is the most plausible scenario to me coming out of week 1 of the NFC playoffs.  The wild card teams just plain come from better divisions, and I think are just plain better than the teams they are playing.  Kevin Eliason brought up a good point in a comment, he said that he hopes the Giants play the Eagles in their first game because they’ll have a chip on their shoulder.  I’d agree.  I’d rather play Minny than Philly, but it’s impossible for the Giants to play Minnesota in week 2 of the playoffs (the Giants play the lowest remaining seed in the 2nd round, and Minnesota, being the 3 seed, would be the highest remaining seed other than Carolina if they were to win their game).  Therefore, I’d love to face Philadelphia.  I think I’m not the only one to think the last time these 2 teams played was a fluke, and Donovon is going to have his ego riding high.  Just ask Achilles or Oedipus what happens when a little hubris takes over.

Scenario 3: Falcons amok
-Week 1: Minnesota beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Arizona (Giants play Atlanta in week 2)
This is where, as a Giants fan, I get the most scared.  This means the Giants, to get to the playoffs, will have to face the 2 teams that scare me most in the NFC: The Falcons and the Panthers.  There is no way in my mind that Minnesota beats Carolina.  Unfortunately, this is also a very plausible scenario.  I would put large amounts of money on Atlanta over the Cardinals, and because the Falcons are the 5 seed, and the Giants play the lowest remaining seed, that means the Eagles have to win for the Giants to avoid the Falcons.  I hope to god the Giants don’t face the Falcons.  It would be a rough road to Tampa that way.  Yes, they’d be playing at home, and that does make me feel a bit better about whoever they play.  But I just really hope it’s not Atlanta (side note, at the beginning of the season, WHO THE HELL thought anyone would be uttering the words “I hope we don’t play the Falcons” in the playoffs? Not me.)

I am leaving out scenario 4 because the Giants would also play Philly if the Eagles win and Arizona wins

Predictions from Kyle:
-Philadelphia 27, Minnesota 17
-Atlanta 35, Arizona 21

The Giants can beat any 3 of the teams they could face, especially since it is at the Meadowlands.  Secretly, I do somewhat want the Giants to play Atlanta, because I’m going to the game and I’d love to watch Matt Ryan.  But that’s the only positive to the Giants playing Atlanta.

Botton line: I can’t wait for a rematch with the Panthers.

Sam Madison was placed on injured reserve with a broken ankle. He got it rolled up on during a play last week against the Vikings. THIS, my friends, is why Coughlin was smart NOT to play the starters for much longer than the first half. Yes, we lost the game. Yes, I’m still kind of bitter about it, as I thought the starters slacked in the time they did play (ask Kevin, we had a heated argument via text about it haha). However, this is why we play the backups.

Tough break for Madison, who was playing pretty decent in his role.

Ok folks, here’s the deal. We are extremely sorry for the lack of shows. This winter break has found Kevin and I on COMPLETELY different schedules. I stayed at his house for 3 days and I barely saw him, that’s how rarely we’ve been able to have time together. And I will be in Vermont visiting family until December 30th. The house I’ll be in only has dial-up, which means I won’t be able to do a preview or postgame show for Minnesota unfortunately. HOWEVER, after that, when the playoffs pick up, you can bet your life we’ll get back on track. Just wanted to tell everyone that we haven’t disappeared. Things will be back to normal in a little while.

Thanks for your patience and understanding, everyone.

Well folks….let’s start off by saying I have absolutely no voice. It’s gone, and I don’t expect it to return any time soon.

I really don’t know what to put here for any kind of recap. I’m still in shock over this game. You all saw it, I know I don’t have to recap it for you. Derrick Ward ruined the Panthers, and the defense stepped up big in the 2nd half.

Here’s one thing I DO need to point out. Jeffry Chiada, an ESPN.com writer, basically said the Giants got lucky and that if these 2 teams meet again in the playoffs, the Panthers will win. WHAT DO THE GIANTS NEED TO DO TO GET RESPECT??? THEY JUST DROPPED 301 FREAKIN RUSHING YARDS ON THE PANTHERS, and STILL no respect. It’s unbelievable. But you know what? Who cares. They won, that’s all that matters, the W. Sure, they got a bit lucky when Jon Kasay missed that 50-yard field goal. Frankly, despite how good Kasay is as a kicker, I wasn’t really that nervous going into it. Yes, I was nervous. But throwing all the factors together (the cold, the distance, the swirling wind), it was a recipe for disaster for Kasay. And even if it was luck, luck is always part of a win. You have to have it.

But I digress. This win was as enormous as a win can get in the regular season. It was physical, it was hard fought, and it was won with pure heart.

I’ll list some things the Giants should and shouldn’t be concerned about:

SHOULD:
-The pass rush. It was nowhere to be found, even in the 2nd half. The Panthers offensive line pushed the Giants D-line around like they were bullies on a 2nd grade playground. It was horrifying to watch.

SHOULDN’T:
-The offensive line. 301 rushing yards. Enough said. The Panthers did get a few sacks, but Eli had enough time usually, and this line’s strength isn’t pass blocking, so I’m not worried about those sacks. They’re gonna happen. I repeat: 301 rushing yards. The holes were there when they needed to be, and Derrick Ward found them.
..
…
….301 rushing yards.
-The rushing defense.  They got hit with 3 rushing touchdowns on the Panthers’ 3 drives, which would be a cause for concern if they hadn’t totally turned that around in the 2nd half.  When it came to crunch time, they forced Jake Delhomme to beat them with his arm, and that brings me to my next point…

SOMETHING THAT IMPRESSED ME:
-The secondary. They let up a few bonehead plays, but that is to be expected from this group. I thought they came up with big stop after big stop when the pass rush wasn’t doing its job. Jake Delhomme had ALL DAY back in the pocket, and the secondary still came up with huge pass deflections to end drives. Good work back there, not having a pass rush makes their job 10 times as difficult.

FINAL WORD: The road to the Super Bowl goes through East Rutherford, NJ. Now someone get me a glass of water, my throat is killing me…

You’ll notice we haven’t done a preview the last two weeks for the Dallas and Carolina games. This is not desirable as these are the two biggest games of the year and we don’t want to miss shows but here’s where real life gets in the way.
A) Crappy recording equipment at home
B) Kyle and I being on very different schedules
C) Me shoveling snow for hours upon hours the last two days

So this week just didn’t work but we can promise you to expect no more shows will be missed.

As for this game…you know the deal people. The Giants win and get home field. The Giants lose and they may be in serious trouble for a first round bye. Carolina’s as good a running team as anyone in the league and Jake Delhomme makes big throws. It’s not gonna be easy. But we’re gonna be screaming our lungs out at the Meadowlands.

GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few things from the Daily News I found both interesting and agreeable:

Bob Raissman reports Tom Coughlin refused a pregame interview with Tiki Barber before tomorrow night’s showdown with Carolina, and gives his take.  I couldn’t agree more.

Ralph Vacchiano posted a SUPERB preview of the upcoming game. I agree with everything from the assessment of the Panthers to the final pick. Check it out. I’d say more here, but he pretty much covers it all.

Out:
LB Gerris Wilkinson
Questionable:
RB Brandon Jacobs (expect him to play, he’s practiced 3 straight days and said “I feel good”)
WR Domenick Hixon
DT Fred Robbins
WR Sinorice Moss
Probable:
OL Kareem McKenzie
OL Rich Seubert
RB Ahmad Bradshaw
S Kenny Phillips
DE Justin Tuck
RB Derrick Ward

Everyone on this injury report is going to have to contribute for the Giants to win.

The Giants brought WR Joe Horn in for a workout today, but did not offer him a contract because they had concerns about his explosiveness. Good to know they’re not just giving any guy a flier.

Joe Horn is visiting the Giants today, and could take a physical and sign with the Giants in order to be on the active roster this week against Carolina. This sounds nice, but the 36-year old has declined steadily his past few years, and he only had 27 catches and 243 receiving yards last year with the Falcons. They released him in August.

I’m actually kind of excited for this signing. However, I hope he doesn’t assume the #1 WR role this week against Carolina. If the Giants do lock up the #1 seed, they could give Horn the Minnesota game to learn the position and the Giants offense, and he could be incredibly useful to the team. However, if he plays too early too much, his lack of knowledge of the playbook could be a big problem. We’ve seen what happens when guys are not on the same page as Eli, and they’ve been on the team for years. What if a guy who’s been here for 4 days takes the field? Bad things could happen.