THE GIFT

Two items today, the roster cuts and AN IMPORTANT OBSERVATION.

1) Roster- Today they will make some cuts that some people will like and some will not. The only cut today that would not make sense is Bomar. Every other cut is a numbers game. Coughlin on Bomar after the Patriots game: "a gutsy performance."... "He made some nice plays, pulled the ball down and ran. It was a good night for Rhett."

2) Now onto much more important things. It's the 3 day weekend, no one is even online except you because everyone else is at the beach (me too tomorrow), but this may be the most important comment before the season starts...

THE GIANTS CATCH A HUGE BREAK BY PLAYING A LOT OF WEAK TEAMS EARLY. THIS ALLOWS THE WALKING WOUNDED TO HEAL AND TO COME TOGETHER ON DEFENSE WHILE WE PLAY.

Canty hamstring. Boley hip flexor. Cofield knee. Osi MCL. Ross hamstring. Robbins knee. Pierce foot. Alford knee (season-ending IR). Heck even Phillips did not suit up vs the Pats, although he should be fine. But the point is that these guys need to get into season shape, they need to play with each other AND they need to make sure they are on the same page with their new defensive coordinator.

Here comes THE GIFT:
WASH
at DAL
at TB
at KC
OAK

Forget that Dallas is going to have trouble with their defense this year and that that game is winnable. Even if the Giants lose to Dallas, they rate to be 4-1 before the schedule accelerates. WE PLAY THE AFC WEST, a gift that will keep giving, especially when we are less than stellar early on yet win vs the likes of KC and Oakland. TB just fired their offensive coordinator, they have a rookie Head Coach, so we are not worried about them. Ditto KC, the OC was let go there too. And while we are at it, the rookie head coach Cable Guy threw a punch at one of his coaches, so that is more of the same. If we cannot beat Washington at home (-6.5), well we have bigger problems. So we can be 4-1 or 5-0 and allow this defense to get its act together.

At this moment in time we have way too many (HEALTH) question on defense. We can get answers by getting guys like Boley and Canty on the field and getting a little cohesion. On the job training. This does not mean the team is out of the woods. It means the defense has the chance, the OPPORTUNITY, to buy some time and find its rhythm. We need to be 4-1 or 5-0 AND IMPROVING. If you can tell us that all of the above mentioned players recover and are all playing at 100% of their abilities by Week 6, I will tell you we are in great shape to vie for a Super Bowl title.

Note how we do not even mention the offense in this context. Sure, we want to see Manning get more rhythm with his WRs etc. But let's remember the LAST RULE, Defense Wins Championships. If this team is going to have a chance to win ANYTHING, it starts with defense. As more than a few commenters have noted here, what was our strength on paper is now in flux. In the end it is always about defense. People like to remember that it was Manning to Tyree and Plaxico (and SMITH ON 3RD AND 11!) to win the Super Bowl, but it was the defense that held the 18-0 offensive juggernaut to FOURTEEN POINTS which enabled the Giants to still be in the game.

This (relatively) easy start is what the doctor ordered. Coughlin is very good at getting across the message of always building on what you have done and improving the level of play every game. This will be necessary, as NO, AZ, PHL, SD and ATL are waiting immediately thereafter. How would you like to have those 5 games first?! Ya think Brees, Warner, Rivers, Ryan and McNabb would have problems scoring points against us right now? Ya think? Time heals all wounds. Let's hope it heals the Giants'- it could be a huge positive for this team's chances. It's not who you play, it is when you play them.