Eagles, Giants, and the NFL

1) Not a complete surprise that a ny giants blog would have ~80% of its respondents lining up to vote for them to win the Super Bowl. But how biased is this group? The online odds to win the Super Bowl paint a different picture, one where essentially the Steelers, Panthers and Giants are viewed almost equally. Considering how the Giants are the favorite, it should not be so unreasonable for the sample to be skewed. There is also a little bit of that battle for respect still working here- the variance between 7 of the 8 teams is very small. The Giants are only ~twice as likely to win the Super Bowl as the 7th best team. It's bunched up- at least that is what the money says, not what we say.

2) The Browns hired Mangini. What am I missing? Maybe I can coach for 30 mins a game too and get a job.

3) Everyone loves Gilbrown. This guy can't buy an interview, let alone a head coaching job. But others think he is such a great coordinator, why don't they buy a franchise and give him the keys. It isn't happening. I certainly hope he does a good job with the offense this Sunday, but it is very clear AROUND THE LEAGUE that the Giants are where they are because of Reese, Coughlin and Spagnuolo. They win despite Gilbride, not because of him. How many times do you hear defensive players praising Spags? All the time. How many times have you heard the offensive players (going out of their way) lauding Gilbride? Almost never. I'll tell you why- because they are in the huddle and they know first hand how Manning is busy changing out of the playcall- CORRECTLY- because Gilguy has them in the wrong set. I'll be more than happy to sing his praises if he calls a good game, and we certainly have this season on more than a few occasions. But let's not kid ourselves- the silence with this guy's consideration for a HC job is DEAFENING. How many draft choices do we need to give away to have someone take him off our hands?

4) What kind of owner is there to fire his head coach who had a winning record, clearly making a statement that he was committed to winning a championship, then disappears for the interviews with candidates the week after? That never happened with the Maras, because they are football people. Even though the GM was in charge of the hiring, they were on the front lines all the time. Could you imagine Well Mara being out of the country while his team just fired its coach? Away on business? Football WAS Mara's business. I cannot speak at all to whether Johnson's presence had anything to do with Cowher saying no, but how can you blame him? All he knew was the Rooneys, another football BUSINESS. It starts from the top. Brown rolls downhill.

5) I am tired of the analysis of this Eagles Giants game. Let's fast forward to Sunday already so we can play the game.

6) 20-25 MPH winds forecast from the Ultimatenyg Meteorologist. He was 15-25MPH on Tuesday, so this looks pretty firm.

7) Simms on Showtime: "Tennessee won't be favored if they face the Giants (in the Super Bowl). I believe the Giants will be the favorite no matter how they play in the playoffs and regardless of who they face in the Super Bowl." His pick in the game this weekend- The New York Football Giants. Phil also takes the Panthers and the Titans, but cannot select in the SD/PIT game because he is announcing for that one.

8) Jacobs as good and healthy as he has been since he hurt himself in W3. "You can hear him," Snee said. "He's very vocal and he's enthusiastic. He came in Monday in here and he was rip-roaring and yelling. I said to Brandon, 'We don't play until Sunday at one,' and he looked at me like I was crazy. He's fired up and I love it."

9) Time to cut the low hanging fruit from the sickly Cowboy tree- Pacman Jones is gone. Is there anyone on the team that was more representative of how we all (including myself) saw this massive assemblage of #1 draft pick talent, and how it did not come together? Jones killed the Giants when he was at TENN, but not here.