Déjà vu For New York Giants Fans
by Andrew Santoro | Contributor
It’s in the back of every Giants fans mind, but is it just wishful thinking? Well, I guess that’s up to you to decide…but here are the facts.
In 2007 The Giants parted ways with defensive coordinator, Tim Lewis. In walks Steve Spagnuolo to fix another crumbling NY Giants Defense. The star Defensive End, some of you may have heard of him, Michael Strahan was not happy with his contract and his coaching staff, especially the head coach. He was contemplating retiring. His services were unavailable to the new Defensive Coordinator.
Now, let’s jump to 2015. The two biggest stories of the off-season was JPP unhappy with his contract/Franchise tag and the return of Spags. Very similar indeed.
The Giants schedule was very similar due to the way the NFL rotates its schedule. The first blast from the past was playing AFC East and the second was that the Giants would play NFC East rivals, The Washington Redskins in week 3.
In both years The Giants would come into week 3 at 0-2 with a defense that was nothing short of abysmal, leading the league in points allowed. However, as he did in 2007, Spagnuolo would quiet critics in the 4th quarter of week 3 when in epic fashion the Giants defense was there to win the game. The Giants defense turned the corner by holding the run heavy Redskins out of the end zone, allowing The Giants to get their first win and save their season.
In 2007, the Patriots need just one more win to achieve perfection in the regular season, something that had never been done in a 16 game season. The Giants were a heavy underdog being in third place in the NFC East but were in the middle of their longest win streak of the season. The national press had the Giants rolling over to die, very similar to what we witnessed on Sunday.
A heavily favored Patriots team got a another punch in the mouth. Now there are no moral victories in football, but perhaps this last loss to the New England Patriots will jump-start the Giants self-confidence as it did in the past.
That game in 2007 propelled the Giants forward, to win the next four games including a rematch with the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. We all know how that ended…with Eli Manning standing on the podium holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy as confetti fell through the air.
The game would go down in history as one of the best sports championships of all time. Also, the biggest underdog story of all time capped by a spectacular helmet catch by a special teamer, David Tyree.
Who will be the 2015 David Tyree…maybe Dwayne Harris or Hakeem Nicks on his return run. Will the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Odell Beckham be the next Plaxico Burress...minus the bullet in the leg.
You could make the case that the Giants are on course to stagger into the playoffs again, become the ultimate road warriors and face the Patriots in the 2015 NFL Super Bowl in Santa Clara California.
Can you feel the déjà vu in the air.
@robertbedlam