When it comes down to it, only one NFL fanbase is truly happy at the end of the year. Sure, Texans fans can be happy with a playoff berth and win. Panthers fans can be happy they have a genetic freak with a Magic Johnson smile for a quarterback. Niners fans can be happy that Alex Smith isn’t the butt of as many jokes (enjoy it while it lasts!). But overall, only one fanbase can be truly happy with the way the season went, and of course those fuckers are from New York.
This guy. THIS GUY is happy now. Good job, Tom Brady. This is your fault.
The Giants pretty much played off of the Packers’ blueprint from last season, and that resulted in a win over Tom Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. So while 31 other teams can rate their seasons in various degrees of success, only the Giants can truly say that 2011 was a successful season.
Except the Cardinals. Man that Kolb trade worked out great!
This is your 2011 Retrospective of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.
"Eli, would you say this is the highlight of your season?" "Um...fucking duh, Terry."
Team Highlight: This is obvious. But it wasn’t just the Super Bowl. It was the entire playoffs, especially shutting down the Falcons to the tune of 24-2. I don’t think we need to really analyze the way they dominated the postseason, but we can look at some of Eli Manning’s numbers: 1219 passing yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT. We’ll probably look at more of Eli’s numbers in the Team MVP section (SPOILER ALERT!).
Team Lowlight: For a team that won the Super Bowl, there were a good bit of lowlights this season. The smashing in the Superdome comes to mind, as does the two losses to the Redskins. But for my money, the worst game for the Giants was against the Seattle Seahawks at home. Not only did the Giants lose, they gave up 20 points in the 4th quarter and turned the ball over 5 times. Most notable of these turnovers was Brandon Browner’s 94 yard interception return. Eli had 3 interceptions, and if you told me after the game he would end up being the Super Bowl MVP, I would have assumed there was an earthquake during the Super Bowl and he was the only survivor.
"We were playing badly, and then I saw Nate from TFBB picked me as midseason MVP. That truly gave us the confidence to win the Super Bowl." YES HE REALLY SAID THAT.
Team MVP: Yeah, yeah, it’s Eli Manning. He had one of his best seasons, and it came in a year where the Giants defense wasn’t as dominant as some remember it being. They came on towards the end, but for most of the year the Giants were carried by Manning. Oh, and I want to take this opportunity to revisit my Midseason MVP Award. Picking Eli doesn’t look so stupid now, does it? Although, yes, it was incredibly stupid at the time. But who cares, I’m results obsessed!
Needs: Much like the lowlights, this is a championship team who has a lot of holes to fill. They had a terrible running game, and the blame can be placed on both the running backs and the lineman. So an upgrade at tackle, guard, and running back would help make the Giants’ passing game even more impressive. On the other end of the ball, they need secondary help. They were one of the worst teams against the pass last year, and getting a cornerback that teams aren’t forced to pick on would probably help a lot. Aaron Ross is probably going to be gone, which is actually good for the Giants because he was the one picked on the most last year. But they have to make sure that Terrell Thomas is healthy, and then decide whether to let him go or sign him and hope he’s the answer.
What’s in a Giants Fan’s Liquor Cabinet: Vodka and a lot of colorful mixers.
Not gonna lie, that looks delicious
That’s the image that came up when I googled “Giants drink.” Also in that search were a lot of appletinis. So it looks like Giants fans are going to take vodka and mix it with anything that’s red or orange. Also, in any of these drinks, this is absolutely mandatory:
Not sure why it's in an orange, but whatever.
Straight Cash Homey Meter:
...wait, what?
Hey, where’s Randy’s head? Well, it isn’t anywhere near New York, that’s for sure. Manningham is a free agent, yes. But I don’t think, even if they let him go, that they’re in the market for a field stretcher like him, especially when they have a younger version in Victor Cruz. Here’s the sad catch 22 in this Randy Moss debate: a lot of the really good teams that can contend for a title won’t really need him, and the only reason Randy wants to come back is to win a championship. Poor Randy.
Entirely Too Early Prediction for 2012: 10-6. The team will struggle at times, but Manning is going to continue to show why he’s a top quarterback in this league, and if they improve the running game, their offense will be spoken of in the same lines as the Packers, Saints, and Patriots. Either way, I like their chances to get back into the playoffs, but repeating is often tricky. But either way, this year was a success and I’m sure the money will be piling up!
And the award for worst 'shop goes to...
Hey, that’s where Randy’s head went! Get out of there!
Maybe Randy’s head will find a home next week, when we take our Straight Cash Homey Meter to the AFC North! Ben and some guests will be taking care of things next week, as I will be on vacation. Enjoy the weekend!
Chris Dorsey
Nate Raby
Joseph Kyle Schmidt
Ben Van Iten
