Vacchiano: Giants complete improbable journey

They were less than a minute and maybe six inches away a disastrous end to a season that hadn’t yet started. And now they are headed to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII?

To say it’s unexpected that the New York Giants are the NFC champions is, to say the least, the understatement of the season. They were never predicted to get this far, and they continue to defy the odds that have been so incredibly stacked against them. Who ever would’ve guessed that this team of upstarts could go into frigid Lambeau Field and knock off the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game?

Yet here they are, headed to take on the undefeated New England Patriots, a mere 17 weeks after they were down in Washington, losing to the Redskins at halftime, 17-3. They were halfway to an 0-3 record that would undoubtedly had doomed them from the start.

“Sitting there at halftime, I turned to Jerry (Reese, the Giants general manager) and said ‘Jerry, I’m not sure how much more of this I can stand to watch,’” said co-owner John Mara. “I was so depressed at that point in time. I kept saying to myself, ‘We can’t be that bad. We have better players than this.’”

“I told John and Tom (Coughlin) at that time, there's no way we're that bad and all we needed is to get one win to build our confidence,” Reese added. “And that's what happened. A lot of this game starts between your ears.”

Whatever went on between their ears, it was remarkable because the Giants scored 21 unanswered points in Washington that day, and then won the game by stopping the Redskins on a remarkable goal-line stand. The ‘Skins had first and goal from the 1 that night as the clock began to tick down.

They never even threatened to cross the goal-line. And the Giants were off and running from there.

In fact, that sparked a six-game winning streak that revived the Giants’ season. They’ve gone 13-4 in the weeks since, including three straight playoff wins on the road, and an NFL single-season record 10 straight road wins overall.

And in the last four weeks, starting with a 38-35 loss to the New England Patriots, they’ve seen a resurgence by embattled quarterback Eli Manning, huge games by most of the players on the Giants’ defense, and a love-in for their once-hated coach, Tom Coughlin. It all culminated last Sunday night in a remarkable, 23-20 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers in the second-coldest game every played at historic (and frigid) Lambeau Field.

So how did this happen to a team that went 0-4 during the regular season against the only elite teams they played (Dallas, Green Bay, New England)? How did Manning, who led the NFL with 20 interceptions, become a mistake-free quarterback who has yet to be picked off in the playoffs at all? How did a locker room that hated Coughlin a year ago suddenly rally behind their oddly friendly coach? How did a defense that gave up 80 points in the first two games, become one of the toughest in the league?

“It is a combination of things, without a doubt,” Coughlin said. “The talent, the ability, the opportunities, the number of people who have contributed, the special teams part of it, the defensive part of it, the offense, all three contributing in unison, which we strive for always.”

There is really no easy explanation for this Broadway revival. Certainly the 0-2 start proved to be a fluke, as did the early struggles of the defense under first-year coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. And Manning’s revival coincided with a much-needed reduction in a game plan that de-emphasised long passes and focused on a short-passing attack.

But there can be no explanation for their road success – 10 straight wins since they lost in Dallas on opening night. Even the players are at a loss to explain their success, except to say that they thrive on adversity and come out with their best when their backs are against the wall.

That’s the “between the ears” stuff that Reese was talking about, and it’s clear that whatever’s supposed to be there, the Giants have it.

“The real key has been the heart of this team,” Coughlin said. “Their heart is in the right place. … They believed. We believed. Not many others did. And that’s why we’re here.”

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds