We’ll get to the game later on, but first, some historical perspective:

As much as we all suspended judgment after the Eagles game, it’s now time to face the facts: During the past two games, a Giants Super Bowl title has gone from probable to possible. Yes, I know, calling a Super Bowl ring “probable” is a little illogical. But let’s just say that going into last week’s game, we would have been absolutely crushed if the Giants continued their success only to come up short in the playoffs. That outcome, a nightmarish worst-case scenario eight days ago, doesn’t seem unlikely now.

As evidenced by last year, championships are determined by which team is playing its best when the playoffs come. After Week 15, with only two games to reverse the trend, it’s safe to say the Giants are not playing as well as some other teams. The Panthers are kicking some serious ass. The Cowboys and Eagles just beat us soundly. The Vikings have started to peak, and the Falcons are no cakewalk.

So we’ve fallen from the lofty perch we’ve occupied all season. The dream-like run in which wins came easy is over. We are now immersed in the same desperate struggle as every other team.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Tom Coughlin’s Giants are uniquely equipped to weather this situation. Perhaps during that 11-1 start we forgot that this is the Giants we’re talking about, a franchise whose identity is tied to a belief that anything worthwhile does not come easy. It didn’t come easy last year, and it didn’t come easy in 1990, the most apt historical comparison if you want to be optimistic.

That year, a 10-0 start gave way to a 3-3 finish, with losses to the Eagles, 49ers, and Bills and thoroughly uninspiring wins against the mediocre Vikings, the lowly Cardinals, and the pathetic Patriots. We were written off, dropped by the experts from the ranks of the elite, but we kept grinding, eventually winning a championship that, like, 2007, owed itself to the team’s mental fortitude. Indeed, at their best, the Giants don’t dazzle, they grind.

Tom Coughlin’s Giants are a proud bearer of this standard of resilience. So while it may not look like it now, this is where we want to be. We don’t want to be above the fray, entering the playoffs with a dazzling 15-1 record. We want to be in the fight. Because there isn’t a team I like more in a fight than the G-Men.

After the Jets smacked around the Titans last week, it’s hard to dispute that the Giants are the best team in the league.  As FootballOutsiders’ advanced DVOA stats show, this isn’t merely my opinion.  By their measurements, it’s a fact.  (For more on DVOA, click here.)

The G-Men rank first in DVOA by a rather massive margin: Their 41.6% DVOA dwarfs the second-best Ravens, who pull in at 27.7%.  (What, you have a problem with the Ravens being second?  Early in the season, the Ravens choked away a 10-point second half lead to the Steelers.  The next week, they almost definitely would have beaten the Titans if not for a bullshit personal foul penalty on Terrell Suggs, which saved the Titans from a fourth-and-10 deep in their territory.)

Anyway, as Aaron Schatz points out in his weekly DVOA analysis, the difference between the Giants and Ravens is roughly equal to the difference between the Ravens and the ninth-best Packers.  They have been that much better than the rest of the league.  Their 14.0% lead in DVOA is the second best since 1995, to when DVOA stats date back. (The FootballOutsiders guys are slowly but surely making their way deeper into history with this, but it takes time to chart the play-by-play data.)

Indeed, their 41.7% DVOA indicates they are worthy of their Best Team in the League status.  After the Steelers game, NYGMen commentator Flume declared the G-Men “The worst Best Team in the League” in recent memory.  I doubt he would make this claim now, but he was wrong.  The 2008 Giants sport the seventh best DVOA after Week 12 since 1995.

Here’s the top 10 list:

1) ’07 Patriots: 71.3%

2) ’99 Rams: 50.0%

3) ’98 Broncos: 46.7%

4) ’01 Rams: 44.2%

5) ’04 Patriots: 43.0%

6) ’02 Bucs: 42.9%

7) ’08 G-Men: 41.6%

’95 Cowboys: 41.1%*

9) ’95 49ers: 41.0%

10) ’04 Steelers: 40.2%

It’s worth noting that four of the other nine teams did not win the Super Bowl – it’s obviously possible that the 2008 Giants, as good as they’ve been, will not either.  Still, whatever happens in the future should not retroactively diminish what we’ve accomplished to this point.

In his column, Schatz makes a good point about how the Giants 2008 season changes the way one views their 2007 playoff run, particularly their “major upset” over the Patriots.  He writes:

“Obviously, hindsight it 20-20, and you can’t predict games using future information.  However, now that we know that they were on their way to becoming the strongest team in the league, last year’s Giants run through the playoffs makes a lot more sense.  If we could put together a hypothetical game between this year’s Giants and last year’s Patriots, a Giants win would be a minor upset, but not a major one.”

* Note: There is a ridiculous smiley-face that keeps showing up here, and I have no idea why.  Just so you know, I didn’t put it there.  There was nothing funny or cute about the 1995 Cowboys.

First, I apologize for the late post.  I actually went to the game on Sunday and then went out that night, and because I had a ton of stuff to do yesterday for my day job, I didn’t get a chance to watch the tape until last night.

Second, I find it hard to believe that people are complaining about Sunday’s win.  If a 12-point win that would have been a 22-point win if not for the fluke of having a field-goal blocked and returned for a touchdown isn’t enough, then the sense of entitlement in this town is completely out of control.

Sure, the 49ers handed us the game.  But we took it, and didn’t give them a chance to take it back.  Was there really ever a doubt about the outcome?  Of course not.  The G-Men won going away.  As fans, we should be happy our team is capable of this even when they don’t play their best.

**

As long as I’m accentuating the positive, I’ll start with the defense.  Going into the game, the big concern was our pass rush, which had been nonexistent against the Browns.  Also, the fact that we hadn’t forced many turnovers this year was threatening to become a gathering concern.

Both trends reversed against the Niners: We racked up six sacks, “forced” two interceptions (granted, that might be a stretch) and four O’Sullivan fumbles, one of which we recovered and one of which led to the safety that put the game away.  (Nothing more fun than dong the safety dance – the contradictory motion of powerfully bringing your hands above your head like He-Man while gyrating your hips like a teenaged girl.)

For much of the first half, O’Sullivan actually did a good job evading our blitzes and finding guys.  But that changed very abruptly, as he went on to play a brutal game.  But still, credit our defense for completely shutting the Niners down in the second half, during which they gained just 67 yards and managed a mere four first downs.

There are many game balls to go around on D:

Justin Tuck was thoroughly disruptive and made a sweeeeeeet play when he forced that fumble that led to the safety by coming around the edge and deftly separating the ball from O’Sullivan’s hand.

Robbins and Cofield consistently got great penetration into the backfield on a day where we made 12(!) tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Michael Johnson, an overlooked member of the 2007 draft class considering he has probably had the biggest role the past couple years, made the first two picks of his career.  The first one was easy, but the second one was impressive: he did a good job recognizing the post route and turning his hips, and then took a good angle on the coverage of the receiver.  The guy is a pretty good player.

Chase Blackburn started in place of Pierce and frankly looked faster and more physical than him.  Blackburn notched twelve tackles, two of them for losses, and forced a fumble of O’Sullivan.  I know Pierce is the leader of the defense and everything, but I’m sure most Giants fans will join me in telling him to take his time getting back.

And Spags.  Maybe the magic isn’t gone.  As ineffective as the blitz packages were against the Browns, they were that good against the Niners.  Like all sports, football is a game of adjustments and counter-adjustments.  The league adjusted to Spags, and if Sunday’s game is any indication, he countered.

On the downside, much has been made of Aaron Ross’ recent struggles – he even sat on the bench on a couple series’ in the second half while Dockery filled in.  But I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.  On the touchdown he allowed, he actually did a pretty good job in single coverage until the ball was in the air, at which point he suffered a very uncharacteristic breakdown in ball-skills.  Against the Browns, he had a rough game; against the Niners, he had a rough moment.  He’s good, he’ll bounce back, so let’s move on.

**

On offense, not so great, but serviceable enough.

Eli wasn’t at his best, going 16 for 31 for 161 yards.  He averaged 5.2 yards per attempt, well below the standard he has set for himself this season of 7.3, and even his career mark of 6.4. 

And no, he didn’t throw a pick, but there were two balls that probably could have been picks (one on an out to Smith that the defender undercut and could have taken to the house had the ball not been thrown high).  He also had four passes tipped, a distressing reemergence of an early-career trend that we are probably lucky didn’t lead to a pick.

But while it wasn’t a good game, it was an adequate game.  And sometimes, good and even great quarterbacks play merely adequate games.  Will that type of effort cut it against Pittsburgh?  Probably not.  But who among us isn’t confident Eli won’t play better next week?

At receiver, the game ball goes to Steve Smith.  If all Chris Carter did is catch touchdowns, all this guy does is catch first downs.  What a nice player.  Such great field sense and such good body control.  This guy is gonna be good for a long time.

Although we only averaged 3.5 yards per carry, I was actually pleased with the running game.  Not counting Eli’s rushing line (3 carries for -4 yards), we averaged 4 yards per carry, which isn’t bad considering we were sitting a lead for most of the second half.

Jacobs, who I’ve been harsh on in the past, was very good, as he has been all year.  On his first touchdown run, he made a nice little hesitation before squirting through a small hole, a sign of his improved feel for the holes this year.  On his second touchdown run, he kept his legs driving after the initial contact and plowed into the endzone decisively.  He’s been excellent, and it’s time for me to admit I was too harsh on him.  (Although the first-series fumble was worrisome.)

Ward, as usual, was terrific.  Announcers don’t seem to have caught on to how powerful this guy’s lower body is.  On that third down pass play in the first quarter – before Ahmad’s fourth down conversion – Ward pushed the pile a solid three to four yards, getting us close enough to compel Tom to go for it.  It should also be noted that Ward is a really smooth receiver.

And Bradshaw, despite the fumble, was impressive as well.  Sure, he only managed 28 yards on 8 carries, but he was facing 8 and 9-man fronts during clock-killing time.  For as sparingly as that guy is used, he always manages to do at least one thing that shows how good he is.

It seems like Coughlin and Gilbride are loosening up their rigid running back hierarchy, something long called for here at NYGMen.  Using Bradshaw on that fourth down toss-sweep was an inspired stroke.  It also seemed like they worked in the backs at different points of a series, rather than just being like, “Ok Brandon, it’s your series.  You take every carry.”

And Tom deserves credit for going for it on that fourth down play.  When you’re dominating the line of scrimmage like we were early in the game, you have to make hay.

The papers have tried to create a to-do about Plax, who seemed to be in a terrible mood all game.  There was the sequence with the personal foul followed by cursing at Coughlin, though that seems like a much bigger deal to everyone else than to the Giants.  Coughlin actually defended Plax, saying something along the lines of, “He’s a competitor.  Shit happens.”

And let me ask you, was it me, or was Plax’s gesture of firing the ball into the stands after his fourth quarter touchdown a kind of “fuck-you” to the fans, who booed him after the personal foul?  But whatever.  As a fan, I’ve made the same calculation as Coughlin: the guy can tell me to go fuck myself every once in a while when he’s PMSing, and I’m not gonna get bent out of shape.  He’ll get over it and generally be a great receiver for me.  Plax is a moody, mercurial athlete, but he’s worth it: my guess is he has a huge game against the Steelers next week and gets people off his back.

“The Giants are a new team.  This isn’t even the same team I played on.”

–Michael Strahan

(Note: Today’s entry will deal mostly with the offense.  A separate one on the defense will follow.)

The Best Team in the NFL:

Wow….  Four weeks into the season, the G-Men are the best team in the NFL.  This isn’t a guarantee of another title or even an especially bold statement, but rather a statement of fact.  If this were college football, we would be Number 1.  Does it mean anything?  No, not really – it’s a long season, there are always injuries, etc.  But isn’t this enjoyable?

Today’s game was probably the most dominant Giants performance many of us have ever seen.  At the end of the game, Fox posted a graphic saying the 44-6 margin was our largest since 1972.  But this neglected two playoff blowouts: 49-3 over the 49ers in ’86, and 41-0 over the Vikings in 2000.

Still, I don’t think we’ve ever opened up a can quite like we did today.  In the Niner game, we caught a huge break when Rice inexplicably fumbled, untouched, while streaking toward the endzone for what would have been a first quarter touchdown putting the Niners up 10-7.  The fumble completely changed the complexion of a game that might have gone differently had Rice not fumbled. Yes, we went on to destroy them, but there was a moment there when things looked dicey.

In the Viking game, two rather flukish events – a coverage breakdown on the Hilliard touchdown, followed by a fumbled kickoff – caused the game to be over before it began.  After five plays from scrimmage, it was already 14-0.  At that point, it couldn’t not be a blowout.

But this game was different.  This wasn’t a case of us catching some breaks or springing a couple of big plays.  We whooped their asses through and through, play after play.  The 2008 Giants are really, really good.

The O-Line:

There’s a lot of praise to go around here, but let’s start with the offensive line.  The Seahawks never had a fighting chance in this game because their front seven was no match for our big men, or as my high school football coach would call them, our “fatties.” 

At best, the Giants are a team for whom the run sets up the pass.  On the game’s second play, Jacobs slammed forward for 6.  On the next play, he galloped untouched through a gaping hole for a 44-yard gain.   On the next play, Eli hit Hixon for our first touchdown.

It was pretty much like that all game.  We ran at will, then we passed at will.  When they blitzed, we either picked it up perfectly or Eli maneuvered well in the pocket to elude it.  The first of many game balls goes to the fatties up front, who comprise one of the elite run-blocking lines in the NFL and are no slouch against the pass either.

I’ve discussed FootballOutsiders stats for offensive lines before, but let me point back to one called Adjusted Line Yards, which is meant to isolate the contributions of the offensive line and the running back on a particular running play.  Yes, it’s an imperfect stat, but in the case of the Giants line, it jibes with what we observe with our eyes: Since 2005, the Giants have ranked 10^th, 4^th, and then 2^nd last year in Adjusted Line Yards.  Coming into today’s game, they ranked 3^rd in the NFL, a ranking that should jump after today’s ass-whooping.

More praise in the analytical community for the Giants run-blocking came last week from ESPN columnist K.C. Joyner, who is now contributing a weekly piece for the Times’ Fifth Down Blog.

According to Joyner, the Giants offensive line laps the field in terms of the types of blocking schemes they employ, along with their willingness to run plays to either side of the field.

“The reason they are able to do this is because both their guards are capable of executing a pull block,” Joyner writes, anticipating the awesome job today by Seubert and Snee.

“But the Giants also take that concept one step further by pulling all of their linemen.  Most teams won’t pull their center or tackles, but the Giants have don’t that on nine different plays this year.”

That covers the run-blocking, but the pass-blocking is good too.  Footballoutsiders has a stat – and this one’s not nearly as esoteric – called Adjusted Sack Rate, which basically takes the number of sacks and intentional groundings and divides by the number of passing plays.  The premise of the stat is that it’s a better gauge than the raw sack total.

Since 2005, the Giants ranked 8^th, 7^th, and then 11^th last year in the category.  This year they rank 9^th.

So, Giants fans, it’s time to appreciate this group.  A big NYGMen shout-out goes to Dave Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O’Hara, Chris Snee, and Kareem McKenzie (who missed most of today’s game with a concussion and was replaced by Kevin Boothe, who actually made two notable mistakes).

Eli:

Eli was absolutely fantastic from the get-go, and earned himself a much-deserved second half rest.  For the game, his stats were great – a 136.6 QB rating.  But in the first half, during which the game was sealed, he was virtually flawless.  After starting off the half a perfect 7-7, he wound up 15-18 for 224 yards and a touchdown.

Among the good things about Eli’s performance was the tremendous pocket presence he displayed.  Yes, the protection was very good overall – save for a Patrick Kerney sack and forced fumble at the expense of Kevin Boothe – but Eli was great in the pocket and great at exploiting the weak spots in the defense created by Seattle’s blitzes.

He was also especially demonstrative today in terms of pre-snap reads, looking positively Peyton-esque in his on-field assertiveness.  And his passes to running backs – often a weak point in his game – were, with the exception of an overthrow of Hedgecock in the second quarter, pretty much all on-target.

Four games into the season, Eli has a 61% completion percentage, significantly better than his 55% career rate.  He’s averaging 7.15 yards per attempt, significantly better than the 6.3 yards he averaged coming into this year.  And his rating is 91.1, leaps and bounds better than his 74.4 career rating.  Can you say “The Leap,” anyone?

The following are some good plays he made in the first half that show some of the headiness I talked about above:

–On the touchdown to Hixon on the first drive, Eli did a good job “looking off” the one deep safety before hiring a perfect ball to a wide-open Domenic Hixon.  (The Seahawks would come to regret putting Kelly Jennings, their second-best corner, on Hixon, our most dangerous, if not our best, non-Plaxico receiver.)  He later did the same thing on a third quarter touchdown pass to Moss.

–On a 2^nd and 6 from the 44 on our second drive, Eli did a nice job stepping up to avoid a blitzing Lofa Tatupu before firing a strike between two defenders to Amani Toomer for a 22-yard gain.

–Two plays later, with Tatupu blitzing again, Eli stood in the pocket and waited until Tatupu was just about to hit him, the better to allow Toomer to get separation downfield against safety Jordan Babineax.  Toomer got separation, and Eli got the ball to him for a 29-yard gain to the 3, setting up a Jacobs touchdown to make it 14-3.

–On the next drive he, hit Hixon deep for a 41-yarder on a play-action, which set up our field goal to make it 17-3.

(Although on this pass, with all the time in the world, Eli waited an extra half-beat to unleash his throw, which caused Hixon to outrun the outer limit of Eli’s arm strength.  He’s done this before, and he did this a little bit later on a pass to Moss.  That’s an area he can improve upon.  This drive also saw Eli overthrow Toomer – high, as usual – on a play that could have set up a 1^st and goal but instead forced us to settle for a field goal.  But we’re really nitpicking here…)

 –On the next drive, the Giants fourth, Eli kept things a rollin’ with a play action 19-yarder to Smith (a little high, but Smith did a great job going up and getting it.  His body-control is ridiculous).  Later in the drive, deep in Seahawks territory, he drilled Hixon on a come-back for 1 13-yard first down, setting up first and goal from the 1.  Jacobs took it in on the next play, giving the G-Men a 24-3 lead, and the game was over.

The Receivers:

Hixon: What a ballplayer this kid is, and what an asset for our future.  How in the world could the Broncos let him get away? 

Fortunately, the concussion doesn’t seem too serious: I heard him interviewed after the game, and he said he didn’t go back in because of precautionary reasons.  He seemed pretty coherent saying it, too.

Hopefully when Plax is back next week, we can get him back to returning punts.  R.W. actually did a pretty good job today – who on this team, in any phase, didn’t? – but it would be nice to have a dangerous guy back there.

Amani: Old reliable.  What more is there to say about this guy?  What a great Giant.

Sinorice: Shake, shake, shake, Sinorice!  It’s been an tough-luck career thus far, and who knows how long he’s gonna be with us – when Tyree comes back, if we’re still healthy, he would seem to be the odd man out.  But if we have to part ways at some point, let’s just hope the Cowboys, Eagles, or Redskins don’t pick him up.  He clearly has some talent.

Manningham: It was nice to see him doing some things.  That was a nifty little run on that quick-hitter in the second quarter, and a good job nearly toasting the defender and drawing the pass interference.  He also made a tackle on special teams.

Who’d a thunk it?  The G-Men are stacked at the receiver position.

The Running Backs:

Jacobs: I’ve been critical of Jacobs on this blog, but I have to hand it to him: he played a great game today – it’s hard to take issue with 136 yards, at 9.1 yards per.

It’s possible to say that Jacobs’ performance wasn’t all that impressive given the dominance of the offensive line, but I think this wouldn’t acknowledge Jacobs’ best attribute as a runner: He’s completely unstoppable once he gets a head of steam going.  Given the holes the offensive line opened up, Jacobs was the man for the job.

I also have to admit that he has looked a lot spryer this year.  Some portion of my negative impression of him was based on how lethargic he looked in last year’s playoffs, but perhaps some of this can be avoided this year if we use him a little less.

Ward: This guy is just straight-up solid.  He’s pretty much rates high in every running back scouting category across the board except maybe elusiveness, an unnecessary quality in the see-hole, hit-hole NFL: He hits the hole quickly and hard, he’s got a good burst, he runs with a lot of power, and he’s a good receiver.

Bradshaw: The guy gets in during garbage time when everyone knows a run is coming, and he still breaks off a ridiculous run.  This guy is so good.  I’ll keep saying it every week: FREE AHMAD!

Gilbride:

Last but certainly not least here.  Gilbride has been pilloried by many Giants bloggers in recent weeks, many of whom believe he holds back a very talented Giants offense from achieving true awesomeness.  Whether or not that’s true is still to be determined, but at this point, it’s hard to sneeze at scoring 40-plus points half of the time.

What impressed me in this game was his aggressive, pedal-to-the-medal play-calling, which continued until the Seahawks were dead and buried.  Kudos to Gilbride for bucking the Giants’ historical trend of sitting on leads that don’t warrant such complacency.

Now, I don’t know why, because they have a pretty stocked WR core, with Plax, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith.

But here is what it says:

At least 10 teams have been in contact with the agent for the wide receiver who was released Friday by the Denver Broncos, including all four NFC East clubs, according to a source.

The 49ers, Bills, Bucs, Panthers, Raiders and Vikings also have reached out to agent Kennard McGuire regarding Walker. No visits had been scheduled as of early Saturday.

The Cowboys and Eagles have a couple connections working in their favor in pursuit of Walker. Dallas receivers coach Ray Sherman coached Walker in Green Bay. Walker is friends with Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and the two have been training together in Arizona for several weeks.