Loading ...In what will be the final leg of their Super Bowl XLVI journey, the New York Giants are scheduled to visit the White House on Friday, June 8th. After that, their desire will only be to look forward; leaving the 2011-2012 where it belongs … in the past.
“All those things were wonderful experiences,” head coach Tom Coughlin said. “David Diehl mentioned closure, it’s probably not quite closure but it’s time to move on.”
In the mean time, Big Blue will prepare for a face-to-face with President Barack Obama, who called Coughlin moments after they defeated the New England Patriots 21-17. During their five-minute conversation, the president called the Giants “courageous, mentally tough, resilient people who believed in each other."
For some members of the New York Football Giants, this will be their second White House visit. In April of 2008, following their Super Bowl XLII victory over the Patriots, the team met with then President George W. Bush on the lawn of the White House, where he praised both Eli Manning and David Tyree, as well as Lt. Col. Greg Gadson.
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That white house lawn had better not have any holes or divots. I’m gonna be pissed if we lose someone to twisted ankle on this visit.
Being an old man , and having selective memory which according to my wife conveniently seems to turn itself off and on I wish to put a different perspective on next year . Once the Giants visit the White House , like David Diehl , I will consider last year closed
So , starting out for a view of next year , The Giants have done several things to improve -Offensively the pick up of Wilson to improve the running game and also the passes out of the backfield that I have been wanting to improve for years will eventually show up and help Eli as the season progresses and by the time I get to see a game (Im hoping the Eagles in December ) Wilson should have proved his worth . The signing of Martellus Bennett will also do a lot for this short game . I think that the chance for Eli to get the ball out faster to more options takes a lot of pressure off of the Oline .It will take pressure off especially against Philly with its 9 wide defense .
So , just for these points I think that the offense will improve and give the Giants to be very competitive next year .
Well, I’m not a believer in “putting the past behind”. What’s the point of winning championships, or achieving the pinnacle of any pursuit, or having wonderful children and spouses and family history if you not only don’t enjoy it while it’s happening but carry it forward with you as part of what defines your place in the world?
So while the NFL brutally requires a focus strictly on the next play, the next opponent, the next season and whatever is the next hurdle to jump, the Giants will always be able to carry with them the championships they have won and the tradition they embody. They will be able to carry with them the knowledge that in two of the past five seasons they have come back from the depths to win a championship in a way that required everyone coming together and being “All In”. They will go forward knowing that they are always in a game if they can get to the fourth quarter in striking distance because they have the best late-game quarterback alive and perhaps the best ever. That confidence leads to wins. You cannot fake that confidence, and it comes from having DONE it on the field, not from talk like what emanates from the Jets’ side of the stadium every year.
So, yeah, go to the White House and get your acknowledgment and look forward to the quest for another championship without assuming any advantage going forward. But proudly carry forward the accomplishments and the grit and the togetherness that led to that championship, and an earlier, just as dramatic, one that a number of players on this roster also experienced, and make use of that quiet confidence that if you’ve done it before you can do it again.
They’ve enjoyed it, but the common mantra of the team has already been “it’s over, it’s done, let’s forget it and go for another.” In other words, “putting the past behind’ them. See Diehl and Eli’s recent comments specifically as prime examples.
Yeah, well that’s what they say. But if they don’t make use of the confidence that last season allowed them then they’re losing a real advantage that shouldn’t be lost. And I don’t believe for one second that when they get to a crucial last four minutes and need a score to win a game they don’t go into the huddle knowing that if they did it before they can do it again. Until you’ve DONE it you can talk all you want about belief, it isn’t really tangible. But they HAVE done it before, repeatedly, and know they can win big games against top teams. Eli and Diehl can say whatever they like, but they know in their bones what they’re capable of and they WILL draw on the past that they’ve built, and wisely so.
Wise people never truly “turn the page” and leave the past behind. You carry it with you and learn from it. And when that past is glorious, as it is for the Giants, you take a great deal of confidence built upon experience with you. And that DOES help you build a great future too. Eli and Diehl may still be too young to have thought deeply about that yet, but they will realize it in time.
I could not agree more strongly with ff55 here. As we used to say back in the day, “Right on, brother.”
One of the most frequently heard refrains down the stretch run last year was: “Don’t compare this year to 2007. The 2007 season was something that happens once in a lifetime. Don’t allow a few superficial similarities to that magical year gull you into believing that the same formula will apply again now.”
In fact, I think I even posted a few of those comments here myself. My bad.
Looking back now, can there be any doubt that the experience of the 2007 season informed the stretch run of 2011? Eli, Tuck, Osi, Webster, Jacobs, Bradshaw, Snee, Diehl – as well as several others – were all there in 2007; all knew that it was possible to prevail against what looked to all the world to be impossible odds; and all understood how to tap into those deep, inner reservoirs of will to make it happen.
Looking ahead, the Giants now have a core group of players who have achieved the “impossible” not only once, but twice. Additionally, they have a newly minted core of younger talent (JPP, Nicks, Cruz etc.) who have ascended to those rareified heights for the firet time themselves.
Can there be any question that that experience will not serve them in good stead in the future? I just can not envision any level of adversity short of mathematical elimination from the postseason (or, an injury to a certain QB who shall remain nameless) that should be able to faze this team.
Yes, the book on the Eli/TC Giants has not yet been completely written. But even though we can never really know what will unfold in the chapters ahead, I don’t think it’s out of line to look upon – and use – the past as prologue.