New York Giants Pack It In, But Coughlin Staying Put.

The New York Giants finally won but, at the same time, lost.  They beat the Washington Redskins 17-14 at the same time the Green Bay Packers were defeating the Chicago Bears.  It was a bittersweet end to the Giants indescribable perplexing season.  The final dagger to the Giants lost season came at 7:06 EST when the score board at FedEx Field tauntingly flashed the score: Packers 10, Bears 3.

The Giants (10-6) season ended with a victory, but it was the 68 minutes before Sunday's game that really charted their destiny.  The 28 point comeback by the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago and last week's blowout at the hands of the Packers really sealed the Giants fate.  They will not be in the playoffs for the second consecutive season.  The Giants have no one to blame but themselves and it looks like the Giants owner sees it that way too.

The calls for head coach Tom Coughlin's head grew over the past few weeks while the Giants were doing their annual version of a swan dive for the third straight season.  Former Pittsburgh Steelers head
coach Bill Cowher's name was tossed around more loosely than an Eli Manning interception.

After yesterday's loss, Giants owner John Mara immediately made it clear Coughlin will be around to finish the final year of his contract and maybe more.  Mara confirmed it by saying "there was never any doubt" Coughlin would be back in 2011.  Looks like New York won't be a Cowher town after all.

The Giants who finished with 10 wins had to watch as the Seattle Seahawks--a team they routed earlier in the season--squeak into the playoffs with a losing record later that evening.  The Seahawks (7-9) won the NFC West by beating the St. Louis Rams yesterday.  The Giants became only the seventh teams with at least 10 wins to not make the playoffs since 1990.

Mara, the Giants co-owner, is sticking with his head coach despite another late season fizzle.  "I'm obviously disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs, " he said, "Everybody in this locker room is disappointed.  But that doesn't mean you blow the whole thing up.  he's still the guy we want as our head coach."

The owner even visited Coughlin after the game and reassured the 61 year old coach.  "Don't listen to all the nonsense.  You're going to be back next season.  We still believe in you and we want you as our coach."

Mara said he knows it's not easy to win ten games.  He has stuck with Coughlin before.  In 2006 the Giants beat the Redskins to get into the playoffs and save Coughlin's job.  The next season the team won the Super Bowl.

The Giants players and Coughlin will have the whole off-season to look back at their mistakes and get the team back into the playoffs next year.  Mara can only hope his belief in his coach will pay off.

Giants Host Dolphins at Meadowlands Practice Facility

The New York Giants invited the Miami Dolphins into their training facility tomorrow to help them prepare for the Dolphin's Sunday afternoon game against the Giants co-tenants, the New York Jets.   While the Jets head coach Rex Ryan was burying a jinxed football outside his team's practice facility yesterday, the Jets owner, Woody Johnson, was digging up negative feelings between the two New York teams who share one stadium.

Giants co-owner, John Mara said he didn't contact the Jets owner because he felt it was just a simple case of civility.   Jets fans think it sounds fishy that their New Meadowlands roommates would turn their practice field into a northern version of Sea World right before a big game against their AFC East division rivals.  All that's missing is Miami consultant--and former Giant and Jet coach--Bill "Big Tuna" Parcells performing a Shamu act.

The Giants agreed to allow the Dolphins team use of the indoor field almost a month ago.  Mara said he wishes he contacted the Jets before the invitation. The Dolphins head coach, Tony Sparano, is the Giants former defensive coordinator.

Johnson did phone Mara and voiced his displeasure at his alleged friend's version of "Three's Company." Mara said he told Johnson he wished he called first and said, "We have a long partnership that's going to last for many years and the last thing I want to do is get them upset about an issue like this."  Johnson has made no public comment.

Jets fans disagree.  They have always felt like illegal squatters in the Meadowlands. It goes back to the days of trying use green bunting to hide the blue walls of the old Giants Stadium to recent disagreements with the design of the new stadium before it was completed.

The fans claim they are the stadium's second-class citizens and are still irked by the "rigged" secret coin toss, which decided the team who would pop the cherry of the New Meadowlands Stadium by hosting the first regular season game.

Mara should have taken the Jets inferiority complex into consideration before making the Dolphins--one of the Jets sworn enemies--comfortable.  The Jets might view this as revenge for opening up a multi-stitch gash in Giants quarterback Eli Manning's head during last summer's pre-season game.  Ryan was asked if he was angry about the Giants' hospitality and only remarked, "Officially?  No."  The usually vocal coach then added,  "It's their facility, they can do anything they want with it."

Ryan wasn't so generous later and said, "I don't want anyone using our facility but us.  When we have the Super Bowl [in the Meadowlands] I'm going to make sure we're in it...I don't want anyone in the facility but us."

 While New York sports radio was burning with pissed Jets callers, the Giants players took it in stride.  "It's cool," said Giant wide-out, Steve Smith, "They'll bring a little South Beach love here."

Sparano brought the Dolphins to New York early, not so much as a sneak attack, but more of a bonding outing for his team.  They plan to see the Broadway show "Lombardi" and get acclimated with the cold weather. In an indoor practice field?  Mara also mentioned his son is an associate producer on "Lombardi."  Maybe the Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez--a noted Broadway buff--is a little jealous?

After all was said and done, the Jets and Giants owners made up.  In a Jets fan's warped vision, it is still a Giants town.  Forty-two years without a Super Bowl appearance can make a person greener than the Jets uniform.  Maybe the Jets ought to roll out the red carpet for the Philadelphia Eagles next week, right before they play the Giants.  Sanchez can take them to see "Elf."