Written by Andy Furman | 02 December 2007

You have 1:37 on the clock, first and goal from the 2, Bears 16 NYG 14, what do you do? Meathead Coughlin runs the ball in for a TD on first down, assuring the Bears of arguably their best chance for winning the game. TAKE A KNEE! Force them to burn their last remaining time out. TAKE ANOTHER KNEE! Now there are 0:55 left on the clock. Run the ball on third down and if you score a TD there are 0:50 secs left. If not, the clock keeps running to 0:13 for 4th down where you are left with the equivalent of a PAT gimme FG to win the game. Instead, we kick off to the Bears with 1:33 and they still have one timeout! INCREDIBLE. When a team is down by 1 or 2 pts with enough time left and 1st and goal from the goal line, the clock is now your biggest adversary, not the other team. Does this sound familiar? Holmgren in SB XXXII let Denver walk in with 1:47 because he knew he needed the clock to score again. Pick one of the three choices: A) 21-16 with 1:33 left and the Bears w/ 1 TO B) 21-16 with 0:50 and the Bears with no TOs C) 17-16 with 0:13 and the Bears with no TOs. I pick C with a second possibility of B. Slam dunk.

Back to the rest of the game, same "2Q" Eli, who cannot play a complete game. In this game he was putrid for the first 3 quarters, throwing 2 INTS and a fumble. We had a turnover net of -4 and won because the defense was terrific. Feagles and the specials were great, limiting Hester all day. Still it was the sloppy Giants who will lose this same game to a better team because the better team will not have a wide open WR get missed for a TD by Grossman, the better team will not have Hester drop a TD pass etc... Separately, the referees reversed an incompletion to Toomer which they (correctly imo) ruled a touchdown.

Somehow the Giants managed to win a game they clearly SHOULD have won. They are 8-4. Just like last year, we have warm porridge and are going to be playing 2008 with a draft pick in the low 20's, a loss in the first or second round of the playoffs, and Meathead Coughlin as our head coach. I think Coughlin has done a decent job this year but it is moments like these with 1:37 left where I know he is not taking us all the way, or if he does, it is despite his presence there on the sideline.

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