2006-2007 Giants Season in Review

Coming into the season it was all talk about the Super Bowl. Players, fans and coaches all thought for sure this was "the year." Many dramatic events, injuries and rumors later the Giants were 8-8 and eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by their division rival Philadelphia Eagles. That sums it up in a neat little box but the year itself seemed to drag on and the "events" were relentless.

The season started with a National game as Eli Manning took on his brother in what was deemed as the "Manning Bowl." The hype was insane and the Meadowlands were kicking that night. It seemed like the ideal kickoff what was supposed to be a dream season. When it was all said and done each Manning brother had a good game but Peyton walked away victorious as the Colts beat the Giants 26-21.

For many Giants fans the following week was the highlight of their season and a game that will live forever in their memories. Trailing the Eagles by 17 in the 4th Quarter it seemed like the Giants were heading to an 0-2 record. Then Eli Manning, Tiki Barber and the New York Giants offense turned it on scoring 17 unanswered points that eventually brought the game into overtime. Then on a 3rd and 11 from the Eagles 32 came "the play." The Eagles blitzed and Eli threw up a prayer that landed in the hands of Plaxico Burress and won the Giants an improbable game. The fun and emotion from that game was short lived however, as the Giants got destroyed in Seattle the following week and then the injuries began.

But the Giants were able to weather the storm briefly and rip off five straight wins. It seemed like each win came with a price; another star player going down via injury, but when the smoke cleared the Giants were one of the best in the NFC. As a matter of fact they began to prepare for a showdown with the Chicago Bears that would determine just where they stood. They were "ballin" and we fans thought they were on top of the world; so did the players. Then with under two minutes left to go before halftime, after the Giants had already lost another starter [Luke Petitgout], they were about to lose their entire season. On 3rd and a mile the Bears ran a draw play the resulted in a first down and to this day haunts my dreams. The Bears came storming back and eventually won the game 38-20. The downfall was just beginning.

From that point on the injuries were too much to overcome and the team started to fail. They lost their next four games [including a heart-breaking meltdown against the Titans] before finally beating the Panthers and then went on to lose two more. At 7-8 they were still in control of their own destiny and an away game against the Redskins loomed. But all that was overshadowed by the bickering with the media which eventually resulted in a tirade by Michael Strahan where he went completely out of character and degraded ESPN reporter Kelly Naqi.

Mixed in with all this mess was the Giants relentless attempt to get a new stadium, the announcement that Tiki Barber would retire following the season and the rumors that Tom Coughlin was on the chopping block. Yet somehow the Giants were able to move past that and defeat the Washington Redskins in what many will claim was the greatest game Tiki Barber ever played. He single handedly put the Giants on his shoulder and ran them into the playoffs.

Despite another valiant performance by Tiki Barber in the wild card game against the Eagles, the Giants fell 23-20 on a last second field goal. Despite the way the season went, the Giants gave it everything they had against the Eagles and went out fighting. It was a somewhat bitter sweet end to what had been the season from hell.

In the week following the end of their season Tom Coughlin was given a one-year contract extension, Tim Lewis was fired, Kevin Gilbride was promoted and Jerry Reese was named General Manager.

I am sure I missed various things but the season was a rollercoaster. It's hard to look back on it now but then again, it did have its good points. Feel free to add your two cents and thoughts on the 2006-2007 New York Giants season.