"... and three or four other AFC clubs probably were also better than the Giants over the course of the entire season."

Oh? Were there also three or four NFC clubs better than the Giants? Why are you singling out the AFC clubs as better? If you think it is because the AFC was dominant last year, you are mistaken.

Next season, the Giants will be lucky to make the playoffs.

Awesome D, but Eli's a one-hit-wonder, like Oasis.

Think about it.

Think about it: the Giants play in a division with 3 playoff teams in it for the last three years. The worst team in the division (the Eagles) could have made the Super Bowl with a decent run.... The Pats walked over the Bills, Dolphins, and Jets last year for six wins. Every NFC East game is play-off caliber, and you can't say that about any other division in football right now. Strahan said toughest team Giants played all year was the Cowboys, and if you look at the tape of the two games with the Patriots, he's right. Both Pats games the Giants man-handled New England. People forget that the Giants made many more mistakes than the Patriots in the Super Bowl (interception at the Pats 12 yard line! Penalty on a punt handing Pats a 1st down in Giants territory!)and still won.

The Giants are still loaded with talent and not a flawed team - if Eli is for real.

I think he gained some ability to be a leader with the loss of Shockey and Barber last year. Those two guys are more "huddle leader" material than Eli.

If the personas in the huddle don't get in the way, they will be a contender. But let's not forget that our Skins beat them in the last game of the season - as they were beginning to "peak".

We are going to be contenders too! Ray Ray says so!

The wisdom of crowds is generally correct mpre than any individual prediction. The average of 100 people guessing the weight of a pig will be more accurate than any one guess (on average).

This "wisdom" manifests in many ways, mostly we see it in the price of goods.

Of course, it's far from perfect (the $100 million dollar Redskins in 2001 is a perfect example); that's an example of the wisdom on one owner and advisors.

If I could legally bet, I'd be willing to put $1000 that the Pats will go further in the payoffs than the Giants next year.

Will they contend? Possibly will they repeat? Likely not. On the other hand as a Giant fan last year was so sweet that as far as I'm concerned they can take the year off!

We Jints fans are happy to have everyone bad-mouthing them. They have gotten no respect for years (often deservedly); but even in their Super Bowl years, they were huge underdogs 3 out of 4 times (and won 3 out of 4 Super Bowls.) So go ahead, predict the worst. Check out the DVD set of their playoff run -- the Fox dopes were runninng them down in every game, and predicting against them time after time. And like Hank, I will never get tired of reminiscing about the 2007-08 season.

I just hope everyone notices that the question is not "Can the Redskins Repeat?" And that hasn't been the question since ... when? Us long-suffering Giant fans will just continue basking in the glorious victory in Super Bowl XLII that all the "experts" said couldn't happen. GO GINTS!

Mark, Do you even think the Giants will make the playoffs? I think they're lucky to make it to .500

Giants should win 10 games, make the playoffs but not repeat as SB winners. Odds are not in theif favor. Shockey will join Barber as an overated commentator on NBC.

The Dead-Skins? After 5 games, the clueless owner will wonder who elevated a position coach to head coach.

hey maske...did i miss something?

i asked you a while back if you were going to do those post draft team by team off season roundups and you came back and said that you would start in a few days. whats up with those?

Go Skins Go:

Only a burgundy-and-gold Larry-Michael-loving homer would look at the Giants schedule and make YOUR comment that they'd be lucky to get to .500. Looks like double-digit wins to me.

The reality is that the Giants were the best team last year..who has the ring?
yea giants got hot at the right time.But Cowboys,Patriots, Colts, and any other team
that was in the playoffs got cold at the WRONG time...haha.

I agree with the other callers the giants next season will be lucky to get to the playoffs they are now the hunted different ballgame

They'll have an up hill battle to repeat because they have zero advantage on their home field. Too bad for the players they have a very weak fan base.

you guys are retarded! giants are going to the playoffs this year. what they do from there is anyones guess. also, i'm sick of the "giants got hot last year" talk. the patriots were "hot" all year but that didnt help them in the superbowl. while i'm on it, the giants were clearly the better team in each of the playoff victories. there were no flukes. the better TEAM won.

The best team won... I don't care what anyone says. The Pats had the best QB, the best WR, the best CB - but the Giants had the better TEAM. You need skill and luck to win it all (read: Steelers SBXL)and it's very unlikely that any team can do it 2 years in a row, that's why it doesn't happen very often. The Giants haven't lost much in the offseason and I think they make the playoffs again, which would be 4 years running. Who knows what can happen in the playoffs?

For the anonymous dope at 12:47:

The Skins fans keep telling us (over and over) that they're the greatest fans in the world.

How's that working out for the Skins? You know, lately? Like under the Danny? That "great" fan support turning into Ws? I mean, it's not like you (sarcasm on) EVER see away jerseys at FedEx when the Giants and the Cowboys and the Eagles come to town.

Please. The Giants did not have a great home record last year. They also won the Super Bowl. Which of those facts is more important?

I don't know about Eli Manning, Mark. He's a streaky guy, and he may have been on a hot streak. Here are the ratings for his last 8 games
PHI 88
WAS 51
BUF 32 (granted it was lousy weather, but Edwars played better)
NWE 118
TAM 117
DAL 132
GNB 72
NEW 87

So, he had a hot hand for 4 games, and then played better than his average in the Super Bowl. His rating last 3 years is 76/77/74, which is below the league average. He had a couple of good games, but I'm not sure that he has emerged.

The Giants squeaked by the Skins at FedEx, and were soundly thrashed by them in NY with the playoffs on the line.

Yet NYG played NWE tough twice, winning one, while the Redskins were humiliated by NWE.

Some of it is being hot -- like NE was in the middle of last season. Everything worked. But I think a lot of it is matchups. NYG put pressure on Brady where almost nobody could last year, because they were loaded on the defensive line. Skins couldn't because their DL is not as good, so Brady just picked them apart.

So, who matches up well with NYG?

Oasis a one hit wonder...ouch. Thats terrible.

I believe the Giants WILL return to the Super Bowl this year. But I also believe that they will lose. Last year was a fluke because they had their "Tempt Destiny" billboard once again. This year us Rams fans will not let that happen at TemptDestiny.com! We now KNOW the Giants have not and can not win a Super Bowl without it - the Secret is Out!

Catching up to a few of your questions... Yes, I do think the Giants are a playoff team. But I'll take the Cowboys to win the division... On the team-by-team offseason roundup, you're right. You did ask me that and I really was planning to get started on that. I just got sidetracked on something else work-wise and then it got too late in the offseason. Sorry. I'll have to pick back up with that next offseason.

It's really hard to return to the Super Bowl - even teams like the Colts couldn't do it ... I say the Giants don't make it back. Even if they do make the playoffs.

@ TMU -- sorry took so long to get back to you; I've been trying to read up on the Caps Insider;

I don't think the skins will do anything; 6-10 is what I'm thinking. Couple of close painful loses; but bottom of the NFC East.

I think the gints lose a lot of leadership with the gap Strahan is leaving open( yes pun intended). And everyone will get on Eli's case quickly and HARDER then they have in the past, BECAUSE he won a super bowl.

I have the cowturds winning the division (11-5); followed by the iggles (10-6); gints (8-8).

And Larry Michael is a waste of space.

Everyone was happy the Giants beat the Pats in the SB, but everyone also knows the Giants emergence as champs is the biggest fluke of all time. Giants fans have about 2 more months to feel good, because once the season starts they'll see the real Eli and Tom show back again, and get back to their usual booing ways. Coughlin's job will probably be back in jeopardy by season's end.

>>Few would argue that the Giants were the NFL's best team last season. The Patriots were, and three or four other AFC clubs probably were also better than the Giants over the course of the entire season. But the Giants got hot at the right time...

They got hot at the right time?? You make it sound like luck was involved. Sure, they got hot near the end of the season. But, c'mon this is the NFL! That's how a team wins superbowls.

A football team should be judged more by how they end than how they begin. It's all about a team improving and gaining momentum by the end of the season (one very good reason why the college bowl system is absolutely cancerous to me). Of all the teams in the NFL, the Giants succeeded in doing just that the most.

Sure, if you look at the season in its entirety you could make a case for several AFC teams having a more impressive season from beginning to end (frankly you can say the same for the Cowboys and the Packers too).

But can you really imagine any (!!) of those teams beating the Giants on Superbowl Sunday?? No. At the very end of the season, the Giants were the best team.

During the course of the season, which team develops into the very best team? That's what matters. Looking back at the entirety of the season completely misses the point.

(I hate the Giants, but i was glad they beat the Patriots)

No they won't....
Did somebody say New Orleans in the Super Bowl??? I think I did...

Dear Mark Maske et al:

You guys need to do your homework. The Giants are almost never over .500 a year after appearing in a super bowl. The media scrutiny and fan pressure to win is so stressful in the big apple that the players take the year off after getting to the super bowl (win or lose).

With Strahan retired, the Giants will be lucky to finish 8-8. I look for the Eagles and Cowboys to fight it out for the division title. The Giants will battle the Redskins for 3rd place. Once the Redskins get comfortable with Zorn and Zorn comfortable as a head coach, and with one more good draft, the Redskins will be favorites in 2009.

However, if the Redskins get out to a fast start and beat the Giants, Saints, and Cardinals in their 1st 3 games, the Skins can surprise everyone and win the division.