Here Come the Giant Killers

Three years ago, the New York Football Giants began a humble season. They were good, yes, but they were nothing in comparison to the dynasty of the New England Patriots, who marched through the 2008 regular season unscathed. Meanwhile the Giants were quietly climbing in the standings and before everyone had a second to blink, my beloved team had made it to the Superbowl.

Led by quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants bravely took the field in Glendale, Arizona. It looked like a classic David vs Goliath matchup. The unbeaten Patriots were in search of the perfect season, the first one since the famed '72 Dolphins. New England was supposed to have no problem beating the Giants and Don Shula was shaking in his boat shoes. Of course, it didn't end so happily for the Patriots. Manning famously connected with WR Plaxico Burress in the Patriots' endzone, giving the Giants the prized Lombardi Trophy and Shula a little peace of mind.

So what the hell has happened to the Giants since then?

The glory of winning Superbowl XLII quickly dissipated as the Giants sunk back into the abyss. It seems like several key factors contributed to the Giants' fall from grace. Plaxico Burress famously Cheddar Bob'd himself and landed in prison for a 2 year stint. Defensive coordiantor/mastermind Steve Spagnuolo left New York to coach the ailing St. Louis Rams. Brandon Jacbos seemingly forgot how to run like an big NFL running back. Instead of looking like a freight train barreling through defensive lines, Jacobs now looks like Thomas the Tank Engine running with absolutely no authority.

Week 3's loss against the Tennessee Titans solidified the fact that there are some major issues with the Giants that extend beyond the talent level on the field or actual football mechanics. The Giants had FIVE personal foul flags thrown against them. Late hits and thrown punches cost the Giants yards and yards as Chris Johnson ran through their defense and scored two touchdowns on his own. Two other opportunties in the Red Zone for the Giants to score ended in absolutely nothing. They even missed a field goal. Yes, a field goal. Lineman Kareem McKenzie was booed coming off the field after he backhanded a Titans player. What are you doing trying to hit a player who's wearing full pads and a helmet, genius?

Giants fans looked to be in absolute dismay at the conclusion of the Titans game. What had happened to the gritty hard nosed Giants who took that Lombardi Trophy back to New York? These new-look Giants, with their prima donna attitudes (shout out to Brandon Jacobs) and an extreme lack of effort, have a 1-2 record going into week 4 versus a hyped up Bears squad who just came off a huge win against Green Bay.

Fee, fi, foe, fum. The fear of the Big Blue has come and gone.

Copyright Marisa Ross
Follow me on Twitter @TheDivineMsRoss

Out of the Dog House

When it comes to making decisions, Andy Reid has never had much definitiveness. The only time Reid seems to make a good decision is when he decides to get a Diet Coke with his Big Mac meal. Much to the shock of the sports community, Reid decided to make an executive decision that actually betters his team and gives them hope to having a solid season.

Michael Vick is back.

Vick was named the starting QB on Tuesday, and it has nothing to do with starter Kevin Kolb's concussion. He has won back his starting gig for the first time since before he went to prison for playing Ultimate Fighter with Fluffy and Spike.

With legs of fury, Vick has sped across the field in the past two games and reminds us why he's one of the greatest running quarterbacks ever. Having Vick as the Eagles starter is one of the best moves Reid could have made for the team. Now the offense won't have to rely so much on passing to wideout DeSean Jackson or getting the ball into RB Shady McCoy's hands. With Vick in it gives the Eagles another threat and option on offense.

Now Andy Reid just needs to keep making good decisions. Maybe now we can get him to purchase some Sketchers Shape Ups to rock on the sidelines. Or not.

Never 'Trust' Indian Givers

Reggie Bush's name has basically been all but inihalated from the record books at the University of Southern California. It's almost like he never existed there. I wonder if his academic has one big black bar across it that just says "VOID". To be honest, Reggie might as well rep his high school instead of USC when he announces himself for his NFL games. It's not like USC claims him anymore anyway.

Bush has been embattled with the university for years in the whole "did he or didn't he" with whether Bush cheated his way through his years at USC financially receiving lavish gifts from a prospective agent who would soon become his actual one when he declared for the NFL draft. It's no secret Bush reaped the underground benefits of being a star football player in one of the most storied programs in all of college sports. However, here we are in 2010. Should Bush be punished and have his beloved Heisman Trophy taken away five years after the fact?

The Heisman Trophy trust says yes, that Bush should and will be stripped of his achievement leaving the award vacant. Bush didn't give the trust enough time to even render a decision. He decided Tuesday to revoke his Heisman as a means to hopefully put this situation behind him.

Runner up Vince Young could potentially be awarded the trophy in his place, but would he really want now after so many years? And after he didn't really win it? That's like sleeping with your best friend's ex. I certainly don't need anyone's leftovers.

I think Bush should've fought it out to the end to keep his Heisman. The trust thinks their infinite power should just be able to give and take away at will, from a kid who fought his heart out to earn that trophy. No amount of money could have changed his talent level in the game of football. After all, he earned it on the field, not at the bank.

The $54 Million Dollar Man

Imagine getting $54 million dollars for six straight years of your life for having one good year at work. That's Miles Austin's reality right now. And to top that off, he gets to take down Kim Kardashian every night. Then again, who in his professional field hasn't?

Austin is a solid WR, yes, but one amazing year isn't enough to justify a $54 million dollar contract extension in my eyes. The Cowboys are the Yankees of football. They have no problem shelling out millions to their top-tier players. There's one difference between the Yankees' high salaries and the Cowboys making this play on Miles Austin: Austin isn't exactly what I would call proven yet.

Yes, Austin had an amazing breakout season in 2009 being elected to the Pro Bowl without even starting the entire season, but was this one year a fluke or is it foreshadowing for the next several seasons to come? The Cowboys seem to agree with the latter, fattening Austin's bank account ten fold. I compare Austin to another wideout with a breakthrough year in '09: Wes Welker of the Patriots. Would you pay Welker a $54 million dollar extension? All I hear is crickets.

After starting last season as the #3 wideout for the 'Boys, Austin solidified himself as Tony Romo's #1 offensive target this season. They gave this man 3 Pro Bowl season money though, not breakout season money. This deal could even backfire on the Jerry Jones and the Cowboys brass. Austin could get over-confident and therefore complacent on the field. He might not be as hungry this season since he doesn't have much to prove to anyone this time around. I mean, the Cowboys think he's worth $54 mil, why wouldn't everyone agree and bow down to kiss his feet?

Even if Austin crashes and burns this season or has a mediocre year compared to 2009, at least all those dead presidents will keep his girl Kim warm at night.

@TheDivineMsRoss

Will the REAL Chris Johnson Please Stand Up?

Chris Johnson is in my fantasy league. You know, the guy with the dreads and gold fronts who only ran for 2,000+ yards last season?

Yes, THAT Chris Johnson.

This is a true statement that I'm willing to put on everything I love.

I've been friends with Chris for about 2 years so yesterday we were chatting on BBM. When I told him yesterday that my fantasy draft was after work he replied with one statement: "I want in. How do I get in on ya'll league?" At first I chuckled because there was no way in hell THE Chris Johnson would want to join my tiny 6 man office fantasy football league. Little did I know, Chris was very serious. He's never played fantasy football before and wanted to try it out on one condition: If he could draft himself. I figured my coworkers wouldn't mind giving up the first pick to the man who we were all gunning for as the first pick ourselves.

Our league is through Yahoo Fantasy Sports so we set Chris up with a Yahoo e-mail (he didn't have one) and he joined our league. He dubbed his team "GreenTeam" in tribute to his friends. Since this was Chris' first fantasy experience he really had no idea how the fantasy system even worked so I stepped into one of my office conference rooms and along with my co-worker Matt, explained to Chris Johnson exactly how fantasy football works.

Chris was really fired up about the notion of playing himself in fantasy football. He BBMed me what picks he wanted and when he got a break from football he called in during our live draft and did the draft right along with us over the phone. My co-workers Derek and Mike were so thrilled by this they could barely contain themselves when they got the opportunity to speak to Chris as I had him on speaker phone.

The draft took a total of 2 hours and because our league is so miniscule we've doubled the amount of starters as a usual team. We're playing each week with SIX starting wideouts and FOUR starting RBs. Crazy huh?

Chris will of course be starting himself each week and for someone who has never played a down of fantasy football he had perhaps the best draft out of all of us! Here's how all our teams broke down:

Chris:
QB: T. Brady
QB: B. Favre
RB: C. Johnson (obviously)
RB: J. Stewart
RB: R. Brown
RB: D. Sproles
WR: R. Moss
WR: D. Jackson
WR: G. Jennings
WR: K. Britt
WR: D. Bryant
WR: P. Garcon
TE: J. Finley
TE: K. Winslow
Flex: F. Jones
Flex: D. McFadden
K: S. Gostkowski
K: J. Feely
DEF: Eagles
DEF: Vikings
B: E. Doucet
B: M. Stafford
B: J. Shockey
B: S. Slaton
B: S. Holmes
B: L. Washington
B: K. Walter
B: B. Scaife
B: T. Heap
B: J. Gaffney

Matt:
QB: M. Shaub

QB: J. Flacco
RB:  M. Jones-Drew
RB: R. Grant
RB: C. Benson
RB: R. Williams
WR: C. Johnson
WR: S. Smith (CAR)
WR: M. Sims-Walker
WR: D. Driver
WR: J. Maclin
WR: R. Meachem
TE: T. Gonzalez
TE: B. Celek
Flex: L. Tomlinson
Flex: J. Knox
K: N. Kaeding
K: R. Bironas
DEF: Ravens
DEF: Saints
B: G. Olsen
B: C. Henne
B: C. Portis
B: B. Berrian
B: D. Heyward-Bey
B: M. Lynch
B: T. Hightower
B: M. Manningham
B: V. Young
B: A. Gonzalez

Bill:
QB: T. Romo

QB: J. Cutler
RB: A. Peterson
RB: M. Turner
RB: S. Greene
RB: L. McCoy
WR: R. Wayne
WR: R. White
WR: A. Boldin
WR: D. Bowe
WR: H. Ward
WR: T. Owens
TE: J. Witten
TE: H. Miller
Flex: M. Bush
Flex: M. Barber
K: L. Tynes
K: A. Vinatieri
DEF: 49ers
DEF: Cowboys
B: M. Ryan
B: L. Evans
B: S. Moss
B: L. Maroney
B: B. Edwards
B: M. Cassel
B: S. Rice
B: M. Massaquoi
B: A. Collie
B: J. Carlson

Mike
QB: P. Manning

QB: E. Manning
RB: R. Rice
RB: S. Jackson
RB: D. Williams
RB: P. Thomas
WR: B. Marshall
WR: L. Fitzgerald
WR: S. Smith (NYG)
WR: W. Welker
WR: M. Crabtree
WR: H. Nicks
TE: O. Daniels
TE: Z. Miller
Flex: C.J. Spiller
Flex: J. Addai
K: R. Longwell
K: R. Succop
DEF: Steelers
DEF: Patriots
B: J. Jones
B: D. McCluster
B: C. Williams
B: L. Robinson
B: A. Bradshaw
B: J. Harrison
B: F. Jackson
B: J. Cotchery
B: V. Jackson
B: A. Smith

Derek:
QB: D. Brees
QB: P. Rivers
RB: R. Mathews
RB: A. Foster
RB: J. Charles
RB: M. Forte
WR: A. Johnson
WR: M. Austin
WR: M. Floyd
WR: N. Burleson
WR: M. Williams (TB)
WR: C. Schilens
TE: D. Clark
TE: A. Gates
Flex: K. Moreno
Flex: J. Forsett
K: M. Crosby
K: G. Gano
DEF: Bengals
DEF: Broncos
B: B. Roethlisberger
B: C. Cooley
B: D. McNabb
B: B. Jacobs
B: D. Brown
B: B. Scott

B: J. Walker

B. D. Aromashodu

B: T. Gerhart

B: C. Chambers

 

Marisa (a.k.a. ME - The Divine Ms. Ross)

QB: A. Rodgers

QB: C. Palmer

RB: F. Gore

RB: R. Mendenhall

RB: J. Best

RB: C. Wells

WR: M. Colston

WR: C. Ochocinco

WR: M. Wallace

WR: S. Breaston

WR: G. Tate

WR: P. Harvin

TE: V. Davis

TE: V. Shiancoe

Flex: T. Jones

Flex: D. Keller

K: G. Hartley

K: D. Akers

DEF: Jets

DEF: Packers

B: K. Kolb

B: T. Houshmenzadeh

B: B. Hartline

B: E. Royal

B: J. Gresham

B. D. Mason

B: M. Sanchez

B: A. Hernandez

B: J. Delhomme

 

How do you like them apples?