Are the Giants headed to Super Bowl 51?
As a Giants fan, I loved reading the below article even though I know there is a teeny tiny chance it might come back to haunt me in January. Still...with the Eagles coming up on Thursday night and Redskins unable to pull off a win against the Panthers, I'll enjoy this while I can. Go Giants!
Key Giants not afraid to think or talk Super Bowl as wins pile up
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants don't believe in any of this mumbo-jumbo "don't jinx it" stuff. They're not like one of these hockey teams that won't touch the trophy until the Stanley Cup is over. They're not like any of those players with a laundry list of pregame rituals that believe they're mandatory to perform well.
The Giants are into making their own fate, defining their own destiny. They're into visualizing what it is they're trying to obtain.
And they're not afraid to talk about the Super Bowl.
Coach Ben McAdoo highlighted putting a fifth Lombardi trophy in the case at the first team meeting of the year. He's mentioned it plenty since.
In recent weeks, the Giants players are really following suit as they continue to string together victories.
"It was talked about in the very first meeting and just about every meeting since then," veteran defensive tackle Damon Harrison said. "If you don't take anything from any meeting we have, you know the ultimate goal. It's not about individuals or one side of the ball. It's the ultimate team goal. He's done a great job of preaching that message and instilling that in us. Every guy in this locker room knows exactly what the goal is. We work hard every day to try and achieve that."
The Giants players -- especially star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. -- have never been shy about vocalizing their goal of winning the Super Bowl this season. He talked this summer of making it to Houston for the season's final game.
The rhetoric is just now getting louder and louder with each victory and with the postseason inching close. The Giants (10-4) are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs, and can do so with a win Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I've been preaching about Super Bowl this year. You don't say that stuff just to say that stuff," Beckham said after Sunday's 17-6 victory over the Detroit Lions. "You say that if you truly believe that. That's what we're doing right now. We're truly trying our very best to get to the Super Bowl. That's our goal. It starts one game at a time.
McAdoo has pulled off the juggling act of having his team thinking Super Bowl while still prioritizing the weekly task at hand. The Giants have won eight of nine games under their first-year head coach, who has the complete attention of the room, even if the message is different than years past.
Tom Coughlin seemed to be more micro. He would present the Giants with updated NFC East standings at team meetings and let the Giants know exactly where they stood.
McAdoo appears to think a bit bigger picture while still preaching the minute details.
"Well, we talk about everything is out in front of us and we have to make sure we are taking care of the task at hand and that is the important thing for us," he said. "We make sure that we focus our attention and we have to be where our feet are, especially in a week like this where every second counts and we can't waste a second of any day leading up to the ball game. We have to make sure we are where our feet are and dial into our preparation."
Quarterback Eli Manning couldn't say whether the Giants talk about the Super Bowl now more or less than previous years. In his mind, it's prevalent every season.
The Giants have already won two Super Bowls with Manning at quarterback.
"That's always the goal of every team. Each year the goal is to win a championship," Manning said. "That does not change.
"That's kind of the far goal. Each week you have kind of a near-sighted goal. Something on the game in performance, making improvements in your own play and the offense and defensive play. It's ultimately to give yourself an opportunity to win a championship."
Rookie Paul Perkins is new to this all. He hasn't even noticed much talk about the Super Bowl with his focus centered on getting his role right.
"Not at all," the rookie running back said. "Coach McAdoo does a great job of keeping it one game at a time. One game mentality and just focusing on the week by week."
But it’s there. The trophies are visible every time the Giants walk through the lobby of their training facility. They hear it every time Beckham starts talking about why he plays or qualifying for the playoffs.
With 10 wins under their belt and the potential for more, the Giants are thinking and talking Super Bowl a lot these days. And maybe they're not so crazy.
http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-giants/post/_/id/50133/key-giants-not-afraid-to-think-or-talk-super-bowl-as-wins-pile-up
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