You could tell John Mara was conflicted and not sure at all what to think. This was unusual for the normally clear-thinking president and CEO of the Giants. But Mara simply could not make up his mind.
An hour before his Giants were set to face the Lions last Sunday, Mara glanced up at one of the many flat screen TVs hanging high in the press box at spacious Ford Field in Detroit. The images in his vision were the Cowboys attempting a frantic comeback against the Redskins on the muddy grass at FedEx Field. As an NFL owner, Mara more often than not has a rooting interest and, this being an NFC East battle, there were strong emotions running through Mara.
Strong, but also conflicted, as Mara admitted he found it next to impossible to pull for either team. Kind of like choosing between canned green beans and mushy carrots. You just shake your head, push them aside with your fork and hope they go away.
Yup, there’s not much for Mara to root, root, root for as this dreary season comes to an end with the Giants facing the Redskins right smack in the middle of Christmas and New Year’s. The NFL on Tuesday sent out its official playoff scenario primer, and this week it’s an expanded 553-word opus involving 17 teams that on the last weekend can either improve their playoff positioning or clinch a post-season berth. “Giants’’ is nowhere to be found.
Of the games remaining in the regular season — this Sunday is the only time when all 16 games are on the same day — only three will go off with absolutely no playoff implications. Giants-Redskins is part of the unholy trio, and that eats at Mara, a 59-year-old who spent many of his formative years hearing from wise-cracking friends or law school geniuses how lousy his father’s team was as the Giants missed out on the playoffs yet again.
Already, the pomp and circumstance for Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium is heating up, and as the co-owner of one of the host teams, Mara will have to be a presence this next month as the hype for the NFLs first cold weather Super Bowl gets cranking. This will be a bittersweet deal for Mara, proud the big game will be played in the building he shares with the Jets, but deeply disappointed and no doubt a bit embarrassed his Giants were, realistically if not mathematically, out of contention before Columbus Day.
The best the Giants can finish is 7-9 — they’d better, considering the terribleness of the Redskins awaiting them in the season finale — and if so, that’s a 7-3 record after the 0-6 calamity. The best the Eagles can finish in their last 10 games is 7-3; for the Cowboys, it’s 6-4. In a year when the division was bobbing up and down, the Giants could not come close to staying afloat.
Every snap will be evaluated and coach Tom Coughlin admitted, “Of course, we’re going to be extremely critical of those first six.’’ Mara will be heartened that Coughlin managed to avoid a 4-12 or 3-13 collapse, but the strong hunch here is the man writing the checks will not at all be fooled or swayed by the upsurge in the last 10 games.
Here’s another hunch: Mara will come down harder on general manager Jerry Reese — the guy picking the players — than he does on Coughlin, the guy coaching them. Neither is going anywhere, but Mara undoubtedly will see a roster lacking in too many areas and severe depth issues on the offensive line and running back, the two positions hit hardest by injuries. That could lead to alterations in the player personnel and scouting departments. Those imported from the NFL Draft have not successfully restocked the shelves with quality goods.
Mara is deeply invested in the mood and temperament of Giants fans — OK, the personal seat licenses was a failing — and he is going to be an eyewitness to Sunday’s depressing final act, with plenty of good seats available for a divisional rivalry game that will be distinguished from a summer preseason yawner only by hats, scarves and gloves. Mara, like his late father, Wellington, tries his best to determine if the arrow is pointed up or down. He is most likely going to fall somewhere between blowing it all up and chalking up this season to bad luck, bad health and bad breaks.
The best the Giants can be since their most recent Super Bowl triumph is 16-16, and Mara’s marching orders will have to be this: Get more talent in here, now.
Eagles have edge in NFC East elimination bout
Two years ago, the Giants staged a party at their Meadowlands home, beating the Cowboys in an elimination game to claim the NFC East title. A year ago, the Giants were not invited as the Redskins beat the Cowboys in a winner-take-all regular-season finale. On Sunday, the Eagles and Cowboys make it three consecutive years with the division title needing to be settled in an elimination-game finale.
The stunning news that quarterback Tony Romo won’t play because of a back injury means any advantage the Cowboys had in playing this showdown game at home is gone.
“I think it shifts dramatically with now, I guess, Romo’s not going to play,’’ Justin Tuck said. “Obviously, that gives the Eagles an advantage, but it’s one of those games where anything can happen. You never know, in this division especially. I expect both teams to pull out all stops. I think it’s going to be a pretty good football game, but I probably give the Eagles the advantage just because of the Romo injury.”
2014 schedule takes shape
The 2014 schedule isn’t set just yet, but we do know 14 of the 16 games. In addition to six games against their NFC East rivals (Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins), the Giants will play home games against the Cardinals, 49ers, Texans and Colts. Four road games are also set: at St. Louis, Seattle, Jacksonville and Tennessee.
The Giants are locked in as the third-place team in the NFC East, meaning they will host the third-place team in the NFC South (either the Falcons or Buccaneers) and play on the road against the third-place team in the NFC North (the Bears, Packers or Lions).