Sports

REALITY BITES: DESPITE FASSEL’S OPINION, JINT PLAYOFF HOPES DIM

Imagine this scene: Jim Fassel and Bobby Valentine, post-game, dining together, relaxing, swapping stories and laughs, both puffing on cigars. Fassel suggesting that Valentine, now designated as a good-luck charm, should accompany the Giants Sunday to Buffalo.

“I told him he could have my wife’s seat on the plane,” Fassel said.

It was strange and also true, a fittingly off-beat culmination of a strange-but-true week. A liberated Fassel yesterday looked as if he had slept for about a month, appearing relieved, rejuvenated and refreshed. He tried on the new Monday morning routine of spreading praise far and wide, and liked the fit. His Giants may never rise any higher than they did in a 41-28 rout of the Jets, and Fassel may never feel any better about his team than he did on this day. Let the worry of what lies ahead wait; Fassel was not quite ready to let go of these good feelings.

“There was more done than said,” Fassel said. “If we keep that attitude, we’ll be tough to deal with. I don’t care who we play.”

That is the kind of talk that’s been missing from Fassel, and understandably so. A huge weight has been lifted, not only by the thrashing of the Bill Parcells Jets, but by the way the Giants responded to a difficult week, the way Kerry Collins injected a spark into their downtrodden quarterback position, the way Joe Montgomery gained the hard yards and the way assistant coach Sean Payton successfully took over Fassel’s play-calling duties.

None of this guarantees anything in the final four games, but at least there is hope for the Giants.

“[If] we play like we did Sunday, we can win a lot of games,” Jessie Armstead said. “A lot of games.”

They will need to win a lot of games, most likely at least three, to have a shot at the playoffs, which remain a remote possibility. Even in the equal-opportunity NFC, the Giants at 6-6 are lagging behind, currently seventh on a six-team playoff depth chart. Three of the remaining four games are on the road, and the one home game is against the high-powered Vikings. At the moment, the Giants have no healthy cornerbacks with any experience and are hoping Phillippi Sparks, who says he’s at 70 percent because of a pulled groin, can get better in time for the Bills.

Given what went on in the dismantling of the Jets and the loss of Jason Sehorn for the regular season, it’s no wonder Fassel, when considering the state of his team, uttered this once-unthinkable plan: “The offense needs to carry a load right now, because we’re banged up on defense.”

Fassel unburdened his load Sunday by disposing of his play-calling role, a role that he has been so closely linked to that giving it up represents a major change in his approach. For the first time since his first few games as a Giants assistant coach in 1991, Fassel spent an NFL game doing something other than calling plays. He liked the feel.

“It relieves your mind a little bit,” he said. “It gives you a chance to look at the whole thing. I feel more in control of certain aspects.”

For the first time, Fassel said, he actually picked up the phone used by the defensive coaches to listen in on what was in the works on that side of the ball. This new awakening comes just in time, as the Giants will need to be on top of every aspect of their performance to hang in with the Bills, who are 8-4 and well-rested coming off a bye week.

The Giants are battered in their secondary, and taking aim down the stretch will be Doug Flutie, Kurt Warner, Jeff George and Troy Aikman.

“I never played against Flutie,” Armstead said. “I haven’t eaten his cereal. I’ve watched him on TV make a lot of big plays on a lot of people.”

There is no concern about Armstead, but there is plenty of worry about a defensive backfield that will have Jeremy Lincoln and Emmanuel McDaniel playing key roles while Sparks and Shaun Williams return from injuries.

“I’m worried about it,” Fassel said. “It’s a challenge. Let’s figure out a way. It’s our job to figure out a way to win football games.”