On both sides of the ball, players with championship pedigree and the Super Bowl rings to show for it sounded a warning that, although the Giants might be having a rough summer, there’s every reason to view them as worthy title contenders.
“Our overall goal each and every year is to win a championship,’’ Victor Cruz said Tuesday. “I don’t think any team goes into any season thinking they just want to make the playoffs or they just want to be 8-8. They want to go and make the playoffs and potentially win the championship and that’s our goal. That’s something that we can obtain if everybody’s on the same page and we get this thing going the way we know how to.’’
Thus far, Cruz and the new West Coast offense have mostly not been on the same page and the results in four preseason games have ranged anywhere from dysfunctional to slightly promising. Yet Cruz is undeterred.
On defense, the Giants have been far more proficient, but certainly not world-beaters and their man in the middle, linebacker Jon Beason, hasn’t stepped on the field working through a foot injury. Still, the longest-tenured defensive player simply has a feeling that this is going to all turn out fine.
“We’re more than capable of winning a championship,’’ defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said. “This is what we’re here for. Why not go for it? Let’s leave it all on the field. If we do that we can win another Super Bowl.’’
Sure, the Giants are 4-0 this preseason, but that is not the fuel behind these words. This might be some curious sentiment coming from a team that has been solid but certainly not dominant with its starting defense and been at times feeble on offense, scoring only three touchdowns in 17 series with Eli Manning and the first unit. But those on the inside see the potential lurking behind those struggles.
Heck, even coach Tom Coughlin caught the spirit, sort of. Asked if he senses the 2014 Giants are a playoff team, the head coach said: “I certainly hope so. That is what we are here for.’’
So what if that’s not exactly a decree to the Mara and Tisch families to start printing and distributing playoff tickets. Cruz insists the offense, at times a mess under first-year coordinator Ben McAdoo, cannot be properly evaluated because it hasn’t been on the field for four quarters in one game.
“It’s tough, it’s not easy but we got guys like myself, guys that have been around have to understand that and pull these guys along,’’ Cruz said.
There’s another ingredient Cruz sees as vital to the cause and an upgrade over recent years. This team, at the moment, is closer than those in previous years.
“Having been there and having been fortunate enough to win a Super Bowl I know what kind of energy, what type of camaraderie it takes to get there and I think this team is almost there,’’ Cruz said. “I think we’re a very close bunch. We spent a ton of time off the field as well, which is rather new than in years past. That hasn’t been the norm around here for a while now. This is just such a tight bunch that once we get things down on the field and build that continuity and build that family atmosphere more than what it already is I think we’ll be a tough team to stop and it should be fun to watch.’’
Kiwanuka is entering his ninth season with the Giants and has seen it all, from the two Super Bowl triumphs and the non-playoff years that have sprouted like weeds. This defense is different, Kiwanuka believes, because it is not vulnerable at linebacker and on the back end.
“I feel like this is one of those years where at every level you have a guy who is not just a public personality but he was on the field kind of an energy, focus guy,’ Kiwanuka said. “Usually you need somebody in the linebacking room, you need somebody in the DBs and you need somebody up front. I think we have multiple guys at every level who are doing that, paying attention to detail and hustling to the ball and trying.’’
How it all fits together remains to be seen.
“If we are on the same page and play on the same accord, offensively and defensively we can do some special things that year,’’ Cruz said. “And I believe that.’’