Pleas begin to keep these Giants together
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| Wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) of the New York Giants and teammates hold the championship trophy at the end of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Giants defeated the Patriots, 21-17. (Photo by Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT) |
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INDIANAPOLIS (MCT) — The questions lingered, Eli Manning remembered, smothering the Giants in doubt all those months ago.
At least they had appeared to from the outside.
“There were some questions going into the beginning of the season,” the Giants quarterback and the Man of the Hour said Monday before the team left Indianapolis and headed home.
“But that quickly got answered.”
These Giants proved themselves a special group Sunday night, vanquishing the Patriots, 21-17, in Super Bowl XLVI. And just hours later, some of them said they see another Super Bowl run in their future after having overcome obstacles that would have left many other teams all too ready to fold.
“Oh, man, I really want to keep this team together,” running back Brandon Jacobs said. “Do what you’ve got to do to keep us together. It’s a great football team.
“This football team could do this again. I honestly believe that.”
What makes this team so special isn’t necessarily talent, which it has.
It’s what the Giants overcame to find themselves in lower Manhattan on Tuesday morning, when they will be serenaded in a ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes before heading to MetLife Stadium at 3 p.m. for a Jersey celebration.
There were free-agent losses. A series of devastating injuries. A four-game losing streak in the second half. And an inexplicable loss at home in December to the last-place Redskins to fall to 7-7.
“We went through a lot of (stuff),” linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said.
Enough to make him believe they’re capable of repeating what they accomplished this season.
“I believe we can,” Kiwanuka said. “If we won it this year, there is no doubt that we can. We’ve just got to get into the playoffs.”
And the Giants think this team is special enough not to be broken up. But that might not be an easy request to fulfill given the number of key players who become free agents this off-season, including Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham, cornerbacks Terrell Thomas and Aaron Ross, right tackle Kareem McKenzie and linebacker Jon Goff.
Then there’s the tenuous situation with defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who held out in training camp, but still has one year remaining on his contract.
Jacobs is another player whose future is cloudy. But he made it clear Monday he wants to stay.
He still has one year remaining on his contract, but it would pay him $4.9 million — including a $500,000 roster bonus due next month.
That’s a hefty price tag for a soon-to-be 30-year-old backup.
“This is where I want to be. No question about it,” Jacobs said. “They know what they have to do to get it done. I ain’t arguing or denying anything. This is where I want to be.”
Of course just a few months ago, it was Jacobs who said he did not foresee much of a future with the Giants.
But maybe he’s seen the same future Manning has glimpsed.
“I’m excited about a number of young guys who stepped up this season,” Manning said. “We felt we had talent across the board on the team, that there were a few spots where we needed young guys to step up, as any team always does.
“You’re going to need young players to come in and play a role and give you a chance to win a championship.”
And the Giants have Victor Cruz, Jake Ballard, Hakeem Nicks and Jason Pierre-Paul.
All of them are 25 or younger.
But not even they can explain how they reversed course to knock out the top two seeds in the NFC and the AFC’s top seed after starting 7-7.
“Well, I don’t know if I really can (explain),” coach Tom Coughlin said. “(But) the players would not back down from moving forward no matter what.”
“Every time you open that paper in the preseason, you get beat down and get beat down and get beat down,” Kiwaunka said. “If you can’t get back up, you are not going to stay around very long.”
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