Soaring Giants, Surprising Jets Fuel Idea of all-N.Y. Super Bowl

The New York Giants, who pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in sports history when they beat the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII but have failed to reach the playoffs after each of the franchise's three previous Super Bowl appearances, are doing more than avoiding that post-title malaise. They are taking their game to a level exceeding all expectations.

"I'm not surprised by anything we do," running back Brandon Jacobs says. "You might see one of us fly one day, you never know."

Actually, New York is most dangerous when it stays on solid ground. The Giants lead the NFL with 164.9 yards a game on the ground, paving the way for the game's most potent scoring offense (29.9 points a game).

Despite the retirement of defensive end Michael Strahan and a knee injury to Osi Umenyiora that sidelined the star end for the season, New York remains among the elite defensively, ranking fifth in yards (275.4) and points allowed (18.1).

The bottom line has the football world buzzing: The Giants' 10-1 mark is tied for best in the league.

"I really believe they are playing great football," Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis says.

New York made a statement heard 'round the league when it trampled Lewis' usually stout crew for 207 rushing yards Nov. 16, its third successive 200-yard effort and fifth this season.

So many skeptics who viewed the Giants as one-year wonders were converted into believers that the team has been forced to tweak its season-opening us-against-the-world theme. "It's still us against the world," center Shaun O'Hara says. "There are just not as many people on the world side."

Says linebacker Antonio Pierce: "We're getting our respect now, but I don't want the title of being the best team in November. We want it in January and February."

It may be only a matter of time. New York appears to have much more going for it than the club that finished the 2007 regular season with a 10-6 record and reached the playoffs with a wild-card berth.

Quarterback Eli Manning, who performed almost flawlessly during the playoff run and emerged as Super Bowl MVP, grew immeasurably from that experience. He no longer resembles the unsure, turnover-prone QB who closed the 2007 regular season with a 73.9 passer rating and a league-worst 20 interceptions. He's completing 62% of his passes this season with 18 touchdown passes and seven interceptions; that adds up to a career-best 91.6 rating.

"Experience, success, talent, it's all come together," former Giants quarterback Phil Simms, now a CBS analyst, says of Manning.

The Giants' emergence as a superpower is a testament to Manning's perseverance and to the convictions of fifth-year head coach Tom Coughlin. There were widespread calls for his dismissal at the end of the 2006 season after an auspicious 6-2 start was followed by a second-half collapse that resulted in 8-8 mediocrity and a first-round playoff loss.

"We went through a season that was very high schoolish and dramatic as far as he-said, she-said stuff," Pierce said. "It started as a little brush fire, and then it was a wildfire, and we had no water to put it out."

The first step toward a much healthier direction came when Coughlin met with ownership. "We felt something was a bit off and he needed to make some changes," co-owner John Mara says.

Those changes included the hiring of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and the establishment of a leadership council to facilitate coach-player communications. Before that, local tabloids were rife with complaints from players about an unbending coach and his onerous rules.

Coughlin, 62, demonstrated he was able to stick to his principles while showing players there was a caring man beneath the image of the dictatorial coach.

"He hasn't gotten softer," Pierce says. "He still has all his rules. ... None of that changed, except he let guys on the team know who he is and what he's really about."

Players can see Coughlin's demand for discipline is reflected in how well they are playing.

And while other champions might have become complacent, the Giants have only grown hungrier, and their game has never been sharper.

"This team is itching for more," Pierce says. "We want more for ourselves, for our team and our city."

KEYS TO THE GIANTS' CONTINUED SUCCESS

• Don't believe the hype: As scathing as the New York media can be in their criticism, it is just as quick to jump on a bandwagon. Wherever the Giants go now, they hear about how great they are, about how their Super Bowl tickets are all but punched. It's never that easy.

• Manning must limit mistakes: Quarterback Eli Manning was nearly flawless in leading his team on its magical playoff run despite throwing 20 interceptions in the 2007 regular season. It bears noting that three Manning interceptions, one of which Eric Wright returned 94 yards for a turn-out-the-lights touchdown, contributed greatly to the Giants' lone defeat, a 35-14 setback at the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 13.

• Big days for Burress: Manning and wide receiver Plaxico Burress form one of the NFL's most dynamic combinations when Burress is healthy (his hamstring is presently an issue) and on the same page as the rest of the team. That isn't always the case. Burress was suspended for one game for missing a team function and sat out the first quarter of a game at the Pittsburgh Steelers because he skipped a scheduled treatment for an injury. He was a huge part of the Giants' success last season and must be again.

• Run, Brandon, run: Brandon Jacobs, the 6-4, 264-pound battering ram, creates opportunities for running mates Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw by wearing down opponents. With winter's chill preparing to set in, Jacobs becomes more important than ever.

• Take, not give: The Giants were guilty of one turnover when they swept through the 2007 playoffs on their way to the championship. They are plus nine now in a category that coach Tom Coughlin views as the most critical of all.

• Keep bringing the heat: New York had an NFL-high 53 sacks in 2007. Though the pass rush may not be quite as ferocious with the retirement of Michael Strahan and season-ending injury to Osi Umenyiora, the Giants are among the league leaders with 32 sacks. Such pressure must continue.