A New Hope

Week one of the Jaxson Dart era is now officially in the books and the reviews couldn't be better. In his first start in the NFL, Dart showed poise, ability and good judgment, as the New York Giants beat the Los Angeles Chargers 21-18 at MetLife Stadium for their first win of the season. But more than that, Dart gave his head coach, his GM, the franchise and its fanbase something they haven't had in a long time: hope.

After last week's abysmal "effort" by Russell Wilson against the Kansas City Chiefs, the natives weren't just growing restless; they were getting downright ornery. Another phone-in performance like that and the fans would've started wearing bags over their heads. I've seen it; it ain't pretty.

Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka drew up a game plan for Dart that was deliberately simple, but still gave the rookie enough latitude to show off the skillset that made Joe Schoen trade back into the first round to pluck him in the Draft. In his first possession, Dart took his team 89 yards on 9 plays, helped by a 14-yard pass interference penalty, and capped off by a 15-yard quarterback draw to put the Giants up 7-0. It was the first time the Chargers had allowed a first quarter touchdown this season.

Dart was very effective going through his progressions, particularly on third down, where the Giants as a team were 7/15. Overall, he was 13/20 for 111 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 96.0. He also rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries. By comparison, Eli Manning's slash line in his first start was 17/37, 162, 1-2, 45.1.

Cam Skattebo, another impressive rookie drafted by Schoen in the fourth round, also had a solid game, rushing for 79 yards on 25 carries. In all, the Giants ran the ball 42 times for 161 yards. With Tyrone Tracy out with a dislocated shoulder the next couple of weeks, Skattebo will have to carry most of the load in the backfield.

But as good as Dart and Skattebo were, it was the defense that stole the show, especially the front seven. Led by Brian Burns, Abdul Carter (the third pick in the '25 Draft), Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, they had 20 pressures, 12 hits and two sacks against Justin Herbert. They also forced two interceptions, which led to 11 points for the Jints. It was the first time this season that the Giants held an opponent to under 20 points, and the first time since week 16 last season against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife that they led in all four quarters of a game. In case you're wondering, the Giants don't have many of these games.

But the news was not all good for Big Blue. Malik Nabers, whose 1204 yards was good enough to finish fifth in the voting for rookie of the year last season, suffered a torn ACL in his right leg in the second quarter and is out for the rest of the season. The star wideout had 18 receptions for 271 yards when he went down. Against the Cowboys two weeks ago, he led all New York receivers with 167 yards on 9 receptions and two touchdowns. His presence will be sorely missed.

All things considered, though, the Giants did what they had to do Sunday: win the game. They are now 1-3. If they beat the Saints in New Orleans next week - which they should - they will be 2-3. Before the start of the season, I said the Giants had a chance of going 3-6 in their first nine games. With the Philadelphia Eagles (twice), the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers all upcoming, they could still do it.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The headline here is that the Giants have found their quarterback. 

And his name is Jaxson Dart.

It's Dart's Time

 

A week ago, the Giants offense looked like Air Coryell; last Sunday, it looked more like the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey. And Russell Wilson, who last week had regained his Super Bowl form against the Dallas Cowboys, reverted back to the player Sean Payton couldn't wait to ship out of Denver against the Kansas City Chiefs.

So much for making progress. I thought this team was moving in the right direction. Clearly I was wrong. 

You can make all the excuses you want: Steve Spagnuolo double-teamed Malik Nabers; the Chiefs needed the win more; Patrick Mahomes is a magician who alluded the Giants pass rush all night; Graham Gano got injured during warmups, rendering New York's kicking game practically useless. 

It's time to face facts. Despite all the offseason maneuvers, this is still a bad team. Bill Parcells was right: You are what your record says you are; and right now, the Giants are 0-3. From what we've seen, so far, and based on the strength of schedule, if this team goes more than 2-7 in its first nine games, I would be very surprised.

Contrary to what I wrote before the season, waiting until week ten to make a change at quarterback is too late. Apparently, Brian Daboll agrees. The head coach announced this afternoon that Jaxson Dart will start this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

It was the right decision, and for the following reasons.

Going into the 2025 season, the assumption was that Wilson would be competent enough to give Daboll the time he needed to bring Dart along, so that when he finally took over the reigns, he would be able to handle the pressure.

But in two of his three starts, Wilson has been underwhelming to say the least. Against Kansas City, he looked completely lost; indeed, he looked more like a rookie than the guy who was being groomed to take his job. His two interceptions on Sunday were forced passes that never should've been thrown. 

Look, we all gave Wilson kudos for throwing for 450 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys in week two. But when Caleb Williams threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns against them the following week, it was fairly obvious that Wilson's performance was an anomaly. Hell, the way that secondary is playing, Peyton Manning could come out of retirement and throw for 200 yards and a touchdown against it.

But here's the biggest reason for making the switch. This team is 0-3. After this Sunday, they will likely be 0-4. Justin Herbert, the player Dave Gettleman really wanted, might be the best quarterback in the NFL. If the Giants can't move the football and put up some points, this game will be over at halftime. Dart at least has an element of speed to his game that Wilson lacks. When he came in last Sunday, you could feel the electricity resonate within the stadium. If he was good enough to be the backup, he's obviously ready to be the starter.

There's losing and then there's losing without a fight. Right now, the Giants are losing without much of a fight. Daboll had no choice but to pull the plug on Wilson. Even if it turns out that Dart isn't the second coming of Eli Manning, he will at least breathe some life into a locker room that desperately needs something to believe in.

The fans are disgusted. The players frustrated. The season is hanging in the balance.

It's Dart's time, ready or not. 

Deja Blue

Two years ago, the Giants were playing the Bills in Buffalo. Despite their 1-4 record, they outplayed the Bills. But because of several mistakes - one near the end of the first half - they lost the game when Josh Allen connected on a 15-yard pass to Quinton Morris in the end zone with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter. That was basically it for Big Blue. They never fully recovered from that loss.

I'm not prepared to throw in the towel on the Giants just yet. For one thing, this was only the second game of the season; for another, unlike that game in 2023, and so many others over the last ten years, this time around the offense wasn't the problem. Indeed, after sleepwalking through a 21-6 loss to the Commanders in Washington the previous week, the Jints looked like Air Coryell against the Cowboys in Dallas. Russell Wilson resembled the quarterback who took the Seattle Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowls a decade ago. If you're a Giants fan, you haven't seen anything like this since Eli Manning was under center. 

The Giants put up 37 points on the day, with Wilson completing 30 of 41 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns, the last one coming with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put New York up by three. And if Shane Bowen had been more aggressive with his defensive play calling on the Cowboys last possession in regulation, this team would be 1-1 instead of 0-2.

Then again, if James Hudson hadn't committed four penalties on the opening drive - one of which cost his team a first and goal at the two yard line - the Giants probably would've had a seven-point lead against the Cowboys with 25 seconds to go instead of three, thus rendering the soft defensive play calling by Bowen moot. 

But then that's been the pattern for this franchise for years, hasn't it? When they score, their defense fails them; when they play good defense, they can't find the end zone to save their lives. And sometimes, it's just good old-fashioned poor play calling or untimely mistakes. The Giants are a veritable smorgasbord of bad luck, if ever there was one. 

And in a season in which their first nine games are the toughest of any team in the NFL, they can ill afford to squander any opportunity to get a win. That's what makes Sunday's loss in Dallas so brutal. They outplayed the Cowboys for the majority of the game; they were the better team on the field; they deserved a better fate than they got. Stop me if you've heard this before.

And with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town, things aren't going to get any easier for the men in blue. The Chiefs are 0-2. The last tine they started the season 0-3 was 2011 - 14 years ago! The Giants, on the other hand, have started the season 0-3 four times over that span. If we know anything about Patrick Mahomes, he hates losing about as much as a vampire hates a sunrise. He knows he hasn't played up to his standard, and neither have his teammates. With the sting of last year's Super Bowl flop still sticking in their craw, they will be in a foul mood when they take the field at MetLife this Sunday, you can be sure of that.

Look, we all knew the Giants had a brutal schedule before the season started. They should be 1-1; they aren't. As an old boss of mine used to say, "Pete, it is what it is." What's important now is that this team continue to play as hard as it can. They have talent on both sides of the ball; more talent than they had three years ago when they went 9-7-1 and secured a Wild Card spot. They have a quarterback who can throw deep and on target; Malik Nabers is a star in the making; and as a team they've recorded six sacks so far.

In August, I predicted a record of 7-10. I saw nothing in Dallas to make me regret that prediction. Just the opposite, in fact. If they play like they did against the Cowboys - sans the penalties and soft defense - they are going to surprise a number of teams before this season is over; perhaps even the Chiefs. 

Just don't quote me on that, okay?

Read It and Sweep

"I'm responsible. I'm the manager. It's my job to get these guys going and I will." 

- New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza

Immediately after the "unsinkable" Titanic sank, many people were quick to put the blame on Captain Edward J. Smith. He was the obvious choice. He had received no less than six ice warnings, yet decided not to reduce speed, change course, or post additional lookouts.

But over the course of the next few months, three inquiries - one in the United States and two in England - shed additional light on the disaster and spread the blame more equally around. The insufficient number of lifeboats to accommodate everyone on board and the decision not to include a double skin in the construction of the ship played a major factor in the huge loss of life that night. There was also a mystery ship ten miles away that, had it responded, could've arrived in time to pick up hundreds of passengers that later froze to death in the North Atlantic.

We still don't know how the 2025 Mets season will end. But as of right now, it's fair to say that this once invincible ship is taking on water and seriously listing. It's hard to believe it but on June 12, their record was 45-24. They were five and a half games up on the Philadelphia Phillies and looking to run away with the National League East. After getting swept by those same Phillies last night, the Mets record now stands at 76-71, and they are only one and a half games up on the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds for the last Wild Card spot. For the benefit of those who didn't bring their calculators with them, the Mets are 31-47 since June 13. Only the Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals have a worse record over that span. 

While I admire Mendoza's courage and willingness to throw himself under the bus, by no means is he the main culprit in this disaster. The chief architect of this shit show that currently resides at CitiField is none other than G.M. David Stearns. It was his decision not to re-sign Jose Quintana and instead sign Frankie Montas. Quintana wound up signing with the Milwaukee Brewers - the first place Milwaukee Brewers - for $4 million and is currently 11-6 with a 3.88 ERA, while Montas is making $17 million and was 3-2 with a 6.28 ERA before going on the IR. He then, for some strange reason, convinced Clay Holmes that he could be a starter, despite the fact he hadn't made a start since 2018. Not unexpectedly, the former Yankees closer is running out of gas over the last few weeks.

At the trade deadline, Stearns opted for Cedric Mullins form the Baltimore Orioles instead of Harrison Bader from the Twins, believing that Bader, like he did in Queens last year, would not be a productive second half hitter. But Bader is batting .339 since being acquired by the Phillies, while Mullins is batting an anemic .174 for the Mets. Stearns also elected not to pursue a starter at the deadline, despite the fact that the starting rotation was crying out for someone who could go more than 5 innings. The strain on the beleaguered bullpen was bound to take its toll. Overall, the team ERA is an abysmal 4.02, 10th worst in the majors. On June 12th, it was a major-league best 2.80.

And speaking of the bullpen, while no one could've foreseen that Ryan Helsley would implode the way he has, it's worth noting that Stearns could've gotten Jhoan Duran from the Twins for a little bit more than what he paid for Helsley, and Duran would've been under team control for another two years, unlike Helsley, who's a free agent after this season. Imagine Bader in center and Duran setting up Edwin Diaz. How many more wins do you think this team would have right now with just those two players on the roster? Four, five, six? Even three more wins would mean a four and a half game lead on the Giants and Reds with a nine-game home stand starting tonight.

This is what happens when your owner spends $765 million on one player and your GM shops at the bargain basement store for a pitching staff. The sad fact is that the Mets are wasting a spectacular second half by Juan Soto, who since August 1, is first in the majors in OPS, on-base percentage and stole bases, second in home runs, and third in slugging percentage. Indeed, he's one home run and five runs batted in away from being only the fifth player in major league history to have at least 40 HRs, 100 RBIs and 30 SBs in a single season. The other four are Jose Conseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), and Shohei Ohtani (2024).

Imagine having a lineup with Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor AND still missing the playoffs. That is unacceptable, and yet that is the likely fate which awaits this team over the next couple of weeks unless something dramatic happens. And let's be honest: even if they were to clinch that last Wild Card, do you have any faith that this team can win two games in Philadelphia, where Phillies fans will be frothing at the mouth looking to exact revenge for last year? Me neither.

But before I make Stearns out to be a modern day J. Bruce Ismay - look it up - the players deserve some of the blame here. Including last night's fiasco, the Mets are now 0-63 when trailing after 8 innings. Last season, they had nine comeback wins in the 9th inning, 45 overall to lead the majors. You can have the greatest front office in the history of the sport but if your players don't perform up to ecxpectations you're not going anywhere. 

So there you have it: a season with high expectations, that got off to such a great start, has now spiraled into a tailspin that knows no end.

I hope you brought your lifejackets. That ocean's pretty nasty. 

2025 Giants and NFL Preview

Since the New York Giants won Super Bowl 46, they have had exactly three winning seasons (2012, 2016 and 2022). They've made the playoffs twice ('16 and '22), and won once ('22 against the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round). Over the last fourteen years, this fanbase has gone from hope to despair, to hope, and finally back to despair. If there was such a thing as PTSD for football fans, Giants fans would be first in line at the clinic.

Face it: it's been a vicious cycle for the Big Blue faithful. You get your hopes up, only to have them dashed. Then when you finally write them off, they surprise you by having a good season. You think we'd learn our lesson, but, alas, it's like that scene in The Godfather Three when Michael says, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." We couldn't quit this team even if we wanted to.

Looking back at my past predictions, it seems I have not been immune to this trap. After a successful 2016 season, I thought the Giants would be Super Bowl contenders in '17. They ended up being one of the worst teams in the league that year. After a surprising 2022 season, I again thought they'd be contenders the following year. Once more, I was wrong. Indeed, the only times I've been pleasantly surprised was when I managed my expectations for them.

Which leads me to 2025. After an abysmal 2024, in which they went 3-14, the Giants had their best offseason in years. They improved their secondary by signing Paulson Adebo; they totally revamped their quarterback position by signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; they selected what many thought was the best player in the NFL Draft in Abdul Carter; they then traded back into the first round and got the quarterback of their future in Jaxson Dart; and in that same draft they added depth at running back, tight end and the offensive line. By any objective metric, this is a better and deeper roster than last year's.

So what does that mean for the Giants? Well, for starters, it means they won't suck this year. And, trust me, after enduring the last two hellish seasons, that's no small feat. But while not sucking is nice, it might not make much difference in the standings. That's because, as I wrote in an earlier piece, New York's schedule is brutal. Giants opponents had a .574 winning percentage in 2024; by comparison, the Super Bowl champ Philadelphia Eagles opponents had a .561 winning percentage last season. As Mike Francesa said on his podcast, "The Giants could play 40 percent better this year in every aspect and win five games."

While I'm not as pessimistic as Mike, I'm also not going to make the same mistake I made the last two years by overestimating their chances. The Giants had an outstanding preseason going 3-0, but the real season starts September 7. Any honest evaluation of this team's prospects must be realistic.

Ironically, last year I predicted the Jints would go 7-10; this year, I'm predicting the same record for them. That's because I believe this is the best front seven the Giants have had since their Super Bowl days; Wilson is considerably better than Daniel Jones; and they have speed at the wide receiver position with Malik Nabers on the verge of stardom. And if that isn't enough, Brian Daboll is coaching for his job. Another 3 or 4 win season, and he's gone. You can bet the ranch John Mara made that clear to him seconds after the conclusion of last year's train wreck.

As to where they finish in the NFC East, thanks to Jerry Jones giving away Micah Parsons to Green Bay, third place is not out of the question. But if I were a betting man, I'd say fourth, just to play it safe.

Below are my predictions for the 2025 NFL standings and postseason.

NFC East:

Eagles

Commanders

Cowboys

Giants

NFC North:

Packers *

Lions

Vikings

Bears

NFC South:

Falcons

Buccaneers

Saints

Panthers 

NFC West:

49ers

Rams

Seahawks

Cardinals

AFC East:

Bills

Dolphins

Patriots

Jets

AFC North:

Ravens

Steelers

Bengals

Browns

AFC South:

Texans

Titans

Jaguars

Colts

AFC West:

Chiefs *

Chargers

Broncos

Raiders

* Number one seed

NFC Wild Cards:

Commanders

Rams

Lions

AFC Wild Cards:

Dolphins

Chargers

Broncos

NFC Championship game: 

Packers over the Eagles

AFC Championship game: 

Bills over the Chiefs

Super Bowl:

Packers over the Bills

From Despair to Hope

On August 15, the New York Mets were in the midst of the worst slump of their season. They had just lost 11-9 to the Milwaukee Brewers, their 14th loss in 16 games. They were 64-58, six games behind the first place Philadelphia Phillies, and only a half game in front of the Cincinnati Reds for the last Wild Card spot. The team that was two wins away from going to the World Series last season was in jeopardy of dropping out of the playoff picture altogether.

To be honest, with the preseason the New York Giants were having, I was pretty much done with baseball and looking forward to football season. I have a sneaky suspicion a lot of Mets fans were feeling the same way. No fanbase, except for maybe the Jets, has had more experience saying "Wait'll next year."

And then Nolan McLean took the mound at CitiField on August 16 and did something a Mets starter hadn't done since August 4: pitch at least five complete innings without surrendering an earned run. And unlike that early August game, which was a 7-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, this time around, the Mets prevailed 3-1. McLean went 5.1 innings, allowed 2 hits, 4 walks, no earned runs, and struck out 8. It was his first start in the majors and it could not have come at a better time for this beleaguered franchise.

So far, the 24 year old righty has started three games for the Amazins, and his stats are off the charts. In 20.1 innings, he is 3-0, with 21 strikeouts and a 0.89 earned run average. That is better than what Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver did in their first three starts. Last night, he threw eight shutout innings to help the Mets complete a three-game sweep of the Phillies to pull them to within four games of first place.

McLean's arrival has been a Godsend for the Mets. They are 8-3 in their last eleven, and have outscored their opponents 74-40. But even before he was brought up from Syracuse, there were signs that things were starting to turn around. Since August 12, New York's batting average with runners in scoring position is .388. Prior to that, it was .233.

Leading the way is Mark Vientos. After an impressive rookie campaign in which he hit .266 with 27 HRs and 71 RBIs, the third baseman was having a hellish second season, hitting just .234 with 7 HRs and 31 RBIs through July. But in August, he has rediscovered his swing and his swagger. He's hitting .297 with 6 HRs and 18 RBIs. He's tied with Francisco Lindor with an OPS of 1.000. Only Brett Baty - 1.002 - is higher. Juan Soto, the 765 million dollar man, is hitting .400 with an OPS of 1.156 with runners in scoring position since July 29. Even Tyrone Taylor is getting into the act. He's hitting .360 with an .OPS of .888 this month.

 

But with the starters continuing to struggle getting past the 5th inning, David Stearns has seen enough. He's calling up Jonah Tong from Syracuse, who will make his season debut Friday night against the Miami Marlins. Tong was 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA at Binghamton this season, and 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA at Syracuse. There are those in the organization who think his ceiling might be higher than McLean's. Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat, who's 7-6 with a 4.50 ERA at Syracuse, could be called up in September. The Mets haven't had three young starters with this much potential since the days of deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard. Now you know why Stearns was reluctant to part with his top prospects at the trade deadline.

A revived offense that can hit in the clutch and averages seven runs per game; a revamped starting rotation that can go six or more innings; this was the way the Mets drew it up on the board before the year started. With 29 games remaining in the regular season, the Flushing Faithful finally have something they can look forward to in October.

Jaxson Dart is Making a Compelling Case to Be the Giants Starting QB

In 2004, everyone on Planet Earth knew that Eli Manning was the New York Giants quarterback of the future. Then GM Ernie Accorsi traded an '04 third round pick and a first and fifth rounder in '05, along with Philip Rivers, to the San Diego Chargers to get Peyton's younger brother. 

The plan was to let Eli sit and learn behind former Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner. And based on what we saw in the preseason, that plan certainly looked feasible. Eli put up respectable numbers - 24/49, 327, 0 over four games - but was hardly a show stopper. Indeed, head coach Tom Coughlin waited until week 10 before finally turning the reigns over to him.

Fast forward 21 years to the 2025 NFL Draft. Present GM Joe Schoen traded three picks to move back into the first round to select Jaxson Dart at number 25. The Giants believe strongly that Dart is their quarterback of the future. Like in '04, the plan is to let Dart sit and learn behind another former Super Bowl winner, Russell Wilson. 

Warner to Eli, Part Deux, right? There's just one not-so-small problem. Dart has thrown a monkey wrench into those plans. Through two preseason games, Dart is a combined 26/35 for 291 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs. His 117.7 passer rating is the best on the team, a full 45 points better than Wilson.

Dart has become THE football story of the preseason. Initially he was viewed as a mid second rounder that needed a lot of work to smooth out the rough edges. NFL.com gave him a 6.17 grade in their eval, listing him as a "good backup with the potential to develop into a starter."

That was no backup we saw Saturday night. Seven quarterbacks took the field at MetLife Stadium; four for the Giants and three for the Jets. Dart was better than all of them, and it wasn't even close. Head coach Brian Daboll has a real dilemma on his hands. On the one hand, it makes perfect sense to start the season with Wilson at the helm. Clearly someone at NFL headquarters has a sick sense of humor, because the Giants, coming off a 3-14 campaign in 2024, wound up with the toughest schedule of any team in the league this season. Throwing a promising young talent like Dart into that gauntlet could have disastrous consequences for the Giants. And if there's one thing this franchise can ill afford to do is fuck up another young quarterback. John Mara will skin both Daboll and Schoen alive if that happens.

On the other hand, while Wilson has been good, he's been on a downward trajectory since the 2020 season. At this point in his career, he is nothing more than a bridge to a successor. At least when the Giants signed Warner in '04, he was three years removed from his second Super Bowl appearance and led the league in passing yards with 4830 that season. Daboll, after two very disappointing years in which the fanbase was calling for his head, could hardly be blamed for wanting to roll the dice with the player he moved heaven and earth to land.

What to do? That is the question. If I were a betting man - and I'm not - I'd put my money on Wilson being the stater week one, with Dart as the backup. That means that Jameis Winston, whom Schoen signed to a two-year, $8 million guaranteed contract during the offseason, will likely be traded for a draft pick. No sense having an $8m asset on your books when you already have a bonafide starter waiting in the wings. And besides, the way Tommy DeVito has played this preseason, if he gets cut, he'll be picked up by another team quicker than you can say, "you want mashed potatoes with those cutlets?"

As for when Daboll makes the switch to Dart, I'm thinking week 10. That's because the first nine weeks of the schedule will be particularly daunting. Just take a gander at who the Giants play:

@ the Washington Commanders

@ the Dallas Cowboys

vs the Kansas City Chiefs

vs the L.A. Chargers

@ the New Orleans Saints

vs the Philadelphia Eagles

@ the Denver Broncos

@ the Philadelphia Eagles

vs the San Francisco 49ers

If they go 3-6 during that stretch, they'll be lucky. I've been a fan of the Giants since the dark days of Joe Pisarcik and John McVay. I've seen the football gods smile and frown on them. Trust me, they took a dump on the 50 yard line with this schedule. As much as I want to see Dart be the starting quarterback, I'd rather he not do it from inside a rubber room.

No, the sensible thing to do is let Wilson take his lumps as the starter in the first half. Then after week nine, thank him for his service, send him to the nearest triage unit, and have Dart close out the season.

If the Giants don't screw this up, they'll be in good shape for 2026 and beyond.

Of course when it comes to the Giants, "if" is a four-letter word.