The Giants’ 5-0 start to the 2009 regular season seems almost as long ago as David Tyree’s catch. After going 3-8 to end the regular season last year, there are more questions than answers for Big Blue. Beyond knowing Eli Manning will start at quarterback, and Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw will be taking care of the running game, the Giants have some serious issues with the exit of Antonio Pierce and a defense that gave up 142 points in the final four games of the regular season.

If the Giants are going to bounce back from their very poor end to last season, it is going to start and end with their defense. Questions surround newly acquired cornerback Antrel Rolle, who came from a secondary in Arizona where he was a young talent mixed in with a much different bunch of guys than the Giants will surround him with. Both Kenny Phillips and Corey Webster will get some relief in the secondary with the addition of Rolle, but the front four will have to be the reason why this secondary succeeds next season. With the drafting of Jason Pierre-Paul, and hopefully getting a healthy Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka for all 16 games next season, the Giants’ defense should get back to their 2008 Super Bowl dominance.

This Giants defense will be extremely tested in the first week of the season, facing the Carolina Panthers’ running back duo of DeAnglo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who helped Carolina beat the Giants 41-9 in the Giants’ last game at the Meadowlands, ending their playoff chances last season. The Giants’ defense will also have to face Peyton Manning’s Colts and Chris Johnson’s Titans in the first 3 weeks of the season, which is no small task with Peyton being a 2-time NFL MVP and Johnson breaking Marshall Faulks’ single season yards from scrimmage record last season. Looking at next seasons schedule, you quickly see the possible struggle ahead for this talented group, but what must be seen is the opportunity. With no division games until week 7 at the Dallas Cowboys (and a bye in week 8), the Giants have a chance to get a head start on the season and this time finish it the right way.

Eli Manning at GNC in Manhattan Poster

From 12-2 pm on May 1, Eli Manning will be at the GNC store at 28 W. 57^th Street to help kick off Gatorade’s new G Series Pro products, which will be available exclusively at GNC on May 1.

During the G Series Pro launch on May 1, consumers will be able to:

• Have a professional photographer take your picture with Eli
• Receive an autographed photo (while supplies last)
• First access to sample the new G Series Pro products

At all GNC locations on May 1, consumers will also be invited to sign a contract to “Go Pro.”  In doing so, they will receive an entry to the “Train Like a Pro” sweepstakes for a chance to win an opportunity to train with a trainer at a world class facility as well as nutrition assessment and performance testing from GSSI. Also on May 1, you will receive exclusive access to the beta version of Pro Training System, the new online training system for elite athlete that has sports-specific training information, tools, and resources. May 1st will be consumers’ only opportunity to get in.

Dallas’ loss to the Chargers opened the door for the winner of the Giants vs. Eagles game to take control of the NFC East. The Eagles outscored the Giants 45-38 in a slugfest and now have a leg up in the division. The Giants will most likely have to set their sites on a wild card spot, being two games behind the Eagles with three to play.

This one was a wild one. The Eagles jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, led 24-10 at one point in the second quarter and 30-17 at the half. The Giants fought back and actually took a 31-30 lead at one point in the third quarter when Eli Manning hit Domenik Hixon, who broke away for a 61-yard touchdown. The lead lasted for 15 seconds. Donovan McNabb connected with DeSean Jackson for a 60-yard touchdown and the Eagles wouldn’t squander the lead again.

The teams totaled for five touchdowns that were 60 yards or more. Included in those five touchdowns are a punt return and fumble recovery, both by the Eagles. Those two plays were the difference in the game. The Giants actually did more on the offensive side of the ball than the Eagles did. The teams had over 880 yards of offense combined. 

This was a golden opportunity for the Giants. Even after having a four game losing streak a few weeks back they were still in the division hunt. This loss ends that. 

The fight for the two NFC wild cards will be between the Packers (9-4), Cowboys (8-5) and Giants (7-6) with the Falcons (6-7) having an outside chance. The Giants own the tiebreaker over the Cowboys.

The Giants closed the gap in the NFC East with a 31-24 win over the Cowboys. The division is officially a three-team race with the Giants (7-5) lagging one game behind the division leading Cowboys (8-4) and Eagles (8-4). The G-Men have the opportunity to get atop the division next week when they host the Eagles and the Cowboys travel to San Diego.

The Giants defense stuffed the run, their offense made a couple of big plays, and their special teams made one spectacular punt return in the win over Dallas. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Broncos on Thanksgiving, the Giants made a huge statement against their division rivals. Despite an impressive game by Cowboy’s quarterback Tony Romo (41-55, 392 yds and 3 TDs) and a late push to get within seven, the Giants were able to hold on in the Meadowlands.

Eli Manning connected with running back Brandon Jacobs in the third quarter for a 74-yard touchdown that put the Giants up 21-17 and they never looked back. The win was capped by a Domenik Hixon 79-yard punt return for a touchdown with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

In all likelihood, the NFC East will come down to the final week when the Cowboys host the Eagles and the Giants play the Vikings.

The Giants can see the NFC East slipping away and so could the entire nation on Thanksgiving. In the Giants’ Thanksgiving night loss to the Broncos, Kyle Orton outplayed Eli Manning, Knowshon Moreno outplayed Brandon Jacobs, Brandon Marshall outplayed Steve Smith and the Broncos’ defense outplayed the Giants’ defense. This added up to a 26-6 win for the Broncos.

Both teams have had similar seasons thus far starting the season on long win streaks and struggling since. The Broncos started out 6-0 before losing four straight games before this one. The Giants started out 5-0 and have since lost five of six including the loss on Thanksgiving.

“We’re a good football team,” Osi Umenyiora told the Associated Press. “We just played bad today. …From here on out, every game is a must-win.”

The Giants can’t afford to play “bad” anymore. Not with the Cowboys and Eagles in the division. The NFC East is the most competitive division in the NFL with the AFC North a close second. The Giants’ next two games are pivotal as they host the Cowboys and Eagles in back-to-back weeks. They can either remain in the division race or fall far behind.

At 6-5, the Giants are going to need to win at least three more games to have a shot at a playoff birth. Four wins would put them at 10-6, which may lock them into a wild card. Four wins won’t be easy. After the Cowboys and Eagles, the Giants have to play the Redskins, Panthers and Vikings. None of those opponents are going to lay down for the Giants.

When the Giants look back on their week 11 game against the Falcons they’ll be happy it was a win. In their minds they’ll see an asterisk next to it knowing it could have ended badly. The win snapped the Giants’ four-game losing streak and keeps them in the heat of the NFC East race.

As the redundantly used sports cliche suggests, a win is a win, no matter how ugly it may be. It wasn’t all ugly for the Giants though. Their quarterback starred in the game. Eli Manning threw for a career high 384 yards with three touchdowns. Their tight end did well too. Kevin Boss caught two touchdown passes from Manning and had 76 yards receiving. The ugly part was the Giants defense in the second half. Early in the fourth quarter the Giants had a 31-17 lead. With a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter it looked like the Giants were going to roll through the Falcons. Matt Ryan had different plans. Ryan threw two touchdown in the fourth quarter, the second of which came with 28 second left to tie the game at 31-31. Big Blue eventually won the game with a Lawrence Tynes field goal in overtime and the defense wiped their forehead with the back of their hands.

The Giants’ defense hasn’t lived up to the hype this season. Injuries have been a big reason for it but they just may not be as good as everyone thought. The play of Eli Manning was the difference in this one. Without an All-Pro performance from their $100 million quarterback, the Giants may have lost their fifth straight game and would have been the first team in NFL history to lose five straight games following five straight wins to open a season.

The New York Giants are skidding. After starting the season 5-0, they have lost three straight games allowing the Eagles and Cowboys to make the NFC East a three team race. The Eagles took it to the Giants beating them 40-17 in week 8.

Philadelphia led 30-7 at halftime and coasted the rest of the way through. Donovan McNabb had three touchdown passes and the Eagles didn’t miss Brian Westbrook in their running game. Two running backs scored touchdowns for the Eagles.

The Giants quarterback didn’t have a great game. Eli Manning was picked off twice and the Giants’ defense had no answer for the Eagles offensive attack in the first half. McNabb threw all three of his touchdowns in the first half and two of his three touchdowns came with under two minutes left in the first half.

After the game Manning said, “You don’t expect it when you win five straight. You’re feeling good, you’re feeling great and then, to lose three in a row especially, you just don’t feel like you’re playing your best.”

The Giants have allowed the Eagles and Cowboys to climb up the NFC East standings and they are going to have to figure out what’s been going wrong. Injuries have affected parts of this team but they still have a strong core. Their rushing attack hasn’t been intimidating this season. The Giants host the San Diego Chargers next week before having a bye week.

Eli Manning yelled at Ahmad Bradshaw after Bradshaw missed a block in pass protection. Very un-Eli like.

Drew Brees torched the Giants secondary for 369 yards and four touchdowns.

“At this level, if you’re going to stop the pass, you’ve got to get pressure,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “You’ve got to force the quarterback not to throw it on his tempo.”

“Yeah, I didn’t see this game coming. I didn’t see 48 points,” Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said. “And I didn’t see Drew Brees being able to complete passes at the rate he was completing them.”

Osi Umenyiora said, “It’s still early in the season and anything can happen. I’m just real happy this happened to us now, rather than later. Because later would’ve been a real disaster.”

Drew Brees picked apart the Giants defense for 369 yards and four touchdowns. The Giants defense was miserable and missed the injured players in their secondary. They could get away with second string defensive backs against the Raiders, but not the Saints. The Saints beat the Giants 48-27.

The Saints’ potent offense marched all over the Giants with 502 total yards. Brees threw touchdown passes to four different players including one to Marques Colston who had 166 yards receiving. It’s not good when your safety leads the team in tackles and that’s just what happened for the Giants. Safety CC Brown, stepping in for Kenny Phillips, who is out for the season, led the Giants with 12 tackles.

The Saints jumped out to a 20-3 lead and the Giants were able to get within 10 twice in the second quarter, 20-10 and 27-17. That’s as close as the Giants were able to get all day. Reggie Bush scored from seven yards out with nine seconds remaining before halftime to double up the Giants 34-17.

Eli Manning was only able to complete 45.2% of his passes for 178 yards and a touchdown and interception. Rookie Hakeem Nicks had six catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.

The story of the game was the Giants inability to stop the Saints offense. They were expected to at least slow down the Saints offense.

The Saints gave the Giants their first loss of the season and made them look awful on all facets of the game. Arizona comes to the Meadowlands to play the Giants next Sunday night.