It is going to be horror movie Tuesday at Giants headquarters with a double-feature sure to frighten even the steeliest of viewers.
First up will be the tape of Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, a film that's sure to send some members of the Giants to the lavatories for a bout of vomiting. It won't be a quiet viewing either as Tom Coughlin hardly seems the type to eschew talking during the movie when the mood should strike him. The problem is no amount of screaming at Eli Manning to not throw it there or at the defense to not fall for that fake is going to change the outcome.
Things will only get more terrifying when they fire up the tape of Monday night's Eagles 59-28 demolition of the Redskins. The next team on the Giants schedule played one of the better offensive games of any team in the league this season, and Perry Fewell will likely be in a cold sweat thinking about what a team that thrives on making big plays will do to a defense that can't seem to stop giving them up. The Eagles have so many guys capable of breaking off long gainers all over the field that the Giants can't possibly feel confident about stopping them all come Sunday night.
Mostly, though, you have to imagine that the Giants will be united in their opinion that Michael Vick is the most chilling screen villain since Anton Chigurh flipped his coin through "No Country For Old Men."
Vick's game on Monday night was a jaw-dropper from the first play -- an 88-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson -- all the way through his departure with just over two minutes to play. He threw the ball with incredible power and accuracy and attempts to blanket the field in coverage simply gave him room to make plays with his feet. He was the weapon of mass destruction that Washington spent so much time looking for six or seven years ago.
His play this season has boggled the mind because it defies all logic. How can a player whose game was so based on athletic ability come back after three seasons that were essentially free of football and be a better player than he was when he went away? Some of it has to do with the scheme, which is less focused on Vick's singular talents, but a lot of it has to do with the man who has clearly worked on becoming a truer quarterback than he was when he went to prison. He hasn't thrown an interception, hasn't fumbled and just looks different when he drops back to pass these days.
Eagles games have been terrifying enough for the Coughlin Giants over the years. The addition of Vick might make watching Sunday night's game come with an advisory warning that it isn't safe for young children or those with faulty tickers.
U.S. & World
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
