All week long we've been searching for answers about just what caused the Giants to stop playing with eight minutes to go against the Eagles.
Was it exhaustion? A false sense of security? A desire to see Michael Vick win the MVP award? We can't be sure, but we might have found a way to guarantee that the Giants give maximum effort for 60 minutes against the Packers on Sunday.
Keep Dave Tollefson's mother, Debra Crocker, on the sideline to make sure no one dogs it.
The reserve defensive lineman hurt his knee during the game and made his way to the locker room to get some attention from the medical staff. He found more than a doctor waiting for him when he got there, however. As Tollefson told the Daily News, he found his mom and she wasn't full of concern for her baby boy's well-being.
"She was like 'Tape it up! I didn't fly here from California to watch you ride the pines! What are you doing?' " Tollefson said. "I said, 'Mom, I'm hurt.' She said, 'I don't give an F. Get it taped up and get the hell in there! I don't want to hear this.' I love mom. She's crazy."
With Crocker on the sideline against the Packers, the Giants shouldn't have to worry about hearing Michael Strahan accuse them of being substandard finishers again next week. There isn't a man alive who wouldn't go running through a brick wall at a million miles an hour to avoid hearing a diatribe from his mother.
It's an unusual approach, to be sure, but this isn't time to stick to what hasn't been working. Let Debra Crocker blaze a trail to the playoffs!
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.
