If the NFL worked the same way as college football, the Giants would certainly have invited the Seahawks to be their Homecoming opponents.
All of the alumni and boosters PSL owners would flood the grounds of the Meadowlands for booze and barbecue before working their way inside and watching the Giants crush a wholly overmatched opponent that was invited just for that purpose. The NFL isn't like college football, though, which meant the Giants were actually on the road for the easiest game they could ever hope to play.
The Seahawks limped into the game with a skeleton roster thanks to several injuries that stripped them of a good chunk of their first string, second string and practice squad. That would explain why so many of the Seahawks players showed up without shoes or uniforms, but not why they were stll considered a NFL team.
One of the biggest injuries to the Seahawks was the concussion that knocked quarterback Matt Hasselbeck out of action last week. He was replaced by first-time starter Charlie Whitehurst, who both resembles and plays like the leader of a soft-rock outfit from the early 70's. Some Giants fans tried to use that as some kind of negative because past Giants teams have sometimes struggled against backup quarterbacks. No such luck, sadsacks, you'll just have to accept that this Giants team has high expectations for a reason.
It took them a little bit to get going thanks to one of the many turnovers the Giants have become so fond of this season, but once they got going it was total domination. Eli Manning threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns against a defense that didn't seem to have much desire or ability to stop him. Ahmad Bradshaw was actually allowed to run for touchdowns by Tom Coughlin so he doubled up on them and the defense picked off Whitehurst twice. The one place where the Seahawks figured to have a chance was in special teams but Leon Washington fumbled a kickoff in the first half.
You could have turned the game off at that point and missed absolutely nothing worthwhile. You already would have seen the Giants happen upon a wounded duck of an opponent that deserved to be put out of its misery quickly and without any unnecessary fuss. That's what a good football team does under those circumstances and it has become abundantly clear that these Giants are a good team.
We'll start finding out how good next week when they resume the professional portion of the schedule.
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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.
