I'm sure most everyone will either have '89 or '08. For me, it is '08. I got sucked down a Youtube rabbit hole earlier & found myself watching '08 game clips. Man...that team was so freaking good. They ran for over 200-TWO HUNDRED-yards on a Ravens defense. Read that sentence again!
Such a damn shame Plax shot himself/DL wore down as the season progressed. We could have used Osi, that's for sure. Back to back titles would have been damn nice.
That said, the 2008 Giants, top to bottom was the best team that didn't win it for me. If Plax didn't shoot himself, they steamroll their way to back to back titles.
Off topic but I was thinking this should be a fun week for BigBlueVCR. Some good Chiefs memories going back to the first game post-9/11, the Tiki 200 yard game, the Eli plantar fascia game, Alex Smith trying to throw in the wind in 2017.
I do think that 95 team would have won if they beat the Bears.
Giants had a killer defense with the newly acquired J. Jenkins, Olivier Vernon, and Snacks to go along with JPP, Hankins, Landon Collins and DRC. Offense had Eli at the helm and OBJ and Cruz were both in their prime and shep was the slot WR.
Really set the tone but a panful loss to Philly and a fun boat cruise ruined everything.
I wish Plax didn’t fuck up that 2008 season but am grateful for what he did for this franchise at the same time. The 2002 team would have been my second choice.
Giants had a killer defense with the newly acquired J. Jenkins, Olivier Vernon, and Snacks to go along with JPP, Hankins, Landon Collins and DRC. Offense had Eli at the helm and OBJ and Cruz were both in their prime and shep was the slot WR.
Really set the tone but a panful loss to Philly and a fun boat cruise ruined everything.
I have to disagree with you on this one. That team was a mirage. Their rate of victory in close games I remember reading was almost impossible from a historical perspective.
Parcells was flat out wrong about the 89 team being better than the 90 team. The 90 team knew how to win. Look at what they did to the Rams in LA that year and look what they did when their backs were up against the wall. The 89 team wasn't able to do that. Plus, the 90 squad's secondary was better than the 90 version. Guyton and Jackson were killing it at safety in 90, whereas they were still getting their feet wet in 89. Everson Walls was a HUGE addition to the 90 squad as well and Matt Bahr was a killer in the clutch---better than Allegre.
It was always a sore point to wonder what would have happened if the Refs didn't throw the flag on the phantom holding call by Keith Hamilton during the Jesse Armstead pick 6 of Dilfer to tie the Super Bowl 7-7. The game got out of hand quickly after that point, but I still have great memories or this team which Wellington Mara fondly called the "worst 12-4 team" to make the Super Bowl when they beat the Viking in the NFC Championship game.
and we couldn't get past the Rams.
1985 team was the second best team in the league behind Chicago. Our defense wasn't great that season.
2008 still breaks my heart. Solid complete team until Plax...
People mentioning 1988. Our defense wasn't good that year and we had an easy schedule.
you mean Bears
THe revenge game in 1990 was one of my all time faves though.
Best team in the league til' Plax shot himself.
and we couldn't get past the Rams.
1985 team was the second best team in the league behind Chicago. Our defense wasn't great that season.
2008 still breaks my heart. Solid complete team until Plax...
People mentioning 1988. Our defense wasn't good that year and we had an easy schedule.
I will say this here as I have said going back to the days when Eric and I did BBI Online LIve, the 88 team had they not blown the late lead against SF probably wins it all or at the very least changes the history of the 49ers. Had the Giants won, they would have been in the playoff as an 11-5 team, instead of missing as a 10-6 team and the 49ers would not have been in the playoffs period. Every narrative about SF in the late 80's (88, 89 and 90) changes with that one win and the Giants history becomes even more dominant then.
The 88 team was beat up at the end of the season but that loss to SF was the big blow.
The '89 team was going to have to go to San Francisco. That would have been an incredible NFCC and a rematch of a great MNF game. The same scenario that played out the next year.
Giants had a killer defense with the newly acquired J. Jenkins, Olivier Vernon, and Snacks to go along with JPP, Hankins, Landon Collins and DRC. Offense had Eli at the helm and OBJ and Cruz were both in their prime and shep was the slot WR.
Really set the tone but a panful loss to Philly and a fun boat cruise ruined everything.
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Problem is the Niners were so good that year...
and we couldn't get past the Rams.
1985 team was the second best team in the league behind Chicago. Our defense wasn't great that season.
2008 still breaks my heart. Solid complete team until Plax...
People mentioning 1988. Our defense wasn't good that year and we had an easy schedule.
I will say this here as I have said going back to the days when Eric and I did BBI Online LIve, the 88 team had they not blown the late lead against SF probably wins it all or at the very least changes the history of the 49ers. Had the Giants won, they would have been in the playoff as an 11-5 team, instead of missing as a 10-6 team and the 49ers would not have been in the playoffs period. Every narrative about SF in the late 80's (88, 89 and 90) changes with that one win and the Giants history becomes even more dominant then.
The 88 team was beat up at the end of the season but that loss to SF was the big blow.
Yes the rest of the team was losing steam. But with Plax I think the they find a way to win although not as dominatingly.
Coming off what many considered a "fluke" Super Bowl, the Giants were THE dominant NFL team from September until Thanksgiving. They weren't nearly as good in December and obviously the Plax thing hurt them offensively, but the opportunity to win back-to-back Super Bowls as the NFC's #1 seed was right there. That would have been a tremendous accomplishment.
In '89, it's likely that they would have lost in San Fran the next week. That's not a knock on the Giants, that's a credit to the '89 49ers, one of the best teams in NFL history that was also peaking at the right time.
People say nobody gave the 49ers a tougher time than the Giants in that era, and that's true, but 2nd on the list was the Rams - they'd beaten them 13-12 at Candlestick early in '89, and were ahead 27-10 in the 4th quarter on MNF in Anaheim in early December before San Fran rallied to win.
The 49ers fucking pummeled them in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants wouldn't have been embarrassed in '89, but they would most likely have lost the game.
I know that's what people said before the '90 game too, but in hindsight, even if the '90 Giants weren't as good as '89, the '90 49ers were running on fumes at that point. Montana had been banged up, they literally could not run the ball so they were a one-dimensional offense. They were ripe to be beaten.
1963: Tittle got cheap-shot injured.
2008: Plax.
2000 and 1993 teams were a legit couple/few notches below SB champ material. 2010 team was better, but was blocked by GB that season.
Reeves always coached not to lose. They went into the fetal position from the first snap at SF in 1993. It was my worst day as a Giants fan
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A part of me wonders how far that '93 team goes if it secures HFA. I don't know if they end up beating Dallas or SF @ home, but it would have been a helluva lot more competitive than 44-3.
Reeves always coached not to lose. They went into the fetal position from the first snap at SF in 1993. It was my worst day as a Giants fan
I remember being so juiced for that game & it was like 23-0 SF in a blink of an eye. We've had some real highs ('90 NFC title game, '11 NFC title game) & some real lows ('93 divisonal game, 1/5/03) in the Bay.
2008 season (not 2012)...
2000 and 1993 teams were a legit couple/few notches below SB champ material. 2010 team was better, but was blocked by GB that season.
Yeah the 2000 team, to me, is a team that overachieved. That was a pretty weak NFC that year, and a weak schedule helped them get homefield against a Vikings team that was dead the minute they walked off the bus.
If that Super Bowl against the Ravens went 100 quarters, the Giants still wouldn't have scored an offensive TD. Collins was clueless. Tennessee would have beaten them in the Super Bowl too - the AFC had the three best teams in the NFL that year.
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As good as those teams in the '80s were I still think the 2012 season is the one that stands out to me. They may not have as the most talented but that team was a juggernaut and you could feel the momentum building up to when Plax shot himself at a strip club. After that, the team was just not the same
2008 season (not 2012)...
You are indeed correct, my bad.
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2008 was a huge missed opportunity, 1989 was a better team. Would've had to beat SF on the road, while not impossible, it was awfully difficult back in those days. '89 49ers seemed destined to win it all. 2008 Giants blew it, it was right there and they flat ran out of gas.
2000 and 1993 teams were a legit couple/few notches below SB champ material. 2010 team was better, but was blocked by GB that season.
Yeah the 2000 team, to me, is a team that overachieved. That was a pretty weak NFC that year, and a weak schedule helped them get homefield against a Vikings team that was dead the minute they walked off the bus.
If that Super Bowl against the Ravens went 100 quarters, the Giants still wouldn't have scored an offensive TD. Collins was clueless. Tennessee would have beaten them in the Super Bowl too - the AFC had the three best teams in the NFL that year.
Yep, Giants avoided the two best NFC teams.
Burress had a poor season in 2008 and the Giants were succeeding earlier in the year despite him.
Burress was injured, in and out of trouble and suspensions, and the Giants had some of their best games of the year without him in the lineup.
The Giants were banged up, ran out of gas, and laid an egg in Philly.
You add the 2008 version of Burress to that team, and they’re still coming up way short in the playoffs.
Burress had a poor season in 2008 and the Giants were succeeding earlier in the year despite him.
Burress was injured, in and out of trouble and suspensions, and the Giants had some of their best games of the year without him in the lineup.
The Giants were banged up, ran out of gas, and laid an egg in Philly.
You add the 2008 version of Burress to that team, and they’re still coming up way short in the playoffs.
That ain't what Jim Johnson, the late, great D.C. of the Eagles at that time said about the loss of Burress. Brian Dawkins felt that same:
The Eagles’ defenders told a different story. Jim Johnson, Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator, conceded that Burress’s absence drastically changed the way his team defended the Giants.
“He’s such a unique individual, especially in the red zone,” Johnson said, adding that the Giants’ other receivers were good but Burress “always seems to come up with big plays.”
“He makes a difference,” he said.
Brian Dawkins, the Eagles’ veteran safety, wasted no time in explaining what the absence of Burress meant.
“As a defense, you don’t have to be as concerned about roaming from one guy to another because you can’t play Plaxico one-on-one without expecting him to have a huge game,” he said.
Dawkins said that without Burress, “there is a huge, huge part of their offense taken away.”
Problems on Offense Began With Burress’s Absence By William C. Rhoden Jan. 11, 2009 - ( New Window )
Actually in 1963, lost to the Bears in Chicago.
That's the game Tittle got hurt, and Shofner dropped a
somewhat high pass in the EZ.
They lost to the Packers in '61 in Green Bay, something
like 37-0. In '62, lost at Yankee Stadium to the Pack 16-7.
I would have to say the '62 team, just not quite good enough
to beat the Pack. The '85 team was good, but no contest
for the 'Da Bears, that Chicago team was special that
ONE season, didn't maintain it though. They became 'FatCats'
if you ask me. Everybody had restaurants it seemed like.
They enjoyed their celebrity far too much!
They ran over Ray Lewis. They made Pittsburgh quit.
And then Plax shot himself. And then the d***ed Eagles. Twice.
This. And I saw every second of the Flipper Anderson team. 2008 was a juggernaut.
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That team was destroying teams by the week, to the point you KNEW the Giants would win. Period.
They ran over Ray Lewis. They made Pittsburgh quit.
And then Plax shot himself. And then the d***ed Eagles. Twice.
This. And I saw every second of the Flipper Anderson team. 2008 was a juggernaut.
The 2008 team was a juggernaut for 12 weeks, then it went poof!
They lost two games to Dallas and Philly, before the
playoffs, and then stunk up the joint against Philly again.
That's why they are NOT on my list!
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In comment 15429419 FStubbs said:
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That team was destroying teams by the week, to the point you KNEW the Giants would win. Period.
They ran over Ray Lewis. They made Pittsburgh quit.
And then Plax shot himself. And then the d***ed Eagles. Twice.
This. And I saw every second of the Flipper Anderson team. 2008 was a juggernaut.
.
The 2008 team was a juggernaut for 12 weeks, then it went poof!
They lost two games to Dallas and Philly, before the
playoffs, and then stunk up the joint against Philly again.
That's why they are NOT on my list!
Plax shooting himself took all the steam out of that team. If that hadn't happened, they would've secured home field advantage (which they did anyway), and with a much better mindset, tore through the playoffs.
Pittsburgh won the Superbowl that year. The Giants made them quit.