First of all, I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving. That said, what the hell happened to the Giants? We went from a Super Bowl favorite to a team needing a change. A change in mentality. A change in personnel.

“You have to decide whether you’re going to be a team that can compete and be respected in the league…or a team that shows up like we did yesterday,” said Barry Cofield

Right now, this isn’t a team to be respected. There’s no passion. Man, if Coughlin did what Josh McDaniels did on the sidelines yesterday, cursing, pumping his team up, I’d be ecstatic. But, none of that is going on. No fire. No urgency. No will to win.

It was week 6. The Giants had just won 5 straight, and most of them in convincing fashion. We were talking about heading to the Super Bowl, about being the best team in the league. Then, the Giants were absolutely man-handled by the Saints. Okay, minor setback, we thought. The Saints are damn good. Then two bad losses to the Eagles and Cardinals. Then the heartbreaking loss to the Chargers. After a minor reprieve against the Falcons, the Broncos. We went from on top of the world, to on the bottom, searching for answers.

I watched the game with 3 people who know a lot about football. It was great to watch it with them, listening to their insights. One of them, my cousin, said it went all downhill the day Plaxico shot himself. They were untouchable. They were strong, confident. Then, a gun shot went through their hearts (and leg) and it hasn’t been the same. I retorted, “What does that have to do with the defense?” “Confidence, Jeremy. Confidence.” And, in many respects, he’s right. Last year, this team knew they were better, and knew they were going to beat up on everyone. Now, it’s a surprise when they do well. This isn’t a confident team. This is a team needing a leader. We ain’t getting it from Eli. Jacobs isn’t as  fiery. We don’t have Strahan, a guy who will put his heart on the line for a win. We don’t have a guy like Brian Dawkins.

This is not a playoff team. Sure, they might make the playoffs, if things go their way. But, they don’t deserve to be there. A playoff team shows up on Thanksgiving night. A playoff team doesn’t let two teams come back in the late stages of a game. This Giants team is not a playoff team. At best, they’re a team with talent, but doesn’t know what to do with it.

So, what do we do? How can we get the season back on track? Well, it starts on defense. It starts with a change in mentality. It starts with a new defensive coordinator. Someone who wants to blitz, blitz, and blitz some more. It starts with a team that will be committed to the run, that will get Brandon Jacobs going again. It starts with someone, anyone, stepping up and taking control of this team, and make it accountable to one another. It starts with fire. It starts with passion.

When the Giants were in Green Bay for the NFC Championship game, there was one play that told me they were going to win. It was early on. Run to Brandon Jacobs. He gets hit after three yards. But he keeps his legs moving, and gets 7. On the way to 7, he absolutely runs over Charles Woodson. That one play said, “We’re here, and you’re in trouble.” This team doesn’t have that fire. This team doesn’t have that passion. Will they get that passion? Will they get that fire? I don’t know. I can only hope. I do think, however, that January will come and go, and we’ll be thinking: Where did this season go?