PaullyInNYC

Well this is def the game of the week. The New England Patriots are coming to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants Saturday night. The Patriots will def go all out and try to become the first undefeated team in NFL history during the 16 regular game schedule. Its up to the NY Giants to stop them.

The big debate is should the NY Giants (10-5) play their starters in preparation to derail the undefeated Patriot, or do the Giants relax take the loss and prepare for Tampa Bay, their first round playoff openent??

This will be interesting!! The Giants better go all out thats my opinion.

bigapple

i disagree they should rest some of their veterans! Be realistic even if the Giants have their starters in the patriots will still kick their @**!! So whats the point!

CityGuy

hypothetically if the giants played their starters and lets say they won the game ...would that propel them to the super bowl???

PaullyInNYC

no way...the giants are not winning the super bowl even if they beat the patriots... they are way too inconsistent.

Did people see how much Giants tickets are going for though?? Check out StubHub.com and look at new york giant ticket prices for saturday night its insane!

SwimCoach

The Giants did what they had to do this past weekend by beating the Buffalo Bills and securing an NFC wild-card playoff spot. Now they need to do the right thing this coming weekend, which is to avoid focusing on ruining the Patriots' run at the record books.

If the undefeated Patriots want to risk their stars in pursuit of a perfect season, that's their business. But it's wrong to think the Giants should field their top players in a game that means nothing. In fact, the very notion borders on insanity.

The bottom line here is that the Giants need to limit drama in their lives. They started the year with two straight losses that fueled speculation that coach Tom Coughlin was going to be fired. They then won six straight games and made people think they ranked among the NFC's elite.

Now, after pulling out four wins in their past seven games, they've finally convinced us that they wouldn't collapse at the end. After traveling as rocky a road as that, it's time they took a much-needed break.

If you want one more reason for New York to rest its starters against New England, just look at the Giants' overall health. Three key players -- tight end Jeremy Shockey, linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka and running back Derrick Ward -- have fractured their fibulas this season.

Wide receiver Plaxico Burress also has been nursing a nagging ankle injury all season. Even running back Brandon Jacobs, who has missed five games because of injuries, left the Buffalo game with his own sprained ankle.

Why put a team that is beaten up in even more jeopardy in a game that has no significance?

Believe me, I understand the appeal of this game. Even the Giants' players were thumping their chests after that Bills victory and thirsting for a shot at the Pats. This is what athletes do. They compete. They seek opportunities to prove themselves. The emotion that came with making a third consecutive playoff appearance under Coughlin -- a feat that surely saved his job and guaranteed him an extension -- likely had the Giants believing they could face any challenge right now.

The reality, however, is that they don't hand out trophies for shocking upsets. The only thing the Giants can gain from beating the Patriots is a small measure of pride, but that really isn't going to mean much if they lose Burress, Eli Manning or Michael Strahan in the process.

What they should recognize is that the playoffs started for them as soon as they left Buffalo with a 38-21 win. And if they want to be remembered for anything this year, it should be for how they fared in the postseason, not how they did against a team chasing history.

SwimCoach

When the Patriots face the Giants on Saturday night at the Meadowlands, the Pats will be motivated by the chance to complete the NFL's first 16-0 regular season. The Giants, meanwhile, have little to gain, having already clinched a wild-card playoff spot in the NFC. So should the Giants rest their starters, or should they go all-out in hopes of denying the Pats their place in history? Mike Sando and Jeffri Chadiha take opposite sides.

Some NFL teams are good enough to coast into the playoffs, saving their best players for another day. The New York Giants probably aren't one of them.

Give the Giants a measure of credit. They found a way to win in Buffalo, securing the NFC's fifth seed and a trip to Tampa Bay in the wild-card round. The Giants even joined New England, Indianapolis and Seattle as the only teams to reach the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. Bravo.

But let's not fool ourselves. Those other teams have reached Super Bowls in the past three seasons. The Tom Coughlin-era Giants haven't won a playoff game.

Those other teams have quarterbacks with multiple Pro Bowls on their r

SwimCoach

the 2 previous posts were written by espn columnits with differing opinions... In all honesty i dont see the giants going to the super bowl, and i do see the patriots representing the AFC there, so i say make this your early super bowl and go all out to try and win.

If the giants do i def think they get a confidence booster to get further into the post season....say maybe the NFC championship game ???

TheMan

as a new york jets fan all i can say is GOO BIGG BLUE!!! Kill TOM BRADY!!

I'll even wear a michael strahan jersey this weekend

PaullyInNYC

this will be the first time in a long time the Jets and Giants fan will actually get along over the weekend