I'd like not to be overly negative here.. since my last post, the Giants have lost their last two in woeful fashion, including an embarrassing drubbing by the Saints yesterday. Yet, defying all justified incredulity, the G-Men are still in the playoffs.. at 7-8. Which just about sums up the state of the NFC at the moment. I'd run through the potential scenarios that can unfold next week, but I don't have the time, the strength, or a PhD in theoretical mathematics; suffice it to say that the Giants can still grab the final wild-card spot at either 8-8 or 7-9. If so, they'd likely be playing on the road against the Cowboys.

Nothing is going right. Elijah is mirroring 2005 - strong start, fade down the stretch. The D, which stonewalled the run at the beginning of the season, is now inviting everyone and their mother to pound the ball right up the middle at will. And, of course, injuries.. Chad Morton is done for the year with a torn ACL. Does anyone keep track of season-ending ACL injuries? I'll have to touch base with Elias. We're currently going for that record, along with a slew of other inauspicious distinctions this year (like, running ZERO plays in the opponent's territory on Sunday despite scoring 7 points. Or, both blowing and overcoming 17+ point 4th quarter deficits in the same season.)

I'd like to think that after getting manhandled in Tiki Barber's last game at the Meadowlands, New York will come out against Washington with a huge chip on their shoulder. But then again, I thought the same thing at around 1pm yesterday afternoon, after losing 4 of 5 and more or less still controlling their own destiny, and look where that got me.

Strahan played a decent game coming back from a Lisfranc sprain, but reinjured his foot and may very well be done for the year. Here's how obscure the lisfranc ligament is - we never learned about it in medical school, and it's conspicuouusly absent from my Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy. Apparently, it extends from the plantar-lateral aspect of medial cuneiform, passes in front of the intercuneiform ligament, and finally, inserts into the plantar-medial of second metatarsal. Got all that? In laymans terms - a ligament between your big toe and your second toe. I get the impression that it can be a real nagging injury if not given enough time to heal, making Stray's early return a desperation move. Boy, is that one ever paying dividends.

So where does that leave us? I have no idea. This team is up, down, up, down, hurt, healthy, hurt, healthy. Every time someone progresses, two someones regress. So screw the analysis. I'm going to sit back and hope to get something entertaining out of New York-Washington. And maybe, just maybe, Santa will leave a belated playoff gift under the tree (and really, the word gift cannot be emphasized enough in this instance. GIFT.)

Happy Holidays to you and yours.