In 2007-2008, the New York Giants stunned the NFL and fans all across America when they beat the unbeatable New England Patriots on a late 4^th Quarter Hail Mary pass from Eli Manning, kid brother of superstar QB Peyton Manning, that led to a shocking game-winning, and Super Bowl winning, touchdown , and the unbelievable loss to the Patriots that abruptly cut short an unbeaten season.

It was an incredible turn of events , totally unexpected by sports fans and by pundits and experts of the game. And yet, Eli and the Giants pulled it off.

In the 2008-2009 Season, The New York Giants stunned themselves. They turned into overnight losers. The season started off well, but went bad when star wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg while out on the town in Manhattan. That was the gunshot heard all around the NFL and it totally upset the Giants promising season.

To begin, Burress had broken a New York City law by carrying a loaded gun into a night club and, as a result, ran into trouble with law enforcement. Additionally, the NFL immediately suspended Burress , as did the Giants themselves.

That was clearly the right response to a felony, but it really hurt the Giants offense. Burress was their deep threat , the one wide receiver they had that made it difficult for opposing teams to defend against them. With Burress off the field, for the remainder of the season, no other Giants wide receiver stepped up. As a result, opposing defenses found it easy to stop the Giants , and to beat them.

And thats what happened , with depressing regularity. Plaxico Burress is now an ex-Giant. And team executives, most notably General Manager Jerry Reese, tried to address the offensive shortcoming caused by the loss of Burress, by drafting wide receivers to replace him.

The 2009-2010 edition of the team will have a new cast of long ball threats on offense, but they are rookies , and there is no guarantee that their new first-year players will be able to step up immediately and fill the void left by the departure of Plaxico.

However, The Giants are also loaded on Defense and may have enough to carry their suspect offense. Time will tell. Several recent college drafts have produced a bunch of starters for the Giants defensive line , linebackers , and even their defensive secondary. This is a tough outfit.

And toughness is needed, because New York plays in the rugged NFC East Division, home to the Philadelphia Eagles , the Dallas Cowboys , and the Washington Redskins. There are no easy games here.

If youre a fan, youre going to love the intensity that is evident every time any of these divisional rivals play each other. If you bet on these divisional games, cashing a winning bet may be difficult, better call a pro capper.