The Giants carry some past behind them. Not only do they look mean in their uniforms, they play mean too.

The Giants carry some past behind them.  Not only do they look mean in their uniforms, they play mean too.  In 2000, sport experts predicted that the Giants were going to finish in last place.  They predicted this in the start of the season in 2000.  The Giants were determined to make the playoffs. The Giants played ending a five game winning streak that put them in the playoffs and gave them home field advantage with a 12-4 record.

People still doubted their strength and did not think they had it in them to win.  The Giants were receiving no respect.  During the season, they played the Vikings and the Vikings were favored to win the game. The Giants quickly jumped on the Vikings taking a 14-0 lead less then 5 minutes into the game, the shell-shocked Vikings never recovered as the Giants went to the Super Bowl with a 41-0 victory. After the game Owner Wellington Mara made fun of the sports experts in the media’s eye.  See how much they know about sports!  They call themselves sport experts (huh!)

In the Super Bowl XXXV, the Giants played hard, but they were unable to win.  The Ravens won with 34-7 win.

In 2001, the Giants would get off to a 3-1 start as DE Michael Strahan was making a serious run at the single season sack record of 22. Two consecutive 1-point losses to the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles would send the Giants into a tailspin. Jim Fassel tried to repeat his playoff guarantee of the year before but bad penalties, and poor special teams play put the Giants into a 5-7 hole. The Giants won their next two games to enter a game with Eagles in Philadelphia with a chance to win the division. The Giants would lead the Eagles 21-14 late, but 10 quick points in the final 2 minutes had the Giants down 24-21 with 3 seconds remaining. The Giants scored on an 80-yard hook and lateral, but Ron Dixon was tackled 3 yards short. The Giants would go on to finish with a 7-9 record, but Strahan would get his record, with a questionable sack of Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre in the final game of the season.

In 2002, the Giants played inconsistent football with terrible losses to the last place Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans. After an upsetting home loss against the Tennessee Titans in which the Giants led by 8 points in the final seconds the majority of fans had given up on the Giants as they were trailed with a mediocre 6-6 record, needing to win the remaining of their games to have any opportunity of making the playoffs. The Giants offense would catch fire scoring 108 points in their next three games as they entered the final week of the season with a record of 9-6 needing to win their final game against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Meadowlands to make the playoffs. With Tiki Barber rushing for a career high 203 yards the Giants would get that win 10-7 in overtime. With a record of 10-6, the Giants were rolling as QB Kerry Collins passed for 4,073 yards with super rookie TE Jeremy Shockey becoming an instant fan favorite. In the playoffs, the Giants offense continued to roll as they jumped out to a 38-14 lead in the 3rd Quarter on the road against the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants would suddenly unravel as the 49ers scored 25 unanswered points to take a 39-38 lead in the 4th Quarter. Despite the collapse, the Giants would still have an opportunity to win the game as they set up for a game winning 38-yard field goal. However, the special teams' troubles that plagued them all year rose up again as long snapper Trey Junkin who was signed just for the playoffs snap was low forcing holder Matt Allen to try a desperate pass, which landed incomplete, when Guard Rich Seaubert was pulled to the ground.

In 2003, the Giants kicked off their season on a positive note.  As time went on their performance on the field started to go down hill.   After rebounding to beat the Washington Redskins in overtime, the offense played terrible and they lost their next three games. The Giants would continue to, as things would only get worse as the Giants.  As they lost, their final eight games to finish with a league worst 4-12 record. Even worse was the fact in seven of the eight losses were by more 13 points or more. Following the season coach Jim Fassel was given the boot

In 2004, they got a new coach Tom Coughlin the Giants began a new era on a sour note losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 on the road 31-17 as former MVP Kurt Warner started the season with Rookie QB Eli Manning watching from the sidelines. The Giants would play well over the next few weeks winning their next four on the way to a solid 5-2 start. In Week 9, the Giants played sloppy football with five turnovers in a stunning 28-21 home loss to the Chicago Bears. A Week later the Giants offense struggled again in a 17-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, leading to the benching of Warner as Eli Manning was thrown into the starting role. Manning was not ready as he was prone to interception and mistakes while having trouble hitting the Giants receivers as the Giants lost their first six games with Manning at the helm losing eight straight overall. Hoping to end the season on a good note Eli Manning would have his best game in the final game of the season with three TD passes in a 28-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys, as the Giants finished with a 6-10 record. One bright spot came from Tiki Barber, who rushed for a career high 1,518 yards with 15 Touchdowns, as he added 578 receiving yards for an impressive 2,096 All-Purpose yards while avoiding many of the fumble problems that had plagued his career.

In 2005, QB Eli Manning should show signs of improvement but with a tough schedule and in a tough division, the Giants will have a tough time being a factor in the playoff race. Perhaps they are just a year away as they settle in at .500.