Steve Serby

Steve Serby

NFL

Giants know undefeated Chiefs aren’t unbeatable

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ā€” Of course they can. Of course the Giants can. Of courš”se they caā™”n beat the Chiefs.

It is more than the reality that in the NšŸ”ÆFL, ā€œany šŸ„ƒgiven Sundayā€ can give us any given upset.

It is the clenched-fist desperation and determination the 0-3 Giants bring with them into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, severely wounded in body and soul, bloodied and beaten up in the aftermath of a day thaź¦t will live in infamy, nevertheless true believers that a championā€™s heart still beats inside them, that those with championship fiber did not have it ripped out of them oncā™”e and for all by Panthers.

Eli Manning doesnā€™t have David Tyree with him Sunday, and he doesnā€™t hź§Ÿave Chris Snee or David Baas trying to keep him in one piece against a sack-happy defense.

But he does have Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, and he does have a pair of Super Bowl rings and MVP trophies, and he is the better quarterback, anź§’d he does know how to be a road warrior.

And there is only one head coach with two Super rings on the sidelines, and it is his head coacšŸ»h.

Thatā€™s as good a place to start believing as any.

After a week of looking themselves in the mirror, a week when so many of them should have ā„±been given back their paychecks, can the real Giants please stand up?

Of course they can.

ā€œI think theyā€™re gonna see a team playing with a lot of energy, a team playing with a lot more passion than theyā€™ve seen in the past and aįƒ¦ team thatā€™s not ready to just lay down and call the season quits just after three games,ā€ Cruz said. ā€œI think theyā€™re gonna see a completely different Giants club.ā€

The real Giants will stand up this Sunday?

ā€œAbsolutely,ā€ Cruz said.

It is time for any Giants to stop resting on their Super Bowl XLII and XLVI laurels and stoź¦«p making a mockery of their mission to be the first host team of a Super Bowl, the first New YoršŸ… k-New Jersey Super Bowl, at that stadium they can see when they drive their SUVs to work.

ā€œIt just feels like Giants teams have never been this way,ā€ Cruz said. ā€œTheyā€™ve always been responding to challenāœØges, responding to what teams have throwšŸ’§n at us, and that wasnā€™t the case this past Sunday, so we gotta change that.ā€

The 3-0 Chiefs are good. They are not the Len Dawson Chiefs. And the 0-3 Giants ā€” one game out of first place in a wretched division, by the way ā€” are not the Ray HandlšŸŒ„ey Giants.

Take the points and bet on Giants Pride.

ā€œThatā€™s something thatā€™s imbedded in this team and this culture around this facility, is Giants Pride,ā€ rookie right tackle Justin Pugh said. ā€œI think ąµ©after last week, weā€™re gonna see a completely new team this Sunday.ā€

Pugh mentioned the Giants Pride sign that hangs on the wall by the door ofą¦“ the locker room on game dšŸ„ƒay.

ā€œEveryone hits that before they leavešŸ…° the locker ź¦°room,ā€ Pugh said. ā€œItā€™s at MetLife, then we bring it on the road with us too.ā€

They will hit it harder this week. It would help if someone, anyone, would make a spark play. A sack or two by Jason Pą²Œierre-Paul now that he says he has knocked the ź¦ærust off his back. An Elite And Erect Eli Manning, so Nicks doesnā€™t have to throw the ball to himself. An offensive line that isnā€™t a turnstile for Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. An explosive David Wilson. A defense that seals the edge from Jamaal Charles. A coaching staff that makes the right in-game adjustments. A team, filled with players who rally around each other.

ā€œBeing energetic on the siā™’deline, excited about every play, offense up cheering the defense on, defense up cheering the offense on, things like that,ā€ Cruz said.

No medals for trying.

ā€œWe expect whoeverā€™s out there, whoeverā€™s playing, whatever the circumstances, for us to go out therš“°e and succeed,ā€ Manning said.

On Frą¶£iday, Coughlin showed his Giants a quote texted to him by their inspirational forever captain, Col. Greg Gadson, who lost 70 pinšŸ”„ts of blood and both his legs above the knee because of a roadside bomb in Baghdad. It went something like this:

ā€œIf youā€™re down and youā€™re hurt, šŸ»you sit for a while, you may bleed a little šŸ¦©bit, but then you get up and you fight again.ā€

The Giants fight again.