Newark Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi interviewed Giants co-owner John Mara. Lately, there has been negative news coming out of the Meadowlands. On the contrary, Mara is reassuring fans good news is right around the corner.
“I do like going into the season when people’s expectations are a little lower,” Mara said, cracking a smile in his office Monday. “There’s something about that that gets us to perform better.” Was his cracked smile covering up his true feelings. Given the fact he gave Coughlin a one year extension does not exude confidence in his head coach. What are his expectations for his club? Another 10 win season and no playoffs. Or an 8-8 season and a wild card berth. The angst of certain Giants fans is Mara has embraced mediocrity. Over the past three seasons, the Giants have had a talented group of players but have underachieved. Last year, for many fans was the tip of the iceberg. When the Giants squandered an opportunity to win the NFC East and then failed to qualify for the playoffs, Coughlin gloated about winning ten games. Subsequently, angered by his detractors, Coughin protested for dissenters to pucker up and kiss his posterior. That was a slap in the face for some Giants fans. Nightmares of the epic loss to Philadelphia continue to assail fans regularly. And with utter disdain, Coughlin called a 10 win non-playoff season okay.
As for Mara, he continues to delude himself into thinking Coughlin will win him another championship.
“I like our team,” he said. “I think if we stay healthy we can compete with anybody. Right now, I’m almost afraid to go out to practice — we’ve already lost our first-round pick. I think we’re going to have a good team. We have an excellent coaching staff. We’re very pleased with our draft.” Here we do not have the same unbridled enthusiasm as Mara. Of course most Giants fans don’t think that way. They agree with Mara’s thinking. All they see is 10 wins last year and they don’t want to remember the horrid play when it counted most vs the REAL teams-Philadelphia and Green Bay.
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