A Look at the Giants: Who To Root For In the Playoffs

If you could have told me the Giants would finish with a 10-6 record at the beginning of the season, I would have signed up for it. The same was true after they fell to 1-2 after a dismal home loss against the Titans. But in the end, 10-6 feels like a hugely disappointing season because it knocks them out of the playoffs. The Giants left wins on the New Meadowlands field against the Titans, Cowboys, and, most painful of all, the Eagles--and even one win in those three games would have gotten the Giants into the big dance. But since they aren't there, we're going to do what we did last year and count down from the worst to the best in order to give you a guide of who to root for as a Giants fan in this year's playoffs.

A 7-9 team winning the Super Bowl wouldn't sit well with this Giants fan (ESPN)

12) Philadelphia Eagles

Pretty simple here. Not only are they now the Giants fiercest rivals (with apologies to the Cowboys and Redskins), but the Giants came oh-so-close to beating them twice this year but fell victim to end-of-game collapses. The last game was the worst of all and any prideful Giants fan should be rooting against the Dog Killer and Deshaun Jackson. For the Eagles to even make a Super Bowl they'll have to go through Green Bay, Chicago (at Chicago), and probably Atlanta (at Atlanta). You hope that road is too tough for Michael Vick and company because the Eagles celebrating with the Lombardi trophy at the end of the year will make someone kill Matt Dodge.

11) Seattle Seahawks

There is a huge drop-off from the Eagles to here. Under the current rules a 7-9 team can make the playoffs in the NFL but if the Giants win 3 more games and the Seahawks find an improbable way to win a Super Bowl, well, that's just not right. The reason division winners are given an automatic bid is to make sure that if a division beats up on each other because they're really good, then all the teams aren't punished. And in the NFC South you had that situation where Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay were really good. This is not the same situation. Really good teams win games outside the division. This is a team the Giants beat in their home stadium and this crappy team cannot make it past the first round for any Giants fan's sanity.

10) Chicago Bears

The Giants demolished Jay Cutler and the Bears and it looked like that was going to be the downfall of their season...and now they have a first-round bye? I don't get it. Worse yet is that they couldn't beat the Packers yesterday to help out the Giants. I give them kudos for trying (although I don't understand it considering the hits that Jay Cutler took) but their failure doesn't help the position on this list. And between Jay Cutler and Devin Hester, this is not a likable team for Giants fans. Anyone who has watched football the past few years knew Cutler was throwing a pick to end the game yesterday. Can't root for a QB like that.

9) New York Jets

I'll repeat what I said last year: "As a Rangers fan, I hate the Islanders and Devils. As a Yankees fan, I dislike the Mets. But I'm pretty agnostic in my rooting interests as a Giants fan vs. the Jets. But this is one exception." It's not even that Jets fans are that annoying or that I dislike any of the Jets players all that much. But especially after watching Hard Knocks this year, if Mark Sanchez can lead the Jets through the playoffs, it will be depressing thinking about Eli turned the ball over 30 times. And selfishly I don't want parades in the Canyon of Heroes unless my team is taking part in it. There, I said it.

8) New England Patriots

There wasn't a rivalry here until 2007 but as a Giants fan, I think you have some animosity towards Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and company. It's also a "Boston" thing. Yankees/Red Sox. Rangers/Bruins. Knicks/Celtics. The only real rivalry is the first one but it feels there always should be a rivalry between New York and Boston teams. The problem this year is that the Patriots are so damn likable with gritty rookies playing well and 5'8" Danny Woodhead replacing Randy "I'll play when I want to" Moss. The one hope here is that the Adam Vinatieri curse would continue--and with the kicking game being the Pats only weakness, it certainly could be the case.

7) Indianapolis Colts

Call it brotherly envy but it dawned on me halfway through last year's playoffs that if I have to suffer through one bumbling Manning, then the Colts should have to suffer the same fate. Misery loves company--especially in sports--and this is a case of that. Despite a divide in playing level that is as wide as the Grand Canyon, both Manning brothers have one Super Bowl a piece. I'm really OK with that staying the same. Plus, this year the Colts demolished the Giants and I'd be OK if one of the teams below on this list returned the favor to the Colts.

6) Green Bay Packers

The team the Giants just couldn't vault to get into the playoffs. The Packers offense and defense demolished the Giants two weeks ago and then they looked like the Carolina Panthers yesterday. There is no one in particular that I dislike on this team--especially with Brett Favre gone--but if the #6 seed wins the Super Bowl out of the NFC, it will make me regret all those close Giants losses so much more. Like the Philadelphia Flyers run to the Stanley Cup last season after barely beating out the New York Rangers, a run by the Packers for the Lombardi trophy would keep me wondering what could have been...

5) Baltimore Ravens

I wrote this last year and the same petty argument applies in the New Year: "Talk about not letting grudges go. Exactly 10 years ago the Giants completed a magical run to the Super Bowl through the Eagles and the Vikings, only to get trounced in the Super Bowl by the Ravens. It wasn't even close. The Ravens completely demoralized and crushed them. My dad still swears that Kerry Collins owed someone money with how he threw the game. The problem now is that the Ravens are the Giants clone. The Ravens run the ball well, play hard-nosed defense and have a confident QB who can lead them to victory. The fact that the Ravens are more successful at the same strategy is painful."

4) Pittsburgh Steelers 

I really just think it's Big Ben who is unlikable on this team but he alone will get them to this ranking. But in the same breath I have to acknowledge how well the Steelers did to get to this point. With Big Ben suspended for the first few games of the season, many wondered if the Steelers would even finish .500. Well they finish well above that and have a first-round bye in the playoffs. It may be one-and-done for the Steel Curtain, though, as I feel like this is a team which has eeked out many wins behind a poorly constructed offensive line and a dormant running game. It would just piss me off if they did well considering all that.

3) Atlanta Falcons

They're here just because I'm not going to root for favorites. But they are a pretty likable team and the vaulting of the team from out of the playoffs into home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is a remarkable jump. Plus, the fact that they're the one team who seems primed to beat both the Eagles and Patriots makes them a "favorite" in my book. But here are the bottom of the pile we need to sort out the teams and if I have to pick against one of them, I'm picking the Dirty Birds from the Dirty South.

2) Kansas City Chiefs

The ultimate underdog pick here. To make the Super Bowl the Chiefs would have to go through the Baltimore Ravens, then go to either Pittsburgh or New England and win followed by another win vs. a top team. You know what, I think this Chiefs team can do it. Matt Cassel, Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe have developed into a great trio this season and the Chiefs are a tough team to beat. They run the ball well and play solid defense and those are the teams that dominate in the playoffs. They're a long-shot to win it all but it makes it that much more fun to root for them.

1) New Orleans Saints

I went down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this past year. The Saints had just won the Super Bowl three days before I arrived and the party continued throughout the entire week. I really thought nausea over the "Who Dat?" culture would set in at some point but instead I saw myself embracing it. This was a city devastated by a disaster that lifted itself up by its bootstraps--and looking at The Big Easy in that way it felt a lot like The Big Apple post 9/11. After the BP oil spill this past year, New Orleans was dealt another blow to their fragile economy but the city keeps on thriving. So it's without much hesitation that I root for that city and the team that inhabits it during this year's playoffs. For a few weeks, I'm jumping on as a member of "Who Dat Nation". Black and Gold to the Super Bowl!

So who are you rooting for in this playoffs? Would you be OK with a Chiefs-Saints Super Bowl as a Giants fan? Would you change these rankings at all? Let us know in the comments below!