Leaving you all with the National Anthem from Super Bowl XLVI.

Pop star Kelly Clarkson delivered a no-frills, palatable version of the world's most difficult song to sing...

For the Giants, the four faces chosen were Bill Parcells, Eli Manning, Sam Huff and Lawrence Taylor.

Through 10 games, Big Blue has has the same record, almost identical yards per game and in some categories, the 2012 edition has been a bit even better.

The former New York Giants wide receiver who made one of the most significant catches in the franchise's post-season history signed with San Francisco in the off-season. Yes, he went behind enemy lines.

When asked what he's looking forward to about Sunday's clash between his new and former teams, Manningham said it was a dream.

The Giants, for better or worse, had a very Giants-like draft. Jerry Reese and the rest of the draft-day decision makers selected seven players befitting of the team-first, no-nonsense Big Blue mold. Some of these players will be asked to fill immediate needs, make meaningful plays in meaningful game situations right away, while others can and will be excused should they not impact the Giants? season in any sort of visible, tangible way this season.

McCoy set a franchise high with 17 rushing touchdowns last season to go along with 1,309 rushing yards. In two games against the Giants, McCoy went off for 256 yards total yards and one rushing touchdown.

After learning of the new deal, he took to Twitter to express his feelings:

Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz were virtually unguardable last season, combining for 2,728 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns?that?s more than half of Eli?s 4,933 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns. Needless to say, losing either of these two receivers would be a big blow to the Giants? pass-heavy offense, a potential nightmare scenario for a team whose Super Bowl run was so dependent on its dynamic passing game.

But as the post-Super Bowl feel-good period comes to a close and Big Blue begins its quest at defending its title, it seems possible?even likely?that either Nicks or Cruz will be sporting another uniform in the future.

In the seven years since the Giants traded their first-round pick to San Diego in the wow-that-worked-out-pretty-well Eli Manning deal, they've drafted a defensive player with their first pick every year except 2009, when they took Hakeem Nicks. None of those draft choices can be qualified as busts, as Corey Webster (2005), Mathias Kiwanuka (2006), Aaron Ross (2007), Kenny Phillips (2008), Nicks (2009), Jason Pierre-Paul (2010), and Prince Amukamara (2011) have all been contributors on at least one of Big Blue?s two 21^st century SuperBowl title teams. (Note: Webster was technically a second round pick, but the Giants? first pick of the 2005 draft nonetheless.)

Although defense has been the norm in recent years, predicting what the Giants will do with this year?s first-round pick is no easy task. Jerry Reese tends to stray away from addressing immediate needs early on in the draft. He is a strict believer in the ?best player available philosophy?, preferring to stock talented players for the future--even if those players are not ready to make an impact right away.

One of the main reasons the Giants were able to bounce back from their late-season four-game losing streak in 2011?a month-long spell of disappointment that appeared as if it would kill Big Blue?s playoff hopes?was their no-nonsense attitude in the locker room, their ability to ignore meaningless distractions and focus on the task at hand.

There were several roadblocks which could have fractured the Giants? locker room unity last season, including Osi?s training camp holdout, Antrelle Rolle?s unhappiness over having to play cornerback and reported desire to leave New York, and the constant talks of Tom Coughlin status on the hot seat.

The secondary struggled throughout most of the regular season, ranking 29^th in pass yards per game allowed with 225.1. Luckily, Eli Manning made a habit of putting up those same numbers?often better?against opposing pass defenses.

By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online-special contributor to Giants Football Blog

Well the scouting combine is finally over, and there is an awful lot to digest yet, but here is some of the happenings you can think about from now until the NFL Draft In April.

One thing is for certain, Giants' WR Victor Cruz will be getting a raise. Cruz just signed on with IMG and now he'll be ringing up GM Jerry Reese for a new contract....

Cruz told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk today...

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Bus malfunction doesn't effect Giants' final practice

"Good morning. We have had an outstanding week here in Indianapolis. The hospitality has been very, very good. Our practice facility has been outstanding. Our players have been excited about getting from the meeting rooms to the practice field. We?re looking forward to today ? going through our normal Friday practice and going through our Saturday routine on into game day. The excitement has built up through the course of the week. We certainly are looking forward to Super Bowl XLVI. It was great to see Coach (Don) Shula here this morning. I made reference, yesterday, when I talked with Peter King. I was like, ?How in the world did Coach Shula win 328 games?? It?s incredible to even think about that. It was great to see him here. I talked to Mary Ann (Shula) and had the opportunity to say hello to (Don Shula), as we prepare for the Super Bowl.?

(on whether RB Ahmad Bradshaw will be available on Sunday) ?Ahmad has practiced two days in a row, which is very unusual. Everyone wants to be a part of it at this point and time. No one wants to be someone who is not able to participate or to be a part of this wonderful experience. We?ve had everyone practice two days in a row, and hopefully, thank God, it will be that way on Sunday.?

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Yes, 30,000 people from the New York area traveling West to the Super Bowl.? Hotels are sold out and the rooms that are available are 3 hours away and very expensive.

Through my contacts at INDY, I have 2 rooms available for Friday, Saturday & Sunday at $250 a night. ? This is no joke and you can't find this offer anywhere.

Mark Herzlich on his highlight reel: ?It was a highlight tape that I actually made for one of my Final Cut Pro classes, and just put together a bunch of different things. I cut in some of the different interviews from some of the Gameday ESPN thing that they did on me. It was a little bit of cancer, a little bit of football. It just made me think I could get back.?

Mathias Kiwanuka on what it is like to miss the SB with an injury as he did in '07: "It's tough. You don?t come down with the team. You come down a little later in the week. You participate in the game day stuff but you?re not at media day. You?re not doing a lot of things that everybody else gets to do so it?s not the same, it?s a little bit different, but I?m here, so I?m focused on this one right now.?

Seven-eighths of the way through the regular season, the 2011 Giants were 7-7. They managed to squeak into the playoffs over the next two games, but did so with the ignominy of being the only team with a winning record to have scored fewer points than their opponents. They are the only Super Bowl team in history with that distinction, and their 9-7 record is tied with two other teams for the worst of any Super Bowl participant.

Yet these Giants can?t rightly be called a ?Cinderella? team. Talk to Giants fans, and they?re confident: They should win, they?re saying, which is distinct from the 2007 Super Bowl run, when Giants fans talked themselves into thinking their team could win. After all, what Cinderella team comes into the Super Bowl as nominal 3-point underdogs, the lowest point spread in 30 years?

Tom Coughlin is happy Super Bowl XLVI is in Colts country, and not just because the weather has been unseasonably warm.

Judging by his opening comments in his Monday media availability period, Coughlin is hoping the Colts rivalry with the Patriots will mean more local fans cheering on the Giants in Lucas Oil Stadium at the end of the week.

When it comes to profanity-laced exultations of joy that are caught on camera, Steve Weatherford?s reaction to Lawrence Tynes? game winning-field goal in the conference championship game against the 49ers last week might not have had the significance of, say, Joe Biden?s reaction to universal health care.

But to Giants fans, the field goal?which was made possible by Weatherford's nifty hold of a bad snap, and which Weatherford reacted to by screaming in view of Fox?s camera that the Giants were going to the ?mother------ Super Bowl??was a pretty big deal in its own right.

There are still legions of Giant fans who worry which Giant team they will get from week to week. If they get the most recent version, they'll be thrilled.

That team can't be beaten. By anyone.

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Since 1970, teams that KO?d the defending NFL champ in the conference playoffs have gone 0-13 SU the next week (1-12 ATS) and lost by at least 7 each time regardless if they were a double-digit home favorite or a road ?dog. (Excluded were teams that advanced next to the Super Bowl, largely because of the two-week break and assorted hoopla before games).

On the other hand, New York recently has proven to be a solid giant killer. Including its January 2008 Super Bowl victory vs. unbeaten New England, the Giants twice have beaten teams in the postseason that had six more regular-season victories than them. No other team in history has done that even once. FYI: San Fran had four more wins than NYG this season.

- Bob Christ, gamingtoday.com

Tags: 2011 New York Giants, Giants-49ers, New York Giants, New York Giants News, NFC Championship Game, San Francisco 49ers

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With the possibility of heavy rains forecast for Sunday?s NFC championship game in San Francisco, the prevailing assumption is that the run-first San Francisco 49ers would have a distinct advantage over the pass-first New York Giants.

However, looking deeper, that might not necessarily be the case.

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The Giants are one win away from another Super bowl appearance. Let?s let that statement sink in for a moment. The team that few if any gave a chance to in August, September, October, November & December?.is again making noise in January, much like the 2007 Giants.

Or are they more like the 1990 Giants?

He is listed on the Giants' pre-practice injury report today and judging by the way he was moving in the Green Bay game, this could turn out to be an issue going forward.

Tuck was wearing a harness on his left shoulder and appeared to be genuinely bothered by the shoulder throughout the game. For a LDE, any injury to the left arm is troublesome, as it limits their ability to tackle to their left - or in this case, the sideline.

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Giants' DE Justin Tuck has battled through multiple nagging injuries this season and is currently the healthiest - and most focused - he's been all year.

He missed several games and came out of others he probably should not have played in. The Giants' defense struggled.

Even with missing 7 games due to injury over that time, Boley has produced to the number of 263 tackles, 12 passes defended, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

At 29 years of age, No. 52 has plenty in the tank and continues to showcase great speed sideline to sideline. What's most impressive about Michael Boley is the way he plays the game. At full speed which is rare in today's NFL.

The Giants can show me something tonight. Everyone (including Dallas fans & NY haters everywhere) wants to believe that the Giants will choke tonight against Dallas. Not so fast Boys and Girls. The Giants are playing for a division title tonight, even though a win ?only? gets them a 9-7 record. People are comparing them to the Seahawks of last year, when there is no real comparison.

This year more then any other recent season, we saw ?Pete?s Parity? (named for Former NFL Head Pete Rozelle, even though he didn?t ?write? the computer program that creates the schedule, Former NFL office staffer Val Pinchback did) come into heavy play late in the season. In the 15^th week, 22 teams still were trying to earn 7 of the 12 spots. That?s because of a computer controlled schedule more then any teams? greatness (except for Green Bay).

1st Quarter: Two big plays - the 67-yard touchdown pass?to Travis Beckum and 42-yard pass to Victor Cruz that set up a field goal to put the Giants ahead 10-7 -plus some strong running by Ahmad Bradshaw,?had me confident that Big Blue would hang in there with the defending champs. That's exactly what they did.

2nd Quarter: Obviously Eli Manning's interception that Clay Matthews returned for a touchdown was one of the biggest plays of the game. But Chase Blackburn's interception set up the Brandon Jacobs touchdown and a missed Packers' field goal following a Manning fumble sent the teams into halftime with Green Bay?leading 21-17.

As you know by now, LB/DE Mathias Kiwanuka was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance bs the Patriots on Sunday. He had 12 total tackles with an INT and a pass defended.

The Giants parted ways with OL Adam Koets today, waiving him from the PUP list, where he has resided all year. Koets never fully recovered from a torn ACL injury he suffered last November. He was with the team since he was drafted in 2007, but only played in 11 games over four seasons with the Blue.

We will be providing our unabashed prediction for the Giants' 2011 finish in the next week or so.

We would like to hear what you think.

Take for example Boss and Smith - who were effectively replaced by Jake Ballard and Victor Cruz. In four games for the Raiders, Boss has seven receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown. In six games for Big Blue, Ballard has 15 catches, 273 yards, and two touchdowns. In six games for the Eagles, Smith has five receptions, 63 yards, and no touchdowns. Cruz, meanwhile, has 21 receptions, 398 yards, and three touchdowns in six games for the Giants.

Total production: Giants - 36 receptions, 671 yards,?five touchdowns. Eagles and Raiders - 12 receptions, 212 yards, one touchdown.

Tom Coughlin has a short media session today and the team will be off the next few days due to the bye.

How is Prince Amukamara?

"Just nicks. Just the normal nicks. All of the players finished the ballgame."

Coughlin is pleased to be 4-2 at the bye. He is also pleased that his team will be getting some players back for the next game such as Chris Snee, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs and Prince Amukamara...

He did. With 104 yards rushing and three one-yard TD dives, Bradshaw had his best day as a Giant, rivaling his 2007 breakout game which was also against Buffalo.

Bradshaw was especially candid in his post game presser after logging in the first 100-yard performance by a Giant this season...

OL Chris Snee (concussion), DE Justin Tuck (neck, groin), RB Brandon Jacobs (knee), FB Henry Hynoski (burner) and CB Prince Amukamara (foot) have all been ruled out of Sunday's game vs Buffalo.

LS Zak DeOssie (concussion) and C David Baas (neck) are still questionable. LB Michael Boley (knee) and DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) are both probable.

OL Chris Snee (concussion), RB Brandon Jacobs (knee), DE Justin Tuck (neck, groin), LS Zak DeOssie (concussion) and FB Henry Hynoski (burner) all sat out of practice today.

C David Baas (neck), DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) and LB Michael Boley (knee) all practiced.

In fact, that's happened already. In April, when CB Prince Amukamara dropped to them in the draft. The irony is, Amukamara dropped because teams were wary about his ability to play the run.

Unfortunately, that is ultimately what the Giants will be asking Prince to do....help stop the run.

Bills