I had a hard time figuring out what to write about this week. I haven't written anything about football or my Giants, and with six weeks of the season in the books, it's finally starting to get a little interesting. At the same time, the baseball season is approaching its climax, as the World Series is only a few games away.
So which am I going to talk about? Both.
Let's begin with the Giants, who looked like their old, familiar selves on Monday when they got pounded by the Browns 35-14. They looked so bad with Eli throwing three picks that I'm sure the telephone lines have been jammed all week for Mike and the Mad Dog — er, I mean, just Mike.
But I'm not upset that they lost. Not even a little bit. And there are two reasons why.
First, it's still early in the season. Really early. Everyone in New York had been dreaming of a repeat championship through the first four games of the season, with the Giants outscoring opponents by an average of 32-12, but four games are not enough to judge a team. A few years ago, the Chargers started the season 4-0 and then didn't even make the playoffs. At one point last year, the Redskins lost four straight games, and they did make it.
But hey, I don't even need to draw on other teams. The Giants themselves lost six of their last eight games in 2006 and eight of their last nine in 2004. So even though they've looked like a commanding, confident team this year, I'm not penciling them in for the Super Bowl — or even the playoffs, for that matter — just yet.
The second reason I'm not angry is overconfidence. So what if the Giants lost to a pretty bad Browns team? Sometimes it's good to be humbled; just look at the Patriots last year.
Is there any question that they got too confident at the end? Check out Tom Brady's response to Plaxico's 23-17 Super Bowl prediction: "We're only going to score 17 points? [chuckle] OK. Is Plax playing defense?"
No, Tom. It was Osi, Strahan and Tuck playing defense. I think you met them ...
But wait, there's more from the mouth of the golden boy: "I wish he'd said, like, 45-42 or something like that. At least he'd give us a little more credit for scoring a few points."
Oh really? Your offense deserved more credit, hmm? Perhaps it would have been wise to give some credit to the Giants' defense.
The Patriots were so caught up in who they were and what they'd accomplished that they didn't take their opponents — even their Super Bowl opponent — seriously. It was literally unfathomable to Tom Brady that he would be knocked on his ass a few times. I never want the Giants to be that way, and after getting shredded by a quarterback about to lose his job, I think they'll remember how to work for a win.
So how does all of this relate to baseball? Because four games in baseball, just like in football, constitute a small sample size, and overconfidence is a flaw that can plague any team. While the Rays look poised for the Series, it's still anything but certain.
All the Red Sox have to do is win three straight games. Do you know how many times the Sox won three consecutive games (not including overlap, so a four-game streak doesn't count twice) this year? 17!
The Rays are a young team that's scored 31 runs in its last three games. Do you think maybe they're already giving themselves a bit too much credit? With Dice-K, Beckett and Lester on the mound — and the Red Sox' résumé of historic comebacks — they had better not be.
--
David Heck is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at David.Heck@tufts.edu.
