Big Apple Bust

By Adam Cancryn

Ignore the hype. The "Big Apple Battle" is nothing but two lackluster teams playing out the string.

It was a no good, very bad day for New York football on Sunday, Dec. 18.

The Giants, fresh off a spirited comeback win against hated rival Dallas, returned home for what is best described as a weeklong snooze. In short, the Giants laid an egg against the 4-9 Washington Redskins, as in: zero offense, zero defense, zero effort and, for the better part of the first half, zero points.

The Jets, a week removed from a similarly spirited but more dominant stomping of the Chiefs, tried to one-up their intrastate cousins. They largely succeeded, relying on early turnovers to wipe out any chance of winning within the first 15 minutes.

Even the best moments were promptly ruined. After first fumbling and then flubbing a pass that would turn into an interception, wideout Santonio Holmes mustered the nerve to showboat following a second-quarter touchdown reception that had heroically trimmed the score to 28-10. He would draw an unsportsmanlike penalty, and the Eagles would go on to win 45-19.

When the dust settled on the no good, very bad day, the Giants' and Jets' playoff chances had narrowed considerably. The Giants must win their last two games, or else win one and then pin their hopes on a Redskins victory over the Eagles.

The Jets are in a slightly better position, but winning both games is still the only sure path. Lose once, and they could be jockeying with up to five teams for a lone playoff spot.

Technically, it will get better for one team this week. That much is guaranteed, because the Giants and Jets are set to face each other this Sunday. The winner stays in the hunt, the loser is put on course for early hibernation.

Technically, these are the highest stakes in the history of the ginned-up Giants-Jets "rivalry."

Technically.

Because despite their shared locale and sense of desperation, the hype for the "Big Apple Battle" (live from East Rutherford, NJ!) rings hollow. These are, simply, two decidedly mediocre teams. They do some things well and they do other things poorly, but the overwhelming sense is that even in the best case, the Giants and Jets are destined for not-terribly-impressive first round exits.

This fate is by no means assured. The only lesson the NFL has taught us this season is that we don't know Jack. A team can suddenly figure it all out, and it can fall apart just as fast.

Yet with the Giants and Jets it's hard to get the feeling that they're on the precipice of either. While the rest of the league is constantly tinkering in search of the perfect blueprint, these two seem content to cruise through the year, relying on the same players running the same plays within the same, time-tested formula.

That has been enough in the past. The Jets have made two consecutive AFC Conference Championship games. The Giants won the 2008 Super Bowl. Each journey was one accomplished by merely outlasting, rather than attacking, the rest of the field.

The reality this year, though, is that the New York teams don't have the talent to pull that off again, and might not for some time.

The Jets are stuck with the forever developing Mark Sanchez and his astoundingly streaky trio of receivers. The backfield is aging yet still serviceable. The defense is increasingly soft up the middle, yet still too good to mess around with. There are no areas set for major improvement or ready for a complete overhaul. They are stagnant.

The Giants look like the better squad on paper, but there is no surviving in today's league without pass defenders. What is back there now is less an NFL secondary than a foosball table's wooden back four. And for all the Giants' drafting prowess when it comes to pass rushers, it has not translated to the rest of the defense. The Giants' D is a leaky dike, and the offense simply doesn't have enough thumbs to keep pace.

So that is what will take the field Sunday at MetLife Stadium: two uninspiring teams hurtling toward an age of mediocrity. It is perhaps the worst fate of all, for New York fans will embrace greatness and can learn to love a loser, but they will never tolerate boring.