Giants not delivering on promise of Super Bowl XLII

Wearing the emotions of a season like no other on his face, Giants co-owner John Mara moved slowly into a now empty visiting locker room at FedEx Field early Sunday evening. Over the previous three hours, his team went from needing help to get into the playoffs, to helping themselves with a 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins while getting eliminated when Green Bay beat Chicago as the Giants were wrapping up their 10th win of the season.

The rollercoaster ride that began with blowing a 21-point lead in the final eight minutes against the Philadelphia Eagles two weekends back, ended with the interception Jay Cutler threw at Lambeau Field to seal their fate Sunday. And Mara, amid the bitter disappointment of the moment, sought to immediately clear up the most pressing matter. "There was never any doubt that (coach Tom Coughlin) would be back next season," he said. "Never any doubt in my mind. Never any doubt in (co-owner) Steve Tisch's mind. Never any doubt in (general manager) Jerry Reese's mind."

Sure, the FieldTurf is always greener somewhere else, with calls for Bill Cowher as Big Blue's next boss reverberating through every facet of the media in recent weeks. But Coughlin earned himself the final season of his contract with the way he got this team to respond after a letdown in Green Bay that likely couldn't have been avoided after the Eagle debacle.

Even beyond the regrets of the past four months is the feeling that over the past three seasons, the Giants have failed to take advantage of an opportunity to build an NFL powerhouse after their stunning Super Bowl win following the 2007 season. It was two years ago last month that Mara stood in the back of the FedEx Field press box, again surrounded by reporters, and addressed the situation with Plaxico Burress, who two nights earlier had shot himself in the leg in a Manhattan nightclub.

Things haven't been quite the same since then.

They appeared headed back to the Super Bowl at that point, with the best record in the NFC, only to stumble down the stretch before the Eagles eliminated them in their playoff opener.