COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

GIANTS 29 JETS 14 The New York Giants got exactly what they wanted for Christmas, while the Jets suffered a nightmare before Christmas. I'll get to the Giants in a bit because they have everything in their control once again. But this game was more about how badly Mark Sanchez performed, how badly Brian Schottenheimer's play calling functioned, and how Coach Rex Ryan was forced to eat his own words. The Jets not only lost a game, they completely bobbled their chance at making the playoffs. They now have to beat the Dolphins and hope that the Bengal, Raiders and Titans lose next week in order for them to make the playoffs. Trust me; the Dolphins would love to TKO the Jets next week. Furthermore, if you need more evidence that Sanchez is not a true NFL franchise quarterback, look no further than today's game against the Giants; in sum, Sanchez was inaccurate, easily rattled, and made one bone-headed play after another. He threw two costly interceptions, fumbled a ball ...

During off-season the Giants have been debating in-house what to do about their vacant wide receiver position. First, it considered what to do with disgraced Plaxico Burress, who got the ball rolling by shooting himself in the foot around Thanksgiving at a New York night club. After gathering enough information over the last three months about Burress and his complicated legal proceedings, the Giants finally decided to release him two weeks ago. Now, the Giants are involved in another deliberation. Whether to trade for Browns receiver Braylon Edwards, or play Russian roulette and acquire one of the many so-called talented receivers in this year's unimpressive NFL draft. The answer is pretty clear at this end. Trade for Braylon Edwards already! Even though there are rumblings that Edwards doesn't have a great personality, which is nothing new for wide receivers nowadays, combined with the fact that he drops a lot of passes, he is a better risk than any 22-year-old coming out of...

The New York Giants have completed a deal with former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Michael Boley on a five year contract worth $25 million. Boley, 26, will help the Giants in pass rush and pass coverage at weakside linebacker in the 4-3 system. Boley had a disappointing 2008 with only 73 tackles and one interception, but the year before, Boley had 110 tackles, two picks and three sacks. If Boley can return to his 2007 form, it will make the Giants vaunted pass defense that much better. Expect Boley to have a big impact, with guys like Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyoria in front of him on the defensive line. In 2008, the Giants used three different starters at weakside linebacker, with neither really staking a claim on the position. Boley will fill that need for Big Blue very nicely in 2009.

The Giants did their due diligence by completing a long term contract with running back Brandon Jacobs . The powerful back, who was given the franchise tag a month ago, will be the Giants prime back for the next four years at $25 million. The deal includes $13 million in guaranteed money, with Jacobs earning $15 million in the first two years of the contract. Jacobs was the heart and soul of the Giants ground attack in 2008; he rushed for 1089 yards with 15 touchdowns. When Jacobs had to miss some time due to injury, the Giants offense suffered a bit. With him, the Giants are nearly unstoppable. The deal was a no-brainer for Big Blue.

A week from today, America will brace for its annual TV sports spectacle, the Super Bowl, for the XLIII straight year, and, unlike previous Super Bowls that usually carry with it heavy storylines and dramatic subplots, this one that features the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, could easily be the worst matchup in Super Bowl history. In one corner is a perennial winner in the Steelers, owners of five world titles and one of the best run franchises in football. In the other corner is the Cardinals: perennial losers and the NFL's oldest franchise, who's only championship came 61 years ago. During that 61 year drought the Cards have become the NFL's biggest laughing stock next to the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, but it is only now that the Cards have exorcised the demons to get to this game. Sure,the Cardinals history is a great storyline. The matchup of two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks is another, and the fact that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, who u...

Cross Steve Spagnuolo's name off of the Jets coaching wish list. The former Giants defensive coordinator, who helped spark a defense that beat up Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in last year's Super Bowl, will become the head coach of the St. Louis Rams . Spagnuolo was a finalist for the Jets job but was a distant second to get the job behind Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. Ryan still appears to be the favorite to get the Jets job, even with ex-Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden on the market. Spagnuolo will coach the Rams for four years at a reported $11.5 million. The Rams were 2-14 this season under Scott Linehan and Jim Hasslett. The Rams need a defensive guru to fix one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and Spagnuolo fits the bill. It is not clear as to who will replace Spagnuolo as the Giants defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo's presence will certainly be missed on the Giants sidelines in 2009.

The Jets whacky and weird coaching search could be coming to an end ... in three more weeks. The Jets are apparently willing to wait for the Ravens season to end before making an offer to defensive coordinator Rex Ryan to be the club's latest head coach. Ryan interviewed with the Jets on Sunday, and, according to the Star Ledger, the two sides hit it off well. The Jets are also strongly interested in Steve Spagnuolo, the Giants defensive coordinator. If the Jets want Spagnuolo to be their coach, they don't have to wait since the Giants season is over after a 23-11 loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Ryan would be interesting; his defenses have been in the top five each of the last three seasons ever since he has been defensive coordinator. The Ravens had the second best defense in the NFL in 2008 behind only the Steelers. Meanwhile, Spagnuolo could be getting offers from elsewhere. The Lions and Rams are also interested in the Giants D-coordinator.

The taste of champagne and victory that the New York Giants tasted about a year ago, now seems like a distant memory after Sunday's debacle against the Eagles. Now New York has to pick up the pieces of a season that could have been so much more. Here is a list of to-dos for Giants GM Jerry Resse before mini-camps open in late May. 1) Let Plaxico Burress walk: The GM said he was open to the idea of bringing back Burress, but it is hard to imagine that Coach Tom Coughlin will want him back. Sure Burress had the game-winning catch in Super Bowl XLII, but after getting suspended twice this year for conduct detrimental to the team and going on to prove a huge off-field distraction after shooting himself, Burress is unreliable. How many second and third chances does a guy deserve? 2) Bring In a Big Receiver: A lot of fans have brought up the idea of trading for Cardinals receiver Anquan Bolden, but let's not forget that Bolden gets injured a lot. He has missed significant time twi...

EAGLES 23 GIANTS 11 The clock has struck midnight for the New York Giants and their defense of a world championship. A year ago, the Giants were the hottest team in football, capturing the attention of all New Jersey and New York fans as they triumphed over the unbeaten Patriots. Today, the Giants were chumps, losing their fourth game of their last five and playing mistake-filled football all afternoon. All the good will that the Giants created over the last year is now gone. The critics of Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin will be back very soon, especially after today's performance. Eli Manning looked a lot like the Eli Manning that was villified by New Yorkers from 2004 to the mid-season of 2007. Manning undershot his receivers all day long; his passes floated listlessly in the air, hitting the ground in front of desperate receivers who had to come back to the ball in order to catch it. It didn't help that receivers Steve Smith and Domieck Hixon kept dropping passes, making it ob...

EAGLES (10-6-1) @ GIANTS (12-4): Oh! So now after an unimpressive victory against the Vikings, the Eagles are suddenly this year's version of the 2007 New York Giants. Nothing could be more ridiculous. Sure there are some parallels: Coach Andy Ried has come under fire for his teams under achieving performances, just like Tom Coughlin did a year ago. Philadelphia fans are ready to run Donavan McNabb out of town, just the way Giant fans were ready to run Eli Manning out of town a year ago before winning the Super Bowl. But to go so far as to claim that an Eagles team that lost to the Redskins three weeks ago, an Eagles team that forgot the overtime rules in a tie against the Bengals at mid-season, an Eagles team that allowed a bad Minnesota Viking team to hang around for three and a half quarters of last weeks wild card game is as hot as the Giants were last year is a total joke. The Eagles are playing good football, but they are not the hottest team in the NFL, that distinction bel...

VIKINGS 20 GIANTS 19 What can the Giants take away from their regular season finale against the Vikings? Nothing, really. The game meant nothing to Big Blue and they played like that, with most of their starters sitting out the contest. Still, the Giants had a chance to win this game. They grabbed a 16-10 lead in the third quarter when David Carr hit Domenik Hixon in the endbzone from 23 yards out. The Giants built a 19-10 but watched it melt away as Minnesota stormed back in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Travaris Jackson hit a wide open Bernard Berrian for a 54 yard touchdown to get the Vikings to within 19-17. The Giants had a chance to put the game away late in the fourth, but John Carney's field goal was wide of the field goalpost, giving Minnesota the ball with great field position. The Vikings drove the ball methodically to the New York 32 yard line, then settled for a Ryan Longwell field goal to win the game. The victory gives Minnesota the NFC North division title. As fo...

GIANTS 31 PANTHERS 28 OVERTIME Champions are not always great; they are only great when the have to be. That is the phrase that best describes the 2008 New York Giants. After a PR disaster that was the Plaxico Burress/Antonio Pierce mess, and a two game losing streak, the Giants got right back on track with a classic 31-28 overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers. The win secured home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs for Big Blue, meaning that the next time the Giants hit the road after their game in Minnesota, it will have to be in Tampa Bay for Super Bowl XLIII. Unlike last year, the Giants will play all their playoff games at Giants Stadium this January. The Giants did not get off to a good start in this one. The Panthers had their way with the Giants in the first half, as DeAngelo Williams and Jonahtan Stewart ate up the Giants defense, something we have not seen from any Giant opponent this season. Williams rushed for 103 yards in the game with four touchdowns. Meanw...

Even if New York is not represented at all in the Super Bowl this year, it certainly will be in the Pro Bowl. Talk about a downer. 13 total players from both the Giants and Jets have been selected to the meaningless post-Super Bowl scrimmage in Hawaii. The Giants sent only one Pro Bowler last year in their Super Bowl season; this year they are sending six. Offensive linemen Chris Snee and Shaun O'Hara will be there. Snee will start at guard, while O'Hara will be a reserve center. Eli Manning made it to his first pro bowl as a backup quarterback. It marks the first time that both Eli and Peyton Manning will square off in the Pro Bowl, but if you ask both, they would rather square off in the Super Bowl. Justin Tuck who has had a monster season at defensive end in place of Michael Strahan and Osi Umienyora, will be there as well. Punter Jeff Feagles and kicker John Carney will lead the NFC's special teams. As for the Jets, they didn't send a single player to Hawaii ...

Now that the playoff picture in the NFL is really developing, it is starting to look more likely that neither New York football team will have much of an impact when the playoffs begin. The Giants, having had their victory parade derailed last week against the Eagles, is one thing, but when it appears that the club is falling apart due to the Plaxico Burress/Antonio Pierce fiasco, it is hard to believe that this team will remain focused for another big stretch run. Add to this the fact that running back Brandon Jacobs will likely be side lined for a while because of a couple of banged up knees, and that, outside of Amani Toomer, the Giants have no real deep threat at receiver left on the team. One has to wonder when, not how, the Giants will be picked off in the playoffs. Keep in mind, during the Giants great run this season they have not seen a team from the NFC South, which is a better division than the NFC East. The Panthers have the best ground game in the league, and a receiving ...