Twenty-one days is about the time it takes me to gain two or three pounds during fat-ball -- er, football -- season.
Tom Coughlin's defense is struggling to stop the pass. (Getty Images)
It's also the amount of time it has taken the New York Giants to go from checking on reservations in Miami for the Super Bowl to checking on reservations for offseason vacations -- in January.
OK, so it might not be that bad. But after the Giants were blown out 40-17 by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, their third consecutive loss, they have to be scrambling to figure out what went wrong.
Two weeks ago, I remember walking into the Superdome for the game against the New Orleans Saints telling some in the press box that the Giants were the best team in the league and coach Tom Coughlin just might win his second Super Bowl.
They were blown out by the Saints, then lost to the Cardinals at home. Then, with a chance to rebound against a division foe they've had success against, the Giants didn't even show up.
Their season is like Mickey Rourke's acting career: A promising start that was followed by disaster after disaster.
Do the Giants have the equivalent of The Wrestler left in them?
Maybe they should call Rourke. Their defense needs a facelift, and isn't he an expert on that?
After the Saints blew out the Giants, the one thing Saints sources said was that they knew they could throw it on the Giants secondary. If they blocked the pass rush, they would beat the Giants.
They did, and they did. And so have the past two teams, including the Eagles this week. The Giants secondary has been torched and that has put a lot of extra pressure on an offense that isn't playing well.
Eli Manning's past three games haven't been good. He has thrown three touchdown passes and six interceptions, including two Sunday as the Giants fell to 5-3.
For their efforts, or lack of, the Giants get an F here in our CBSSports.com Week 8 Grades. The Giants are now third in their division, a half game behind the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, both at 5-2.
Three weeks. Three games. How quickly it can all change.
Think I can dump five pounds in the next 21 days? Nah, it's fat-ball season.
Eagles: Donovan McNabb lit up the Giants, which wasn't tough to do. The Eagles also ran the ball well, with Leonard Weaver's long run setting the tone. The defense did the rest, with two interceptions.
B
2.94
F
Giants: The pass defense continues to be a major problem. It was exposed in New Orleans and the two games since. Eli Manning had another tough time, his interception in the first quarter helping Philly to a 14-0 lead.
Dolphins: They won this game with returns. Ted Ginn Jr. had two of them on kickoff returns and Jason Taylor had a fumble return for a score. That helped offset a lack of offense. But they found a way.
C+
2.23
C-
Jets: They let a good defensive effort go to waste with poor special-teams play. That hurts. The offense moved the ball, but the turnover for a touchdown was a killer. Rex Ryan went for two too early and it cost them.
Colts: Peyton Manning had another big day, but they couldn't score touchdowns. He threw for 347 yards and Reggie Wayne had 12 catches for 147 yards and a score. That should mean more points. The defense gave up one big play to Frank Gore, but played OK the rest of the way. Still, pretty lackluster.
B+
3.09
C-
49ers: They played tough, but they didn't do enough on offense. Gore had one big play, but that's it. The defense bent, but stiffened when it needed to. They played feisty for a team that was playing a second consecutive road game.
Rams: Give this one to Steven Jackson. He ran for 149 yards and the game-winning touchdown to break the losing streak. The defense, which has been maligned for most of the season, played well.
F
1.56
C
Lions: They didn't do enough on offense and the defense couldn't stop Jackson. Matt Stafford wasn't great in his first game back after missing a couple with a knee injury.
Cowboys: Tony Romo killed the Seahawks with three touchdown passes, his third consecutive big game. The defense did the rest. Patrick Crayton's punt return in the third quarter sealed it.
A
3.06
D
Seahawks: They couldn't get anything going on offense and their pass defense continued to be a major problem. This isn't a very good team right now -- even with Matt Hasselbeck.
Bears: The defense had an easy day against a bad offense. That unit forced five turnovers, which was the big difference in the game. The Bears offense was OK, but not great. It didn't have to be.
F
2.29
F
Browns: The offense gets worse by the week. Derek Anderson was terrible and they turned it over all day long. The defense has no chance with the offense playing like that.
Texans: Ryan Moats had a big day running it. Matt Schaub, save for two interceptions, was good and the defense handled the Buffalo offense all day long. They never let Buffalo get it going.
B
2.50
F
Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't very good. You can't win with the way he played Sunday. The defense was gashed by the run all day long. They can't stop anybody. This wasn't what we expected in this spot after two road victories.
Ravens: The big play was the kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half. The defense did the rest. They rendered Kyle Orton and that passing game useless. The Broncos had trouble getting anything going on offense.
C+
2.90
C-
Broncos: They didn't do anything on offense. They were bad on third down, and didn't throw anything down the field. The defense bent in the second half, but was on the field a lot. This was a tough spot for the Broncos against a team that had to have it.
Titans: Forget Vince Young. Any quarterback can win with Chris Johnson running wild the way he did. What a day with 228 yards and two touchdowns. The defense played much better, aside from two big runs by Maurice Jones-Drew.
F
1.63
F
Jaguars: Jones-Drew was the only player who showed up. They weren't good passing it and the defense was terrible. They acted like they never tackled before.
Chargers: The defense was all over JaMarcus Russell, which was the difference in the game. San Diego had five sacks, two by Shawne Merriman, his first two of the season. Philip Rivers was sharp again.
A
2.47
D
Raiders: One day that passing game will work. When? Who knows. But JaMarcus Russell isn't there yet. The offensive line doesn't help him either.
Panthers: They ran well again with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. But the reason they won was the defense. That unit forced six Kurt Warner turnovers, one of those a touchdown off an interception return by Julius Peppers.
F
1.77
F
Cardinals: That was another home disaster. This team is tough to figure out. Warner was bad again, with five picks. He also lost a fumble. And what happened to that defense that had been playing so well?
Vikings: Brett Favre threw four touchdown passes to rub it in the faces of the Packers. The concern is the defense let down in the second half. The pass defense went to sleep with a big lead.
C
2.96
C-
Packers: They fell behind and then didn't have enough to come back. Aaron Rodgers tried, but the defense couldn't stop the Vikings when it needed to. The offensive line had issues again.
Saints: They played a heck of a first half, but didn't do much in the second. The offense went to sleep, except for one drive. The four turnovers, one for a score, were tough to take. This wasn't great, but they found a way.
B-
3.47
B-
Falcons: They had their chances to steal this one, but couldn't come up with the big plays in the end. Michael Turner ran well, but Matt Ryan's three interceptions really hurt, especially the one with a chance to go up 31-28. The defense did play better against that Saints offense in the second half.
Well, Pete, I think you gave us apretty good report card this time. Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving day anymore? They have to have their head examined for playing Matthew Stafford...why? Here's your franchise QB, and let's see how he likes being a punching bag for the Packers.
If the Cowboys would stop making mistakes, they could have put 40 on the Raiders. As it w
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Come on Prisco, you're giving Indy an A for that win? Did you miss the first half when they were horrible on D and not that great on offense? A team should not get an A unless they play a complete game OR blow out a team enough in the first half that it doesn't matter if they ease up in the 2nd with the 2nd stringers.
I also noticed in that power rankings video you have kept Indy #1 w
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You are being way too kind when saying that the Bears arent playing good football. The are absoutely stinking up the joint. As a die hard Bears fan that has tried to keep looking at the stupid glass as half full I have finally had enough of this wreck of a team. I would love to say its injuries or something like that as to why the Bears are so god awfull but its not. When y
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The Ravens at home on a Sunday night playing a divisional game against a team without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, Guard Chris Keamouteau, safety Troy Polamalu, and DE Aaron Smith...the most 4 important people for the Steelers, and the Ravens playing against Dennis Dixon only win in OT because of the kid's interception in his first start ever. I say the Ravens should be getting a C-.
I'm a Packer fan, but to say they deserve an A for this game is more then just a stretch. The Special Teams play was bad once again coughing the ball up on the opening drive, missing a 43 yard field goal, and giving up 2 34 yard returns. The offense had trouble scoring TD's in the red zone and also gave up a Safety. The penalties problem continued, the Atari Bigby block in the ba
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Let me start by saying, this isn't directed at ALL Steelers fans, just the ignorant ones who can't type a post or have a conversation without mentioning 6 Super Bowl wins, and when I say "Steelers fans" I'm referring to these ignorant ones...
The Steelers don't have more championships than other other franchise. In fact, they're not even in the top 3. The current leaders are t
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Why is it that the Cowboys can play a team like the Eagles and beat them but the media either calls it a weak league and but when we lost earlier in the season to the Giants they were on their way back to the Superbowl. I know the Cowboys are the team people love to hate but my goodness what happened to us being just plain Good. I'm not saying we are Superbowl material yet but we are making some s
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This is a plea to Prisco to start grading teams OBJECTIVELY rather than based on expectations. Please explain to me how the Chiefs earn an A while the Steelers earn a D, when the game went into overtime? Just because a team that normally plays poorly manages to win a squeaker against a good team, they get an A? You gotta be kidding me. Did you watch the game??? The Chiefs were dominat
Prisco probably should have said that playoff races are usually a bunch of good teams chasing each other for a few coveted spots, usually while playing a decent level of football. The problem is that even the mediocre 6-4 clubs continually play up and down each week, there are only a few teams that play consistently well almost each week and the rest are basically struggling to put together any ki
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"Steelers: They outplayed the Chiefs and lost, which will make this one sting. They have had trouble covering kicks all season. The interception was the big play, turning things around in a big way."
They got a D and the Chiefs got an A??? They got outplayed and got an A? Strange grades indeed.
I am so sorry Pete to douse water on your platonic love affair with Peyton ....but no team ever deserves an "A" when they fall behind 17-0 against an opponent they own...and your "special boy" Peyton throws 2 picks(again!!)
Even your "binky buddy" Manning said they did not play a complete game....... they get an "A" for playing a 1/2 gam
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(POLL)
I am not a Colts fan, but how can a team that is PERFECT on the season only have a 3.15? Isn't a PERFECT record equivalent to a 4.0? if not, why the heck not? What else is supposed to happen in this league other than win ALL of your games?
Prisco - I usually love your writing despite what everyone else on here has to say about it. However, your argument does not make mathematical sense. For example, you mentioned that the Bengals would have virtually locked up the AFC North if they had beat the Raiders. They would have a two game lead plus tie breaker with 6 games to go.
The problem with that thinking is that it assumes
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How can you say that? Because you read the stats and saw the yardage that McNabb put up? Or did you actually watch the game?
The Chargers offense was scoring at will and the defense held Philly to a field goal on, what?... 3 redzone situations - one being 1st and goal at the 1 yard line. So the Chargers went to playing prevent D most of the game. T
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