Flukes? Giants feed off negative vibes of skeptics

But Tuck is right in that absolutely nobody this time a year ago predicted them as Super Bowl champions. It was New England. Or Dallas. San Diego maybe. What it wasn't was the Giants. But, like Pittsburgh in 2005 and Indianapolis in 2006, they heated up at the right moment.

Now, they believe they carry that momentum into this year, and skeptics dare them to prove it.

"You feed off that," said Manning, "and I've kind of used that as motivation for our team. We still have a lot to prove to ourselves; that we're a better team than just one month, and why can't we play at a better level than that?

"Why do we have the ups and downs in a season like we do? Why do we have a streak where we play inconsistent football and sloppy football? Let's get to that consistent team; the team that's going to have a shot to win every week.

"We might not win every one, but we (want to be) in the game in the fourth quarter. Let's have that faith that we get it to the fourth quarter, we're going to make the plays and we're going to be the team that pulls it out."

Faith is one thing. Critics are another. And while the Giants have faith they also have their critics -- most of whom figure Big Blue got lucky last year and ... well, that their luck is about to run out.

Sorry, folks, but the Giants aren't buying.

"You tell me this," said Tuck. "You go on the road and beat Tampa Bay. You go on the road and beat Dallas. You go on the road in negative-26 wind-chill weather and beat Green Bay. Then you go to the Super Bowl and beat the second undefeated team in National Football League history. A fluke? Luck? I don't see it.

"I've been quoted as saying, 'We have 10 fingers. Why settle for having just one covered?' And that's the way we want to go. We don't want to be known as a one-hit wonder. We want to create a dynasty here."