1991 Giants had Parcells and all staff had returned at least one more year?

[74_75_78_79_]

This has been a bit discussed before. Tuna said that he assumed in the '87 off-season that his team would have motivated themselves to repeat. Obviously not the case; and '87 was messed up for the obvious reasons anyway.

Safe enough, had he been fully motivated to repeat in '91, and had all his staff return, I'd like to think they return to the playoffs. Parcells learns from his '87 mistake.

Considering Ray Handley's close losses in '91, I can't help but to think that with Parcells & Co onboard instead that they'd accomplish that very playoff feat at the very least. Buddy Ryan was now gone. And not only did he have Tuna's #, but also Ron Erhardt's - just see his '93 Oilers' sweep and '94 Cardinals' win over the Steelers! But he was gone in '91; and so was Randall Cunningham. Yes, Bud Carson perhaps a better DC than Buddy, but he was different and now had Kotite as a HC so who really knows how that Tuna/Belichick & Co Giants team would have been vs them but likely, to me, the G-men would have gotten their way with them - even if McMahon was the Eagles' QB. And the still-growing Cowboys likely with me don't top them either even if the margin would be small.

I'd like to think the Giants don't match Washington, but get the top wildcard spot! Let's face it, despite Parcells going 6-0 vs Gibbs '88-thru-'90, I think Washington still would have been who they were. If they actually sweep NYG, that would not surprise me. But they do make top wildcard team which means Dallas may not even make the playoffs to begin with (or maybe its the Bears, or Atlanta, that get knocked out instead) and Eagles, maybe, not even having a winning season or at least a non-playoff 9-7 campaign. Man, how CRAMMED that NFC East would have been!!

But I think its they winning whatever wildcard visitor meets them, and then they either win at Detroit or New Orleans, and then Washington turning them away in the NFCCG whether its a hat-trick or a rubber-band match. If Wash actually wins lopsided even if not by as much as they beat Detroit, no surprise to me either. Come on, this WAS Gibbs' tour de force year! But NYG at least go that far IMO.

Thoughts?

I know that there have been many here and outside of here who feel that Parcells "knew" the window was now shut after Norwood's "wide-right and be jumped off the ship just on time. I disagree. They at the very least make the playoffs but more likely than that the NFCCG at RFK and then denied.

[Bryan]

Safe enough, had he been fully motivated to repeat in '91, and had all his staff return, I'd like to think they return to the playoffs. Parcells learns from his '87 mistake.

I don't think history reflects this. Looking at Parcells' career from 1986 on, its very Jekyll & Hyde. The 1990 Giants were a pretty old team....they were OK in 1991 because Rodney Hampton and Leonard Marshall, but the rest of the team wasn't nearly as strong. The Eagles in 1991 couldn't make the playoffs and they had a defense for the ages....I'm thinking the 91 Giants are still irrelevant even with Parcells and Co.

[SeahawkFever]

This has been a bit discussed before. Tuna said that he assumed in the '87 off-season that his team would have motivated themselves to repeat. Obviously not the case; and '87 was messed up for the obvious reasons anyway.

Safe enough, had he been fully motivated to repeat in '91, and had all his staff return, I'd like to think they return to the playoffs. Parcells learns from his '87 mistake.

Considering Ray Handley's close losses in '91, I can't help but to think that with Parcells & Co onboard instead that they'd accomplish that very playoff feat at the very least. Buddy Ryan was now gone. And not only did he have Tuna's #, but also Ron Erhardt's - just see his '93 Oilers' sweep and '94 Cardinals' win over the Steelers! But he was gone in '91; and so was Randall Cunningham. Yes, Bud Carson perhaps a better DC than Buddy, but he was different and now had Kotite as a HC so who really knows how that Tuna/Belichick & Co Giants team would have been vs them but likely, to me, the G-men would have gotten their way with them - even if McMahon was the Eagles' QB. And the still-growing Cowboys likely with me don't top them either even if the margin would be small.

I'd like to think the Giants don't match Washington, but get the top wildcard spot! Let's face it, despite Parcells going 6-0 vs Gibbs '88-thru-'90, I think Washington still would have been who they were. If they actually sweep NYG, that would not surprise me. But they do make top wildcard team which means Dallas may not even make the playoffs to begin with (or maybe its the Bears, or Atlanta, that get knocked out instead) and Eagles, maybe, not even having a winning season or at least a non-playoff 9-7 campaign. Man, how CRAMMED that NFC East would have been!!

But I think its they winning whatever wildcard visitor meets them, and then they either win at Detroit or New Orleans, and then Washington turning them away in the NFCCG whether its a hat-trick or a rubber-band match. If Wash actually wins lopsided even if not by as much as they beat Detroit, no surprise to me either. Come on, this WAS Gibbs' tour de force year! But NYG at least go that far IMO.

Thoughts?

I know that there have been many here and outside of here who feel that Parcells "knew" the window was now shut after Norwood's "wide-right and be jumped off the ship just on time. I disagree. They at the very least make the playoffs but more likely than that the NFCCG at RFK and then denied.

Two things:
1. Is there anything in particular about the Redskins in that stretch that didn’t match up well against the Giants?

And 2. Regarding the NFC East. The ultimate symbol of how stacked that division was is that the Cardinals were handed a schedule of opposing win percentage of .602 (they faced the 10 win Falcons, and 49ers, 11 win Saints, and 12 win Broncos in addition to the eight games against their own division).

Also I notice the 91 Cardinals played the 91 Vikings twice despite them not being in the same division, and the Cardinals not playing the Bears, Packers, Lions or Bucs.

I see that Minnesota was last in the Central in 1990 so that would necessitate one game, but why two?

[CSKreager]

This has been a bit discussed before. Tuna said that he assumed in the '87 off-season that his team would have motivated themselves to repeat. Obviously not the case; and '87 was messed up for the obvious reasons anyway.

Safe enough, had he been fully motivated to repeat in '91, and had all his staff return, I'd like to think they return to the playoffs. Parcells learns from his '87 mistake.

Considering Ray Handley's close losses in '91, I can't help but to think that with Parcells & Co onboard instead that they'd accomplish that very playoff feat at the very least. Buddy Ryan was now gone. And not only did he have Tuna's #, but also Ron Erhardt's - just see his '93 Oilers' sweep and '94 Cardinals' win over the Steelers! But he was gone in '91; and so was Randall Cunningham. Yes, Bud Carson perhaps a better DC than Buddy, but he was different and now had Kotite as a HC so who really knows how that Tuna/Belichick & Co Giants team would have been vs them but likely, to me, the G-men would have gotten their way with them - even if McMahon was the Eagles' QB. And the still-growing Cowboys likely with me don't top them either even if the margin would be small.

I'd like to think the Giants don't match Washington, but get the top wildcard spot! Let's face it, despite Parcells going 6-0 vs Gibbs '88-thru-'90, I think Washington still would have been who they were. If they actually sweep NYG, that would not surprise me. But they do make top wildcard team which means Dallas may not even make the playoffs to begin with (or maybe its the Bears, or Atlanta, that get knocked out instead) and Eagles, maybe, not even having a winning season or at least a non-playoff 9-7 campaign. Man, how CRAMMED that NFC East would have been!!

But I think its they winning whatever wildcard visitor meets them, and then they either win at Detroit or New Orleans, and then Washington turning them away in the NFCCG whether its a hat-trick or a rubber-band match. If Wash actually wins lopsided even if not by as much as they beat Detroit, no surprise to me either. Come on, this WAS Gibbs' tour de force year! But NYG at least go that far IMO.

Thoughts?

I know that there have been many here and outside of here who feel that Parcells "knew" the window was now shut after Norwood's "wide-right and be jumped off the ship just on time. I disagree. They at the very least make the playoffs but more likely than that the NFCCG at RFK and then denied.

Two things:
1. Is there anything in particular about the Redskins in that stretch that didn’t match up well against the Giants?

And 2. Regarding the NFC East. The ultimate symbol of how stacked that division was is that the Cardinals were handed a schedule of opposing win percentage of .602 (they faced the 10 win Falcons, and 49ers, 11 win Saints, and 12 win Broncos in addition to the eight games against their own division).

Also I notice the 91 Cardinals played the 91 Vikings twice despite them not being in the same division, and the Cardinals not playing the Bears, Packers, Lions or Bucs.

I see that Minnesota was last in the Central in 1990 so that would necessitate one game, but why two?

Minnesota played Phoenix twice because of 5th place schedules, the same thing that happened in 1991 with Denver/New England

Considering that Cardinals schedule it’s astonishing they didn’t go winless in the NFCE

[Halas Hall]

[quote1. Is there anything in particular about the Redskins in that stretch that didn’t match up well against the Giants?][/quote]

I think I read somewhere the Giants picked up on Redskins WR Ricky Sanders would put his mouthpiece in on a running play. The Giants also had a lot of tough customers on defense.

The Giants v. Redskins games (particularly at RFK Stadium) from 1984-1990 were tremendous football games.

[Brian wolf]

In 1991, you have to wonder if Plan B free agency may have played a slight role in Parcells leaving the team? It had to have been on his mind as the Giants let players like Bavaro, Anderson and others unprotected for other teams to take a risk on. Thats what people dont realize ... SB MVP Ottis Anderson had been unprotected for two years prior, but no team picked him up. Talk about luck for Giants fans. Maybe Parcells knew that free agency was progressing and didnt like the idea of massive player movement.

Had Parcells stayed, it was likely without Belichick, who deserved his own chance to head coach with Cleveland, but I still believe that whether both stayed or not, the Giants would have won another two games and challenged for the playoffs.

On the other side of the coin, maybe had Parcells stayed, maybe he and George Young could have picked up Plan B players themselves to replace Bavaro, or a receiver or offensive lineman?

He decided to retire instead. I think had he stayed the team would have went 10-6 ...

[CSKreager]

This has been a bit discussed before. Tuna said that he assumed in the '87 off-season that his team would have motivated themselves to repeat. Obviously not the case; and '87 was messed up for the obvious reasons anyway.

Safe enough, had he been fully motivated to repeat in '91, and had all his staff return, I'd like to think they return to the playoffs. Parcells learns from his '87 mistake.

Considering Ray Handley's close losses in '91, I can't help but to think that with Parcells & Co onboard instead that they'd accomplish that very playoff feat at the very least. Buddy Ryan was now gone. And not only did he have Tuna's #, but also Ron Erhardt's - just see his '93 Oilers' sweep and '94 Cardinals' win over the Steelers! But he was gone in '91; and so was Randall Cunningham. Yes, Bud Carson perhaps a better DC than Buddy, but he was different and now had Kotite as a HC so who really knows how that Tuna/Belichick & Co Giants team would have been vs them but likely, to me, the G-men would have gotten their way with them - even if McMahon was the Eagles' QB. And the still-growing Cowboys likely with me don't top them either even if the margin would be small.

I'd like to think the Giants don't match Washington, but get the top wildcard spot! Let's face it, despite Parcells going 6-0 vs Gibbs '88-thru-'90, I think Washington still would have been who they were. If they actually sweep NYG, that would not surprise me. But they do make top wildcard team which means Dallas may not even make the playoffs to begin with (or maybe its the Bears, or Atlanta, that get knocked out instead) and Eagles, maybe, not even having a winning season or at least a non-playoff 9-7 campaign. Man, how CRAMMED that NFC East would have been!!

But I think its they winning whatever wildcard visitor meets them, and then they either win at Detroit or New Orleans, and then Washington turning them away in the NFCCG whether its a hat-trick or a rubber-band match. If Wash actually wins lopsided even if not by as much as they beat Detroit, no surprise to me either. Come on, this WAS Gibbs' tour de force year! But NYG at least go that far IMO.

Thoughts?

I know that there have been many here and outside of here who feel that Parcells "knew" the window was now shut after Norwood's "wide-right and be jumped off the ship just on time. I disagree. They at the very least make the playoffs but more likely than that the NFCCG at RFK and then denied.

If it’s a Giants at New Orleans Divisional that means the Saints would either have a a bye or a Wild Card playoff win, which could have really benefitted NO as they never achieved either under Mora