For some reason it's tough liking the NY Giants. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I'm from Boston. But that can't be the answer, because it's not like the Giants have been rivals with the Patriots. In any event, if I see a game on TV with the Giants, it doesn't matter who the opponent is, I just root for the other team.

But now the situation has changed a lot in just a couple of weeks, and it's pretty much because of Tom Coughlin. Coughlin is a former Boston College coach, who is legendary for his strict disciplinarian style.

What Coughlin did against the Patriots 2 weeks ago was meaningful in several ways:

1) he risked injury to key players in a game that had no bearing on the playoffs (both teams had already clinched their spots)

2) he obviously walked into that game thinking he could win (even though his team had barely won against some lower caliber teams)

3) he unnecessarily played his starters with potentially catastrophic ramifications in the postseason if any of them were to be injured, and he did this with his job is in jeopardy if he were to lose in the first round of the posteason

Maybe Coughlin was crazy. A lot of announcers before the game, and definitely Chris Collinsworth throughout most of the Patriots-Giants game, thought that Coughlin was stupid for playing the game as if it meant something.

When a former player like Collinsworth repeatedly calls the game "meaningless" while broadcasting it, you know there's a problem with the NFL.

The idea that only the playoffs count is wrong. It's also completely at odds with the other mantra we hear and love to recite about "taking it one game at a time".

A lot of sportscasters were saying that we had to wait until seeing the score of the Giants first-round playoff game to decide if Coughlin's decision to play his starters against the Patriots was correct.

To quote a well-known baseball pitcher, "That's hogwash!"

Whether the Giants won or lost the game against Tampa Bay, Coughlin's decision to play his starters should have garnered him a tremendous amount of accolades, especially knowing that injury to key starters in the final game of the 2007 regular season and losing in the first-round of the playoffs probably would have cost him his job.

In short, he tells his players to fully dedicate themselves to each play and that's the way he coaches.

When true fans - and I'm not talking about fans who still think that the tackle box in football is where football players keep their bait - start viewing the regular season as just a prelude to the postseason, we've got troubles. When true fans start looking at the NFL as more of a chess league and less as a sports league, we've got troubles.

A lot of people out there think that if the Patriots go anything less than 19-0 this season, then the season will be a failure. Hogwash. Many Giants fans probably also feel that if their team had been defeated yesterday, the season would have been a failure. Also Hogwash.

For true fans of the NFL who like to see teams fighting tooth and nail every game, don't get sucked into this idiocy about the postseason. NFL players get paid a lot of money to play as many downs as physically possible. Fans pay a lot of money to see their teams give their best effort each week.

If I were a Colts fan and saw them lose the last game of the season because Tony Dungy sat down Peyton Manning for the entire second half, I'd be upset.

And here's the really strange thing in pro sports: if an NBA team loses on purpose by not putting their starters on the floor in a "meaningless" late season game, then people go beserk, but somehow it's okay to do this in the NFL?

I'm not against the idea of a coach resting key players on the team, but at least make sure that you win the darn game.

That's why I've got to root for the Giants for a while. Coughlin made us remember why we devote our time to watching the game: because it's still a game of heart.

He may not have the best coaching record, he may lose his next playoff game, and he may still lose his job, but no one can accuse him of quitting on his team or the ideals of playing one game at a time.  

Also, I have to give a lot of credit to the Giants players. They also had a major role to play in Coughlin's decision to play his starters during the Patriots game. And they played like a team that is a contender the past two weeks.

So, as the Giants prepare for Dallas, I'm left saying a previously unthinkable thought: Let's Go Giants!!!!!!