"This isn't Game 4 of the World Series for the Giants. It is Game 1 against the Eagles.

And they want Game 1 against the Eagles today at the Linc every bit as much as the Yankees want Game 4 of the World Series tonight against the Phillies.

They want Game 1 against the Eagles for all the usual reasons, dating back to Bednarik and Gifford, to Parcells and Buddy Ryan. They want Game 1 against the Eagles because they need to stop their two-game losing streak and silence whispers that they are a fluke team that can only beat the dregs of the NFL.

And they want Game 1 against the Eagles because they remember what it looked like when Donovan McNabb picked up that phone on their sidelines, they remember what it felt like and sounded like when they trudged out of a shell-shocked Giants Stadium, suddenly ex-champions, held hostage to the yelps of joy coming from the last team they ever would want dancing on their graves."