When the Giants won the Super Bowl after the 2007 season, they followed it up with a 2008 season that started even better -- they won 11 of their first 12 games and spent most of the year as the favorites to repeat. Then they lost three of their last four regular-season games and their first playoff game, and that season is remembered mostly as a disappointment.
The current Giants say they don’t see next year being a similar disappointment.
Mathias Kiwanuka says he doesn’t see any reason the Giants can’t win next year’s Super Bowl.
“If we won it this year, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can,” Kiwanuka told the New York Post. “We’ve just got to get in the playoffs. That’s it.”
Of the way the Giants collapsed down the stretch in 2008, Kiwanuka said, “We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks said he thinks the Giants can be a dynasty.
“I feel like the sky’s the limit for this organization and our team,” Nicks said. “I feel like we can be at this level for a long time.”
Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph said he thinks this season’s 9-7 regular season didn’t come close to demonstrating how good the Giants actually are -- and he doesn’t even think the Super Bowl shows how good the Giants actually are.
“Actually we won the game, but I still don’t feel like we played our best game yet this whole season,” Joseph said. “I feel like next year is going to be a good year. Just everybody stays focused and everybody stays hungry, and I think we should have a good season next year, too.”