Glauber: Giants right where they were in 2007

The Giants had just extended their record to 6-2 with a road win over a non-division opponent, and up next were the Cowboys at home. A win here, and the Giants would continue a seemingly inexorable path to the division championship.

Didn't happen. The Giants surrendered four touchdowns and more than 30 points, Eli Manning threw two interceptions in producing 20 points, and the Giants fell to 6-3, prompting questions about whether this was truly a contending team.

Sunday afternoon at home?

Yes. Sunday afternoon, Nov. 11, 2007.

So for anyone looking for a sliver of optimism in the wake of yet another blowout home loss to the Cowboys, it is this: The Giants ultimately recovered from that 31-20 loss and eventually won the third Super Bowl in franchise history.

Tom Coughlin's eyes lit up Monday when I reminded him of the virtually identical circumstances of Sunday's 33-20 loss to the Cowboys. Still smarting from one of his team's worst performances of the season, in which the Giants' defense was pushed around most of the day and the offense committed three costly turnovers, Coughlin may offer up the 2007 meltdown against the Cowboys as an enticement when he meets with the team Wednesday to begin plotting for Sunday night's game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

"If I think it'll help, then I'll throw something in there with that one," he said. "Something like, 'The media doesn't think you guys are worth a damn. They don't think you guys can win the race.' Look at 2007."

Couldn't hurt. Especially with questions again emerging about the Giants' second-half-of-the-season meltdowns in the wake of a loss that should never have happened. Losing at home to a 1-7 Cowboys team with backup quarterback Jon Kitna? Really?

Actually, Coughlin knew there was a very good possibility of a letdown because of how bad the Cowboys looked in the run-up to Wade Phillips' firing. Coughlin was so concerned about a sense of complacency that he broke out one of Bill Parcells' motivational ploys.

"First thing we did Wednesday," Coughlin said, pointing his finger at a nearby wall. "Mouse is over here, the cheese is here. Take the cheese. Everybody is telling you how good you are. You talk about it till you're blue in the face."

Coughlin was imploring his team not to fall into the mousetrap that Parcells used to tell his players about when he felt they were getting too full of themselves. With a five-game winning streak and talk of a Super Bowl run, Coughlin knew there was a chance of getting sucked into the trap.

On Sunday, they did. And just like that, the doubts re-emerged after all the talk about how good the Giants were. Are the Giants in for another second-half plummet like the ones in 2008 and '09?

They will find out in very short order. With six of seven games against teams that entered this week at .500 or better, the challenge will be formidable, starting with the explosive Eagles.

Justin Tuck insists there will be no swoon this time.

"We were sick to our stomach about how we finished last year, and I think some guys would give their left arm not to have that happen again," the 2008 All-Pro defensive end said. "Is that 100 percent? No, but this team is different in the way we've prepared."

Antrel Rolle, who was not a party to last year's nosedive to 8-8 after a 5-0 start, believes there is no imminent fade pattern in the standings.

"We're a better team," he said. "We're a different team. We're a team with a different attitude. I don't care about that talk."

Coughlin hopes it's lesson learned. Oh, he'll settle for history repeating itself. As in a repeat of what happened after the last time they lost like this to the Cowboys.