Tom Rock's midseason Giants report card

Instead of pushing to host a Super Bowl in February of 2014, perhaps the Giants should have been trying to get the game moved to mid-November. That seems to be when the team is at its best.

In their seven seasons under Tom Coughlin the Giants regularly have gotten out to quick starts. They have been 5-3 or better in each of those seasons - this is the fourth time they are 6-2 - and under Coughlin have a combined record of 41-15 in the first halves of the season.

Of course that leaves them at a combined 20-28 in the second halves.

This year, with five divisional games still remaining and two potentially difficult (and perhaps playoff-location determining) trips to face the Vikings and Packers, the second half is daunting. But before we move ahead to the next eight games, the midway point of the season is a good time to look back and assess where the team is. So here is the Giants' midterm report card:

OFFENSE:

BThe Giants are scoring points and gaining yardage at what is in franchise terms a historic pace. Which only begs the question: What would they be capable of doing without those turnovers? Eli Manning has thrown 11 interceptions, although seven of them have come off balls tipped in the air by receivers, and Ahmad Bradshaw has lost four fumbles (the team has 11 of those as a whole). Those bungles aside, though, the Giants are as close to a scoring juggernaut as they've been. They're coming home this week after scoring 41 points in back-to-back road games. Bradshaw, butter fingers aside, has maintained his explosiveness (and health) while taking over the primary running back job. Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham are the best threesome of young receivers in the league. And with players like Bear Pascoe, Adam Koets and Shawn Andrews filling in the injury gaps, the Giants have shown a remarkable depth that many didn't think existed.

DEFENSE:

AWhen the Giants lost Mathias Kiwanuka after the third game, he was their best and most versatile defensive player. Most teams do not overcome that kind of a setback. It seemed to invigorate the Giants, though. It forced them to use safety Deon Grant as a hybrid linebacker, let Osi Umenyiora settle in at defensive end, where he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October, and essentially created the quarterback-clobbering unit the team has used to knock five passers out of games with injuries. Antrel Rolle has been quiet statistically, but that's mostly because opposing offenses have a hard time reaching him. Barry Cofield and Chris Canty are playing at a level they were not last year because they now are healthy. And Jonathan Goff, whom many scoffed at as the heir to Antonio Pierce, has been tremendous.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

CIt might be close to an A if you were to look at the last two or three games. Rookie punter Matt Dodge has settled in and is kicking well, but he had a miserable start to his career. There was a point at which the Giants were lucky to get bad kicks out of him because at least it meant he was holding onto the football long enough to put it in the air. And Lawrence Tynes was struggling with Dodge as his holder, missing three of his first six field-goal attempts. Since Sage Rosenfels took over as holder, though, Tynes has converted nine straight field goals (although only six have counted thanks to penalties). The return game never got comfortable with Darius Reynaud, but perhaps a change to Will Blackmon will kick-start things. In terms of coverage, the Giants have avoided scores for the most part (a punt return by Dez Bryant was very poorly played) but have also allowed big chunks of yardage on punt (14.8 yards) and kickoff (20.1) returns.

COACHING:

B+It's a little funny to look back and hear what some were saying after the Giants started 1-2: that Tom Coughlin had lost this team. You want to know what it looks like when a coach loses a team? Look in Dallas and Minnesota. Coughlin never lost the team, they were just out of stride for a few weeks. They're marching precisely now, though. Perry Fewell's defensive schemes seem to have opponents flummoxed on a regular basis - although one of their two losses was clearly the result of poor blueprints against the Colts - and he has connected with the players in ways that Bill Sheridan never did. Kevin Gilbride has the offense scoring and has three key players on pace for career seasons in Eli Manning, Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks. He also has maintained the ever-elusive balance: The team has run 259 running plays and 271 passing plays.