ATLANTA – Pat Shurmur said something curious last week that mostly got lost in the 11-day pile of words between Giants games. When asked whether one victory might alter the trajectory of the season, the coach turned sports history professor.
“Teams fight through adversity, and it’s in the Giants’ DNA to pull this thing out,” he said as the team prepared for Monday night’s game against the Falcons. “I’ve seen it. I’ve studied the history of it.”
Really? Based on what?
That sort of thinking is not unique to Shurmur. It is part of the Giants’ carefully cultured, endlessly reinforced brand, in this century based on a gentlemanly tone set by management, nurtured by Tom Coughlin and embodied by Eli Manning.