No one belonging to such a proud franchise, where faces change but expectations remain as high as Odell Beckham Jr. can sky for a football, dares contemplate the prospect of a playoff drought that hasn’t been experienced since they sang “Goodbye Allie” and flew that “15 Years of Lousy Football We’ve Had Enough” banner over a dark and gloomy Giants Stadium.
But this time, Pete Rozelle won’t be summoning George Young to soothe a divided family feud, and this time, Lawrence Taylor won’t be cutting a swath of destruction through the hearts of opposing quarterbacks.
This time, it is Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning standing together, perhaps for the last time, at the doors to Last Chance Saloon, under a Code Blue from ownership that will have zero tolerance for a fourth consecutive season missing the playoffs, which would mark the longest stretch of failure since the 1964-80 nightmare.