Point/Counterpoint: Which New York football team is better?

By: Mike Mauro and Kevin Duffy

Posted: 9/4/08

Mike Mauro:

Considering the Giants are the only team in the entire NFL to be the reigning Super Bowl Champions, I think it is safe to say that they are clearly the best team in New York. With Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning more confident and improved, an offensive line returning all of its starters once again, three productive running backs and with a defense that, despite its losses, can still get after the quarterback, the Giants will win the best division in football - the NFC East. They will get back to the playoffs and prove last season was no fluke.

Kevin Duffy

New York's best team in 2008 won't be the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants. Instead, it will be the 4-12 Jets. The addition of Brett Favre is certainly the team's top acquisition, but the additions of offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Damian Woody truly make this the most improved team in the NFL.

Look for the Jets to make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive AFC this season.

Kevin: I don't mean to take anything away from what the Giants accomplished, because it was a special run, but the fact of the matter is they were a fringe playoff team that got very hot at the end of the season. As you said, the Giants play in the toughest division in football. Wins are very hard to come by in the NFC East. The Jets, however, basically have four wins automatically handed to them between the Dolphins and Bills.

Mike: The Bills are no pushover and some could argue they are a better team than the Jets. The Giants got off to a bad start last season losing their first two games then went on to go 14-4 the rest of the way including 11 straight road victories. Any team that can do that is no fluke. They have a solid core of leadership and talent that not even the 18-0 Patriots could match in the Super Bowl when the Giants desecrated their perfect season. New York has all of its key pieces from their playoff run back on offense and despite losing Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, are fortunate enough to have Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka waiting in the wings. Tuck is set to have an All-Pro breakout year and Kiwanuka showed before his move to linebacker that he is more than capable of getting after the quarterback in the pros. With defensive genius Steve Spagnuolo back at the helm, the Giants will have a Top-five defense this season.

Kevin: The Giants have clearly gotten worse since the Super Bowl. I love Tuck, but their defense isn't as deep and won't be as effective. The Jets, on the other hand, have added a future All-Pro in Vernon Gholston and a former All-Pro defensive tackle in Kris Jenkins. Oh, by the way, they traded for this guy named Favre - and if I'm not mistaken, quarterbacks are the key to postseason success. The Jets have a BIG advantage over the Giants at that position.

Mike: Favre was a key to postseason success last season ... for the Giants. His interception to Corey Webster helped send the Giants to the Super Bowl. And last time I checked, Eli Manning has the same number of Super Bowl rings and one more Super Bowl MVP than the god known as Favre, and Manning isn't 30 yet. If you want to talk about future All-Pro rookies, look no further than safety Kenny Phillips who will be the best safety in the NFC in two years. The Giants have the experience, confidence and are still fueled by the critics who said last year was a fluke. They will make all the "experts" who think they will finish third in the division eat their words.

Kevin: Favre had one "bad" game, if you even want to call it that. Eli Manning has had many, many more over the last few seasons. He may have gained some confidence in the Super Bowl, but who's to say that will carry over to this year? The bottom line is Favre is at the top of his game and he has all the pieces around him to make the Jets an 11-5 or 10-6 team.

Mike: Favre is no longer on top of his game and he looked better over the last couple seasons by the receivers around him. Manning consistently showed in the last few weeks of the regular season and throughout the playoffs that he is a better quarterback and now that the pressure of winning is off his back he can comfortably lead this team and establish himself in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. With a supporting cast of Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward at running back and the return of Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and the emerging Steve Smith at receiver, he has all the tools at his disposal to make the Giants an elite offense.

Kevin: Manning's supporting cast on offense just isn't as good as Favre's right now. Thomas Jones would be the best running back on the Giants, and I'd even go as far to say that Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery are a better wide receiver tandem than Favre had in Green Bay with Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Throw in the offensive line upgrades, and the superior offense in New York will belong to the Jets.

Mike: Jones is a nice back but Bradshaw and Jacobs combine to bring a better performance from the position. The Giants' top three receivers are better than the Jets as well and while the Giants offensive line isn't as well-known individually as the Jets, as a cohesive unit the Giants are better. Combine that with their still dangerous defensive line and the leadership of Antonio Pierce at middle linebacker and it's easy to see why the Giants are the kings of the New York football sphere.