Case Number 17876: Small Claims Court

NEW YORK GIANTS: 10 GREATEST GAMES

Warner Bros. // 1987 // 1233 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Christopher Kulik (Retired) // December 10th, 2009

The Charge

Witness the most iconic performances in Giants' history!

The Case

An ideal holiday gift for hardcore Giants fans, New York Giants: 10 Greatest Games features the team's most memorable games in the past 20 years. Before 1987, the Giants had many mediocre seasons and won few championship games. It wasn't until Bill Parcells became head coach that the team gained recognition, with quarterback Phil Simms garnering an 88% completion percentage in Super Bowl XXI. Many note defensive linebacker Lawrence Taylor as being the secret weapon to the Giants' success, as his "Big Blue Wrecking Crew" allowed only 3 points in the playoffs.

Instead of listing all 10 games with a description, I shall group them together in terms of year and summarize.

Road To Super Bowl XXI (1987)
In January of 1987, the Giants faced the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins in the playoffs. San Francisco QB Joe Montana would be squashed at the end of the first half, which allowed the Giants to come out on top 49-3. Legendary coach Joe Gibbs and his Skins were unable to do anything, resulting in a 17-0 blowout. As for QB John Elway and the Broncos, they put up a decent fight. Ultimately, with a final score of 39-20, the New York Giants would emerge as champions -- the first time in over 30 years.

Road To Super Bowl XXV(1991)
While some of the dominance the Giants displayed in the '87 season is gone here, they still manage to declaw the Bears 31-3 in the first playoff game. The NFC Championship would find the Giants against the 49ers once again. Montana managed to make some good throws this time around, holding the lead at the end of the first half. The Giants managed to come back, however, clinching a trip to Super Bowl XXV against the Buffalo ("Boy I Love to Lose Super bowls") Bills. A close game to be sure, with the last-second field goal attempt by Scott Norwood ranking as one of the most embarrassing plays in Super Bowl history.

Road To Super Bowl XXXV(2001)
The lethargic performance of the Philadelphia Eagles during the Divisional Playoffs -- with lots of turnovers -- pretty much secured the Giants win. The highlight of the game was the opening play: a 97-yard touchdown return by Ron Dixon, who would repeat the same feat in Super Bowl XXXV. The NFC Championship pitted the Giants against the Minnesota Vikings, with the former emerging victorious after a 41-0 win. Unfortunately, Dixon's touchdown during the Super Bowl was the only time the Giants scored, with the Baltimore Ravens winning 34-7. (Only the playoff and championship game are included in this set.)

Eli's Epic Comeback(2006)
Eagles' fans are no doubt still furious over this whopper of a game, which occurred in Week 2 of the 2006 season. Aside from an early TD by Plaxico Burress, the Eagles had the game in the bag, with a score of 24-7 at the end of Q3. Miraculously, the Giants came back with an Amani Toomer TD following an Eagles fumble. With less than 60 seconds to go, Eagles defensive end Trent Cole committed a personal foul, which allowed the Giants to enter field goal territory and tie the game. An overtime strike to Burress brought the game to an end, with 30-24 as the final score.

Super Bowl XLII
It was karma, I'm telling you! Who would have guessed that the Giants, a wild card team who barely got in the playoffs, would defeat the previously undefeated Patriots? Not many, although the Patriots weren't exactly highly respected at this time. The Spygate incident, in which the Patriots illegally videotaped the defensive coaches' signals during Week 1, was something in the minds of many who felt the team didn't even deserve a chance at the Lombardi trophy. This made the Giants' victory all the more celebratory, and perhaps no one else was more pleased than the 1972 Miami Dolphins team.

Warner Bros. presents all ten games in full frame and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Aside from some minor defects due to age, the NFL has done a fabulous job in preserving these games, considering most of them were recorded on video. There's some moderate fading with the older games, but otherwise the bright colors come through just fine, with no smearing whatsoever. Pat "Dull" Summerall and John "Duh" Madden served as the commentators for most of these games. As always, Summerall sounds like he's reading from cue cards and Madden is so obvious with his remarks it makes you want to tell him to shut up. The guy may know his stuff, but his replay doodlings are moronic and some of his words of wisdom ("This is when it's fun to be dressed in blue,") are just plain stupid.

Giants' fans should be satisfied, but Warner Bros. sure did a sloppy job on this DVD set. For one thing, there's a major typo on Disc 8 in regards to the date of the game (it happened in 2001 not 2000); the same typo is listed on the back of the box. Secondly, the studio decided to put the discs in multiple flippers which break easily. I would have preferred slim-line cases, myself.

Finally, what's with the favoritism? Some of these "greatest games" sets have only 3 (i.e. Redskins, Raiders, & Titans) while others have 10 (i.e. Cowboys, Eagles & Packers). This set could have had the Super Bowl games only, which would have been more than sufficient. Also, it almost seems like a waste when only the games are included with no bonus features. How about some featurettes with retired players talking about the games?

The Verdict

The Giants are free to go, but Warner Bros. gets fined for laziness.

Scales of Justice
Judgment: 71

Perp Profile
Studio: Warner Bros.
Video Formats:
* Full Frame

Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)

Subtitles:
* English (CC)

Running Time: 1233 Minutes
Release Year: 1987
MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Distinguishing Marks
* None

Accomplices
* Giants.com
http://www.giants.com/index.html

* Wikipedia: New York Giants
http://en-wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Giants