True, the Giants had won in Washington less than 2 days after the Gloxico episode. That made them 11-1, tied for the best record in football.
But that was before the fan had really been hit. Come yesterday, the Giants were covered in it.
Add to the Burress mess a litany of injuries that include their best players on either side of the ball, as well as a huge game Sunday night in Dallas, and, well, they were ripe for the 20-14 upset the Eagles laid on them.
Generally, though, the Giants denied the obvious like Dennis Farina had them under a naked bulb in one room and Sam Waterston watching behind one-way glass.
A couple came clean.
"Oh, man. I don't know," said chronically honest receiver Amani Toomer. "It's probably our craziest week. It's probably our worst performance. You can put two and two together."
Apparently, Toomer and the press are the only ones familiar with the New Math.
Asked about the hectic week that was, Pierce snapped, "I don't care about any week . . . We're not worrying about [the shooting]."
Pierce looked harried, if not worried, when he got burned for a 40-yard touchdown catch by Brian Westbrook.
"I don't think it affected us," said quarterback Eli Manning, 7-for-21 before the Eagles folded up shop late in the fourth quarter and gave away a touchdown.
He threw two touchdown passes, one of them to Burress, when the Giants beat the Birds and scored 36 points a month ago.
"There is no excuse," insisted coach Tom Coughlin.
Maybe, maybe not. There might be other reasons the Giants looked like garbage - namely, injuries, and a lack of focus.
"This is the time of the season guys are getting banged up, the season's starting to wear on you a little bit," said apparent realist Kevin Boss, the No. 1 tight end who was shut down for the first time in five games.
