The New York Giants have said repeatedly this week that their bye could not have come at a better time.
What a mistake! The bye week never comes at a good time for the Giants (1-2).
Since the NFL started giving teams off for a week during the regular season in 1990, the Giants have rarely done anything right in the week after they return.
Their 3-14 mark in games the week after the bye is the worst in league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Seattle is the second worst at 4-13, while Denver, Minnesota and Philadelphia are the best at 13-4.
New York has lost its last five post-bye games, and nine of 10.
Things may not get any better with the suddenly improving Redskins (2-2) coming to Giants Stadium on Sunday. Washington has won two straight games, averaging 33.5 points.
The bye-week blues have involved 16 Giants teams, five coaches, two general managers and hundreds of players. The 1993 team had two bye week games, and lost both under Dan Reeves.
``There are different circumstances and different personnel, different coaching staffs,'' said halfback Tiki Barber, who is about to play in his 10th post-bye game. ``Maybe it's one of those jinxes. A couple of wins need to be had to overcome it.''
Most of the current team didn't realize the franchise's bye record was so bad.
``To me, it's one of those statistical anomalies that you can make something of, but it doesn't have an impact on our team,'' kicker Jay Feely said. ``It's something we wouldn't know. I didn't know it existed (until) I read it in a story this week.''
Eleven-year veteran Amani Toomer said the coaches involved in his tenure _ Reeves, Jim Fassel and Tom Coughlin _ have approached the bye week in the same fashion. The teams have practised for three or four days during the week off. The players were then given a long weekend either to relax or to travel, then practise resumed the following week on the normal schedule.
Toomer said a bye late in the season can disrupt the normal schedule, but he said that most of New York's bye weeks have come relatively early in the season.
``The funny thing is I didn't know the record was that bad,'' Toomer said. ``I can't explain it.''
Coughlin is well aware of the bye-week mark.
``But that's not the main issue in this game, obviously,'' Coughlin said. ``I think it's getting our team going, moving forward and trying to find a way to win.''
Receiver David Tyree doesn't care about the bye problems, insisting each week is a different game, especially this week.
``The only difference is you might not come out with the same punch and vigour as you did the week before,'' Tyree said. ``We can't afford that now.
``I don't think we need to lose another game to say our backs are against the wall. You never want to start that far in the hole at the beginning of the season and have expectations of doing well and going deep into the playoffs.''
There is one difference that needs to be pointed out this season. The Giants' record in the games prior to the bye week was 14-3 before their game against Seattle on Sept. 24. Then a strange thing happened: the Seahawks cruised to a 42-3 lead en route to a 42-30 win.
So could this be the year things are reversed and the Giants win after a bye?
``A lot of teams don't do anything during the bye week,'' Barber said. ``Guys go away for the entire week and it does not affect them. For us, for some reason, it seems to be a (problem). Hopefully, it's not so this week.''
