I need to start this week's periscope with an apology of sorts to Matt LaFleur and the coaching staff. They'll never read it, but I need to get it out into the universe. Earlier in the season, as recently as the Steelers game, I've wondered if this Packers team was truly a well-coached football team. The penalties, the sloppy play, the overall softness we'd seen would always jump off the screen at me, and made me wonder if LaFleur's success really was the byproduct of having Aaron Rodgers.

I wondered if Jordan Love really was the guy, and if the season continued to tank, if they would maybe take a QB early if management didn't think Love was the guy. I told myself time and time again - even in this article - to be patient, to let the season play out, to let the team and its coaches develop with the youngest team in football. But the bad football blinded me from that mantra, and I didn't do what I said I would.

This run the Packers are on are why it's so important to let the season play out. It doesn't feel that long just because we're watching 3 hours a week. We're not privy to all of the work the team is putting in every day, what LaFleur and Adam Stenavich and Joe Barry are doing every day to put this team in a position to win. Just as much as we should have let the players develop, the coaches needed that grace too. It's the youngest team in the league they're trying to coach up while letting them figure out what they're doing.

It's been a work in progress, and that progress is finally starting to show on both sides of the ball. As much as LaFleur deserves credit for it, his two coordinators do too. Stenavich and his offensive line prowess is showing itself again. The line has been so drastically improved it's hard to imagine how they were so bad earlier this season. And the defense, while I don't necessarily love the philosophy, does limit points and big plays. And if the offense is figuring it out, the defensive philosophy looks much better.

In short, Football Gods, I am sorry for not remaining patient like I should have. Enjoying this journey for what it really is and rolling with the punches of a long football season that will hopefully be a little longer if this team continues to figure it out.

And with that, the Periscope raises and we take a look at the past, present and future of the New York Football Giants.

The Past

One of the league's oldest rivalries, the Packers lead the series 34-27-2. The first matchup between the two teams was a 6-0 Giants win on October 7, 1928 and the most recent, a 27-22 Giants win last October in London, a game we painfully recall the Packers squandering. Since 2012, however, it's been a rather even series, with the Packers winning three between 2016 and 2019, and the Giants winning three in a row in 2012 and 2013.

This week's historical matchup I wanted to look back at, though, was the 1939 NFL Championship, held on December 10 at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, WI in front of a paid crowd of 32,379. The year prior in 1938, the Giants eked out a win over Curly Lambeau's Packers 23-17, so revenge was undoubtedly on their minds. Finishing the regular season at 9-2, the Packers fortunately hosted the 9-1-1 Giants. Despite the better record, according to Stoney McGlynn's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article about the game, the Packers were 10-point favorites. The Packers opened the scoring in the first quarter on a touchdown on a (get ready for some amazing names, here) Arnie Herber to Milt Gantenbein 7-yarder to make it 7-0. The second quarter was scoreless, and the Packers came out swinging in the third. Kicker Paul Engebretsen field goal put it to 10-0, then quarterback Cecil Isbell hit Joe Laws from 31 yards to make it 17-0 entering the fourth. More dominance ensued, with an Ernie Smith 42-yard field goal and finally an Eddie Jankowski goal line touchdown to wrap up the 27-0 championship, the team's fifth.

Why two quarterbacks? Why two kickers? Who cares! All the glory of wartime football is captured in this unbelievably nostalgic recap. The drama! The music! The incredible play-by-play! And Arnie Herber might be the most accurate passer throwing off his back foot I've ever seen. "The Packers are the new champions of the National League, winning twenty-seven to nothing," the announcer closes.

The Present

Insert Paisan emoji here. With Daniel Jones out for the season and backup Tyrod Taylor hurt, the Giants turned to quarterback Tommy DeVito, much to the delight of the Italian-American Giants fan, but mostly for comedic purposes. But after two losses to begin his career as a starter, the Giants have rallied the last two weeks with a 31-19 win over the Commanders, and then a 10-7 rain-soaked slobberknocker over the Patriots last week. DeVito has instilled enough confidence in head coach Brian Daboll to keep him in, however, as backup Tyrod Taylor is now healthy and not back in the lineup.

As for their weaponry, Saquon Barkley is still that dude despite not having the stats to necessarily back it up. But we've seen him take games over (see: London, 2022) and is one of the league's best. Maybe it's shoddy OL play, maybe it's shoddy QB play, but Barkley has only topped 100 yards one time this season, in a 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets. But you'd better believe Daboll watched the same game Sunday that we did, and he'll absolutely look to lean into the run game to keep the Packers off the field and do, essentially, what the Packers did to the Chiefs. 

On the defensive side, the Giants are about as middle-of-the-pack as you can get, both against the pass and rushing. They're formidable, but nothing that would instill fear into Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love. Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale (all-time football name) is as blitz happy as Brian Flores or Steve Spagnuolo. He loves sending pressure, and will likely do it in spite of what Love did against the blitz not only last week, but all season.

The Future

Monday Night Football, East Rutherford, New Jersey. On a night with two MNF games, for some reason, the Packers do get the better commentators, with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman calling the game. Weather-wise, it's looking like some AM rain will break to cooler temps, with game time being in the low-mid 30s. Nothing the Packers can't handle. As for the spread, we're looking at the Packers being favored by 6.5, with a low O/U of 36.5. So, not a ton of offense by the Giants is predicted, and I'd align with that sentiment. I expect the Packers now top-10 defense to do what they always do. Give up some rushing yards, be stout against the pass, and limit touchdowns. What'll be interesting is how the Giants attack Love, and how Love responds to new pressures presented by the defense.

This is a game the now-hot Packers should win. They've lost winnable games earlier in the year, but it now finally seems like they are figuring it out. With Christian Watson expected to be out, however, we'll need to see if Aaron Jones or Jaire Alexander will be back. It's a shame we can't get a view of this team at its healthiest, but the next-man-up mantra has treated this team well. But if Jones is back, they'll be able to be just a little more dynamic to make up for not having one of their best receivers available. As usual, I can't wait to see how this one shakes out.