The parallels continue. The Giants go into Green Bay and beat the No. 1 seed. They win the NFC championship game in overtime by a Lawrence Tynes field goal. They advance to the Super Bowl to face a dominant offensive juggernaut from Foxboro. It's deja vu all over again. Or so it seems.

Unlike the Patriots of 2007, this year's version does not have the downfield threat known as Randy Moss. Instead, they throw slants and out patterns with a quick wide receiver stolen from the Dolphins and two incredible tight ends. The defense is vulnerable despite what we have seen the past two weeks in the playoffs.

The Giants are different as well. Despite what the coaches tell us, the Giants are a pass-first team led by Eli Manning who proves to all of us every week why he is indeed an Eli(te) quarterback. He led several fourth-quarter comebacks this year during the regular season and played a stellar game in the playoffs on the road in SF despite being pounded over and over again by the 49ers excellent defense. The Giants defense is now nearly healthy although they still miss Terrell Thomas terribly and have no viable replacement. It seems that once Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Michael Boley were all able to play together and Perry Fewell simplified the defense, the Giants stepped up. They continue to be able to move the ball, but now have put together 5 straight wins with a stingy defense as well.

I am sure that all of you stayed up late Sunday night to watch all of the post-game interviews just like I did. The Giants coaches and players all showed class by praising a worthy 49er team who will be a force to be reckoned with for a few years. My 16-month-old son tried to stay up late, but fell asleep at 7:30 wearing his Giants pajamas and his Eli Manning doll in his crib. He woke up very happy.

It is going to be a fun couple of weeks leading up to the rematch, unless of course you are a Jets fan.

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For Giants news on Twitter, follow @NYGiants_Live.

-- BRAD BERKOWITZ
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Four weeks ago, who would have imagined the Giants in the playoffs let alone the NFC Championship game. However, is there anybody out there today that doesn't think they can win it all?

There are many reasons why the Giants are playing so well. Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Jason Pierre-Paul. But there are some under-the-radar people who also need to be acknowledged.

Tom Quinn, special teams coach. He should have been fired last year. The Giants had no return game and couldn't cover a kick or punt to save their lives. This year, the Giants have completely turned their special teams around and Quinn needs to be acknowledged.

David Diehl: Moved from left tackle to left guard this year so Will Beatty could start at left tackle. When Beatty went down, Diehl moved back to tackle and does an outstanding job.

Kevin Boothe: Filled in admirably for David Baas when he went down and moved over to left guard when Beatty went down. Has done an excellent job.

Chris Canty: Does all the dirty work in the middle and has had his best season as a Giant.

Michael Boley: Had an outstanding, definitely his best as a Giant. Emerging as a playmaking star.

Mathias Kiwanuka: A man without a position or a man who can play two positions? Learning the LB position and is getting better by the week.

Chase Blackburn: Re-signed late in the season after a rash of linebacker injuries and has started since. Has played exceptionally well and has also been dominant on special teams.

Lawrence Tynes: Not having a stellar season kicking field goals, but has been a huge beneficiary of the kickoff moving up five yards. Has been getting the ball deep on kickoffs most of the season.

Steve Weatherford: A huge upgrade over the jobless Matt Dodge. Had a fantastic year. Gets good hang time and pins the ball deep a la Jeff Feagles.

I welcome your emails and please follow Blog Blitz on Facebook and join the conversation.

For Giants news on Twitter, follow @NYGiants_Live.

-- BRAD BERKOWITZ
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Dominating defense. Efficient offense. Excellent special teams. If there ever was something called a Non-Shutout Shutout, the Giants' 24-2 win against the Falcons was it.

It took the offense some time to get started, but they rolled off chunks of yards both passing and running. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw finally looked like the power and quickness tandem we expected them to be. Eli Manning played a nice game and Hakeem Nicks looked healthy again. The defense was stifling. It stopped Atlanta on two fourth-and-1s and one third-and-one. They kept Atlanta outside the 25 yard line for the entire game. The defensive backs shut down Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. Matty Ice Ryan looked like he was melting.

The Giants defense has finally returned to form and if it plays as well as it did against the Jets, Cowboys and Falcons, the team has a very good chance to beat the Packers. The Giants are now about as healthy as they have been all year on both sides of the ball. Justin Tuck is still playing hurt, but is coming up big. Osi Umenyiora is back in form and Jason Pierre-Paul might already be the most dominating defensive player in the league.

I welcome your emails and please follow Blog Blitz on Facebook and join the conversation.

For Giants news on Twitter, follow @NYGiants_Live.

-- BRAD BERKOWITZ
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Finish, finish, finish. That's what Tom Coughlin preached all year. Eli Manning delivered all season long, So did Victor Cruz, However, the defense, decimated by injuries, couldn't deliver. In fact, it hadn't played a good game all year. Until last week.

The Giants are getting healthy at a great time. Osi Umenyiora came back Sunday night in the win against the Cowboys and registered a quick sack. Justin Tuck seems to be mending and can soon be back to being a monster. Jason Pierre-Paul (above) is getting better every week with an unlimited upside. Mathias Kiwanuka is feeling more comfortable at LB and the secondary is improving since schemes have been simplified and the pass rush improved.

The Giants shut up the Big Mouth, Big Bellied coach last week and ended his brother's season this week. The Giants are improving each week and now play a hot Atlanta team at Giants Stadium, yes Giants Stadium. Atlanta is a dome team coming north to play in the cold and wind. Historically, not a good combination. I expect the Giants to beat Atlanta and move on to Green Bay for the rematch versus Aaron Rodgers.

I welcome your emails and please follow Blog Blitz on Facebook and join the conversation.

For Giants news on Twitter, follow @NYGiants_Live.

-- BRAD BERKOWITZ
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We heard for two years. We heard it in the off-season. We heard it last week. And we heard it before the game. Some big-mouth, big-bellied coach told us all how great the Jets were, that they were going to win the Super Bowl, and that the Giants were their little brothers. The classless Jets even resorted to covering up the Giants' Lombardi trophies with black cloth before the game. However, as a classy Tom Coughlin would say: Talk is cheap. Play the game.

Despite missing Terrell Thomas, Jonathan Goff, Clint Sintim, Osi Umenyiora, Marvin Austin, and several other defensive backs, the Giants won. Despite missing Will Beatty, Mario Manningham and Jake Ballard, the Giants won. Despite Justin Tuck having injuries all over his body, the Giants won. Despite the Jets getting the benefit of three horrible calls, the Giants won. (Two of the reversals should not have been reversed, and the Santanio Holmes fumble which was ruled incomplete and subsequently not challengeable.) So, who is the Big Brother and who is the Little Brother?

The Giants might have knocked out the two self-proclaimed Dream Teams. The Giants have assured that Eagles that they will be playing golf next week. They also gave the Jets and their inept blowhard coach Rex Ryan a reality check and a possible fatal wound.

The Giants are far from perfect and their team still looks out of sorts. On the offensive side of the ball, there were still too many drops. Suddenly, Hakeem Nicks can't catch anything and Ramses Barden continues to drop balls. Eli Manning and his receivers seemed to be on the wrong page with respect to reads and the running game didn't get started until the second half. This will need to be improved if the Giants are going to beat the Cowboys on Sunday night.

Defensively, the Giants played a great game, finally. They shut down the run and shutdown a big-mouth Plaxico Burress. They made Mark Sanchez make mistakes while averaging roughly four yards per attempt. The only Jet who could hang his head high was the incomparable Darrelle Revis.

I welcome your emails and please follow Blog Blitz on Facebook and join the conversation.

For Giants news on Twitter, follow @NYGiants_Live.

-- BRAD BERKOWITZ
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