Giants arrival

The Giants arrived a day later than the Patriots as their buses pulled into the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Ariz., late Monday afternoon. The Wild Horse Pass could have been used as a set for an old John Ford western. One expected a tumbleweed to roll past any second.

Giants coach Tom Coughln said the delayed arrival had a purpose. "We just thought we would be best served doing as much work as we could at home."

His quarterback Eli Manning seemed to endorse the strategy, saying, "we had a great week of practice last week."

Coughlin reflected on the two key regular-season games for his team, a Week 3 victory over Washington that ended with the Giants stopping the Redskins four times from the 1-yard line on the final series of the game; and, of course, the Week 17 loss to the Patriots.

He said the Redskins game helped ignite a six-game winning streak. "I don't think you can underestimate the importance of that games."

And the Patriots? "I think it gave us momentum going into the playoffs,'' he said. "We played a good game against an undefeated team. That being said, there is no solace in losing."

Coughlin embraced the idea of being the underdog. "We're very familiar with that role," he said. "We've used the motivational tool of having something to prove pretty much all year."