New York Giants 2012 NFL Regular Season Schedule

The memories of Tom Coughlin’s job being on the line midway through last season are now very distant following the New York Giants’ second Super Bowl victory in four years. As the old saying goes, it’s always harder to defend a title than win it the first time.

But even having that said, the National Football League didn’t have to go out of their way to give the defending champs the toughest 2012 schedule in the NFL did they? Well, they did, so don’t be surprised if talks about Coughlin’s firing reemerge should the defending champs hit a rough patch at some point in the season.

“We will have a week-in and week-out challenge, not only in who we play, but with the different elements of our schedule,” Coughlin said. “We play on four different days and we have five night games. Our first three games are Wednesday-Sunday-Thursday. We play two road night games early, come home for a week and then go to San Francisco. Our people are going to have to be really good about it.”

How difficult is the Giants schedule this year? Check it out for yourself:

• 1. Dallas Cowboys [Home]*
• 2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [Home]
• 3. Carolina Panthers [Road]
• 4. Philadelphia Eagles [Road]*
• 5. Cleveland Browns [Home]
• 6. San Francisco 49ers [Road]
• 7. Washington Redskins [Home]*
• 8. Dallas Cowboys [Road]*
• 9. Pittsburgh Steelers [Home]
• 10. Cincinnati Bengals [Road]
• 11. BYE
• 12. Green Bay Packers [Home]
• 13. Washington Redskins [Road]*
• 14. New Orleans Saints [Home]
• 15. Atlanta Falcons [Road]
• 16. Baltimore Ravens [Road]
• 17. Philadelphia Eagles [Home]*

Winning back-to-back titles was already a difficult proposition considering no team has been able to accomplish such a feat since the Patriots did it (2004-05). Adding insult to injury is the fact that the Giants lost Super Bowl hero-WR, Mario Manningham and bruising running back, Brandon Jacobs. Both Manningham and Jacobs went to the Niners this offseason, a team that the Giants defeated in the NFC Championship game, on their way to winning Super Bowl XLVI.

“Yeah, we came from that team, but we’re going to treat them like any other opponent,” Manningham said looking forward to a showdown with his former mates.

In the case of Jacobs, the Giants actually decided to release him rather than pay him a $500,000 roster bonus that was due to him this coming season, along with his $4.4 million. The Niners and the Giants will both be circling October 14^th 2012 on their calendars, as the champs understand that they are now the ones being hunted.

The Giants relish the challenge of having a target on their backs this year yet again. The last time they won the Super Bowl, the G-Men bounced back to win the NFC East, but were stunned in the Divisional round by the Philadelphia Eagles. Facing the same kind of pressure this year should feel no different said Coughlin.

“As always, we face a very challenging schedule,” he added. “To get where we want to go, you have to play the best teams in football and we certainly are playing the best teams.”

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