The line that separates champs from chumps isn't so wide the Raiders can't cross into Giant territory. (Photo: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE)

The New York Giants are far from a perfect football team. Their flaws were on display for much of the regular season as they rode a weekly rollercoaster. Tom Coughlin’s team seemed to shift focus from week to week looking like champs one week and chumps the next.

What made the New York Giants world champions was more than a drop by Wes Welker, a poor decision by Tom Brady or a great throw by Eli Manning. All of those factors contributed to the Giants’ 21-17 Super Bowl stunner against the previously invincible Pats.

What gave the Giants a chance to be champs and eventually got them a second ring in four years was the ability to dig deep when it matters most.

If the Oakland Raiders ever want to see another Lombardi added to the cabinet then they’ve got to take a page from the Giants’ formula. Not much separated the Giants from the Raiders this past season. Both teams needed help to make it into the postseason. Both were teetering on the brink of an early vacation. Both controlled their own fate down the stretch.

The difference between the two is simple.

When the Giants saw an opportunity to take their football destiny by the horns, they went forward without hesitation, possessing supreme confidence in their talents and perfect execution of their game plan.

When the Raiders saw an opportunity to take their football destiny by the tail, they cowered into a corner, rolled over in the clutch and lost all faith in what had put them in position to win their division and go forward into the NFL’s championship tournament.

On paper these teams aren’t that different.

Both teams have the ability to give you different looks in the running game with two unique running backs. The Raiders just so happen to have an elite game breaker in Darren McFadden when healthy. In fact, the Raiders ran the rock infinitely better than the Giants with Michael Bush carrying the load.

Both teams boast of a talented receiving corp. The Raiders receivers are slowly coming into their own while the Giants’ group is clearly ready for primetime.

Both teams view their defensive line as the foundation upon which titles are built. The Raiders just wish they could get the consistent and clutch performance from their unit similar to what New York got from theirs during the biggest moments of the season.

Where the two teams greatly differ are in some of the most important areas.
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