Both times the Giants won the Super Bowl under Tom Coughlin, they've reached the big game in the same way.
They were in overtime on the road and close enough to let Lawrence Tynes knock a field goal through the uprights to make them the champions of the NFC. If they make it to a third Super Bowl next season, it will have to come via a different script.
The Giants announced Wednesday afternoon that they have signed veteran kicker Josh Brown as a free agent, with the widely reported reason being that they couldn't get Tynes to agree to their interpretation of his value to the team. Brown, who was in Jets camp last year, has kicked for several different teams and will battle the previously signed David Buehler for the job this offseason.
Tynes joins Chris Canty, Michael Boley and Ahmad Bradshaw as key parts of the team's Super Bowl teams who have been shuffled aside as the Giants try to construct a roster that can get them back to the playoffs. Canty has landed with the Ravens and Tynes will surely wind up kicking somewhere, even if he did have some wobbly moments for the team last season.
Kicker isn't the only place where the Giants will look different next season. Tight end Martellus Bennett signed a four-year deal with the Bears that will pay him $21 million, a price that was likely several million dollars and perhaps years more than the Giants would have been willing to offer to keep Bennett.
That will leave Jerry Reese to go shopping for a tight end again, something that shouldn't worry the Giants all that much. From Kevin Boss to Jake Ballard to Bennett, Reese has found production at tight end. Just to be on the safe side, let's make sure the new arrival's surname starts with a B.
The Giants are also sniffing around some linebackers, but they'll probably wait for the second wave of free agency to start signing players. Prices drop along with the name value, but those players have done well for the Giants over the years.
Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.
Photo Credit: Getty Images