General Coughlin and his Army of Giants.

It figures he would get an Army General to appear before his team on the eve of the season.  One last fiery speech by a true hero, a real Giant, to rev up the collective engine of his team.

The attributes of a coach are plentiful but if you HAD to ask which 5 qualities were most important: great motivator would be in the top 3.  How can one motivate their team to succeed?  Its a question that still has no concrete answer.  Maybe because its a job that constantly changes the demands it presses on its workers.

Tom Coughlin is by many counts an amry general himself.  A taskmaster who’s 5 minute rule is infamous and rigid as a steel pole.  If the meeting is at 7:50, come 5 minutes earlier.  Maybe not everyone agrees with his methods but they aren’t without reason.

Its now common knowledge that Coughlin’s success in 2007 was directly linked to him softening his character up enough to allow his players to see him for who his family knew he was.  A guy that smiles and a guy who cares.

But the good vibrations from 2007 have worn off and the Giants enter 2010 on the witness protection program with regards to the backpages of New York newspapers.  That belongs to Rex’s bunch.  But maybe moving in stealth in the big city is exactly where they want to be.

Its no secret Coughlin is on the hot seat.  In a market that demands big things and in a position that is usually held accountable first and foremost before any of the players that actually play the games, Coughlin can’t expect to go 8-8 and think his job will be there waiting for him.

It doesn’t help that the Giants play in arguably the most competitive division in the NFL.  Where there’s a playoff atmosphere everytime the Giants visit one of their divisional foes which would be 6 games.  But nobody said it would be easy.

The big question coming into the season is are the Giants soft?  Every player has said the right thing, but how else to know other than letting the talking play out on the field?

The obvious parallels of football coaches and army generals can be seen.  Both lead by example and lay forth the game plan to attack the enemy and oversee all the army’s operations much in the same way that a coach oversees game planning against an opponent.

But like generals, coaches deal with disputes among their lower rank and file.  Coughlin has to find a new leader in the wake of Michael Strahan and Antonio Pierce’s retirements.  He has to mend the broken ego of his former starting RB who lost his role to his former back up and buddy.  He has a bunch of great defensive ends but they all can’t be on the field at the same time and need equal reps to keep from infighting.

So its on Commander in Chief Tom Coughlin to lead his troops into the jaws of a very unforgiving schedule and keeping the status quo alive.  The Giants have made the playoffs almost every season till last year in the Coughlin era.

Perhaps its not a coincedence he always has an army official speak in front of his team.  Maybe it does take an army commander to make a team tough again.  To re-institute the tough love that made him a successful coach, not the Super Bowl winning one.  But maybe the Giants just need to find that identity again.  If so, then maybe Commander in Chief Coughlin will have to lead his team.  Atteeeenchuuuuunnnn- Given.