The Giants stacked up in two of the divisional nods, including Best Rivalry for their vibrant narrative with the Philadelphia Eagles, while John Mara picked up "Best non-meddling owner" as decided by blogger Dan Graziano.
Big Blue holds the overall head-to-head ledger 80-72-2 (2-2 in playoffs) between the two franchises, but Philadelphia has won the last six meetings.
Before the slump, the last victory over the Eagles was a 36-31 romp at Lincoln Financial, which was the third in a row for the Giants. New York's longest winning streak has been nine games, a feat met twice from 1938-42 and more recently between the 1997 and 2001 seasons. However, Philadelphia holds the overall streak record, putting a stranglehold on the Giants for 12-straight games from 1975-81.
"(The Giants) will open the 2011 season, whenever it does open, determined to stop that streak and beat the team they believe is standing between them and the playoffs," Graziano, a New Jersey native, wrote. "The Eagles will open the season coolly confident that they have the Giants' number. The head-to-head matchups (Week 3 at Philadelphia and Week 11 at home on Sunday night) will be the two must-see NFC East games of the year."
Meanwhile, juxtaposed with Jerry Jones as the Best Meddling Owner, Mara has never appeared on "Entourage" but "the attention Mara gets is all the right kind of attention."
The oldest son of the late NFL patriarch Wellington Mara, the current co-owner took over the team in 2005 and continues to be one of the most respected figures in the league.
"Mara always strikes the right tone," wrote Graziano, who was tempted to award Philadelphia's Jeffrey Lurie. "And he's a worthy successor to the family members who preceded him at the helm of one of the league's signature franchises."
Graziano then stirred things up in his final distinction and named the Washington Redskins as having the Best Fan Base, putting them up there with the likes of Red Sox fans in Boston, Chiefs fans in Kansas City and Red Wings fans in Detroit.
"I wasn't going to go here because there were like 20 other categories to choose from and, really, what's to be gained by picking this one?" Graziano wrote. "But I have lived among Eagles fans. I have lived among Giants fans. I have ample experience with a wide variety of people who are passionate about their teams … And I have never, ever, ever encountered a group of people more intensely invested in the fortunes of their favorite team than the fans of the Washington Redskins."
