Tom Coughlin rips Eli Manning for 'unbelievable' interceptions

Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin will be forever irrevocably connected to each other in New York Giants history for their two miraculous Super Bowl wins and their decade long relationship as mentor and protege.  Throughout it all, you never heard the head coach besmirch the play of Manning — either as a raw rookie or a struggling veteran —until now.

In what must have been a painful burst of criticism towards his quarterback's poor play against the Eagles Sunday, Coughlin ripped Manning for throwing three interceptions and pinned the devastating loss squarely on his signal caller.

"It all comes down to the interceptions," Coughlin said after the game. " Two of them were just unbelievable."

The 36-21 loss at home to Philadelphia sees the Giants (0-5) match their worst start in a non-strike season since 1979.

"I honestly believe that he’s trying so hard to get us a win, he’s almost put too much on himself," Coughlin said. "He keeps it all pretty much inside. I’m not making excuses. There were a couple of those plays that were terrible."

The quarterback — who now has a head-turning 12 interceptions on the season and hasn't heard boos like this in over six years— held himself accountable for the Giants’ latest debacle.

"I know I can play better," Manning said. "Sometimes, things are going to go wrong, but you’ve got to make the best decision. Throw it away, take a sack. I know I can’t keep turning the ball over every time."

Coughlin didn’t help the Giants with his own mistake. The coach, normally so attentive to detail, burned two timeouts on one play with 12:40 left in the third quarter, when LeSean McCoy’s tiptoeing catch gave the Eagles an apparent first down. Coughlin wasn’t initially sure if he wanted to challenge the play, so he called a timeout, and "just settled everybody down." When he elected to challenge and the play stood, he lost another timeout.

"I instinctively just took a timeout," he said. "Obviously, had I known in advance, I would have challenged first."

Coughlin was angry but still made sure he found Manning after the game to talk it over.

"I just grabbed him a moment in the locker room," said Coughlin. "He's way, way too good a player to have these things happen."

The boos probably drowned him out.

Giants counting on Manning to close gap in NFC East — Peyton Manning that is

If the New York Giants have any chance of salvaging this season, it sounds like the team believes it will have to pin their slim hopes on the broad shoulders of a Manning or two.

If there was ever a good time for Giants quarterback Eli Manning to cash in on a family favor — it couldn't have come at a better time than this weekend.

As the Oh-and-four Giants regroup after Sunday's  31-7 shellacking at the hands of the Chiefs, salvation might come in the form of a quarterback from another team —namely Eli's big brother Peyton.

The division-leading Cowboys play Peyton's Broncos on Sunday and it sounded like Eli is already counting on that game as a win for his big brother and his seemingly unstoppable offense.

"Dallas is going to Denver this week, so we feel we’ve got to get a win here and hopefully we’ll get a win and we can be one game back," said the optimistic Eli on Monday.

The game is actually being played in Dallas, but Eli's point is taken.

Luckily for the pathetic Giants, every other team in the NFC East are almost as bad. The Cowboys are on top with a 2-2 record and the Eagles and Redskins each have one victory. Even with a four game losing streak to start the season, the Giants are only two games back.

The Giants have an opportunity to close the gap on Sunday. Don't discount what a little brotherly love can do.

Andy Reid gets weird with Sal Paolantonio in postgame interview (VIDEO)

Things got a little pushy and a lot weirder as Kansas City Chiefs new coach Andy Reid made his way through the postgame scrum of reporters and photographers after his team had just defeated his former team the Eagles, 26-16, on his old stomping grounds at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

When ESPN's Sal Paolantonio approached the coach —after what had to be a gratifying and emotional victory — Reid went out of his way to avoid speaking to him. Reid even instructed a couple of bodyguards to lead interference for him.

Reid made no such fuss about getting hooked up with NFL Network's Alex Flanagan seconds later though.  Was Paolantonio jock-blocking Flanagan — whose network broadcast the game?

Still a very strange television moment.

Compare with the Alex Flanagan interview.

Lindsay Lohan getting cozy with ex-NFLer Matt Nordgren (Remember him?)

Lindsay Lohan has been getting cozy with Matt Nordgren, a 30-year-old former football player who starred on the defunct Bravo reality show “Most Eligible Dallas.”

Sources told N.Y. Post's Page Six Nordgren, who was in New York this week on business, is telling people the two are dating. Nordgren — who never threw a pass while he played one season for the Philadelphia Eagles after being a backup quarterback for Vince Young at the University of Texas — is reportedly having no problem hooking up with the troubled starlet.

Nordgren seems to know his way around the C-list dating pool. He’s also been linked to ­Vienna Giardi of “The Bachelorette” and “The Hills” star Audrina Patridge.

When Page Six quizzed Nordgren directly about dating ­Lohan, he said: “We’ve hung out. But I have been a friend trying to support her for many years now.”

He explained that he met the "Mean Girls" star about seven years ago through mutual friends in Los Angeles.

When asked if Lohan, who was spotted at the Purple magazine party at the Top of the Standard last week, was sober, he told the gossip site: “She’s completely sober for months now. She’s in a great place, she’s thinking clear and working hard and meeting with all the right people."

Good to know.

Cooper tells Eagles he's been threatened since racial slur video was released

Philadelphia Eagles receiver Riley Cooper has been sent threatening messages after a video of him making a racial slur became public.

The team said Sunday that Riley informed the club of the threats and did not know who made them. The team has notified the league's security department.

Cooper was fined by the Eagles after his slur became known Wednesday. He left the team Friday to seek counseling.

"Riley Cooper made us aware of the tweets when the video became public," the team said in a statement. "He told us that he did not know about the video. He informed us he blocked the tweets because he did not know the person nor understand the context of what that person was threatening.

"We promptly alerted NFL security. This information potentially speaks to a legal issue that is a matter between Riley and the authorities. Our focus has been on Riley's words and actions."

The video of Cooper was taken at a Kenny Chesney concert in June. Cooper apologized profusely both Wednesday and Thursday.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly has said Cooper's roster spot is not in jeopardy. Cooper has just 46 catches and five touchdowns in three years with the Eagles, but had been practicing with the starters after Jeremy Maclin's season-ending knee injury.

Asked when Cooper will return to the Eagles, Kelly said there's no time frame.

"When we do, we'll make sure we announce it so it's not going to be a surprise to anybody," Kelly said.

Giants' Dan Connor busted at airport with switchblade

New Giants linebacker Dan Connor has reportedly been arrested for carrying a switchblade knife at Philadelphia International Airport.

Philadelphia TV station WPVI reports that Connor, who grew up in the Philadelphia area, was arrested at 9 a.m. on Saturday when TSA agents spotted the knife and called police.

According to NBCPhiladelphia.com, Connor was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

We know New York is a tough place but maybe Conner thought he was joining the Jets — or the Sharks.

The 27-year-old Connor signed a one-year contract with the New York Giants in March. He played last season with the Cowboys after playing his first four NFL seasons with the Panthers, who took him out of Penn State in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. 

He is expected to compete for a starting job at middle linebacker this season.