Giants Q&A: Reaction to Pierce's injury
What was the immediate reaction of many Giants when they learned that Antonio Pierce, their defensive leader, would be out indefinitely with a bulging disc in his neck?
Laughter. Osi Umenyiora said he received a text from Pierce on Friday night telling him about the results of his hastily scheduled MRI, but Umenyiora thought he was joking. It wasn't until Umenyiora woke up on Saturday morning and saw the information on the ESPN crawl that he believed it. And Pierce actually called Justin Tuck on Friday night to tell him the bad news. "I thought he was playing," Tuck said. "I was laughing at first. But then the laughing stopped."
How is Brandon Jacobs?
The running back took a hit to the right knee from Thomas DeCoud late in the third quarter and did not return, although he was riding an exercise bike on the sideline and said he could have come back in. He didn't see the field after the injury, but he did make it to midfield for the all-important overtime coin toss. "I got that right," said Jacobs, even though he and the Giants were just spectators at that point as Atlanta called tails and it came up heads.
Is Aaron Ross a safety?
"No," he said vehemently after playing the position all game long in sub packages. "I'm still a corner helping out at safety." He said there were times when he almost slipped into cornerback mode but had to remind himself he was playing a different position. "There were a few times where I saw a guy ran an out and I was ready to jump it,'' he said, "but I have to go 'Oh, man, let me stay back.' "
Whatever he calls himself, at least he's back on the field, right?
Yes. Ross missed the first nine games of the season with a series of hamstring injuries that went all the way back to training camp. He said he nearly hyperventilated during pregame warm-ups, and when there was no contact for him on his first play on the field, he tried to rectify it. "I just ran up to somebody and bumped him a little just to get something out of me," he said.
The Giants don't have much time to enjoy this win, do they?
Nope. They'll be on the practice field Monday preparing for Thursday's game in Denver. "It's tough to imagine right now that we have to play in four days," Chris Snee said. "I think everyone will live in the cold tubs, and when it's time to play, we'll be ready to play."
