T-Rock's Take on the Giants

It’s the traditional short-week question: Which is greater, the physical or the mental challenge?

With the Giants, as they prepare for the Panthers on Thursday night, asking two players leads to two different answers.

“I think it’s more mental than anything,” Antrel Rolle said. “You just have to string everything together.”

Chris Snee, however, said the hard part is getting his...

Two days after the Bucs’ controversial decision to fire out at Eli Manning in an attempt to force a fumble despite an obvious kneel-down situation, the Giants were still steamed about the play.

Even though the move that was ordered by Bucs rookie head coach Greg Schiano, the former Rutgers coach, was not against the rules, some Giants players continued to take issue with the play.

“I...

Kenny Phillips said he was fined so many times last season “I was almost playing for free.” Those FedEx envelopes usually come from the league office on Wednesdays, he said, and he was a regular recipient of correspondence. So he would sometimes sneak around the facility, trying to avoid the mail room guys.

“A few times they tricked me,” Phillips said. “Nothing would be here on Wednesday but...

It’s no surprise that the three offensive players who were injured in the first half of the game against the Bucs were not practicing today as the Giants had their lone on-the-field preparation for the Panthers game on Thursday night.

David Diehl (knee), Domenik Hixon (concussion) and Ahmad Bradshaw (neck) were not even in the field house as the Giants practiced. The Giants have not addressed...

Corey Webster makes no secret of how he’d like to play cornerback.

“If it’s up to me, I would always line up and try to test out the receivers and battle them, putting hands on them,” he said. “But it’s not my call.”

That may be how the Giants advance for the foreseeable future, with a more physical, in-your-face, at-the-line approach to covering receivers. Especially with the Giants’...

The Prince Watch continues.

While Prince Amukamara made progress by practicing last week, he did not play in Sunday’s game against the Bucs due to the high ankle sprain he suffered in the preseason. Thursday against the Panthers, perhaps?

“We’ll see how he is having been able to rest here and hopefully he’ll be a little bit stronger,” Tom Coughlin said. “Maybe perhaps play with a minimal...

The Giants set or came close to a few offensive records today, many of which have stood for generations:

604: The Giants’ total offensive yardage against the Bucs, the second highest total in franchise history. The record of 609 yards was set on Dec. 3, 1950 in a 51-7 victory over the New York Yanks. This was the third 600-yard game in Giants history. They gained 602 yards in a 49-34 victory...

The Giants lost three key offensive players to injury in the first half of their game against the Bucs. David Diehl left with a right knee injury, Domenik Hixon left with a concussion and Ahmad Bradshaw left after having x-rays taken on his neck.

The Giants’ defense was already without two contributors as Prince Amukamara (ankle) and Keith Rivers (hamstring) were inactive.

The Giants...

Prince Amukamara’s 2012 debut will have to wait. Marvin Austin’s NFL debut will take place.

The top two draft picks in the Giants’ 2011 class, both of whom have been slowed by injuries throughout their short careers, were both hopeful of playing today against the Bucs. Amukamara, who sprained his ankle in the preseason, was ruled inactive by the Giants and will not play. Austin, who has not...

The Giants are at the bottom. The bottom of the standings in the division, near the bottom of the league in just about every NFL statistical category, and close to the bottomless pit that an 0-2 start is for a professional football team. All of which makes this game against the Bucs quite significant.

There will be lots of stories written in coming days focusing on the keys to this game. The...