Antrel Rolle: 0-4 Giants can win rest of their games
Antrel Rolle looks on during a preseaosn game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. (Aug. 18, 2013) Credit: Jim McIsaac
After an 0-4 start, some Giants may feel like hiding under the table. Antrel Rolle is looking to run it.
"I believe we can go 12-0 from this point on,'' the safety and defensive captain said Monday. "I truly believe that and I'm not [just] saying that, and people may look at me like I'm crazy. But you know, I couldn't really give a damn at this point. This is what I truly believe. I know the talent of this team. I know the mind-set of this team. We just have to go out and put it together.''
Rolle said as much to his fellow Giants players after asking Tom Coughlin for a chance to address the team during its morning meeting after the 31-7 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. He told them that the first quarter of the season is over and that there is nothing they can do about the first four games except put them behind them.
"I told the guys today, we just have to believe we can do it,'' Rolle said. "Once you train your mind and really believe it, not just tell yourself that you believe it but really actually believe it, that's when a lot of things are going to come together.''
Rolle does not usually address the team in such a structured way, but Coughlin welcomed his thoughts.
"After I finished, he came up and had a couple of minutes,'' Coughlin said. "He said, 'I'm not standing up here as if I have all the answers.' He just mentioned that 'I do have something I want to say' and it is with all good intentions.''
Perhaps it is helpful to have a fresh voice, because when a team is in a losing rut, the monotony can be deflating. The preseason games may not count, but the Giants haven't tasted victory in seven games over almost two full months.
"It's rough, coming in here on Monday,'' Cullen Jenkins said. "It's like you're listening to the same speeches, it's the same type of feelings.''
Even Rolle said he's found himself falling into that trap and teetering toward the naysayers.
"I consider myself as being extremely mentally tough and can pretty much overcome anything, and I even find myself at times like, 'Man, again are we going to do this?' '' Rolle said. "I find myself doubting at certain times. I'm human. I wish I could tell my mind not to doubt, but I'm human and it's going to happen. I know if it happens to myself, I know it can happen to anyone.''
The one salvation for the Giants is that as poorly as they are playing, no one is running away with the division. And while they play the team from the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday, they will be counting on a brotherly favor to help close the gap. Peyton Manning's 4-0 Broncos will be playing the first-place Cowboys (2-2) in Dallas.
"So we feel we've got to get a win here,'' Eli Manning said, "and hopefully we'll get a win and we can be one game back.''
Coughlin said he also pointed out the perils of the other teams' schedules in the division, drawing a path back into contention for the Giants. It was the first thing he addressed Monday.
"It doesn't mean a whole lot unless you win,'' he added.
That doesn't seem to be an obstacle in the Giants' minds. At least not to those who believe in the Book of Antrel.
"Y'all haven't heard the last of us,'' Rolle said.
Notes & quotes: Despite the recent struggles -- only one touchdown, on a 69-yard pass, in two games -- Coughlin said he won't make any changes to the way the offense operates. "I'm very confident in our offensive coaches,'' he said . . . Jenkins said he injured his right knee and Achilles tendon in the game and was wearing a protective boot. He hopes to be able to play Sunday against his former team, the 1-3 Eagles . . . Coughlin had no updates on any injured players, but Jason Pierre-Paul, who had a knee contusion late in Sunday's game, was walking well in the locker room . . . It doesn't sound as if the Giants will bring in kickers for tryouts after Josh Brown missed a field-goal try for a second straight game. "I'll talk to Josh,'' Coughlin said. "We'll visit.'' . . . After all the hand-wringing over inexperienced linemen Jim Cordle and James Brewer starting against the Chiefs, how did they play? "They did OK,'' Coughlin said. "I wish, obviously, it would have been perfect, but they did OK.''
