Antrel Rolle calls rest of season 'challenge of the heart'
Giants safety Antrel Rolle watches the action as he takes a break on the sidelines at training camp in East Rutherford, N.J. on Aug. 5, 2014. Credit: Joe Epstein
Antrel Rolle said the Giants are playing the next month for "a bigger goal" than the playoffs, which is something he conceded the team will not accomplish.
"Going through a playoff and a postseason and eventually playing for a Super Bowl is always the ultimate goal when you play in this league," he said in his weekly appearance on WFAN Tuesday. "But I think there is a bigger goal that has the same effect. It has nothing to do with the NFL or any other level that you're on. It has to do with the competitor inside you. Who are you? What are you here for? What is your purpose? Are you here just to play the game and collect a check? Are you here just to get a win? Or are you here to go out and show that you are as tough as everyone thinks you are, no matter how bad or how tough times may get, you're going to continue to rise up and continue to fight?"
The Giants have already been eliminated from contention for the NFC East title and could be mathematically eliminated from a wild card with a loss or if the Eagles and Lions win and the Packers win Sunday. That leaves them with five games to prove . . . something.
"It's going to be a challenge of the heart, a challenge of the mind, and who are we as a team?" Rolle said. "Are we quitters or are we a team that is going to get up and fight no matter what the outcome is?"
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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