Did Grant fake one for team? Giants say no

Deon Grant may have made the best defensive play of the night Monday for the Giants. It wasn't a tackle or an interception. It was -- or at least it certainly appeared to be -- a flop.

St. Louis was driving in the second quarter with a hurry-up offense that had the Giants dizzy, and after an 8-yard run by Cadillac Williams set up second-and-2 from the 7, Grant was walking back to the line of scrimmage when he suddenly fell to the turf and grabbed his knee.

Eventually he got to his feet, jogged off, and was back a play later. The Giants ultimately got their heads on straight, and held for a field goal. The play sparked debate around the NFL: Was it a case of veteran savvy or manipulating the rules? Or both?

The NFL will not discipline the Giants or Grant unless they admit he was faking. Tuesday, Tom Coughlin maintained that he thought Grant had a cramp and Antrel Rolle, in a radio interview, said that Grant did complain after the game about a knee injury. "I don't know if it was on that particular play or not," Rolle said.

Grant and rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams both hit the turf at about the same time, but Williams bounced back up and remained on the field.

Grant is not the first and he won't be the last player to take a dive to slow down a driving offense. Up in Foxborough, Mass., Bill Belichick was asked about that strategy. He said it's up to the offense to treat it like any other break in the momentum such as an official review or a challenge. "Or, you know, a beach ball rolls onto the field or it could be a dog runs out there," he said. "It could be anything. Streakers. Things happen."

Luckily, Grant's way of stopping the offensive flow had him fully clothed. "This is the NFL," Rolle said. "No one is dumb in this league. Many teams do it all the time. In my eyes as a veteran it was an extremely smart play on their behalf . . . if they were in fact faking."