Giants cop attitude facing Patriots
New York Giants' Antrel Rolle (26) talks with teammate Kenny Phillips (21) during the first quarter of an NFL football game at New Meadowlands Stadium. (Sept. 26, 2010) Credit: AP
It worked once before, maybe it can work again.
The Giants are the underdogs heading into their game against the Patriots on Sunday, and they appear to be rather indignant about it. It was only Wednesday but they already appeared to have had their share of questions about the Great Tom Brady, the Unstoppable Wes Welker, and the Genius of Bill Belichick.
So when he was asked about the league's leading receiver and what makes him so difficult to cover, Giants safety Antrel Rolle shrugged it off.
"I don't know," he said. "You have to ask those guys he's giving trouble to. I don't plan on having to answer those questions."
Sound familiar? It was the same kind of attitude the Giants brought with them to Glendale four years ago when they toppled the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. This game certainly doesn't have the ramifications of that one, and the Patriots, while a significant 81/2-point favorite at home on Sunday, are not nearly as invincible looking as the undefeated team that came one game away from immortality in 2007.
But for the first time this season, the Giants have put their moxie on with the helmets and shoulder pads. Tom Coughlin's motto last week when the team faced the Dolphins was "Respect all, fear none." The emphasis against the winless team was on the first part. The emphasis this week is on the second.
"We're not too shabby," safety Kenny Phillips said of the Giants' secondary, which is being overlooked a bit this week. "I think we're pretty good ourselves. Whatever we do as far as playing man or whatever coverage we're in, I think we match up well against them."
While the Giants are feeling confident, they certainly aren't overlooking the Patriots. Both teams are 5-2. But Phillips said he knows that the perception outside the locker room is that the Giants have not yet beaten any quality teams.
"We really don't care," he said. "But if we win this, which I feel we will, the outside world will say the Giants are now a great team."
The Patriots also are coming off a loss, so there is an immediate blueprint for beating them. The Steelers picked apart their weak secondary, held the ball on offense for over 39 minutes, and pressured Brady and his targets with physical play.
Coughlin said that he doesn't even recall the game plan he employed against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The Steelers supplied a refresher course.
"They played ball," Rolle said of the Steelers' performance. "They didn't do anything spectacular, they weren't double-teaming, they just lined up and they kicked their ----. Bottom line. That's what they did. They stayed on them the whole game, not just Wes Welker, the whole team. They played great ball."
Win or lose, after the Patriots game the Giants' daunting schedule continues with a trip to division-leading San Francisco and upcoming games against the Saints, Packers and rejuvenated Eagles. Rolle had the same unimpressed attitude about that run of foes as he showed about Welker and the Patriots.
"I don't worry about our schedule," he said. "I think our schedule needs to worry about us."
Rolle did say he is looking forward to playing against such a high-powered and well-known offense.
"I love challenges, I love going against the best, and [Brady] is definitely one of the quarterbacks of the decade," he said. "What's said doesn't determine what happens on Sunday. I think we're all aware of that. If you look at last Sunday, who would have said the Rams would beat the Saints? No one. At the end of the day the game has to be played on Sunday and we're going to go out there and give our best performance. We'll let the talking happen after the game."
