Giants happy to get second shot at Packers

Maybe we should start calling him Antrel Rolle-stradamus.

The Giants safety has made a few predictions this season, most of which have started coming true. He said the Giants would make the playoffs, and they did. He suggested they would beat Atlanta, and they did. And when they lost to the Packers Dec. 4, he proclaimed that they would have a rematch before the season was over.

"I don't have any crystal ball, I'm not trying to be Miss Cleo," he said Monday. "It's just something I feel."

The Giants clearly believe that they were not at their best when they nearly beat the then-undefeated Packers -- or at least nearly sent the game into overtime -- but lost, 38-35, on a field goal as time ran out. And there's reason for them to believe that.

They were without the injured Osi Umenyiora, who said he was somewhere in the stadium chasing his son, who would not sit still to watch the game. Justin Tuck was a non-factor, still fighting through neck, groin and ankle injuries. Michael Boley was playing on one leg in his first game back from a hamstring injury. And Chase Blackburn had been at home on his couch watching the Giants all season until that week, when he was called in to play linebacker.

All four of those guys now are playing at a high level -- as is the defense as a whole -- which is why the Giants think they have a good shot at upending the defending Super Bowl champs in Sunday's divisional playoff game at Lambeau Field. As Boley said: "The best is yet to come."

The Giants drew on that loss to the Packers, even though it wasn't their best game. They did allow 38 points. In the last three games, though, they've given up 30 total points, two on a safety.

"We're playing much better as a collective unit," Boley said. "We've kind of cut out those small mental errors that were kind of killing us before. Before, it was one little thing that was leading to big plays. And it wasn't the same thing, it was just one thing here, one thing there. We kind of eliminated that."

The Giants were uplifted by that loss almost as much as they were by any victory this season, certainly up to that point. They had just dropped three straight, including a drubbing by the Saints and a fourth-quarter loss to the Eagles and backup quarterback Vince Young.

As good as they felt about the Packers game, though, they were bitter about losing.

"We blew an opportunity," Chris Canty said. "We had our chances in that football game. We didn't take advantage of them. And as close as the game was, it was still a loss."

Referring to the Packers game, Tuck said, "I think every time you come out of a game like that, you think about the opportunities missed or if a call had went this way or we would have called a different play or whatever it may be . . . Hopefully, it happened for us as a testament to redemption. So that's something that's going to be on our minds."

And what of the prophet from South Florida? What does Rolle think of all this coming to fruition? "This is what we all wanted," he said. "We all wanted the opportunity for greatness and right now, we're making strides as a team to go out and get the job done . . . I did want to see those guys again, and our wish is being granted come Sunday."