Giants have deep safety net in Grant, Phillips, Rolle

Deon Grant was not happy. He'd been brought to the Giants to play, and it looked as though that wasn't going to happen.

Kenny Phillips was back and had resumed his position as a starting safety. So Grant expressed his disappointment and frustration as the team inched closer to the regular-season opener.

Turns out he had nothing to worry about. The question - how can a team fit three top-notch safeties into two starting jobs? - was answered by coordinator Perry Fewell. You just play with three safeties.

That's what the Giants have been doing with Grant, Phillips and Antrel Rolle, helping to boost them to the NFL's No. 1- ranked defense. "Oh, I definitely was wondering,'' Grant said, referring to how he would fit in. "I even mentioned it right before the first game, but like I've said before, coach Fewell has been doing a great job as far as getting the guys on the field. He has a tough job."

Many teams feature nickel packages with a safety in the box as a linebacker. The Giants did that in 2008 when they had Phillips, Michael Johnson and James Butler play at the same time. But this new scheme under Fewell uses them more than most and relies on the two most physical of the safeties - Grant and Rolle - to learn new jobs almost on a weekly basis.

"He has my brain spinning at times," Rolle said. "He always tells me, 'Antrel, if it's too much, just let me know.' But of course, me being the guy that I am, I would never admit it was too much, so I always do the best that I can to make sure I get it down pat."

Rolle was big in stopping the Texans' running game last week, cleaning up all of the cutbacks forced by the defensive line. "I didn't know I was such a big guy to stop all of these running backs and offensive linemen who are pulling," he said.

Grant, too, has been playing in the box and covering slot receivers and tight ends. "Physically, I look like a linebacker, but then I'm still running like a DB," said Grant, who is listed at 6-2 and 215 pounds.

Fewell said one of the proudest moments was when Rolle said he would have to go home Wednesday night and study. "We're trying to use him in a creative way," Fewell said.

He also said that because of Grant's experience, he is able to confidently plop him into various situations. "He can execute these things for you," Fewell said, "whereas a rookie or a second- or third-year player is just trying to get lined up in the right spot and execute the defense that's called."

Grant doesn't mind. He's just happy to be playing. "We just couldn't wait until he put that [three-safety] package in and we'd really see how it's going to unfold," Grant said. "We didn't expect it was going to unfold the way it did, but we're definitely happy about it."