Giants seek fresh start after ugly finish

Cigar smoke. Fried fish. An 8-8 season.

Sometimes you just have to open the windows and get the stink out.

That's exactly what the Giants have tried to do for the last month or so. They came into training camp grumbling about the way the 2009 season ended, looking to avenge their fall from 5-0 title contenders to .500 playoff spectators. The word "redemption" was on everyone's lips.

But now, on the brink of the 2010 regular season, the Giants say they aren't thinking about those 427 points allowed, second-most in franchise history. And they're not focusing on being outscored 85-16 in the final two games. Take a whiff. The smell of 2009 is just about gone.

Maybe it's a good thing they tore down the old stadium.

"There are no thoughts about last year," linebacker Michael Boley said. "We look at this as a new year, it's something totally different. I don't think anyone here is thinking about what happened last year. We're just looking forward to bigger and better things."

So forced is the amnesia that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks even refused to acknowledge the 41-9 loss to the Panthers - the same team the Giants open up against on Sunday - when asked about it last week.

Do you even remember that game? he was asked.

"Nope."

If only it were that easy to forget. The Giants know 2009 happened. They were there. They saw it. But like a monster under the bed, they just don't want to think about it or look for it.

"Last year was a disappointing year, especially defensively," Boley said. "For us to start the way we did and then to end the season the way we did on such a bad note, it left a bit of a sour taste in our mouth."

But Boley said the work they put in during the preseason helped rid that taste. So too has the new defensive scheme - and heartbeat - that coordinator Perry Fewell has brought to the team. The addition of Fewell was one of the few changes to the coaching staff, but it also represents a shift in defensive philosophy and temperament.

The Giants' defense reflected the stoicism of Bill Sheridan last year. Now with fiery Fewell in charge, the hope is that energy will return to the Giants defense and maybe even trickle its way over to the offense.

Fewell's defenses may be hard to define - even the players say he uses so many schemes he's not really using one system - but they are turnover-obsessed. They give up short completions underneath, protect against the deep threats, and roll the dice as much as possible. They've also shown flashes of creative looks in the preseason such as having defensive ends at linebacker or defensive tackle.

Of course not everyone on the Giants' defense was even here for 2009. They added players like Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant who had nothing to do with the way things played out. And Kenny Phillips is back after missing all but two games last season, which turned out to be a big reason for the downfall.

But even linebacker Keith Bulluck, a 10-year veteran brought in just before the start of camp in July, said he senses that the team - and in particular the defense - wants to put 2009 to rest.

"I think this defense is very motivated," he said. "I think a lot of people want to prove a few things individually, and I think that will make for a great team defense . . . I think that this defense is really ready to get out there and to see and to show what we've got."

Bulluck wasn't a part of the collapse, so he's free to draw lines between the last few games of 2009 and the start of 2010. "From what I understand, they kind of put it on us pretty bad last year," he said of opening against the Panthers. But Bulluck has his own things to prove. Not only is he coming back from a torn ACL in December, but he was unhappy with how his defense in Tennessee played last year.

"I actually have a bad taste in my mouth from my season last year because I like playing on top 10 defenses, hard nose defenses, and last year I didn't play on one," he said. "I think this team has the makings of being one of the top defenses in the league."

That would certainly clear the air.