Reese's 'non-guarantee' comes to pass

Jerry Reese called it. At least the first part.

Back in training camp, when his team seemed to be falling apart and free agents were leaving and the front office seemed to be paralyzed, the general manager made the bold prediction that the Giants would get into the playoffs this year and make a run.

Some took that as a guarantee. Reese has spent the last five months saying it was not.

"It got spun as a promise or a guarantee," Reese said Sunday night after the Giants beat the Cowboys, 31-14, and clinched the NFC East title. "I was giving our team confidence that I believe in them that we will make those plays, we will make the playoffs. It wasn't a guarantee. It was just I believe in our team. We have good players, we have good coaches and I think we'll make the plays this time."

Now that they're in, Reese hopes the second part of his non-guarantee will come to fruition.

"It's a whole different ballgame now, it's a different level when playoff time rolls around," he said. "We're battle-tested. We've had a tough schedule. We're getting healthy. But you've got to focus and do the things it takes to win. You've got to match the physical contest . . . We're playing pretty good right now. I do expect us to play better and continue to rise the momentum."

Reese may not have guaranteed a playoff spot, but safety Antrel Rolle did on his weekly radio interviews and other forums.

"It's overly satisfying," said the safety, who had a key interception for the Giants against the Cowboys. "We were long overdue for this moment, for this opportunity, and we came out here and we captured it as a team. We knew we needed two wins back-to-back in order to make ourselves eligible for this season, and I think everyone threw in all of their poker chips. We're all in."

Rolle was asked what spurred his guarantees.

"I feel certain things," he said. "I'm not a psychic, but I know the talent on this team. I know how hard we work. I know that once we jell, the sky is the limit for us. That's what I've been preaching and it's what I believe in. I don't need anyone to write down what I believe, it's something that I believe, and thank God it came true today.

" . . . We're jelling. It's a work in progress and we're going to continue to work. Right now this game doesn't matter. The Jets game doesn't matter. It's all about what we put on the stamp come Sunday."

Reese agrees that the team is coming together at the right time.

"Last couple of weeks, it's basically been win or go home," he said. "You can call it the playoffs if you want to. But now it's the real playoffs. We're raring to go."