Antrel Rolle: Giants need to get 'nasty'

Antrel Rolle believes he knows one way to get the Giants out of their inconsistent ways and steer them toward the playoffs.

Get nasty and stop kissing butts.

“I think we just need to get back to being a little nasty, having a nasty attitude,” Rolle said Tuesday on his weekly WFAN spot. “Don’t do anything that’s out of the line of football, but have a little nasty attitude, get a little bit more dog in us, and go out there and play the game. Play the game physical, play the game tough, play the game hard, and we’ll give hugs and kisses after the game. But while that game is going on, we respect no one. And that’s how the game of football needs to be played.”

Rolle sounded off a day after the Giants blew a huge chance to take command of the NFC East. Instead of seizing control, the Giants made it a three-team race, as their 17-16 loss to the Redskins leaves the Giants at 7-5 and the Redskins and Cowboys both only one game back at 6-6.

Did Rolle make sure to sound this alarm at this precise time? After all, it was almost exactly a year ago, after a loss to the Redskins dropped the Giants to 7-7, when Rolle stood in front of his locker and challenged his teammates to ignore their aches and pains and get on the practice field, to indeed be “All in.’’ That became the rallying cry for the Giants as they won their last two regular-season games and then won four straight in the postseason to capture their second Super Bowl triumph in a four-year span.

Rolle now is sounding a familiar theme, all-but pleading for the Giants to get back to a “dog mentality’’ where they stop giving so much credit to the other team and start pounding away on the opponents.

“Personally, that’s something myself, that’s not anything I’ve been too fond of,” Rolle said. “Do I respect my opponents? I respect them. You know, I’ll give credit when credit’s due. But I’m not gonna kiss anyone’s butt before the game. That’s something that I’m never, ever gonna do as long as I’m playing the game of football.’’

As for the loss to the Redskins, Rolle said “I don’t see enough dog out there on the field. I don’t see enough manhandling out there on the field, and I don’t see us putting opponents away when we know we could.”

Rolle at first said he did not think the Giants got “pushed over’’ by the Redskins but quickly changed his tune.

“At certain times we did,’’ he said. “I think at certain times we did get pushed over. To me, there wasn’t a more important game in the season than that game last night.”


(nypost.com)