Sometimes, when you don’t give up on a player, and when the player does not give up on himself, you are rewarded by memorable moments and days like this, when you find yourself in a death struggle at home against the Raiders and you are saved by the two Giants who can teach the rest of the team life lessons on belief and resiliency and courage and perseverance.
Greg Gadson, an Army colonel who lost both his legs in Iraq, a real-life Wounded Warrior, can recognize and appreciate more than most of us what a Wounded Warrior means in football.
Gadson, forever the inspirational captain of the Giants, was on the sidelines in his wheelchair Sunday alongside Tom Coughlin’s pal General Ray Odierno when Terrell Thomas changed the complexion of the game and maybe the season when he intercepted Terrelle Pryor and returned it 65 yards to the Oakland 5, where he looked skyward to the Man Above. Two plays later from the 1, Andre Brown was in the end zone, where he pointed to the heavens from his knees to thank the same Man Above.
“It was funny, General Odierno and I were just kinda talking about that on the sideline,” Gadson told The Post inside the Giants locker room, “How they both personified resiliency … I mean, not giving up … not just to recover, but to operate at the highest level. It really shows tremendous resilience, perseverance and kinda the character of who they are.”
It was Raiders 20, Giants 14 because Eli Manning had thrown a pick-six and Jerrel Jernigan had fumbled away seven points on the opening kickoff. Pryor was facing third-and-9 at the Giants 33 before Thomas passed the baton to Brown, who gave the Giants a 21-20 lead, and it was Giants 24, Raiders 20 when it was over.
“They both had plays that made a difference,” Gadson said, “and how fitting the fact that those two individuals on both sides of the ball have overcome some tremendous challenges.
“That’s what Veterans Day’s about, huh?”
Terrell Thomas: The Giant who has overcome three ACL surgeries — two in the last two season.
“I’m not close to where I was,” he said. “My knee still hurts, it’s still swollen, I’m still battling. Probably about 80, 90 percent. … It’s tough, but I definitely feel like I’m turning the corner. I’m about 14 months post-surgery, so that’s when your knee starts feeling better. I think the game’s slowing down to me more than anything.”
He made that interception in practice off the same formation.
“His heart,” Antrel Rolle said, “is the size of Texas.”
Andre Brown: The Giant who has overcome the NFL scrap heap and two broken legs in the past year, the second one in preseason, made his season debut with 30 carries for 115 yards, and pounded the Silver & Black into submission in the final 3:21 with his trusted new shinguard.
“I carried it 30 times? It felt like 50,” Brown cracked.
The last time he had 30 carries?
“Probably my sophomore year in college [at N.C. State],” he said.
You bet he was sore. But it was a good sore.
“Cold tub it up, a little salt, and let’s ride,” he said.
It is impossible to measure how gratifying it was for Dr. Ronnie Barnes and the Giants training staff to witness what unfolded in front of them Sunday.
“Terrell Thomas going through three ACLs is as difficult as anything we’ve ever had. … We stuck with him, worked with him, rehabbed him, we spent time in California … and he had to persevere … he is amazing, because most people would have given up,” Barnes told The Post. “He had two allografts, and the last one he had a tendon bone graft, and I think he’s gonna play for a long time. And with Andre Brown, he broke his leg, he had a very tiny fracture. … Unless it healed, he couldn’t play. He did everything from electric bone stimulation to help heal, to being at therapy every day, never missing a day. Both of ’em love football, they’re dedicated to it … and again, extreme perseverance by both of them.”
Because of the hardships they have endured, there is a mutual respect between them, and so Brown sought out Thomas on the sideline after his touchdown.
“Good job,” Brown said.
“Keep running the rock,” Thomas responded.
Jon Beason, back from a torn Achilles: “Anytime something’s taken away from you that you really value, you appreciate it. And given the opportunity, or the blessing to get it back, you hold onto it.”