The last-place Giants at 2-6 are only two games out of first place in the NFC East, but when Antrel Rolle was asked if they are “back,’’ he quickly shook his head.
“When it’s all said and done, we’re 2-6,’’ Rolle said on Monday. “We won our last couple games, which is a good thing. Are we back? We’ll be back once we reach that postseason. That’s when I’ll say we’re back. Right now, we’re grinding, fighting extremely hard.’’
Coach Tom Coughlin always prefers when the bye week comes at the direct midpoint of the season, but this year is a bit different, as the respite comes as the Giants, after an 0-6 start, are on a two-game winning streak. Players left the team facility by 2 p.m. Monday and do not have to return to work until next Monday morning.
“I think it’s perfect actually in the sense that it does come right at halftime of the season,’’ Justin Tuck said of the timing of the bye. “Once you get on a roll you want to keep playing, though, so I could see why guys would look at it that way. We’ve got to utilize this bye to our advantage and come back ready to go next week.’’
Rolle’s bye week plans: “I’m going home,’’ he said. “I’m going back to Miami, chill out, relax with the family, catch the Heat game that’s opening against Chicago, so I’m going to see what Derrick Rose has got and if my Heat boys go ahead and stomp on them and, you know, just relax with the family. That’s pretty much it.’’
Coughlin said he will take a break. When he had a weekend off two weeks ago after a Thursday night game, he had said he might take a look at the leaves to see if they’d changed colors. This time? “Are there any left?’’ he asked. “When I was a kid it was great because in those days you used to rake the leaves to the side of the road and you had the chestnuts and the leaves together. You knew it was fall.’’
Coughlin said there is no update on running back David Wilson, who has missed the last three games with a herniated disk in his neck that could end his season. … Coughlin gave a game ball to cornerback Terrell Thomas, who had 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack. The coach told the team, “Welcome back, Terrell.’’
After the 15-7 victory over the Eagles, you have to go back more than a decade to find the last time the Giants won a game without scoring a touchdown. Of course, everyone recalls that memorable 9-6 victory over the Seahawks on Sept. 22, 2002, on the strength of three Matt Bryant field goals. …Â The 2-6 record at midseason is the worst for the Giants in a non-strike season since they were 1-7 in 1980. … The Giants improved to 19-6 in games prior to a regular-season bye, an NFL-best winning percentage of .760.