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Before the ink was even dry on the contract Antrel Rolle late Friday night signed with the Giants, the imagination took him to the field, alongside Kenny Phillips, a pair of former University of Miami athletes filling the two safety positions for the Giants.
Just how good can that tandem be?
“The best in the league, hands down, without a doubt,” Rolle said yesterday. “I know what we’re capable of and I know as a unit what ability we have to get things done. It’s up to us to establish that relationship and that chemistry to make sure we’re on the same page.
“The sky’s the limit for us. I think it’s going to be a dynamic duo.”
That’s what the Giants envision and why they opened the vault and secured Rolle with a five-year, $37-million deal that includes $15 million in guaranteed money. That’s more than top dollar for a safety, but the Giants were sick of seeing their secondary exploited in 2009 and Rolle figures to go a long way in ensuring that doesn’t happen again.
Rolle, 27, actually presented an award to Phillips when Phillips was coming out of Carol City High School in Miami, and the two have stayed close ever since. Phillips is rehabbing from micro-fracture surgery on his left knee, and there is no guaranteed he will make a complete recovery. But if he does, the Giants should have two interchangeable safeties capable of covering, hitting and even pressuring the quarterback.
“We’re going to have a brotherhood relationship,” Rolle said. “I’m going to make sure he’s doing whatever it takes to get back on the field and be my partner, side by side.”
Once the Dolphins dropped out of the bidding, it came down to a battle between the Giants and Rolle’s former team, the Cardinals, for his services. Rolle said the Cardinals were willing to match any offer.
“For the most part when I came here [Friday] to visit it reminded me of a feeling I once had when I went to visit the University of Miami when I was getting recruited,” Rolle said. “I just felt like I was at home here. It kind of made the decision a lot easier, but at the same time it was a very tough decision.”
Coach Tom Coughlin described Rolle as “an energetic, very likeable, bubbly young guy that is very, very impressive in terms of his ability, his football knowledge and his desire to learn more and to know more about the game.”
This is not a player who is afraid to state his case.
“I am definitely a head hunter and I want to make sure my presence is felt,” Rolle said.
No one needs to explain that to tight end Kevin Boss, who was leveled on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Rolle after a 25-yard reception in a 24-17 loss to the Cardinals on Oct. 25 at Giants Stadium. Boss suffered soreness in his back and shoulders.
“It feels like I got in a car wreck,” Boss said after the game. “In that spot I never really blame the guy. . . . He’s going for the ball.”
Rolle wasn’t called for a penalty on the play but was later hit with a fine of $7,500.
“When I am on the field I hold no pity for the next man,” Rolle said. “But I never try to go out there and try to hurt any opponent because his career is just as valued as mine.”
That game made quite an impression on the Giants, as Rolle sealed Arizona’s victory with a late fourth-quarter interception off Eli Manning.
“That last play of the game I was hurt. I tore my plantar fascia at that point, [and] I was very limited as to what I could do,” Rolle said. “It was supposed to be a typical cover-2 coverage and I pretty much tweaked it on my own. Sometimes you have to take a gamble, you have to take a chance, that comes from a lot of film study and understanding the concepts of your opponent. I guessed right.”
paul.schwartz@nypost.com