The great Wellington Mara always viewed booing by the hometown fans as a sign of passion. At least they care. Empty seats, now that was trouble, that led to players getting jettisoned and coaches getting fired.
Apoplectic and apathetic are very different, and Mara knew it. Antrel Rolle, the spirited safety who has made the desired impact on the field in his first season with the Giants, needs a lesson.
Rolle lately has become more of an impact player, as defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has signaled in blitzes to take advantage of Rolle’s speed coming off the edge or even up the middle. When pressure is called for, Rolle can’t hesitate. He must go full-bore. But when it comes to critiquing those who help pay his $37 million contract, Rolle needs to slow down a bit.
As Rolle and the Giants left the field at halftime Sunday, the sound cascading down from high and low at New Meadowlands Stadium could not be misinterpreted. A minute or so earlier, David Garrard had slipped through the massive cracks in the Giants defense on a touchdown scramble that gave the Jaguars a 17-6 lead. It was a shockingly bad first-half showing from a defensive unit that was healthy and supposedly eager to pick up the slack for the battered offense. The fans let the home team have it with loud and lusty boos.
Rolle couldn’t believe it.
“You don’t boo your team, I don’t care what happens,” Rolle proclaimed yesterday on his WFAN radio spot, which on a weekly basis cannot be accused of being the typical athlete-speak ho-hummer.
“That’s my take on it. This is your home team, we’re out there pouring our heart out for our team and for our fans, you don’t boo your team. I don’t care what the situation is. We’re 7-4, we’re not 2-10. There’s going to be ups and downs during the course of a season, [not] under any circumstances should you boo your team. That’s just the reality of it.”
No, that’s not the reality of it. That’s the wishful-thinking, what-world-are-you-living-in take from a player who doesn’t yet understand what New York Giants football means to the masses who shell out money to watch their beloved Big Blue in action.
Rolle’s reaction was in sharp contrast to the way Justin Tuck dealt with the negative crowd reaction. Not long after the Giants completed a 24-20 comeback victory, Tuck was asked about the halftime serenade.
“If I paid as much as they paid for tickets and you play like we did in the first half I would have booed, too,” Tuck said.
Tuck is in his sixth season with the Giants; he knows the fervor he’s dealing with in the New York/New Jersey area. Rolle spent the first four years of his NFL career in the desert with the Cardinals in Arizona. He’s still getting accustomed to the way things work here.
“I don’t like it one bit,” Rolle said of the booing. “Those are my thoughts. We’re not going to always have those dominant blowout games. Through it all, our fans are huge. They play a critical part in our game, whether they know it or not. No, they’re not on the field. No, they’re not making the plays. But at the same time we need them to have confidence as we have confidence in ourselves. The booing, I got to admit, it [ticked] me off, it really did.”
Before offering his critique of the way the fans reacted, Rolle implored the paying customers to hold on for a ride he’s sure is going to end in Super Bowl glory.
“We know we don’t give the best of the best show all the time, but we are Giants. We are all as one — players, coaches, fans, organization. We are one,” Rolle said. “When we go to the big show as we are going to go this year and we win that thing and we’re gonna bring it home . . . we’re gonna all celebrate it as one.”
Rolle’s heart is in the right place, and he’s not really picking a fight here. He would be wise to heed the reaction of Wellington Mara, the legendary franchise patriarch, who thanked loyal fans for their ardor no matter what form it took.
Scuffed Skins still a threat
There’s not much the Redskins bring to town this weekend that frightens anyone. Their offense is broken down, decimated at running back (raise your hand if you know Keiland Williams or James Davis), uninspiring at receiver and sagging under the direction of Donovan McNabb.
They don’t stop the run very well and are last in the league in total defense. Strong safety LaRon Landry might be headed to injured reserve with an Achilles problem, and cornerback Carlos Rogers was forced out of last week’s loss to the Vikings after aggravating a hamstring injury.
The Skins aren’t the patsies who were humiliated 59-28 in Philadelphia, and usually they put up a fight before they go down. At 5-6, they’re headed nowhere, but if you’re a believer in last stands, this would be it for them.
“This game coming up against the Giants is a make-or-break game for the season,” veteran middle linebacker London Fletcher said.
Bland openings
What gives with the way the Giants’ offense starts games this season? There’s no one worse in the league when it comes to opening drives.
Against the Jaguars on Sunday, Lawrence Tynes hit a 22-yard field goal with 9:06 left in the first quarter, the first points the Giants scored all season on their first possession.
In the 10 previous games, the Giants five times ended their first series with punts, and five times the opening series ended with a turnover (three interceptions, two fumbles). The Giants haven’t scored a touchdown on their opening drive in 13 straight games, the NFL’s longest active streak.