ALBANY — Antrel Rolle and Keith Bulluck socialized a few times during the offseason and on each occasion, Bulluck had marching orders for Rolle:
“He kept telling me, ‘Antrel, put in a word with the coach,’ ” Rolle recalled.
Nothing Rolle did or said helped facilitate Bulluck’s signing with the Giants, but there’s no doubt the two veteran defensive players are in this together. Training camp kicked off yesterday and what the Giants hope will be a reshaping of their defensive mindset has much to do with the additions of Rolle, Bulluck and another safety, Deon Grant, all looking to fortify positions and help the unit return to its former glory.
Rolle arrives from Arizona to secure the free safety spot, an area devoid of effectiveness last season. Bulluck comes aboard to anchor the center of the defense at middle linebacker, a place left devoid of any experience with the retirement of Antonio Pierce.
“They’re going to demand respect by their play, as well as vocally,” safeties coach David Merritt said. “When we won [the Super Bowl] in ’07 you had Michael Strahan on the defensive line, he controlled that room. Antonio Pierce was right there with the linebackers, he controlled that room. At the same time you had a Sam Madison and James Butler that controlled the defensive backs. We’re back to that now. Bulluck was a big signing for us.”
Along with Rolle and Bulluck, the addition of Grant provides another safety who can command attention and respect. How quickly the newcomers can blend what they have done elsewhere in the NFL with what the Giants are trying to accomplish is the main goal of this 20-day camp.
“Hopefully the combination of the guys we have and the new players and the veteran aspect of it and what they bring in terms of the experiences they have, hopefully that will lend itself to one defensive personality and then, of course, one team,” coach Tom Coughlin said.
Merritt said he feels Rolle and Grant instantly change the makeup of the secondary, acknowledging it’s rare to import two new safeties and plop them into the starting lineup. Grant is a starter until Kenny Phillips proves he’s recovered from microfracture left knee surgery.
“The energy they bring to the table is just uncanny,” Merritt said. “Just the fact they’re always smiling.”
Bulluck, 33, is attempting to show that he can return to the form, following reconstructive left knee surgery, that made him a sturdy linebacker for a decade in Tennessee. Just seven months removed from a torn left ACL, Bulluck took part in the first practice of camp and even dove in an attempt to intercept a pass. Then he hopped right back onto his feet.
“I feel I’m going to be full tilt. I’m not holding back, I feel I’m fully prepared,” Bulluck said. “The training and rehab I’ve done for the last seven months to put me in this position is one of the litmus tests, the other is just banging and playing football again.”
Grant, 31, is in his 11th NFL season and already has had an affect on his new teammates, as he seems to be someone who others naturally follow. Immediately after Grant signed he was summoned by Merritt and told, “I need you to be the leader we need in the locker room first.”
It is rare when a player in his first season with a team can assume such a role, but Grant thus far is pulling it off.
“Deon and myself clicked the first day we got here,” said Rolle, 27, who spent the first four years of his career with the Cardinals. “He’s an extreme veteran, this being his 11th season and I follow in his footsteps a lot. Our communication level is off the roof. I still consider myself a young pup, I think the best years are yet to come.”