The Post’s unprecedented New York Super Bowl Giants Roundtable Q&A brings together champions from each of the franchise’s three Super Bowl winners.
Hall of Fame Harry Carson (XXI), George Martin (XXI), Sean Landeta (XXI and XXV), Leonard Marshall (XXI and XXV) and current star defensive end Justin Tuck (XLII) joined Post columnist Steve Serby at the Timex Performance Center this week to reminisce about many of the impactful figures and events that shaped their lives and defined what it means to be a Giant.
Over the course of a riveting hour-and-a-half journey back in time, the champion Giants share their fond remembrances of the late, great Giants owner Wellington Mara, former coach Bill Parcells and his assistants Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin, the incomparable Lawrence Taylor and Elite Eli Manning.
Carson and Martin, eyewitnesses to The Fumble that altered the course of Giants history, recall the joy of winning the Giants’ first championship eight years later, while Tuck, seven days from capturing his second championship in Super Bowl XLVI, listens intently as Landeta and Marshall compare their emotions winning their second to winning the first one.
Sit back and enjoy the Big Blue version of Champions Forever.
VIDEO: GIANTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
Q: What was your reaction on draft day when you knew you would be in New York?
Martin: I was projected to go in the first round — I was a college tight end at one time, I was ranked No. 2 in the nation. The problem was, the guy who was ranked No. 1 was also on my team, Russ Francis. So the New England Patriots wanted to draft me as a tight end but they didn’t think that Russ would be available. Russ was available, they drafted him in the first round, and I lingered around until the 11th round and was drafted by the New York Giants. … I was scared to death, going to the concrete jungle; I’m a country boy. I went to school in Oregon, which is pretty rural. I thought that New York city was literally all concrete.
Carson: I didn’t find out until the 11 o’clock sports that I’d been drafted by the New York Giants.
Q: What did you know about the Giants?
Carson: Very little, except that I remember that they had two Hall of Famers who came to scout me — Rosey Brown and Emlen Tunnel. And like George, I was a little afraid, intimidated about coming to New York City, but my mother used to live in Newark, so at least I had some kind of understanding of what the area was about.
Q: Justin, what was your reaction on draft day?
Tuck: Kinda like George said, I’m a country boy. I thought I wanted to stay one. Being in rural Alabama all my life, and then having an opportunity to go to Notre Dame, not really knowing what to expect coming to the concrete jungle. But I understood that it was a great opportunity, it was an honor to be drafted by a franchise like this. I knew about the franchise growing up a huge football fan … knew about the Mara and the Tisch family, and what it meant … ’cause obviously, I got the opportunity to watch these guys play football. I was excited about it, but a little bit upset, because I too was projected to be a first-round pick. Coming out of college, that whole macho thing about a first-round pick is all you can think about at that point in time, so when it didn’t happen, it was a little bit upsetting, But honestly, looking back on it, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Q: Sean, you won two championships in the USFL (Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars) before joining the Giants in 1985.
Landeta: Ironically, coming out of college at Towson University, all the NFL teams sent you questionnaires to fill out, and my senior year in 1982, the Giants sent me one, and it’s the only one I didn’t send back, because they had a punter who was outstanding and I knew there’s no way they were gonna need me. At the time there was no free agency in the NFL, but because I came from another team, I kinda had free agency, so I was talking to Seattle, Dallas, Washington, the Giants. … The first guy to say hello and be nice to me my first day was Mr. George Martin. … I was very glad I was here ’cause 1984 the Giants had gone to the playoffs, and I really felt they were a team on the rise and that turned out to be true.
Q: Leonard, talk about the day you were drafted?
Marshall: Only thing I recall saying to [Bill] Parcells was that I would like to try to play 10 years, and wherever I went, I’d like to play for a team that’s strong-minded on defense. … He kept telling me about playing with guys like Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor and George Martin and Brad Van Pelt and the variety of guys that they had here, and that this thing would change, and I would be part of that change, because it was his opportunity as a rookie head coach to create change … and that he wanted to win. He didn’t care about politics. He didn’t care about who was here before. He planned on cleaning house and bringing in winners, so that whole thing changed my whole mindset.
Q: What do you remember about Harry Carson and George Martin in 1983?
Marshall: Well both of these guys made a major impact on my career. George in a very unique way, in that George was more like a big brother, and George was very influential in terms of me gaining stability early on … showing me the ropes, what would make me a better pro.
Q: 1983 George, what do you remember about your new head coach, Bill Parcells?
Martin: From our standpoint, being defensive players, we were very upset that we lost him as our defensive coordinator — we didn’t want to share him with the rest of the team. We knew we had a really unique commodity, because Bill instilled a sense of camaraderie and a sense of superiority, which we never had before. We were pretty much doormats of the league prior to Bill coming in. And he came in with such an enthusiasm and such an intelligence, and he explained the game to us for the first time, which I never had been exposed to.
Carson: Well, as George alluded to, Bill was my position coach, before he became head coach. So I knew him on a much different level. And with Brad [Van Pelt] and Brian [Kelley], we were guys who sorta hung out, and he allowed us to go out and play a certain way, and as a result of (chuckle) sort of losing us in the ’83 season with all the injuries, he went 3-12-1, and so he almost got the boot.
Q: How different was Parcells in ’84?
Carson: Well, in ’84 it was a different mindset, because he certainly realized that he dodged a huge bullet, because George Young was going to release him, and he said, “From now on, I’m gonna do things my way,” and he did. And he made changes, and unfortunately, he had to let some players that he really really cared for go. And he had to bring in new, fresh players. … Change is traumatic sometimes, but it’s also good.
Q: What was your relationship with Parcells like, Sean?
Landeta: My first day of training camp, there had been a moratorium on signing USFL players, so I couldn’t sign until I believe Aug. 6. And I came in, sat down with Bill in his office, and he said, “I just need you to be a professional, be on time. If you play well, everyone will see it here and you’ll be accepted, and if you don’t, you’ll be out.” I could see he was a very hands-on coach. He was very loud in training camp. He was a leader though, and someone you respected. But I thought he was fair, he was always fair, and if you did you part, you’d be fine.
Q: Was Parcells tough on you, Leonard?
Marshall: Oh, extremely tough on me. I don’t think any rookie coulda went through what I went through my rookie year, and I think these gentlemen will attest to it. … I ran extra … I went on this crazy diet. I lost 26 pounds. … I spent more time in the game. … He demanded more from me as a rookie than anybody else. … He had no more Gary Jeter to beat up on, now I’m the new guy.
Q: Justin, did you have predraft dealings with Parcells?
Tuck: I did actually. He was one of the guys that flew me out to, he was at Dallas at the time. It’s funny. He flat out told me it was gonna come down to me, DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman.
Q: In the first round?
Tuck: In the first round. … I was more the defensive-end type, and they were still a 4-3 team. I’ve talked to Parcells since and he said, “We had a made a decision to go to 3-4 and we felt as though DeMarcus Ware was the best outside backer type in that draft.” And obviously he wasn’t wrong about that one! It was just funny — I was one decision away from being a Cowboy.
Q: How do you feel about that?
Tuck: I’m kinda glad that DeMarcus Ware’s a Cowboy (smile).
Q: Describe the first time you met Wellington Mara and what he meant to you.
Martin: Well, first of all, it was like meeting the Pope, in that his reputation preceded him. And then the moment you got here, you realized that there was a rich tradition and there was a tremendous legacy that the Giants had, because everyone reminded you of that. In fact, I wrote an article once about being haunted by the Giant ghosts of the past — those guys like [Frank] Gifford, [Dick] Modzelewski and all those great names — we were reminded about that all the time, and that’s the level that we had to rise to. And of course, Mr. Mara, he was the monarch of the team, and he was always an individual who talked about character, and high moral value. … You couldn’t be a jerk and be a part of the New York Giants. So when he walked in, you were expecting this big, large boisterous image. He walked in very quiet, very stoic, and if you know Mr. Mara, he walked very quietly, but he carried significant respect, and he never deviated from that. And I always admired him for his moral conviction.
Carson: I never really wanted to come play with the New York Giants, but once I realized what the rich history and the tradition of the Giants was all about, then I embraced it. And Mr. Mara was one of the pieces of the puzzle, because he had been really the godfather of the NFL. He was so well respected. He would pull me to the side, and very quietly, give me words of praise, or just tell me what I was capable of becoming. I embraced the fact that there was that history and that tradition and those players to emulate, because that is where I sort of fixed my goal. Because at that point, I thought to myself, “I want to be mentioned in the same breath as some of those great players,” like Modzelewski and [Sam] Huff, and [Andy] Robustelli, and Y.A. Tittle. They had already made their mark. I knew those names, I was aware of those names, but that was something that I was personally shooting for. And Mr. Mara was that calm, guiding force that we all grew to admire. He was at practice every day. … He didn’t really have anything to say. All he had to do was look at you. And you could tell whether he was pleased, or he wasn’t pleased. After a game, he would come through the locker room, and he would shake everybody’s hand. And if we won the game, he’d have a smile on his face and shook everybody’s hand. … If we lost the game, he’d shake everybody’s hand, but he’d say, “We’ll get ’em next week.” And so, he was our cheerleader very quietly, and I think we were looking for approval from Mr. Mara.
Tuck: I was his last draft class. I don’t know if this is true or not, but a lot of people that were on that ’05 staff tell me I was his last draft pick, because that was the pick he left the draft board and went back to his office, which is kinda eerie. … You could just tell the respect he commanded — not by what his words were, but just by how he entered a room. Whoever was in the room with him, people stopped talking. … It seemed like they sat up in their chairs. … I didn’t get the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him, but for the short period I did, I could tell what kind of man he was. … I saw him come down and shake everybody’s hand. … I understand the legacy that him and his family has stood for, not only as a New York Giant, but as you [could] see by the “Duke” on the football, what he’s meant to the entire NFL. I wish I coulda gotten to spend more time with him, but for the little time that I did, I could just tell he was one of those stoic, strong individuals. I think today, I’m a New Your Giant because of him.
Landeta: People don’t realize, he used to stretch with the team, up until he was about 70 years old. And then, every day at practice, in his blue windbreaker and his light blue fishing hat, he would walk around practice watching us, and I just thought it was so cool that he wants to be with his team. He could be in a big office in New York City, or do anything he wants, But where was he? Every day, with his team. As Harry said, I loved when after we’d win a game, he’d come around and shake your hand, almost like, “Thanks for winning a game for our team.” Just a prince of a guy. And the biggest smile I ever saw him have was on this day 25 years ago tonight about 10 o’clock eastern time, after we won that first Super Bowl, and I don’t think I saw that smile wiped off his face in that locker room the whole time. And I just thought about him, going back to the ’20s, and basically being the top guy in the NFL, to finally get his Super Bowl trophy, the Lombardi Trophy, named after a coach that he gave his opportunity here in New York as a defensive coach in the ’50s. What an honor to have been associated with him and play for his team.
Carson: Let me just say, he would have loved this guy [Tuck], because of the way that he played the game — no-nonsense, it’s about business .. the way he prepares for the game … what he does off the field. That’s a Wellington Mara kinda guy. … If that was his choice, and his last choice, I’m pretty sure he’s smiling down from heaven.
Marshall: He’d be extremely proud.
Carson: Because the way that he’s conducted himself being a Giant and continuing the legacy of the organization and what he stood for — he’d love this guy.
Marshall: From the day that I became a member of the organization, the man treated me with the utmost respect … class … extremely dignified … the handshake, the pat on the back, win, lose or draw … his presence at practice every day, and watching his team progressively get better. And watching us continue to grow as a bunch of young men into men, and then becoming the first of this organization to win a world championship, and know everything that went into winning that championship … it’s an honor. I’m touched to even be part of it. … To even say that I know Wellington Mara, or I knew that man on that level. And he and his family have always treated — I think these guys’ll second my sentiment — treated all of us with the utmost respect.
Q: What’s your recollection of The Fumble?
Martin: The day that will live in infamy for Giant fans. I remember distinctly, Harry and I were on the sideline, and we were kinda whooping it up, because …
Carson: Game’s over. Let’s take it to the house.
Martin: (laugh) And the thing I remember … everybody was stunned, it was absolutely a pandemic. Everybody was just absolutely stunned. Harry sat there on the bench until the stadium was empty, in total disbelief. Just sat there. Harry’s a fierce competitor — he was pissed. Because we played our behinds off, and we deserved to win that game. Oftentimes as a defensive unit, we’d have to say to the offense, “You guys go out there and hold ’em.” But this was a time that they didn’t hold ’em, and we weren’t happy with that, but I thought we were gonna have to commit Harry. Really.
Q: As the play was unfolding …
Carson: Well, I didn’t actually see the play unfold. I’m on the bench, and I heard the roar of the crowd. And I was like, “What’s going on?” And then I see Herman Edwards running toward the goal line, I’m like, “What the hell is this?” We had the game in the bag.
Q: Did you see Mr. Mara in the locker room after that one?
Martin: It’s one of those things it’s just a total blank. The one thing I do remember, I knew they put both Larry Csonka and Joe Pisarcik immediate on a plane and got ’em out of town because there were immediate death threats on them right after the game.
Carson: And I knew heads were going to roll. And really, that was the play that sort of set the stage for the resurgence of the Giant organization.
Q: Was it painful to go out back then in public as a New York Giant?
Martin: You’d never wear a Giant hat or a Giant shirt.
Carson: You didn’t want to be identified. And I learned humility, playing on this team, in those early years. You did not hot dog or try to rub it in somebody’s face, because we got a lot of that. Guys taking us to the shed, and wanting to play us, because we were that homecoming team that everybody wanted to play. … If I walked off the field, and I could look back and say, “I gave my all,” then it was as if we won the game, regardless of what the score was, there was nothing more that I could do, and that’s how I really survived.
Q: What was it like the first time you saw Lawrence Taylor on the practice field?
Martin: Impact player.
Carson: When he first stepped off the bus, first practice, he was third team, OK? And by the end of practice, he was second team, maybe competing for the starting job (chuckle).
Martin: Superman in a Giants uniform.
Carson: It didn’t take long for us to see the unique talent that he brought to the table. … We grew to understand that he had this ability to just improvise and create moves that, you’re doing, Wow! Like a Michael Jordan dunk, you know? He could improvise and find ways to beat a tackle or a running back try to block him …
Martin: Effortless.
Carson: And it just made the player look sick. He was just deadly in practice, and then he took that into the game.
Tuck: I did a celebrity golf event, and [Eric] Dickerson was there. He tells me a story about, they call this play, it calls for him to go cut the outside edge. He goes and he cuts this outside linebacker, and made a great cut, chopped him down, he hit the guy and his head hit the ground first. And he’s a rookie. So he comes back to the huddle and all of a sudden he hears this noise from behind: “Hey. Hey. Hey you.” I can’t say exactly what he said that Lawrence said, but needless to say, after that little interaction, they called that same play about the third quarter. Eric Dickerson said, “I’m not going back over there.” He said he did not run the play ’cause he was definitely afraid of Lawrence Taylor.
Carson: I have a good idea of what he said. He said, “Hey No. 29, I’m gonna kick your ass. The next time you pull a deal like that, I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Landeta: Lawrence and I, ironically, we got along very well. A lot of times, every day in practice, the punter and kicker, we would work with the linebackers, lining up as a tight end, a receiver, a running back, to give ’em a look. … In the locker room during the day, ’cause he was a sports fan and I’d see him out of night, and his room was next to mine on the road so …
Carson: We don’t want to go there.
(Laughter)
Landeta: He was a great teammate to me, very generous guy, and all these years later, it was a joy to be on the same team with him.
Marshall: No matter what trick we came up with, Lawrence would try to out-trick the trick (laugh).
Q: Talk about the young Bill Belichick.
Landeta: Bill used to be the special teams coach, and they used to me, “Sean, you are so glad that you were not here when he was the special teams coach.” Because in the film room on Monday morning, he was just absolutely brutal, from what I understand. He and [Dave Jennings had worked together for years, they were the same age. … That first year when they kept me and Dave went to go to the Jets, he treated me terrible. And to this day, I still remind him of that. And he’ll deny it.
Q: Did you envision Belichick becoming this great of a head coach?
Martin: No. He started off like an intern, and doing film, and breaking down, and we always thought that he’d gotten here because of his dad. And we were the same age, so it was tough for us to give him respect, because we were veteran ballplayers.
Carson: And he’d never played football. He was a lacrosse player. He had to earn our respect. And I can remember, he would be trying to call different plays or different defenses, and as Captain, I’d be standing between him and Parcells and just listen to their interactions, and oftentimes Parcells would shoot him down with certain things that he wanted to run. And it would frustrate him.
Martin: ’Cause [Belichick] didn’t have a great bedside manner when he’d shoot him down.
Carson: He could be at the board and he’d write certain things down, we’d look at it and we’d go, “Ah Bill, I don’t know if that’s gonna work.” Like a two-man rush. Who runs a two-man rush? And we’d go out on the field, and it would work. He just made us believers, and we were willing to go out and do whatever he wanted us to do. No, we didn’t see it early on, because he had this very dry personality, and no humor. He was just a plain-white-toast kinda guy. No personality. We used to call him Captain Sominex, because that monotone voice that would put you asleep, you know? And you really had to work to stay awake in meetings, because it would lull you to sleep. Lawrence would be laying on the floor right up under him.
Marshall: Sleeping. That’s the truth.
Q: Sean, what happened on your whiff in the playoffs against the ’85 Bears?
Landeta: You know it’s funny, a lot of people say, “What happened?” I’m like, “Well, just an ill-timed gust of wind, moved the ball away.” As I went to kick it, it wasn’t here, it was over here. Almost didn’t swing, figured let me chase it. And actually grazed the side of it, so … I didn’t miss it, I grazed it and I got credit for minus-six yards on that.
Q: Didn’t you guys make a pact after that loss?’
Carson: Parcells said, “You older guys, this might not ever happen to you again, your time is running out.” And, we were in that locker room, we wanted to go back out and play at that time. And we had to wait for a whole another season to roll around.
Martin: But in point of fact, this is what true leadership and a captain is really all about. [Carson] kicked the coaches out of the locker room, and it was just players. And he demanded, at that point in time, a commitment, every player in that room. That we would dedicate ourselves from that moment on — including the offseason — and he’s the one that actually turned that whole season around for 1986.
Marshall: Every guy in that locker room had to put a chip on their shoulder.
Q: What was the on-field personality of that team?
Marshall: Tenacious … very disciplined… prepared… confident… vicious… I wouldn’t want to play that team. I kid you not.
Carson: It was the best team that I’ve ever been a part of. It was a team that checked its ego at the door. And we played for one another, and we were accountable to one another.
Q: When you say vicious, give me an example.
Marshall: We play the Redskins in their place, OK? And it’s December. We know that we’re gonna see that team again, probably for the NFC Championship. If we had to play Vince Lombardi and the damn Packers, we woulda whipped their ass that game.
Carson: There were times when I wanted to lose the coin toss, and I wanted to kick off.
Marshall: Just play defense.
Carson: Because we wanted to set the tempo. And I will tell you the God’s honest truth— and people don’t believe this — I felt badly for some of the teams that we played because we … kicked… their rear ends. And there were guys who would say, “Hold him up, hold him up…”
Marshall: “Hold him up, we want to stroke him.”
Carson: We were so physical, that we just beat people into submission.
Q: Describe the 1986 NFC Championship game at Giants Stadium against the Redskins.
Martin: To me that was the coronation. … The thing that you also like about that season, when we broke the huddle, and we established the line of scrimmage, you could see when the offense broke the huddle and came toward us, they were like …
Marshall: What did we just get into?
(Laughter)
Martin: It was a season where I loved it because there were so many plays when we actually had 11 hats, Justin, 11 hats on the ball. But that’s right, “Hold ’em up and stroke ’em.” You just did one of those and it’s like send shivers down the offense’s spine.
Q: What was that moment like when you knew you were going to the Super Bowl?
Martin: Well, No. 1, you can still see Jim Burt going over to the crowd, getting his son out of the stands, and you could see the confetti just raining down. That’s why I say it was a coronation, it was like they were already crowning us, even though we still had to go out to Pasadena and prove it. But it was a moment that it was just phenomenal. We can all see it in our mind’s eye right now. That was a very special moment.
Carson: For me it was special, because my first year was the year that Giants Stadium opened. And I’d had these quasi-relationships with people in the stands. While I didn’t know their names, I knew their faces week in and week out. … When we weren’t playing well, you could see it in their eyes. But then, when we did things well, you could see the joy and excitement. And for me, it was about all those fans who finally had an opportunity to cheer for something. And during that time, that is what I judge Giant defenses against. In the past, I’ve been critical of past Giant teams. And it’s because we know what it took to get to that level. And you have to be fully committed, and all the players have to be in. But to go through that, and then sometimes to see perhaps the defense not playing the way that we think they’re capable of playing. … We expect them to carry on the tradition, which was there before we even got there.
Tuck: You all started what is known as Giant football, or in my case, Giant defense. I encourage you to be very critical of how we play the game, because the fact of the matter is, we’re always walking through this place, we’re always looking at NFL Films, or the pictures on the walls .. . the names in our locker room. You see that and you’re constantly reminded of what the standard is. And being the Captain here now, I’m constantly reminding these guys what the standard is, and it’s been years here that we haven’t played to that standard. And I’ll be the first one to tell you, it’s the most frustrating thing to be a part … when we had to walk out of the old stadium — you talk about The Fumble — you might want to call it The Return (vs. the Eagles last season). You talk about sitting on the sideline until somebody had to come get you. … I was beside myself after that play [when DeSean Jackson returned a punt for a game-winning touchdown on the last play). … When you step out on a football field and you put that NY on your helmet on, and you put that jersey on that says New York Giants, it is expected to live up to — if you’re a guy that runs a 4.8 — when you step on that football field, you better run a 4.4. If you’re a guy that’s got marginal talent, when you put that jersey on, it’s expected of you to play above and beyond that. … What plays come to mind is that LT clip where he’s talking about, “Go out there as a bunch of crazed dogs.” You want to be known for that, so 25 years from now they can say, “Now I want to play the game like Justin Tuck and those guys played. Just like how we say it.
Carson: It was embarrassing if we’d go out and played bad football, and then you had to walk past Mr. Mara. And he wouldn’t say anything, but you could feel it.
Marshall: You could see it on his face.
Carson: You could see it on his face, you know, and see it in his eyes. And when we played to a certain level, it made him happy, because it was about that Giant tradition, and think a lot of players don’t recognize the fact that there is a legacy here, whether it’s spoken or unspoken, that they really need to get with and help to perpetuate. Because when you’d step on the field, as Justin said, people expect you to play a certain brand of football, and that’s physical, and smart and a brand of football that fans are going to proud of.
Marshall: You’re representing that NY, baby. That’s what it’s about.
Q: The cold in the ’86 NFC Championship game didn’t bother Harry, did it?
Martin: Before the game, we were in the locker room, and all of us are talking about what cold-weather gear we’re gonna wear. … Ah well, this is too bulky, or this is not heavy enough and I’ll wear this under this. And at that moment, Harry walks from the training room to his locker, which is a full length of a locker room, and he walks with a cutoff jersey, abdomens exposed, and he’s all lubed up— arms, everything. All of us at that moment said, “You know what? There’s our leader. He’s going out there with just his jersey on, his combat gear.” … Decision was over. That was it.
Q: George, describe your Super Bowl XXI safety on John Elway.
Martin: It’s the only safety I’ve had in my career. They say it was one of those momentum changers, but to me in the context of winning the Super Bowl. I’ve been here 12 years; I’ve already overstayed my welcome. I don’t know if I’m gonna get another shot. People understand, everybody wants to get to the Super Bowl. That’s just half the battle. You still gotta win it. I always take issue with Rex Ryan when he says he wants to go to the Super Bowl. No, you don’t want to go to the Super Bowl, you want to win the Super Bowl. So when that last second ticked down, and I looked up and down the roster and the sideline and saw all those guys … I looked up in the stands, there were old people, men, hugging and … there were tears, I mean, just crying. But then you saw your family who had supported you all those years — 12 for me, 11 for Harry. It didn’t get any better than that.
Q: Your recollection of that moment, when you won the Super Bowl.
Carson: For me, it was every play that I had played on any level got me to that point. And I was just so grateful to be part of a team that. … I watched players who played back in the ’60s. And those guys weren’t in the Super Bowl, and there I was, in the Super Bowl, winning a championship. I knew that we were champions, and nobody could take that from us.
Tuck: We weren’t as dominant as that ’86 team. But consider we kinda ruined their perfect season, we kinda shut down what is considered the best offense to ever play the game stats-wise. That day was just one of those days where it seemed like we knew we were gonna win when we walked out the tunnel. And it wasn’t because we were supposedly the better team. … All In started four years ago that night, I feel ike. I felt like every guy was on the same page. When that confetti falls down and you get to go over and kiss your wife, and look over the roster and see all these guys that — Michael Strahan, 14 years, first Super bowl win. It was remarkable. That’s something I’ll definitely share this week with all those guys about how it feels but … Larry Fitzgerald, when they lost to Pittsburgh, I saw him at the Pro Bowl, he was sick to his stomach, like somebody punched his mom in the face while he was looking and he couldn’t do nothing about it. That sick.
Martin: And it never goes away.
Tuck: I don’t want to ever feel that. You can see the comments from Tom Brady saying he can’t even watch the clip. And he has three wins. … I don’t ever want to feel that.
Q: Your emotions when you won Super Bowl XXI?
Landeta: Wow, how great is this? Everything you ever hoped for. I was disappointed that there was no champagne in the locker room. Not to drink, but just to pour over everyone’s head. This is what you’ve seen growing up your whole life. I’m going around, “Where’s the champagne?” “There is none.” “What do you mean there is none? We just won the Super Bowl.” Then, to make it even worse, I’m thinking, “All right, we didn’t have champagne, but how great’s that parade gonna be?”
(Laughter)
Landeta: Not only did we not get the champagne, we didn’t get the parade! And then in ’90, we didn’t get it again. I don’t want to say, “That dope Ed Koch …”
Carson: In regards to the champagne, that’s not the Giants’ M.O. They’re not gonna waste money on champagne to waste. But the thing that I did, because we were all overjoyed, I was in the shower and Mr. Mara was walking by, and I pulled him into the shower and I got him drenched. Because I felt that that was a way to at least celebrate with him that victory.
Q: As Bills kicker Scott Norwood was lining up for that field goal, what are you thinking?
Landeta: I’m thinking, on grass, this is a tough kick, probably less than a 50-percent make.
Marshall: We knew he had only kicked a 44-yarder on grass.
Landeta: Just the thought that, “Wow, we can lose on this play.”
Q: Was winning your second Super Bowl as sweet as winning the first?
Landeta: I don’t think you can ever say it’s as great as the first, ’cause the first time everything’s so new. But just the fact you got to it again and you won a second … you win a Super Bowl, that validates you, but you did it again. You’ve won twice. Just thinking what a feat that was and the way we had to play and how it all happened.
Marshall: The first one for me was vindication from the Bear game [a 21-0 loss in the divisional round the year before].
Q: The difference between winning the first one and the second one?
Marshall: I won’t say it was as sweet, but I’ll say this — it’s nice to take something from somebody who thought they’d already won the game. … You’re talking trash, you got guys going and getting their ring finger measured. We heard that Thurman Thomas had gotten his ring finger measured and all that other crap. We were like, “OK we’re gonna line up and show them who has the better football team.” Belcihick designed this crazy scheme that day, where he plays two defensive linemen … he plays four linebackers and five defensive backs and then he kept switching it — five linebackers and four defensive backs — and they got confused. I played left defensive end, which I had never done all season, and Lawrence played right end. And all we did was just keep coming after ’em, keep coming after ’em, keep hammering. And we hammered everything. We hammered their receivers, we hammered their back. We didn’t care who it was at that point in time.
Q: Tell me about the 1990 NFC Championship game.
Marshall: The progression of that game was we got beat 7-3 on Monday night [in Week 13]. And all of us left that game with the same taste that we had in our mouth against Chicago. We just felt like after that game like they thought they had won a Super Bowl. So we said if we ever got a chance to go back to San Francisco, that we were gonna knock out everybody out that we could possibly knock out. My mentality was, “I gotta get the quarterback out of the game. They don’t have a backup, we gotta get him out of the game.” Lawrence and I just kept saying to each other, “Let’s get Montana. I don’t care how we do it, let’s get Montana.”
Q: Leonard, tell me about your hit on Montana.
Marshall: Belichick kept saying we had to get the ball back. And all I recall was Jimmy Burt tried to make a play — he wasn’t a Giant that year — and in trying to make a play, he had hit Jeff Hostetler directly on his knee. So we went back to the sideline, I remember [Carl] Banks saying, “OK, Burt took his shot. One of us gets a shot at Montana? We gotta end it. It’s gotta be like, ‘Lights out Irene.’ We gotta end it.” I beat Bubba [Paris] with a pass rush, and then I slipped. And then Tom Rathman drove at my feet and he tried to cut me, and I just continued to crawl and just keep working. I look up, and Montana’s got the ball, and he’s patting to Jerry Rice to keep running. And as soon as he pulls up to throw it, I remember leaving my feet, And that was it.
Q: When you hit him, did you know you had knocked him out of the game?
Marshall: Oh, I knew he was hurt. And I knew it was gonna hurt. And I see him on the ground and he’s got half of the field in his mask, I’m like, “yup, this is a bad one, I don’t think he’s gonna come back from this one.”
Q: What did you think of the Super XXV team?
Martin: I thought it was incredible, I really did, and I was at the game by the way. I thought O.J. [Anderson] was phenomenal with that uppercut [on Mark Kelso], and Hostetler, I thought under the circumstances, he was just incredible to come in as a backup and pick up that mantel and do as well as he did. Where I was sitting, the [Norwood] kick looked like it was good, and I hung my head, and my wife was sitting next to me. I heard the crowd but I thought they were cheering because he made it. And she said, “No, he missed it.” And I said, “Stop, come on, Let’s go.” She said, “No, he missed it, he missed it!” I thought he’d made it.
Q: What did you think of the ’90 team?
Carson; They were fighters, they were scrappers. I would not put them on the same level as the ’86 team. Not quite as dominant.
Q: The Super Bowl XLII Giants?
Carson: When they were in that game, I said this is going to be the key: Osi [Umenyiora is] on one side, Strahan’s on the other side — the X factor is going to be Justin Tuck. Because they’re gonna force Brady to step up, and Tuck is going to be there because Tuck had the ability to not stay blocked like an average defensive tackle.
Q: George, ou weren’t as confident as Harry.
Martin: No, ’cause I thought that New England was a juggernaut and I thought that having that perfect season was really gonna give them impetus to win the Super Bowl. But I was there on the sideline. The older you get, the more you appreciate the improbable. When I saw Michael Strahan on the sideline getting everybody amped up at a pivotal time, I said, “Oh my god, they believe.” At that point in time, I said, “You know what, it’s in the bag.”
Q: Harry, hat were your reservations about Eli Manning four, five years ago?
Carson: I was a little critical because this is New York. You want a quarterback who is feisty, who is gonna go out and lead. Everybody looked at Eli, he had this hound dog sort of look when things didn’t go well. You just didn’t want the shoulders to droop because as a defense you see it and you know, “We got it.” And I kept thinking, “Don’t let the defense know that you’re frustrated or whatever.” And he has won me over in that he’s been steady, he’s proven me to be wrong. I don’t know what he’s like in the locker room, but when he’s on the field, he is unflappable. He maintains the same demeanor, so perhaps I was a little wrong, and I apologize Eli, and all the fans of Eli.
Q: When Eli was asked “Are you elite? Are you in Tom Brady’s class?” what did you think?
Martin: I thought it was a premature assessment, but I thought he sincerely believed in what he was saying. And to everybody’s pleasant surprise, he’s gone out and backed it up.
Carson: I was a little surprised because the question was asked, and most football players would say, “Well, I’ll let other people make that determination,” as opposed to, “Yeah, I believe I am.”
Tuck: It’s not Eli’s M.O. to be that forward. But when he said it, I was like, “ Damn right.” If he was gonna go that route of answering it, what would you expect him to say?
Q: Justin, why did you believe you would beat the perfect Patriots in Super Bowl XLII?
Tuck: We felt as though as that point we’ve seen it all, why not bring on the best team in history
Q: So did you feel like you were destined to win that game?
Tuck: We definitely did. And I’ll never forget it — we were all sitting around over TV, watching the commentary about the Patriots and all this, and Plaxico [Burress] gives a score (23-17). And Brady, in almost a disrespectful chuckle, said, “Ha, we’re only gonna score 17 points on ’em.” I’m in a room with Michael Strahan, [Antonio Pierce], Osi, Corey Webster, I think it was R.W McQuarters, Sam Madison and some more guys, but it’s mostly defense. And we kinda see this pretty boy chuckle — like we’re only gonna score 17 points! — and it just seems like the whole room turned red. Like everybody was quiet. Literally fist-clenching, teeth … if we coulda went and played right then, we woulda went and played that second.
Q: He said that at the Media Day?
Tuck: They were replaying it.
Q: You saw it in your hotel room that same day?
Tuck: We saw it probably about two days before the game ’cause they replayed it.
Q: Do you feel this team is destined to win this Super Bowl?
Tuck: I do.
Q: What do you remember about Tom Coughlin as receivers coach in ’88?
Carson: Tough, no-nonsense, a disciplinarian. The receivers hated him because he was so strict and.
Martin: Inflexible.
Carson: Inflexible. Very rigid.
Martin: Military type.
Carson: And so with Tom having that sort of reputation, I applaud him when he came here he was able to adjust and ease off a little bit, and that team adjusted to him and they were able to work well together. Because if he had maintained that same rigidity that he had years ago, it would not have worked.
Q: What do you think of Jason Pierre-Paul?
Martin: I think he’s a complete ballplayer. I think he plays as intensely on the run as he does on the pass. He has the body type that he can be dominant against the run, and yet still he’s athletic enough to be able to push the pocket on the pass, and that makes him very very dangerous.
Q: What did you think when David Tyree made his catch in Super Bowl XLII?
Carson: I thought there was some kind of divine intervention there. I couldn’t help but think that Mr. Mara (looks up and smiles) — you were watching the game!
Q: Justin, why didn’t you get to hoist the Lombardi Trophy until the next day?
Tuck: I was in awe … I didn’t even go to the poduim. I was just in my own little La La land on the field. As the clock ticked (chuckle) to triple zero, I was in the opposite end zone literally putting up 18-1 fingers to people that had 18-0 shirts in the end zone. (smile)
Q: For the guys that missed the Super Bowl XLII parade, tell them what they missed, Justin.
Landeta: I was there. I watched it.
Tuck: Unbelievable. I’ve been to Times Square when it’s packed, and this made that look like my hometown. I jumped off the floats and high-fived people in the crowd. And the police officer was like, “You gotta get back on the float, it’s gonna get out of control.” It looked like it was 20 million people out there, it just did. And you talk about confetti? It was confetti for like 20 blocks. I wouldn’t want to see the bill for cleanup for that. I mean, we had priests hanging out of chapels. People were hanging out of buildings. … It looked like it was dangerous, but it’s something I will never forget.
Q: Define New York Giant pride.
Martin: It’s respect for legacy, respect for history. It’s knowing your place in the scheme of New York Giant folklore. And it is always being as much of an impact on the field of play and you should be in the field of life and that’s a real tribute to Wellington Mara
Carson: I think it’s about having pride in yourself and having pride in what you do. And I think it’s representing your organization but also representing New York, the New York area, and all Giant fans. For me, it’s about playing a very tough, classy type of football. You go out there and you earn the respect of the people who you’re playing against.
Tuck: I think it’s about being a winner on and off the field. I think it’s about how you carry yourself. It’s funny, I’m gonna use this choice of words in New York City, but it’s blue collar. It’s not flashy, it’s not caring who gets the hype or who gets the praise. It’s about going out there and knowing that with 10 other guys on that football field, you can get the job done regardless of what circumstances you’re faced [with], and I think a lot of that credit goes to what this legacy has been. For me, I don’t go back to the Rosey Browns and the Giffords, I go back to you guys [Carson and Martin]. So that’s what I always compare my years as a Giant to — guys like these guys here. It’s phenomenal to be able to be a part of something like that. Whatever inside of you that’s good, I think that brings it out, ’cause you know you got guys like this watching you.
Landeta: I think New York Giant pride has to go back to the fact that this team is like one of the original teams, been around since the ’20s in the biggest city in this country, arguably probably has more fans than any team in the NFL ever. You do your part to keep that alive and not only represent yourself, but the team that has chosen you to be part of their franchise.
Marshall: To me I think it’s about integrity, character, community, leadership, family. I think the chance that you get to wear that NY or that Giants on the side of your helmet speak to the type of gentleman that you are and what the Giants perceived you to be before you joined the organization. I think you get welcomed into a family, and as they always say every time I come back here — once a Giant, always a Giant.
Q: What has it meant, what does it mean, to be a New York Giant?
Marshall: It is a tribute to the way I was parented as a young man to get into this position to begin with, and to live with, to share it with everyone at this dais and have it turn out to be as successful as it has, it means the world to me. I wouldn’t trade my career, I wouldn’t trade the friendships, the relationships, the love that we’ve shared both as players on and off the football field with anyone else, for anything else.
Landeta: You could make a case outside of just your health and what your family’s done for you, everything in the sense that how has your life changed and how do you live and the things you get to do and who you are and where you go and where you are now at this point in your life has so much to do with the fact that the years I spent here. The guys I played with the, coaches I played for, and the result of all that all these years later still impact my life every single day. That’s saying something.
Tuck: I live my life off of these principles — faith, family and football. I call it the Triple F. When I think about what it is to be a New York Giant and the effect that it’s had on me and my family, I know the Maras, the Tisch family, they’re a faith-based family, it’s a brotherhood. It’s a close-knit group of guys. Whether that’s guys playing now, whether that’s guys played 20, 30, 40 years ago. I feel like I’ve been these guys’ teammates myself, just hearing the stories. Like I said, I didn’t get to be with Wellington Mara long, but hearing these guys talk about him, it kinda puts you in that time frame, it kinda puts you in that place. So for me being a Giant I, wouldn’t trade it for anything. [Back in Kellyton, Ala.], I like to sit on my porch, play dominoes and go fishing, and I haven’t done that up here, I haven’t found any water holes in Times Square anywhere (smile). But I’ll be a New Yorker for life now because of what it means to be a Giant. You can sit up here and say all the adjectives you want to — you really can’t express it verbally what it means. Unless you’ve been a part of it, you don’t know what it means. And it’s tremendous.
Carson: For me, it was about the guys who I played with … just being here with the guys here. It’s a brotherhood. And I echo what Justin said, even those guys who played decades ago, you have that relationship, and you have that connection. And even though our time has passed, as active players we feel connected to the guys when they play now. We feel like big brothers. To play since 1925 and to help perpetuate this legacy and to wear the same uniform with the NY on the helmet, it’s something that’s very special, and again, it’s very difficult to describe. It’s like walking on the moon — you don’t know what it’s like until you actually do it. So we’re all in that sort of situation where you have the opportunity to be a part of an organization, and you feel what they’re feeling. They’re like our kids. But we just want ’em, to go out and play well, because they continue to represent us.
Martin: To me, it’s kind of a perpetuation of success. … It is that fraternity that goes on and on and on. It’s being a part of Giant folklore which is … it’s once in a lifetime. I mean, you’ve got a Hall of Famer here, and you’ve got people in the Ring of Honor, and you look up there and your name that has been immortalized with some of the greatest that have ever played the game, and I say to myself, it’s a wonderful life all over again with me playing the lead character.
steve.serby@nypost.com