NFL

Giants’ Jacobs tells critics to ‘finish living their miserable lives’

SAY, WHAT?!?Brandon Jacobs says Giants fans “don’t mean anything to us if they don’t believe in us,” and “can go back and finish living their miserable lives that they’ve been living and hoping that we lose.” (AP)

Giants running back Brandon Jacobs has a not-so-fond opinion of fans who aren’t all the way on the Big Blue bandwagon.

Jacobs — who misunderstood a question yesterday about how confident the Giants are heading into Sunday’s game in Arizona — issued a LeBron James/Plaxico Burress-like rip at any non-believers after the Giants’ 29-16 win over the Eagles last Sunday and said they can go back to their “miserable lives.”

“Well, the only thing that matters are the people on this football team and in this organization believe in this football team,” Jacobs told reporters after practice. “The people outside that want to say they’re fans and don’t believe in us, I [cannot] care less if they ever believe in us.

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“They don’t mean anything to us if they don’t believe in us. They can go back and finish living their miserable lives that they’ve been living and hoping that we lose.”

When Jacobs was told the question was about the confidence of the Giants players, he said the team is prepared.

“In this locker room, guys are ready to play,” Jacobs told the reporters.

The outspoken Jacobs has long had a testy relationship with spectators, though usually fans of other teams. He was fined $10,000 by the NFL last season for throwing his helmet into the stands in Indianapolis, then fined $20,000 later in the season for screaming profanely at Eagles fans before a game in Philadelphia.

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The Twitter beef between Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan appears over.

The two are longtime friends, but Strahan raised eyebrows last Sunday when he scolded Tuck via the popular social-media site for coming out early because of injury from the Giants’ eventual 29-16 win at Philadelphia.

Strahan wrote: “I luv u @JustinTuckNYG91 but unless u R missing a limb U need 2 B in ths game. Everytime the Eagles R inside Giants 40 u need 2 B out thr”

Tuck and the retired Big Blue defensive end have exchanged playful tweets about the matter since then, but Tuck admitted yesterday he spoke to Strahan this week to clear the air a bit.

“Me and Strahan had a conversation,” Tuck said. “I’ll keep it between me and him. But everything is just as smooth as it’s always been between me and him.”

Tuck had a lingering neck issue and also hurt his groin in the Eagles game, both of which have prevented him from practicing this week and could sideline him Sunday at Arizona.

Asked if the conversation he had with Strahan means the outspoken Fox Sports NFL analyst won’t taunt him midgame anymore, Tuck wasn’t sure.

“Maybe,” Tuck said. “He’s a grown man. He can do what he wants to do.”

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Osi Umenyiora practiced and appears to have a good chance to make his season debut Sunday after right knee surgery last month.

Coach Tom Coughlin and Tuck raved about how Umenyiora has looked in workouts this week.

“He’s really getting after it,” Tuck said.

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Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks was excused from yesterday’s workout because of some renewed swelling in his knee, but Nicks and Coughlin predicted he would play Sunday.

Fellow wideout Brandon Stokley, however, isn’t looking likely to make the trip after suffering what Coughlin vaguely described as a quadriceps injury in practice Wednesday.

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Whether to make the long trek to the West Coast one day or two days before the game seems to vary from team to team. Put Coughlin firmly in the “Saturday” camp after doing so last year to Seattle ended in a 41-7 rout of the Seahawks.

“We think we have a good plan for how we travel for the West Coast,” Coughlin said yesterday. “There are issues when you go on Friday and there are issues when you go on Saturday. Our Seattle trip was a very good model for us a year ago, so we’ll follow that direction.”

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Zak DeOssie missed practice because of an unspecified back problem, but Coughlin said the Giants expect to have the veteran long snapper against Arizona.

Rookie linebacker Mark Herzlich handled some of the snaps in DeOssie’s place.