The Big Blue linebacker, coming back from a neck injury that cut his season short last year, chatted with Post columnist Steve Serby about the Giants’ expectations this season.
Q: Why hasn’t this team won a title since Super Bowl XLII?
A: It’s on its way. If I had the answer to that question, we’d have a couple more rings. But that’s a question we’re going to answer this year.
Q: What do you say to the people on the outside who are saying the Giants are going backward?
A: I’ve heard all that before.
Q: Do you think this is a legitimate Super Bowl championship team?
A: I know this is a legitimate Super Bowl championship team. The only thing that remains to be seen is for us to go out there and prove it week in and week out. If we all stick together, and play unselfish football the way that we’ve been playing and the way that we’re capable of playing, there’s no telling how far we can go.
Q: Then what are people missing?
A: The day-to-day … not being able to be in here and to be in meetings and to be out there on the practice field on the sidelines and watching the plays being executed. And then once the games start, I think people will have a better feel for what’s going on.
Q: Why was this the most appealing spot for you in free agency?
A: Because this is a team that knows how to win, and wants to win. And I was here the year that we won a Super Bowl, and I know that the guys in that locker room know what it takes and are willing to do everything they can to get back there.
Q: What do you think of all these moves the Eagles made, most recently Steve Smith?
A: (Chuckle). I would have loved to have him back. He was a big part of our team, not just on the field, in the locker room. He’s a great guy. He’s one of those guys you can’t say enough about, works hard, knows his stuff, and he helps out the younger guys. Philly, specifically, I think that they are trying to put themselves in a position to win, and they’re trying to assemble the best possible athletes that they can. But they still have to play the game, and they still have to get everybody to play together. So you can say what you want, you can look good on paper, but if you don’t come through, in the end it means nothing. And I know that maybe we don’t have all the names that they have, but we have the mindset, we have the ability, and we have the memory of winning and I know that we can get it done.
Q: What would you say to Giants fans who are upset the Eagles have added players and the Giants have lost players?
A: The games have to be played. You can never predict the outcome of an NFL game, I don’t care how good you are. Everybody talks about the parity. … There’s always a chance in every season for a team to win a championship, and I would say the prime example is us the last time we won it. Nobody thought we could, nobody expected us to go half as far as we did, but we found a way.
Q: So what would your advice to Giants fans be?
A: Enjoy the season. It’s going to be a great one.
Q: A great one? You seem awfully confident.
A: I feel good about it. We have a number of great players who are willing to do what it takes. I mean, I was hurt by the loss of some of the players that we had to see walk out the door as well. Not just as a player, but as a friend. But this is a business, and it happens every year, and there are people whose names are recognizable like [Kevin] Boss’ and [Shaun] O’Hara’s, but for every one of those there’s a Chase Blackburn, a Michael Johnson, there are guys who have been quiet, solid contributors to this team who we also had to let go.
Q: Can this be a top-5 defense?
A: Absolutely.
Q: A top 1 defense?
A: Absolutely. There’s no question about it. You got a guy like [middle linebacker Jonathan] Goff, who’s coming into his own, he starts to take more and more control, and has stepped up as a leader, and is more than capable mentally to perform and he’s a great athlete as well. … It helps that he’s jacked a little bit. … You got (Michael) Boley and myself, and everybody knows the D-Line names … [Justin] Tuck, (Osi) Umenyiora …
Q: Who?
A: (Chuckle) [Chris] Canty … (Linval) Joseph, (Corey) Webster, Aaron Ross, who’s had a great camp so far. … Terrell Thomas comes to play and to work everyday … Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips is back out there. … The guys whose names I’m throwing out there are what make us great, give us that chance to be No. 1.
Q: Jason Pierre-Paul?
A: He’ll be a great player for a long time if he stays healthy.
Q: And defensive coordinator Perry Fewell?
A: He’s one of the reasons I came back.
Q: Why?
A: He’s a person that everybody wants to play for. Everybody knows he’s enthusiastic, he loves the game as much as we do. Everybody knows he’s intelligent, he has a football mind. I compare him to Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) in terms of his creativity, his ability to go outside the box and call that right play at the right time. But more than that, he’s just somebody that is well-respected around this organization, and it’s understood that he’s going to put you in positions to make plays, and when you have a coach like that, everybody goes a little harder, everybody does a little more, to make sure that his defense works because you believe in it. Watching everybody else walk around and talk about Perry and how good he is, kind of gets you pumped up.
Q: Plaxico Burress’ visit.
A: It was just good to see him in good spirits, and to look at a guy who’s been to the top and has now been through some lows, and to see him kind of at that point where he’s about to turn it around. It was pure joy to watch him walk in the door with a smile on his face, because I feel like he served his time, he’s done everything that he had to do, and now he deserves a chance to come back and to play well, and I believe he will.
Q: Burress to the Jets?
A: (Chuckle) He’s another guy that I wish we could have had in this locker room, but that transcends any rivalry. As an individual, I just hope that he’s successful and he gets back on track and is a great star in this league the way he was before he left.
Q: Are you expecting a career year from Kiwanuka?
A: No doubt.
Q: Emotional low point last season?
A: Being on the sideline, not being able to play. For any player, that’s one of the most frustrating things, when you feel like you cannot contribute to the game in any fashion other than moral support.
Q: Were you on the sidelines?
A: For a lot of games I was on the sidelines. I was there for Philly.
Q: What were your emotions when DeSean Jackson took it to the house?
A: I’m sure it’s similar to anybody who’s a real Giants fan … it was just disbelief, anger and frustration.
Q: Were you surprised that Michael Vick came back the way he did last year?
A: I don’t think I knew what to expect. I knew what kind of athlete he was before the whole incident happened, so I knew there was always a potential for a great comeback. And in sports everybody loves a great comeback story so, whether you played with him or against him, you, as an individual. … I was pulling for him. But no, I didn’t have any idea that he’d come back as strong as he did.
Q: How would you characterize the rivalry with the Eagles?
A: (Chuckle) No love lost. … It’s fun to be a part of and … it’s a cold-tub game. You’re definitely gonna be icing down after the game. And you throw that tape on after the game and you see it and your hear it immediately you now that tit was a battle, and that’s what I live for.
Q: What did you miss most about the game?
A: Just being out there, at the beginning kickoff, being pumped up, ready to go, and then walking off that field with your boys. … You have media interviews, you have practice, you have meetings, there’s a long period during the week where it becomes mundane, but every Sunday, or Monday night, whenever you’re playing, you get a chance to be on that great stage, and you get a chance to be out there with your friends, and to perform. I wish everybody had the experience of giving their entire physical and mental effort to something, and having it be recognized and be rewarded at the end of the day for a good performance.
Q: What’s it like in the tunnel before kickoff?
A: It’s indescribable. There’s a lot of activity, and then it gets quiet. Then you’re ready to walk out, and you can see the focus in everybody’s eyes, and you can feel the intensity that’s about to be released. It’s a very controlled situation, that is about to turn chaotic, and you’re right there and at that point where everything’s about to explode.
Q: You didn’t need to wear a neck brace on the sidelines.
A: For me it was a situation where the herniation was caught at the very, very first sign, very first symptoms, so the only thing I had to was getting an injection and calm the inflammation and be patient and wait. And I was fortunate enough that it was caught early, and didn’t require surgery.
Q: How did it happen?
A: It wasn’t one particular play. It was throughout the course of the game, taking a number of hits, and I guess it’s just one of those freak things that happens. From talking to doctors, people have herniated discs bending over to pick up boxes … people have herniated discs in the bathroom … after the game, there was some concern on my part, went to the doctors, and that’s what they found.
Q: What prompted the concern on your part?
A: Pain in my neck (laugh).
Q: A sharp pain?
A: It was restricted to certain motions, so certain movements that I made with my neck caused me to have pain. And from playing football for a long time, that’s not something that you mess with. You can play through an ankle, you can play through a wrist or an arm bothering you, but when your neck hurts, you’ve always been told, “If your neck hurts, tell us about it, and get it checked out.”
Q: How frightened you that your football career might be over?
A: The pain was bad, but it wasn’t unbearable. I had no idea of the severity of it immediately.
Q: Why did you see five doctors?
A: It was important to me that I knew I had the best doctors in the country give me their advice. It wasn’t just about how fast can I get back to football. For me, it was looking at my life after football, and whether or not it would impact me. So I had to make sure, for myself, that every doctor that I saw felt the same way.
Q: But before you went to see those five doctors, did you think, “Maybe I’ve played my last game?”
A: Yeah. When they diagnosed it as a disc herniation, I started doing research and looking at the other players who had similar diagnoses, and it didn’t look good. They say that between 60 and 70 percent of NFL players have herniated discs somewhere between their back and their neck, but the ones who have severe herniations are the ones who don’t come back and play. So you never really know, because most of them go undetected, so there’s no way to get a real number of how many people can come back from a hernation that was the size that mine was. I knew that it had the potential to be a career-threatening, if not career-ending injury, and that was tough.
Q: Tough in what way?
A: Emotionally, just because I wasn’t ready to hang it up, I wasn’t ready to stop playing football, for no other reason other than I love to play the game.