He used “decent’’ and “OK’’ to describe the way he is playing, and Justin Tuck knows those lukewarm appraisals of his play don’t cut it with so many fans and observers who use terms such as “past his prime’’ or the more definitive “finished’’ to describe what he has left in the tank.
The Giants are winless, Tuck is barely making a dent on the stat sheet and, in his ninth season, reports of his demise have not been greatly exaggerated.
“I don’t think I’m playing like a washed-up player like everybody else wants to talk about,’’ Tuck told The Post Thursday.
Tuck knows what he hears and knows what is being said because he’s a savvy athlete who has thrived for nearly a decade so very far away from that front porch of his rural home in Kellyton, Ala. He has been a starting defensive end and key component on two Super Bowl-winning defenses, currently serves as a team captain and Wednesday night was chosen to introduce senator-elect Cory Booker for a celebratory acceptance speech. Even though the Giants were off all day, Tuck made sure to ask permission from the coaching staff, fully realizing a key player on an 0-6 team needs to pick his spots when appearing in public amid all this losing.
Perhaps Tuck will one day attach himself to Booker in some sort of more permanent political alliance.
“Got a lot more football games to win for the Giants before I do anything like that,’’ Tuck said.
Does he? Wins have been impossible to come by for the Giants, who face the 1-4 Vikings Monday night, and Tuck, 30, is in the final year of his contract. He’s leaner than ever, still rock-solid and, he says, “You know what’s so funny? My body feels better now than it did in Pro Bowl years.”
But what is not so funny is Tuck’s involvement within the NFL’s worst pass rush. In six games, the Giants have five sacks and Tuck has been credited with one-half sack. Tuck sounded more than a little wistful when he said, “Believe me, I still remember the good old days when you line up and just felt like any time you went against a guy you were going beat him.’’
He also knows what’s being said about him and insists he’s not concerned.
“Listen, I don’t know how to say this without offending people, but I really don’t care,’’ Tuck said, “because at the end of the day this league is so fickle and fans are so fickle at certain points. Obviously you got your die-hard fans who ride with you win, lose or draw. Obviously you got other fans that are not that way. I’m going to go out there and play to the best of my ability and not have any reservations about my effort or the work I’ve put in this game.
“Listen, I’ve always said if it ended today I’ll ride off into the sunset. I would. And I’d be very, very happy with what I’ve accomplished as a team. We’ve won two Super Bowls, we’ve been a competitive team, I’ve never had a losing season here. I think there’s something to be said about that. Yeah, sure, I’ve had down years just like everybody else. What I’m more proud of, you can’t say I ever gave up or didn’t fight my ass off.
“At the end of the day if you’re proud of what you put on film and you’re proud about what your, I guess ‘legacy’ would be, then you really don’t worry about some of the petty stuff.’’
Tuck sees quarterbacks releasing the ball in 2.5 seconds or faster and bemoans the fact the Giants have almost never held a lead — they’ve been ahead for only 2:42 in the second half all season. Mathias Kiwanuka has 1¹/₂ sacks, linebacker Spencer Paysinger and Jason Pierre-Paul have one sack each and Linval Joseph and Cullen Jenkins join Tuck with a half-sack apiece.
“If I was the only one having a bad year numbers-wise you could easily say ‘Oh, Justin doesn’t have it any more,’ ’’ Tuck said. “But when Kiwi’s not having a good year, when JPP is not having a good year, when Cullen is not having a good year, you might want to look into it a little deeper than just numbers. We’re not making any excuses about it, we just got to figure out a way. There is a way, we just haven’t figured it out yet.’’