Antrel Rolle cannot stop gushing about the Giants’ acquisition of linebacker Jon Beason. Rolle and Beason were teammates at the University of Miami, and were reunited Oct. 4 when Beason arrived from the Panthers in exchange for a late-round draft pick.
“Beason has helped way more than the average eye can see,’’ Rolle said Tuesday during his weekly WFAN spot.
The Giants have allowed only one touchdown on defense in their last 14 quarters, and that touchdown should come with an asterisk. It came in Sunday’s 24-20 victory over the Raiders on a 5-yard drive after Jerrel Jernigan fumbled away the opening kickoff. Beason, inserted as the starting middle linebacker, has been a big part of the resurgence. Rolle says Beason has not only played at a high level, but he’s also “lighting the fire’’ for linebackers Jacquian Williams, Keith Rivers and Spencer Paysinger.
This is a far cry from the way Rolle was talking a month ago, when the Giants were 0-6 before their current three-game winning streak.
“It’s night and day,” Rolle said. “It’s not like we lacked confidence before. But 0-6 can do a lot to you. It can really, really break your spirit if you let it. I know a couple of times it broke my spirit and I find myself extremely strong. I found myself many, many nights up at two, three o’clock in the morning asking myself, ‘What has gone wrong?’ I didn’t have an answer.
“But this team has stayed confident. But more importantly, we stayed together and believed in ourselves. That’s where you see us winning the last three games.”