Antrel Rolle made it clear Peyton Manning shouldn’t expect any kind of brotherly love when the Broncos play the Giants Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants are a desperate team after losing 36-31 to the Cowboys Sunday night in Arlington, Texas. The last thing the Giants want to see is 0-2. That means there will be little reverence for Peyton, who faces little brother, Eli, in the latest Manning Bowl.
“This is no time for fear,” Rolle said during a conference call Monday. “No one on this defense is going to fear Peyton [Manning]. We’re going to go after him like we do every other quarterback.”
Manning isn’t just any other quarterback. Totally recovered from a neck injury that forced him to sit out the 2011 season, Manning threw an NFL record-tying seven touchdown passes in the Broncos 49-27 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens Thursday night in Denver.
In passing for 462 yards with no interceptions, Manning looked in peak form, tossing one more touchdown than the Giants committed turnovers in their loss to the Cowboys. But overlooked in the disappointment in Dallas was a decent performance by the Giants secondary. Tony Romo completed 36 of 49 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. But wide receiver Dez Bryant caught just four passes for 22 yards, while Miles Austin caught 10 balls for 72. Those numbers were dwarfed by a Giants offense that saw three receivers total more than 100 yards each. It was the turnovers that doomed the Giants.
“It just seemed like everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong,” Rolle said. “Every bounce, every tipped ball, everything. But we’re fighters, we’re champions and we’re going to learn how to rise above that.”
One positive is defensive back Terrell Thomas, who missed the two previous seasons with knee surgeries, looks like he’ll be a solid contributor this season. He’ll be needed this week as the Giants could be without cornerback Prince Amukamara, who suffered a concussion against the Cowboys.
“We just have to play our best football,” Rolle said, “and make sure as a defense, we continue to grow, continue to get on the same page at the same time, because we know Peyton is going to have a lot coming our way.”
The Giants secondary benefited Sunday night from a steady pass rush that knocked around Romo. The Cowboys quarterback was sacked twice and played the second half with bruised ribs. The Giants hope to make things just as unsettling for Peyton Manning.
“You have to keep him out of rhythm,” Rolle said. “Peyton is a rhythm kind of quarterback. He loves the game to be to his tempo. Once you get him out of his comfort zone he’s like any other quarterback. Quarterbacks like to be in a comfort zone. When you get them out of their comfort zone, obviously they’re going to become uncomfortable.”
This is the match-up between two of Archie Manning’s sons. Peyton has won the two previous games while with Indianapolis. Eli, however, has two Super Bowl rings, while his brother has one. But this isn’t as much about Manning versus Manning as it is Broncos versus Giants. “We need to improve our team and then move forward to approach the next opponent, which is the Broncos,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I don’t think Eli thinks any differently.”
It’s Peyton versus the Giants as far as Rolle is concerned.
“We don’t take anything from Peyton,” he said. “He’s definitely one of the best quarterbacks to ever play this game; a Hall of Famer quarterback. But I don’t see all that come Sunday. We go out there and we play ball. We play like it’s any other quarterback.”
At least that’s the plan.