There was no line drawn down the middle of the Giants locker room the way the bunk is divided during Color War at camp. The defense did not show up in blue, the offense in white ready to duke it out and Tom Coughlin did not stand in the center and shout: “Let’s get ready to rumble!’’
Alas, anyone looking for fireworks from the Giants in the aftermath of their highly boring 23-0 loss to the Seahawks, followed by some highly interesting postgame remarks, came away feeling the steam that needed to be blown off gave way to toned-down rhetoric as the season heads for home.
“Today is a day of, as I put it, healing again, recognizing who we are,’’ Coughlin said Monday afternoon, admitting he implored the Giants to “put frustration and disappointment aside’’ and remember the “unselfish commitment to each other.’’
How long does it take to mend bruised feelings? Coughlin aptly used the word “pathetic’’ to describe the effort and performance of his offense not long after seeing the Giants (5-9) get shut out for the second time this season after not getting into Seattle territory until midway through the fourth quarter. Coughlin was less emotional and more analytical the day after, as was Antrel Rolle, who immediately after the game clearly called out the offense for at times playing as if it “didn’t have a pulse,’’ questioning the heart of players and stating: “If you don’t have passion about this game you don’t need to be out there.’’
Rolle did not back away from any of those harsh comments, but insisted he was not pointing fingers at anyone, simply telling it like it is.
“I don’t think there was too much to patch up,’’ Rolle said. “I think everyone saw the game that was played, everyone knows what took place. Things like that are going to happen within the football team, especially when people care about their job, their profession, their performance.
“It’s very easy for someone to try to divide and conquer and that’s something that we’ve never ever had a problem with here and it’s something we won’t have a problem with here. We’re going to stick together. There are going to be tough times, there are going to be arguments, there are going to be fights. We’re all brothers in here. We all know brothers fight. If you need to get something off your chest, that’s fine. There is nothing that is ever going to be said that is going to be taken personally within this locker room. That’s just not what we do.’’
What Rolle got off his chest, Coughlin believes, would have been better left unsaid.
“This is a family,’’ Coughlin said. “You stay within the family. I’m sure he’ll go to the people that he needs to and discuss it or talk it out and it won’t be an issue.’’
Tight end Brandon Myers took immediate offense to Rolle’s accusations, tweeting Sunday night: “If people on this team want to take shots at me and say I have no passion they are mistaken.’’
A day later, Myers said “a miscommunication’’ caused him to react in anger.
“Like they tell us all the time, think before what you say and what you put out there,’’ Myers said. “It was just a bad part on me and I’m just going to move on. It was just the emotion of the game, the way we were playing. It was frustrating. There are better ways to go about it. Talk about it, be men. That’s why we are here. Everyone’s got each other’s backs and just move on.’’
After throwing a career-high five interceptions, Eli Manning took the heat at MetLife Stadium and did so again a day later at the Giants’ practice facility, answering until the questions stopped coming his way. Manning did not flinch from the rampant criticism bombarding him and his offense because sometimes, the truth hurts.
“There wasn’t anything said that was totally undeserved,’’ said Manning, who is 33rd among the 35 quarterbacks ranked in the league. “Offensively, whatever word you want to use to describe it is probably pretty accurate.
“The defense played well, they did a lot of good things and we didn’t help them out at all. So they probably have a right to be disappointed with us and frustrated with us, but I don’t think it’s going to turn this team and create a problem.’’