PITTSBURGH — As Aaron Curry walks through the halls of the Giants practice facility his head is up, not down, and he notices what he passes.
“See all the history on the walls?’’ Curry told The Post. “Playing for something so much greater than myself, playing for a team, the dialogue is just different, how they talk about football and how they approach everything.’’
It’s not merely pictures. When Curry played for the Seahawks, his position coach, Ken Norton, Jr., showed him tapes of Carl Banks, the former Giants linebacker. Since signing with the Giants, Curry said he decided to “take advantage of the film vault here’’ and recently completed a detailed study of Banks.
“Just to see how it’s supposed to be done,’’ Curry said Friday. “If you look at the history of linebackers here in New York … the tradition here really motivates you to do everything the right way.’’
There was a time, not so very long ago, when Curry was viewed as perhaps another Carl Banks. That time is no more and tonight, when he plays against the Steelers, his head is no longer in the clouds as he attempts to find a place on the Giants roster.
“He’s a kid who can play with a great deal of physicality,’’ Banks told The Post by phone. “I think he can be an impact player, a high impact player.’’
If asked by Curry, Banks said, “It would be fun to watch film with him.’’
From what Curry has seen, he already has determined “Carl Banks is the guy I definitely need to study’’ for obvious reasons.
“Carl Banks had really violent hands and he knew how to set up blocks,” Curry said. “He knew what block was coming and he just was good at setting the edge and good at shedding blocks.’’
Banks sees Curry adding a needed ingredient the 2012 Giants’ 31st-ranked defense lacked.
“They were worst in the league in three-and-outs,’’ Banks said. “There’s a reason why there’s three openings at linebacker right now.’’
Before Curry can begin to replicate Banks, he must survive the cuts. He played in only two games last season for the Raiders and says he’s approaching his Giants debut and this preseason game like no other.
“I’m studying film as if it’s the Super Bowl,” Curry said. “I’m preparing like it’s playoff football. The last time I did this was like my senior year in college, where I approached it like any minute it could be over. And if my last play is the play I just played, how everybody would remember it. How would I remember it? Would I be proud of what I put on film?’’
This was not the way it was supposed to go for Curry, considered a can’t-miss prospect coming out of Wake Forest, with scouts saying things such as “blows up lead blockers and ragdolls linemen’’ and “handles tight ends with ease’’ and “one of the top linebackers to come out of the draft in the last decade.’’
The Seahawks agreed wholeheartedly, taking Curry with the No. 4 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft — one spot ahead of Mark Sanchez going to the Jets. Curry signed a six-year, $60 million deal with a hefty $34 million in guaranteed money. The only thing left was for Curry to dominate, and it never happened. He lasted two seasons in Seattle before the Seahawks traded him to the Raiders, where he played 11 games in 2011 and only two in an injury-ruined 2012 season.
“I don’t think I approached it correctly my rookie year,’’ Curry said. “Kind of just went out there, I played into all the hype. … I kind of just wanted to play ball, that’s all I wanted to do. I lacked the understanding of the team concept when it came to defensive schemes and stuff because I just wanted to play ball. TThrough maturity, I’m able to realize good things happen when you just do your job.’’
On the depth chart, Curry sits at strong side linebacker behind Keith Rivers — another one-time top prospect looking to resuscitate his career. Only 27 years old, Curry’s weight (250) is down and his drive is up.
“I’m going to play the role given to me,’’ he said, “with the intensity and attitude that my opponents aren’t willing to match.’’