No one would ever conceive of Antrel Rolle looking back at a moment in the first quarter of a forgettable preseason game and proclaiming, “Out of a lot of plays I made in this league, that is definitely one of my better plays.’’
Yet that is Rolle’s assessment of what he did Saturday night against the Steelers, a highlight-film maneuver he says is “an example of being a safety.’’
Lest you believe Rolle has been a safety all these years with the Giants, think again. Sure, that’s his listed position, but injuries and weaknesses in the secondary have forced him to sacrifice and play a slot cornerback role too often, a turn of events that put his versatility on display, but hurt his overall performance on the field.
This summer, with the key addition of Walter Thurmond from the Legion of Boom Seahawks defensive backfield, Rolle has been promised he’s a safety exclusively, and as his body and mind are enjoying and readjusting, he’s thinking big things.
“My eyes are definitely back to lurking at the safety position,’’ Rolle said on Wednesday, “so it should be a phenomenal year.’’
Here is what Rolle is talking about. With the Steelers facing a second-and-7 from the Giants’ 40-yard line, quarterback Bruce Gradkowski executed what looked to be a perfect play. He put his tight end, Heath Miller, in motion out of the backfield and then hit him in stride on a screen pass to the right side that for an instant appeared to be wide open. Rolle, stationed near the numbers on the opposite side of the field, dissected the play and jumped to action. He immediately cut to his left, had to sidestep linebacker Jameel McClain cutting directly in front of him and toward the line of scrimmage, and ran full speed from hashmark-to-hashmark, launching himself at Miller and using a picture-perfect tackle to drop him for a 1-yard loss.
It was the play only a premier safety could make.
“That’s exactly right,’’ Rolle said. “Out of a lot of plays I made in this league, I would say that is definitely one of my better plays I made in my career, just because of the simple fact of everything that transpired. You have to have great eyes, you have to avoid a collision with a linebacker and then to still run back and see [the ball carrier] and get a tackle for a loss with a phenomenal hit. It’s an extremely hard play to make.’’
Rolle moved around to help the team, but the constant shifting did not always help him. He has not missed a game in his four years with the Giants, and in his first three seasons totaled only five interceptions. He picked off a career-high six in 2013, and if allowed to play his true position, figure Rolle to challenge for the NFL lead in picks.
“We have enough nickels and he will be at safety again for the entire season,’’ vowed safeties coach David Merritt. “Last year, in my opinion, he had the best season of his career and he played the safety position 90 percent of the time.’’
Rolle probably would downgrade that estimate to under 75 percent of his time lining up as a true safety.
Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell is fond of a three-safety look and when the Giants were in that “Bison’’ package, Rolle was put into a linebacker spot up much closer to the line of scrimmage. He was asked to do more of the grunt work and as a result, what he saw and looked for on the field changed drastically.
“When I was playing down, you really have to sacrifice a whole lot because you’re not going to get those splashing plays,’’ Rolle said. “When you play down low and play back, deep it’s night and day. Your responsibilities are night and day. The vision you have on the offensive unit is night and day.
“When you’re down there at the nickel you got to have pretty much tunnel vision, you focus more on your guy and your assignment,” Rolle said. “When you’re at safety, you get to see the entire field so not only do you have to view the right, you have to view the left, you have to view the middle. That’s what I mean by saying you have to get your safety eyes back.’’
Rolle has his safety eyes back, and he’s envisioning a big season up ahead.