George Willis

George Willis

NFL

With Tuck, Snee gone, Giants look for loud leaders

Antrel Rolle was barking out encouragement as if he had a whistle around his neck.

“Get that ball out! Compete, compete, compete!” the Giants safety yelled.

His words were shouted from the sidelines to his defensive teammates, who were in the midst of seven-on-seven drills with the offense late Friday afternoon at the Giants’ training facility in the shadow of MetLife Stadium.

“Make a play, make a play,” Rolle shouted.

In his fifth season with the Giants, Rolle is one of the obvious leaders on a team that has lost two key leaders in defensive end Justin Tuck, who signed a free agent deal with the Raiders, and guard Chris Snee, who retired at the start of training camp.

Replacing their leadership — as well as the veteran influences of former players such as David Diehl and Kevin Boothe — is an unspoken objective of training camp.

It’s part of building the kind of chemistry that leads to success on the field.

Snee and Tuck are considered two of the best to ever wear the Giants uniform, not only because of their talent, but also for how they motivated their teammates and supported their coaches.

They were part of the reason a 0-6 start finished 7-9, avoiding an embarrassing implosion.

Tuck was always visible during the tough times, always there to handle the difficult questions. He was the guy who spoke in the middle of the huddle before games and the first to make “All in” the battle cry to the 2011 Super Bowl.

Snee was the type who didn’t talk much to the media, but his work ethic, attention to detail and love of the game provided an example for those who lined up alongside him.

Who will step forward when the tough times hit this year? The Giants are in a bit of transition with a number of new players trying to focus on learning a new team and a new system. Generally, players don’t like to say much until they’re established. But leaders are crucial for building the identity of a franchise.

What Harry Carson passed on to Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks was passed on to Michael Strahan, who passed it on to Tuck. Now who is the leader of the Giants defense?

“It’s got to be a group effort,” defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. “You can’t expect one person to come in and be Tuck. It has to be a group effort.”

Clearly, Rolle isn’t shy about pushing his teammates. Tuck and Snee began their careers with the Giants, but Rolle has entrenched himself in the Giants fabric since joining as a free agent in 2010.

“Our goal right now is to play together as a team,” Rolle said. “Once we do that, everything else is going to take care of itself.”

Linebacker Jon Beason acts as if he has been here forever, even though he didn’t arrive until October of last year.

Linebacker Jameel McClain won’t be shy about expressing his opinion, even though he’s a free-agent acquisition from the Ravens.

“Whatever I feel at the moment is what I express,” McClain said on Friday.

A new sprinkling of leaders will emerge as the season progresses. It would be natural for Jason Pierre-Paul, Jenkins, Mike Patterson, Victor Cruz, Mathias Kiwanuka and even Eli Manning to all step forward a bit more.

“Everyone’s a leader, to be honest,” Beason said. “You’ve got Indians and you have chiefs. If you know your role and do your job consistently, that’s a leader. I’ll take that guy over anybody who is the vocal guy or the guy who’s trying to bring another guy along. Just do your job. That’s the best thing you can do as a leader.”

Maybe that’s what Harry passed on to LT and LT passed on to Strahan and Strahan passed on to Tuck. Who’s next?