Big Blue View
Fans ride an emotional rollercoaster with their teams. Highs like the New York Giants victory over the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks bring euphoria. Lows like Sunday’s collapse vs. the Denver Broncos bring misery, a hunt for blame, and the thought that everyone involved should be fired or cut.
Fans can debate those highs and lows as emotionally as they want. Media can return to asking or writing about those things for as long and as often as they desire.
Players don’t have that luxury.
“If you don’t put it away, it’s going to steamroll to another one and be a snowball effect,” said veteran defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches. “Just like any other game, there’s good, there’s bad, but you still got to flush it because within six days you’re going to play another one. Unless you want that same thing to repeat, you got to learn from it, rinse, and apply for the next.”
So, how are the Giants moving on from Sunday’s historic collapse in a game that saw wounds both self-inflicted and unfortunate, the defensive coordinator come under fire again, and the play-calling and clock management of the final few minutes be questioned?
There were the usual Cam Skattebo “woooooo” from Cam Skattebo heard during Brian Daboll’s pre-practice press conference as players filtered on to the field. After practice, there were a dozen or so players — including quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receivers Wan’Dale Robinson — doing a little bit of extra work before they left the field.
The locker room was lively rather than somber during the 45-minute media availability. There was the usual competitive, raucous activity around the pool and ping pong tables. There were a number of disgusted onlookers when Tyrone Tracy scratched to lose in pool.
The room was lively, not quiet and sullen as can sometimes happen during a season in which things go south.
“It [losing like the Giants did on Sunday] stings for a little bit, but we’ve got to move on,” Dart said when he came off the field. “We can’t let it affect the next game and next moment so we’ve got to be present, we’ve got to learn from our mistakes, acknowledge some of the good things that we did and just try to perfect our craft in any way that we can.”
Though he has only started four games, Dart has become the face of the Giants franchise. With their energy, passion and enthusiasm, Dart and Skattebo have become the engine that drives Giants’ bus.
“These rookies don’t really act like rookies. They act like seasoned vets,” said right tackle Jermaine Eleumunor. “Dart’s out there, he way he carries himself is really impressive. Same with Skatt, Abdul [Carter]. Three of the rookies we have right now really make an impact on this team. They don’t carry themselves like rookies, which is a really cool thing to see.”
With that in mind, as the face of the team and the first Giants player to speak to media...
