Giants Daily Blitz Blog

Rolle talks Eli’s “stamp” on SB XLVI

Indianapolis isn’t exactly New Orleans, but each host city presents its own distractions during Super Bowl week. That’s why a year ago the short-winded Eli Manning got up in front of his team before the Giants departed East Rutherford, laying out what to expect and how to prepare.

“I think Eli definitely put a stamp on that team when he said what he said,” Antrel Rolle recalled on WFAN’s “Joe and Evan” on Tuesday. “Eli is not a guy of many words, but we know whenever he speaks, you know it’s coming more from the heart and that it’s something that’s going to be very beneficial for the team. And I think, honestly, I was extremely delighted that he made that comment.”

Shortly after, the Giants were hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after beating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. Rolle wasn’t as lucky in his first championship appearance when he was with the Arizona Cardinals, who lost Super Bowl XLIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a last-minute touchdown by Santonio Holmes.

Rolle, a little older and wiser, was more prepared the second time around, saying the difference was “like night and day.”

“The first Super Bowl, I really didn’t know what to expect,” Rolle continued. “Obviously I was a few years younger and just kind of caught up in the moment. I was just kind of caught up in the moment that we were actually able to accomplish something of that magnitude of reaching the Super Bowl. As opposed to last year, I was extremely more focused. I understood what was ahead of me. I understood the approach. I understood the mentality I was supposed to have, and more so I understood how to pace myself throughout the week, how to keep my emotions under control.”

As for the next Super Bowl, which will be held in MetLife Stadium, Rolle likes the change of scenery.

“I love the idea,” said Rolle, a Florida native and University of Miami product. “I love the idea more so because it’s Giants Stadium [MetLife Stadium] and second of all I think it brings a change. I think it brings a different atmosphere to the Super Bowl, and I think everything needs a change. Everything needs a change. It doesn’t always need to be in the warm weather, etc., etc., so I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to the battle.”

QUICK HITS

» Former Giant Manningham eyes second ring

» Giants Mock Draft Tracker

» DE Justin Tuck prepares for next season

» Giants Insider: Punter Steve Weatherford chats with Giants.com in this exclusive Insider interview

» MetLife Moment: DE Justin Tuck reflects on his key sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII

Giants vs. Ravens Game Blog

The Giants and Baltimore Ravens meet for the fourth time in the regular season, with the Ravens leading the series, 2-1. In their only postseason meeting, the Ravens defeated the Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida. In their last meeting, the Giants defeated the Ravens in Giants Stadium, 30-10, in Week 11 of the 2008 regular season.

Kickoff: 4:25 PM ET
Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD.
TV: FOX
Radio: WFAN 660AM/101.9FM
Weather: Clear with temperatures steady near 46F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

NYG Inactives
13 Barden
21 Phillips
39 Sash
47 Beckum
71 Ojomo
81 Robinson
91 Tuck
NYG Lineup Changes: 72 Umenyiora for 91 Tuck

BAL Inactives
17 Doss
31 Pollard
50 McClellan
63 Williams
70 Harewood
83 Thompson
95 Hall
BAL Lineup Changes: 32 Ihedigbo for 31 Pollard

FIRST QUARTER

15:00 — Game Captains: WR Victor Cruz and S Antrel Rolle. Giants win the coin toss and elect to receive.

13:49 — Ahmad Bradshaw loses two yards on a direct snap and the Giants go three-and-out on their opening possession.

11:29 — Ray Rice touches the ball on each of Baltimore’s first four plays.

8:45 — The replay assistant reverses the Giants’ fumble recovery (Jacoby Jones).

7:42 — TOUCHDOWN RAVENS. Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith for six yards. XP is GOOD. BALTIMORE 7, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 14 plays, 73 yards in 5:25)

*The Ravens converted four third downs on the scoring drive.

6:02 — After forcing the Giants to punt, a 43-yard pass to Torrey Smith sets up the Ravens on the New York 1.

4:24 — TOUCHDOWN RAVENS. Flacco keeps it for a one-yard score. XP is GOOD. BALTIMORE 14, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 4 plays, 47 yards in 2:10)

4:19 — On the first play of the ensuing drive, Rueben Randle picks up the Giants’ first first-down and more with a 43-yard catch.

1:34 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. David Wilson scores his fourth rushing touchdown of the season on a 14-yard sprint. XP is GOOD. BALTIMORE 14, NEW YORK 0 (Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards in 2:54)

0:00 — RAVENS 14, GIANTS 0

SECOND QUARTER

15:00 – The Giants begin the quarter with the ball on their own 15.

14:19 – Eli Manning is sacked for the first time of the day by Haloti Ngata for a 15-yard loss, setting up a second-and-25.

12:57 – The Giants are unable to convert on third down and punt back to the Ravens, who take over on their own 12.

7:36 – Jacoby Jones’ nine-yard touchdown is reversed and ruled incomplete.

6:09 — FIELD GOAL RAVENS. Justin Tucker makes a 23-yard attempt. BALTIMORE 17, NEW YORK 7 (Drive: 12 plays, 83 yards in 6:05)

4:14 – Domenik Hixon has a long gain negated by an offensive passing interference penalty called on himself.

1:10 — TOUCHDOWN RAVENS. Ray Rice takes a short pass 27 yards to the end zone. XP is GOOD. BALTIMORE 24, NEW YORK 7 (Drive: 7 plays, 76 yards in 2:11)

HALFTIME: RAVENS 24, NEW YORK 7

THIRD QUARTER

15:00 — The Giants kickoff to begin the second half.

14:23 — New York forces a quick three-and-out on the Ravens’ opening possession.

7:39 — Joe Flacco converts a third-and-19 with a 36-yard pass to Dennis Pitta. The Ravens are 8 of 11 on third-down conversions.

*Flacco has completed passes of 25 yards or more to four receivers.

5:18 — FIELD GOAL RAVENS. Tucker makes a 21-yard attempt. BALTIMORE 27, NEW YORK 7 (Drive: 16 plays, 82 yards in 7:57)

0:00 — RAVENS 24, GI

FOURTH QUARTER

15:00 – Baltimore begins with the ball on the New York 31 to start the final quarter.

11:12 — FIELD GOAL RAVENS. Tucker makes a 30-yard attempt. BALTIMORE 30, NEW YORK 7 (Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards in 6:57)

9:34 – Bernard Pierce breaks free for a 78-yard run, the Ravens’ longest of the season.

7:30 — FIELD GOAL RAVENS. Tucker makes 29-yard attempt. BALTIMORE 33, NEW YORK 7 (Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards in 2:56)

3:24 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Eli Manning finds Domenik Hixon in the end one for a 13-yard score. XP is GOOD. BALTIMORE 33, NEW YORK 14 (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards in 4:07)

3:18 – Ray Rice gains eight yards, becoming the second Ravens’ player to eclipse 100 yards on the ground in the game.

FINAL: RAVENS 33, GIANTS 14

Daily Blitz: Rolle accepts all challenges

In their “second season,” the Giants are 2-2 since the Week 11 bye, having alternated wins and losses. They are, however, on the down end of that trend, and Antrel Rolle was asked on his weekly WFAN spot what happened in the 34-0 loss to Atlanta.

“Basically nothing, nothing happened on our end,” Rolle told Joe and Evan on Tuesday. “I really don’t know. It just seems like wherever there’s an up, there’s a down, and I think that pretty much causes us to be a very inconsistent team. It just seems like no matter what phase of the game it was, they were extremely successful and we were very unsuccessful.”

As the Giants prepare for the Ravens – a team that has clinched a playoff spot but has lost three games in a row – Rolle won’t make any comparisons to last year’s Super Bowl run.

QUICK HITS

» Access Blue: Justin Tuck’s Toy Drive - DE Justin Tuck hosts a Toy Drive with his Giants teammates.

» Inside The Numbers: Turnover differentials

» RB Ahmad Bradshaw expects to suit up

» GIANTS REWIND: Bob Papa and Carl Banks break down the Giants’ Week 15 game against the Falcons.

3RD QTR: Giants, Saints trade touchdowns

THIRD QUARTER

15:00 — Giants kickoff to begin the second half.

14:56 — Stevie Brown grabs his sixth interception on a tipped pass intended for Jimmy Graham (covered by Antrel Rolle). Brown returns it 21 yards down to the Saints’ 20.

13:18 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. David Wilson powers in for a 6-yard score. XP is good. NEW YORK 28, NEW ORLEANS 13 (Drive: 4 plays, 20 yards in 1:40)

*Mark Herzlich makes a big tackle on the ensuing return, pinning the Saints back at their own 12. Giants force a quick three-and-out.

11:22 — TOUCHDOWN GIANTS. Hakeem Nicks grabs his third touchdown of the season on a 25-yard pass from Eli manning. XP is good. NEW YORK 35, NEW ORLEANS 13 (Drive: 6 plays, 62 yards in 3:09)

8:07 — Saints march into Giants territory after a 62-yard pass from Drew Brees to Joe Morgan, their longest play of the day.

7:28 — TOUCHDOWN SAINTS. Sproles rushes 13 yards for the score. XP is good. NEW YORK 35, NEW ORLEANS 20 (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards in 0:52)

6:36 — Victor Cruz hits the 100-yard mark (111) after a 34-yard catch from manning.

5:10 — Manning’s pass intended for Martellus Bennett is intercepted by Isa Abdul-Quddus. Saints take over on their own 32.

1:51 — TOUCHDOWN SAINTS. Darren Sproles takes a short pass from Brees nine yards into the end zone. XP is good. NEW YORK 35, NEW ORLEANS 27 (6 plays, 68 yards in 3:09)

*Jerrel Jernigan returns the ensuing kickoff 60 yards down to the Saints’ 25.

*Paid attendance announced at 81,437

0:00 — GIANTS 35, SAINTS 27

1ST QTR: Wilson returns kickoff for TD

The Giants and New Orleans Saints meet for the 27th time in the regular season, with the Giants holding a 14-12 lead in the series. The two teams have never met in the postseason. In their last meeting, the Saints defeated the Giants, 49-24, in New Orleans on Monday Night Football in Week 12 of the 2011 regular season.

Kickoff: 4:25 PM ET
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: FOX
Radio: WFAN 660AM/101.9FM
Weather: Light rain until 4pm. 44°F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.

Inside the Locker Room: Prepping for Redskins

QB Eli Manning
On game plan against Redskins…
“I think we need to protect the football. They do a good job on defense at getting turnovers. They do a good job at getting pressure so we have to protect the ball offensively and be patient. Hopefully we’ll have the right calls at the right times and hit some big plays.”

Safety Antrel Rolle
On Sunday night sparking a run…
“Sunday night was huge for us. It got the bad taste out of our mouth for the last two games. More importantly, it put us on a positive step going into this game. We need this game extremely bad. This is a division opponent. The Washington Redskins always play us extremely tough, and we’re just trying to go out there and get a win any way we can.”

WR Hakeem Nicks
On how he’s feeling…
“I feel like this time of the year, [nobody is] feeling great. It’s football. It’s a contact sport. So we throw our bodies around. I don’t think anybody is going to be feeling great, but I do feel good at this point in the year than I have in the past”

WR Victor Cruz
On WR Nicks’ return…
“Just from an energy standpoint, I mean, you can just feel when he’s out there. There’s a different energy. When he’s talking to us, you know he’s out there on the field and it’s good to have him back…These last couple weeks have been positive even though they weren’t wins…”

Giants Music Playlist vs. Bengals

Every week, we’re asking a handful of Giants players what’s playing in their headphones before a game. This is what they had to say before taking on the Cincinnati Bengals:

WR Victor Cruz
Kendrick Lamar – ‘Money Trees’

TE Adrien Robinson
Big Sean – ‘Mula ft. French Montana’

S Will Hill
DJ Drama – ‘My Moment ft. 2 Chainz, Meek Mill & Jeremih’

S Antrel Rolle
Trick Daddy – ‘Forget tha Otha Side’

DOWNLOAD THE GIANTS “ALL IN” PEPSI ANTHEM BY TRAVIE MCCOY 

Previous Weeks

Giants Music Playlist vs. Steelers

Giants Music Playlist vs Cowboys

Giants Music Playlist vs. Redskins

Giants Music Playlist vs. 49ers

Giants Music Playlist vs. Browns

Giants load up iPod for Philly trip

Giants choose pregame playlist

Inside the Locker Room: Cincinnati Bound

WR Victor Cruz
On today’s practice…
“Practice went well today, had a good rhythm to it…we’re building on the timing aspect of it which I thought we lacked a little bit so today was a good day, it felt good. It felt clean, it felt crisp.”

Safety Antrel Rolle
On Bengals 4-game losing skid…
“I approach every opponent the same way, it’s an NFL team. You’re never guaranteed anything in this league. Anything can happen on any given Sunday…just looking to play ball, get back on track.”

WR Domenik Hixon
On Bengals secondary vets…
“You’re going up against great competition, you know that, they got a lot of first round guys and a lot of vets in their secondary so like I said we’re going to go out there and compete.”

Daily Blitz: Rolle ready to play ‘Giants football’

Despite seeing their four-game win streak end last Sunday, the Giants maintained sole possession of first place in the NFC East. Heading into Week 10, they are two games up in the loss column and three in the win column ahead of Philadelphia and Dallas, both sitting at 3-5.

But Antrel Rolle isn’t getting comfortable anytime soon.

“I think it is a race, and it’s always going to be a race,” the safety said Tuesday on his weekly spot on WFAN with Joe and Evan. “First and foremost, we’ve already lost two games in the division. So for us, it’s going to be a race regardless. No matter what those other teams’ records are or no matter what a head coach is referring to as far as next season, we have to go and play our game. We can’t worry about what the Eagles are doing, what the Redskins are doing or what the Cowboys are doing. We have to go in and play Giants football.”

And what that means is executing in all three phases, something Rolle doesn’t think the Giants have done since their Week 6 victory in San Francisco.

“Since then, it’s either been offense had an up day, defense had a down day; our defense had an up day, our offense had a down day or special teams had a down day,” Rolle said. “I don’t think we’ve put all three phases of the game together since that day. I think it’s time for us to find our way back to that, and that’s how we win.”

Rolle and the Giants will have a chance to show if they can do that on Sunday against a Cincinnati team on a four-game skid.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Great day at the Food Bank of New Jersey. @Giants http://t.co/HBRujnhR—
Bear Pascoe (@BearPascoe) November 06, 2012

QUICK HITS

» The First Look: Giants vs. Bengals

» Giants donate to hurricane relief efforts

» WATCH: Bob Papa and Carl Banks break down the Giants’ Week 9 game against the Steelers.

» WATCH: Sights and Sounds: Steelers Game

1ST QTR: Defensive struggle early on

This week’s game is the 76th meeting between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants. The Giants lead the series, 44-28-3. The two teams have never met in the postseason. In their last meeting, the Giants defeated the Steelers, 21-14, in Week 8 of the 2008 season.

Kickoff: 4:25 PM ET

Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

Weather: Partly cloudy. 49°F. Wind: W 14mph, gusting to 24 mph

Lineup changes:

NEW YORK