Antrel Rolle Questions Giants' Leadership After Blowout Loss To The Colts

[Lughead]

Antrel Rolle's Outburst Should Get Everyone's Attention

by Ed Valentine on Sep 22, 2010 6:00 AM EDT in News

 

 

I have to admit I was a bit surprised -- maybe even a lot surprised -- by what seemed like overwhelming support about BBV for Antrel Rolle following his extremely candid WFAN radio appearance Tuesday.

 

There were, of course, some who believed Rolle -- a newcomer to the Giants -- had no business speaking out the way he did. The primary sentiment, though, can be summed up as "thank you, Antrel, for saying much of what we have been thinking."

 

 

In case you did not wade through the more than 300 comments made Tuesday about Rolle's outburst, here are a few of the ones supporting him.

 

I agree with everything he said

because he didnt remove himself and placed blame on everyone…….thats the problem, we get beat dwn and everybody acts like its okay, i saw the same disinterested look on Tucks face in this blowout as the one in last years panthers game……this team has a "so what" attitude and Rolle is here to step up, this guy has real pride and is clearly emerging as the leader…………….He is also right about letting a dog be a dog and not controlling everything……..we were lifeless and im glad he is speaking up, i bet you things change now!!!

-- Blue Gates

 

The fact that Antrel rolle is a new player around here makes it better

Because he wasn't in this locker room last year, it feels like he didn't experience the troubles and debacles that occured for the g-men. He gets to see first hand what happens and why it happened. The rest of players just shurgged, cared less, and seemed like they were pretty much used to it.

-- npfdawg

 

Best thing to happen to this team

I have a feeling in 3 months we'll be looking back on this week as the moment everyone pulled their heads out of their asses, stopped patting themselves on the back and started playing some damn football. I'm glad they're embarrassed and I think Rolle is dead right about a horrible game plan AND the lack of execution of it. If Tuck doesn't want to step up and be a defensive leader, then maybe Rolle will.

-- TNYFBG

 

I have thought a lot about Rolle's comments since I found out about them Tuesday afternoon. Are they divisive? Are they right on the money? Was he right to air out his feelings via the radio? Should he have taken his gripes to Tom Coughlin, Perry Fewell and Jerry Reese behind closed doors?

 

Honestly (which seemed to be one of Rolle's favorite words during his diatribe) I went back and forth on it. As much as it helps me by making great fodder for discussion, I am old school enough to believe that you don't take your gripes to the press. You take them to the organization behind closed doors.

 

I have lambasted Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey and Osi Umenyiora for their public airing of the Giants dirty laundry. So, I find myself in an odd position this morning.

 

I really have no problem with what Rolle said. I almost admire the way he did it, going out of his way to include everyone -- including himself -- for the debacle that was the Sunday night game against Indianapolis.

 

I am always the optimist about the Giants, always looking for the bright side and talking you guys off the ledge. Sunday's loss was just one poor game, and I remain convinced that there are enough weapons on offense and enough talent on defense for this to be a very good season for the Giants.

 

Yet, in the wake of Rolle's comments I have to believe there is something amiss on this football team. Something in that locker room is just not right. Complacency among veteran players who have Super Bowl rings and might not be as hungry as they once were? A disconnect between the coaching staff, including the new defensive coordinator, and the players?

 

I don't know for sure, and I'm not in the locker room to get a feel for what is going on in there. But how often do you hear players be as blunt as Rolle was Tuesday in discussing the vibe in the Giants workplace?

 

"I saw some things that I wasn't too fond of in that locker room. I felt like there was no one that stepped up to the plate when the opportunity presented itself.

 

"I don't take anything away from any player. I love my teammates, my teammates are great, they're warriors. But I felt like in a situation like that something should have been done. I don't feel like there was enough done at all in that game.

 

"I definitely see things, I see little things here and there, and it's not all with the players. There's a lot of other things that go on behind closed doors that a lot of people don't know about. It's not all about the players, sometimes.

 

"Things have to change. If you want a winning team, if you want a team to have the competitive attitude and to have that 'dog' mentality sometimes you have to let that team be a dog.

 

"Everything can't be controlled, and right now everything is controlled within this organization. Everything is controlled."

 

Did Rolle, two games into his Giants career, have the right to make such bold remarks? I think he has the credibility to speak his mind, and be heard. This is not C.C. Brown. This is a player who spent five season in Arizona, has been to a Pro Bowl and has been on teams that went to the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Without doubt, he has an understanding of how the game should be played, and what it takes to win. Maybe, just maybe, a fresh voice like his roaring from the rooftops -- or the radio, as it is -- is just what the doctor ordered.

 

Before Rolle made his remarks Tuesday, the New York Post's Mike Vaccaro wrote a column urging coach Tom Coughlin to put away the nice guy routine and get back to being the demanding drill sergeant he had always been prior to 2007.

 

Wrote Vaccaro:

 

You have to believe there remains a part of Coughlin's soul that wants to rise up and scream at the world that what he's seen from the Giants for most of the past year is utterly unacceptable. You know he not only wants to throw his defense under the bus, he wants to back the damned bus over it a few times, maybe wake it the hell up.

Good. Coughlin got his ring. He got his extension. He got paid. Maybe now it's time for him to go back to being who he really is, who he always was. Is it abrasive? Is it loud? Is it uncomfortable? Maybe it is.

 

And maybe that's exactly what the Giants need.

 

I am not sure what the Giants need, aside from some new blood on the aging offensive line. I do know that we have seen games like Sunday far too often in the past two seasons.

 

Sunday's lopsided loss to Indianapolis was one game, yes. It could turn out to be -- and hopefully will turn out to be -- an ugly blip in a great season. But, the Giants lost 8 of their last 11 games last season, and five of those losses were not competitive.

 

Good football teams, and I still believe the Giants are capable of being a very good football team, do not consistently lose games by three or more touchdowns. We heard, and made the injury excuse over and over last season. That excuse won't wash for Sunday's thrashing by Indianapolis.

 

Rolle is right that "things have to change."

 

What those "things" are, I'm not entirely sure. I do know that what Rolle has done is lay down the challenge for everyone to look in the mirror and figure them out.

 

Much to my own surprise, I'm glad he did.

 

[Mr. P]

Tom Coughlin Has A 'Good Conversation' With Antrel Rolle

 

Tom Coughlin surely wanted to talk only about football with his players and the media this week. But it didn’t work out that way because of Brandon Jacobs’ helmet toss and Antrel Rolle’s criticizing team leaders, so Coughlin spent the bulk of his Wednesday press conference addressing those issues.

 

During his session with reporters, Coughlin spoke in generalities about his meetings with both Jacobs and Rolle.

 

“Antrel and I had a conversation yesterday afternoon,” said Coughlin, whose road-trip schedule and “control” of the players Rolle also questioned. “Although the conversation remains private, it was a good conversation and I think he understands better the circumstance.”

 

Coughlin said his conversation with Jacobs covered several areas, including “the professionalism in terms of meeting with the media and that type of thing. I’m hoping the lesson learned from last weekend as well as the incident with the helmet, I’m hoping Brandon can grasp the importance of keeping your poise, keeping your cool, that type of thing.”

 

As for the issues with both players, Coughlin said, “Once the conversations have been accomplished between me and the players it is well understood by everyone those issues, whatever those issues are, should be discussed internally.”

 

For now, it appears Coughlin has squashed those two situations, though there remains a question that Rolle raised: where are the leaders on this team?

 

“What this year’s captains have done is done an outstanding job of trying to be good leaders,” Coughlin said of Eli Manning, Justin Tuck and Chase Blackburn. “When the game is on, we’re all involved in our jobs. … But there’s strength in leadership in all three of our captains and I count on those guys to be the communicators with our team. I’m sure as the relationships get stronger between the new guys and the guys that have been here, some of those things can be worked out.”

 

Coughlin was asked why he didn’t form a “leadership council” this season as he did every year since 2007.

 

“I’m relying on the captains right now to communicate with the players and then the captains and I will meet,” he said, adding: “At this point in time, I feel good about that. If that wants to be brought up by the captains or by me in one of our meetings, that would be fine. I did not feel the leadership council from a year ago was as effective as it’s been in the past.”

 

* * * *

 

TE Kevin Boss (concussion) will practice fully Wednesday, Coughlin said. Boss continues to be in line for a return to the field this Sunday against the Titans.

 

However, C Shaun O'Hara (ankle) is back in a walking boot in an attempt to get his nagging Achilles injury in check once again. O'Hara will not practice Wednesday and his status moving forward is unclear.

 

WR Hakeem Nicks (ankle) and DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) aren't even listed on the pre-practice injury report, so they're obviously doing much better than last week. Nicks said as much on Monday.

 

S Michael Johnson (back) will not practice but CB Aaron Ross (foot) will.

 

* * * *

 

I didn’t know what to expect from Coughlin’s presser Wednesday. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Despite plenty of questions about issues he’d prefer not discuss, Coughlin was honest, forthcoming and even in a good mood.

 

In fact, while he was walking to the podium, a reporter made a reference to Rolle’s comments by suggesting the media were getting stale by sitting around and waiting for me.

 

“Thank you for the levity,” a laughing Coughlin said.

 

Later, he was asked about facing Vince Young for the first time since the Titans QB led a 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter. Coughlin was asked about whether he’d make sure his players weren’t “sleeping” on Young if they should jump to a big lead.

 

“Sleep?” Coughlin replied.

 

Expect a comeback.

 

“It’s a 60-minute game and it’ll be a fourth-quarter game without a doubt,” he said.

 

Then, as a follow-up, Coughlin was asked if he’ll tell the players to make sure Young is “on the ground” this time, a reference to DE Mathias Kiwanuka’s having Young in his arms and then letting him go for fear of being called for roughing the passer.

 

“I knew that was coming,” Coughlin said. “Let’s not ask anymore about that play. I’ve slept pretty good since then.”

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2010/09/tom_coughlin_has_a_good_conver.html

[Mr. P]

Eli: "If you have problems, you keep it within the team."

 

Eli Manning isn’t a big fan of airing his team’s dirty laundry in public, so he definitely wasn’t supportive of Antrel Rolle’s decision to voice his concerns during a radio interview. He said his new teammate needs to understand that when he speaks in a major media market, a lot more people are listening to what you say.

 

“I think sometimes you have to remember where you are,” Manning said. “Anything you say outside this locker room is going to get blown up. Antrel is new to New York. He’s going to have to get accustomed to that.”

 

Manning wasn’t thrilled with Brandon Jacobs’ recent behavior either, but said “Brandon is Brandon and you come to deal with that.”

 

Now, he’s just hoping that both players have learned their lesson. In the future he’d rather them bring their problems to him.

 

“You just have to learn,” Manning said. “We’ve been through this in the past. It doesn’t matter what you say to the media, it’s not going to fix anything. If you have problems, you keep it within the team. You say something to the captains or to the coaches.”

 

Of course, not everyone felt that way. Some players were glad that Rolle said what he said and some were even OK with the forum that he chose.

 

“Sometimes it’s needed,” said cornerback Terrell Thomas. “Whether it’s bad or good, sometimes it’s needed. I think he did the right thing. Regardless of what he’s saying I think he got everybody’s attention.”

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2010/09/rolle-just-said-what-needed-to.html