Radio Rolle: 'Coughlin is My Guy'

[Mr. P]

Giants S Antrel Rolle wants everyone to know that he doesn’t have a problem with Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, and that he doesn’t have a problem with the Giants organization.

 

Rolle, who pointed out that he said numerous good things about the Giants and Coughlin during his Monday interview with WQAM in Miami, said he was disappointed that his comment about wanting to see Coughlin “loosen up just a little bit” took center stage.

 

In an exclusive interview with Inside Football, Rolle stressed several times that he’s fine with how Coughlin runs his program, and that he enjoys playing for him.

 

“Coach Coughlin is my guy, and I’m his guy,” Rolle said. “Every time and in every interview I’ve done, they ask me should Coach Coughlin keep his job, and I’ve backed him 200% every time.”

 

“You know I’m not a politically correct guy. I don’t say things that people expect me to say; I say things that are from my heart. Coach Coughlin is a great guy, he’s a great coach, and when they asked me if he was losing this team, I told them there’s no way.

 

“I said so long as we take responsibility and make plays on the field, these questions wouldn’t be asked. I took it very personally when people were asking me about Coach Coughlin because I take that as a sign of people thinking we’re not going about doing our job. So therefore they go after the headman.”

 

Rolle noted how the Giants have a locker room full of quality people who take pride in not only what they do on the field but off the field as well. And that’s something that he said he was proud to be a part of.

 

“Honestly, our team is so dynamic,” he said. “It shocks me every day when I line up on the field with these guys because we have a very talented bunch that consists of good guys off the field.”

 

Rolle, who admitted that his intense passion for the game sometimes takes over off the field, said that he realizes the importance of measuring his words carefully in the future to avoid giving people any false impressions that there is discord inside the Giants’ locker room.

 

“If it doesn’t pertain to our defense and our team and how we can get better, if it doesn’t pertain to the upcoming opponent we’re facing that week, then I won’t have anything else to say,” he said. “Honestly, I think that’s the best thing for me and for our organization.”

 

Rolle, who following the Giants’ loss against the Colts in Week 2, initially voiced concern over how Coughlin ran his program, admitted that getting used to life in New York has been a bit more challenging than he first thought. However, like any other challenge, he’s determined to conquer it.

 

“Through all this, I’ve probably been a little more rattled with certain things than I have been in all my previous years of playing football,” he admitted. “It has nothing to do with Coach Coughlin or the organization. It’s just things in general – just being in a new situation and trying to adjust to things I’m not used to. That’s a part of growing up and maturing and adapting to a great environment that’s around you, which is the New York Giants.”

 

One adjustment though Rolle said he hasn’t had to make is playing for a coach like Coughlin, who’s known for running a tighter ship in terms of his expectations of his players, his assistants, and himself.

 

“In all of my years of playing football, I never even had a coach like (Jets head coach) Rex Ryan,” said Rolle, who in the interview with WQAM complimented Ryan’s coaching style as being an ideal fit for the Jets’ culture. “My coaches have been more like Coach Coughlin, and I’ve never had a problem in all of my years of playing football playing for a coach like that. And I’m going to make sure that it stays that way.”

 

Rolle said his passion for the game runs so deep that all he wants to do is see his team – and himself – be the best because he said that’s what the organization, the fans, the coaches, and anyone else that is invested investment in the team deserves.

 

“Coming to New York, I want the betterment of this team, the things that I feel will give us a little bit of an extra push that might help this team a little bit,” he said. “People are taking things I say and blowing them out of proportion. They’re making it seem like I’m this malicious type. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not that kind of guy.”

 

All Rolle wants is to see the chemistry on the team continue to flourish so that they win.

 

“We have great team chemistry -- I think we have a lot of team chemistry,” he said. “And I think that I can help with that by keeping my words to myself and making sure we come together as a team.

 

“We don’t need to get into all that trash talking,” he added. “We don’t need to be the group that’s known to everyone for trash talking. That’s not what I mean by ‘fun.’ What I mean by ‘fun’ is to do whatever it takes to get us over that hump when you’re in those close games.

 

“We’re going to grow together as a team, and come this time next year, we’re going to do what we need to do to make sure that we are one of the teams that are making a run for the Super Bowl.”

 

Rolle believes that the Giants have something special, and although they fell short of their goal of being in the playoffs this year, he said that every person in the Giants locker room is committed to making sure that the Giants get back to the post season tournament.

 

Still, he realized the unintentional impact his words had, and wanted to make sure the air was clear.

 

“My words were never intended to hurt anyone, put down the organization, or hurt Coach Coughlin,” he said. “My words were what they were, and they were twisted to where it seemed like it was pointed at someone when in fact it wasn’t intended that way.

 

“I will apologize for the way things have been blown up and the way things have been put out there,” he said. “The only person I really blame is myself because if there’s nothing said, there can be no words twisted and no huge blowup over something that wasn’t intended to be negative.

 

“I’m just going to move forward from all this. I love my teammates, I love the coaching staff, and I love the organization and what they’ve provided to me.

 

“Hopefully, I’m going to be able to provide them with even more,” he added. “From this day forward, it’s going to be about the ball. That’s the only thing I’m going to focus on is the ball – getting better and making sure I’m the best player I can be on the field come Sunday.”

 

 

 

http://trainathought.insidefootball.com/2011/01/antrel-rolle-coughlin-is-my-guy.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny how a day after Tuck said he was gonna have a little chat with Rolle he now says this.

[Guest StrahansGap]

Sounds like Antrel Rolle is trying to clean the diarrhea out of the carpet.

[Allstarjim]

Giants beat writers don't have enough to talk about. This story was a non-story from the beginning. All it is about is a guy coming to a big market team (the biggest) and not realizing that everything you say and do can and will be a story if the NY media choose it to be. They blow some much shit out of proportion, or just create it on their own. I can totally see how a reporter would ask leading questions then manipulate the answers and cleverly leave out other answers to write the story they want to write. It's ridiculous and I've seen it happen multiple times.

 

The literal words someone says doesn't always match up to the intention of the words or the greater message the person is communicating. A lot gets lost in print, intentionally or otherwise, and some stuff is just left out because it doesn't jive with the message the writer wants.

 

Antrell is learning the hard way you cannot trust the media, so you have to be very careful what you say in front of them. All I care about is him making a lot more big plays for us next year than he did this past one.

[Nas]

Giants beat writers don't have enough to talk about. This story was a non-story from the beginning. All it is about is a guy coming to a big market team (the biggest) and not realizing that everything you say and do can and will be a story if the NY media choose it to be. They blow some much shit out of proportion, or just create it on their own. I can totally see how a reporter would ask leading questions then manipulate the answers and cleverly leave out other answers to write the story they want to write. It's ridiculous and I've seen it happen multiple times.

 

The literal words someone says doesn't always match up to the intention of the words or the greater message the person is communicating. A lot gets lost in print, intentionally or otherwise, and some stuff is just left out because it doesn't jive with the message the writer wants.

 

Antrell is learning the hard way you cannot trust the media, so you have to be very careful what you say in front of them. All I care about is him making a lot more big plays for us next year than he did this past one.

 

'Zackly This is a non-story story.

[JackStroud]

It is the story of a man having the courage to tell the truth, then realizing he just jeopardized his career.

 

I guess Coughlin is our man........our man

 

Clipboards all over the globe are protesting this decision

[fringe]

It is the story of a man having the courage to tell the truth, then realizing he just jeopardized his career.

 

I guess Coughlin is our man........our man

 

Clipboards all over the globe are protesting this decision

 

LOL Jack- I've never seen Couglin even carry a clipboard, much less smash one.