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E-GIANTS By DAVE KLEIN So the Giants' public relations committee brought him into the press room, stood him up in front of a podium and made everybody happy. They all asked their questions, mostly concerning Sunday's first round playoff game in Giants Stadium against the Carolina Panthers, and Strahan was at his usual best -- articulate, funny, skilled in repartee and engaging. The questions were all basically simple -- how he feels about Panthers' head coach John Fox, the former Giants' defensive coordinator; what he feels about the Panthers' pair of outstanding defensive ends; his opinion of head coach Tom Coughlin after a second season; his thoughts concerning quarterback Eli Manning and whether the 25-year-old will be ready for the intensity of the playoffs. All that stuff. But the question that had been burning to be asked, begging to be asked, wasn't about to be wasted on the throngs. Later, in the locker room, your correspondent sidled up to Strahan -- who yesterday was named the Giants' winner of the Ed Block Courage Award (more on that later), and asked it. Q -- Michael, in April of 2004, right after the Giants made the trade that brought Eli Manning here, and right after Kerry Collins demanded his release in the Hissy Fit of all Hissy Fits, you made a bunch of public statements. Do you remember? "Yeah, I do," he said. "I was angry. I always say what I feel and that was one of those times." Strahan criticized the Giants for making the trade that forced Collins out, that made him leave. He accused the team of "selling out" the older veterans who wanted just one more shot at a Super Bowl ring, because to start "all over again" with a rookie quarterback would take too much time to bring the team back to the playoffs. Too much time, he noted, for guys like himself and Tiki Barber and Amani Toomer. He didn't think Kerry should have been released. He didn't think the Giants should have spent what they spent to secure Manning. He was plain upset. And now? "Well, I did feel that way," he said, always one who stands up to his responsibility and is always accountable for his words and actions. "It was kind of a shocking thing. But how could I know how fast Eli would come around? How fast he would learn? And how much of a leader he has become? Now we feel very comfortable with him as our quarterback, and confident that he'll do the job." Does he regret saying what he said? "Absolutely not," he stated. "I still think Kerry Collins is a great quarterback. But you know, I'm starting to feel that way about Eli, too, and he's our quarterback." The humor that is part of Strahan's unique personality appeared when someone asked him to discuss the Panthers' pair of superlative defensive ends, Julius Peppers and Micheal Rucker. "Oh, they're great," he said. "I think that's an outstanding pair of defensive ends. I know Julius, but not as well as I know Mike. They're good guys, great players, and they could start on any team in this league." On the Giants? "Well," he smiled, "not here. Anywhere else but here. In my opinion, me and Osi [Umenyiora] are the best pair of defensive ends in the NFL, and I think it's going to be up to us to see about winning this game." As for Umenyiora, who had 14.5 sacks to lead the NFC; Strahan had 11.5 and the combination of 26 sacks was by far the highest in the league for a pair of defensive ends on the same team (Peppers and Rucker combined for 18, the next highest total), Strahan couldn't offer enough praise. "Osi is fun to play with, and he is going to be a great, great player. He's just starting out and look at what he's done so far. He's in the Pro Bowl and it's only his third year. I think we can help decide this game. Pressure from our defensive ends can win this game if we don't need help [from linebackers or the defensive tackles]." Going into the game, Strahan said that the goal line stand in Oakland last Saturday night, when the Raiders had four chances from the Giants' 1-yard line and failed to put it across, will help now. "It was a great confidence booster," he said. "The feeling now is that we're done it before, and we can do it again. That's a lot to ask of a defense, to stop another professional team four times from the one-yard line, and we did it." And John Fox? Strahan smiled again. "Foxy is very creative, defensively," he said. "He'll try to take Tiki out of the game, make us pass to win." Imagine how surprised "Foxy" would be if his plan worked and the Giants' passing game did make the difference. "You know, Eli is so cool, so quietly confident, that if he was any more relaxed we'd have to check for a pulse," Strahan said. "He is aware of the intensity and importance, of course, but you'd never know by looking at him." The playoffs, for veterans like Strahan, require a certain acquired education. "It isn't just about playing a game after the regular season has ended," he said. "The playoff experience is important in some ways, but the bottom line to all of it is just that it's a game. 'Just relax, go out and play,' is what the younger guys have to understand. "Tiki and I try to tell them how hard it is to get here, and that the playoffs are not the final goal. Older guys like us appreciate the opportunity, and along with that appreciation you feel you don't want it to end, because this playoff game is not the be-all and end-all." What is? "The Super Bowl," he said."The Super Bowl and that ring." Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS
where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here. NEW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!
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