E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only five sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

By DAVE KLEIN
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It was two days ago that cornerback Curtis Deloatch, in an apparent slip of the tongue, told E-GIANTS that he wasn't going to start Saturday night in Oakland.

He said the job had been given to the rookie, second round pick Corey Webster. "Yeah, Corey's going to start," he said.

Yesterday, that was confirmed by head coach Tom Coughlin, although not with much enthusiasm. "Corey is going to start," he said.

Asked whether this was because Webster had played well in his opportunities as a nickel and dime participant, as well as the occasional relief man for Deloatch, or because Deloatch simply wasn't playing well, Coughlin responded: "Both. Both. Sure."

Coughlin, who didn't seem excited at the prospect of starting a rookie and exposing him to such as Randy Moss and Jerry Porter, the Raiders' two wide receivers (each of whom has 70 receptions this season), he said: "Well, Corey has done a good job the last few weeks and we just feel like he's earned the right to start."

None of this would have happened had veteran Will Peterson not suffered a reoccurrence of the stress fracture in his lower back that kept him out nine games before the team finally put him on Injured Reserve Dec. 11. Deloatch, in his second season, was given the chance but has not been able to hold the job and, more and more frequently, has been the corner exploited by opposing teams.

Webster has started once this season, filling in for Deloatch (quad injury) against Seattle Nov. 27. "I am pleased to have the chance," the former LSU All-America said. "It's a great challenge. I think I'm ready for it because I go into practice with the mentality of being a starter. I think the coaches did a good job of preparing me for it."

Webster was asked how he felt being a rookie and starting against those two star receivers. He smiled. "It has been quite a few weeks since I've been a rookie," he said. "I think I'm ready for anything that can happen. I work hard and I study hard and the coaches have been giving me advice and now, well, I'm ready to move forward."

Few rookies have moved into a job -- and make no mistake, Deloatch was playing poorly enough for this to be Webster's job now -- faced with the prospect of covering either Moss or Porter.

"Sure I've seen Moss," he smiled. "Everybody has seen him. We have watched a lot of film of him this week to see if we can catch tendencies to help us be more successful. I'm just a cornerback getting ready to play a big game."

Sure, and the scary Moss is just another wide receiver. Doesn't he feel much like a frog pinned to a board in biology class? "I don't think they're going to change their offense," he said. "I think when they see a young guy on the corner, they see a guy with less experience and go after him. We're just going to be up for the challenge."

Well, he might be half right. The left corner, Will Allen, is playing poorly as well, and last week was near -- but not close enough -- to Redskins' wide receiver Santana Moss, who toasted him with 72- and 59-yard touchdown catches. So the quarterback might feel his lucky day has dawned, with easy pickings on both sides of the field.

The quarterback? Oh, right, that would be Kerry Collins, the former Giant who demanded his release in a temper tantrum when the Giants engineered the trade on Draft Day 2004 that brought Eli Manning to the team.

Collins' memorable statement, which he has since denied (or regretted, or both), was this: "I ain't no baby sitter."

General manager Ernie Accorsi offered to tear up his contract, which called for him to be paid $7 million for 2004, and instead write a three-year deal for exactly $7 million, with the second two years voidable on the part of the player. So he would have had to spend only one season with the Giants, still get his money, and leave with a little grace.

Not to be, and the Giants hired veteran Kurt Warner under similar circumstances (why, you ask, a three-year pact with the second and third years voidable? Because it was easier on the salary cap and it didn't make any difference to the player), he played well, did his best imitation of the good soldier when Coughlin replaced him with young Eli and left with a smile on everyone's face.

Now, we are told, Collins has told local (Oakland) sportswriters that he would like to beat the Giants and deny them the NFC East championship so that he can "exact some revenge´ against the Giants for letting him go. Letting him go? The guy clearly doesn't have much recall.

Coughlin had this to say: "I have no comment for anything like that."

Right, coach, but can a quarterback make a difference if he has an emotional state like that?

"I would have no idea," Coughlin said. "I have no comment for something like that." Defensive end Michael Strahan, who might get the chance to inflict a little friendly greeting on Collins personally, had more to say. Well, not more to say; his get-together with the media was for all of three questions. But one of them concerned Collins.

"He wants some revenge? Well, that's good," he smiled. "I'm sure he's not happy with the way he left the Giants and I'm sure I couldn't be if that were the same situation in my case. But at the same time, it's not Kerry Collins against the Giants. It's the Raiders against the Giants. It's not me against Kerry Collins. It's this team against that team. So one guy can definitely have a vengeance but you have to out and play the game as a team and see how it goes. But he's talented enough to win the game and we expect his best effort."

Manning, adhering to obvious party lines, would say only that he has great respect for Collins. "He is a talented player and he took this team to the Super Bowl [after the 2000 season]," he said. "I think every quarterback is motivated, and he is talented, so it's going to be a tough job for our defense to contain him."

Contain him? He runs about as fast as your Uncle Harry. He is the classic definition of the pocket passer, and when forced out of the pocket he changes back into a pumpkin again.

It should be a fine time for all Saturday night, as the Giants (attempt to) welcome in the New Year with the traditional wearing of the NFC East crown.

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.
- Team Giants

NEW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!

Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet"
Links to every newspaper and magazine that's available on the net. 

Website by Mike