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Two straight victories means "there’s definitely a positive vibe" for the New York Giants as they head into their bye week, safety Antrel Rolle said on Monday.
Are the 2-6 Giants really back? Are they really contenders, or does the woeful state of the NFC East just make it seem that way?
"When it’s all said and done, we’re 2-6. We won our last couple of games, which is a great thing," rolle said. "Are we back? We’ll be back once we reach that postseason. That’s when I’ll say that we’re back. Right now we’re grinding."
For Justin Tuck, this season is "the complete opposite of where we’ve been normally at the break." Until this season the Giants had won at least five games in the first half of every season during the Tom Coughlin era.
"We can’t allow ourselves to think about the past or future, all we can think about is what’s next," Tuck said. "We have to make sure once we get back in the swing of things that the only thing we’re thinking about is Oakland. Not thinking about what Dallas did or Philly or Washington or whoever else."
Andre Brown 'ready to go'
Andre Brown, on short-term IR all season with a fractured leg, is eligible to be activated for the Nov. 10 game against the Oakland Raiders -- the Giants' first after the bye week. Brown expects to play.
"I feel great," Brown said. "Great, legs… I’m exploding, cutting, cutting really well and I’m ready to go."
Brown will wear a protective shin guard over the area he has now fractured in two successive season.
"I'll be wearing that for the rest of my career," Brown said.
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Are the Giants contenders or pretenders? ESPN's Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith and Eric Allen debate that in this video. Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News says the Giants have been more lucky than good the past two weeks.Quarterback Eli Manning said the Giants still believe they can make this into a "special season."
GM Jerry Reese, who has passed on several requests to speak to reporters during the first half of the season, speaks to the media today for his annual bye week press conference. Reese will face a group that will be asking him to explain a number of decisions that have backfired.
Tuck said Sunday that the Giants had simplified their defense in recent weeks. Monday he explained more about what he meant:
"I think, you know, Perry [Fewell] is pretty good at scheming, he really is," Justin Tuck said. "But sometimes you can have so much and it slows you down because, mentally, you're thinking about all the checks you have."
He added: "I thought we were more of a 'check with me defense' in the first half, and that didn't really allow us to play fast. So, I give (Perry) a lot of credit saying 'we need to simplify this.' We agreed. And he's put together three pretty good game plans back to back where we've played pretty awesome and hopefully we can continue to do so."
NJ.com spotlights the play of middle linebacker Jon Beason during Sunday's victory over Philadelphia.
Here are five things we learned about the Giants on Sunday. You will recognize the author.
NFL.com lists midseason disappointments. Amazingly, the Giants are not on mentioned.
Spencer Paysinger did not play a defensive snap on Sunday. Paysinger said Monday that was by design, and it was his idea.