Injured Giants Azeez Ojulari, Jason Pinnock ‘day-to-day’

As everyone who has paid attention this year should have expected, New York Giants coach Brian Daboll shed virtually no light on the status of injured players Azeez Ojulari and Jason Pinnock on Monday.

Ojulari, an edge defender, suffered a quad injury during the Wild-Card Round victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Pinnock, a safety and special teams contributor, was briefly hospitalized after suffering an abdominal injury late in the game.

Daboll termed both players “day-to-day.”

The Giants were off on Monday. They begin practice for their Divisional Round game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday. Perhaps we will learn more about Ojulari and Pinnock at that point.

Underdog mentality

The Giants have rarely been favored to win by oddsmakers this season, and will be a heavy underdog against the Eagles. Daboll isn’t worried about that.

“I think we just focus on what we can control, having our good week. That’s what we need to do,” he said. “We’re process oriented. That’s really what we focus on.

“It’s how we go about our business this week, again, how we prepare, how we practice and then ultimately how we play on Sunday – or Saturday in this case. Every game’s a new game. Obviously, you have matchups that you went against here over the last two times you played them. One week really has nothing to do with the next week or one game has nothing to do with the next game other than you take things from it. You learn from it. You try to grow from it. But it’s going to be how we execute on Saturday and how we prepare throughout the week. That’s our process; that’s what it will always be. And that’s what it’ll be this week.”

Statement from Steve Tisch

Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, who is rarely heard from, issued the following statement after the Giants’ victory over Minnesota on Sunday:

“My family and I are proud of the players, coaches and staff and how everyone throughout the entire organization has worked together to make this a successful season.

“We are happy for the Giants fans who have endured some tough times with us in recent year. We appreciate their support, passion and enthusiasm.

“Joe and Dabs have laid the foundation for continued success. We all agree there is much work left to be done. Their shared vision and constant dialogue is always about what is best for the organization, as is their consistent approach day in and day out and the great communication with John Mara and me.”

Role reversal

In 2008, the 12-4 Giants were the top seed in NFC and a first-round bye.. Philadelphia was seeded sixth with a 9-6-1 record. The Eagles went on the road and earned a 26-14 victory in a wild card game in Minnesota, which was the NFC North champion. That sent the Eagles to Giants Stadium where Philadelphia ended the Giants’ season 23-11 triumph.

The roles are reversed this time with the 13-4 Eagles as the top seed. Can the Giants get some long overdue payback?