Tom Coughlin said on Monday that he does not know if safety Antrel Rolle suffered a concussion late in Sunday’s 29-24 victory over the Cowboys but indications are he may have been spared.
“Antrel could not come back in after hitting his head, taking a tumble and hitting his head on the ground,’’ Coughlin said.
Asked if Rolle had been diagnosed with a concussion, Coughlin said “I don’t know that, I’m not sure about that just yet. He was a little dizzy when he came off the field, last night on the plane he said he was fine, he didn’t seem to have any issues, he had no headaches. I’m sure he’ll still have to go through the protocol. Hopefully he’ll be okay.’’
The medical reports are not as thorough as they would be in a normal week, as the Giants on Monday had no access to any MRIs, given that Hurricane Sandy shut everything down outside their facility. The Giants team charter landed in Newark without incident about 1:15 Monday morning. “For the most part it was a good plane ride,’’ safety Stevie Brown said. “It wasn’t awful, it got bad at a few points but my definition of bad could be a little bit more than others, I don’t really like flying like that so when the plane starts shaking I get a little uneasy.’’
Coughlin had to make some schedule adjustments because of the storm and said he’s pushed the schedule back for Wednesday, treating the week as if the Giants are coming off a Monday night game. Players were given off on Monday; they are normally off Tuesday and will be this week as well.
“We felt it was in the best interest of safety and security of our players that they remain home, that they stay with their families and they make sure that their wives and children are fine during this time,’’ Coughlin said.
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Victor Cruz has maintained he wants to stay with the Giants and wants to retire with the Giants. He has mostly kept quiet about his contract status – he’s set to become a restricted free agent after the season – but lately has expressed optimism that he’s edging closer to a new deal. Cruz on Monday told ESPN “I was excited to hear this weekend that contract talks are moving in the right direction. I heard there was some progress on the structure.” Cruz currently makes $540,000, the minimum for a player with three-years of NFL experience. At mid-season, he has 52 catches for 650 yards and seven touchdowns, all team highs.
Jason Pierre-Paul said his dunking the football over the crossbar after his first career touchdown was not premeditated and he knew he would not get rejected. “It was just something I did,” JPP said. “I didn’t know what to do when I was in the end zone, so I just did what everybody normally does. Some people get hung, you know what I’m saying? But I knew I could get up there.” … The Cowboys rushed for only 19 yards, the fewest allowed by the Giants since Nov. 13, 2005 when the Vikings ran for only 12 yards but beat the Giants 24-21. … Did it seem as if Tony Romo was throwing the ball on virtually every down? Well, his 62 passes tied for the most ever against the Giants. Marc Bulger of the Rams attempted 62 passes on Oct. 2, 2005, a 44-24 Giants victory.
S Stevie Brown leads the NFL in takeaways with seven (five interceptions, two fumble recoveries). Not bad for a fill-in starter playing only because Kenny Phillips missed the past four games with a knee injury. “It’s a great feeling … it definitely means I’m doing my job,’’ Brown said of leading the league in turnovers.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the game against the Cowboys was the first time the Giants blew a 23-point lead in a regular-season game (in which the opposing team came back to at least tie game at some point). … Eli Manning’s consecutive games streak with at least one touchdown ended at 13 (including the post-season). The last game he did not throw a scoring pass was vs. the Redskins on Dec. 18, 2011. The Giants are 8-13 when Manning starts and does not throw a touchdown pass. … Move over, Reggie: Manning is the new Mr. October. He went 4-0 this month and is now 27-6 in his career in October, a winning percentage of .818 – the best of any quarterback in the Super Bowl era.