A challenge for the 'nice guy' NY Giants: time to let the 'dawgs' out on Monday night

EAST RUTHERFORD - Antrel Rolle tapped himself on the chest, right over his heart, to make his point.

The 2011 New York Giants had just lost at home to a sub-.500 Washington team in Week 15, and the season was slipping away.

"If you don't got it in the heart, I don't know," Rolle said back then.

Rolle is one of best leaders to ever play for the Giants.

This was in the locker room at MetLife Stadium. To the media. After a terrible loss at home. Rolle wasn't even a captain yet. And what he said was perceived as a dig at teammate Justin Tuck, a captain and future Ring of Honor member, two-time Super Bowl hero and one of the franchise's all-time best. Was it?

We'll probably never know, but Tuck, Rolle and the Giants ended up making the most of the rest of that season.

Striking a winning balance between urgency and panic, and trusting in the process becomes even more of a challenge for the current Giants (1-2) heading into a crucial stretch of three games against playoff teams from last season, beginning Monday night against the Seahawks (2-1) with trips to Miami and Buffalo to follow.

Rolle was a guy who had no problem challenging guys in that locker room: no matter draft slot, the “C” on the chest or Super Bowl rings. The Giants don't have that right now, at least not that we have seen.

The more we contemplate what's missing from this team, in Brian Daboll’s second season, the more I think it's that.

This much is clear: Antrel Rolle isn’t walking through that door.

The Giants will be without star left tackle Andrew Thomas for the third straight game after he injured his hamstring chasing down that blocked field goal against Dallas in Week 1. Saquon Barkley is doubtful to play, limited by a high ankle sprain he inexplicably suffered as the Giants were running out the clock to set up Graham Gano for the game-winning field goal that completed their historic comeback in Arizona.

On Friday afternoon, Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was asked to name the leader of this defense. He said Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, and mentioned Bobby Okereke is growing into that role. Daniel Jones and Barkley can be that on offense, but they command respect with the way they perform and carry themselves more than what they may say.

I've heard it suggested this summer that the Giants have "so many nice guys," which isn't intended to be a knock. But that gets perceived as a roster being "soft," fairly or unfairly, especially when the fan base starts firing off criticism on social media.

As Rolle used to say, winners need "dawgs," too.

In speaking with numerous Giants players this week about the slow start and the urgency to find their way given the circumstances and the upcoming schedule, it's obvious the organizational philosophy is to stay the course. It's what Daboll believes fits a team with so many young players, many of whom are experiencing the challenges of week-to-week NFL life for the first time.

One veteran player told me that it's sort of unspoken, but he gets the sense most of the locker room appreciates what the outcome on Monday night means, even if it's only Week 4, and he's eager to see how the reality of those stakes plays out.

"We're gonna find out," he said.

The Giants have long been searching for someone to step out from the shadows in the locker room and be that, to use Rolle’s word, “dawg,” an Alpha unafraid to say something that can shake a team up on and off the field. Players lead in different ways, but the last true captain the Giants had of that ilk was Rolle, who sparked the Super Bowl XLVI run when he appealed to the desire and hunger of the franchise’s last championship team.

Daboll named 10 captains this season for the second year in a row, voted on by the players, and each individual leads in his own way. Don't get me wrong: this isn't a statement about the lack of leadership, because there are leaders on this team; the style of how that plays out is what often goes overlooked. Every team needs something different, and this one needs a voice and and an attitude to rise above the daily malaise that can set in if you let it.

What worked for the 2022 Giants might be making the 2023 Giants too comfortable, too content with where they are and their ability to overcome whatever is stacked against them. And make no mistake: the odds are building.

When Rolle was not re-signed in 2015, his departure created a void of vocal leadership that has yet to be filled in the locker room. I know this is a history lesson, but indulge me for some perspective.

Landon Collins wanted that role, but he came under fire when he spoke out about Eli Apple being a "cancer" in the locker room, and then again when he talked about Ereck Flowers' decision to not show up for the early part of the offseason program way back when.

When Odell Beckham Jr. delivered a rallying cry to his teammates and the franchise as a whole about refusing to accept losing, pumping up the heart and energy of the team instead of staying down for the count, the message was somewhat lost when it was given during an ESPN interview alongside Lil Wayne and viewed through a negative lens.

Why does all of that from a different time in Giants history matter now?

Because it’s obvious something is off with this team, and the performance is just not matching up with what we saw this summer, let alone in Daboll’s first season. The NFL's reigning Coach of the Year can only do so much.

"Anyone can be a leader," Daboll said Saturday, "and I think that you want player-driven leadership on your team, no question about it."

Every team is different, of course, but there are ways to spark a resurgence with the right message from the right player, and the proper context within the framework of circumstance.

There are competitors on this team. Watch them during ping-pong battles and intense chess games after practice and in between meetings while the media mulls around in our access period, and that's obvious.

Some fires burn brighter and more out in the open than others, however.

I think Xavier McKinney wants to be that for this team. He takes the time in stretch lines to dap up teammates on both sides of the ball. In pregame huddles on game day, McKinney is usually the one offering the breakdown speech.

Lawrence could certainly be that, but there isn't an apparent edge to his personality that shows itself within the locker room. He’s “Sexy Dexy,” an elite player at his position, but getting in someone’s face doesn’t seem to be his style. He's respected for who he is and what he has done. Teammates probably need to embrace his "dominate the man in front of you" mentality more than they do.

Always outspoken, Rolle often said every word that left his mouth had a message. Fans grew tired when the post-Super Bowl XLVI Giants were in a losing rut, yet Rolle would hop on his weekly WFAN interview and implore teammates to find it within themselves to change the narrative.

Like Julius Campbell told Gerry Bertier in "Remember the Titans," attitude reflects leadership.

It's time for the nice guy Giants to let the dawgs out against Seattle. The season, just four games in, depends on it.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Giants: Time for no more Mr. Nice Guys on Monday night vs. Seahawks