Giants safety Antrel Rolle’s roller coaster ride in New York is no secret. His up-and-down play has mirrored his inconsistent attitude about his time in New York.
Still, we didn’t know how frustrated Rolle truly was. Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Rolle wanted out of New York for much of the year, as recently as Week 15.
“He kept telling us he wanted out,” safeties coach David Merritt said.
Merritt kept the encouraging text messages he sent to Rolle at the time and they can be viewed in Garafolo’s article.
“Merritt has helped me a lot,” Rolle said. “We’ve had a lot of 1-on-1 personal conversations, not anything about football, but about life in general. And he’s also a huge reason why I was able to buy into playing my role as a nickel [cornerback]. I was extremely frustrated after the Washington game.”
Rolle has essentially played cornerback most of the year. It hasn’t always played to his strengths, and his frustrations were obvious. Now Tom Coughlin and Rolle are engaged in a public lovefest. Rolle is seen as one of the team leaders.
It’s amazing what six weeks and five wins can do.