Injuries and ineffectiveness have force the Giants to improvise in the secondary the last couple of years, something that’s led to Antrel Rolle playing a lot of cornerback when the Giants feature a nickel look in the secondary.
Rolle admits that it isn’t his ideal spot on the field and that he would have been frustrated with such an arrangement earlier in his career because he feels it deflates his individual stats, but said that’s no longer a big concern for him. His goals now are to make opposing coaches worry about him and for his team to be happy with his contributions.
“Safety is easier than other positions I’ve been required to play,” Rolle said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “Yeah, the level of expectation for myself is going to be through the roof. I understand that once I’m asked to play certain roles maybe my interceptions won’t be as high. Honestly, at this point in time it really doesn’t matter to me. As long as I get the credit from myself, as long as I get the credit from my team, as long as the credit from my coaches, that’s all that really matters to me. I really don’t care what outsiders say.”
Rolle will be the highest-paid player on the Giants defense in 2013 and is set to make $7 million in 2014 as well, salaries that will keep expectations high for him to lead a rebound for the Giants defense in 2013. Focusing on team needs over individual goals is a step in the right direction, but finding enough cornerbacks to keep Rolle where he’s best would be an even bigger one.