You can tell there are a few things that get under Pat Shurmur’s skin: One is questions about injuries. Another is the notion his Giants might quit in Indianapolis on Sunday because they have been eliminated from playoff contention. Ask him about the latter at your own risk.
“Let’s assume you have a finite number of games that you’re going to play as a football player,” the coach said Friday when asked about a potential letdown. “I don’t know why you would let down. We’re paid to play and it just so happens that our profession is our hobby. That’s part of the narrative that I don’t understand.”
That’s a message his team must absorb. At 5-9, the Giants have two games remaining with little to play for other than pride and putting something good on tape entering the offseason. Any sign of giving up will be noted when end-of-year evaluations are made.
The Giants are coming off one of their most placid performances of the year in a soggy 17-0 loss to the Titans last Sunday, and will miss receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for a third straight game with an injured quad. Linebacker and defensive captain Alec Ogletree (concussion), receiver Russell Shepard (ankle) and center Spencer Pulley (calf) are also out, leaving the Giants severely shorthanded.
“We just got to go out and play the game like nothing the next day matters; just go play ball,” Shurmur said. “[I’m] looking for guys to have a good performance just like I would’ve if it was early in the year.”
If the Giants are looking for sources of motivation, here are a couple. First, it will be a playoff-type atmosphere with the Colts (8-6) desperately needing the win to stay in playoff contention after back-to-back wins over the Texans and Cowboys. It won’t be a dead game in December, in which two teams are miserable and the crowd isn’t bothering to show.
If you have any kind of competitive character, the atmosphere at Lucas Oil Stadium will be electric. It will be as close to the playoffs as these Giants will get.
“It’s like a playoff game,” defensive coordinator James Bettcher suggested. “This is a team that’s playing to get into the playoffs and it’ll be a playoff atmosphere for us.”
Shurmur has tried to prepare his team for what awaits them.
“Certainly, they’re still in the hunt and they have played well of late,” he said of the Colts. “But we’re going to go on the road and I’m sure it’s going to be a loud venue like it always is on the road. We’ve got to handle the crowd noise and just play good ball.”
They’ll also be playing in the house Manning built. Well, maybe it was more Peyton than Eli, but Sunday’s matchup will be the first meaningful game the Giants have played in the building since beating the Patriots, 21-17, in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, 2012. Eli Manning was the MVP, but vows he won’t be very sentimental Sunday.
“We weren’t playing the Colts that day,” he said earlier this week. “Once you walk in there you may reminisce. But it’s been a while since I’ve been there.”
The only other current Giant from that Super Bowl team is long snapper Zak DeOssie.
“Maybe I’ll take a minute to have a quick smile about it,” DeOssie said. “But it’s in the past. We’re obviously aware of the circumstances because this season didn’t go the way we wanted. But we have no choice but to go out there and give 110 percent because that’s what we do for a living.”
It might be good for those who were in the organization seven years ago to reminisce about that glorious season and share what it took to overcome the odds and become world champions.
No letdown. No excuses.
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