GIANT NOTES
Defensive end Michael Strahan battled through back spasms and was in uniform and active for last night’s Giants-Saints game.
Strahan was unable to practice on Saturday and instead was sent to a chiropractor because of the spasms.
This has occurred in the past, and each time Strahan was able to play two days later. Durability has been one of his strengths, as he played in every game for seven consecutive years before missing the final eight games last season with a torn pectoral muscle.
CB Will Peterson returned to his accustomed spot at right cornerback. He missed last week’s season opener coming off strained knee ligaments. LB Barrett Green (knee) was inactive once again.
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The Giants were designated as the road team and wore their road white uniforms, but as strange as that was, it’s something the Giants are accustomed to, to a degree.
“We’ve had that with the Jets before, and it really doesn’t change much,” FB Jim Finn said. “I’m actually excited to get to wear the new white uniforms again.”
Added Tiki Barber, “We’re on our same sideline. The colors will be different in the stadium. We don’t pay too much attention to that. I think there are going to be a lot of Giants fans there, so if we do well, we’ll know about it.”
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Tom Coughlin was 5-3 on Monday nights as coach of the Jaguars. Last night’s game was not originally scheduled for Monday night, but it still counts.
“Well, it’s a Monday night game to us,” Coughlin said. “That’s what it is. It’s a difficult circumstance, to say the least. I think the league has tried to do its best it can with it.”
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To go through what the Saints had to go through – riding out Hurricane Katrina, forced out of their practice facility and taking up residence in San Antonio – it was somewhat remarkable that they were able to beat the Panthers 23-20 in their season opener.
The Panthers are thought to be a Super Bowl contender and were playing in Charlotte, but the Saints drove 49 yards after Carolina had tied the game with only 1:04 remaining to win on John Carney’s 47-yard field goal with three seconds left.
Getting back to football, Saint coach Jim Haslett said, was almost a relief.
“Once we get in the meetings it takes their minds off it,” Haslett said. “Once they get on the field, it takes their mind off it. Obviously when they get up and go home and flip around the TV it kind of changes because reality sets in. But for the most part, our guys have focused in fairly well.”
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Scattered among the thousands of Giants fans barbecuing and tossing footballs in the parking lot last night were a few people wearing Saints jerseys. They were resigned to being severely outnumbered, but they were thankful to see some football.
Keith Windmann of St. Rose, La., about 15 miles west of New Orleans, and Grant Vogel of Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, were sharing food with Giants fans at a cookout outside the stadium.
Vogel said his home was severely damaged by flooding and might need to be demolished. He drove to Milwaukee to visit a brother before heading to New Jersey for the game.
“This takes our minds off what’s going on for a few hours,” he said. “Last week, it was like a little Super Bowl for us to see that win against Carolina.”
-With AP