He was counting the other day, trying to figure it out. Justin Pugh got to five and then stopped.
“That’s crazy,’’ he said.
Just five players on offense for the Giants have ever made it to the playoffs.
Then he was told there are just 16 players on the 53-man roster with a shred of playoff experience.
“That’s crazy, only 16 guys,’’ Pugh said. “It’s not a lot of guys at all. Hey, we’re gonna figure it out together.’’
Not one of the starting offensive linemen has ever made it. Now that Jason Pierre-Paul is post-surgical and not on the field, not one of the starting defensive linemen ever has made it out of the regular season, either.
“After a few years, a few seasons you’re sitting on the couch watching everybody else playing it kinda gets a little frustrating,’’ Olivier Vernon said. “It just takes a lot of patience, a lot of resiliency. At this point right now we now we control everything that goes forward. Right now we got to handle our own business.’’
Business rarely has been better. The Giants are 10-4 and are headed to the playoffs unless a catastrophic series of events unfold in the coming days. They clinch an NFC wild-card spot if they beat the Eagles on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field. If not, they get in if the Lions, Packers, Buccaneers or Falcons lose this weekend.
For so many of them it is a long time coming.
“I’ve never been in the playoffs,’’ Rashad Jennings said. “I’ve never had a winning record. Never had 10 wins in a season. So, it’s different.’’
There are only six players left on the Giants roster from the 2011 Super Bowl-winning season: Pierre-Paul, Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Mark Herzlich, Zak DeOssie, and Will Beatty.
Others on the scene found success before they got here: Marshall Newhouse did not play a game in 2010 as a rookie for the Packers when they won a Super Bowl. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie made it to the Super Bowl as a rookie with the Cardinals and again five years later with the Broncos, losing both times. Jonathan Casillas won a Super Bowl with the Patriots. So did Shane Vereen, but on Tuesday he was placed on season-ending injured reserve.
The overwhelming majority of the Giants’ roster is young-ish and has absolutely no playoff experience. Pugh (53 NFL games, zero playoff games) sees symmetry in this.
“I think it’s kind of special we’re doing this together, we’re doing it as a family, as a unit and we’re all in these uncharted waters together,’’ he said. “There’s something special about that.’’
None of the big-ticket free agents signed to re-fortify the defense were brought in based on their big-game pedigree. Not Vernon (78 NFL games, zero playoff games) in his four years in Miami, not Janoris Jenkins (74 NFL games, zero playoff games) in his four years in St. Louis and not Damon “Snacks’’ Harrison (67 NFL games, zero playoff games) in his four years with the Jets.
No wonder Harrison got up in front of the team last week to offer a stunning admission: “I don’t know how to win.’’ He implored Manning and Cruz and Casillas, players with championship rings, to show him the way.
This is Jennings’ eighth year in the NFL and before this, the best he ever finished was 8-8 (Jaguars, 2010). For Jennings (91 NFL games, zero playoff games), winning 10 games in a season is like hitting the lottery. He has been told to put it out of his head, to focus on the game, only the game, and not the playoff present.
“Yeah,’’ Jennings said. “Well, that’s what they say, but it ain’t going nowhere.’’
Guard John Jerry (103 NFL games, zero playoff games) is in his seventh season, always going home after the season. “We just got to cherish the moment,’’ he said.
Center Weston Richburg (45 NFL games, zero playoff games) and Odell Beckham Jr. (41 NFL games, zero playoff games) are young vets, members of the 2014 draft class, accustomed to nothing but losing in the pros.
“That’s the reason that you play,’’ Beckham said of being on the precipice of the playoffs. “Yes. If [the playoffs] had a box by it, it would get a check but it’s not the end-all be-all. Obviously it goes way bigger than that. It’s a stepping stone.’’
None of them want to obsess over the prize until they earn it, but Pugh could not contain himself.
“You get goose bumps thinking about it, being able to go to the playoffs,’’ he said. “Everyone should enjoy this. I’ve been in seasons where the last two games are meaningless. This is fun time to be a New York Giant.’’
Fun, and for most of them, brand new.