Antonio Pierce is not the player he was when the Giants signed him to a six-year, $26 million contract in 2005. And now that he's 31 and has a bulging disk in his neck, he may never be that player again. So the Giants have to start thinking about their future at middle linebacker.
What they'll find, however, is that Pierce won't be so easy to replace.
Pierce may not be the play-making, impact linebacker that he always thought he was, and he wouldn't make many lists of the best middle linebackers in the game, but his value to the Giants has always been about more than just his play. He's the on-field mind that makes sure everyone's in the right position.
More importantly, he has been the Giants' heart and emotional leader for most of the last five years.
"He's certainly going to be missed," Tom Coughlin said after Pierce was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Monday. "You have a guy who's been a three-year captain. He's an outstanding leader. He rallies the troops as well as anybody we've had. He's a very strong personality, obviously."
So strong, in fact, that many players have said he was the true leader of the defense even when Michael Strahan was around. Strahan may have been revered, but Pierce had more of a connection with his teammates. The linebacker set the tone for the team, which usually rode the enormous chip on his shoulder, and it always looked to him when things got rough.
Who's that type of leader now? There might not be an answer. Justin Tuck, valiantly trying to play through shoulder and leg injuries, seems to prefer to lead by example. Osi Umenyiora, who once walked out on his defensive coordinator and team in a huff earlier this season, tried to fire up his team in Denver, but his effort looked more like an angry rant.
When it comes to fire and passion and commanding respect and pushing the right buttons of other players, there's no one left on the Giants' defense quite like Pierce.
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