Heading into this unique NFL season, the after-effects of the owners’ four-and-a-half-month-long lockout still lingered as players were finally able to return to the game they love. The New England Patriots and New York Giants both had their fair share of question marks surrounding them.
However, these two teams, set to square off on Super Bowl Sunday, were able to keep a singular focus on a common goal: playing for the Lombardi Trophy. Players on each team stepped up as leaders in their respective locker rooms at critical times throughout the 2011-’12 season.
Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck personified leadership on and off the field. Those four players will face each other at Lucas Oil Stadium this Sunday evening. Light and Mankins, accomplished mainstays on New England’s veteran offensive line, can expect to see heavy doses of Umenyiora and Tuck—key cogs of the Giants’ vaunted defensive line.
Though they will be on separate sides of the line of scrimmage, they were all on One Team in 2011.
“A lot of the guys understood the issues a lot more, what we dealt with and what the role of a Player Representative was based on the fact that we had to communicate a lot more with our teammates,” said Light, New England’s Player Rep and a three-time Super Bowl champ. “I think it really opened up their eyes to all the things that we do as Player Reps. It’s our job to help those guys out and help them understand what the issues are. It was definitely nice getting back to work and being around those guys.”
Three of the 10 plaintiffs in last year’s antitrust lawsuit against the league will be playing in the big game: Mankins, Umenyiora and Tom Brady. Though that particular fight has since ended, these player leaders still relish their roles as part of the union’s leadership.
Zak DeOssie, the Giants’ co-alternate Player Representative, reflected on the importance of stepping up when others looked to him for leadership.
“I’ll remember waiting for that final ballot to go through, explaining to my teammates the great new deal that we got,” DeOssie told Pro Player Insiders this week. “It was a huge momentum swing and … it was something so different, unique and great to be a part of. It was a lot of fun.
“My teammates voted me as Player Rep from the New York Giants. And it’s an honor to represent them. It’s a great locker room with great guys. Kudos to all of them for doing such a great job this year. It makes my job very easy as a Player Rep,” DeOssie continued.
For DeOssie, who said he’s always been a self-assured person, it’s no wonder the Giants and Patriots are the two teams remaining. They have no shortage of influential union leaders in their locker rooms.
“I’ve always been confident, and I didn’t need that extra vote of confidence from my teammates, but it’s certainly very nice to have that confidence,” he said of being elected. “I think it does contribute to having an extra mental edge out there.”
Light, speaking exclusively with Pro Player Insiders, cited Mankins, Brady and NFLPA Executive Committee member Brian Waters, who made the Pro Bowl in his first year as a Patriot, as example-setters during their team’s quest for another championship.
“It’s always great when you have a great cast of guys around you,” Light said. “Having a guy like Brian Waters come in with his experience and everything that he’s done, and pairing that with the rest of the guys that we have on our team, I think it really helps our younger guys and gives them a better sense of what it means to be an NFL player.”
Leadership is more than just one person. Mankins and Brady were the Patriots’ offensive captains this season, while Tuck and DeOssie earned the roles of defensive and special teams captain, respectively, for Big Blue. Like Waters, Mankins made the AFC Pro Bowl squad at guard this year.
Umenyiora was asked how his team was able to go from a 7-7 record to being a game away from winning the biggest game in all of sports.
“We always knew we are a good football team,” Umenyiora said. “The way we were getting beat before, I don’t think we were getting annihilated; we were making mistakes. We knew once we fixed those mistakes, we would have a good chance of being a good football team. For some reason, we were able to correct them at the right time and everything is coming together right now.”
Coming together. Just like all players did during an unforgettable season that culminates this Sunday.
Scottie Graham contributed to this report.
