With nearly a century of football behind them, the New York Giants are one of the true blue bloods of the NFL in terms of history and tradition. And true to that, the Giants' 2021 season is set to feature multiple celebrations of their winning past.
In Week 3, legendary quarterback Eli Manning will be inducted into the team's Ring of Honor, and his No. 10 will be officially retired by the franchise. Three weeks later, the Giants will honor their Super Bowl XLVI-winning team as part of a season-long celebration of the 2011 squad, their most recent championship team.
Former All-Pro defensive end and Super Bowl hero Justin Tuck was a central character on that team, and has since been recognized as a Giants great and Ring of Honor member. But in the face of all that has happened for the Giants since, and what the franchise is trying to reclaim, Tuck shared a message for his team and its fans about looking toward the future during a Wednesday media conference call.
"I've always been a guy that really never wanted to celebrate past things. I want to see my Giants win this Super Bowl and the next Super Bowl. I want to be more focused on that, to be honest with you," Tuck said, per Jared Greenspan of the New York Post. "I'll never take for granted the fact that they're gonna put together a lot of things for us as a team.
"... But my message to all Giants fans and the Giants organization is, we haven't done much since then, so let's get back on track."
In the time that has elapsed since Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants have had only two winning seasons and one playoff appearance with no NFC East titles, languishing for years below .500 before finally going into a tailspin with a 3-13 season in 2017. The franchise has since struggled to pick up the pieces, with 5-11, 4-12, and 6-10 records the past three seasons.
However, the Giants enter the 2021 season with a sense of optimism and expectation that has not been seen in several years. The Giants' first season under head coach Joe Judge saw major steps toward restoring the franchise's culture and pride, with playoff contention in a weak NFC East accelerating that process. Big Blue proceeded to be active in both free agency and the draft in order to build on their strengths on defense and create a better supporting cast on offense for third-year quarterback Daniel Jones.
While Tuck noted that he believes the Giants still have a long way to go, he said he "loves" what his team has done on defense and believes that Jones is poised for a good season, particularly given that the return of star running back Saquon Barkley should bode well for an offense that struggled dearly without him -- which adds up to what he believes could be a turnaround year for the franchise.
A player of Tuck's caliber emerging on the Giants will go a long way toward that turnaround: A third-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2005, Tuck was a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro for the Giants, with his career highlighted by dominant performances in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.
