OAKLAND, Calif. — It never is a good thing when the defensive coordinator in Week 13 of the season says: “I thought I was in rookie mini-camp, you know, with learning the names. That’s normally when we have a sheet of paper with everybody’s face on it, but we got to work through that.’’
Yes, Steve Spagnuolo and the Giants have to work through this. This week, the Giants signed five new defensive players. In the month of November, they signed a total of eight players for their injury-ravaged defense. Guys are coming in off the streets to put on a Giants uniform.
“You generally don’t see that many new faces like that,’’ cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “The season is long and there are guys coming in, but they’re coming in from everywhere so all you can do is just worry about yourself at this point, man, as far as just going out there and trying to finish.’’
Rodgers-Cromartie said he introduced himself to every one of the newcomers, and it was suggested to him he put on a wristband with the names of the new players to limit the confusion.
“No, no, no, that’ll change every week, too, so it don’t matter, man,’’ he said. “It’s been a tough one.’’
This can be humorous, but it is no joking matter. The Giants face the Raiders on Sunday, and Spagnuolo has to sort out who is who and what is what.
“It’s always hard when you talk about corners and being an inside guy and an outside guy and where they play,’’ he said. “So we’re trying to figure that out a little bit.’’