The New York Giants, like any sports team that plays in the self-proclaimed media capitol of the world, are certainly no strangers to pre-game theatrics.
On Monday, New York defensive lineman Justin Tuck got himself in the back pages of the New York tabloids with a series of incendiary remarks aimed at the Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman before Sunday's NFC divisional round playoff game between the two teams:
"We know they have that quote unquote reputation," Tuck said. "But in a way it kind of is exciting. Most people, you would call them dirt bags. But it is what it is. We got to make sure we do our job and if we are doing our job well, then they will be upset and they will be trying to do things to get us off our game and we got to take that as a compliment. But in the same sense you got to protect yourself and hopefully the referees have 20-20 vision this week."
Earlier this season, Tuck proclaimed that he "hated" the Dallas Cowboys while Giants RB Brandon Jacobs went out of his way to brag about walking up to New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and telling the 49-year old man he was "fat" and "would get punched in the face".