Giants hope Antrel Rolle is ready to be leader

How long does it take to become a leader?

The Giants hope not very long when it comes to Antrel Rolle.

In less than two weeks Rolle will go to Albany for his first training camp with the Giants, and he'll arrive not merely as a high-priced safety ready to step into the starting lineup. The Giants are hopeful Rolle, in a relatively short period of time with his new team, will emerge as the leader of the secondary.

In his five years in Arizona, Rolle not only helped the Cardinals make it to the first Super Bowl in franchise history but he also became a catalyst for the entire defense. The Giants, realizing their defensive backfield was in shambles in 2009 and that Kenny Phillips is coming back from micro-fracture knee surgery, made Rolle their free-agent priority and signed him to a five-year, $37 million contract, one of the richest deals for a safety in NFL history.

Rolle didn't come in and proclaim he's a leader but it is clear that's where he's headed.

"There's a lot of new faces on this team, a lot of veteran leaders," Rolle said. "We're all learning a new system. Everyone's becoming a teammate at this point. That's first and foremost before we try to step out of bounds and do too much. Before you name leaders, before you become a leader you know you have to be a teammate first.

Last week, former Giants star Michael Strahan told The Post now that linebacker Antonio Pierce is retired, a leadership void could hurt the team if someone such as Justin Tuck doesn't rise up and assume that role.

"I think it's important for Tuck and Osi [Umenyiora], [Mathias] Kiwanuka and Corey Webster," Strahan said, "important for some of these guys to step up."

Add Rolle's name to that roll call of candidates.

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(nypost.com)