When Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur went about the task of rebuilding the Giants' roster a year ago, they were more concerned about the locker room than the playing field. Sure, they wanted to bring in guys who could play, even a little. But their priority was to spend whatever resources they had on the culture of the team. A sour, despondent taste had been left behind and the team’s palate needed cleaning.
So they brought in veterans they knew they could trust. Jonathan Stewart, Michael Thomas, Connor Barwin, Kareem Martin, Alec Ogletree and Patrick Omameh were added, all of them passing the good citizenship test that the new front office required.