Giants have a strong Philly-area connection

IT'S A LITTLE unusual, because sporadically, home does come up in the locker room. Not just any locker room. The inner sanctum of the New York Giants. The hated Giants.

So they've learned to laugh about it.

Call them the Philadelphia Giants. A quintet of guys who grew up watching, living, breathing and dreaming as kids of someday playing for the Eagles. They were raised on the Eagles. Now these guys all play for Big Blue - that dreaded NFC East rival that has won two Super Bowls in the last 6 years.

Players from the Philadelphia area are sprinkled throughout the NFL, the two most prominent being Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco and Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowler Matt Ryan. But no team has a heavier concentration of area products than the Giants.

The Giants feature five players from the Philadelphia area: Justin Pugh (Council Rock South), Dan Connor (Strath Haven), Da'Rel Scott (Plymouth Whitemarsh), Mark Herzlich (Conestoga) and Ryan Nassib (Malvern Prep).

For four of the five, the Giants are the only NFL team they've known.

Pugh was the Giants' first-round draft pick this year out of Syracuse, selected 19th overall. The selection even caught Pugh a little by surprise.

Nassib, also out of Syracuse, came a little later, in the fourth round, while Scott was a 2011 seventh-round pick out of Maryland and Herzlich was a free-agent signee in 2010. Connor is with his third NFL team, signed by the Giants as a free agent this year after being a 2008 third-round selection out of Penn State by the Carolina Panthers and playing last year with Dallas.

They're all aware of the "Philly connection." It comes up among them in references to "home." And, yes, they wear Giants red and blue, but you get the sense they still feel the Philadelphia area is their home.

"We think it's a cool thing to have five guys in the locker room from the same area and talking about home, but at the same time, it's real big talking about Giants football and going out there and getting wins," said Pugh, who has been cleared to play after suffering a concussion early in training camp. "It's not that much of a culture shock, because I'm only a few hours away from home. What made things easier for me was watching more football growing up, and once you get to college, you begin looking at other teams.

"I obviously watched and followed the Eagles, but growing up and as you go through the process of college and then the draft, I knew there was going to be a time I wasn't going to play for the Eagles. I'm part of the rivalry now. It makes things a little easier, too, when the Eagles draft a guy right in front of you [Lane Johnson] at the same position. So I'm glad to be where I am, and the position I'm in. I've converted all my buddies back home into becoming Giant fans. One even has an Eagle tattoo on his chest."

Recently, Pugh bought him a birthday cake that said, "Happy birthday to the newest New York Giants fan."

Having Nassib there has been a big plus to both Syracuse rookies. Pugh protected Nassib's back when they were with the Orange, and he likes the possibility of doing that again sometime in the future.

"I still consider myself a Philly guy, but I cheer for the teams up here, too, because they back us here," Pugh said. "Around here, though, I have to be honest, you have to be real careful what you wear and what you say when it comes to backing other teams."

Connor is the most seasoned pro of the Philly Giants. He's actually in a battle with Herzlich for the starting middle-linebacker spot in New York's 4-3 alignment, which is far more suited for him.

He has been through the Philly-NFL rival conflict, especially last year, playing for the Cowboys. However, his arrival as a Giant was inauspicious, to say the least. He was caught with a switchblade in his luggage coming through Philadelphia International Airport security in July and, for the first time in his life, was arrested. He was released on his own recognizance and is set to enter a pretrial diversion program.

"It was different last year playing for Dallas, but it is nice to be in the Northeast again playing for the Giants," Connor said. "I was happy to get here and connect with the Philly guys. Every time I go home, I do get grief, and I was getting it big time last year. It just didn't start too well when I got here.

"That airport incident didn't help at all. It was a misunderstanding. I was flying to a friend of mine's wedding out in Pittsburgh. I had a pocket knife in my bag that I hadn't seen in over a year. I hope I laid a foundation with the coaches here that that's not who I am. Being the new guy here, I don't want to put a scar on a city that really doesn't even know me that well. My fault. I have to prove to everyone that I'm not that kind of a guy."

During bye weeks with the Giants, Scott treks back home to Conshohocken. Scott, a state track champion in the 100 meters, still feels the strong connection with home.

"For me, personally, it was hard, because I grew up watching the Eagles, and as a little kid, it's always your dream to play for the team you watched growing up as a kid," said Scott, who could play a bigger role in the Giants' running game, along with David Wilson, with Ahmad Bradshaw having signed with the Colts.

"It's great to come home and playing in front of the people who watched you play in high school. It was crazy standing in that stadium, standing in Lincoln Financial Field about to play the Eagles and I'm not wearing the green. I do feel blessed to be a Giant, though. I feel this year my role is going to grow as a third-down back, and my eventual goal to be a starter."

Nassib has sought advice from Connor and Herzlich, two with NFL experience, on how to handle the NFL lifestyle - how to utilize time properly, the importance of digging deep into video study and the playbook, all the things he initially learned playing at Malvern.

"When I got the call from the Giants, I cut my ties with my Eagles roots, but I didn't burn anything," Nassib said, laughing. "I kind of gave a lot of stuff I used to have away. I didn't want any affiliation with any team as the draft was coming up. But it is kind of surreal. I'm still living at home in West Chester. I have to admit it is a little different around family and friends, though. They all say they're going to continue rooting for the Eagles, which I'm OK with, except for twice a year.

"You grow up in and around Philly, you grow up to hate New York City. But this is real-world time, and you learn to put the personal things aside, and it's been a great experience so far. The expectations are so much higher, and I'm learning from one of the best, Eli Manning, a real student of the game.

"We have five guys up from Philly and we're going to have a great fan base from us five alone. Maybe we can make a few converts."