Five months ago, Deon Grant stood at the podium overlooking the practice fields at the Timex Performance Center.
It was three days after the first preseason game, and the veteran safety confirmed the chatter surrounding his return by appearing in front of the media on that August morning. Glad he was "still on the board," Grant decided where to spend his 12th season as a pro and re-signed with New York.
For just one season with the organization after playing for three other teams, Grant had strong feelings toward what the 2010 Giants left on the table after a 10-6 campaign.
"When I have something like that in my hands, I like to finish," said Grant, wearing a throwback Giants hat during his Aug. 16 press conference. "And I think this year we can finish it."
Fast forward 24 weeks, and the 32-year old still remembered exactly what he said in his re-introduction amid all the free agency hoopla at the time.
"That's the main reason why I came back here," Grant said on Thursday. "If you recall my press conference, I said the reason why I'm not going to sign anywhere else is I felt like we didn't finish something last year. I felt like we could definitely go all the way. All the hype was on Philly. I felt like we were going to win the Super Bowl here. That's the main reason why I came back."
Now Grant finds himself in the middle of the buildup to Super Bowl XVLII, where he will have the opportunity to right some wrongs in Indianapolis.
Playing for the team that drafted him, Grant lost his only Super Bowl appearance eight years ago to the New England Patriots, which ended his fourth and final season with the Carolina Panthers. After three lead changes in the fourth quarter, they fell on the foot of Adam Vinatieri, who kicked a 41-yarder to win Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Two years after that, Grant was beaten again by the Patriots in the playoffs. This time he was in a different uniform as the Jacksonville Jaguars were routed 28-3 in the Wild Card Round.
On both those Patriots teams that eliminated Grant was longtime friend and rival Deion Branch, who also grew up in Georgia. Grant beat the wide receiver in high school, and that has been about it.
"I spanked him in high school and won the state [championship]. It seems like ever since I got in the league, he's been paying me back," Grant continued, "I talked to him before we played the last game. He was like, 'D, let's go ahead and make this thing happen. We're going to go ahead and take care of our business; you all go ahead and take care of your business. Let's show the world what they want to see. They don't want to see any other teams playing in the Super Bowl. They want to see us.'"
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