Michael Strahan has decided to retire after 15 terrific seasons in the NFL, ending a career that will certainly put the defensive end in Canton when he becomes eligible in 2013. I really feel he’s making the right choice, going out a champion and also ending it on his terms. We see so many athletes simply hang on or either get tossed aside due to declining skills. Strahan represents neither of these instances. The man can still play with the best of them, proving it last year at the age of 36. And when he was named captain after missing all of training camp last summer, his leadership and respect in that locker room was held in as high regard as his play.
Strahan is probably the second best defensive player I have seen on the Giants (Taylor) in my fandom since 1980. What makes Strahan a Hall of Famer is his ability to play the run and the pass. Making it even more unique is the size of Strahan. Whether he was playing at 285 pounds (earlier in his career) or at 245 pounds (like this past year), he was equally effective. Amazing. Strahan just knew how to play the technique at his position, and do it at the highest level.
The one knock on Strahan, and I always said this, was he didn’t make the big play when the Giants needed it most. There were some bitter collapses during his time (1997 versus Minnesota and 2002 versus San Fran come to mind immediately) when Strahan, or his defense, didn’t come through. Don’t get me wrong, there are always going to be situations where the defense fails, it happens to the best of them. But the Giants never seemed to get that stop when it was needed in big, tight games. 2007 was different. They didn’t fold in Dallas or Green Bay, when they easily could of. Instead they got tougher. And while New England did go the length of the field for a go-ahead score late in Super Bowl XLVII, the offense came to the rescue. And that was so appropriate, because the defense, led by Strahan, played wonderfully on that February evening and deserved every ounce of praise.
John Mara was unsure about retiring Stra’s number, only because the Giants are “running out” of numbers to use for current players. That’s okay, because no one will confuse #92 with anyone else. It’s Michael Strahan’s number forever.
