It would be a good time for Igor Olshansky to make his presence felt.
Olshansky was fairly ineffectual in the first game, recording a tackle and a hit on Byron Leftwich. Canty wasn't much better, recording two tackles and playing, in the New York Post's Ralph Vacchiano's estimation, about 25 plays against Washington.
Their debuts for their respective new teams were, like their career numbers (besides contract size), very similar.
But on Sunday night, Olshansky can prove he's not just roughly equatable to the departed Canty, but better than him. This isn't a crazy thought, regardless of what their respective contracts might have you believe. Canty had slightly better numbers than did Olshansky a year ago--16 games, 37 tackles, 3 sacks compared to 16 games, 29 tackles and 2 sacks--but Olshansky is a much better fit in the 3-4 than his predecessor, who was a "Parcells guy."
Canty, who was used as a backup on a stacked defensive front in week one, is looking to prove he deserved the six-year, $42 million deal ($17.5 million guaranteed) the Giants gave him this offseason. To his credit, Canty will be a week further in his recovery from a torn hamstring suffered in early August when he suits up against his old mates, and he is not listed on the team's latest injury report.
For Olshansky, an extra bit of motivation (if any is needed, against New York, in the first game in the new stadium) could come from the almost-megalomaniacal approach many took to Canty's departure from Dallas, with one journalist going so far as to say that Canty was the "unsung hero of the defense."
The good news for Olshansky, he doesn't have to be a hero. Getting penetration, creating havoc along the line and, when it comes his way, stopping the run on Sunday night should be enough to make fans forget all about his wealthy predecessor.
