NY Post:JINTS-'SKINS FEELS LIKE SUPER BOWL TO JESSIE

[TK]

http://www.nypost.com/sports/giants/43433.htm

JINTS-'SKINS FEELS LIKE SUPER BOWL TO JESSIE

By PAUL SCHWARTZ

December 4, 2003 -- Jessie Armstead says he won't engage in trash talk with noted yapper Brian Mitchell, leaving that conflict to fellow Redskins linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. And Armstead didn't promise to go at it with Tiki Barber. But Armstead did make a vow that he'll do something to enliven Sunday's game featuring two woeful teams wobbling to the end of a dismal season.

"I will start something," Armstead said yesterday. "We will make this into a New York and Washington Super Bowl right here. Both teams are out of the playoffs, but we will make this a big ol' Super Bowl for us."

Leave it to Armstead to find a way even in these trying times to feel excited about strapping on his helmet and taking the field to knock some heads. There are few, if any, players as pure as Armstead when it comes to living for the game. His nine years with the Giants produced five Pro Bowl seasons, countless big plays, an array of fiery speeches and a sanctified place as a consummate team leader.

BIG GAME:Redskins LB Jessie Armstead (98) is treating Sunday's game vs. his former club, the Giants, as much more than just a collision between two 4-8 teams.

"He had that 'it' quality that leaders need, not only by example but also the way he talked," Barber said. "His motivational speaking, you couldn't really understand him but you knew he was trying to motivate you. [Micheal Barrow] does that to an extent, but it's different."

Armstead started every game last season and again this year for the Redskins, his ailing knees are healthier than they've been in quite some time and, while no longer operating at a Pro Bowl level, he's making some of those familiar Armstead sideline-to-sideline dashes to hunt down ball-carriers. He's fourth on the 'Skins in tackles with 77.

"You can tell, he's running everywhere," Barber said. "Last year he was kind of tentative. This year he looks five years younger."

When times were bad with the Giants, Armstead never went quietly, always demanding inspired play from himself and those around him. His Redskins are 4-8, same as the Giants, and this game will determine who gets sole ownership of last place in the NFC East.

When informed of Armstead's vow to make this his personal Super Bowl, Jim Fassel said, "Wow," Fassel said, rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't think exactly like that."

There's only one way to think for Armstead, who is in his 11th season and says he wants to make it through 14. He never wanted to leave the Giants and still sounds wistful when he says, "I just miss it. I never could deny that point."

Following the 2000 Super Bowl run, Armstead viewed the Giants as "the team that could run after it the next three or four years." He felt he was joining a contender, but the Redskins are 11-17 since he arrived.

Just as Fassel is nearing the end of the line with the Giants, so too may be is the Redskins' Steve Spurrier. "You are out there working real hard but you know that you are going to have a new coach in there next year," said Armstead, who called Fassel "a great coach."

As for this weekend's tussle with his former team, Armstead sounded as if he'll have no trouble summoning up the proper spirit, leaning on his immense inner pride. "You have to play for the name on the back of your jersey," he said. "You don't want to mess up something that has taken so many years to build up."