National Football League

Giants get four-star pep talk for season opener

Published Sep. 9, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The New York Giants got a four-star pep talk for their season opener against the Panthers.

General Ray Odierno, the former top U.S. military commander in Iraq, attended the Giants' practice on Thursday and talked to the team afterwards.

Dressed in fatigues and wearing a beret adorned with four-stars, Odierno watched the two-hour workout from the sidelines, then was greeted by clapping after walking into the team's post-practice huddle.

The media couldn't hear what Odierno told the team, but coach Tom Coughlin says the general discussed the values of team, mental and physical toughness, resiliency, overcoming anything, believing in yourself and having each other's back.

Coughlin said the general said those were the qualities of the group of soldiers that captured Saddam Hussein.

Odierno grew up in Rockaway and is a long-time Giants fan.