"Another day, another former Giants player taking a shot at Justin Tuck.

The Giants defensive captain sat out the 36-25 loss to the Seahawks with lingering issues with his neck and groin, the third game Tuck has missed this season.

Monday on ESPN Radio, former Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, speaking about Tuck and running back Brandon Jacobs, who sat out the game with a knee injury reported to be a sprained medial collateral ligament, had this to say about his former teammates missing time:

"The Giants need their guys out there,'' said Pierce, who works for ESPN. "Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs, they already have enough injuries, but how long can you keep going throughout the NFL season without some of your top players? To me, if you don't have an injury that needs surgery or that's that severe, you need to be out there. I don't want to question guys, but if you're one of the leaders on the team which Brandon Jacobs and Justin Tuck are, and you say 'You know what, the Seattle Seahawks, maybe we don't need to play this game' and you miss out, that's what's going to come back to bite you in the tail. You have to play every one. Every one is important."

Tuck, informed of Pierce's comment, did not smile and did not look pleased."