<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>April 28, 2006 -- Antonio Pierce offered his opinion, which of course made perfect sense, considering the depth of his football acumen. His Giants should go for a defensive tackle able to eat up space and occupy two blockers in the first round of tomorrow's NFL Draft. As Pierce spoke, he hesitated, smiled, and realized he probably was saying too much. "I don't want to keep telling [GM]Ernie [Accorsi] and those guys what to do; they're doing a great job of bringing the guys in," Pierce said. "Just bring us quality players." From Pierce's vantage point at middle linebacker, he more than most knows the value of having someone clear the traffic in front of him so he can have an unabated path to the ball. Kendrick Clancy, in his one year with the Giants, filled that role better than expected before leaving for more money offered by the Cardinals. What the Giants are looking for is a nose tackle, not necessarily someone who can rush the passer. At No. 25, the pickings are slim as far as getting true first-round value, unless the Giants are enamored with Michigan's 339-pound Gabe Watson. Orien Harris of Miami might be a possibility in a later round. "You're not going to be able to draft anybody this year that's going to be able to replace Clancy right away," defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "If they draft someone to start grooming him to replace Clancy, that would be cool." On the current roster, William Joseph and Fred Robbins are not two-gap tackles, leaving only untested youngster Damane Duckett. If there's no one of interest in the draft, the Giants may go in another direction; they have spoken several times with the agent representing 34-year old Brentson Buckner, who played for the Panthers last season. "I think some guys there like him and other guys think he's too old," said Buckner's agent, George Mavrikes. "He'd like to be there." The Giants aren't looking for a star to add to their defense. "Especially nose tackle, you just need a guy just to hold off two guys for us and we're all right," Pierce said. "Do what Clancy did. Somebody that's going to be unselfish. Right now we're getting kind of star-studded over here. You need a blue-collar guy, the guys who work hard and do the dirty things." If the Giants go with the best available defensive tackle based solely on talent, they might be intrigued with John McCargo, who at N.C. State played alongside sure-bet first-rounders Mario Williams and Manny Lawson. McCargo's agent, Hadley Engelhard, said he had "some dialogue" with the Giants a week ago and "Some of the decision-makers told me, 'We love John, he fits what we're doing, and he's our type of player.' " McCargo bristles when told some scouts feel he excelled mostly because of the talent around him on the N.C. State line. "Was I better because of those guys? Yeah, right," McCargo told The Post. "Nah, I wasn't better because of those guys. If anything, we were better because of each other. I don't think I needed Mario or Manny to show people I can play football. "I wouldn't say playing with those guys made me better. I would say I'm good anyway. I don't need a surrounding cast to make me better."</div>http://www.nypost.com/sports/giants/65209.htm
