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Giants' Boley: 'You don't think about someone's past injuries'

Perhaps the Giants should get their story straight when it comes to Kyle Williams.

Williams has become a notorious figure in San Francisco after his two punt-return fumbles -- including one in overtime -- helped the Giants edge the 49ers on Sunday to advance to Super Bowl XLVI.

As NYMag.com pointed out Monday, the two Giants directly involved with the game-deciding turnover -- Jacquian Williams (who stripped the ball) and Devin Thomas (who recovered it) -- said afterward that Kyle Williams' concussion history was a talking point for the special-teams unit.

"The thing is, we knew he had four concussions," Jacquian Williams said. "So that was our biggest thing, was to take him out of the game."

Thomas was more explicit.

"He's had a lot of concussions. We were just like, 'We got to put a hit on that guy,' " Thomas said. "(Tyler) Sash did a great job hitting him early, and he looked kind of dazed when he got up. I feel like that made a difference, and he coughed it up."

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On Tuesday, Giants linebacker Michael Boley was asked about Williams. Boley said NFL players are a "fraternity of brothers" before offering a viewpoint that contradicted his teammates.

"When you're playing, you don't think about someone's past injuries or what they had wrong with them," Boley said. "Obviously, if something was wrong with them, they wouldn't be on the field if it was that bad."

Either way, the Giants didn't break the rules, but they did pull back the curtain on how some -- and perhaps many -- players view head injuries. It's a weakness to be exposed and taken advantage of, no different than a sprained ankle or broken ribs.