Monday, Mar 31, 2008 02:58 PM

Less than two months after winning title, Giants return to work

2008 NFL schedule:
» Team-by-team 2008 opponents

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Less than two months after their stunning Super Bowl victory, the New York Giants were back at work on Monday.

A "sizable" number of players returned to Giants Stadium for the beginning of the team's offseason conditioning program, the team said. The media were not allowed to attend the workouts, and the Giants refused to say how many players took part.

"It is like a family reunion," receiver David Tyree said in a statement released by the team. "You just come back and begin to melt back into this thing and realize that there still is something greater to shoot for."

The Giants scored one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history on Feb. 3, when they beat the previously unbeaten New England Patriots 17-14 in Glendale, Ariz.

"I am anxious to get back and get started," defensive tackle Fred Robbins said. "When you come out as Super Bowl champs you have to step your game up even more. People are going to be hunting for us, so it is good to come back and see some faces again and get the camaraderie going again."

In the 57 days since the game, the Giants have become celebrities.

"It was interesting when I went home (to Alabama)," defensive lineman Justin Tuck said. "You couldn't go anywhere without people asking for your autograph or telling you congratulations or how proud they were of you and things like that. I tried to stay home. Unfortunately, a lot of people know where I live, so I had a lot of visitors in the house."