“It’s the way he handles himself,” said fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora. By watching Strahan, he said, he learned “you have to work extra, you have to run extra, you have to get your head in the game.”

It comes with a price. The talk of this week and last has been the condition of Brady’s tender right ankle, injured in the AFC Championship Game against the Chargers. It’s brought up to Strahan, and he doesn’t completely appreciate the angst inspired by Brady’s barely perceptible limp.

“My ankle hurts,” he said. “  My hips hurt. My shoulders hurt. Everybody’s hurt.”

That’s the reality of football. These enormous masses of speed, reflexes and muscle have been crashing into one another for 18 or 19 games, with practices and exhibitions on top of that. It takes a toll, and Strahan has described it as having a dull knife forced into your joints and then twisted. So let others feel sorry for Tom Terrific. Strahan’s job is to show him what real pain is.

Whether he and the Giants’ defensive front can do that will go a long way toward determining the outcome of the game. Give Brady time, and he’ll pick you apart. Even under pressure, he’ll still do things nobody else can do, but not on every play. Put him under pressure, and he might make a mistake.

You know Strahan won’t hold back come Sunday. He knows that whether he comes back or not, this may be his last shot at a ring. And on the other side of the field, his good friend, New England linebacker Junior Seau, is in the same situation. Seau’s been in the game 18 years and has reached the age of 38 and still hasn’t won a Super Bowl.

“I know why he’s still playing,” Strahan said of Seau. “He’s playing for the ring” — the same as Strahan.

“I feel we both deserve it,” Strahan said. “Me a little more than Junior.”

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So how will it end for him?

“My fairy tale ending would be, first, winning the Super Bowl, and second, quitting when I can still walk — but also walking away from the game knowing people will say, ‘He can still do it,’ not people saying, ‘He used to be a good player.’ ”

He won’t say when that will be.

“It’s going to be a tough call to make,” he said, “because when it’s over, it’s over.”

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