ALBANY - Antonio Pierce sat in front of his TV for two straight days, four years ago, watching linebacker after linebacker get selected in the NFL draft. The longer he sat there, the harder it was for him to believe some of the players who were chosen.

So the University of Arizona product decided to kill some time by making a list of every name that passed by him.

?I had nothing else to do on draft day for seven, eight hours, so I said, ?You know what? I?m going to sit here and write everybody?s name down,?? Pierce said. ?I kept it. And every year I go and check NFL.com and see who?s in the league and who ain?t in the league.

?Half are already gone.?

Thirty linebackers went in the 2001 draft; Pierce signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent. And before his career is over, Pierce intends to outlast them all. That would be a small measure of revenge against the many people who have overlooked him or underestimated him throughout the years.

Even now, the way Pierce sees it, most of the NFL still thinks he is too small, not good enough and very likely a one-year wonder. He even believes he?s got something to prove to the Giants, despite the six-year, $26 million contract they gave him in March, because he knows they spent a whole day trying to sign Steelers linebacker Kendrell Bell before they finally turned to him.

?It?s obvious I wasn?t their 1A,? he said. ?I was 1B. So that?s motivation, too.?

Everything is motivation for the 26-year-old Pierce, which is just one of the things his teammates have grown to love about him. He dived right into his job after signing with the Giants in the spring and immediately impressed his new teammates with his work ethic and determination. Early on, the Giants started talking about Pierce in a leadership role.

But that?s not necessarily what Pierce is looking for. ?I?m not trying to force myself on anybody,? he said. His goal is only to disprove a few myths - like the one that suggests his 160-tackle season for the Redskins last year proves he?s only ?a one-year success.?

?I heard that this year,? Pierce said. ??He only had one year as a starter. How could they think about giving him that much money?? It is all true. But at the same time if you look deeper into the story you?ll see I played behind three Pro Bowlers (in Washington) - (Jeremiah) Trotter, Jessie Armstead, LaVar Arrington. Where does Antonio Pierce fit in there expecting to play??

Pierce didn?t fit until after ex-Giant Michael Barrow injured his knee before the season opener. Almost immediately people started wondering why Pierce hadn?t been playing.

?It?s all about timing and opportunity,? Pierce said. ?And the key is, when I did get my number called I wasn?t like some guys who get their number called and don?t show up. I came to play.?

Pierce also believes that his performance last year should have finally disproved the other myth about him - that at 6-1, 240 pounds, he?s somehow too small to be a middle linebacker.

?Everybody says I?m small, but I don?t know how many linebackers in the league are 6-4 250,? Pierce said. ?You look at the best linebacker in the league. Everybody says it?s Ray Lewis. He?s 6-1, 245.?