EAST RUTHERFORD ? Lawrence Tynes wasn?t in uniform when the Giants beat the Steelers on Oct. 26. But he was on the sidelines, which put the kicker in perfect position to make his play.

As the Giants entered the fourth quarter trailing by 2, Tynes had been watching the Pittsburgh sideline. There, linebacker James Harrison frantically practiced long snaps in order to replace regular Greg Warren, injured in the third quarter. Spurred by what he saw, Tynes jumped in front of his own gathering defensive linemen and delivered a message.

“I said, ?Look, just get a stop here, the snapper is out. I saw him snap on the sideline. He?s awful. Just get a stop.? ”

The Giants stuffed the Steelers back to their own 18-yard line, and when Harrison?s snap sailed over punter Mitch Berger?s head and out of the end zone for a safety, the ensuing tie eventually turned into a Giants win.

“I told Lawrence ?You called it,? ” defensive tackle Fred Robbins said. “LT is a different breed of kicker. He?s cool. He?s like a D-lineman in a small body. We accept him as one of us.”

Early in his career, Tynes would have had a difficult time accepting himself as part of the team when he wasn?t actually in uniform. The frustration of a preseason knee injury compounded when he found his return path blocked by a near-perfect replacement, and together they threatened to make him boil over. But at this point in his life, with this Super Bowl champion team, Tynes has turned what could have been an awkward situation into yet another example of coach Tom Coughlin?s team-first credo.

Rather than resent the veteran John Carney for coming in and leading the NFL with 90 points, converting 21 of his 22 field goals (the only miss was blocked) and all his extra points, Tynes has turned a potential negative into a positive. He?s mined the 44-year-old Carney for information in practice, emulated the veteran?s focus during games, and basically turned cheerleader when kickoff arrived.

Then, two weeks ago, Carney returned the favor. The Giants beat Philadelphia using both kickers as Tynes kicked off and Carney kicked field goals. Last week against Baltimore, Tynes did it all. This weekend in Arizona remains a mystery, with both players anticipating another game-time decision and both OK with that scenario.

“From a personal standpoint, a competitive standpoint, it?s been a little frustrating. Players want to play. But from a team standpoint, what can I say? I would have done a better job than John? You can?t do much better than he did,” Tynes said after practice Thursday. “We don?t have any problems on this team, and for me to make an issue out of this would be stupid. John is a great guy and I accepted my role.”

Carney, 14 years older than Tynes, said, “I came in from the bullpen to fill in. It?s been a blessing and a great opportunity to be here. Every week is icing on the cake for me. If I?m not kicking, then I?ll support Lawrence.”

Tynes? first full-time week wasn?t perfect. The Giants failed to convert an extra point, but that was due to a bad snap. And Tynes did have one awful kickoff that rolled out of bounds, but by game?s end, his strong leg was impressing Coughlin.

“We did finally get the ball kicked the way we thought we would ? the wind notwithstanding ? and that gives us great excitement about going forward with the ability to place the ball where we would like,” Coughlin said.

Tynes is the team?s future ? he signed a five-year, $7 million contract in the off-season - but for now, the Giants are is in no rush to cut Carney. With no dedicated long-snapper and no third quarterback on the roster, Coughlin can (for now) afford to keep both kickers.

“When we do separate we?ll both be better kickers for the experience,” Carney said.

E-mail: Sullivan@northjersey.com

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