EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — An hour before each opening kickoff, Dave Tollefson retreats to a quiet area of the Giants’ locker room to perform his pregame ritual: a call to his mother. She, in turn, provides support in a manner more mouthy than motherly: a loud, profanity-laced pep talk.

“I’m not going to talk to him like a mom and say, ‘Be careful and don’t hurt anybody,’ “ his mother, Debi Crocker, said in a recent telephone interview. “That’s not going to get him pumped up. I would say it’s basically potty-mouth, smash-mouth-football-type talk.”

Growing up without his father, Tollefson formed a strong bond with his mother over football. Even though money was tight, she always encouraged him to play; in fact, she often played the role of team mom during his days of youth football. Now, in addition to providing those pregame speeches, she still travels to many of his games with the Giants.

Tollefson has been an important, if underappreciated, component of the Giants’ dangerous pass rush. He does not receive the accolades that his fellow ends Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck or Osi Umenyiora do, but he has added extra depth to the rotation and served a leadership function because of his affable personality and his bonds with many players.