Brandon Jacobs remained defiant, refusing to let his latest detractor ruffle his feathers.

Even if it is his childhood hero, Jerry Rice.

A day after the Hall of Fame wide receiver called out Jacobs for being "soft" and further questioned the running back's toughness in an interview with Newsday, Jacobs maintained he's still good at what he does.

"Every week I think I can come out and set a tone if the chance is given," said the 6-4, 264-pound running back, who will face the 49ers' top-ranked run defense in Sunday's NFC Championship Game. "I'm not afraid of them, I'm not afraid of anybody on their team, I'm not afraid of anybody in their organization. I'm ready to play football."

Jacobs apparently isn't afraid of Rice, either.

He initially took the high road when responding to the former 49er's criticisms, but Jacobs -- who said he grew up a Niners fan -- ultimately couldn't resist taking a shot of his own. "I give him a lot of credit for the game being the way it is today. I have nothing negative to say about Jerry," he said of Rice, now an ESPN analyst. "If he feels that way, he feels that way."

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But before stepping away from the lectern, he added: "I bet you he won't tackle me."

Jacobs' teammates and coaches came to his defense Thursday, highlighting his bulldog mentality.

"You see this big, powerful man and if he's not running over somebody every snap, then people are almost disappointed," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. "Unfortunately, the people that he's going against are big, strong men, powerful men as well . . . But once he gets going, he's really -- and I mean this in a positive way -- a freak of nature."

Said tackle David Diehl: "I think he's proven he's not a soft player. We've seen the way he's able to run the ball, how tough he is as a competitor. You see guys not wanting to take him on. And I think if Brandon had the opportunity to run in the open field, he'd get the best of Jerry Rice."

But Rice wasn't the only former player-turned-commentator to question the effectiveness of the Giants' running game against the 49ers. Their former quarterback, Phil Simms, said it's "crazy" to think the Giants, who had the NFL's No. 32-ranked rushing attack at 89.2 yards per game during the regular season, will be able to ground-and-pound their way past the 49ers, who yielded an NFL-leading 77.2 rushing yards per game.

The Giants said they will have a balanced plan of attack. "If you become one-dimensional or come right off the bat basically abandoning the run game, I think you're playing right into their hands," guard Kevin Boothe said.

The key will be patience, Jacobs said, especially given the muddy conditions predicted for Candlestick Park on Sunday. And though the numbers aren't in their favor, Gilbride said his guys are "looking forward to the challenge."

Especially Jacobs.

When reminded that 49ers safety Donte Whitner knocked out Saints running back Pierre Thomas in the first quarter of last week's divisional playoff game with a legal helmet-to-helmet hit, Jacobs smiled.

"I wish like hell one of them would try to hit me in my head," he said. "I want one of those. That means they're staying high; they're not digging in the ground trying to make tackles at the shoestring."