Tomorrow evening, Antonio Pierce will step out in front of 90,000 delirious fans determined to prove he is worth every cent of the $33 million the Giants have invested in him.

His proud father, Cleo Burrows, is among a handful of Bermudians who have flown over to New Jersey to see the Island?s highest paid athlete in action for his new team and Pierce is ready to impress them ? and whoever else is watching.

?I am ready, I know I am,? Pierce told during the final locker room media session before the Giants? home opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

?The stats say we were the best defence in pre-season but this is the serious stuff now and pre-season counts for nothing.

?I have a lot to prove to a lot of people and I want to help make us one of the top three defences in the NFL.?

Even with his new Giant contract, Pierce still believes there are those that don?t think he is a capable of performing at the top level, a confidence hangover from his days of being passed by in the draft after completing his time at Arizona.

Those two days in 2001 still haunt the 6ft 1ins, 240-lbs middle linebacker and ? thanks to its dissemination in nearly every New York publication since the 26-year-old?s pre-season free agency move from Washington ? there is unlikely to be a single Giants fan who does not now know about Pierce?s legendary list.

A list of linebackers drafted the year Pierce was overlooked was drawn up, with the shunned prospect meticulously keeping tabs on the progress of others and joyfully watching the list shrink with every player who dropped out of the league.

?I had nothing else to do during the draft, so I put together this list,? said Pierce, who has squeezed in two trips home to Bermuda this summer in between studying the new Giants playbook.

?I am crossing them off one by one and I want to be the only left in the league by the time I?m done.

?There are always going to be those people who say I am a ?one-season wonder? that I only started games last year because of an injury to someone else.

?Well, I am a starter here and I am going to show the world that I am good enough to do this job.?

Since arriving at the club, Pierce has thrown himself into the task of learning his fourth new defensive system in five years ? not far off an unofficial NFL record ? and is already proving to team-mates and coaches that he is more than just a ferocious tackler.

Compliments such as ?smart?, ?intuitive? and ?a natural? are once again being bandied about as they were in Washington and Pierce, in typically studious fashion, has spent as much time watching game footage and reading the playbook as he has playing his beloved computer game Madden 2006, where his character is being given better stats every year.

?This is my profession, it?s what I get paid to do and learning the system is all part of that,? said Pierce who admits he is some time away from fully settling in as a Giants players in a city with giant expectations.

?I have spent a lot of time watching slowed down film, that is my bread and butter. The good players in this league are the ones who watch and learn and add things to their game. That is what I try to do to stay on top and be the best.

?People might say I have a chip on my shoulder and, yes, I certainly feel I still have a lot to prove to people. I want 40 more tackles than last year (when he led the Redskins with 109 solo tackles), I want our defence to be in the top three or top five in the NFL and I want us to go to the play-offs and the championship game.

?I think we have a very strong defensive unit and I am enjoying playing with these guys. We showed what we are capable of in pre-season and now it is up to us to go out there and show everyone we can do it when it really matters.?

Pierce, whose lack of relative size may be at least partially responsible for the chip which is very much on his shoulder, will be using his agility to be more than just a run-stopper ? his primary function ? and will be looking to work sideline to sideline for interceptions and limit the yards after catches of tight ends and receivers on short routes.

?He is an important cog in our defensive machine,? said head coach Tom Coughlin yesterday, expanding slightly from his typically uncomfortable get-me-outta-here responses to Press questions out on the Giants Stadium field.

?We have seen it in pre-season that he can do all the stuff that we asked of him. He is learning a new defensive system and he is going to play a big role in it for us. He has shown us all the things that we expected of him and made us bring him here.?

Coughlin might appear happy enough with the Giants? new number 58, but Pierce isn?t going to be happy until he has made 150 tackles, forced fumbles, scored a defensive touchdown, earned a Pro Bowl place and taken his team to the play-offs.

And even that might not be enough for him.