When Chris Canty arrived at the Thurman Munson Awards, he didn't know the Giants had released veteran linebacker Michael Boley. Upon hearing the news, the Giants defensive tackle took a second to take it all in.

"That's some tough news. Not only is he a good teammate, he's a good friend of mine," Canty said before being honored. "Me and him go way back, before the scars. We've known each other a long time. He's a good person. He's a good teammate, good friend."

On the one-year anniversary of the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, Boley's release marks the first major move the Giants have made as they try to fix a team that missed the playoffs for the third time in four years. And Canty recognizes the team could make an overhaul to the roster.

"It's tough. We knew that there were going to have to be changes. Certainly the way we performed down the stretch, changes are necessary," Canty said. "This football team did not play up to its potential, we didn't play together, and we gotta find a way to fix that. We've got to find a way to be accountable and responsible to the organization, to our teammates and ourselves."

The 30-year-old defensive tackle hopes the Giants are fueled by their inability to close out the season after a 6-2 start.

"I hope that those disappointments stick with our teammates throughout this offseason process. We understand that we have to improve and that the level of performance in the 2012 season was unacceptable," Canty said. "We've got to get back to being a hungrier football team, we've got to be a tougher football team, both mentally and physically. It was evident that we didn't have that and we lacked that in the 2012 season. We've got to get back to that. We've got to get that grit, that nasty -- that's required in order to be successful in this game."

After battling knee problems last season, as offseason knee surgery led to him being placed on the PUP list to start the year, Canty is excited to be healthy this offseason. He said he hasn't had any offseason surgery on his knee and there are no lingering issues.

With the Giants pressed against the salary cap, the team could start asking players about restructuring deals, but Canty said he hasn't been approached. He added that he's not concerned about his status with the organization in light of the Giants parting way with Boley.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm a New York Giant and I plan on being a New York Giant two more seasons," Canty said. "That's my contract, and I plan on honoring my contract."