Shaun O’Hara didn’t know the Saints and Vikings were planning a show of union solidarity prior to kickoff of last Thursday night’s NFL opener in New Orleans. The players on both sides pointed at each other with their index fingers in the air, signifying the players are one in this age of labor unrest, an expired Collective Bargaining Agreement and the real threat of a lockout and work stoppage in 2011.

“I didn’t even know about it when the Saints went and played, it wasn’t like they told everybody they were going to do that,” said O’Hara, who is in the know as the Giants player representative. “I thought they handled it well but we really didn’t talk about doing it here because it doesn’t get anything done.”

There was speculation that the Giants and Panthers might copy the Saints-Vikings gesture but it was business as usual at the start of Sunday’s game. O’Hara thought that was the right tact.

“Players right now, our responsibility is our jobs and focus on the games,” O’Hara said. “We have people to do the negotiation for us.”