Brian Burns already feels different about these Giants in quest for first winning season

Every year.He feels it every year.It is the spring and the routine of voluntary practices without wearing shoulder pads, mixing in new teammates and perhaps a new head coach or defensive coordinator, it is all part of the good vibrations that Brian Burns tunes in, no matter how poorly the previous season was or the upcoming season might be.“That’s everybody, that’s all 32 teams feeling the same way we’re feeling now,’’ Burns said Monday on a crystal clear and almost chilly afternoon.“Every other team is excited, everybody is zero and zero, they’re seeing the pieces they have, flying through OTAs.’’ Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.There was a pause there.

Burns feels the same now, but also different.“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel this is a little different, I was a little excited, and I expect highly of this team,’’ he said.“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that.

But at the end of the day, like I say, you’ve gotta prove it.It’s [not] just about being happy and optimistic.

You’ve gotta get on the field and you’ve got to prove it against another team and impose your will on ’em.’’Burns’ individual exploits have never led to group success.Never.

He has lost at least 10 games in all seven of his NFL seasons.He went 24-59 in five years with the Panthers and he is 7-27 in his two years with the Giants.

That combined record of 31-86 is a dismal reminder that feeling so positive in the spring is indicative of nothing in the fall and winter.The air was filled with the scent of winning as the Giants held their first mandatory minicamp practice with head coach John Harbaugh.Of course, talk about the Knicks preparing for their first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999 and the possibility of a first championship since 1973 was a popular topic of conversation.

Two former Giants linebackers, franchise legends and NFL Hall of Fam...