Former Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy says the Giants “were more hungry” than New England in the Super Bowl.

The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

INDIANAPOLIS — Former Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy doesn’t know Thomas Dimitroff personally, but if his Falcons bringing in Dimitroff as general manager translates into wins, he’s all for it.

Last month, Atlanta hired Dimitroff away from New England, where he was serving as the team’s director of college scouting.

Milloy, who spent seven years with the Patriots, has been with the Falcons for the last two seasons. The team struggled this year, first due to quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting trial and subsequent imprisonment, and then when head coach Bobby Petrino bailed on the team 13 games into the season, bolting for Arkansas.

The 12-year veteran is in town as a member of the NFL Players’ Association’s player advisory committee, which met with NFLPA president Gene Upshaw and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday.

“Guys who played for a winning organization, worked for a winning organization, are always sought-after guys,” Milloy said. “That’s what we did as far as picking up Dimitroff. And already he’s making his mark as far as releasing players and picking up good coaches.”

Dimitroff released Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler and defensive tackle Rod Coleman, among others, and hired former Jacksonville defensive coordinator Mike Smith to the head coaching spot.

Though he said he usually attends only the Super Bowls he’s played in, Milloy did go to Arizona for this year’s game, to see his friends and former Pats teammates take their shot at history.

What Milloy saw in the victorious New York Giants was similar, he said, to what the Patriots had done six years earlier against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

“They won it the way we won the first year; they just looked like they were more hungry,” he said. “It was a team that was resilient.”

As a member of that title-winning team, Milloy is unhappy with the allegations that New England taped St. Louis’ final pregame walk-through and the assumptions that the Pats may not have won fairly.

“We did win it on hard work and preparation. If any information was (obtained), we weren’t passed that information at all,” he said. “We won because we were a driven team, playing together. I’ll always be proud to be on that team.”

smanza@projo.com