Loading ...Although the New York Giants' 2011 season cumulated with an improbable run to a Super Bowl victory, for defensive end Justin Tuck the ride was anything but smooth.Tuck battled neck, groin and shoulder injuries, and was seemingly banged up the entire season, which many believe was the major contributing factor to him only producing five sacks in twelve games.
However, the two-time Pro Bowler told Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger he wants to once again become a model of consistency on the Giants defensive line in 2012.
"If you talk to me about my best year, it means being consistent, playing 16 games, playing consistent Justin Tuck-type football, which I didn’t do last year," Tuck said.
Tuck seemed to disappear last season for long periods of time. In games against the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, Tuck had zero tackles and zero sacks at the end of both contests. Although he was physically on the field, everybody knew they were not seeing the Justin Tuck of years past. Tuck acknowledged this himself while speaking before the Giants Christmas Eve matchup against the New York Jets.
"I've been to a few Pro Bowls. I've had 10-plus-sack seasons,'' Tuck said. "You get caught up in all of that. At the end of the day, it's win. That's all I'm focused on … My numbers aren't going to be what they've been in past years, but we have two more games here and my focus is making the best out of these two games, forgetting the last 14."
In the final six games of the Giants 2011 campaign, Tuck had 18 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Coincidentally, the team won every single one of those games and went on to win the Super Bowl. In 2012, Justin Tuck is looking to carry over his inspiring performance from the end of last season.
"I’ve been ranked a No. 1 defensive end twice in my career (as an All-Pro by the Pro Football Writers of America). I want to get back to that standard. You look at those things and those are the individual goals. But at this point in my career, that’s not on the top of my list. It’s mostly the team goals first," he added.
For the Giants to have a formidable pass rush in 2012, a healthy Justin Tuck is essential. When he started to get healthy towards the end of last season, the Giants defensive line play improved as an entire unit. Tuck truly does make the players around him better. At age 29, a healthy Tuck should be able to once again become a consistent, dominant force on the Giants defensive line.
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Obviously, a healthy Tuck is key.
But this is the NFL, an industry in which no employee is ever as healthy as they were on the first minute of their first day on the job. And Tuck has racked up more bumps and bruises than most, many of them lingering. So it’s highly unlikely that we will ever again see a Justin Tuck who is anywhere near full health.
Which means that going forward, Tuck is going to have to do a much better job of – to paraphrase Dirty Harry – “knowing his limitations.” Tuck’s biggest problem last year was not physical; it was mental. Sure, he was banged up and dealing with all kinds of nagging injuries, but it was all made much worse by his never-ending Hamlet routine: “To play or not to play.”
This led to a frustrating stretch of games in which Tuck either did not play or was a non-factor in those he did. It’s on Tuck to become more aware of just what his body will allow him to do. If he’s too banged up to perform at an effective level, he needs to stay on the sidelines until healthy enough to do otherwise. If his level of physical discomfort is at a manageable level, then he should get in the game and play like Justin Tuck is supposed to play. No more half-steppin’.
Bottom line: I’d much rather see a far less talented – but uber-motivated – Trattou or Tracy in there rather than a Tuck who’s simply going through the motions because he’s hurt. If that means a half season’s worth of DNPs for Tuck, then so be it.
I expect to see a dominating performance from Tuck in 2012. The man is proud. If he’s healthy he, JPP, Osi, Kiwi, Joseph and Canty are going to be comparing pelts all season long. The internal competition for sacks will be a frightening prospect for opposing QBs because of the talent of those five (to say nothing of Boley, Rivers and Williams, who will sometimes be coming). And while Tuck really is a complete team player, he also doesn’t want to cede his leadership-by-example to JPP just yet.
I don’t know how this Giants’ defense is sneaking under the radar, but no one seems to be talking about them on the national scene, and they damned well should. Perhaps it will take a few games before the “secret” is out.
you never know where the bumps and bruises are going to come from, who’ll they’ll hit, or how hard; you just know they’re coming.
if the giants are fortunate to get a full healthy season out of Tuck, JPP and Osi, you have to like the giants chances of posting 11+ wins (assuming of course eli’s health as well)
if those 3 DE’s are all really healthy it is hard to see any team consistently taking advantage of the defense
Another thing that might help Tuck this year is Marvin Austin.
If Austin is able to provide something more than the an occasional token contribution and establish himself as a credible, part-time pass rushing threat, it would obviate the need to shift Tuck to to the inside, as he’s frequently been asked to do in the past.
This, of course, would mean less wear and tear on Tuck’s already banged up body and could result in a happier, healthier player.
That said, it seems like a longshot. Realistically, I’m not expecting all that much from Austin this season other than a lot of trips to the inactive list.
I heard Victor Cruz on sports radio today being interviewed by Francessa. I really don’t think there’s anything to worry about with him. He seems to completely understand that unless he does it on the field all the ancillary stuff is going to disappear.
He did, though, mention that starting with the first Dallas game last season he started to see double teams and wasn’t thrilled about it. Note though, that he didn’t have to say that he managed to beat many of those defenses. We saw it with our own eyes. Nonetheless, it again makes clear how critical it is to have THREE reliable wide receivers when appropriate. Mario Manningham came through late in the season because he was the receiver being singled up. I think Randle can fill that role by the mid-point of the season if he gets enough work prior to that, but it will be very interesting to see if he or Hixon (or Jernigan) will play a big role early.
IF this team can complete its receiver corps by incorporating a really good third wide receiver and a very solid tight end, and then gets high-quality work out of Bradshaw, Wilson and Hynoski, the variety of approaches the Giants can take on offense start to look almost unlimited under Eli’s and Gilbride’s guidance. They could develop an A-defense to go along with what I am confident will be an A-defense.
O/U for Randle catches through 10 games: 14.5.
And fat people understand what it takes to lose weight. I have no doubt that Cruz knows what he has to do to be successful. I’m just worried that he’s actually doing it. We’ll find out in September.