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The New York Giants injury report released on Wednesday painted a dire picture of a team that was hobbled heading into its most competitive contest of the season. The 4-1 San Francisco 49ers are a fast, physical opponent that will certainly require Big Blue to have their best players on the field in order to emerge victorious. Luckily for the Giants, linebacker Keith Rivers and cornerback Jayron Hosley are slated to return to the gridiron this Sunday.
Hosley and Rivers have both been battling hamstring issues that have kept them off the field for two and three games, respectively. While it's no longer a question of whether they will play against the 49ers, it remains to be seen how much they see the field after missing multiple games.
Jayron Hosley is going to be a huge addition to a banged up Giants secondary. With the suspension of Will Hill, Big Blue had no viable option to play nickel cornerback this weekend.
Hosley provides speed and athleticism, which will give him the ability to run with any receiver the 49ers line up opposite of him. We will see Hosley play nickel cornerback this weekend, which will allow him to play a limited, yet immensely important defensive role on Sunday.
As for Keith Rivers, he's arguably the Giants most athletic linebacker. Although he's only played one full game so far this season, he's shown an ability to make plays around the ball against the run With that, his speed allows him to be an asset covering tight ends and backs out of the backfield.
As the Giants get ready to face the likes of Vernon Davis and Frank Gore, Rivers will be a valuable addition to the defense. Michael Boley is also dealing with a hip issue, so the Giants were already shorthanded at weakside linebacker. It should be interesting to see how much Rivers plays, and how fast he bounces back from a long layoff.
It might be a stretch to say the Giants are finally getting healthy, as there are still several players listed on the injury report who's statuses are in doubt this weekend. Kenny Phillips (knee), Martellus Bennett (knee) and Andre Brown (concussion) are all important players. However, it's appearing as if Hakeem Nicks may return on Sunday, along with Rivers and Hosley.
The Giants may not be as shorthanded as we all thought they would be this weekend. No matter who plays, it's going to be a tough road matchup for Big Blue. It should be intriguing to watch how head coach Tom Coughlin integrates his returning players back into their respective roles.
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This would be great news. But what makes you say they will play? Were they upgraded to “probable”?
They both sated as such during player interviews today.
They both said they were playing.
Getting Rivers back is astronomically huge. Let’s just hope the guy can stay healthy.
Yeah, Rivers could actually play linebacker for the Niners. LOL. And they are, as we know, the greatest collection of linebackers in the history of the world (what, you thought LT, Carson, and company were as good? Nah, they’re old news).
kujo, you ready to agree that my contention that the O-line would be okay if Beatty could return healthy was not “wishful thinking”?
And mark my words, Flaherty is coaching Brewer, McCants, Cordle, Petrus and Capers up to the point where if called upon they would not embarrass themselves. When Diehl returns our roster depth will be at least decent.
Good to hear that a good number of our injured are returning. I still want to hear more about our defensive line and what they plan on doing to get back into their Super Bowl form of last year.
We’ll see that happen when Canty gets back next week. Hopefully.
As much as it baffles me, I do hope Chris Canty is somehow the difference maker here that could get Tuck, Osi, and JPP going.
I’m thinking the O-line will determine whether or not we win this weekend. If they can protect Eli better then the they did in the 2 games last season the Giants will win. I think we will have to get the passing game going before we can run on SF.
Good comment.
Note that they DID protect Eli better in the regular season game last season. If I recall correctly they only sacked him twice in that game and he was only hit a few times other than that. The difference? Will Beatty was playing in the first game and not the second, Baas was healthier, and Diehl wasn’t playing with a broken hand.
Again, if I remember correctly, their defensive end and OLB absolutely abused Kareem McKenzie in that playoff game. I believe that was the game that sealed his fate with the Giants. And I absolutely KNOW that Sean Locklear is far better right now than was Kareem late last season. I always loved McKenzie and thought he was much less appreciated than should have been the case, but his play dropped off precipitously last season. He got old quickly. It was sad to see.
I suspect the O-line will play okay on Sunday.
The play that I will always associate with McKenzie’s downfall was Babin blowing right by him to get that sack/fumble on Eli in the second Philly game last season. You could just tell he wasn’t the same.
LOL. My friend told me Terry Bradshaw was abusing Brees on the radio today. Said “you play to win championships, not to set records” and also said it was absurd that Brees went to Goodell in order to have Payton allowed to be at the game to “see him set the record”.
Terry may be dense, but he’s wise.
Oh, and btw, Drew Brees can only dream of being as good as was Terry Bradshaw.
FF55,
I’ll admit that the OL is playing better than I expected, although I never disagreed with your contention that Beatty would improve their overall play. My issue has been LG and RT; I didn’t see Boothe or Locklear as much more than space holders for future draft picks. And although both are playing far better than that, I don’t see this unit as our long term group. Boothe might stick, but we need to upgrade RT either via Brewer or another acquisition.
Right now I believe you’re correct … RT is the one position where we need a mauler.
Let me clarify:
I think Locklear has played pretty great, but I think we would all agree that he is not the right tackle of the future. That’s gotta be Brewer or someone else.
Boothe is looking great as well, but do we resign him long term, as I believe his contract expires this offseason? Depends on what they think of Petrus, McCants and Mosley.
Overall, the unit is playing excellent. Won’t hear otherwise from me, at least until they look like sh-t and prove my hysteria right, in which case I will recommence Operation Menstruation, as Demo would call it.
Also:
Resign Beatty. Dude is a beast out there.
Resigning Beatty will probably be #1 on Reese’s priority list. They’re not letting him go anywhere. They’ll worry about him even before they worry about Cruz.
We absolutely need a long-term solution at RT. I just suspect that Brewer is it. But they will keep drafting lower round offensive linemen and turning the pups over to Flaherty. Right now he has Brewer, Mosley, Capers and McCants. He needs two of them to become what they need: quality NFL tackles. My money’s on Saint Pat.
How pissed off are we gonna be when Canty doesn’t play next week? The way this team gets surprise injuries, watch them say he’s not healthy yet. Would be an appropriate kick in the pants.
He may not. He can only start to practice on Tuesday and may not be really ready for NFL action before he gets a bit more practice time. he’ll definitely be there for Week 8 but don’t absolutely count on Week 7.
The trick is to set the bar low in your mind when it comes to injuries. I’ve counted Canty out for the season and did so as soon as he was place on the PUP list. If he sets foot on the field at all this season I will be thrilled. If playing mental games with myself is what it takes to get through a season, then so be it.
The left side of the OL is more pass blocking … the right more run oriented. I hope it’s Brewer, but so far the jury is out. Locklear has been a find. Typical Reese high-reward-low-cost free agent. But often they’re one year rentals.
I suspect Locklear will be here another few years. Diehl is done after this season. So even if Brewer is ready next season (which may be one year too soon) Locklear would be excellent depth. And I think he’s 50-50 to start over there in 2013 too. The guy still has some football left in him and has proved himself to the coaches.
I don’t think that anyone here disputes Beatty based on talent. Let’s see him finish the season without dropping a turkey on his foot, contracting malaria, or suffering from a detached colon. Then I will be thrilled. Just stay on the field.
This weeks game will be a far better barometer of the viability of the current line than the contest from last week. If the O-line is up to the challenge and we come out of SF with a victory, optimism will soar. Rightly so.
Detached colon? You mean this? :
LOLOLOL! Awesome!