Loading ...It was almost comical how bloated the New York Giants injury report was for a while there, but the team came out of the San Francisco 49ers game pretty healthy and we just might be turning a corner here. With Hakeem Nicks back in the fold, Chris Canty ready to return and Kenny Phillips hopefully only a week or two away, the Giants should be feeling better than they have all year.
With the memory of running a headline the other week that only half-jokingly wondered if Big Blue would have enough healthy players to field a team for that week's game, the Giants seem to have weathered the worst of the storm (so far) and come out into the sunshine at 4-2. Good timing, with big divisional games against the Redskins and Dallas Cowboys coming up, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers lurking after that.
Don't believe us? Let's go position-by-position and see how they're doing.
Defensive tackle: this unit had been one of the biggest concerns with Chris Canty missing the first six weeks of the season after knee surgery, and that was before it lost Rocky Bernard to a quadricep injury, forcing rookie Markus Kuhn to start against the Niners. But Canty is the rock of this unit and along with Linvall Joseph is expected to dictate play at the line of scrimmage. Canty is easily the biggest difference maker the Giants have been needing to get off the trainer's table, and it looks like he may be back as soon as this week.
Cornerback: Other than Justin Tryon, the keeper of the last spot on the depth chart, every single one of these guys has missed time at some point. But Jayron Hosley and Michael Coe have returned from hamstring injuries and made it through gameplay healthy, Prince Amukamara's sprained ankle is behind him and he is becoming a solid NFL corner before our eyes, while Corey Webster is going to play through a broken hand for a while…emphasis on playing. All hands on deck here, basically.
Safety: The safeties will also be full steam ahead when Kenny Phillips returns from a knee injury, a return that might only be a week or two (or three) away. If Canty returns this week and Nicks stays healthy, Phillips is easily the biggest missing piece left. Antrel Rolle survived his own knee-injury scare and Stevie Brown is looking like a pretty good option as the third safety. If Phillips comes back good to go, the Giants might even be in the position of trimming some fat when Will Hill returns from suspension.
Linebacker: Hamstring injuries to Michael Boley and a persistent one to Keith Rivers (who may, in fact, be the best linebacker on the team) have slowed this unit early on, but both of those guys seemed to have turned a corner there. Jacquian Williams left last game with a calf injury, but we haven't heard whether it's serious yet and even if it costs the youngster a few weeks, it's far from a big deal.
Wide receiver: We're still a bit concerned about Hakeem Nicks (he didn't look 100 percent last Sunday against the Niners) but he's back in uniform so until we hear otherwise we'll consider him a full go. Domenik Hixon is back in his role as the reliable third receiver and the depth is all there with Ramses Barden back from a concussion and Reuben Randle showing two weeks ago that he can produce if called upon. When Nicks gets back to being Nicks, this unit gets back to being one of the best in the league.
Offensive line: Although minor scares with David Baas and Chris Snee, timed perfectly with David Diehl's MCL injury, made us all nervous, looking back the biggest injury was Will Beatty's balky back. Since his return no one has even noticed that Diehl was gone. Although Diehl won't return to the starting lineup, he's healthy again and gives the team much-needed depth. This unit is feeling well and starting to play really well, too.
Running back: Knock on wood, Ahmad Bradshaw is healthy and running well after missing a few weeks with a neck injury. Andre Brown is out with a concussion for now, but Brown looked like a really useful back when Bradshaw was out. Along with rookie David Wilson who has proven he is a threat on kickoffs and out of the backfield (and has held on to the ball), the Giants might have a three-headed monster on their hands when Brown returns.
We've run through just about every unit that's faced injuries and boy is it good to hear that each and every single one is on the up and up. Of course, this could all change tomorrow when the team practices and has to release an injury report, but this is how it looks like it's shaking out as of now.
Good timing for Big Blue too, as Robert Griffin III and the upstart Washington Redskins are on deck this week, with the Dallas Cowboys, who already beat us in Week 1, await in Dallas the week after.
It sure feels good not to see names like Bradshaw, Hosley and Rivers on the inactive list anymore…and if Chris Canty and Kenny Phillips return, and Hakeem Nicks finds that top gear again, the Giants might have be one of the healthier teams in the league. For the first time in a long time.
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To those who are of the Jewish persuasion this is known as a kinahurra. For those of you who aren’t well versed in Yiddish, it basically means that you shouldn’t talk about something good that’s happening to “avoid the evil eye.”
Read the article at the peril of the NY Giants!….lol!
Paging Marc Ross; paging Marc Ross… you have a long distance call from Cleveland waiting on Line one:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/20573728/jimmy-haslam-approved-as-browns-owner-president-mike-holmgren-out-at-end-of-season
Excellent piece. I have saying for several weeks now that all of our injuries thus far are minor and if we can just make it through the first half 5-3 we should be fine. It looks that we maybe getting healthy faster than anticipate and now 6-2 is our realistic goal.
The healthy player I have concern about is Bradshaw. While Bradshaw has returned to his 2010 form on the field the concern I have is his carries. 57 carries the last 2 weeks is way too much. The coaches have to give a lot more than 20% of the carries to other RBs, especially if we are now going to run the ball 35-40 times. Bradshaw has shown tha ability to get banged up so we can’t expose him so much. Many of us would like to see more Wilson but no matter if it’s Wilson, Brown or even Scott, Bradshaw should be maxed out as a 21-24 carry type of back. And he should average in the 16-19 carry range. I even think he got too many carries with the games out of hand the last 2 weeks. Remember in 2010 when he was the #1 he still only carried the ball 276 times in 16 games which is only a 17.25 average. even though he missed most of the TB game Bradshaw is still averaging 19.2 carries per game. I hope TC and KG will minimize his carries if they expect him to be around and effective Dec-Feb.
Agree about Bradshaw. I was wondering why Wilson didn’t see more action sooner in the game. I understand Bradshaw’s on fire, but he’s prone to breaking down, and he’ll be needed later in the season. Give Wilson more touches earlier, especially now that he’s proven he can be productive.
Does anyone know when they start flexing games? Will this one stay at 1?
doesn’t start until week 11.
And if im understanding the rules correctly, the Giants are already at their max primetime games.
Possibly, although I thought they were at their limit when the week 17 game against the cowboys was flexed into primetime last season. I could be mistaken though.
I think Cruz has shown enough that last year wasn’t a fluke.
Reese needs to start negotiations. I believe he will be a restricted FA after this year. That is a risky move to make as he is sure to get a big contract if he hits FA.
I hope talks will commence and we lock Cruz up for years! We need this guy!
I wouldn’t doubt that they’ve already spoken at least initially. Cruz is smart enough to keep quiet about it. His value is already very high, and on top of that (* knock on wood *) he’s proven durable unlike just about every other player on offense not named Eli Manning.
I hope so. Locking him up is HUGE.
He’s not like another Steve Smith. Smith was valuable too, but moreso as a security blanket and a chainmover.
Cruz does that AND is an outright playmaker!
The Giants cannot have any games flexed to night games. Under the new CBS the max is 5 per team which we already have
Woohoo thanks man… so I will be at the game then!
Foxlin beat me to it, I commented on the rules up top.
Can a few game of the 1pm games be moved to 4pm though? I see our last 3 games are @ATL, @BAL and Philly at home. Those all seem like games that would at least be showcased at 4pm if possible.
Yea I think 1pm to 4pm can happen, the 5 max only refers to primetime
Thanks guys!
CBA*
Francesa is having a heart attack that Girardi is playing Nunez at SS.
No ARod in the lineup. What a slap in the face. oh well!
Meh, I really don’t blame him. After the offense he’s presided over the last two weeks, can you blame him?
You people really are so insistent about getting A-Rod’s bat in the lineup that you want him to play short? Really?! He can barely stay healthy playing third…there’s no way he can play short.
Not to mention that Nunez, despite being a free swinger, puts the ball in play and has the speed to make stuff happen on the bases.
If Ichiro, Gardner, Nunez and even Granderson get on base…expect some small ball.
Moi? Wanting ARod in the lineup? I’m a mets fan. Couldn’t care less, but I thought Francesa was going to blow a gasket! Just reporting for all the Yankee fans on here. it was public service announcement, not an editorial :-)
TuckThis — I was afraid of the inevitable “you just jinxed us posts” and to your credit you didn’t leave me waiting long! Love the angle you took, especially!
GOAT and Levito — I agree that Bradshaw’s probably the most likely to get hurt (based on his injury history and the pounding he takes as an RB), but I’m not very worried about it. Wilson and Brown can handle the job if Bradshaw’s hurt. I still have the same perception of Bradshaw and Brown I did three weeks ago, despite Bradshaw’s good games the last two weeks.
Brown has been very brittle thus far so while I agree he can get the job done, I don’t know he can stay healthy. Wilson, I worry about in pass protection. I think we need the combo the get through the season. The durability of Bradshaw and Brown is one reason why I would keep Scott.
Bradshaw has run a lot better the last 2 weeks. He’s hitting the holes a lot quicker and not going east to west nearly as much as he was. He’s still not by himself the answer but he’s part of the solution.
We all love Wilson with the ball in his hands but I don’t know if at any point this year TC/KG will totally trust him enough to be a #1 RB due to pass protection. We are still a passing team first.
I thought a little levity on here would go a long way. We seem to take ourselves a bit too seriously at times….lol!
Eli only threw for 193 yards…I think he had a streak of 200 yards per consecutive game going…oh well
Indeed. And notice despite the fact that he was a mere 7 yards away for the last 10 minutes of the game, Gilbride neither called a pass nor did Eli audible to one despite the 49ers leaving blatant soft 1-on-1 coverage on the outside the entire time.
We aint the Saints and Easy aint Drew Brees.