Some highlights from Monday’s media sessions with players and coaches…..
“I fell down once, too. I didn’t get any attention for it, though.” – Tom Coughlin, referring to all the slipping and falling his players did on the dry surface yesterday.
“Maybe, before 2006. Maybe. Because ’06 is when I had the little hip issue and since then it’s just been one thing or another, so it’s been maybe about six years.”- DE Osi Umenyiora on the last time he recalls being healthy in training camp.
“I actually don’t. If it comes on T.V. or a commercial or something like that, I check it out and… Other than that, not very much…..It’s over and done with, so I don’t. I’m not that type of guy to just keep watching something over and like, ‘Wow. I did that.’ That’s not me.”- safety Kenny Phillips when asked How many times have you watched the final play of the Super Bowl.
“Not really. It’s over with now. It’s about just continuing to get better. When things happen, they happen for a reason. So, whatever it was, I’m pretty sure it’s going to pose itself to me. I can’t complain about being in the situation I’m in right now.”- rookie WR Rueben Randle on whether he has a chip on his shoulder after being bypassed in the draft twice by every team but he Giants.
“He’s a lot more fun to coach now because you know that JPP is going to do something that you’ve got to say that doesn’t belong, but that’s ok that’s JPP. So you don’t try to coach him too much because you don’t want to screw him up.”- DC Perry Fewell on DE Jason Pierre-Paul.
“He would always tell me that before the games last year. I didn’t take it to heart. I didn’t take it personal. I just took it as encouragement.”- CB Prince Amukamara when asked about GM Jerry Reese’s comments that he begin to play like a first-round pick.
The Wheelhouse gang discusses the Giants options at CB if Terrell Thomas cannot play this season. Please note: this was aired before the Giants released the news about the extent of Thomas’ injury…..
The Giants are extremely concerned tonight about the future of CB Terrell Thomas, who re-injured his ACL yesterday to the degree where his career may be in jeopardy. It was learned late today that he will be undergo a procedure to determine the damage and surgery – and placement on IR – are very real possibilities right now. Here is some Twitter reaction from the beat pool….
The unfortunate Terrell Thomas injury rundown…don’t be surprised if he never stars for Giants again: nydn.us/OgI8ZR
The Giants just re-did Thomas’ contract in March and he has been talking about making strides and re-taking his position on the Giants’ first-string defense.
Thomas signed a four-year, $28 million deal but with just $1-mil guaranteed signing bonus and a $6 mil option in March
We will know more after Thomas has his scope in the next few days. Until then, the Giants can only hope for the best…and prepare for the worst. ESPN NFC East blogger Dan Graziano spells out the realities of the situation for Thomas and what it means if the Giants lose him – again:
“The first and most important thing to note about this is that it would be awful news for Thomas personally. The main reason players generally don’t come back from a second torn ACL is that most of them aren’t able to get through the grueling, one-year rehab for a second time. Thomas did that and went to training camp determined to reclaim his status as a Giants starter and an emerging star cornerback. If he’s torn it again, he’ll be devastated, and the prospect of a third rehab just for a chance at a comeback will appear staggeringly difficult. No matter who your favorite team is, if you’re human, you have to hurt for a guy in this situation. The game is just very cruel.
As for the impact on the team, the Giants are actually fairly well positioned to handle the loss of Thomas again. It’s not ideal, certainly, and one of the main reasons they so easily parted company with free-agent Aaron Ross (who started in Thomas’ place last season) was because of their belief that Thomas would come back healthy. But they always knew there was a chance he wouldn’t, and 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara waits in the wings as the most likely replacement. The Giants also drafted cornerback Jayron Hosley in the third round of April’s draft, and have depth on the roster in the form of guys like Michael Coe, Justin Tryon and Antwaun Molden.”
After weeks of telling the media how ready his knee was, Giants’ CB Terrell Thomas was in Manhattan today to get his swollen right knee checked out at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Yes, it is the same knee that Thomas tore up in the preseason last year – an injury that kept him out of action for the entire season. His ACL must be acting up again. He only logged in one full practice since camp began last Friday. Today he was absent.
From SNY Giants insider Mike Garafolo of the Star Journal:
Terrell Thomas slipped early in practice on Sunday and eventually went to the sideline, where he stood with ice on his surgically repaired right knee for the latter part of the session.
“I don’t know where they’re at, I haven’t heard the results. But the fact he came in this morning with a (swollen knee)…” coach Tom Coughlin said, trailing off. “He walked up to me after practice (on Sunday) and thought he felt good. He didn’t really seem to have any issues and this morning when he came back in it was swollen.”
Coughlin sounded very downbeat when he spoke. (more)
Updated 6:15pm: Thomas to have procedure on ACL
In a story that continues to develop, Terrell Thomas re-injured his surgically-repaired right ACL and will undergo a procedure to determine the extent of the damage. From the Giants:
Thomas underwent an MRI and examination by team physician Dr. Russell Warren at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan today. The MRI revealed that Thomas suffered an injury to the right knee involving the ACL.
“Terrell re-injured his ACL,” said Giants senior vice president of medical services Ronnie Barnes. “At this point, he will most likely undergo an arthroscopic procedure to determine the extent of the injury to the ACL. However, no decision has been made at this point. Terrell is going to consult with Dr. (Arthur) Ting, who performed an allograft reconstruction of the ACL in September.”
Lots of material to get to you today. With another day of practice and interviews on tap, let’s get you caught up from Sunday…..
Tim Farrell of the Star Ledger captured Giants’ QB Eli Manning presser yesterday. He has two Super Bowl MVPs on his shelf but he’s still looking to improve:
“There’s definitely room for improvement – there’s no question about it. Most of the things I’m working on are decision making, eliminating turnovers, and being more accurate. Just continuing to try and work on my skills. Making sure you don’t have any missed opportunities, that when guys are open, I’m hitting them.”
Three practices in the books and number four coming up this afternoon. It will be in full pads and now we will see who is worth their salt around here.
Yesterday, the Giants were back on the grass in a spirited session in shells. You can read our camp notes and Tom Coughlin’s post-practice comments below. LBs Keith Rivers and Michael Boley sat out of practice with hamstring issues. RB Da’Rel Scott also did not practice due to a swollen ankle.
CB Terrell Thomas has only made it through one practice with his reconstructed knee. It’s early, and he doesn’t want to push it. He was icing it down after he came off the field yesterday.
DE Justin Trattou was headed to New York to have an MRI on his ankle. More to come on that. WR Hakeem Nicks’ broken foot is healing as scheduled and he has begun running. The consensus is, he’ll be ready to resume practicing in two weeks. Whether or not that will happen while the Giants are in Albany is still to be determined.
Some things worth noting…..one of the questions that needs to be answered is who will be the third wide receiver. Second-year wideout Jerrel Jernigan continues to impress with ability to get separation and get deep from the outside. He’s hanging on to the ball this year, too. He cites not having the usual offseason acclimation period for his uneven rookie season.
Tom Coughlin’s post-practice media session transcript courtesy of the New York Giants…..
Good afternoon. That’s grass. It’s real grass. It smells like grass. You see something that looks like blue, which is nice. It’s nice to be outside. Otherwise, it was a day in which. It was the first time that we got some people moving and forgetting about the elements and that type of thing, and just practicing. We got a little something done.
“There are definitely no setbacks,” Giants’ WR Hakeem Nicks said today. “Everything is going the way we planned, so we’re just sticking to the things that the doctors and trainers told us.”
Giants’ WR Hakeem Nicks made a cameo at training camp today. He’s not quite ready to resume full workouts, but he is on schedule after braking a bone in his foot during the an OTA in May.
“I’m ready to get back at it, and I feel like I need to be out there with the guys. I’m just following the instructions of the team doctors and the team trainers,” Nicks said. “It definitely gets tempting (because of his desire to play), there’s no question about it. But, I’m just sticking to the script like they said. I definitely want to be out there, but we gotta do the right thing and be smart about it.”
Nicks is expected back in a few weeks but he has already begun running and soon he will try cutting. One step at a time, but he is on, or ahead, of schedule according to most….
Not sure if I tweeted this already, but Nicks said he could begin cutting as early as today.
The one aspect of his game he isn’t too concerned about is his rapport with QB Eli Manning, who Nicks has developed an on-field symbiotic relationship with.
“I know Eli and he knows me,” Nicks said. “It’s just a matter of making sure that I’m in game shape, so I don’t come back and have any other little nagging injuries.”
The Giants will be back on the field today in Albany for Day Three of their training camp. There is a 60% chance of rain today (it’s raining right now, btw) and a chance of showers every day this week. There is no practice Tuesday, however.
So far only one injury to report – DE Justin Trattou – who was carted off the field with an apparent ankle injury yesterday. A bigger deal than it seems. Trattou is the favorite to replace Dave Tollefson in the Giants’ defensive line rotation. If he can’t go, that means Adrian Tracy is next man up. IMO not good enough to get the job done. Let’s hope Trattou is OK….
