Giant Football Blog

O-Line ready to prove Raji wrong

There aren't many things you can say to offensive linemen to insult them. Call them ugly, call them slow; heck, call them dirtbags. None of it really sticks. But question their toughness? That's the nuclear option when it comes to trash-talking in the NFL.

So how did Chris Snee react when Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji said he is not impressed by the toughness of the Giants' offensive line?

"I was upset about it all night," Snee said with straight-faced sincerity. "I couldn't sleep. Really tossing and turning. I'm starting to feel a little better today."

Later, when asked about his shtick, Snee didn't break character.

"How do you know I was joking?" he said. "I didn't sleep all night. B.J. was just in my mind. He's a beast out there, so I'm grateful for the opportunity [to play against him]." (continue)

 

Nicks will play

Hakeem Nicks said he did some striding and backpedaling today to see if he’d “notice” his injured hamstring.

So, did he?

“Yeah, I can’t lie,” the Giants’ wide receiver said today after sitting out practice but doing light work on the side. “This ain’t something that’s just going to go away overnight. It’s still there. But can I play with it?”

Nicks never got around to finishing that response because a reporter nearly got whacked in the head with a camera as the media made a mad dash to Osi Umenyiora’s locker. But the answer was likely going to be “yes.”

After all, Nicks believes he’ll practice on Friday. (continue)

 

Tuck getting healthier for Big Blue

In some ways, Justin Tuck's season ended against the Jets.

He was having a monster preseason and appeared primed for another All-Pro year when, on an otherwise benign running play in the third preseason game, he was blocked by Vlad Ducasse and his left arm went numb.

For the next few weeks, he struggled to come back from that stinger, but the injuries snowballed -- his groin, then an ankle, then a toe. Pretty soon, the avalanche of physical ailments was overwhelming. Tuck, usually one of the Giants' best defensive players, has registered only three sacks and 31 tackles in the first 14 games of 2011.

He's hoping, though, that just as his season was derailed in August against the Jets, he can get it back on track Saturday against the same team.

"I probably feel better this week than I have all year," Tuck said Thursday. "Obviously, I still have something left." (continue)

Osi will be out for weeks

Osi Umenyiora has a "real bad" sprained ankle and the injury could keep him out as long as a month.

The Giants' defensive end "sprained pretty much everything in there," according to someone familiar with his situation. He will definitely miss the Giants' game on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and likely their NFC East showdown in Dallas on Dec. 11, too.

According to the source, who spoke with Umenyiora Monday night, the defensive end's hope is to return in time for the Giants' home game against the Washington Redskins on Dec. 18. But even that, the source added, might be "a longshot."

"You never know with ankles," the source said. "It all depends on how fast they heal. And you know Osi. He wants to show everyone that he's going to push as hard as he can to get back on the field." (continue)

Boley injury has Giants in a bind at LB

The criticism was pouring in as far back as April’s draft: The Giants’ linebacking corps just isn’t good enough; the group is the weak link in an otherwise elite defense.

The second-guessing was loud enough for Giants general manager Jerry Reese to address the critics on a hot sunny day during training camp in early August.

“I’m tired of hearing we don’t have linebackers,” Reese said at the time. “Someone will step out of the shadows.”

That was prior to injuries that ended both Jonathan Goff and Clint Sintim’s seasons before they began — two of the nine Giants who have found their way to the season-ending injured reserve list. Despite the losses, the Giants defense weathered the storm as the team started the season 6-2 before losing at San Francisco on Sunday, and remain a game ahead of Dallas in the NFC East. But the game may not have been the only significant loss on Sunday. (continue)

 

Baas looking to play vs old team

In his final five seasons with the 49ers, David Baas missed only one game. He’s already missed two in nine weeks with the Giants.

That’s been the kind of luck he’s had in the past few months.

“I’ve had dings and stuff like that. But I’ve never missed games or anything like that,” the Giants’ center said after today’s practice, a session in which he participated in a limited capacity. “I’ve always been able to bounce back from stuff. So yeah, it is frustrating. I came in here with a goal in mind and I knew why they brought me here.

“Of course, nobody likes getting injured. But I didn’t expect somebody to get thrown into my knee or get my face mask grabbed.”

Baas suffered his first neck burner when a player grabbed his face in the first couple of weeks of the season. (He didn’t mention the player or team.) He aggravated it while making a block against the Arizona Cardinals, missed the second half of that game and then sat out the following week against the Seattle Seahawks. He returned in Week 8, only to suffer a knee injury against the Miami Dolphins that kept him out of this past Sunday’s victory over the New England Patriots. (continue)

Now it's Jason Pierre-Paul's turn to get hurt

The absence of Jason Pierre-Paul on the practice field Friday quickly drew the attention of the Giants, a team depleted by injuries. The second-year defensive end did not practice because of what was described as concussion-related symptoms stemming from a helmet-to-helmet collision with a teammate on Thursday.

What the team initially had declared a neck injury drew concern Friday when Pierre-Paul, fifth in the NFL in sacks (81/2), complained of a headache.

"We put him through all the tests for a possible concussion and we'll see how that goes," Tom Coughlin said of Pierre-Paul, who is questionable for Sunday's game against the Patriots.

The Giants' coach said he "didn't think anything of" the collision, but "then all of a sudden, he was off to the side. He didn't feel real good, so they shut him right down." (continue)

 

Nicks should be a go vs Pats

The Giants' wide receiver received good news following an MRI on his hamstring this afternoon, according to someone informed of the results of the exams. The person, who requested anonymity because all injury information is supposed to come from Tom Coughlin, described Nicks as "all good" after aggravating a strain in the muscle late in Sunday's victory over the Miami Dolphins.

At his afternoon press conference today, Coughlin didn't have all of the information on Nicks' hamstring but didn't anticipate any major issues. Coughlin believed Nicks would be listed as "day-to-day," and it appears that will be the case. (continue)

 

Prince getting closer

Steadily, Prince Amukamara is taking steps to making his debut at cornerback for the Giants. He was a limited participant in practice today. But having missed nearly two months of the season, he is still a step behind.

"The drills felt good but in show-team, I am just trying to catch up to speed," Amukamara said. "The speed was a bit fast so I have to get used to that."

"Physically, I am just trying to get the timing down. I haven’t lined up across from someone in a couple months so I am just trying to get acclimated to that speed."

In terms of his health, he is improving. While he isn't completely pain free, the soreness that comes with his comeback is dissipating. (continue)

 

Prince's debut draws near

Early on, secondary coach Peter Guinta would allow cornerback Prince Amukamara room for self-pity.

After breaking a bone in his foot in just his second practice of training camp, the first-round pick would get down on himself occasionally, resigned to spending his first few months in the NFL getting around on a scooter and watching from the sideline at the Giants' practice facility.

Guinta would snap at Amukamara at times, but also knew when to lay off.

“A little bit, but they have to go through the grieving process, too,” Guinta said of his approach with the injured rookie.

“With that injury there was time. It wasn’t like he was going to be missing for two weeks, we knew it was an extended period of time. We knew it was going to take a little time to get over that and just be away from it. Just kind of accept the fate that he was given was a good thing.” (continue)