Giants thin, young secondary tops NFL
Photo credit: AP | New York Giants cornerback Kevin Dockery (35) celebrates with teammates Kenny Phillips (21) and James Butler (37). (January 11, 2009)
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Sept. 27: Giants 24, Tampa Bay 0
There has been some gallows humor in the secondary these first three weeks of the season. The players laugh out loud when they switch from a nickel scheme to a double-nickel scheme in practice because the unit is so thin, there's really no difference between the two.
No one shifts, no one moves around. It's five of one, half-a-dime of the other.
"We've been thin since OTAs," Terrell Thomas said with a chuckle last week when it looked like Kenny Phillips would be sidelined for a while (he eventually was put on injured reserve).
So if the Giants know they are thin there, why hasn't anyone else noticed?
Despite having just enough healthy bodies to get through the games - safety Aaron Rouse arrived Thursday and had to play Sunday - the Giants are leading the NFL in pass defense, allowing 124.0 passing yards per game. They have five interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and all of them setting up scoring opportunities. And they have allowed only four passes of 20 yards or more in three games, fewest in the NFL. Two of those four passes have been to running backs.
"We're still waiting on it, honestly," Thomas said of the deep tests that one would expect for a secondary that had two second-year players and first-time starters and an undrafted rookie at nickel. "We know they're coming. We're not falling asleep out there. Teams are going to have to try us one day and hopefully, we can keep making plays."
So here comes the cavalry charging over the hill, only to find that the farmhands have been holding down the fort pretty well. Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery, both veterans and starters at points in their careers, are expected to return to practice in some form this week after missing the first three weeks with nagging hamstring injuries.
Tom Coughlin said they would "spoon-feed" the returning corners for the first few days and wouldn't say how they would be used if they were available Sunday against the Chiefs. "We'll have to wait and see," he said.
Had Thomas been a disappointment, that spoon-feeding would have been with a shovel. But Coughlin said Thomas played very well against the Bucs (who doesn't?) with four tackles and an interception. He also corrected some of his tackling troubles from the week earlier against the Cowboys.
Thomas said he didn't have a good "game plan" for tackling Marion Barber and Felix Jones in Dallas. "My whole thing was staying low," Thomas said. "I'm a big corner, so I have to get a low target and bring them down."
Thomas has been saying since spring that he wants to be a starter, not with an arrogant tone but one with drive and confidence that impresses and doesn't offend the guys who already hold those jobs. Who doesn't want to be a starter?
Now, with Ross and Dockery inching closer to the field, does Thomas think he's done enough to hold on to that job?
"No," he said flatly. "I still have a lot more work to do. Your job is never secure in the NFL. It's a high-performance business. Every week, they're looking to replace you."
Thomas stood in front of his locker Monday with the ball he intercepted Sunday tucked under his arm. He held it tightly and didn't seem willing to let it go.
Almost as if it were a starting job.
