Injured Giants are coming around
Photo credit: RICH KANE/ICON SMI/Rich Kane/Icon SMI | Justin Tuck participated fully in Thursday's practice.
For the first time in a while, Tom Coughlin was not in a head-shaking mood when it came to his injury report. "There are a bunch of guys that are making good progress," he said yesterday. "We're getting there."
Indeed. DE Justin Tuck (shoulder) participated fully in yesterday's practice, and although WR Hakeem Nicks (foot) was limited, he clearly is on a trajectory to be available to play Sunday against the Chiefs. CB Kevin Dockery (hamstring) also practiced for the second straight day.
But CB Aaron Ross' right hamstring continues to keep him on the sideline. He tried to practice with it Wednesday but quickly realized it was a bad idea. He sat out yesterday's workout."It just didn't feel right," Ross said of an injury that has been bothering him since early in training camp and has kept him out of all three regular-season games. "I tried to go out there but the leg's still not ready yet, so we have to be smart."
Ross said he did not re-injure the hamstring. "It's just a little frustrating, that's it," he said.
Shift in Tynes
Lawrence Tynes leads the NFL in points with 32, but he's missed two field-goal attempts, both inside 30 yards, in the last two games.(John Carney missed three field-goal attempts all season last year, two of which were blocked.) It's a point of concern for Tynes as he continues to adjust to his new kicking style."His confidence is shaken, but the team has a lot of confidence in him," special teams coach Tom Quinn said. "He just has to go out and make some kicks."
During the offseason, Tynes decided to stand more upright when he contacts the ball to give himself more distance on kickoffs and field-goal attempts.
"I feel comfortable doing it; that is the frustrating part," Tynes said. "I just have to get some old habits out of my head when it comes to game day in terms of how I line up, which I have been doing for the previous eight years. It's something I need to fix, for sure. It's bothering me. I am letting the team down. Those are points that should be automatic on the board."
Giant steps
S Kenny Phillips was back at the Giants' complex yesterday, two days after microfracture surgery on his ailing left knee. "The surgery went well," he said. "All our trainers feel that this is something I can definitely recover from and come back 100 percent, so I'm feeling good about it." . . . RB Ahmad Bradshaw has not run yet without the boot on his sprained right ankle/foot but remains confident he will play Sunday."I don't think it will be any problem at all," he said. "I'm just resting right now. The boot keeps me from just pounding it with the aggravation that's in my ankle." Tom Coughlin said Bradshaw might get some practice snaps today but noted that the team is "playing it close to the vest" with the injury during the week . . . After not practicing Wednesday, Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe (hamstring) was limited yesterday.
