Nicks has knack of a game-breaker
Photo credit: AP | New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (88) races with a pass in front of New Orleans Saints cornerback Jabari Greer (32) in the second half. (October 18, 2009)
Hakeem Nicks
Oct. 18: Saints 48, Giants 27
Hakeem Nicks is not Anquan Boldin. Not yet. The kid has caught a dozen NFL passes in his rookie year with the Giants. But there will be a point Sunday night, either before or after the game, when Nicks plans to approach the Cardinals' Pro Bowl receiver.
"I would like to announce myself to him and meet him," Nicks said.
And why not? After all, Boldin is the player Nicks is often compared to in terms of his ability to run with the ball and his physical stature.
"I've gotten that a lot," Nicks said. "You can see some similarities in the physicality of our game. That's just what they say. I've seen areas in my game that are similar to his. The way he plays physical, runs after the catch."
It's not just outsiders who have made the comparison. When the Giants drafted Nicks with their first-round pick this past spring, general manager Jerry Reese dropped Boldin's name when talking about his newest jewel. Maybe that was just a way to appease fans who wanted the Giants to trade for the actual Boldin. But now that Nicks has a few games under his belt, it's looking more and more like an accurate comparison.
Nicks leads the Giants with 19.6 yards per reception. He scored a stunning touchdown against the Chiefs on a 54-yard play that started as a screen pass to the left, although it went somewhat unnoticed, coming one snap after Eli Manning injured his plantar fascia. The following week against the Raiders, he grabbed a 9-yard TD pass from Manning and last week, in a blowout loss to the Saints, Nicks found the end zone for a third straight time, this one on a 37-yard pass from David Carr. Earlier in the game, he caught a 58-yard pass from Manning on which he came across the field and turned it up after he caught the ball.
Nicks has three of the Giants' top seven offensive plays this season and two of the top three. On all of them, the bulk of the yardage has come after Nicks caught the ball.
"I'm not sure I could honestly say that he looked as fast as he looks when he has the ball in his hands," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said of his initial impressions of Nicks when the Giants were scouting him. "He looks faster when he has the ball in his hands than when he is running routes. He has done a great job. We'll keep feeding him the opportunities and hopefully, he continues to make plays."
It's also noteworthy that Nicks' touchdown last week came with 3:15 remaining in a game that already had been decided, at a time when some other receivers might have packed it in for the day.
"I just wanted to keep on fighting to the end, show the winner in me to go to the end," Nicks said. "I guess that's something they look for, but that's just the character in me."
Rookie receivers - especially on the Giants - aren't supposed to put up those kinds of numbers. Nicks is the first Giants rookie with a touchdown reception in three consecutive games since Bob McChesney in 1950. And his 114 receiving yards Sunday was the first 100-plus effort by a Giants rookie receiver since Jamaar Taylor had 102 yards in 2004.
There is a chance that Sunday night - especially with the way the Cardinals' defense focuses on stopping the run and dares teams to pass the ball - that Nicks could become the most effective rookie wide receiver the Giants have had in the last quarter-century. In the last 25 drafts, they have taken 27 receivers, including three other first-rounders. The best numbers any of them posted were the 16 catches and 211 yards by David Tyree in 2003. Nicks has 12 catches for 235.
You have to reach back to 1984 for better rookie numbers; Lionel Manual had 33 catches for 619 yards and four touchdowns, and Bobby Johnson had 48 catches for 795 yards and seven touchdowns.
"There are still areas to be improved upon, trust me," Gilbride said. "Of course, being a young guy and just starting out, there are more areas than some of the guys who have been here for a little bit. But when he has had a chance to make a big play, he has, and that's the thing that has been impressive."
And he's earning the trust of the coaching staff and the guy who will be feeding him the ball for the next few years.
"He's doing a good job of knowing what's going on," Manning said. "He's made big plays and he's earned a position on the field to get in there. He's doing a good job. I think he'll get better as the season goes on, too."
Manning said he wasn't buying the Boldin comparisons when the Giants first drafted Nicks. He had to see it for himself.
"You never know," he said. "You see highlights, but it's about getting guys in here, getting them to learn the offense, getting them caught up on everything you need to know. Especially when you've been in the offense going into your sixth year, you have guys who have been in it for a while, it's about how fast can this guy come in and learn the ins and outs."
Now Manning is a believer.
"He knows what's going on," Manning said. "He's polished in his route- running and the concepts of what we're doing. He came in prepared to play."
As for those comparisons to Boldin, well, if Nicks keeps playing like this, they'll probably keep coming. And they'll begin to be more than just body size and type.
"If he is being compared to Anquan, then he must be a pretty darn good football player, that's all I can say," Kurt Warner said. "Anquan is one of the best I have been around who plays at a unique level in a unique way. If he is being compared to that, that's pretty high praise for a rookie."
