Giants' Umenyiora ready for 'most important season'

ALBANY

If it's any consolation to Giants fans concerned about Osi Umenyiora's hip problem, consider this: A few days before the Giants faced the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, Umenyiora thought he might not be able to play.

"It flares up every now and then," Umenyiora said of a condition that has bothered him since the 2006 season. "I wasn't even sure I would play in the Super Bowl because it flared up right before that game."

Umenyiora wound up playing in the Giants' epic 17-14 win over the unbeaten Patriots. And barring any setbacks in the coming weeks, he expects he'll be able to manage the pain and contribute this season, despite the likelihood that eventually he'll require surgery to correct the problem.

That's good news for a Giants defensive line that is aiming for a shot at redemption this year after a miserable showing in 2009. Lauded as one of the league's most talented defensive lines, Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Chris Canty and Barry Cofield badly underperformed and was at the heart of the team's defensive collapse. With just 32 sacks and generally weak pressure on the quarterback, the resultant domino effect on the linebackers and defensive backs was obvious.

All that talent, all that potential? Turned out to be one of the root causes of an 8-8 season for a team picked by many - (guilty as charged) - to reach the Super Bowl.

Umenyiora believes the time is right to turn that disappointment into a special year in 2010.

"This season right here is probably the most important season of my life, and for this team also," he said. "When I look around and hear people saying this team can't do things and this team can't go far . . . I think we have an exceptional team."

But it's time for this defensive line to turn that potential into performance. No excuses this time. No more pointing to the coaching now that the ineffectual defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has been replaced by the more effusive Perry Fewell.

"Up front is where it all starts," general manager Jerry Reese said. "If our defensive front plays to their ability, our linebackers will be fine and our secondary will be fine."

That's especially true this year with the infusion of even more talent along the line. The Giants drafted defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul in the first round and defensive tackle Linval Joseph in the second. That gives them the flexibility of a solid rotation both inside and outside, and Fewell will have a remarkable reservoir of talent with which to work.

Here's how it has looked so far in camp at the all-important defensive end spots: Tuck is the clear-cut starter at left end, and Kiwanuka and Umenyiora have rotated with the first team at right end. Pierre-Paul has worked mostly at left end, and Kiwanuka has also been flipped to the left side on occasion. Kiwanuka also has the ability to play tackle in nickel situations, although the addition of Joseph and Canty's return to health from calf problems will likely keep Kiwanuka more often at one of the ends. Umenyiora is being used exclusively at right end.

At tackle, Cofield and Canty are the starters, while the Giants have also used Jay Alford, who returns from a knee injury, and Bernard, who was a disappointment as a free agent last season. Joseph will also be folded into the rotation in hopes he can contribute early. Not easy for a rookie, though, as they tend to take time to acclimate to the NFL level along the interior defensive line.

It's proving time for this group after last year's debacle, and Umenyiora is right at the top of the list. With just seven sacks last season and his belief that the coaches had it in for him, Umenyiora is hoping to return to his dominating ways.

"As soon as I get on the football field, I'm going to make plays," he said. "Whatever they require me to do, I'll do it. It's not a personal vendetta against me or anything that I've thought in the past. Everybody needs to be a little more unselfish and realize there's enough playing time, enough money, enough everything for everybody."

But only if they perform up to the standards that are expected from a defensive line with more talent than any team in football. Another miserable performance like last year . . .

Umenyiora doesn't see it happening.

"I think we'll be good to go," he said.

If the Giants are thinking about another Super Bowl run, he'd better be right.