Adewale Ojomo: 'I'm much closer to the field this year'
Tim Tebow gets sacked by Giants defensive end Adewale Ojomo during the second half of a preseason game. (Aug. 18, 2012) Credit: AP
Adewale Ojomo said he knew he would be back on the active roster soon. But not because he had any inside knowledge about how the Giants would be fiddling with their 53.
“They didn’t tell me,” he said of the team’s plans. “I just had faith. That’s it.”
Ojomo, a fan favorite and the king of summertime sacks for the Giants who has posted 6.5 of them in the last two preseasons, was waived by the team on Saturday, signed to the practice squad on Sunday, worked with the team in that capacity in an hour-long workout on Monday, and found out on Tuesday that he’d be promoted to the active roster. He replaced Andre Brown, who was put in injured reserve with a designation to return.
“I didn’t know it was going to happen now, but I knew at some point it was going to happen,” Ojomo said of his return. “I put so much work, so much hard work into it. I don’t believe in excuses and I don’t believe in the numbers game and those different things. Those are excuses. I believe you can always do more when you come up short.”
Ojomo was on the active roster last year, too, but hardly played. He appeared in just one game, against the Browns in Week 5, and took a 10 special teams snaps.
This year – this week, in fact – he may be called upon to do a little more. He’s the sixth defensive end on the depth chart, but two of those guys may not play. And if they do play, they’ll likely be limited. Talking about Jason Pierre-Paul and Damontre Moore, of course. The Giants also have Cullen Jenkins who can play some defensive end, but there’s a pretty good chance Justin Trattou and Ojomo will see some action on defense.
Ojomo said he’s preparing by watching film and studying the Cowboys extra hard.
“I’m very thankful to the coaching staff for believing in me,” he said. “I’m just being ready because that’s my job as a reserve.”
He also thinks he can contribute on special teams.
“I’m winning the coaches’ trust by going down on punts and making plays and showing them that I’m ready mentally, that I can handle the load on punt return and kickoff return and kickoff,” he said. “Showing them that I understand the concepts now on special teams. That’s where it’s going to start at, is special teams. I think I’m much closer to the field this year.”
