Giants' Manning returning to practice without helmet

One week after suffering a three-inch gash that required 12 stitches, Eli Manning will suit up and return to the practice field. Well, he'll almost suit up. He'll be missing one very important piece of equipment.

Manning will be topless.

The Giants are so anxious to get their starting quarterback back on the field and working with the offense that they plan to allow him to work in today's practice without a helmet. While everyone else will be having that protection around their head and face, Manning will be wearing a baseball cap while he stands in the pocket and faces down the defense.

"We're going to be very, very careful," Tom Coughlin said, in perhaps the understatement of the season.

Manning had his stitches removed Friday - "I wasn't kidding, I was serious; he does heal fast," Coughlin said when he announced that Saturday night - and sat out the preseason game against the Steelers. The biggest obstacle in getting him back on the field once he cleared the neurological tests for concussions and head injuries was wearing the helmet without irritating the wound. Coughlin said the projection is that Manning will be able to slide the helmet on sometime this week, but for the first day, at least, he'll be in a cap.

Dangerous? Maybe. In practices, the Giants - and other teams - outfit their quarterbacks in red jerseys. That's a "do not touch" sign. Monday's practice, the first after Saturday's preseason game, is likely to feature less contact and far more instruction and correction.

Still, an errant arm or finger could do more damage to Manning. So Coughlin will warn the Giants defenders to keep a greater distance than usual.

"Most of our guys are really good at it, if they do get free, they come up the field past the quarterback," Coughlin said. "We don't allow them to put their hands up or put their hands anywhere near where the quarterback's arm or release point would be. The guys are pretty much aware of that and I think we can practice under those conditions. You'll have to be very sharp and I'm sure we'll pick our spots perhaps in the first practice, anyway, as we get a feel for what's best."

It's a fine line between keeping Manning safe for the start of the regular season and allowing him to work with the starting offensive unit. The Giants already missed out on last week's chance to get that work in, spending most of the time prepping Rhett Bomar for his starting job against the Steelers. And the team was without tight ends for about half of their time at training camp in Albany. They also were without guards Chris Snee (knee) and Rich Seubert (hand).

Coughlin groused in Albany about not having a chance to work with everyone on the offense at the same time because of those injuries. "We have to catch up a bit on the offensive side of the ball," he said.

That catching up apparently begins Monday. The Giants not only will have Manning back on the field but expect Snee and Seubert to be available. Brandon Jacobs, who missed Saturday's game with a stiff neck, also is expected. And newly signed lineman Shawn Andrews is slated to work on the field for the first time.

"What's important is that these guys practice together, that we get the whole group together so that we can talk about overall improvement," Coughlin said. "When you look at some of the things that are happening, the pass-protection breakdowns, the lack of real efficient route- running, the cohesiveness of the timing involved between the quarterback and the receivers and the protection and the sight adjustments, all of that stuff needs work and it needs time spent together. That's why this week will be so important to these guys."