Injured Giants secondary, modeled after Seahawks, working with fill-ins in Seattle
Zack Bowman #31 of the New York Giants breaks up the pass intended for Terrance Williams #83 of the Dallas Cowboys in the first half at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 19, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. Credit: Getty Images / Wesley Hitt
The Giants tried to model their secondary after Seattle's, but as they prepare to play the prototype on Sunday, they are scraping the dregs at the position. Zack Bowman, who was expected to start on Sunday, is the latest defensive back sidelined in the Giants' Legion of Gloom. He spent Thursday at a local hospital with what the team called viral gastroenteritis (and the rest of us call a stomach flu).
It has become so bad, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said he looked to the heavens when he found out Prince Amukamara would be lost for the season and asked: "What did I do wrong?"
The bigger question is: What does he do now?
"We have to simplify our package," he said. "Obviously when you have new faces you can't do as much as you have done in the past and you have to quickly find out what the strengths of the new faces are."
If Bowman is unavailable, Fewell said Jayron Hosley will start opposite an injured but playing Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the base package. Hosley will move to the slot in nickel looks with Chandler Fenner on the outside. All of those players have been with the Giants for most of the year, which is why Fewell said they will play. Behind them are Mike Harris and Chykie Brown, both acquired within the last 10 days.
Chykie, by the way, is pronounced "Shockey" like the former Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey. Teammates have already mangled the pronunciation, something Brown said he is used to.
"I answer to anything," he said.
Which is good because he may be called anything on the field if he is forced to play. Fenner said he went up to his new teammate on Thursday, introduced himself, and said "OK, let's go play defense."
The good news is that both Harris and Brown have experience. Harris played two seasons for the Jaguars before joining the Lions as a practice-squadder this year. Brown was just waived by the Ravens.
"This is a different type of league, if you've never played serious ball in this league it's a lot different," Harris said. "Being that we both have experience I'm sure it will help us tremendously . . . You're brought here for a reason and hopefully to play. It's a great opportunity."
The Giants spent a lot of their offseason budget on the secondary, adding Rodgers-Cromartie, former Seahawk Walter Thurmond and Bowman, re-signing Trumaine McBride and expecting Amukamara to make a big jump in his play. Now it seems only the hobbled Rodgers-Cromartie will be available for the second half of the season.
That may not give Giants fans much confidence, but Harris said he and the other fill-ins have plenty of it.
"Playing in the secondary, your confidence is key," he said. "Your confidence can never be shaken because that's really all you have. You're going to play so many snaps against so many great receivers and you can be beat on so many different plays. If your confidence starts to go then your game will go. I think your confidence has to stay sky-high at all times . . . I'll be perfectly fine."
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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