Kenny Phillips still trying to tackle his role

Kenny Phillips still sees himself as the playmaker he once was, the guy who always could be trusted to make the big play.

For much of his life, he was "that guy" while growing up in Dade County, Fla., and now that he's finally 100 percent healthy, he sees no reason he can't be a difference-maker in the Giants' secondary.

"I'd love to be a bigger piece. I really would," the safety said of what he perceives to be his limited role. "But I'm more of a safety net when it comes to the defense. At least I feel that way. They kind of keep me back there in the deep path just in case. I'm the 'just-in-case' guy. If someone breaks free, go get him. Someone tries to throw a deep ball across the middle, I'm that guy.

"I would love to have a bigger role to help the team win, but right now we're winning."

But if there's one thing the Giants have shown this season, it's that on any given day, any guy can be the hero. And that somebody could very well be Phillips.

"It takes everybody every week," coach Tom Coughlin says, and that rally cry holds even greater significance this week. The Giants will face the top-seeded Packers in Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game in Green Bay.

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell purposely went out of his way to protect Phillips after the safety's return in 2010 from microfracture surgery. But Fewell made it clear at the start of this season that he no longer would baby Phillips and that he expected nothing short of a "quantum leap."

But to Phillips' surprise, he's still patrolling the deep part of the field, often away from the action.

"Kenny's such a good athlete, we want to do a lot of different things with him. Sometimes we're able to and sometimes we're not," Fewell said, referencing Phillips' MCL sprain during the Giants' Dec. 4 game against the Packers. "This week we'll try to use Kenny's talents to try to get that quantum leap."

Though he's seen vast improvement in the safety's play, Fewell said, "We're looking for more consistency."

In a perfect world, Phillips -- who had career highs in tackles (82) and interceptions (four) during the regular season -- said he'd be "around the ball, period." Just as he was at the University of Miami.

Phillips always had been the exception to the rule, the type of safety who could be as physical as a linebacker but as fleet as a cornerback. Giants general manager Jerry Reese was so impressed with Phillips' versatility that he declared selecting him with the 31st pick in the 2008 draft a "no-brainer."

When a knee injury derailed his fast track to stardom the following season, Phillips pushed the pace of his rehab.

"Just because everyone was saying I wouldn't even play ball again," said Phillips, who was placed on injured reserve two weeks into the 2009 season after doctors found patellofemoral arthritis, a degenerative condition, in his left knee. "They were saying I'd have to retire and I just wanted to prove everybody wrong and prove to myself that I can come back and be 100 percent."

His teammates rave about his ability to play sideline-to-sideline, the speed that allows him to cover tight ends and his superior tackling skills in the open field.

"He's still a playmaker," cornerback Corey Webster said. "You can't take that away from him."

But despite putting up the best numbers of his career, Phillips said he hasn't come close to peaking.

"I definitely still think I'm growing as a player," he said. "And whenever they decide to use me and put me in different positions, I think you'll see more big plays out of me."

His teammates agree. Said safety Deon Grant: "I just kept reiterating, 'This is your defense, so don't let that confidence ever drop.' "

For the good of the team, Phillips has accepted his role. But he's determined to again be that impact player the Giants drafted.

"He wants to be around that ball all the time," Webster said. "That's the kind of player he is."