Smith, Diehl, Nicks practice, plan to play
Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Seahawks at Qwest Field in Seattle. (Nov. 7, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
Steve Smith called Wednesday "like the best day of my life, football-wise." Wait until he gets to Sunday. That's when he is expected to return from a pectoral injury that has kept him sidelined for four games. And he won't be the only one back on the field in that game. Tackle David Diehl, who missed four games with a hamstring, declared himself "100 percent" and bluntly declared: "I'm playing on Sunday." And Hakeem Nicks, two weeks after surgery to relieve compartment syndrome in his lower left leg, practiced and expects to be on the field against the Vikings.
"I did more than I expected, more than we all expected, but it felt good," Nicks said of the practice, in which he estimated he took about 60 percent of the reps. "My mentality is if I'm practicing, I'm playing. Go hard out there in practice, and hopefully they'll let me play. I'm pretty sure I will."
The return of Smith and Nicks will mean the Giants can reopen their playbook, which has been slimmed down in recent weeks.
"It's good to get some guys back healthy," Eli Manning said. "We can do a little bit more with our passing game. Guys will be back at their natural positions. That helps out a lot when you go into your multiple receivers . . . The more guys you have that can play, can step up and fill spots, the stronger we can be."
Bradshaw sits out
Just when it seemed that all of the injured offensive players were returning to practice, the Giants worked without one of their most important pieces. Ahmad Bradshaw, who had 25 carries against the Redskins and has 1,013 yards, missed practice with a wrist injury. It is not believed it will keep him from playing Sunday. Besides Bradshaw, Shawn Andrews (back) also didn't practice. Shaun O'Hara (foot) and Will Blackmon (chest) were limited.
Giant stepsDE Jason Pierre-Paul is the first rookie in Giants history with two sacks in two consecutive games . . . Vikings WR Percy Harvin did not practice and reportedly had a setback with the migraines that have been bothering him throughout his career . . . Tom Coughlin called WR Sidney Rice "a 'here we go, dowtown' guy." Rice had two touchdowns against the Bills on Sunday, his first breakout game since coming back from hip surgery this summer.
