SAFETY CONCERNS
Giants secondary has become primary issue as injuries mount
IT TOOK THE entire offseason for the Giants to create some semblance of order in their unheralded safety corps, and for the secondary to start operating like a cohesive unit.
It took less than one half of preseason football to decimate that secondary all over again.
Welcome to the broken injury record that seems to play during every Giants preseason. On Saturday, one day after a preseason-opening loss to the Bengals, somber coach Tom Coughlin ran down a list of injuries in a suddenly battered secondary and was clearly most troubled by the injuries to his rookie safeties, Landon Collins and Mykkele Thompson.
When training camp began, the Giants had six options for two safety spots, including the spot once held by vocal leader Antrel Rolle, who signed with the Bears this offseason. Suddenly, three — Collins, Thompson and secondyear man Nat Berhe, who's battled a calf injury since the spring — are out of the picture for at least a few weeks.
“The level of concern has been there since day one because of the nature of where we are,” Coughlin said. “... You can certainly count the number as well as I can.”
In all, four defensive backs suffered injuries in Cincinnati. Thompson, a fifth-round pick, is done for the year with a ruptured right Achilles tendon. And Collins, who seemed likely to emerge as a key leader in the secondary, suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee. Backup corners Jayron Hosley (neck) and Trumaine McBride (hamstring) also were hurt.
“We obviously drafted two young guys that we know were going to be able to help,” Coughlin said. “Now we’ve lost one of those guys.”
Perhaps no player was as important to the safety corps as Collins. The second-round pick out of Alabama seemed destined to replace Rolle as a dominant, hard-hitting presence. In a group full of unproven players, Collins was a starter from the beginning of training camp.
But Collins needed work in game situations, Coughlin said. And he managed to see action on just two plays against the Bengals before teammate Jeromy Miles collided with his knee, causing the sprain and robbing the rookie of valuable game experience. It’s unknown when Collins will return. Giants running back Rashad Jennings dealt with an MCL sprain last season and missed more than a month.
“He definitely needed last night,” Coughlin said of Collins. “In order to be able to be in position, I think to where he’s seen a great deal of what takes place in the National Football League, and has been in games, and has had a chance to play and prepare, he needed last night. He didn’t get much last night, so certainly, there’s concern.”
That concern is that much larger because Berhe, a second-year player who was once projected as a starter, must now prove he can stay healthy before he can even
be considered a contributor.
“I think until proven, we will have to keep our fingers crossed that he can spend some time on the field and get himself in position to where he can play,” Coughlin said of Berhe.
That leaves Miles, third-year man Cooper Taylor and converted safety Bennett Jackson to battle for the two starting safety spots. Taylor has four career tackles. Jackson has never appeared in an NFL game, and while he’s impressed in training camp, the Giants seemed excited to utilize his versatility, playing him at safety on first and second down then sliding him into slot coverage on third downs. That plan may be altered now.
Miles is the veteran of the group, and he knows new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system from his days in Baltimore, but he’s hardly a playmaker, having forced three career turnovers in six NFL seasons.
But this is all the Giants have, Coughlin said. So for now, they have no choice but to make it work.
“Those are the guys that we have,” Coughlin said. “And we will work hard to get those guys ready to play.”
The Giants really don't have much choice.