Sep 2, 2008 - 9:54 AM
0 shoutsBy Joe Rizzo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
It did not take much to shock the New York Giants back into the reality of the NFL, where injuries and luck often play more of a role than talent acquisition and salary-cap management.
Circumstances have left the defending Super Bowl champions weaker on defense. First, there was the retirement of end Michael Strahan and the departures of two key free agents - linebacker Kawika Mitchell and safety Gibril Wilson.
Those losses were compounded when end Osi Umenyiora suffered a season-ending knee injury in the penultimate preseason game against the New York Jets.
The somewhat new-look defense will have bookend rushers in Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka, who was switched back to his natural position on the line after two years at linebacker and is recovered from a broken left leg that kept him out of the title run last season.
Tuck was a force in that run, but now he will become the focal point of opposing offensive line schemes without Umenyiora and Strahan there to command the attention. Kiwanuka was slated to start at linebaker, thus Gerris Wilkinson and Danny Clark are starters rather than competitors for playing time.
"I didn't see that one coming," Tuck said. "Obviously, Osi is a remarkable player and that really hurts us, but it just means someone has to step up now.
"It is something that (Kiwanuka), all of us, really wanted, but obviously we didn't want these circumstances for him to get back in that (defensive linemen's) room. It is a good thing for him; it is a good thing for this team. He is definitely a D-lineman at heart, and hopefully he can just come back in and not miss a beat."
With Strahan's retirement (and subsequent decision to stay retired, unlike Brett Favre), the disaster plan called for Kiwanuka to switch to defensive end should someone get injured up front. Unlike the old-school regime in which the chief complaint was lack of communication and treatment of the players, Kiwanuka was privy to the strategy.
"I was told all along - they didn't keep me in the dark at all - and I was told all along that if something were to happen that this is a position I could find myself in," Kiwanuka said. "I am ready to step in there and hopefully there won't be a letdown at all and we just have to get on it and keep the ball moving."
The changes, at least, came during the preseason and presented a different scenario than the 2006 season. By the end of that campaign, the Giants were signing players off the street during the week and inserting them into their linebacking corps on Sunday.
Wilkinson and Clark will have the benefit of flanking stalwart Antonio Pierce during their baptism by fire.
"I think those guys are going to have their heads on a swivel for a bit," Pierce said. "Obviously they have all been playing all three positions - MIKE, SAM and WILL - now it is just about getting comfortable. Now that they know, hopefully they will stay in the one place. Danny Clark is going to be our SAM, Gerris will be the WILL, so now they can just focus on that and be the best player they can be."
In the secondary, depth will be vital, with the Giants' league-leading sack total of last season a near lock to decline. With Wilson gone, James Butler and Sammy Knight have been competing for the starting strong-side spot.
Michael Johnson is being pushed at free safety by hard-hitting first-round pick Kenny Phillips out of the University of Miami, while the corners remain solid with Corey Webster and Aaron Ross handling the main duties and veterans R.W. McQuarters and Sam Madison contributing, along with playmaker Kevin Dockery.
Phillips turned heads from day one. He drew raves from standout receiver Plaxico Burress and his position coach, David Merritt.
"Looking at him, I definitely see a special player," Merritt said. "The kid has unbelievable range; he can get from the middle of the field to the sideline just like that. Then for him to show up, which I knew grading him coming out of college, with his tackling ability, you put that kid on turf and he is that much quicker and faster."
As the Super Bowl champions, the Giants picked last in every round.
"I've talked to some of my buddies around the league and they wanted to pull the trigger on him," Merritt said. "I thought he was going to gone, to be honest with you. I'm just still in awe about the fact that we actually got him. For Kenny Phillips to fall to us like the way he did, it was like an early Christmas present."
