New York Giants Preseason: Week 4 Stock Report
With the way injuries have been ripping through the New York Giants, it’s been something of a challenge for head coach Tom Coughlin to fully gauge all of the areas of the team he needs to see in order to make the necessary roster decisions moving forward.
So in this week’s Giants stock up/stock down report, let’s look at things from an injury perspective and see how the various injuries—and don’t worry, I haven’t listed every single injury in this slideshow as I don’t want to cause anyone too much angst—might affect things moving forward.
Stock Up: S Landon Collins
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These days, the Giants safeties are dropping faster than pennies falling from atop the Empire State Building.
That’s not a good thing for a new defense that relies on its safeties to get guys lined up almost as much as it relies on its middle linebacker.
Yet that’s exactly where the Giants stand right now after losing Mykkele Thompson (Achilles), Justin Currie (ankle/fibula) and Bennett Jackson (ACL) for the season.
The good news is that help appears to be on the way in the form of rookie Landon Collins, the team’s second-round draft pick who suffered a MCL sprain in the Giants’ first preseason game that has sidelined him since.
Collins has been cleared to return to practice this week, though head coach Tom Coughlin said that Collins, like every other player cleared to return, will be limited to start out.
The question, though, is how quickly Collins can catch up with what he has missed on the field.
"Just stay in the coaching staff meetings, our meetings, and one-on-one’s with the coaches," the rookie said when asked how he's been able to keep up. "If I see something, I can tell them what to do, and if they still have questions—we still always ask each other questions about everything."
Coughlin seems to think that Collins' catch-up process won’t take too long.
“He’s in every meeting, he’s in every plan, he’s interested,” Coughlin said. “After what he’s missed on the field, he has an opportunity to listen to the coaches talk about it in the classroom. He’s up-to-date on everything that we’re doing.”
Being up-to-date on the classroom stuff is one thing, but executing it on the field, especially for a rookie at this level, is quite another, which Coughlin admitted was a challenge.
“Of course with a young guy, who has a sense that he’s missing time, he should be more engaged,” Coughlin admitted.
Still, it’s a plus that the Giants are getting back a player who has been in the system since the spring as opposed to having to haul someone in off the street just for the sake of having enough bodies.
Collins, if he plays, is sure to be rusty at first, but if he has indeed kept up with the mettle aspect of things, hopefully his return to the field will be productive.
Stock Down: LB Jon Beason
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It’s hard to destroy a guy who is injured because, let’s face it, no one looks to get injured.
Still, if you are talking about dependability, you have to include guys who are injured and who can’t stay on the field, such as is the case with middle linebacker Jon Beason.
Beason, who is fighting off a knee issue, is the type of guy you want on the field. He’s football smart, a vocal leader, a hustler and a guy who goes all out on every single play.
Unfortunately, unless modern medicine can figure out a way to give him two fresh legs and that one-time breathtaking athleticism that helped propel him to three straight Pro Bowls, his continued difficulties with staying on the field have made it difficult for the Giants to depend on him week in and week out.
Stock Up: WR Rueben Randle
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Receiver Rueben Randle, who has been slowed down by knee tendinitis the last few days, finally made his way back onto the practice field where the hope is that he and the Giants medical staff will be able to manage a condition he’s dealt with since high school.
“It is just all about me keeping my body warmed up and make sure I’m properly stretched and not putting all the pressure on that knee tendon, so I’m just going to do a couple more exercises to make sure I keep that tendon loose,” Randle said on Tuesday.
With Victor Cruz continuing to work on alleviating a calf issue, the Giants need Randle to be on the field to take some of the pressure off Odell Beckham Jr., who has been drawing double coverage.
Randle said he’s not too concerned about the fact that he, Beckham and Cruz have yet to be able to get onto the field at the same time.
“No, we all have a pretty good grasp of the offense. It is just going to be about us going out there and executing once we are all healthy enough to stay on the field and get on the field at the same time,” he said.
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Stock Down: LB Jonathan Casillas
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Add linebacker Jonathan Casillas to the growing list of players who are keeping their head coach up at night with lingering issues.
Casillas, who missed practice last week with a neck issue that also kept him out of last week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, was thought to be on track to return this week until a setback in a walk-through practice of all things popped up.
“You know, I don’t know what to make of that, because he came out and practiced,” Coughlin said. “He was not supposed to have any contact. Evidently, he did get a little bit, and then he got sore again.”
Casillas did do some work in Tuesday’s practice, but there appeared to be a conscious effort to ensure that he didn’t engage in much, if any, contact.
It remains to be seen if Casillas plays this weekend or next, but until that is known, consider this. If he does have to miss time, that could become huge if one considers Jameel McClain, who is forced to play middle linebacker again with Beason sidelined, also dealt with a neck issue earlier in camp.
If the unthinkable happens and McClain takes another bad hit, that would probably mean J.T. Thomas shifts inside, leaving a hole at that weak-side spot given the injury situation.
It’s not a pretty picture at all for the Giants linebacker corps, but the Giants' medical team has been adamant about Casillas, according to Coughlin.
“They’re just not going to let him go until they feel like he can play and not receive any kind of injury,” Coughlin said.
Given the game's physical nature, that could be a while.
Stock Up: LB Ashlee Palmer
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New Giants outside linebacker Ashlee Palmer has only been on the practice field once for New York, but already he comes with a quality head coach Tom Coughlin likes.
“He’s played without injury for quite some time,” Coughlin chuckled. “That could’ve been the reason right there.”
For as lighthearted as his tone might have been at that moment, he was actually serious given that the team is currently down a couple of linebackers.
The 6’1”, 238-pound Palmer has missed just two games in six seasons, both coming in 2009, his rookie campaign.
That’s not bad considering he’s played in 94 regular-season games, with 24 starts and in two postseason games with one start, and has an 80-game regular-season playing streak.
Stock Down: WR Victor Cruz
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Last week when word came down that receiver Victor Cruz wasn’t going to practice, the official reason was calf soreness due to dehydration, a simple-enough problem to fix.
However, what appeared to be a simple problem has lingered to where both Cruz and Coughlin are frustrated.
“I’m concerned, yeah,” Coughlin said. “Obviously there were a couple of slotted opportunities there that didn’t take place. So, yeah, I am [concerned].
“I would like to see him get out there and be able to stay out there. That’s what our real intent is. As soon as that can be done, that’s possible, then that’s what will happen.”
Cruz said the biggest issue for him has been getting some inflammation under control. While he is optimistic that he will be ready to go for Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, he admitted that he wasn’t sure when he would be ready to return to practice.
“It’s all up to the training staff to see how I’m progressing, and we’ll take it from there,” Cruz said.
Coughlin, who hasn’t declared Cruz out of Saturday’s game against the New York Jets, seemed exasperated when asked what continues to keep Cruz sidelined.
“I can’t classify it,” he said. “I just know that he can’t go.”
Cruz believes it’s a result of him trying to get his sea legs back for the first time post-surgery and going at it hard.
“I think it’s just something that happens when you’re out here and going hard at it every day, and little tweaks like that happen,” he said.
Whatever the reason, the Giants hope that it clears up soon because they could certainly use Cruz out there on the field.
Cruz should be able to take some of the attention away from Odell Beckham Jr., who has yet to catch a pass this preseason, Beckham has been drawing double coverage on nearly every pass play.
Last week against the Jaguars, he pulled up short a couple of times when it looked like the safety was about to pop him.
With another solid receiver on the field, the hope is that Beckham won't be subjected as much to double coverage and, hence, those potential hazardous hits once the regular season begins.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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