New York Giants Week 12 Stock Report

Don’t look now, but while the New York Giants were busy lifting their forks and spoons during the Thanksgiving holiday, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys lost their respective Turkey Day games, serving the Giants with a golden opportunity to snap a three-year skid without a playoff berth.

While technically no one has been eliminated in the NFC East, the Giants can certainly help expedite the process by taking care of business this weekend down in Washington.

A win would give the Giants a 6-5 record, putting them two games ahead of Washington and the Eagles, who would be both 4-7, and three games ahead of the 3-8 Cowboys.

It’s all right there for the taking if the Giants only take care of business, especially if those with their stock rising continue to rise and those with their stocks down step up with a turnaround.

Stock Up: CB Prince Amukamara

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The good news is that cornerback Prince Amukamara is well on track to return to the starting lineup after missing five games with a partially torn pectoral.

The questionable news is that Amukamara is probably going to have to wear some sort of protective device that ensures he doesn’t undo all the healing that took place during his month-plus time on the inactive list.

“At first it’s a little stiff at first, but once I start warming up and get some sweat in it, I forget that I have it on,” he told reporters Monday.

“I don’t feel any restrictions—I run pretty good, jam pretty good. If I had any restrictions I would tell [the trainers], ‘Hey, I’m going to roll the dice. I can’t have this on me.’ But it’s just all about protection.”

If that sounds like it’s a gamble, that’s because it is, which Amukamara admitted when asked how he went about testing his pectoral to gauge if he was ready to return.

“There are some drills where you could throw like a medicine ball against the wall and absorb the weight as it comes back or you hit dummies, but like you said, it’s not even close to realistic as hitting a 230-pound human going full speed,” he said.

“I’m sure I’m going to be in a brace to protect myself a little bit, but if I had any doubt that I would injure it more or if the doctors did, I don’t think I’d be out there.”

The Giants are hoping it works out for the best, as per Pro Football Focus, Amukamara is their second-highest coverage guy, behind Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

What’s more, despite the lost five weeks of play, Amukamara’s 32 tackles is eighth on the team, according to NFL GSIS, while his 14.5 tackling efficiency leads the Giants cornerbacks this season, per PFF.

Stock Down: The Offensive Line

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

It’s looking more and more like the Giants will be without two key members of their starting offensive line, center Weston Richburg and left guard Justin Pugh, both of whom are nursing injuries.

Pugh’s ongoing experience of concussion symptoms more than two weeks after the game against Tampa Bay is concerning, especially since head coach Tom Coughlin said in his Wednesday press briefing that the third-year offensive lineman has made “very little” progress through the league’s concussion protocol.

Pugh was a last-minute scratch in Week 10 against the Patriots and has since been in the league’s concussion protocol where his health and well-being, above all else, is more important than a game. He’ll likely be replaced by John Jerry, who stepped in for him two weeks ago.

Richburg, meanwhile was unable to practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday.

In addition to playing some of his best ball, Richburg has really been the glue that’s held the Giants offensive line together and who has done a good job with making the line calls that has led to New York allowing the fourth-fewest sacks (15) this season.

He’ll be replaced by Dallas Reynolds, who filled in for him two weeks ago after he had to leave the game early.

The anticipated absences of their two best offensive linemen this weekend looms large. Washington figures to be moving outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, their team sack leader, around to find the best matchup, so communication is going to be key among the new configuration.

Stock Up: TE Will Tye

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

The bad news is that starting tight end Larry Donnell is still dealing with a neck issue that, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, could be season-ending.

If that is indeed the case, then rookie Will Tye, who like Donnell came to the 53-man roster via the practice squad, will likely have to carry the bulk of the workload the rest of the way.

So far it’s been a rough start for Tye. Per Pro Football Focus, Tye has three dropped passes and a fumble as a receiver, and his run blocking is the third-worst on the Giants offense.

The good news, according to tight ends coach Kevin M. Gilbride, is that Tye’s arrow is definitely pointing in the right direction.

“He’s improving, there’s no doubt about it. His consistency needs to improve,” Gilbride said two weeks ago.

“As far as his development and understanding the concepts of the offense and how we are going about trying to get our job done, he definitely understands it, and he’s putting it into action.”

Stock Down: The Safeties

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Unfortunately, not much has changed from the Week 10 stock report regarding the Giants safeties, Brandon Meriweather, Craig Dahl and Landon Collins. They were among the lowest-graded defensive players in the Week 10 loss to New England, per Pro Football Focus.

Simply put, opposing offenses have been testing the Giants defense deep down the field and have had success doing so.

The Patriots, for instance, had big pass plays of 76, 54 and 30 yards against the Giants’ last line of defense, while rookie Collins had that big drop of a Tom Brady pass that would have preserved the Giants win. 

Collins, whose performance safeties coach David Merritt summarized as “coming along very slowly right now” during his press meeting with reporters two weeks ago, actually has seen his game snaps decrease over the last three games in favor of Dahl, according to PFF.

The good news is that despite the shift in Collins’ workload, presumably to help prevent the rookie from becoming overwhelmed, Coughlin still has faith in him. 

“He’s a pretty tough, resilient kid. I think he realizes what could be done to improve that. All I’m interested in after the fact is how we correct it. I think he understands that, or I hope he does,” Coughlin said. 

Collins also hasn’t lost faith in himself.

“[The game has] been slowed down, but now it’s just more film study and play formation recognition,” he said. “Once I get that down, the sky is the limit.”

The Giants can only hope that is the case as they make a push for the playoffs.  

Stock Up: WR Hakeem Nicks

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Receiver Hakeem Nicks has yet to take a snap with the Giants this season, but that’s probably going to change starting this weekend and not a moment too soon.

Nicks, who told reporters that he jumped right into learning the playbook shortly after he signed his contact with the Giants, has been taking as many reps as possible in practice, including scout team reps.

While the scout team reps are usually to simulate the opponent’s offense, by putting in the extra work, Nicks is making progress in getting himself ready for the faster-pace flow of a game, something he hasn’t been able to really do this year given his inability to stick with a team for long.

“Well, we’re going to have to find that out,” Coughlin said when asked if Nicks would be able to contribute this weekend against Washington.

“That’s what this week’s practice is all about. We’ll have him on scout team doing a lot of things so that we can see how he plays in that regard.”

Nicks expressed confidence that he’d be able to contribute if called upon, saying, “I’m sure they’ll sprinkle me in and get acclimated. But whatever the coaches need me to do, whatever they need me here to be, that’s what I will be.”

However, Graziano cautions not to expect too much from Nicks right away, going so far as to speculate whether Nicks will even be active this weekend against Washington.

Once Nicks is active and inserted into the lineups, he’ll offer experience, fresh legs and a newfound enthusiasm that the Giants are going to need as they continue their push toward a postseason berth.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirerand Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.

Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.