New York Giants: How the Injury to Terrell Thomas Will Impact the Secondary

The Giants suffered an absolutely critical blow to their defense tonight in their preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

With 22 seconds left in the first half, starting right cornerback Terrell Thomas, while blitzing Chicago Bear quarterback Jay Cutler, collided with Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Although he stayed on the ground for a few minutes, he was able to walk off the field on his own, which appeared to be a positive sign at the time.

At the beginning of the second half, the Giants received news from the medical staff that he tore his ACL and he will most likely be out for the season.

Terrell Thomas, who is heading into his fourth season with the Giants, has been the MVP of the Giants secondary for the past two years. Thomas has led the team with five interceptions each of the past two years.

He especially had an outstanding 2010 season for the G-Men with 101 tackles and four forced fumbles along with the five picks.

Thomas has been turning heads in the league the past couple of years and had a legitimate shot to be Pro-Bowler this year. Now his season is done before the regular season even started. 

With the loss of their top cornerback, Aaron Ross will probably be expected to replace Thomas. This could be a major problem considering that Ross has been extremely inconsistent since he was drafted in 2007.

The Giants can't afford to have any weaknesses or inconsistencies in the secondary especially with the way they played in the latter part of last season. 

This loss could be especially detrimental to the Giants when they play teams like the Philadelphia Eagles or the Green Bay Packers. Both the Eagles and Packers do a great job at spreading the field and getting the ball to their array of solid wide receivers. 

If the Giants want to have any chance to stop these potent offenses the secondary needs to step up big time with the absence of Thomas.

Erick Fernandez is the creator of I Want to Thank My Hood & My Psychiatrist