|
|
| E-GIANTS
By Aaron Klein However, for now, the Giants have to operate as though he won't be around. Around this time last year, the Giants learned that Domenik Hixon would miss the entire 2011 season with a torn-up knee, that after he missed the 2010 campaign with a similar injury. Hixon was seen as the next No. 2 receiver with the exit of Steve Smith to Philadelphia. The field of receivers included Nicks, entrenched as the No. 1, Mario Manningham as the No. 3, former third-round pick Ramses Barden, rookie Jerrel Jernigan and an upstart second-year pro named Victor Cruz, who showed some flashes in the summer of 2010 before he was injured early in the season. The Giants could have waived him but instead shelved him on injured reserve. In the summer of 2011, Cruz went into overdrive and took the No. 2 spot; some argue that he was really the No. 1. Now, Nicks is recovering from surgery that placed a screw in his right foot in order to repair the broken fifth metatarsal bone. That's the same injury that kept cornerback Prince Amukamara on the sidelines for more than three months last season after he was hurt during his first practice as a rookie. Cruz is the top guy, the No. 1 even from the slot and he's one of Eli Manning's favorite targets. Still, the Giants need a top receiver on the outside. Manningham (San Francisco) is gone and so is Devin Thomas (Chicago). There are still candidates. Let's look at them. Hixon: During this week's OTA practices, Hixon got plenty of reps with the first team in Nicks' spot, so it would appear that they coaching staff may very well install him for the time being. Hixon has added some muscle weight in the off-season and appears healthy and quick. Time will tell if Hixon, who never reach top-receiver status, will remain in this position until Nicks returns. Barden: Much is expected of the third-year veteran, whose inconsistency, along with a series of injuries, has held him back from fully blooming as pro. His size and speed are NFL-caliber to be sure. At times, he has looked ready to become a dominating big-body receiver, but there have been too many moments during which he seems lost, out of position, or irreparably covered by a defender. He is confounding and as he enters a contract year, the pressure is on and he knows it. The team will be happy to have him become an integral part of the offense if he's up to it, but may not hesitate to remove him from the picture if he can't make the next step this summer. Ruben Randle: The big rookie has had some moments already during OTAs but he also has much to learn. To take over while Nicks is on the mend would require an epic breakout by a rookie on a team still loaded with offensive firepower. Many of the Giants' coaches and personnel experts have said that Randle is NFL ready. The rookie had already been getting plenty of reps as the No. 3 spot, the one vacated by Manningham/Thomas and was in competition with Hixon, Barden and Jernigan. Note: Talk is that the Giants liked him in the first round but had no choice but to pick running back David Wilson instead. Then they were shocked -- SHOCKED! -- that Randle was still there at the end of the second round. But the team did not trade up to secure Randle earlier in that round, and there have been no whispers that they tried and failed to do so, but general manager Jerry Reese happily selected him at No. 63 overall anyway. Isn't it more than just occasionally that the Giants have praised a second- or third-round draft pick, indicate (in whispers) that they had him ranked much, much higher but still wait for him to sink to them? Is it possible that people have started to disbelieve that story? Jernigan: Just in his second year, Jernigan is a small, quick and elusive receiver who could get reps on returns and in the regular offense, but it's doubtful that he would take over Nicks' spot until the veteran is healthy again. One wonders if he should be looked at as a scat-back, third-down type of receiver, a specialty role that could even see him out of the backfield instead of on the flank. Maybe, if you buy the premise, someone like Darren Sproles? Isaiah Stanback, Julian Talley, Dan DePalma, Brandon Collins, and David Douglas: Out of this group, the Giants will look for the next Cruz, but not the immediate solution during Nicks' absence. Of these players, Stanback has the most experience, DePalma is the most intriguing and Talley will get extra looks since he's another UMass product, just like Cruz. Plaxico Burress? No. Enough! Again, no one is suggesting that Nicks will miss 2012, or even the first few regular season games. He says he'll be back for training camp, though the initial 12-week prognosis puts him on track for mid-August. Now, players have come back ahead of schedule as well as behind. Unfortunately, we know that Nicks heals well and works hard to get back on the field because he's had several minor and major injuries. The difference here is that there is no real rehab he can do with a broken bone in his foot. Time is on his side, immobilization, then strength training, then running ... then we'll see. Have something to say? Got a question? Thoughts? Send it over to aklein22@verizon.net or follow me on Twitter @_AaronKlein_. Check
out Dave's website at E-GIANTS
where you can subscribe to his newsletters which
run much more frequently than what is available here. NEW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!
| ||||||||
|
Stop
in and visit "Mike's
Keys to the Internet" |
| |