E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES: THOMAS ON THE MEND; BUMPS AND BRUISES;
3-4 DEFENSIVE LOOKS; COLTS ON THE WAY

By Aaron Klein
This is going to be one interesting weekend and week following, Giants fans. There are plenty of little things going on now, each a part of the sum that will become the regular season.

To simplify things and easy to cover, we're going to break it all down into categories, beginning with one key factor to the success (or failure) of this year's Giants.

INJURY UPDATE The two players added to the regular roster from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list last week, cornerback Terrell Thomas and guard Chris Snee, are doing just fine, thank you. In fact, the buzz is that T2 is further ahead than many thought he would be at this stage. Thomas, however, is quick to damper expectations that he might play Sunday and that he may be ahead of schedule.

"We don't know yet," Thomas said when asked about Sunday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts. "We're just taking it one day at a time. What's today? Wednesday? We've still got a lot of time before Sunday, still got the last minute, still got two more preseason games. There's no rush in getting me out there but if I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go."

"You know, I worked my butt off doing my rehab, made progress, kept improving throughout the whole process," Thomas said of the recovery process and the progress he's making at practice. "The only reason why I would slow down, given it's my third ACL, lots of trauma, I had two surgeries in one year, still want to give that a chance to fully heal and not come in too early, make sure. I've been limited in some ways, hesitant at the same time, and that's part of the process. That's why we're out here in practice, to get better, to work our technique, to build confidence, that's what I've been doing."

So, is he ahead of schedule?

"No, I was definitely ahead of schedule and ready to go last year" the cornerback said. Thomas was injured during the 2012 preseason, his third ACL injury in seven years. "Last year was a fluke accident, I don't know if my back played a role into it or overcompensating but I was definitely farther ahead body-wise, obviously, I've practiced maybe four to five days and continue to keep building on that."

In other injury news, fullback Henry Hynoski is making progress and remains hopeful that he will not only be removed from the PUP list soon but will also be ready to play in the season opener. Another PUP player, Jason Pierre-Paul, has been working alone on the sidelines and making progress. Some think he might be ahead of schedule, but no one will say that aloud.

Meanwhile, safety Antrel Rolle twisted his ankle in practice, causing many in the organization and across Giants Nation to gasp. So far, so good, though. He has no major structural damage but will still be sidelined for a while and will instead undergo intense rehab.

Rookie offensive lineman Justin Pugh was allowed back to practice after a concussion kept him out for about a week. Pugh had been working at right tackle before being held out of practice. When he returned, he saw time at left tackle. The staff, apparently, is testing his versatility. He's set to see his first action Sunday against the Colts.

If you saw the preseason opener against Pittsburgh, you saw receiver Kris Adams scary injury. Adams, who had been having a solid camp, had surgery on his broken ankle and was waived injured.

STRATEGY & PERSONNEL
Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell installed some 3-4 packages into the regular defense during practice this week, but let's not make too much out of that. Sure, the Giants' base defense can be called a 4-3, but during a given season there are so many different packages that such a title is a little deceiving. You'll see 4-3, 3-4, 5-2 or 2-5 with different personnel, depending on the situation. Some in the media made note of Fewell dropping defensive ends back into coverage and isn't that so interesting... yet that is nothing new. We've seen that before. What Fewell may have been doing was to see which defensive ends executed such an assignment better than any others did.

We saw a gadget play this week, one that featured second-year running back David Wilson throw a touchdown pass to receiver Victor Cruz on an option play in the Red Zone. Crazy, you say? The Giants may not run that play again all season, or they might pull it out of the closet under the right circumstances.

Free agent wide receiver Louis Murphy has had a great week and a particularly good practice on Wednesday. At this rate, Murphy should land the coveted No. 4 receiver job.

PRESEASON GAME TWO
You might see Ahmad Bradshaw on the sideline Sunday, but the image of old No. 44 on the field at MetLife Stadium will be a strange one, as he is now a member of the incoming Indianapolis Colts and will be a wearing his first new uniform for the first time since leaving Marshall after the 2006 season. However, it's doubtful that you'll see him in action as the team was forced to activate him from the PUP list because, well, the team screwed up last week. See, if a player is on PUP he cannot practice. The Colts, trying to bump up his "mental preparation" had him take part in a few walk-through plays and when the league found out, the response was simple: He practiced, now activate him.

Take note if you see a kid wearing No. 42 in a Colts' uniform get a few carries. That'll be Davin Meggett. Right, son of former Giants back David Meggett. The Maryland product spent time on the practice squads of Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texas and is trying for a roster spot this summer.

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- Team Giants

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