Giants Fullback D’Imperio Retires, Hyno on Schedule?
By Joe Tufaro
The New York Giants have a rich tradition of productive fullbacks, not something every team in this league can say. From Charles Way to Greg Comella, to Madison Hedgecock and now Henry Hynoski the Giants have had some good to great fullbacks. Unfortunately the nature of their business leads to a very short life span in the NFL. Yesterday Ryan D’Imperio decided it was just too much and that is heart wasn’t in it anymore, and that is a position where you have to be totally committed to your task on every play. The question now becomes is Hyno ready?
"Q: What are you doing right now?A: I’ve been doing all my rehab inside but now I’m able to get out on the field here and do some different drills and stuff. We pick it up every day a little bit and I’ve just got to intensify over the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to getting back out on the field as soon as possible and playing some football. Like I said, I’m going to do everything in my power, I’m very diligent in everything I do to get back on the field at the earliest convenience. Whenever that is, whenever that may be, I’ll be ready and conditioned, ready to go.Q: Are you on the schedule that you expected to be on at this point?A: Yeah. Like I said earlier, with this rehab process, there are certain structures as far as timeframe, but we’re making good progress and we’re in a good stage here, where we’re at now. I’m very encouraged and the people, trainers, I’ve got the best trainers helping me out, and doctors, they’re very encouraged too.Q: When Ryan D’Imperio retired yesterday did he announce anything to you? Have you guys been talking much?A: He just told me before right after he let the coaches know that he retired, his heart wasn’t in it anymore. You have to respect that, you can’t play the game if your heart’s not in it. Like I told the guys before, Ryan approached the game with a lot of class, a lot of intelligence, he did a great job for us while he was here. Heck of a nice guy, so I wish him the absolute best, wherever this route takes him now. He was an absolute pleasure to work with over these last couple of weeks. He’s definitely got some football talent so if he ever decides to play again, I’m sure there’s a team out there for him.Q: A lot of guys on this team, JPP, Tuck, Nicks have injury things kind of hanging over them a little bit. Does the number of them worry you at all? Do you ever think, “wow, there’s a lot of guys hurt right now”?A: It’s just part of the NFL, it’s just football in general, at any level there are going to be injuries. It’s just a matter of doing the proper rehab, working through them. You’ve got the right guys in your corner helping you out so you can get back on the field at 100 percent when you’re strong. We feel confident that all of these guys will be back here at some point and be major contributors to our football team like they always are. Just picking up right where they left off.Q: In the event that some of them are not, do you ever look around and think that this is a deep team behind the core guys?A: We’ve got so much depth at every position at all levels. We’ve got extremely talented guys and that’s why were so fortunate, one guy gets hurt and the next guy can step in and do a great job also. That’s the one thing about the Giants."
The Giants are a deep team at a lot of positions and more important than depth is versatility. Having players like Bear Pascoe that can change positions at the drop of a hat and have the team not miss a beat is invaluable. Hopefully Henry gets back in there and produces the kind of season he is capable of producing and everyone can go back to their natural positions when the season begins.