Giants Terrell Thomas Returns

Last night was disappointing in many ways, as well as concerning, but there was bright spot and that was the return of Terrell Thomas to the playing field.  Terrell looked good, he wasn’t tentative, he made plays, and he stuck his nose in when it needed to be.  Terrell is a fan favorite and could be a large key to the success of the defense this year if Stevie Brown is seriously injured.  More on that after 4 pm today.

"“I felt real good in my man coverage,” Thomas said. “I got good hands on them on a lot of the routes, was able to plant my foot in the ground and cut in the zone. In read, came up and made some tackles, got physical, fell to the ground and got back up. I think that was the best thing, that I wasn’t hesitant at all out there today.“Obviously, I have to work on my tackling. That’s one thing that I couldn’t get a lot of experience on. But I got out there, I blitzed, I fell, I covered, I tackled. I think I had a good showing for my first preseason game after two years. So I’m happy with the results.”"

So was Tom Coughlin, who is happy to welcome back the player who led the Giants in tackles, interceptions and passes defensed in 2009 and 2010. “He got over 20-plus plays and we got him out,” Coughlin said. “But hopefully it’ll build his confidence.”

Although he’d been away for two years, Thomas fell back into his normal pregame routine, which includes working out and playing catch with secondary/cornerbacks coach Peter Giunta. That familiar schedule helped him relax before the game.

"“We have a ritual we do every game and we both enjoy it,” Thomas said. “We play catch, we do a couple routes, it’s just our way of getting ready for the game. It’s been good for us; it’s worked out and gotten me ready. I work really hard, work with him a lot with film. Just getting back out there and running around was great. Being in with the starters helped a lot.”"

After the game, Thomas felt good and is ready for a larger workload which bodes well for the Giants and their suspect and banged up defense.

“The knee feels great,” he said. “I came out healthy, no problems at all. I’ll be ready to go Monday for practice. That’s the biggest thing for me is my health, being able to come back the next day and keep building and keep building and I think I’m doing that.”

"“I think everyone was just happy to see me out there, good to see (number) 24 back out there,” Thomas said. “I was a good player for this organization and it’s been a long two years and I think everyone knows what I’ve been through the last two years. It’s just rewarding to see a guy that works so hard to come back out there.“It’s just fun just to play football again. This is a game that I love to play, that I’ve missed over the last two years, so just to get out there. I love that I missed some tackles, now I’ve got something to critique, something to work on this week to get better at. That’s the joy of playing football.”"

Terrell may wind up playing some at safety if Stevie Brown and Antrel Rolle aren’t 100% moving forward.  Prince, Aaron Ross, and C Web will have to be solid at corner if that is the case, but for now it’s good to see Terrell back on the field and contributing