“I have no limitations entering camp; obviously (medical staff) will be monitoring me throughout camp,” Thomas said on his website. Giants camp begins on July 26.

The Giants will no doubt bring Thomas along slowly, but will need to see if he indeed is at full strength and game ready by September 5th.

Unfortunately, fan favorite Jake Ballard will not be returning.  His tear of an ACL in the Super Bowl has obviously not progressed the way he and the team would have liked and he has failed his physical.  Ballard finished fourth on the team with 38 catches for 604 yards and four TD’s.  The Giants have 7 TE’s on their current roster, and the position should be the one of the main battles in training camp in August.

The Giants will hold their last organized activity until that training camp this week, from Tuesday thru Thursday

I think this is the biggest break (all puns intended) for Hixon.  He will get most of the reps in practice and see plenty of pre-season game action with Nicks out.  The others will get a chance to show what they can do, and in some different positions.  Now, we know that a Victor Cruz story doesn’t come out of every camp, but sometimes it’s because there is no opportunity for it to happen.  Well the opportunity has been created, let’s see if anyone can step up.

Hakeem will be back, and hopefully healthy for the entire regular season.  This is not ideal, but better than it could have been

With all the talent in the world, and having Michael Strahan on the opposite side of the defense, many believed Osi would be the next great Giants defender.  It seems Osi got lost a long the way however.  he has become a one dimensional player at best.  He specializes in the long looping outside pressure that gets to quarterbacks if they retreat too far.  He has had to make the strip a major part of his arsenal recently because he never really gets in position to put a hit on a quarterback anymore.  He is useless against the run outside or in, and with all the many knee and ankle injuries he has lost his power and most of his speed.  The Giants knew he was of limited use a few years back, but were able to manage his snaps, and stroke his ego to get the best of what he had left.  It is unfortunate that Osi turned fans off recently in  his comments and actions.  There are so few good guys left to root for in sports, and Osi is just another budding star that didn’t quite reach his full potential, and has blamed everyone else for his failings.  Osi will no doubt return to playing, but for who, and in what role, is still to be determined.

GIANTS

NYG Ahmad Bradshaw RB Foot:    Out

Derrick Martin S Hamstring:    Out

Will Beatty T Eye:  Out

Michael Boley LB Hamstring:   Doubtful

Michael Clayton WR Knee:   Questionable

Mario Manningham WR Knee:   Questionable

Osi Umenyiora DE Knee:   Probable

Danny Ware RB Concussion:   Probable

Kareem McKenzie T Toe:   Probable

Justin Tuck DE Ankle :  Probable

SAINTS

Turk McBride DE Ankle:   Out

Jonathan Vilma LB Knee:   Questionable

Cameron Jordan DE Hand:   Probable

Patrick Robinson CB Stomach:   Probable

Are you ready for the second half of the 2011 NFL season? Do you think you can handle the adrenaline rush from the multitude of clutch comebacks? Or, for that matter, the overwhelming depression of staggering defeats?

If you answered, “Yes!” to these questions, then you are a true BLUE football fan! Let’s get it started! Week 10, or weak 10 for some teams around the league, finds us on our continuing mission to deliver you the winners of every NFL game, alongside the pigskin picking’ panel at ESPN. Who have we picked this week? Who won the battle of the predictions last week? You might be surprised at the results. read on…if you dare!
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WR Jerrel Jernigan didn’t practice either while DE Osi Umenyiora, C David Baas, FB Henry Hynoski, OL Stacy Andrews and CB Prince Amukamara were all limited.

T Demetrius Bell, CB Aaron Williams, LB Chris Kelsay, WR Donald Jones, LB Shawn Merriman

Out for the Giants:

DE Justin Tuck, OG Chris Snee, RB Brandon Jacobs, FB Henry Hynoski

Clipped from: profootballtalk.nbcsports.com (share this clip)

If the Bills are going to beat the Giants in a rematch of Super Bowl XXV (Scott Norwood just puked, again), they’ll have to do it without linebacker Shawne Merriman.

The team announced that Merriman has been downgraded from doubtful to out.

injury report has no surprises: Amukamara (knee), Baas (neck), Boley (knee), DeOssie (concussion), Hynoski (neck), Jacobs (knee), Snee (concussion), Tuck (groin/neck) & Umenyiora (knee).

Somehow this list is back to catasprophic levels for the Giants this week. And while Tuck, Jacobs, and Amukamara are concerning enough — Chris Snee’s concussion and David Baas’ neck could spell disaster for on offensive line that has already been putrid. Injuries are only going to compound the problem.

Brandon Jacobs’ injury per @AdamSchefter on ESPN just now: sprained MCL. Will let you know in about an hour if he’s practicing today.

Jacobs may not practice today or play Sunday against the Seahawks. More to come soon.

Good News:

• Justin Tuck worked out just about everything today in practice, he will participate but be listed as limited
• Prince Amukamara is slightly ahead of schedule and did some light jogging straight ahead yesterday with minor soreness.

Bad News:

• Hakeem Nicks made good progress, we’ll see what the doctors say before he suits up
• Travis Beckum did not practice, and Coughlin is not happy about it.

Videos of Tuck, Nicks, and Amukamara discussing their progress after the jump

via PFT:

It looks like Newman will miss his second straight week. Bryant also missed practice Wednesday with a “thigh contusion” and his status for Sunday’s game against the 49ers looks to be in doubt.

Bryant missed four games last year and was at less than 100% for many more. He hurt his quad against the Jets and was gimpy for a large portion of the game.

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks is of course the latest key member of the WR unit to make the injury list after his knee/wrist got banged up in the week 1 matchup against the Redskins. Between Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Prince Amukamara all on the mend — the Giants defense still has a ways to go before it approaches full speed.

via the Daily News

Hakeem Nicks has “just a bone bruise” Coughlin said. Nicks won’t practice today. Coughlin has “no idea” if he’ll be ready for Monday night.

The snake bite continues to spew its venom….

“Honestly, talk to me right now, I don’t see how I will not play on Monday. And that’s me. Obviously, you’ve got to go through the process of doctors, coaches, general manager, owner, and going through what’s most important for me and what’s most important for this football team. If I come out (today) and this thing feels 100 percent, I’m going. It just all depends on how it feels. We are just taking it day by day, and how I go out on the football field and play is in direct correlation to how the neck feels.”

According to various reports, Tuck has a muscular issue causing his neck injury – not a herniated disc or worse. But a neck injury is of course not something you push or rush — and Justin Tuck sitting out for 2 weeks is not as bad as playing injured and missing 4-6 weeks thereafter. Considering the repercussions of missing more games by playing too early, I’m completely fine with Tuck not playing Monday night, or the week after until he’s 100% ready.

Between JPP, Kiwi, and Toly — I think the Giants defense can get to the QB with their defensive ends. If they want to get creative in Tuck’s stead — they’ll inject rookie LB Jacquain Williams for some speed on the outside as well the way they hoped Clint Sintim could be used. The Giants simply need to keep the pressure dialed in, and rely on man coverage from their corners on the outside to defend quick passes. Anything over the middle is still going to be a problem, and I think if the Giants are going to rush 5 or more they need to keep the MLB in coverage and bring pressure off the edges. That seems to be the best recipe for Big Blue success under Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell. Why he gets away from it for half the game, I have no clue.

ESPN NY’s Ohm Youngmisuk sums it up:

So Giants lose Brian Witherspoon (ACL) and T. Thomas (ACL) all in one night. Witherspoon hurt his knee on a return, was having a good camp

The Giants dominated in their win to the tune of 41-13, but at the same time are decimated at corner depth to the tune of -4. Time to open up the wallet, Jerry Reese, and throw some money at the situation before things get worse.

Mike Garafolo points out that former Eagle Lito Sheppard could make the most economical sense. The full list of CB free agents with a shot according to Garafolo in a separate post are as follows:

Kelvin Hayden
Randall Gay
Lito Sheppard
Tye Hill
Brian Williams
Will Blackmon*
D.J. Johnson*

Blackmon is injured, but he does know the defense a bit. You’d have to think any of the veteran guys at the top of the list would be worth working out though…. but perhaps they’re available for good reason. Dare to dream, anyway.

via Giants.com

Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this morning, a procedure that is expected to sideline him for three-four weeks.

…

“It is a simple debridement,” said Ronnie Barnes, the team’s Vice President of Medical Services. The procedure was performed by team physician Dr. Russell Warren at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

This is the procedure we all saw coming.  Give the Giants credit for seeing this one coming and not overpaying him when he held out. Osi said of the situation:

“It was better to do it now as opposed to mid-season. It was going to have to be done, the only question was when. If I’m going to miss a little while, I would prefer it be now than at the crucial part of our season. It’s the best decision for the team and myself.”

The injuries that the New York Giants have had to contend with this season have passed over the borderline and into the territory of the obscene. Before the start of the preseason, and at the very first practice, their “Plaxico Burress successor”, Domenik Hixon, suffered a season ending accruciate ligament injury. From that practice up until the game against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, the Giants’ receiving corp continued to be depreciated by a nasty little injury plague.

There was a glimmer of hope on Monday night though. David Diehl, Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks all made it back into the starting lineup only to find the injury plague back in full swing. Steve Smith was Big Blue’s second leading receiver before his pectoral injury. In the 3rd quarter of the Vikings game, Smith suffered a hamstring injury and is likely to miss at least one game.
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