Eli Manning is not sure how the Giants are going to handle the latest body-blow to hit them — the shocking loss of star receiver Hakeem Nicks for three weeks or longer — but he’s sure of one thing:
“Moaning doesn’t help,” Manning said yesterday in a severely downcast locker room. “You start complaining about it, you start going ‘Woe is me,’ it doesn’t fix anything, it just makes it worse.”
Can it get worse for Manning’s potent but mistake-prone passing attack? Already operating without his most polished target, Steve Smith (who has a partially torn pectoral muscle), Manning will be without both starting receivers this Sunday against the Jaguars and next week against the Redskins.
It looks as if it will be Mario Manningham and Derek Hagan, who was signed last week, lining up with the starting offense, as the Giants are down to only two healthy receivers from the opening-day roster. The loss of Nicks, the Giants’ leading receiver with 62 catches for 800 yards and nine touchdowns, is immense for a team riding a two-game losing streak.
Early in yesterday’s team meeting, Tom Coughlin told his players “There will be some more disappointing news” and he informed them about Nicks, who in the 27-17 loss to the Eagles apparently was either hit or kicked in the lower right leg in the third quarter. He could be seen limping but was able to complete the game.
Nicks experienced swelling in the leg and, after tests, the problem was diagnosed as compartment syndrome, a swelling in the lower leg that compresses nerves and blood vessels. If not treated immediately, it can lead to muscle and nerve damage. Nicks yesterday was taken to the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he had a fasciotomy, a surgical procedure in which the fascia — the connective tissue covering or separating the muscles — is cut away to relieve tension or pressure.
The Giants are saying Nicks is expected to miss approximately three weeks.
“It wasn’t the news we wanted to hear at that point, with Steve already out,” tight end Kevin Boss said.
The offense self-destructed once again, committing five turnovers in Philadelphia, and the receiver corps is now decimated.
“Well, they’re men and they’re going to have to handle this just like all of us,” Coughlin said of his team. “We’ll have to do some things offensively to pull all of this under control, to be aware of what we have and what we don’t have.”
What they don’t have is quite a bit. Domenik Hixon, Sinorice Moss, rookie Victor Cruz, Smith and Ramses Barden are all out of commission or on injured reserve. There are only three healthy receivers on the roster, Manningham, Hagan and rookie Duke Calhoun.
Coughlin said the team will hold receiver tryouts today. Veteran Kevin Curtis is an option. The practice squad has one receiver, Samuel Giguere, but he does not appear to be a serious consideration.
Tight end Travis Beckum — who often lines up as a slot receiver — will take on more receiver responsibilities. Darius Reynaud, recovered from a hamstring injury, is a running back/receiver but probably not a strong candidate.
Coughlin didn’t even dismiss the notion of moving a defensive player to receiver. Safety Antrel Rolle worked some on offense with the Cardinals.
“We are aware of Antrel’s athletic skills,” Coughlin said before adding “We will take everything into consideration.”
Manningham will move up into the featured receiver role.
“I got to really step my game up,” he said. “We all got to step our game up.”
Hagan was with the Giants last season, but didn’t make the final cut this past summer. He was unemployed when the Giants signed him to compensate for the season-ending loss of Barden. Now, he’s a starter.
“He’s rusty, there’s no doubt,” Coughlin said.
“To a certain extent you deal with what you have,” Coughlin said. “Somehow, some way you have to put this all together and come out swinging and find a way to get a win.”