Keith Bulluck knows the difference between taking up space and making a difference. He’s an honest enough self-evaluator to know what he has and has not accomplished thus far with the Giants.
“I haven’t made any plays here yet,” he said, shaking his head and opening his eyes wide. “I know I’m going to make more than one play for this team. It’s just whenever it happens.”
And when it does finally happen?
“It’s over,” Bulluck shot back. “I’m a different style player than they’ve seen here in a while. I’ve been saying it’s easier for me to show you than tell you. I’m sticking with that.”
Bulluck anticipates the showing part could come tomorrow night when the Giants play at Cowboys Stadium in their much-anticipated first NFC East game of the season.
Bulluck, signed a week before training camp after 10 years with the Titans, has played in just three games, and it took until the third game for him to flash a bit of his past form. He had six tackles in a loss to his former team and helped keep dangerous Chris Johnson in check for more than three quarters. He came away from the reunion with the Titans with a case of turf toe, an injury he never suspected would keep him out of the next three games.
Now he’s back, saying his toe and left knee (he underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL last December) are fine. How much action the 33-year-old Bulluck sees depends on the weekly adjustments defensive coordinator Perry Fewell makes for the upcoming opponent. Gone is the time when Bulluck knew he would be on the field for every down.
“We’ll do a number of different things just based on what the opponent will do,” Fewell said, “but just having Keith back in and back in the huddle, it definitely helps us from a defensive standpoint.”
Unless the Cowboys get completely pass-happy, it should be Bulluck’s kind of game. He will be needed against the power running of Marion Barber and the speed of Felix Jones. Barber (52 carries, 175 yards) has not been very effective and Jones (51-229) appears to be more of the running-back flavor of the week.
Having his playing time reliant on the specific packages is a new reality for Bulluck to embrace. Without him, Fewell has gone extensively with a three-safety, two-linebacker look, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
“I’ve been in situations on other teams where good players couldn’t get on the field, not because of their talent just because of how things were flowing,” Bulluck said. “I’m a believer if it’s not broke don’t fix it. What we’re doing works. When adjustments need to be made hopefully I fit into that puzzle. I’m a small piece of the puzzle right now, of course as the season goes on I would like to become a bigger piece, but if we can keep shutting teams down and taking teams out with a three-safety package, so be it.”
Even though he has not done much with his new team, Bulluck doesn’t lack for confidence.
“I honestly and truthfully believe if I never got hurt last December I would have been one of the top free agents at my position and there would be no ‘package’ situation anywhere,” he said. “I already know if I played anywhere else [other than Tennessee], I would have went to way more than one Pro Bowl.”
Bulluck admits he hasn’t displayed his true personality around the guys.
“Maybe I show a little distance because you go from being 100 percent involved to like about 10 percent involved,” he said. “You’re not going to still be your assertive self.”
And he’s not the same player on the field with the Giants that he was with the Titans. He has not made any impact plays yet, but he promises, “I know I will.”
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The Giants got mixed results yesterday from two players who sat out practice on Friday. Defensive end Justin Tuck (ankle) practiced fully and is listed as probable for tomorrow night’s game in Dallas.
Receiver Hakeem Nicks sat out Friday with what was described as a “fatigued” hamstring. Nicks practiced yesterday on a limited basis and is listed as questionable. He said on Friday he definitely would play.
Fullback Madison Hegdecock (hamstring) has been ruled out.