ALBANY – A player cannot receive much more of a compliment than the one Tom Coughlin heaped on Mathias Kiwanuka today.
“His attitude is this: If you tell him to be in there twice, he’s in there three times,” Coughlin said. “He is a very focused guy.”
That’s as good an explanation as any as to why Kiwanuka hasn’t missed any practices thus far in training camp, cramming in all four in the first two days. Coming off surgery to repair a broken left fibula and corresponding ankle damage, he was supposed to practice just once a day.
“Especially in my position, I need all the reps I can get,” said Kiwanuka, who was injured in Detroit in Week 11 last season. “I haven’t played in a long time, so every rep out there is fun for me.”
It wasn’t easy, but Kiwanuka said he was able to at least feel somewhat a part of the team during the Super Bowl run he missed. He understands why that was impossible for Jeremy Shockey, who went down with the same injury.
“For a guy like that, he put his heart and soul into this organization for a long time and he was a vocal leader, an energy guy, he was kind of the face and the voice of this team for a long time,” Kiwanuka said. “There’s people out here who turn around and say maybe we’re better off without him. That’s something, as a player, it stings. The guy goes hard every day in practice and it’s no surprise if somebody says something bad about him he’s going to take it personally, because he takes everything personal, whether it’s a compliment or a knock against him.”
WR Plaxico Burress again spent the morning session riding a stationary bicycle, watching his teammates on the field then catching balls off a Jugs machine. Coughlin said Burress reported his ankle was too sore to practice, but the underlying theme is that Burress wants a new contract and isn’t going to take the field until he gets one. He’s supposed to be examined today by the medical staff.
Morning practice highlights: DT Fred Robbins and DE Dave Tollefson batting down Eli Manning passes at the line; CB Geoffrey Pope dropping an interception in the end zone on an Anthony Wright pass; CB Kevin Dockery and rookie CB Terrell Thomas on nice pass breakups vs. rookie WR Mario Manningham; WR D.J. Hall with a nice sideline catch; Rookie S Kenny Phillips leaping but failing to hold on to an interception on a deflection off WR Brandon London.