The comings and goings can be exhilarating and brutally intertwined, one player making an emotional return, another needing to be helped off the field. One dream living, the other dying, at least temporarily.
And so, when Terrell Thomas took to Twitter yesterday to relay a message to Stevie Brown, it was a sentiment from one who knows to one who will soon find out. Thomas tweeted: “This ain’t nothing but a bump in the road! Come back Faster Stronger Better.’’
The same night Thomas played in a game for the first time in two years following two surgeries to repair tears to a right anterior cruciate ligament, Brown suffered a similar fate, tearing his left ACL in the first quarter of Saturday’s 24-21 preseason loss to the Jets. Brown was placed on season-ending injured reserve and the Giants are suddenly left without their greatest playmaker from what was a dismal 2012 defensive showing.
“I feel badly for him. He’s worked hard and prepared himself well and been in this position where he’s made a lot of plays for us and so we will definitely miss him,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday after an MRI exam confirmed the fears the Giants had for Brown’s knee. “But we continue. That’s what we do.’’
Brown went down doing what he does best, taking the ball out of the air for an interception and taking off on a long return. After a 22-yard gain, his left leg buckled without contact, a sure and terrible sign the ACL had given out.
It’s a major blow to a defense that seemingly was well-stocked with safeties, although none exhibiting the uncanny sense for the ball Brown has shown. The next man up is Ryan Mundy, a career reserve in his first year with the Giants after four with the Steelers.
“We’ve just got to get the people out there and get the right combination,’’ Coughlin said. “Ryan has played well, he certainly has proven he can be physical and down in the box, that type of thing.’’
The Giants hope they can uncover something in Mundy similar to what they found a year earlier with Brown. They picked Brown up as something of an afterthought, figuring he would be a reserve on defense and a staple on special teams. He had a season with the Raiders and another with the Colts, playing in a total of 16 games, but starting only one. Kenny Phillips couldn’t stay on the field, so Brown moved in and a team-leading eight interceptions later, he was a fixture.
Brown, a restricted free agent, signed a one-year tender for $2.02 million and the 26-year old was in for a much greater payday if he played his second season with the Giants the way he did his first. Now, he’ll spend the year rehabbing heading into a season without a contract.
Suddenly, the safety position is an issue. The indispensible Antrel Rolle missed the past two preseason games with a sprained ankle, but Coughlin said Rolle will return this week to practice. Will Hill is a promising and very athletic second-year player, but he will be suspended for the first four games for violating the NFL’s drug policy, so forget about him until October.
“He’s been playing and playing well, he’s an outstanding special teams player and he’s very physical,’’ Coughlin said of Hill. “The fact of the matter is we’re not gonna have him for four games. While we acknowledge what he brings to the table we certainly can’t be lured into thinking we’re OK in any way, shape or form because he’s not gonna be here. And that’s a shame.’’
Tyler Sash has had an excellent summer, but he’s more of a special teamer than a bona fide defender, although he has shown a nose for the ball. Cooper Taylor, a towering rookie, has been slowed with a strained hamstring and missed the first three preseason games, although he returned last week to practice.
Phillips, the Giants’ 2008 first-round pick, yesterday was released by the Eagles. Phillips is damaged goods with a lingering knee issue and a quad strain that short-circuited his brief stay with Philadelphia. But he is available.
Coughlin was impressed with Thomas’ comeback game, but said Thomas remains a cornerback and there are no plans to move him to safety.