Coming off their most impressive defensive performance of the season in a 26-3 beat-down of the 49ers, the Giants are getting healthier. Chris Canty, the starting defensive tackle who has been on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury, will begin practicing this week.
Coach Tom Coughlin yesterday confirmed that. Canty for weeks has expressed confidence he would be ready to roll after the first six games of the season and he was eligible to get on the practice field.
It will be interesting to see if Canty can progress enough in a week — he’s had after no off-season, no mini-camps, no training camp and no games to get activated for Sunday’s NFC East game against the Redskins.
The other player on PUP, tight end Travis Beckum, is not yet ready to start practicing, Coughlin said. Beckum tore his ACL in Super Bowl XLVI.
* Safety Kenny Phillips remains out with a strained MCL. He has missed the past two games and won’t play Sunday, but is getting close.
“We’re going to have to wait and see on that, he’s going to get some more opportunities to practice,’’ Coughlin said. “I don’t know just how far we can go with him.’’
* After missing the past three games with a knee injury, David Diehl returned and played 13 snaps as an extra blocker on the offensive line.
“He did OK. He came into the game and it was good for him to play, it was good for him to work and be in the competitive aspect of it,’’ Coughlin said. “I think it answered a lot of questions for him.’’
One question left unanswered is if Diehl will be reinserted into the starting lineup. He started the first two games at right tackle but since he has been out, veteran Sean Locklear has stepped in and held up fine. The line has not allowed a sack of Eli Manning the past two games and the Giants have gotten their running game goingin wins over the Browns and 49ers.
Asked what role Diehl will fit into, Coughlin said: “We will have to see, I haven’t thought about that just yet.’’
Diehl had started all 142 regular-season games and all 11 postseason games before playing as a substitute for the first time in his 10-year career.
* Sunday’s victory was Coughlin’s 78th in the regular season as Giants head coach, moving him ahead of Bill Parcells and into second place on the franchise coaching list, behind only Steve Owen, who won 153 games from 1930-53. … Manning’s streak of consecutive games with at least 200 passing yards ended at 24. It is the second-longest streak in NFL history, behind only Hall of Famer Dan Fouts’ 45-game streak from 1980-83.