There are times, many of them, when Justin Tuck doesn’t know who is on the field with him. Doesn’t know exactly who is in and who is out in the secondary.
“Do I always know who’s back there? No, I don’t,’’ Tuck said yesterday. “There were some times [against the Eagles] I looked up and saw Will Hill back there. I didn’t know Will Hill started until halfway through the game. So, no, I don’t.’’
Tuck can be pardoned for scratching his head and wondering what the heck is going on along the back end. It’s been a turnstile leading to the defensive backfield, with players coming, going, in, out, up and down. The same starting group hasn’t been together for a single game and this week is no exception. There were five defensive starters sitting out yesterday’s practice and three of them — cornerback Corey Webster and safeties Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips — reside in the defensive backfield. Another player who has started this season, rookie cornerback Jayron Hosley, also sat out.
“It’s been a revolving door,’’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said.
At first, it was the cornerback position besieged by injuries, but now it has spread to the safeties. Phillips will miss several games with a sprained knee and it appears Hosley — who was impressive working as the nickel corner — will likely miss his second straight game with a strained hamstring. It looks as if Michael Coe (hamstring) will return and Webster, who has a slight hamstring issue in addition to his broken right hand, said he is confident he will play Sunday against the winless Browns. Rolle still has some swelling in the left knee he slammed into a TV camera in Charlotte and has reluctantly sat out most of the past two days but he declared: “I’ll be good on Sunday.’’
Got all that?
The lineup figures to be Webster and Prince Amukamara as the starting cornerbacks with Rolle and Stevie Brown at the safety spots. Brown would be making his first start for the Giants and only his second NFL start in his three-year career. The nickel corner will be Coe or more likely Will Hill, the undrafted rookie safety who has been getting plenty of snaps as the slot corner and has been impressive.
“I like that,’’ Hill said. “That means I have better opportunities to make plays because people are going to think I’m inexperienced, not ready and that just gives me an opportunity to showcase my talent and ability.’’
The Browns, with middle-aged (only a slight exaggeration) rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden and some slippery-fingered receivers, are not a high-octane challenge but so many missing pieces and so much upheaval can turn a defense inside-out. After all, “There’s a reason why guys start and guys back up … there’s going to be a drop-off,’’ Tuck said.
“We would love to have the same four, the same five people to be out there the same time, but in this league that’s difficult and I think we handle the situation as best as we can,’’ Webster said. “The communication will be different. Kenny is normally one of the guys that keeps everything together back there. He sees everything, he makes a lot of the calls, he corrects a lot of the calls the guys are making up front so it will be a difference. It will be a challenging situation.’’
Tuck said he thought the defense got “gun-shy’’ last week after Phillips went down. Neither Webster nor Fewell liked that characterization, but it is clear the front group cannot be as aggressive when there are concerns about the last line of defense.
“It causes you to give real strong consideration to how you’re doing things and who’s doing it,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said. “Hopefully it’s not going to restrict us very much.’’
Fewell said Brown “really didn’t have any major errors, he tackled well’’ filling in for Phillips. Brown has previously played for the Raiders and Colts, almost exclusively as a special teams player.
“That chemistry has to be there when you’re talking about the secondary because not everything can be as verbal as you want it to be, due to a loud stadium, a guy looking somewhere else,’’ Rolle said. “It’s going to work. It has no choice but to work. We have to make it work.’’