Prince Amukamara, the Giants’ best cornerback, underwent tests Thursday for his concussion, and if he’s cleared and able to practice Friday, it’s possible one day of activity might be enough to allow him to play in Sunday’s clash with the Broncos.
“Hopefully he’s going to be OK. He seems to be fine,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “I can’t get him to tell me he’s had any issues, but he did the same thing [against the Cowboys in the opener].
“I would say if he works [Friday] and gets a good day’s work, then we’d have a good chance [of playing]. Barring setbacks.”
Amukamara has not practiced all week, so even if he practices on Friday, it could be risky to have him play after only one day on the field. Still, he’s an extraordinarily valuable player for the Giants, and they’re facing a high-powered passing attack.
“That would be a big blow [if Amukamara is out],” defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said.
Middle linebacker Dan Connor, who suffered neck burners in each of the Giants’ last two games (the preseason finale and the season-opener), was placed on season-ending injured reserve.
The Giants replaced him with Allen Bradford, a 2011 sixth-round pick the team was awarded off waivers from the Seahawks. Bradford joins Mark Herzlich as the Giants’ only middle linebackers.
On Sept. 19, 2010 in Indianapolis, the Colts walloped the Giants, 38-14 in Manning Bowl II. It was the second game for Fewell as Giants defensive coordinator, and his game plan against Peyton Manning will be far different on Sunday.
“Definitely the mindset then was to stop the pass, not the run,” Fewell said. “That’s not my mindset this time.”
While Manning was typically terrific that day (20-of-26 passing, 255 yards, three TDs), the Colts running game was excellent too. Joseph Addai ran 20 times for 92 yards and Donald Brown posted 16 carries for 69 yards.
“Without trying to reveal a lot of the things I learned, I would just say that we’re doing it differently,” Fewell said. “We’re doing it much differently.”
Coughlin would not commit to a starting running back for Sunday but said David Wilson, Brandon Jacobs and Da’Rel Scott all will play. He also praised the fumble-prone Wilson’s work in Thursday’s practice.
Scott was limited Wednesday with a knee injury.
“I just tweaked it a little bit,” said Scott, who practiced fully on Thursday.