As he spoke to the assembled media encircling him, Hakeem Nicks slipped off his grey dry-fit shirt, rolled it into a ball and, without clear sight of the large laundry bin sitting in the middle of the room, shot the shirt into the air, keeping his right wrist extended for effect. He craned his neck, broke out into a smile and gave the thumbs-up sign.
Nothing but net. If there was a net.
“I always make it,’’ Nicks said, looking content and carefree.
How could he be this way, with the carnage of a 38-0 rout by the Panthers not yet faded in the rear-view mirror, with his no-catch performance still fresh in his mind, with the unbeaten Chiefs up next and the thrice-beaten Giants off to their worst start in Tom Coughlin’s 10 years?
“I’ve always been taught rejoice at a time like this because a blessing’s coming,’’ Nicks said.
The Giants thus far have looked a whole lot more cursed than blessed, but you would not know it from the way they carried themselves on Wednesday, from the top on down. Coughlin in his morning press conference was as animated, upbeat and filled with perspective as he has ever been, waving his arms, cracking jokes, at times bounding from behind the lectern to make his point. This from a coach overseeing an 0-3 team, one day after traveling to his upstate Waterloo hometown for the funeral of his younger brother.
“Are we standing on the edge of a cliff?’’ Coughlin asked. “I don’t see it that way.’’
Eli Manning said Coughlin was so fired up that perhaps the 67-year head coach and former Syracuse running back could offer some tangible help.
“I think he could suit up,’’ Manning said. “Get him back and in a jersey and playing a little running back.’’
There were rumblings of a few altercations on the practice field, nothing serious but noticeable.
“Within the battlefield you’re going to have scuffles, you’re going to have fights,’’ said safety Antrel Rolle, who sounded the urgency alarm earlier in the week.
For a team that ranks near the bottom in every statistical category, coming off an historically bad loss, the Giants sounded remarkably confident.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll come out with a win this week,’’ defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said.
“We’ll definitely be a different team come Sunday,’’ added cornerback Terrell Thomas.
A week ago, his team was remarkably healthy for what seemed to be a hand-picked opponent whose depletion in the defensive backfield should have been a perfect foil for the Giants’ prolific passing game. A week later, the Giants have 10 players on their injury report, including two starters — right guard Chris Snee and center David Baas — off an offensive line that was humiliated in Carolina and face another road trip, this one more daunting, to Kansas City to face the 3-0 Chiefs.
Nothing seems to fit.
The Chiefs lead the NFL with 15 sacks, led by outside linebacker Justin Houston with a league-high 7¹/₂. The Giants have already allowed 11 sacks of Manning, including seven last week in a complete protection meltdown, and now may have to put unproven backups Jim Cordle in at center and James Brewer in at right guard, players who looked overmatched in the preseason.
The Giants are the worst team in the league in turnover differential, dead last at minus-nine. The Chiefs are best in the league at plus-nine. Manning has thrown eight interceptions, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith none.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, a longtime Giants rival from his 14 years in Philadelphia, appears to be rejuvenated in his new red-clad surroundings. Coughlin, in his 10th year with the Giants, is off to his worst start and trying, after a decade, to make sure his message is still getting through.
“I think this is where we turn the page and kind of make a good run,’’ Victor Cruz said, “and get a few wins under our belt.’’