It sure looked as if the first preseason game of the summer for Prince Amukamara was a good one, as he kept things under control at his right cornerback spot and even showed off his speed by running step-for-step with Sammy Watkins, the fleet Bills rookie receiver.
But the Giants want more from Amukamara.
“I would like to see him intercept two of those three balls because he had a chance,’’ cornerbacks coach Peter Giunta said Tuesday at training camp. “He had better position than the receivers did on all of them. He did a great job of the forcing the receiver. He had them pinned against the sideline. He did a great job at the line of scrimmage getting his hands on the guys and forcing them to the sideline.’’
It may have been a great job but it was not a complete job. Entering his fourth season with the Giants, the 25-year-old Amukamara is in his physical prime and has shaken off some early-career turbulence fueled by injury, missed practice time and his wide-eyed, sluggish recognition of the give-and-take world of an NFL locker room. In some ways, the Giants lightened the load on him by opening the coffers to sign Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a star-quality cornerback. In some ways, they made Amukamara’s job more difficult.
Tom Coughlin has already stated Rodgers-Cromartie will shadow the top receiver on the opposing team, which may or may not be the way the Giants use him on defense this season. Either way, quarterbacks are not going to force the ball in Rodgers-Cromartie’s direction and Amukamara as the other starter will get enough action on his side to have ample opportunity to make plays.
Is he capable of making the plays? Amukamara is willing and able in run support, has excellent cover skills and is physical enough to get his hands on a receiver to impede progress. But he hasn’t shown much ability as a ball hawk, with three career interceptions (one apiece in his first three years) in 36 games (27 starts).
In the preseason opener against the Bills, Amukamara said his timing was off. “There was one where I was in very good position and I should have jumped, but the receiver played defensive back and knocked it down,’’ he said. “It was just bad timing.’’
Amukamara planned on staying after practice to work on his ball skills, hoping to find a quarterback or “a coach who throws it well’’ to throw him passes 30 or 40 yards down the field.I would like to see him intercept two of those three balls because he had a chance.
- Peter Giunta
One problem with Amukamara is he has small hands. He says he compensates with “large gloves’’ and believes he has what it takes to pluck the ball out of the air.
“I think guys can learn to have ball skills and some guys are born with it,’’ Amukamara said. “I played offense in high school and I played basketball, I think I’m pretty coordinated with the ball. I think some guys are born with it, some guys are not but it definitely can be worked on.’’
As far as the increased attention as the starting cornerback who figures to be picked on opposite Rodgers-Cromartie, Amukamara says bring it on. His confidence is rising and he is no longer the younger guy looking up at Corey Webster, Terrell Thomas and Aaron Ross. Those three are all gone and Amukamara remains, hoping to show he’s a franchise-type player the Giants will want to invest on into the future. The Giants picked up the fifth-year option on Amukamara’s contract, and at the moment he’s on the books for about $6.9 million in 2015 — an unwieldy salary-cap figure that will not become reality. The team will look to strike a long-term deal with Amukamara and the terms of that deal will depend largely on his 2014 performance.
“I always expect to be thrown at anyway so every play I think the ball’s coming my way,’’ Amukamara said. “That’s how Corey Webster told me to prepare and that’s how coach Giunta tells me.’’