The Giants were stunned on Aug. 10 when they learned they lost receiver Steve Smith to the Eagles. Now they will probably be surprised to learn Smith yesterday practiced for the first time with his new team.
Coming off microfracture knee surgery back in December, the Giants were wary of Smith’s full recovery and at the time he signed with the Eagles, coach Tom Coughlin said the Giants medical opinion was that Smith wouldn’t be ready to start practicing for 4-6 weeks.
Well, that time frame has been shortened by the Eagles, who took Smith off the physically unable to perform list, put him on their active roster and put him on the practice field.
The Eagles think Smith could be ready for the season opener, a timetable the Giants did not anticipate.
“I think I would be able to,” Smith said to Philly.com. “It’s just a matter of what the coaches and what the trainers want me to do, but I’m feeling good, as long as we have no setbacks, that’s what I’m shooting for.”
Smith, though, told the Philadelphia Inquirer he will not be 100 percent for another 4-6 weeks.
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The Giants must play Monday night and the first roster cut-down from 90 to 80 players comes Tuesday.
“Listen, there is nothing we can do about the current set of circumstances,” Coughlin said. “We have to adjust and adapt. We have been evaluating our roster since the start of training camp. All we can do is take what we have had in terms of the totality of the preseason and make our decisions based on that. There really has been no precedent for this entire preseason.”
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Last season, after the Giants could not play the Vikings in Minneapolis after the roof at Mall of America Field collapsed, they were diverted to Kansas City before finally playing the Vikings . . . in Detroit.
This two-day delay for Hurricane Irene pales in comparison.
“We’re getting good at mid-stream adjustments,” Coughlin said. “I don’t know if that is something you necessarily want to perfect, but I think we’re close.”