NFL

Ross, Webster lead confident Giants secondary

When Terrell Thomas went down and out in the preseason, there was an overwhelming feeling that in addition to shredding his knee, any possibility for the Giants defensive backfield to dominate was ripped apart as well.

After all, as a rising star, Thomas had emerged as the team’s best cornerback, a position where enough is never enough.

When the Giants defense takes the field at Lucas Oil Stadium a week from tonight to face the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, the presence in the huddle of starting cornerbacks Corey Webster and Aaron Ross will serve as a reminder that sometimes new is not better. Yes, Thomas was a huge loss. No, the season wasn’t lost without him, although there certainly were some forks in the road for the secondary to navigate.

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“Well, you hate to see anybody go down, but it’s the same two cornerbacks that played the last Super Bowl that we played against them,’’ Webster said. “So it wasn’t anything we were worried about or unsure about.’’

Just as they did that historic night of Feb. 3, 2008, in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., Webster and Ross will line up as the starting corners again against the Patriots with a championship on the line. Once again, they seek to stick close enough to Tom Brady’s targets to force that little hesitation in his marksman-like passes to disrupt the Rolex-quality timing of the New England passing attack.

No one has ever affixed the preface “shut-down’’ in front of Webster’s or Ross’ names, but somehow, just as they were four years ago, they are back on the big stage.

“A lot of people haven’t played in big games,’’ said Webster, one of the longest-tenured Giants after completing his seventh season. “The more and more games you play in like that, the more and more experience and calm you get.’’

Webster won a national championship at LSU, a Super Bowl ring with the Giants and is one victory away from earning another bauble for his finger. He usually is assigned the top threat, but in this case, Wes Welker does not appear to be a good matchup for Webster, who admits he has trouble with smaller, shiftier receivers — and there is no one who combines those two traits more lethally than Welker, slot man extraordinaire. He had an NFL-high 122 receptions during the regular season for 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns.

If it’s not Webster on Welker it will be Ross, which could be problematic. Ross is a superior athlete and, like Webster, has stayed healthy for all 19 games, but at times he gives too much ground in coverage, which could be deadly if Welker makes a catch with room to maneuver.

Webster prefers to praise the trigger man rather than the targets.

“I don’t know if Welker is the biggest challenge. He’s got a great person throwing him the ball,’’ Webster said. “Just throwing off some of the timing between the quarterback and the receiver will help us a lot. They’ve got a lot of good weapons over there on their team, so we have to be cognizant of where everybody is at on the field at all times.

“I don’t think they’ve got any one player right now like when they had Randy Moss. But they’ve got a good group of people.’’

In addition to Welker, the “good group’’ includes veteran Deion Branch. The main thrust of the New England passing attack is their tandem of tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, who combined for 169 receptions and 24 touchdowns during the season. The wide receivers are not deep vertical threats, but they keep the chains moving. Without a real third wide receiver option to worry about, safety Antrel Rolle will be freed up to help in the attempt to slow the tight ends to a dull roar.

The upsurge in the pass rush has allowed the corners to play tighter in coverage. Webster likes to get physical at the line and, in his quiet way, does not lack for confidence.

“I think I’m great. I think I’m the best thing out there,’’ Webster said. “I think the whole secondary feels that way.’’

paul.schwartz@nypost.com