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With any luck, we'll find out today whether some or all of the Giants' wounded will return to practice. We're looking for any encouraging signs from CB Aaron Ross (hamstring), CB Kevin Dockery (hamstring), DT Chris Canty (calf), WR Domenik Hixon (knee), WR Hakeem Nicks (foot), and LB Clint Sintim (groin). Last week, Tom Coughlin appeared to be getting a bit impatient with the bumps and bruises. So even seeing a couple of them back at work would be cause for anticipation.
We'll also be keeping an eye on offensive linemen Rich Seubert (left shoulder) and Kareem McKenzie (right knee). Both are expected to be out there. Also, Ahmad Bradshaw is on the preliminary list with an ankle/foot problem, and Justin Tuck remains on the list with a shoulder despite taking eight plays Sunday.
While we're at it, let's talk about a non-injury related topic. I'm not as ticked off about Lawrence Tynes as a lot of you guys seem to be. Yeah, he's inconsistent. But he does hit them when it counts, and that's what counts. The kicks don't have to be pretty. They just have to get through the uprights.
Yes, he's the only kicker in the league to have missed not one, but two field goals from inside 30 yards. But he also leads the league in points. He and Steve Gostkowski of New England are the only ones with as many as 10 field goal attempts right now, and Gostkowski has hit nine of those, as opposed to Tynes' eight.
I kind of regard Tynes as the football version of Don Stanhouse. Remember him? He used to close games for Earl Weaver's Orioles in the early '80s. Called him "Fullpack." Know why? Because he'd usually get the job done, but not before causing Weaver to go through a full pack of cigs when he'd walk the bases loaded.
Tynes is kind of like that. He'll drive you absolutely nuts by missing a 29-yarder with the score close. But then, in the closing seconds, he'll hit not one, but two as the opposing coach tries to ice him. Or he'll miss a big one in the postseason, only to kick his team into the Super Bowl on the last try.
As for the kickoffs everybody complains about, yeah, he's a little short. But he does have two touchbacks, and that lands him in the middle of the NFL pack.
As ugly as he sometimes seems, I'm not sure Tynes is going anywhere unless he absolutely collapses. But he is the kind of guy that makes a coach keep the short list ready at all times. It's just not time to pull it out of the desk yet. Until he actually hurts you, you stick with him.
I'm just sayin'...
Any opinions?
EP
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last sunday he had several kickoffs that went to the 20...Carney can kick longer than that
ReplyDeleteI feel like Tynes keeping his job says less about his work/ability than it does about the alternatives... In any case, I never understand what all those kickoffs are that make me ask aloud "what the heck was that?" - it's one thing to see a traditional kickoff reach only the 10, it's another to see pooch-esque kicks at least a couple times a game when there's no way he can be intending to do so.
ReplyDeleteI know it's considered laughable to draft a kicker, especially anywhere before the last couple rounds regardless of how good a guy is, but I feel like one of these years it might be worth biting the bullet and drafting one in the 5th round or so just in hopes of locking the position down. (Not for a kickoff specialist like the kid the Cowboys just got, but a kickoff/placekicker.)
I think it's ridiculous he's considered a clutch kicker, which is what I keep reading. He hit the big one in Dallas a couple weeks ago, but hasn't really hit many other big ones. And he gets far too much credit for that game-winner in Green Bay in the playoffs. If the Giants don't play a great game and Webster doesn't get that pick in OT, he goes down as the goat for missing what would have been the game-winner in regulation. He was very fortunate to be in that situation after choking a little earlier in the game.
ReplyDeleteTynes isn't perfect, but what kicker really is? Wouldn't you rather he face his trials now and hopefully come through better later? I think Coughlin realizes that there's enough pressure on him already and no better option, so better to let him work out his kinks with the coach's full confidence than bring in another kicker who goes 8 for his next 8 but then can't handle the fans and media when he does miss an important one.
ReplyDeleteJohn Carney was a better option. Hell, I'd even take Ernie Palladino over Tynes.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the fuss over Tynes comes from fans having so little to complian about with the rest of the team. The Giants are so deep and talented that an average PK kinda sticks out.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we don't have a repeat of what happened in Seattle a few years ago where we had three chances to win the game and kept missing FGs until Seattle finally won the game, I'll tolerate an occasional miss here and there.
ReplyDeleteJohn W
and when our defense doesnt back him up by making that stop against GB? They should have never had to walk on the field.
ReplyDeleteHe needs to be out.