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http://www.giants.com/news/eisen/story.asp?story_id=19255
Emmons' Injury Opens Door for Short or Wilkinson
Starting weakside linebacker out "probably three weeks" with torn pec.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com
September 27, 2006
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –The Giants will have a new starting weakside linebacker when they return to action on Oct. 8 against Washington. Coach Tom Coughlin said today that Carlos Emmons has a torn pectoral muscle and will be sidelined “probably three weeks.”
Rookie LB Gerris Wilkinson, along with veteran LB Brandon Short (not pictured), are the likely candidates to fill in for the injured Carlos Emmons at weakside linebacker.
Emmons suffered the injury in Sunday’s 42-30 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. This tear is on the left side. It’s the second season in a row Emmons has suffered the same injury; he tore his right pec in a victory over Denver last year. He missed the next three games, returned for four games, then sat out the final three because of the injury. He was placed on injured reserve prior to the regular season finale.
“There was a small tear and that is why there is a healing process,” Coughlin said. “There is an amount of time involved.”
Coughlin did not say who would replace Emmons in the starting lineup, but the most likely candidates are veteran Brandon Short and rookie Gerris Wilkinson.
Short, a seven-year pro, re-signed with the Giants after two seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He was limited to one practice a day in training camp because he was rehabilitating a surgically-repaired knee. Short was inactive for each of the first three games because of a coaching decision. He said he is ready to step in if called upon.
“My knee is healthy, I understand the system and I’m ready to play,” said Short, who is listed behind Emmons on the depth chart. “If my number is called, there’s no question I’m going to be ready.
“This is what I’ve been working for all season, ever since I left the Panthers and signed with the Giants. I realized eventually I would have an opportunity and it looks like this is it. So as best as I can, I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Coughlin was asked if Short is healthy enough to step in if he is needed.
“Brandon Short is doing the best that he can,” Coughlin said. “I think he is on a program just like you have been watching – he practices a day and then he has a day when he doesn’t work. He is feeling better, he feels stronger about it, he is excited about a chance.”
So is Wilkinson, the third-round draft choice from Georgia Tech. He stepped in for Emmons in Seattle and had four unassisted tackles, though he concedes that probably deserves an asterisk.
“I feel like I did well on Sunday,” Wilkinson said. “But you can’t look at it too much, because they were just trying to run the ball. They didn’t have the same fire they had at the beginning of the game. They ran the ball out at the end of the game. I was able to go in and play well, but you can’t put too much on that.”
But Wilkinson also said, “It was a confidence-builder for my first time really playing in a regular season game to come in and do well.”
In college, Wilkinson played both outside linebacker positions, inside linebacker and even defensive end. With the Giants, he has worked primarily on the weak side, which, given Emmons’ injury, could be fortuitous.
“That is lucky for me,” Wilkinson said. “In college I moved around a lot. I would like to be able to play just one position and try to master that. “I’ve come far since the beginning of training camp, both in learning the defense and physically I still have a way to go. But I feel like I’m ready to help this team.”
Wilkinson, who is 6-3 and 231 pounds, said weakside backer is his best position.
“In college my favorite position was middle linebacker,” Wilkinson said. “I liked being right in the middle of the defense. I felt I could make the most plays there. This defense gives the WIL linebacker a whole lot of opportunities to make plays, much like the MIK was for me in college. I feel I have I have an opportunity to make as many plays in this defense, because most of the time I’m unblocked. I’ll be able to make a whole lot of plays.”
The Giants may need them.
NOTES
Plaxico Burress said he has improved since Sunday, when he didn’t play in the second half because a sore back had rendered him ineffective.
“I feel good,” Burress said. “I have a little smile on my face, because I haven’t been able to bend over and put my shoes on for the last eight days. I’m a lot better. The soreness is going away. I’m working on getting stronger in my core section. I’m looking forward to coming back full speed and a hundred percent.”
Burress caught one pass in Seattle, but he fumbled away the ball after a 23-yard gain. Another ball thrown to him bounced off his body and was intercepted by safety Michael Boulware.
Today, Burress was asked if he should not have played against the Seahawks.
“I’m not going to say I shouldn’t have,” Burress said. “That’s my competitive nature, my competitive spirit. I let my team down, there’s no question about it. When I play bad, I say I played bad. That’s something that I haven’t done in a while. It made me feel bad because I let my team down with two turnovers. If we didn’t have them, we probably could have won the game.
“My thing right now is to just get back to being healthy, get back so I can play with speed, make all the catches I need to make and go out and have fun. I was limited a little bit, but I chose to go out and play. I didn’t play well.”
Tiki Barber was asked today about the team’s morale in the wake of its 1-2 record and the lopsided loss in Seattle.
“I think we’ll be okay,” he said. “Obviously, you go through some turmoil after the debacle we had in Seattle. But I think we’ll rebound and we’ll be fine.
“(The morale) is solid, mainly because we have a good leader in Coach Coughlin. He gave us a pretty good speech this morning that I think was right on point. He addressed all the issues and told us exactly what we needed to hear going into this bye week, and hopefully it gets everybody’s mind off what has happened the last couple of weeks. It was the right message – we have to stay together as a team. It’s easy to get distracted and start splintering. He’s not going to let that happen, and I don’t think the veteran leaders are going to let that happen.”
Coughlin was asked at his post-practice news conference about the news regarding Dallas' Terrell Owens, who was rushed to the hospital last night.
“Obviously, we are all stunned by that news,” Coughlin said. “I really don’t have any information other than I did hear it when I was on my way out to the field. Of course, we hope that he is going to be fine. We know him as a tremendous athlete and competitor and all we can do is wish for the best for him.”
The following players did not practice today as they rested bumps, bruises, nicks and injuries: Emmons, Burress, tight end Jeremy Shockey, defensive end Michael Strahan, wide receivers Tim Carter, Sinorice Moss, center Shaun O’Hara, defensive tackle Barry Cofield and safety James Butler. Running back Derrick Ward (broken foot) continues to increase his workload.
Emmons' Injury Opens Door for Short or Wilkinson
Starting weakside linebacker out "probably three weeks" with torn pec.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com
September 27, 2006
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –The Giants will have a new starting weakside linebacker when they return to action on Oct. 8 against Washington. Coach Tom Coughlin said today that Carlos Emmons has a torn pectoral muscle and will be sidelined “probably three weeks.”
Rookie LB Gerris Wilkinson, along with veteran LB Brandon Short (not pictured), are the likely candidates to fill in for the injured Carlos Emmons at weakside linebacker.
Emmons suffered the injury in Sunday’s 42-30 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. This tear is on the left side. It’s the second season in a row Emmons has suffered the same injury; he tore his right pec in a victory over Denver last year. He missed the next three games, returned for four games, then sat out the final three because of the injury. He was placed on injured reserve prior to the regular season finale.
“There was a small tear and that is why there is a healing process,” Coughlin said. “There is an amount of time involved.”
Coughlin did not say who would replace Emmons in the starting lineup, but the most likely candidates are veteran Brandon Short and rookie Gerris Wilkinson.
Short, a seven-year pro, re-signed with the Giants after two seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He was limited to one practice a day in training camp because he was rehabilitating a surgically-repaired knee. Short was inactive for each of the first three games because of a coaching decision. He said he is ready to step in if called upon.
“My knee is healthy, I understand the system and I’m ready to play,” said Short, who is listed behind Emmons on the depth chart. “If my number is called, there’s no question I’m going to be ready.
“This is what I’ve been working for all season, ever since I left the Panthers and signed with the Giants. I realized eventually I would have an opportunity and it looks like this is it. So as best as I can, I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Coughlin was asked if Short is healthy enough to step in if he is needed.
“Brandon Short is doing the best that he can,” Coughlin said. “I think he is on a program just like you have been watching – he practices a day and then he has a day when he doesn’t work. He is feeling better, he feels stronger about it, he is excited about a chance.”
So is Wilkinson, the third-round draft choice from Georgia Tech. He stepped in for Emmons in Seattle and had four unassisted tackles, though he concedes that probably deserves an asterisk.
“I feel like I did well on Sunday,” Wilkinson said. “But you can’t look at it too much, because they were just trying to run the ball. They didn’t have the same fire they had at the beginning of the game. They ran the ball out at the end of the game. I was able to go in and play well, but you can’t put too much on that.”
But Wilkinson also said, “It was a confidence-builder for my first time really playing in a regular season game to come in and do well.”
In college, Wilkinson played both outside linebacker positions, inside linebacker and even defensive end. With the Giants, he has worked primarily on the weak side, which, given Emmons’ injury, could be fortuitous.
“That is lucky for me,” Wilkinson said. “In college I moved around a lot. I would like to be able to play just one position and try to master that. “I’ve come far since the beginning of training camp, both in learning the defense and physically I still have a way to go. But I feel like I’m ready to help this team.”
Wilkinson, who is 6-3 and 231 pounds, said weakside backer is his best position.
“In college my favorite position was middle linebacker,” Wilkinson said. “I liked being right in the middle of the defense. I felt I could make the most plays there. This defense gives the WIL linebacker a whole lot of opportunities to make plays, much like the MIK was for me in college. I feel I have I have an opportunity to make as many plays in this defense, because most of the time I’m unblocked. I’ll be able to make a whole lot of plays.”
The Giants may need them.
NOTES
Plaxico Burress said he has improved since Sunday, when he didn’t play in the second half because a sore back had rendered him ineffective.
“I feel good,” Burress said. “I have a little smile on my face, because I haven’t been able to bend over and put my shoes on for the last eight days. I’m a lot better. The soreness is going away. I’m working on getting stronger in my core section. I’m looking forward to coming back full speed and a hundred percent.”
Burress caught one pass in Seattle, but he fumbled away the ball after a 23-yard gain. Another ball thrown to him bounced off his body and was intercepted by safety Michael Boulware.
Today, Burress was asked if he should not have played against the Seahawks.
“I’m not going to say I shouldn’t have,” Burress said. “That’s my competitive nature, my competitive spirit. I let my team down, there’s no question about it. When I play bad, I say I played bad. That’s something that I haven’t done in a while. It made me feel bad because I let my team down with two turnovers. If we didn’t have them, we probably could have won the game.
“My thing right now is to just get back to being healthy, get back so I can play with speed, make all the catches I need to make and go out and have fun. I was limited a little bit, but I chose to go out and play. I didn’t play well.”
Tiki Barber was asked today about the team’s morale in the wake of its 1-2 record and the lopsided loss in Seattle.
“I think we’ll be okay,” he said. “Obviously, you go through some turmoil after the debacle we had in Seattle. But I think we’ll rebound and we’ll be fine.
“(The morale) is solid, mainly because we have a good leader in Coach Coughlin. He gave us a pretty good speech this morning that I think was right on point. He addressed all the issues and told us exactly what we needed to hear going into this bye week, and hopefully it gets everybody’s mind off what has happened the last couple of weeks. It was the right message – we have to stay together as a team. It’s easy to get distracted and start splintering. He’s not going to let that happen, and I don’t think the veteran leaders are going to let that happen.”
Coughlin was asked at his post-practice news conference about the news regarding Dallas' Terrell Owens, who was rushed to the hospital last night.
“Obviously, we are all stunned by that news,” Coughlin said. “I really don’t have any information other than I did hear it when I was on my way out to the field. Of course, we hope that he is going to be fine. We know him as a tremendous athlete and competitor and all we can do is wish for the best for him.”
The following players did not practice today as they rested bumps, bruises, nicks and injuries: Emmons, Burress, tight end Jeremy Shockey, defensive end Michael Strahan, wide receivers Tim Carter, Sinorice Moss, center Shaun O’Hara, defensive tackle Barry Cofield and safety James Butler. Running back Derrick Ward (broken foot) continues to increase his workload.
