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On The Line
The Giants announced that Mathias Kiwanuka will go back to being a DE
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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AUGUST 25, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - With the regular season opener just 10 days away, the Giants today began restructuring their defense in the wake of Osi Umenyiora's season-ending knee injury.

The Giants announced on Monday that Mathias Kiwanuka is now a DE.

Coach Tom Coughlin announced that Mathias Kiwanuka will take Umenyiora's place at right end. Kiwanuaka was a first-round draft choice as an end two years ago, but played strongside linebacker last year. With Kiwanuka moving up to the line, Danny Clark will replace him on the strong side. Gerris Wilkinson will be the weakside linebacker.

"I talked with (Kiwanuka) yesterday and he was more than ready to do whatever we wanted him to do that was in the best interest of the team," Coughlin said.

Kiwanuka was one of the best defensive ends in the 2006 draft class and the 32nd overall selection. He played every game as a rookie and had 4.0 sacks. Last year, Michael Strahan and Umenyiora were entrenched as the starting ends, with Justin Tuck behind them. Motivated by the desire to keep their best players on the field, the coaches moved Kiwanuka to linebacker. He had 47 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 10 games before suffering a season-ending fractured fibula at Detroit. Now Strahan has retired and Umenyiora is hurt, so returning Kiwanuka to end is the logical way to fill the vacancy.

"The move was always to get the best, most quality people on the field," Coughlin said. "And Mathias accepted every job that we have offered and every task we have presented him with."

Umenyiora was hurt in the second quarter of Saturday's 10-7 preseason loss to the Jets. He was replaced by Dave Tollefson, but Kiwanuka had an inkling the job would be his on a long-term basis.

"Obviously, this isn't the way you want it to happen, but it is an opportunity for a lot of guys, and I am one of the guys that has to step up and take advantage of it," he said. "I was told all along that if something were to happen that this is a position I could find myself in. I am ready to step in there, and hopefully there won't be a letdown at all and we just have to get on it and keep the ball moving."

Without Strahan, Umenyiora and linebackers Kawika Mitchell (now with Buffalo) and Reggie Torbor (Miami), the Giants are missing 26.5 sacks - exactly half - from their NFL-leading total of 53.

"I am confident that I can get the job done," Kiwanuka said. "This is something I have been preparing for my entire life, basically."

Kiwanuka's defensive teammates, particularly the linemen, believe he will capably fill Umenyiora's job.

"It is something that he, all of us, really wanted, but obviously we didn't want these circumstances for him to get back in that room," Tuck said. "It is a good thing for him; it is a good thing for this team. He is definitely a D lineman at heart, and hopefully he can just come back in and not miss a beat."

"Kiwi is the guy every year that regardless of what position we put him at he's going to produce and play to his ability," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "It's just about getting comfortable. He was working in a two-point stance being up, now he's got to put his hand back in the dirt. I think in a week or two as time goes by and he gets comfortable, gets used to it, gets the rhythm back of playing defensive end (he'll be fine)."

Defensive tackle Barry Cofield has played next to Umenyiora in every game and almost every practice since the beginning of last season. Now he must get accustomed to playing with a new end next to him.

"It shouldn't be a change," Cofield said. "We're coached to do a certain thing and our defense works as one, so getting one new guy in there shouldn't be a big difference. I think the biggest change will be for Kiwi."

Since the spring of 2007, Kiwanuka has been in the linebackers meeting room with Coach Bill Sheridan. Today, he re-joined the linemen and Coach Mike Waufle.

"It was weird," Cofield said. "It wasn't as weird having him in there as it was not having Osi. That's the biggest transition for me. Osi and I have been playing on the right side together for over a year now. So it's going to be a learning curve. But Mathias was in the room. We got here together, we were in rookie minicamp together, and a lot of times through our rookie season we played together, so it won't be completely new. For the most part our group has been together, so for him to fill in, not having to be the leader, and look at guys like Fred (Robbins) and Renaldo (Wynn), we have plenty of guys in here that can lead."

Wynn and Dave Tollefson should be the top backups at defensive end.

The new-look linebacker corps will also have a tremendous impact on the performance of the defense, which ranked seventh in the NFL last season.

Clark, who was signed on March 13, is a nine-year veteran who has played all three linebacker positions for four teams prior to joining the Giants. He has 67 career starts, including eight last year with the Houston Texans, for whom he played the strong side. In training camp this month in Albany, Clark predominately played the weak side, though he did spend a week at strongside linebacker. But he admits he didn't expect to start there on Sept. 4 in the opener against the Redskins.

"I did understand the complex deal with Kiwi and when Stray didn't come back and that he may move out to end," Clark said. "So I did understand that SAM may be an option, but I focused on the WIL linebacker. But I understand this is a business and I'm going to embrace it with open arms.

"I'm excited about it. It's something that I got seasoned at during training camp and played it in my past. I just got to go out and turn up the level of production and play better for our defense. I don't have to change anything with my body. I just go out there and bang with tight ends. I'm on the line more often and it's less productive than weak side linebacker, because you have to fly around making plays on the ball and you're more a D lineman at SAM linebacker. But we have an opportunity to get off the ball and make some plays as well."

Wilkinson was the offseason favorite to win the weakside job, but a lingering knee injury forced him to begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list. He missed more than a week of practice. Since his return, he has worked at both outside spots and he also played in the middle for part of the Jets game. Wilkinson - who was a third-round draft choice between Kiwanuka and Cofield in 2006 - played in 29 regular season games with two starts in his first two NFL seasons.

"You never want to get an opportunity with one of your teammates getting injured, but it's an opportunity I've wanted and now it's my chance to take it," said Wilkinson, who believes weakside backer is his best position. "It's something I've done more than anything else and it's something I am most comfortable with."

The Giants close their preseason Thursday night against New England and while most veterans will probably play little, Wilkinson is hoping for some extended time on the field.

"I want to see as much action as I can," he said. "I took about 50 snaps last week, which was good to just get back in the flow of playing and getting in game shape. But against New England I'd like to play as much as I can to get oiled up even more."

Pierce, who missed the Jets game with a sore back, was expected to assume more of a leadership role this season with Strahan's departure. That becomes even more important now that Umenyiora is out of the lineup. At the same time, he must get used to playing next to two new linebackers. Last season, his primary partners were Kiwanuka and Mitchell.

"We just have to keep those guys healthy, and hopefully we can go into Week 1 through Week 16 with the same guys," Pierce said. "I don't want to be flip-flopping linebackers. You have to get that continuity. You just want to get those guys in place, let Gerris know he's going to be the WIL, and Danny Clark the SAM and let those guys focus on those positions. That way, guys can really get to their complete level of ability.

"I think Gerris knows he's had several opportunities to become a starter. He'll be a starter this week and hopefully going into the season and he has to step it up and start filling those shoes of his and make a name for himself. Danny Clark, same way, he came here to be a starter and now he's a starter. You have to produce on the field and hopefully we can play well as a unit."

In addition to the physical act of filling positions, the Giants must psychologically overcome Umenyiora's loss. He is one of the team's very best players and was the Giants' only Pro Bowler last season.

"Obviously, Osi is a remarkable player and that really hurts us, but it just means someone has to step up now," Tuck said. "Feeling sorry for yourself in this league never flies. The Dallas offensive line or the Washington offensive line isn't going to feel sorry for us. Like we always say, we are moving forward. Obviously it is a setback, but if we feel sorry for ourselves, that is when the real trouble starts. I think it gives an opportunity to really rely on each other and put that concept of team-first at the utmost right now."

"Injuries are an unfortunate part of this game," general manager Jerry Reese said. "We lost three starters to broken legs last season, so we know what kind of adversity injuries present. When you lose a player like Osi, that means everybody else has to step up their game. Fortunately, we have players, including Kiwi, who are capable of picking up that kind of slack. As always, we'll continue to research all of our options."

Coughlin was asked again today if one of those options might be asking Strahan to return.

"There hasn't been any discussion that I have been involved in there," Coughlin said. "We are going to explore every option that is available. And the last time that I talked with Michael he had accepted his new challenge and was very happy about that. And I have not spoken with him at all since the other night's game.

"When adversity strikes, it is not the adversity, it is how you react to it. We have been a team that has done a good job with that. And simply presented, it is really up to each one of us to do our jobs a little bit better than we have been doing it. We have talented football players; we have people that can do the job. We have to just step it up a notch. We all have to come together. I really believe that in a situation like this you become more dependent on each other than ever before. So the team theme keeps pouring out of us at this time."

And it is up to the team to overcome the loss of one of its finest, Osi Umenyiora.

*The Giants got a welcome return today as wide receiver Plaxico Burress practiced fully for the first time since training camp opened. Burress, the team's leading receiver last season, was a spectator early in camp, then was limited to individual drills. But he participated in almost all position and team drills this afternoon.

"I decided to pull the old car out of the garage and see how I felt today - get some of the dust off of it," Burress said. "I felt pretty good. I'm feeling a lot better - a hundred percent. I didn't have any limitations going either way, right or left. I jumped up and made a few catches. I'm just trying to get back to my old self - getting off the line full speed and being able to accelerate when the ball is in the air. I'm trying to get all the kinks out of the armor.

"I forgot how tough it is to run routes when you're a little bit winded in the two-minute drill, even though I didn't go but a few plays. It's just good to get out there and run around again. I'm happy I can go out there and run without any pain. I'm basically trying to get into the best playing shape that I can and get my cardio up. I hope I feel pretty good tomorrow."

NOTES

*Three linebackers missed practice: Pierce (back), Clark (groin) and Jonathan Goff (back). Quarterback Anthony Wright (back) returned to practice.

*The Giants waived rookie free agent wide receiver D.J. Hall and defensive back Miguel Scott. Safety Craig Dahl, who hurt his knee vs. the Jets, was waived/injured.

*Fans who plan to attend Thursday night's preseason game against New England are reminded that only those ticket holders with pre-paid parking permits will be allowed on the sports complex grounds. Those fans without parking permits will be directed to satellite parking and take shuttle busses to Giants Stadium.