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Impact Safety
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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AUGUST 6, 2009

ALBANY- Kenny Phillips intercepted more passes in the first practice of the Giants' 2009 training camp than he did in the entire 2008 season.

That statement is indicative both of the tremendous progress Phillips has made this year and the challenge he faced finding a comfort zone as a rookie last season. He arrived with the fanfare that accompanies all first-round draft choices and with the additional scrutiny that comes with being a safety from the University of Miami, which routinely churns out stars at that position. But after a training camp in which he made as many noticeable plays as any defensive back, Phillips started only three games and finished with one pick, in the waning moments of the Giants' victory at Pittsburgh.

So why didn't his impressive camp performance translate into a superb rookie season?

"That's a good question," secondary/safeties coach David Merritt said this week at the University at Albany. "I think Kenny probably asked himself the same thing. I think he started over-thinking the game and with the pro game, as you guys know, the playbook is a little thicker than it is in college. I think he was over-thinking his responsibilities and things that he needed to do and he became like a robot. But he did make a ton of plays as a rookie and hopefully he'll be able to turn the plays this year into the plays we saw last year. Overall, Kenny had a phenomenal rookie year. ... Overall, I'm looking for big things out of Kenny."

He has gotten them in the early stages of this camp. Phillips has made his presence felt in every practice. This morning's workout was peppered with a lot of "good play, Kenny" and 'attaboy, Kenny" comments from the coaches.

Phillips, who was the 31st overall selection after entering the draft following his junior season at Miami, mans the last line of the first team defense with Michael Johnson.
He joined the first team full time when last year's starter at strong safety, James Butler, signed with the St. Louis Rams.

"Right now I'm penciled in, but I'm trying to put it in ink," Phillips said.

He had the coaches reaching for their pens in the first camp workout Monday morning. Midway through the workout, Phillips, who was responsible for deep coverage, had a hunch that Domenik Hixon would cut short his route in front of him. He alerted cornerback Corey Webster to help him in case Hixon pulled a fake and went long. But when Hixon stopped and turned, Phillips quickly broke, picked off Eli Manning's pass and could have run to Boston before somebody caught him.

"I didn't think he was still going to throw it," Phillips said. "I saw the route coming because I had just spoken to Corey before that. I was like, 'Man, if he does this, get my back if he keeps going.' I saw him run the route and when he threw it, I thought 'Oh wow, let's do it.'"

It was the kind of instinctive, momentum-turning play that Phillips likely would not have made as a rookie.

"Oh no, I don't want to even get into what I would have done last year," Phillips said. "Just go make plays this year. We're all on the same page, no matter who's back there. Even in our minicamps and OTAs, we always go somewhere and do some extra stuff, some drills or go to the weight room together. Especially the first group, we stay together during everything, even when we were off in the summer. We would call each other and say let's do something extra. I feel like we definitely have it together."

Webster and Phillips certainly did moments after the first interception. Manning threw down the left sideline for Steve Smith. Webster was in position to get his hands on the ball, but was unable to pick it off. So he directed it to Phillips, who was credited with another interception. The play exemplified the camaraderie and strong working partnership the defensive backs enjoy.

"He saw me coming and he tipped it right to me," Phillips said.

Of course, Phillips traveled this same path last year, when it appeared a strong performance in training camp would lead to a significant role when the season began. Phillips did play in every game, but his contributions were not as frequent as his early camp play suggested they might be.

So again - what happened?

"I think it's just the opportunity," Phillips said. "In camp I was playing a whole lot of downs and in preseason I was playing whole halves (of games). In the season, I was coming in only on third down, the opportunities were limited. So I think that was the biggest difference."

Phillips said he was reined in last year by Merritt, who wanted his prize pick to stick to the defensive script.

"He kept me on a tight leash," Phillips said. "It's hard to gain the coach's respect as a rookie. Last year, I couldn't move two yards from off the hash - it was crazy. It was kind of tough. It bothered me a lot, it really did. It was stopping me from being who I am. I don't think he felt I knew the defense well enough to just kind of go out there and wing it sometimes. But I understood. I was a rookie. Who trusts rookies?

"This year, he's letting me play, he's letting me do my own thing. He just feels more comfortable. He says if I see it, I can go. So that will work for me. When I do something he's not on me like he was last year."

Phillips made tremendous strides in the spring, when he worked fulltime with the starting unit. He was almost always in the right position and his anticipation and improved understanding of the defense helped him make a lot of plays. But he is taking nothing for granted, either on the field or in his relationship with Merritt.

"I've still got to earn his trust," Phillips said. "I have been working on it since minicamp and OTAs, trying to earn the trust of not only him but of my teammates. I want them to know that I got their back and they're going to have mine."

NOTES

*The players wore their shoulder pads for the first time this summer. When asked to single out a player who stood out in practice, Tom Coughlin praised an entire unit - while challenging the other half of the team.

"I'd have to say that the defense played well this morning," Coughlin said. "I think the quickness of our front was obvious and you saw some strong penetrating moves on the part of three or four different guys. To look at it from the other side of the ball, I'm really disappointed that when we put the pads on - and it's time to put the pads on - but you don't expect people to come clean like they do when there's no pads on and all they do is turn their shoulders. You've got a blocking surface, you've got shoulder pads, and I didn't expect to have a couple guys to come clean this morning, but it'll pick up. It's always that way early. The defense has been playing well and the offense has got to get in tune with it and catch up."

*Guard Rich Seubert (shoulder) did individual work and Coughlin expressed hope that he will practice fully this weekend...Defensive end Osi Umenyiora and tackle Barry Cofield, who are both on one-a-day regimens, did not practice this morning.

*The big play of the early practice was a 40-yard pass from Eli Manning to Sinorice Moss...Domenik Hixon made a nice sliding catch across the middle...First-round draft choice Hakeem Nicks caught David Carr passes on consecutive plays but later dropped a Manning pass in the end zone.