New York Giants Official Website

Good to be back
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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AUGUST 6, 2009

ALBANY- Osi Umenyiora got set in his stance. David Diehl crouched down in his.

"Let's battle," Diehl said. "Let's do it," Umenyiora responded.

So they did.

The Giants practiced in pads for the first time today and one of the highlights was the individual battle between left tackle Diehl and right defensive end Umenyiora. They have frequently knocked heads and shoulder pads in 9-on-7 run drills and 1-on-1 pass rush exercises. But their duel today was particularly significant, because it was Umenyiora's first such action in almost a year. He suffered a knee injury in a preseason game vs. the Jets last Aug. 23 and did not play again in 2008. Today, he was back in pads for the first time since that game.

"It felt good," Umenyiora said. "I felt like myself, which is more important than anything. But I felt good. I felt like I did okay.

"It was a lot of fun. I haven't experienced that in close to a year. It felt good. I didn't feel rusty. I've been playing for so long, it's cliché - it's like riding a bike. I got right back on."

Asked if he looked forward to today, Umenyiora said, "Absolutely. I definitely did. It's been almost a year since I actually hit anybody. Even though it's not full contact, it's still contact with the offensive linemen, which felt good."

Diehl also enjoyed it. He relishes going against the two-time Pro Bowler in practice every day and he missed their competitions. Diehl said it was as if Umenyiora was never hurt.

"He's playing hard, he's definitely enthusiastic about being back," Diehl said. "He hasn't lost a step. He's coming hard - it's awesome, I love it. Being able to come out there and practice against a premier pass rusher day-in and day-out and compete only makes you a better football player. When you play against a guy like that, you're not going to win every battle. I love the pressure of doing that. Nobody writes, 'David Diehl blocked Osi,' they write, 'Osi beat Dave Diehl on this play.' That's fine by me. I'm getting better as I'm playing up against him.

"We came in together (in 2003). It's awesome. We have a great friendship. We come out here and compete as fierce competitors, but off the field we're able to talk about different things we see and try to help each other out. That's what being a teammate is all about. I love it. I'm excited that he's back and that he's here to help our football team win games. I know he's going to have a hell of a year."

Umenyiora said his surgically-repaired knee is strong.

"It gets a little stiff sometimes, but other than that it feels real good," he said.

Umenyiora's next big test will come in the opening preseason game vs. Carolina on Aug. 17.

"Real life," he called playing in a game. "These aren't real bullets yet, these are BB guns."

After a year off, Umenyiora is still a straight shooter.

NOTES

*Justin Tuck, sticking to his one-a-day regimen, did not practice this evening. Barry Cofield, who sat out the morning workout, did...Michael Johnson picked off Eli Manning on the first play of the initial team period...Rookie tight end Travis Beckum made an impressive catch of a David Carr pass...Lawrence Tynes made six of eight field goal attempts and is 14-for-16 in camp.

*Today's attendance was 3,650 (1,660 in the morning, 1,990 in the evening. That increases the camp total to 8,755, the second-highest three-day total in the Giants 14 years at the University at Albany. The three-day record of 10,430 was set last year.