New York Giants Official Website

August 24, 2009

Albany - Hakeem Nicks has found his groove.

After missing part of training camp with a sore hamstring and getting pushed to the background by some of the other receivers, the Giants' first-round draft choice stepped up big today. He caught everything thrown his way and made two spectacular one-handed grabs in the Giants' penultimate training camp practice.

No less an authority than Tom Coughlin said it was Nicks' finest performance of camp.

"He probably did (have his best practice of camp) - probably three deep balls, something like that," Coughlin said. "A good time and the right time to have that happen."

Nicks was not about to disagree.

"I feel the same way," Nicks said. "I am comfortable now, I know what I'm doing now and the hamstring is fine, so I am back to myself now. I feel like I just need to keep pushing and keep going uphill, instead of going downhill from this day."

Nicks appeared to be having a great time, running round and catching passes all over the field.

"It was fun," he said. "Everyday is fun, this is football. A lot earlier in the practices, the hamstring (injury) came and that was a setback. It's just a football injury, but it was a lot to think about. I was thinking too much at the beginning and now I feel like I'm playing within the team and within the system and playing my game.

"I know what I'm doing and I'm good with the sight adjustments. I'm good on every play now, so I am just me out there now. It's a lot off me now; I feel like I can play within the team and just contribute the best way possible."

That wasn't the case earlier in camp, when Nicks missed about a week of action because of his hamstring. Missing that much time in camp can set back any player. That's particularly true of a rookie trying to learn a new offensive system. And when that rookie is the 29th selection in the draft and all eyes are on him every time he steps on the field, a long absence can be particularly stress-inducing. But Nicks had the patience and presence of mind to ride it out.

"I see a little bit everyday, a little bit better everyday," Coughlin said.

"I wouldn't say that I had been frustrated, because I knew that it was going to come sooner or later," Nicks said. "It's just a matter of me getting comfortable. The hamstring set me back awhile and I just had to work my way back. It affected me on the depth chart and I got mental reps, but I couldn't do it physically so therefore the plays weren't really sticking with me. They were moving a lot faster and I'm a type to learn by getting reps. It was just a matter of me being patient and waiting until this passed by and the man upstairs has got a plan for me. Now I feel like I'm right where I need to be, so I'm ready to go."

He was in a go-go mode all afternoon. On a deep sideline route, he reached out his right hand and somehow secured a long pass from Rhett Bomar. A few minutes later, he made an even better catch, jumping and twisting before making a one-handed grab on a fade pass from Andre' Woodson.

"Oh man, remarkable catch," Woodson said. "That was amazing. I think that shows right there why he was the first pick for us in the first round. He has a lot of potential, he really does. The big thing for him is learning the playbook, finding the hot (reads) and adjustments and he'll be fine. But he's pretty nice to watch. To see him go up there one-handed and the defensive back really doesn't know where the ball is, he just did a wonderful job of going up there and getting it at its highest point."

Nicks has uncommonly large hands and he said he's used just one of them to make catches many times in the past.

"Wherever the ball is, I try to go get it," he said. "Nine times out of 10 I go with two hands, but sometimes it just happens like that and you have to just go get it with one."

Nicks leads the Giants with 64 receiving yards after two preseason games - thanks to a 55-yarder from Woodson late in the 17-3 loss in Chicago on Saturday night.

"It felt good, but at the same time there were some things offensively that we need to build upon," Nicks said. "The catch was good for my confidence, but that is my job. He threw the ball up there and I had to go get it."

After watching practice today, it's easy to imagine Nicks doing a lot more of that this season.

*Antonio Pierce did not make the trip to Chicago, nor did he practice today, because of a sore foot. But it's always good to check in with Pierce - who has been a captain each of the last two seasons - to get a read on the team.

And he was just as unimpressed with the Giants' performance as the players who participated in the game.

"It's not the way that we want to play football over here," Pierce said. "We've been playing a style of football for the last couple of years in the preseason. We really don't have games where we have mistakes and missed tackles and a lot of mishaps. You hear what the coaches say, you make the corrections, you move forward. That's all you can do. We're not going to dwell on it.

"We have two weeks left in the preseason. Two more games left. We have the Jets this week with a lot of the starters playing, I believe, until halftime. This is kind of your last game before the regular season to get you warmed up and ready to go."

*With defensive tackle Jay Alford sidelined with a knee injury, Zak DeOssie will assume Alford's duty as the snapper for extra points and field goal attempts. DeOssie has been the punt snapper since joining the team in 2007. He did both at the Pro Bowl after he was named to the NFC squad as the "need" player each coach is allowed to have.

"We were kind of moving that way, that he would be both short and long," Coughlin said. "Jay was doing so well playing on the defensive line that we were kind of concerned about him banging his hands up."

DeOssie has been practicing his short snaps throughout camp.

"I'm excited about it," DeOssie said. "It's a sad thing that Jay went down, but I've been practicing a lot of short snaps, so I'm ready for the test."

DeOssie handled both the short and long snapping throughout his career at Brown University. So what's the difference?

"Um, about eight yards," he said. Thanks, Zak.

"You have to worry about the laces more (on the short snaps), of course, for the preference of the kicker," he said. "That comes with time and reps and experience."

*Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard said he will be able to play for the first time this summer against the Jets. Bernard spent much of training camp on the non-football injury list with a hamstring problem. He was activated last week, but did not travel to Chicago.

The Giants are waiting to get contributions from the three defensive free agents acquired in the offseason. Linebacker Michael Boley is on the physically unable to perform list after undergoing hip surgery in June, and lineman Chris Canty has a torn hamstring and has not practiced since Aug. 7.

"I mean, it's part of football," Bernard said. "People have injuries, so we are doing everything we can to get back on the football field. You are not treated the same way, so hopefully all three of us will be back out there together.

"I practiced last week, I'll be practicing this week and will play in the game and just get myself ready to go. That's what being a pro is about - getting yourself ready. I'll be good."

NOTES

*Coughlin said Canty traveled to Manhattan to have his hamstring examined by team doctors.

*Cornerback Aaron Ross, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, returned to practice today.

"I feel good," Ross said. "I was just a little tired, but as far as the soreness and everything I felt pretty good out there. It felt better than I thought it would. This was the first time for me running. I ran Sunday a little bit but nothing with burst. That's why I am so excited, because I came off the field still healthy. It's not sore, I was just getting tired a little fast."

*Guards Chris Snee and Rich Seubert, neither of whom has played in the preseason, both practiced today...Safety Kenny Phillips participated in the first team period of practice, but was replaced by C.C. Brown in the second period...Rookie cornerback Stoney Woodson did not practice because of an ankle injury.

*Coughlin, who was unhappy with his team's outing in Chicago, was more upbeat after practice.

"They looked better today," he said. "They picked it up, they competed. They competed, it was good competitive work. We had a couple of guys on the ground, but by and large it was okay."

*The Giants assistant coaches generally meet with the media once during training camp. At those group interview sessions, reporters ask about most of the players in a position group and the coach of that group responds with platitudes about his players' talent, work ethic and improvement.

Quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer today deviated from that script. No, he's not mad at Eli Manning. But his is displeased with backup David Carr, who is performing at a level below where Palmer believes he should be.

"I'm not pleased with David right now," Palmer said. "I think he's got to be more consistent. He's a quarterback, he's got to prove he's a winning quarterback and I think there are certain things that he has to improve on, and I've told him that. He has the ability to play in this league, he's a very, very talented player, but he's got to do the things the way we want them done."

A reporter mentioned to Coughlin that Palmer said he "wasn't pleased" with Carr.

"That's probably not the right word," Coughlin said. "I think everybody, as a coach right now, this time of year, you want everyone to play better. I think that is what Chris is saying about David, is that he would like him to play better. He is a veteran football player, he has been a starter, he played well for us last year. To be honest, he hasn't had the greatest protection in the world, so that makes it difficult. We would like him to be able to utilize all the tools in the offense. Some days are good, some days aren't as good. I could probably say the same thing for every player out here. We would like them to play better."

In the Giants' two preseason games, Carr has completed eight of 16 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. He has also run twice for 17 yards.

Carr, who was selected with the first overall pick of the 2002 draft by the Houston Texans (Palmer was the team's offensive coordinator), has been sacked 263 times in 85 career games. That includes a record 76 takedowns as a rookie. But Palmer said Carr must stay behind his line longer.

"Running out of the pocket...yes, we've talked about that," Palmer said. "Sometimes you have flashbacks and you want to stay in the pocket. I compare him very much to Steve Young. Steve Young was beat up in the USFL, as you know, beat up in Tampa Bay, and the coaches out in San Francisco took him, settled him down and he turned into a Hall of Famer. So I think sometimes you just have to be patient, and hopefully the person will understand what you're trying to do with them."

Carr seemed to have overcome those issues in 2008, though he threw only 12 passes and was sacked once all season.

"I thought he played well last year," Palmer said. "I thought coming into the Seattle game, where he played most of the fourth quarter, I thought he played well there. You kind of anticipate that because of the...coming out of training camp. To play as well he did in (the season finale in) Minnesota, after being just a backup and only taking a few reps, I was very encouraged by that.

"Every year is a new year. Sometimes you break a horse, and sometimes he goes out to pasture and when he comes back in, you have to retrain him. So we're in the process of retraining him right now."

*The Giants' practice tomorrow morning will mark the end of their 14th training camp at UAlbany. Team president John Mara said today that no decision has been made as to whether the Giants will return here for a 15th summer. The Giants could possibly hold camp at their new complex, the Timex Performance Center, in East Rutherford.

"There are a lot of different factors (that enter into the decision)," Mara said. "It's also whether you think it's good to be away for awhile. We haven't agreed yet upon a destination, but it will happen."

The Giants reportedly would like to have the option of practicing on the school's turf fields if the grass fields are wet.

"I would say that that would certainly be a positive factor," Mara said, "but that's not going to determine whether we're back here or not."

*The Giants have set a UAlbany attendance record. Today's practice crowd of 2,440 raised the camp total to 45,610, the highest figure in the Giants' 14 years here. The old mark of 45,040 was set in 2004.