1 New York GIANTS
WHEN THE details of his recent medical history are accounted for, strong safety Kenny Phillips's nickname sounds almost cruel. Superman shouldn't fall victim to a degenerative knee condition called patellofemoral arthritis; shouldn't slip off in the middle of autumn to visit noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for microfracture surgery; shouldn't miss the final 14 games of his sophomore NFL season. So consider it a credit to the 23-year-old Phillips—the player the Giants arguably missed most amid their embarrassing, anticlimactic, injury-marred 2009 campaign—that when his teammates yell, "Superman is back!" on a practice field in Albany one summer day, it doesn't sound like taunting but rather hope.
That was the last emotion the Giants' 2009 season inspired. New York got off to a 5--0 start but collapsed after that as the nicked-up defense—six key contributors missed at least three games; defensive linemen Justin Tuck and Rocky Bernard played the whole season with shoulder injuries—yielded 427 points, second most in team history and the third most in the league. Notably, the Giants also gave up the second-most touchdown passes in the NFL. As if an exclamation point were needed, New York closed the season with a 41--9 blowout loss to the Panthers, who rushed for 247 yards in the Giants' final game at their eponymous stadium, and a 44--7 thrashing by the Vikings, who threw for 358 yards. It left the kind of stink that lingers. "It stays with you pretty good," coach Tom Coughlin said at the start of camp. "It kind of eats away at you."
While it may seem impossible to identify any one turning point, the loss of the √ºbertalented Phillips, who had two interceptions in his only two games, certainly contributed. "The way Kenny started off last year, there were no limitations to how far he could go," Coughlin says. Drafted 31st overall out of Miami two years ago, the 6'2", 210-pound Phillips had already developed a reputation, in the words of cornerback Terrell Thomas, for "moving us corners out of the way to take our fade routes." Phillips's nickname derives from his ability to sprint from sideline to sideline and instinctively fly in to shatter a play from out of nowhere—a trait a recovered Phillips featured during 2010 camp. "If Kenny stays healthy," defensive end Justin Tuck says, "in 10 years you'll be talking about one of the top five safeties in the league. He doesn't even know how good he can be."
But Coughlin, who identified safety as the primary position "that needed to be corrected" this off-season, wasn't simply banking on one man's convalescence. Out went defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan after a year, replaced by the loud, attack-oriented Perry Fewell (the Bills' interim coach last season). General manager Jerry Reese then went shopping for veteran swagger, inking former Cardinals free safety Antrel Rolle to a massive, five-year, $37 million deal, and former Seahawks strong safety Deon Grant, who's already taken to motivating teammates with postpractice phone calls. The outspoken Rolle has declared himself and Phillips the best safety pair in the league. "You feel comfortable knowing there are guys back there that got your back," says Tuck. "We can take a lot of risks up front in terms of stunting, blitzes, things that we couldn't have done last year."
Under Fewell, in fact, that front line—arguably the best eight-man rotation in the league—will be doing quite a bit that's seldom been seen before. Fewell has unveiled a turbo quadruple-end pass rush (dubbed NASCAR) featuring Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and two 6'5" monsters, rookie Jason Pierre-Paul and veteran Mathias Kiwanuka, as well as an anti-run formation (Big Base) that moves 6'7", 304-pound Chris Canty to end and Kiwanuka to linebacker. Tellingly, Tuck himself has practiced at every line spot, while absurd depth has nudged Umenyiora, a two-time Pro Bowl player, to the second team.
The overarching goal is to leverage a wealth of talent while keeping legs fresh and warding off injury across the board. And though the upside of this defense may be unrivaled in the NFL, Superman's backstory is a reminder of how suddenly things can unravel. "We have all the pieces to the puzzle now," Phillips says, grinning. "And it's been a while, but I'm ready to put on that cape."
PROJECTED STARTERS
WITH 2009 STATS
COACH TOM COUGHLIN
OFFENSE
2009 Rank: 8
QB ELI MANNING
G 16
ATT 509
COMP 317
PCT 62.3
YARDS 4,021
TD 27
INT 14
RATING 93.1
RB BRANDON JACOBS
G 15
ATT 224
YARDS 835
AVG 3.7
REC 18
YARDS 184
AVG 10.2
TTD 6
FB MADISON HEDGECOCK
G 16
ATT 0
YARDS 0
AVG —
REC 4
YARDS 23
AVG 5.8
TTD 1
WR STEVE SMITH
G 16
REC 107
YARDS 1,220
TTD 7
WR HAKEEM NICKS
G 14
REC 47
YARDS 790
TTD 6
TE KEVIN BOSS
G 15
REC 42
YARDS 567
TTD 5
LT DAVID DIEHL
G 16
HT 6'5"
WT 319
LG RICH SEUBERT
G 14
HT 6'3"
WT 310
C SHAUN O'HARA
G 16
HT 6'3"
WT 303
RG CHRIS SNEE
G 16
HT 6'3"
WT 317
RT KAREEM MCKENZIE
G 12
HT 6'6"
WT 327
DEFENSE
2009 RANK: 13
DE JUSTIN TUCK
G 16
TACKLES 59
SACKS 6
INT 0
DT BARRY COFIELD
G 16
TACKLES 35
SACKS 1
INT 0
DT JAY ALFORD*
G 16
TACKLES 15
SACKS 2½
INT 0
DE MATHIAS KIWANUKA
G 16
TACKLES 61
SACKS 3
INT 0
LB MICHAEL BOLEY
G 11
TACKLES 84
SACKS 1
INT 0
LB KEITH BULLUCK
G 14
TACKLES 108
SACKS 0
INT 3
LB CLINT SINTIM
G 11
TACKLES 20
SACKS 1
INT 0
CB COREY WEBSTER
G 13
TACKLES 51
SACKS 0
INT 1
FS ANTREL ROLLE
G 15
TACKLES 72
SACKS 1½
INT 4
SS KENNY PHILLIPS
G 2
TACKLES 13
SACKS 0
INT 2
CB TERRELL THOMAS
G 16
TACKLES 85
SACKS 1
INT 5
SPECIAL TEAMS
P MATT DODGE (R)
PUNTS 67
AVG 45.8
NET 39.6
K LAWRENCE TYNES
FG 27--32
XP 45--45
POINTS 126
PR AARON ROSS
RET 0
AVG —
TD 0
KR DANNY WARE
RET 2
AVG 18.5
TD 0
New acquisition
(R) Rookie: College stats
TTD: Total touchdowns
*2008 stats
2010 SCHEDULE
2009 Record: 8--8
September
12 Carolina
19 at Indianapolis
26 Tennessee
October
3 Chicago
10 at Houston
17 Detroit
25 at Dallas (M)
31 BYE
November
7 at Seattle
14 Dallas
21 at Philadelphia
28 Jacksonville
December
5 Washington
12 at Minnesota
19 Philadelphia
26 at Green Bay
January
2 at Washington
(M) Monday
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
NFL Rank: 7
Opponents' 2009 winning percentage: .527
Games against 2009 playoff teams: 7
ANALYSIS
The opener at the New Meadowlands offers a chance to avenge last year's demolition by the Panthers in the Giants' closing game at the old place. Like 2009, when New York started 5--0, the easiest part of the schedule comes in the first half of the season—except for Indy in prime time in Week 2. Eli and Peyton Manning have faced each other only once, a 26--21 Colts win in Jersey in 2006.
SPOTLIGHT
Steve Smith, Wide receiver
SMITH isn't sure when the metamorphosis happened. Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas, who also played with Smith at USC, likes to point to the win over the Cowboys early last season: a 10-catch, 134-yard opus by the 5'11" Smith, highlighted by a double move out of the slot that put defender Orlando Scandrick on his butt and set Smith dancing in the end zone. "Then people were like, O.K., this guy's for real," Thomas recalls. Smith himself mostly remembers what people recently started telling him: "You're the Steve Smith now."
After toiling for several years as the Other Steve Smith—a lesser version of the 31-year-old Panthers star, another sub-six-foot wideout—the Giants' Smith, 25, has made a name for himself. In his second season, 2008, Smith served as the Giants' third-down receiver, but he exploded last year, catching 107 passes for 1,220 yards and earning his first Pro Bowl nod. (The new Other Steve Smith dropped off to 65 for 982.) "Steve works his tail off," says coach Tom Coughlin, who estimates that Smith catches 100 to 125 balls a day in practice. "And what Steve has always done is catch it. No matter the circumstance, not always the best of throws, but he always finds a way."
But Smith is just one in a homegrown, high-ceiling corps. Hakeem Nicks, 22, and Mario Manningham, 24, combined for 11 scores last year, while 6'6" Ramses Barden, 24, and undrafted camp surprise Victor Cruz, 23, were impressive in August. "It happened real fast," Smith says. "Now I'm also one of the old guys."
PHOTO
DAVID BERGMAN
FULL COVERAGE Phillips, who missed 14 games in '09, adds a jolt to the secondary.
PHOTO
AL TIELEMANS