September 5, 2006 New York Giants Injury Report: LB LaVar Arrington (knee), LT Luke Petitgout (back), OC Shaun O’Hara (knee), OG/OC Rich Seubert (toe), and WR Sinorice Moss (quad) all practiced yesterday. Moss worked out on a limited basis. The only player not to practice was HB Derrick Ward (foot).
For Moss, it was the first time he had practice since late July. When Head Coach Tom Coughlin was asked if Moss would play against the Colts on Sunday, he replied, “I don’t know. We’re going to kind of move him into some other things maybe tomorrow, extend him a little bit more and see how he does.”
“I had to be patient with it,” Moss said. “It wouldn’t have done me any good to rush it. When I first hurt myself at the (NFL) Combine, I really didn’t have the chance to rest it like I have now because of everything I had to do to get to this point. Now I’ve had the proper time to recover.”
Jared Lorenzen Named the Primary Backup: Head Coach Tom Coughlin announced yesterday that Jared Lorenzen will begin the season as the team’s #2 quarterback and that Tim Hasselbeck will be the #3 quarterback. “We always have had some kind of competition at quarterback where you evaluate every opportunity, and we feel like (Lorenzen) has earned the right,” Coughlin said. “The progress has been steady, and I think that’s the way the training camp evolved for Jared. He, fortunately, got into some circumstances allowing him to be in some situations that a lot of guys don’t get throughout the course of his play time during preseason, and he handled them well. He’s thrown the deep ball well. He’s done a lot of things we asked him to be involved in short yardage and he’s done that well. Pretty much whatever we’ve asked him to do and whatever the circumstances might be, he’s done it.”
Ponder and Duckett Sign With Other Teams: The improved depth of the Giants is best indicated by the number of players waived recently who are now being picked up by other teams. WR Willie Ponder has signed with the Seattle Seahawks. In addition, DT Damane Duckett was signed to the San Francisco 49ers’ Practice Squad. As reportedly previously, CB Curtis Deloatch and S Charlie Peprah were claimed off of waivers by the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
Quotes: Tight Ends Coach Mike Pope on TE Jeremy Shockey: “He came into the league with big eyes and excited about being in the NFL. Now it’s sometime later and he’s got a lot of games under his belt. He’s reached a point where he can do things for the other players on the team and not just himself. He knows enough about the position that he can reach out and pull some guys along with him. Some of the things about him won’t change. He’s always pulling his shenanigans and is loud, wild and excited. That’s a good thing, a positive thing. I think some of the rookies are a little scared to be around him. But he still has a ceiling he hasn’t reached. He can still get a lot better. He’s his own worst critic.”
WR Plaxico Burress on HB Tiki Barber: “I wouldn’t be surprised at all (if he had similar stats to last year’s). He’s getting better from an experience standpoint. He knows where guys are coming from. Those are the things that separate the good players from the great players. The great players have great anticipation. When he gets the ball he has incredible vision, and he kind of plays a step or two ahead of the defense. I think that’s why he’s been able to be so successful.”
Barber on the Giants’ goal for 2006: “I came to the conclusion (after last year’s embarrassing playoff loss) that we need to set our goals higher. We need to put our sights squarely on Miami (the site of this year’s Super Bowl). And that’s getting to the Super Bowl and restoring, as Coach Coughlin said last year, Giant pride, Giant tradition, Giant excellence. And I think we have the right group of players, we have the right staff and we have the right enthusiasm and that counts all of you. So as we go forward this season, there may be bumps, there may be pitfalls, but know this we have the resolve, we have the dedication and we have the character to get us to a Super Bow championship. And that’s what this organization needs and deserves Super Bowl – that’s all I want. That’s all I care about, the Super Bowl.”