Giants' hopes of defensive improvement rest on Kenny Phillips' knee

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- There's been a lot of talk around the New York Giants about the competition between defensive ends Mathias Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora, but the burning question with this team doesn't involve them. It centers on safety Kenny Phillips and his comeback from a serious knee injury.

And it should.

It's not just that Phillips' injury was so severe that some people outside the organization described it as career-threatening. It's that the guy is such a valuable member of this defense, such a rock-steady and dependable member of a once intimidating unit, that without him you wonder if the Giants D will be the same again.

I'm serious.

Yeah, I know it added free agents Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant and drafted safety Chad Jones in the third round, but I don't know how they fit in this defense. I know how Phillips does, and the moment he bowed out last season the Giants were doomed. In fact, when I called an opposing coach in mid-season to ask what was wrong with these guys the first position he pointed to was safety -- saying the Giants missed the hard-hitting Phillips more than most people realized.

Well, they miss him no more. Phillips is back with the team and was at last week's three-day mini-camp. He looks healthy and says there is nothing he can't do on his surgically repaired knee. For the moment, we'll have to take him at his word because while he ran on the sidelines, he wasn't allowed to join teammates on the field -- standing instead alongside teammates and coaches as they watched play.

But that changes when the Giants return to training camp in August. Phillips is supposed to be cleared for practice then, which means teammates and coaches can start watching him for a change. And it's then, I suggest, we get our first read on this defense and what chances it has for plugging last season's enormous holes.

"So much has been made of getting Kenny Phillips back at full speed," coach Tom Coughlin said after closing down mini-camp, "and I'm very confident -- he is also -- that he will be back. We look forward to it."

They should. They're a different team with him in the lineup. Granted, he suited up for only two games last season, but in those two starts he was a force -- with two interceptions in a Week 2 defeat of Dallas. But then he was sidelined with an arthritic knee condition that ended his season and that, basically, ended the Giants' season with it.

Forced to rely on replacements C.C. Brown and Aaron Rouse, the club floundered, surrendering 40 or more points in three of its last four games and five of its last 11.

Fans wondered what went wrong, and Kenny Phillips was what. He wasn't around. So opposing quarterbacks picked apart the Giants' pass defense as they haven't in years. In the 14 games without Phillips, the Giants were tortured for 379 points -- an average of 27 a game -- with quarterbacks completing 64 percent of their passes for 29 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and a passer rating of 99.75.

Brett Favre and Drew Brees each put up four TDs. Three others, including Carolina's Matt Moore, beat them for three. I think you get the idea. The Giants stunk. Afterward, team president John Mara fumed over his team's self-destruction, saying there was "no excuse" for the Giants' dreadful play the last 11 games. But, yes, there was. Kenny Phillips was absent.

Yeah, I know, sacks were down, the linebacking was awful and stupid mistakes were as widespread as pollen in May. Still, having Phillips patrolling the middle of the field would've made a difference, and the Giants know it.

"Kenny's a playmaker," said cornerback Aaron Ross. "Anytime he's back there, and the ball is in the air you feel like he's going to be there to protect you. Having 'KP' back and healthy is a huge deal."

First things first. He's back. We won't know how healthy he is until August when he intends to return to the field for the first time since last September. Phillips insists there are no problems, saying, "I can run, cut and cover ... everything." Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell the other day said he expects him in the lineup when the Giants show up at their Albany, N.Y., training camp.

Nevertheless, he still must get out there and demonstrate he's the same guy we watched last season -- a task he said he is ready to embrace.

"Do I have something to prove?" he said, repeating a question. "I do: That you can come back from this injury. A lot of people counted me out and said my career was over. I'm only in the league two years, and they're trying to get rid of me. There are a lot of people who say I won't be the same, but I'm going to prove those people wrong.

"When I was back there last year I made a lot of plays, not only in games but in practice, and guys kind of fed off my energy. And it just made us that much better. I think I bring the whole package. I'll be a leader when I have to be, and I'Il speak when I have to speak. Mostly, though, I'll just let my playing do the talking for me."

That sounds like a plan. Now let's see it in action. The Giants can't wait, and can you blame them? Their defense is counting on Phillips now more than ever.

Click here to order Kenny Phillips’ proCane Rookie Card.


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(cbssports.com)
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