EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- And the award for Most Tom Coughlin Quote of the Day for Wednesday goes to...
"Everybody wants to talk about our passing game. But unless we get our receivers out there on the field practicing together, what passing game?"
The New York Giants' head coach was answering questions about his least favorite topic -- training camp injuries. He had revealed moments earlier that wide receiver Victor Cruz would miss Wednesday night's practice with a calf injury and that fellow wide receiver Rueben Randle would miss a third straight practice because of a knee injury that forced him out of last Friday's preseason opener. The fact that neither player is on the field Wednesday makes it difficult to believe either will play Saturday night in the preseason game against the Jaguars, and Coughlin wishes they could.
"That's the one thing I'm anxious about," Coughlin said. "We have to work together on the field to get to where we’re going. So advancing some of these young guys, yeah, that’s a plus. But we certainly aren’t cohesive with the other guys, either."
Coughlin said Cruz's calf issue was not related to his recovery from last season's major knee injury and attributed it to dehydration. Randle's issue is of greater concern, as he missed some practice time last week with it and couldn't stay in the game. Coughlin said the team had hoped Randle could practice Wednesday but was disappointed to learn that his knee hadn't improved enough.
So with Odell Beckham Jr. the only one of Eli Manning's starting wide receivers able to go, guys like James Jones, Dwayne Harris, Preston Parker, Corey Washington, Julian Talley and Geremy Davis will continue to show what they can do. With Davis and Harris all but certain to be on the roster along with the three starters, the rest of the guys on that list are competing for either one or two roster spots at most.
Coughlin said said defensive end George Selvie had no ligament damage in his knee but would miss a few days due to a strain. Coughlin likes the progress cornerback Prince Amukamara (groin) and safety Nat Berhe (calf) are making from their injuries, and their practice activity level is expected to increase as tolerable. And guard/tackle Geoff Schwartz came out of his back-to-back practices Sunday and Monday without a flare-up of his foot injury and should be good to go Wednesday night as well.
