SB Nation - Shaun O'Hara

New York Giants notes: Beatty says he's ready

Ed Valentine — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:10:42 -0000

Here are some of the stories regarding our New York Giants that are making news this morning around the Inter-Google.

Ernie Palladino figures rookie Will Beatty, starting at right tackle for the injured Kareem McKenzie, will have his hands full Monday night with Andre Carter.

Beatty, making his second start, is not nervous about his assignment.

"I got my first start jitters behind me," Beatty said today, "and now I can go with the rest of the vets and perform."

Not to give him any new jitters, but the Giants need him to do that in a big way when he plays right tackle against the Redskins in an NFC East game that will be critical to their postseason aspirations.

Beatty, the 2009 second-round draft choice from Connecticut, will step in for Kareem McKenzie, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee in the 45-38 loss to Philadelphia last Sunday. Tom Coughlin said Monday that the team's medical staff said McKenzie would be sidelined "a couple weeks." Although Coughlin pointed out then that McKenzie is traditionally a fast healer, Coughlin said today nothing that has happened since then has changed that prognosis.

So Beatty looks to step up and play well in a big game. He started and played the entire game against Arizona on Oct. 25, which McKenzie missed because of a groin injury, and played the entire second half last week against the Eagles.

"I think I did pretty well," Beatty said. "I had (right guard) Chris Snee helping me a lot, more than anyone should be in a game. So now I need to make sure that I know what I am doing and I am making calls out there and am participating in the actual call making and things along those lines."

"He is a good, young football player," Coughlin said. "We have asked him to play a number of spots. He has played left tackle, he has played tight end, right tackle and has done a good job. He is going to have to do another good job.

With the struggles of the Giants' defense, the offense is well aware of the added pressure it faces.

"We don't know what's going to happen with the defense," receiver Steve Smith said. "We just know we want to score every time. We feel that's what we need to do. We want to be the phase of the game that picks up everybody else."

They may need to, considering the Giants are giving up 25.4 points per game - the fifth-worst average in the league. But the way Eli Manning and his receivers are playing, they are also confident they can beat anyone in a shootout. They're averaging 26.2 points (eighth best in the NFL) and have scored 30 or more in three of the last four games.

On Monday night, they will face a Washington Redskinsteam that has the NFL's seventh-best defense. But with all the big-play weapons the Giants have, they don't feel like they can be consistently stopped.

"Absolutely. We feel like we should be scoring every time," Smith said. "We're disappointed when we don't."

"We have a lot of confidence in one another right now," added left tackle David Diehl. "Just looking at last week, we did so many good things and we still left some things on the field."

Most of the confidence comes from Manning, who is on pace for his first 4,000-yard season. But he gives credit to his unheralded receivers, who have turned the Giants' passing attack into a quick-strike machine. Manning has completed 17 passes of 20 yards or more in the last four games. The Giants (7-6) are among the NFL leaders in big passing plays - tied for third with 51 passes of 20 yards or more.

"I knew that's something we really wanted to improve on in the offseason," Manning said. "I said back then I think we're going to have some more big plays just because we have more speed and explosiveness at the receiver position than we have in the past. Some of it is individual efforts. It's not like we're just throwing the ball deep. Some of it's short passes and the guys are breaking tackles and making big plays."

My take: That offensive explosiveness, and the relative youth at the skill positions, is one reason to feel good about the future of this team. Regardless of what happens in the last three games.

Other notes

Redskins can relate to the sorrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mathias Kiwanuka honored as Good Guy.
Shaun O'Hara to appeal fine.
Eli Manning transcript

(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)

New York Giants Notebook: 12.17.09

Jim Schmiedeberg — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:29:56 -0000

View full size photo »

Good Morning Giants fans, here are some of the stories making the rounds in the world of the indefensible (or is it un-defensible?) New York Giants:

The Giants are hanging their hats on one thing right now: No matter how bad things seem, it's worse for the Cowboys. I would not be so fast to agree, not until the Giants defense stops someone, anyone.
Shaun O'Hara and Trent Cole were both fined $15K for their fight in Sunday night's game.
The Redskins say they are worried about themselves, not playing spoiler for the Giants. If you believe this, then I would like to advocate C.C. Brown for starting safety in the Pro Bowl. I'm sure the Redskins would just love to help the Giants screw up their season.
Sort of Giants-related, Matt Simms, son of Phil, has signed a letter of intent to play at Tennessee.
Former Giant TE Howard Cross was voted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Nice to see Howard getting recognized, he is one of the most underrated players to ever put on a Giants uniform.

In a conference call with the Washington media yesterday, Justin Tuck was asked if this is a must-win for the Giants: (click link for full transcript)

I think so. You never want to put that pressure on yourself especially when they say we can still make the playoffs even if we don't win all three of these. For me personally, I think that we are because of the fact that we haven't played great ball. Even if we do make the playoffs, you don't want to go into the playoffs limping. You want to go in with the confidence, knowing that you kind of righted the ship and are playing your best ball at that point in time. I think for us it's important to win these next three.

Tom Coughlin talked about his team's emotional state: (click link for full transcript)

Well, we have been excited about playing our divisional games. It has been one game after another. We had a nice win against Dallas. We came up short the other night in a high-scoring affair. I think our guys will be right back on the mark. You come together on Monday and it is a sad day. Everybody is disappointed. Everybody wants to win. Everybody does everything they think they can. It doesn't mean that you always play as well as you are capable of playing. We try to get their dabbers back up and get them refocused and knowing full well that the season gets shorter and shorter and more meaningful and more meaningful. I think our leadership will be strong. I think our guys will come back and we will have a nice week of practice. We will be excited to go down to Washington.

Trent Cole fined, but not suspended

JasonB — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:35 -0000

It was never likely that Trent Cole would be suspended for punching Giants' OL Shaun O'Hara and today it became official. Both he and O'Hara were fined and both will play this weekend.

Eagles defensive end Trent Cole told reporters in Philly Wednesday he was fined for punching Shaun O'Hara on Sunday night, though he refused to provide an amount.

According to someone informed of the fine from the league, the total was $15,000. The person, who requested anonymity because the league hasn't released the amount of the fine yet, said O'Hara was also fined $15,000 for ripping Cole's helmet off.

Jason Babin said that it was both Chris Snee & Shaun O'Hara who were taking cheap shots.

"I'm going to put O'Hara and Snee on the Babin family Christmas card list," Babin said, according to the Inquirer.

Giants 31, Cowboys 24: We're alive!

Ed Valentine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:26:19 -0000

Now that was much more like the New York Giants football team we have come to know and love the past few seasons.

Resilience in the face of adversity. A defense that flew to the football and punished Tony Romo despite the Dallas quarterback's big passing numbers. A couple of big plays from the running backs. A huge special teams play from Domenik Hixon.

All of it led to a season-saving 31-24 victory that puts the Giants (7-5) right back in thick of the NFC playoff race.

"It was an outstanding win for our team. The big thing I think was the contribution of all three areas tonight. That is the way we want to play. Offense, defense, and special teams, all making outstanding contributions," said head coach Tom Coughlin. "I was proud of the way they battled back and showed that mental toughness tonight."

Here is center Shaun O'Hara after the game.

"This was just a great team win," O'Hara said. " We stopped them when we had to. Our offense came through when we needed points. This is the way we are used to playing football. We need to just keep playing like this and remember what this feels like."

By the way, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck called Dallas lineman Flozell Adams a "dirtbag" for his role in an altercation at the end of the first half.

"It takes a coward and some more words that I can’t say right here to push a guy in the back when the play is dead," Tuck said.

More Transcripts

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo

Brandon Jacobs

Eli Manning

Dallas coach Wade Phillips

Also, I will be back in the morning with the traditional 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'

(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)

New York Giants News & Notes: Ugly Loss Hangover

cjmulrain — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:00:26 -0000

I've remained pretty optimistic about the Giants all season, thinking there was no way that the team which looked so good in going 5-0 could really be as bad as they looked against the Saints and the Eagles. Tough losses to the Cardinals and Chargers didn't even bother me as much as they otherwise would, because the Giants easily could have won those games. But the loss to the Broncos is the worst yet, and has me doubting whether the Giants are even a playoff team, let alone a Super Bowl team. The Giants have 10 days until a make or break game against the Cowboys with their season quite literally on the line.

Tom Coughlin was not happy with the loss. He seems most disappointed in the Giants inability to control the running game on both sides of the ball:

"As I said last night, football to me is that you have to run the ball and stop the run. Those are the first things you do have to do to put yourself in a position to be able to take advantage of the various aspects of your plans and your talent. When you don’t do that you’re really putting a magnifying glass on some of these other aspects of the game. It’s not surprising sometimes that it doesn’t come out well. As I said last night, we did not stop the run. We didn’t give ourselves opportunities to run the ball because there really wasn’t much continuity. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities. We didn’t make a lot of first downs, we didn’t do a lot of the things that we knew were the reasons that people had defeated Denver in the last four games were because of, we didn’t do those things."

Shaun O'Hara thinks the problem is that the Giants aren't running the ball enough:

"The only way, in my eyes, to get back on track is to keep doing it and do it more. I think, as offensive linemen, we are always going to complain that we aren’t running the football enough. That is kind of our M.O. We want to run the ball more. Quarterbacks and receivers, we are going to have discussions with them every single day, they want to throw it, we want to run it. That is a constant battle. I am not going to be happy until we have 35-40 carries in a game."

On the defensive side of the ball, Barry Cofield thinks the problem is individual responsibility, not the coaching scheme:

"I’m a guy who always leans towards individual accountability. Guys just have to make plays. Guys have to be in their gaps. There were instances last night where guys weren’t where they were supposed to be. Guys weren’t necessarily making the plays on the ball that they should have. Guys weren’t beating their guys upfront."

Tim Smith of the Daily News says that the Giants are becoming a disgrace. Hey, it could be worse - they could be one of the NY/NJ area basketball teams.
Danny Ware's fumble cost the Giants big time on Thursday.
Antonio Pierce saw a neck specialist who confirmed that he has a bulging disk, meaning his season still hangs in the balance.
On the coaching front, Gary Myers says that the Tom Coughlin must be held accountable for the Giants collapse, and Jay Greenberg thinks the Giants should fire Bill Sheridan immediately. I have to say that I can't totally disagree with either of them.
Giants (and apparently De La Salle) great Amani Toomer has seemingly called it quits. I liked his quote about his short stint with the Chiefs:

"I played 13 years in a great organization like the Giants. I was in a preseason game with Kansas City and it felt like it wasn't pro football to me"

New York Giants News & Notes: Jeff Feagles a Pro Bowler?

cjmulrain — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:15:21 -0000

The 2007 Giants and Cowboys will both tell you that Pro Bowl balloting is a meaningless honor, but it's pretty funny that the only Giant who is currently leading his position in voting is punter Jeff Feagles, who has not been having his best season, to say the least. The Giants are a 5-4 team desperately clinging to their playoff hopes, so they shouldn't do as well as they did in Pro Bowl voting last year, but I have to think at least one of Chris Snee, Shaun O'Hara, or Justin Tuck deserves to be a starter.

Giants Enjoy Bye Week

With the Eagles and Cowboys losing and the Michael Turner injury, the Giants had their best Sunday in over a month. Ralph Vachianno recaps.

The bye also helped the Giants get refreshed, with reports that practice this week has been sharp.

Perhaps most importantly, Justin Tuck and Eli Manning were able to use the bye week to heal up some of their injuries. The Giants need those two as healthy as they can be if they want to contend for the Super Bowl this year.

Other Notes

The Giants are lodging a complaint about having to travel to Denver to play on Thanksgiving on a shortened week.
The NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its countdown of the top Giants moments at Giants Stadium with Tiki Barber's 206-yard game against the Redskins the Sunday after Wellington Mara passed away.

New York Giants News & Notes: The Big Apple vs. The City of Brotherly Love

cjmulrain — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:15:32 -0000

Lots of links this week. Funny how a struggling team that's lost two straight games generates a lot more media buzz than a team that easily wins five straight. And Giants fans wonder why the Jets typically get heavier media coverage.

Probably the biggest off-field storyline this week is the unprecedented showdown between New York and Philadelphia. It kicks off Saturday night with an early-season game between the Knicks and the 76ers. The main events come on Sunday, as the Giants-Eagles game has been moved up to 1 pm to accommodate Game 4 of the World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies. Hopefully Monday will be a very happy day in Gotham and a very, very sad one in Philly. Now to the links:

Eli Manning's Struggles

Jeffry Chadiha at ESPN saw lots of questions and no answers in the Giants performance against the Cardinals. One of the problems that both he and Matt Mosley saw was Eli taking too long at the line of scrimmage, resulting in a few delay of game penalties and a general sense that Eli was out of rhythm.

Steve Serby of the NY Post thinks the problem is that Eli needs some help.

Personally, I think the real problem with Eli is that I jinxed him by acknowledging that he was having an MVP caliber season and was one of the top QB's in the league before the Saints game. Maybe I should start calling for the Giants to bench Eli and draft a new QB of the future to replace him...it worked pretty well last time I did.

Giants Sliding

A few more takes on the Giants two-game slide:

The AP gathers a few quotes, including this one from Shaun O'Hara that more or less sums it up:

"I could come up with 100 words to describe how upset and disappointed we are," center Shaun O’Hara said. "With this team, we hold ourselves to such a high standard. We were upset with our play after some wins early in the season, but to lose at home like we did last night, really, we think that is unacceptable. That’s the standard we set, and we know we can play better, and that’s the thing that is frustrating. At the same time, we also know we are a good team."

Vinny Ditrani of NorthJersey.com finds some positives from the loss to the Cardinals, pointing out that unlike the Saints game, the Giants weren't totally outclassed. Little victories, I guess.

Looking Ahead

The Giants are using the playoff loss to the Eagles last year (and Donovan McNabb's uncharacteristically classless move picking up the phone on the Giants sideline) as motivation going into this weekend's game. There's definitely no love lost between these two teams, and they almost always play memorable games. Hopefully this one ends up more like the 12 sack game or the Sehorn bobbling interception game than "the fumble" game (more on that later).

Fred Robbins says the Giants are putting last week behind them and are ready for the Eagles:

It’s a good time to play the Eagles. A win would cure everything. We’re playing a division opponent, a good rival and it will be an intense game. That’s a good way to get back on track, stop all those sad faces in the locker room. And you can’t let the losses pile up, especially in the division.

Other News

Kevin Boss says he didn't get a concussion from the (uncalled) helmet-to-helmet hit on Sunday. Definitely good news.
Apparently Eli Manning gave Peyton a few pointers about Steve Spagnuolo's defense. Spags joked that Eli should have at least given him some pointers on how to stop Peyton. I've gotta say, I love that Eli and Peyton are close, but was this really necessary? The Colts are probably the best team in the league and the Rams are probably the worst. Peyton probably could have won this one if he'd spent the last two weeks binge drinking and played the game behind the '58 Colts offensive line.
Finally, the NY Times' 5th Down Blog continues it's countdown of the greatest moments in Giants Stadium history. Coming in at #10 is the aforementioned "fumble" game. Definitely the low point of Giants history, but it ended up leading to the changes that turned the Giants into Super Bowl winners and one of the better run organizations in sports, so it wasn't all bad. Plus, without that play maybe Herm Edwards never becomes a 2-time NFL Head Coach, and I think we can all agree: the entertainment that brought us was well worth it.

Land of the Giants: Nicks is feeling fine

Ed Valentine — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:00:13 -0000

As I mentioned Monday evening, the work done by No. 1 pick Hakeem Nicks in the afternoon session had everyone buzzing. Well, Giants.com managed to catch up with Nicks after practice.

"It was fun," he said. "Every day 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."

"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."

Quarterback Andre Woodson could not believe the catch Nicks made when Woodson tossed him a fade route in the end zone.

"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."

Plaxico Burress has spoken for the first time about what happened the night he shot himself. Ralph Vacchiano has the sad details.

"It wasn’t like I was trying to hide (the gun) or go into this place and go through security," Burress said. "They knew I had it, they pat me down and they said OK. They let me in, with it.

"I’m there for maybe five minutes. It was getting so crowded, everybody coming over, so the VIPs, they said ‘I’ll take you upstairs so you can relax and no one will bother you.’ I’m walking up the stairs and I miss a step, and my gun slides down my pants. So, it’s getting ready to hit the ground. I don’t want it to hit the ground, when it slides down my jeans, and I go to stop it from hitting the ground.

"I don’t think you could do it a million times. Through your pants you can try to stop it from hitting the ground and my finger hit right on the trigger. What are the odds in that happening?"

The offensive line has been the foundation of the Giants' offense the past several seasons. Yahoo! Sports is wondering if that foundation is beginning to crack.

There are signs that indicate the group is faltering.

For instance, left tackle David Diehl, a more natural guard, has held on to the position for two seasons because the Giants like to run the ball, and he is nothing if not a world-class road-grader as a run-blocker. But he lacks quick feet and a sense of awareness of the on-rushing defensive end to be a truly proficient left tackle. Despite the team’s denials, there has been effort to find one.

The right tackle, Kareem McKenzie, is an "old" 30, a man troubled by recurring back spasms. Whether he lasts the entire season is argumentative, but even more disturbing is the fact that there isn’t much depth behind the two tackles.

We have talked a lot about how jittery backup quarterback David Carr has been throughout training camp. Well, when asked about him Monday quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer was unusually candid in his assessment of Carr's camp performance.

I’m not pleased with David right now. 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.

Zak DeOssie will now handle all of the special teams snapping duties with Jay Alford injured. DeOssie told the Star-Ledger's Jenny Vrentas that he expects a 'smooth transition.'

"There was some question there whether or not I was going to do it or Jay, because Jay is a really good D-tackle" DeOssie said. "But now the decision is easy for the coaches because unfortunately Jay got hurt, and I've got to step in there."

DeOssie did both snaps at Brown. He also got experience at the pro level during February's Pro Bowl, when he was selected as the NFC's "need" player to short snap for John Carney's field goals/extra points and long snap for Jeff Feagles' punts.

DeOssie is right-handed, while Alford is left-handed, but Feagles -- who is the holder for field goals -- said that just changes the spin on the ball. Feagles is used to that spin from DeOssie's snaps on punts. The only other difference is that DeOssie (6-4, 249) is smaller than Alford (6-3, 304), which can easily be adjusted for.

"He's not as big as Jay, but he's certainly as good as Jay," Feagles said. "We just have to give him a little bit more protection in the middle because of his size. But that shouldn't be a problem. As far as our operation and stuff goes, we've been working pretty diligently with both of them."

DeOssie has practiced short snaps daily for the past two seasons in case Alford got injured. Feagles said center Shaun O'Hara is the emergency snapper, and tight end Lee Vickers has also been working as a backup to DeOssie on the punt unit.

"I'm sure it will be a smooth transition," DeOssie said. "We won't miss a step."

Eagles win over Giants: What they're saying

JasonB — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:00:09 -0000

The first question to nearly every defensive player was to ask for their thoughts on the two 4th and 1 stops.

"When you get put in that position, you have to feel like you can make the play," Quintin Mikell said. "You kind of sensed that maybe New York was, I wouldn't say desperate, but there was some reason they felt they needed to do that. We took it as a challenge. We took it as disrespectful to us. We showed what we're about on those two plays."

"We honestly don't have to say anything to each other (before those plays)," Brian Dawkins said. "Those days are kind of behind us. You know the situation. You know what you have to do. Everybody do your job. Dominate your gap and let's get off the field."

"That play was just confidence," Gocong said. "Just knowing you're going to stop them."

Andy Reid paid tribute to Jim Johnson

"People say every once in a while that I like to throw the ball around and coach on the offense side," said Reid, whose 10 postseason wins are 14th-most in NFL history. "I know that you win games on defense and if you don't play good defense, you're going to struggle. I'm partial, but I've got the best defensive coordinator in the National Football League (Jim Johnson). The guys believe in him."

Darren Howard had some nice things to say about Mike Patterson

"I think Mike Patterson has had a Pro Bowl year for the last 2 or 3 years," Howard said. "I think if you look at players' quotes, he probably gets a lot [of credit]. But he's not a guy who's going to get up and do a [bleeping] dance after a great play.

"He just lines up and does it again."

You know we always like to hear what Sheldon Brown has to say

"Isn't it funny that early in the season we couldn't get an inch on fourth down?" Brown said. "And today, we didn't give up an inch on fourth down?"

Yesterday was extra special for Asante Samuel, who had been waiting to pay back the Giants for the superbowl

"This feeling is indescribable,'' Samuel said. "Being a free agent coming from the Patriots everybody doubted me, hated on me, told me I couldn't play man, I need help in coverage. To come out and prove everybody wrong and show them what I'm worth what was given to me is a definite blessing.''

"I'm always trying to get in the end zone, but Eli made a good tackle,'' Samuel said. "I tried to run him over but Eli had his big boy pads on and he kind of stopped me from getting in the end zone. The next time I'll try to jump over his head.''

Donovan McNabb was asked about his infamous "phone call" incident

"It was just me coming out and having a great time,” McNabb said. "It’s something that as a veteran I shouldn’t have done. I kind of got caught up in the moment a little bit. We were talking on the sideline and just having fun. But you know what? It’s just something I can’t do. And I apologized to the team and the coaches for that.”

Tra Thomas, who has been here 11 years, says this defense is the best we've ever had.

"This is by far the best defense that we've ever had," said offensive tackle Tra Thomas, who has been here for 11 seasons. "Just looking back in the past. Especially our front four - those guys out there are just relentless. They get out there and get after the quarterback and allow our corners and safeties to go out there and make big plays."

Giants' guard Shaun O'Hara sounded despondent.

"After this," center Shaun O'Hara confessed, inside the funeral-parlor still of the Giants locker room, "you almost wonder if it isn't better to not make the playoffs than to play the way we did out there today."

49ers claim OT Kirk Barton; Latest Injury News

Fooch — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:53:53 -0000

The 49ers claimed offensive tackle Kirk Barton from the Miami Dolphins earlier today, placing Shawntae Spencer on injured reserve to make space on the 53-man roster. Barton was a seventh round draft pick by the Bears and after being part of the final roster cut in training camp, he was claimed by Miami.

Mike Nolan was asked about why grabbing a tackle and he said:

“We weren’t trying to look. We weren’t looking for position. We were just looking for a player we thought had an opportunity to - We’ve had the spot as we’ve had along with Shawntae and basically we were just waiting if something became available that we were interested in. That’s what we were kind of waiting for. We didn’t want to force the issue or anything. This is a player that Scot [McCloughan] was interested in, so we claimed him.”

Along with the news of Barton being signed, Jonas Jennings is likely to be listed as doubtful for Sunday's game. Jennings sat out practice yesterday and today with his shoulder injury. In other injury news:

49ers
Limited Participation in Practice
LB Manny Lawson - Hamstring
FS Mark Roman - Knee (missed all of Wednesday's practice)
CB Donald Strickland - Hip

Giants
Did not Participate in Practice
LB Antonio Pierce - Quadricep
LB Gerris Wilkinson - Knee

Full Participation in Practice
C Shaun O'Hara - Toe

Nolan said that Lawson was likely to be probable for Sunday's game, so we might get him back in action. Given the big time running game of the Giants, we're gonna need a lot more linebackers than normal. Of course, if we stick with the "Big Dud" defense, we really won't need Lawson.