Welcome to September, and Happy Labor Day (or for our Canadian friends, Labour Day). I hope you have better things to do than check this Giants blog today for updates, but I was also hoping that I would have something better to do than update this Giants blog and that's not the case, so it's nice to share this holiday together. I have a feeling I'll be seeing a good number of you in person on the roads this afternoon and evening as I try to navigate my way home from Giants Stadium to Long Island.
Anyway, a few things before we head out to practice in an hour plus.
Yesterday we had our first chance to have a lengthy talk with Mathias Kiwanuka about his move to DE since Osi went down. You can click below to read his thoughts. They are interesting. Basically he says that he loves playing DE, it's where he wants to be, and he feels he can be more productive from the position. And he talks a little about the changes in conditioning he's going to have to make.
I also forgot to mention that we won't be having our weekly live chat on Tuesday this week. Don't get all depressed, though. Like the Giants' linebacking group, we're shuffling things up and we'll host a live chat on Thursday at 11 a.m., just a few hours before the season-opening game. That should be fun, and get you in the mood for the official start of the NFL season.
Here's my daily warming about traffic on Thursday.
LB Jonathan Goff (back), WR Domenik Hixon (back), CB Terrell Thomas (hamstring) and K Lawrence Tynes (knee) will be on the Giants' injury report that comes out later today and will include their level or participation.
Click below to read the Kiwi quotes. Be back after practice, hopefully having figured out who that eighth practice squad guy is. Save me a hot dog!
(Rabbit, by the way, is for good luck if it's the first thing you say when you wake up the first day of a month.)
On making the switch: “I was never not a defensive end, I just played linebacker as well. Getting back in there is just a matter of getting the first- and second-down plays and the calls and getting all those reads down. But to be honest with you I’m so excited about it I’ll take any challenge that comes at me.”
On who will line up on second-and-long and third-down situations: “I can’t give it all away. Whoever it is I guarantee they’re going to be fast off the ball and itching to get to the quarterback.”
Are we (the media) making too big a deal about this switch? “I think you are. The big switch for me was going from defensive end to linebacker. Coming back down, it may have been a bigger deal if I hadn’t been playing defensive end in the third down situations, but every practice I rushed at least a couple of times as a defensive end. I still knew all the calls and all the sub packages, so it wasn’t too much to learn and there weren’t too many mechanics that I lost. Obviously there was a little bit of time where on first and second down I’m dropping back, but I’ve always been a defensive end so I feel comfortable there.”
On facing Jason Campbell: “As a pass rusher, the first thing I think about is keeping the quarterback in the pocket and getting him on the ground. You can put the greatest pass rush move on and he escapes and it’s almost all for nothing. We have to keep him contained.”
Did you like playing linebacker? “I did. I think, I said that coming out of minicamp, that when you understand what you are doing, playing linebacker is a lot of fun. You get your hands on some passes, there are a lot more chances to pick the ball off. I was having fun with it. It was a situation where I did it, that’s where the team needed me to be, but this is where I’d rather be.”
On the physical demands of the two positions: “It’s a different kind. Linebacker you’ll get tired because you’re running a lot. There’s a lot of running up and down the field. As a defensive lineman you’re pushing so you’re using different muscles and you’re getting fatigued differently. It’s tough when you’re down there pushing on a 300-pound man play after play after play as opposed to just running back and forth between the hashes or up and down the field. You get tired, but in a different way.”
Do you change your training? “Getting on the sled, getting your strength and being able to drive and push and do that play after play is going to be the biggest adjustment.”
On wanting to be a DE: “There’s no secret about it. I embraced the challenge of moving to linebacker and I felt comfortable. I wasn’t kept in the dark, it wasn’t something that they made me do. I took the challenge on and I accepted it. But being a defensive end my entire life, this is where I felt the most comfortable and where I could be the most successful.”
On if he’s been told what will happen next year when Osi comes back. “No. That’s above my pay scale. I don’t make those decisions.”