Thomas injury has Ross back as Giants starter; Williams signed

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Veteran Brian Williams, 32, who has played with Minnesota, Jacksonville and Atlanta, was signed by the New York Giants Wednesday to address their urgent needs at the cornerback position.

"He is a veteran who knows how to play," coach Tom Coughlin said of Williams. "He has been a good physical blitzer, and we are in need of someone who can learn quick and go from there."

Williams has played in 128 regular-season games with 99 starts. He has 19 career interceptions. Last season, he played in all 16 games with one start for the Falcons.

To make room for Williams, the Giants waived linebacker Kenny Ingram.

The Giants secondary has been in a state of upheaval during the preseason. Starter Terrell Thomas, last year's leading tackler on the team, was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered during last weekend's preseason game against the Bears. And first-round pick Prince Amukamara is sidelined with a broken foot.

Aaron Ross is another player who will be counted on to fill the gap in New York's secondary.

Ross came to training camp as the somewhat forgotten man among the cornerbacks.

Corey Webster and Thomas were the returning starters and general manager Jerry Reese didn't hesitate to take Amukamara in the first round when the Nebraska cornerback was available with the 19th pick overall.

It left Ross in no man's land. The Giants' first-round pick in 2007 was down on the depth chart and fighting the stigma of being injury-prone the past two seasons. He missed a good part of 2009 with hamstring issues and battled a painful foot injury most of last season.

Three weeks into training camp, though, Ross is no longer an afterthought. With Amukamara and Thomas sidelined, Ross is back in a starting role and anxious to show people what he can do.

"Being out there on the outside and being able to make plays and show the coaches I can make plays, and the fans, the media, it is exciting," said Ross, who has the added motivation of being in the final year of his contract.

Ross said his biggest concern this season is staying healthy. If he does, he has no doubt about his ability to play.

"I am really confident in myself to tell you the truth," Ross said. "I know what I can do. As long as I stay healthy I know that I am fine. Coaches haven't seen me healthy in two years, the fans or you guys. Of course, y'all forget.

"But I know what I can do."

Ross had three interceptions in each of his first two seasons, but has not had one since 2008.

"I think I am a decent player," Ross, 28, said. "They drafted me here for a reason. So, as long as I am healthy, I believe I can be a positive impact on the field."

Ross, who is married to track star and Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards, is taking added precautions to stay healthy. He used to keep stretching to a minimum. His approach is totally different now.

"I have a guy coming in that stretches me, gets the knots out, pretty much everything," Ross said. "I put everything in the basket and am letting it go."

The injury to Thomas also has given opportunities to players like Michael Coe, rookie Darnell Burks and first-year pro Joe Burnett, who had little chance of making the roster at the start of camp.

"My mindset has always been to prepare to play and try to get comfortable doing everything and when you get the opportunity, be ready," said Coe, a former Arkansas Razorback, who is now No. 3 on the depth chart after spending part of last season with the Giants. "You never know the circumstances. You have to have the mindset of trying to absorb as much as you can.

"I am a lot more comfortable in this defense. It's similar to the one I had in college."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Saints RB Thomas using crutches, unsure about injury status

Pierre Thomas hobbled into the New Orleans Saints' locker room on crutches Thursday, keeping weight off his sprained left ankle and sounding perplexed about why his recovery is going so much slower than he'd hoped.

"I really don't know what's the whole problem. Everybody keeps saying it's a sprain or maybe a little tear there," Thomas said. "I don't know for sure if that's true. I'm hearing so many different stories. I don't know what to believe."

With Pierre Thomas in line to miss another start, both Chris Ivory and Ladell Betts should be avoided in the Saints' tough matchup with the Steel Curtain. More ...

Thomas, the Saints' leading rusher in 2009, accounted for 280 total yards from scrimmage and one rushing touchdown in the first three games of this season. His injury occurred while he was being tackled late in the fourth quarter of a Week 3 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas returned for the extra period in that game and gained 23 yards on a screen.

Thomas even returned to practice on a limited basis three days before New Orleans' Week 4 loss at Arizona.

At that time, Saints coach Sean Payton sounded optimistic that Thomas was close to returning when he spoke about the possibility of both the running back and safety Roman Harper (then slowed by a hamstring pull) playing in the Cardinals game.

"They were limited, but they got work today, and both of them are progressing quickly," Payton said then, adding that the players would be game-time decisions that week.

Thomas hasn't practiced since, though he seemed to be making progress Wednesday when he was present for the portion of practice open to reporters, participated in the team stretch and did some light jogging.

During the open portion of practice Thursday, however, Thomas was nowhere to be seen.

"All I'm thinking about is just trying to get healthy, just trying to get better," Thomas said. "I was told to stay off my foot. So that's why I'm in the crutches and in the boot. They told me to take a little pressure off, be on crutches for a little while just see how it does."

Thomas said he hasn't been given a timetable on his return, but he doesn't fault the doctors and trainers who have diagnosed and treated the injury.

"I'm not upset with anybody -- no person. I'm upset with my injury," Thomas said. "It's taking too long."

Fellow running back Reggie Bush also didn't practice Thursday as he continues to recover from a broken bone in his lower right leg. It's highly unlikely that Bush will return this week, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora on Wednesday.

"Both with him and Pierre, there's a little bit of wait and see," Payton said Thursday. "They'd have to do something more than what we've seen these first two days (of practice this week). In Pierre's case, we put him in a walking boot to take some of the pressure off after his workouts leading up to this week, trying to rest it. So it will be unlikely that he gets to practice, and then with Reggie, we'll just monitor him again. We'll list the game status (Friday)."

There were signs of the Saints getting healthier on defense. Starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer (left shoulder) and Tracy Porter (left knee) both practiced Thursday on a limited basis, as did linebacker Scott Shanle.

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Greer was injured during the Saints' Week 6 victory at Tampa Bay. Porter had arthroscopic surgery to repair his left lateral meniscus after injuring himself in Week 4. Shanle has missed two games since pulling his left hamstring.

Porter said he felt "pretty good," but he wasn't yet sure if he'd play Sunday.

"I'd like to," Porter said. "But I want to be smart, just as my coaches and my trainers want to be smart with me as well. If they don't feel it's the right time, they're going to hold me out. But if they tell me I can go, I'm definitely going to be happy and excited about that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Payton unsure if injured Saints DE Smith, RB Thomas will play

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said Thursday that he still hasn't decided whether or not to play running back Pierre Thomas and defensive end Will Smith this weekend at Arizona.

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Payton said Smith, who has a groin pull, was able to participate in some individual work, but he sat out all of the team drills for a second consecutive day. Thomas also missed his second day of practice this week after sitting out last weekend's victory over the Carolina Panthers with a left ankle injury.

If Thomas cannot play, Ladell Betts and Chris Ivory will handle running back duties, as they did against the Panthers.

Payton said he doesn't want to discuss who might start at cornerback for the injured Tracy Porter. The coach said it could be Randall Gay, recently re-signed veteran Leigh Torrence or rookie Patrick Robinson.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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