Thomas Has No Doubts He's Still A Starter

[Mr. P]

Terrell Thomas may have lost a full season of his NFL career, but he hasn’t lost any of his confidence.

 

He also is sure he hasn’t lost his starting job.

 

Though the Giants drafted cornerback Prince Amukamara in the first round less than four months before Thomas tore his ACL last August, the four-year veteran isn’t ready to concede anything to the second-year player. Asked if he still considers himself the starting cornerback, opposite Corey Webster in the Giants’ defense, Thomas said “I am. I don’t care what they say.”

 

“There’s no disrespect for any of the guys in the locker room,” Thomas said today before playing in Chris Canty’s Champions Golf Classic at Manhattan Woods Golf Club in West Nyack, N.Y. “It’s just my mentality. As a rookie I said I was going to be a starter. I just worked my butt off and finally became one. Especially at the corner position you’ve got to be confident in that manner in my opinion. I can’t be sitting here saying, ‘Well, we’ll see.’”

 

The Giants haven’t said what their defensive depth chart will look like, but nothing is really a certainty behind Webster in one starting spot. Thomas – who got what could be a four-year contract from the Giants that could be worth as much as $28.4 million -- is still recovering from ACL surgery last summer and likely won’t participate in the team’s minicamp in June. Amukamara, who recently had a procedure done to help heal his broken foot, might also have to skip minicamp, too.

 

Which one starts in the spot vacated by Aaron Ross, who left as a free agent for the Jacksonville Jaguars, could depend on which one is healthiest. Thomas, for his part, said again that his rehab is “ahead of schedule”. Right now, he said the biggest thing is “protecting” his knee “and keep on building strength and be ready for hopefully that game against Dallas (on Sept. 8).”

 

 

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The ring isn’t the only thing

 

Thomas said he will have a “bittersweet” feeling on Wednesday night when the Giants are presented their Super Bowl championship rings in a private ceremony inside Tiffany’s in Manhattan. Not surprisingly he’ll be glad to get the ring. He just wishes he had been on the field to earn it.

 

“I would love to have been out there,” he said. “But I’m proud of my team. I know I’m a part of a Super Bowl champ. I’ll wear it that day and put it away. I’ll probably never wear it again. That’s just the competitor in me. I want to have my own. I thank my teammates for it and everything, but it’s a goal that I want to reach on my own.”

 

Thomas’ timing with the Giants has been remarkably bad. He was drafted in the second round in 2008, just three months after their Super Bowl XLII championship. Then he tore his ACL six months before they won Super Bowl XLVI.

 

“You never know what God has planned for you so you just got to take it for what it is,” he said. “I learned a lot of lessons. I got to spend a lot of great time with my daughter and family. I learned a lot this year. We’ve got a great team, a lot of guys coming back, so hopefully we can get another one.”

 

 

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Blackburnin an unfamiliar position

 

Chase Blackburn has had to fight for everything he’s gotten during his seven-year NFL career. He has no plans to stop fighting now.

 

So the fact that Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell tabbed Blackburn as his starting middle linebacker to the media on Saturday hasn’t changed Blackburn’s perspective at all. He knows now that, for the first time in his career, “It’s my position to lose.” But that won’t mean anything if he can’t hold onto the job.

 

“I’ve just got to continue to work hard and get better every day so I can keep that spot,” Blackburn said. “You’ve got to take it in stride. You can’t be complacent with it. You can’t be happy about it. I’ve got to continue to work and get better.

 

“There’s a lot of things I can work on in my game,” he added. “Yeah, I’m a veteran, this is my eighth season, but if you’re done improving you’re done in this game. There’s a lot of room for improvement.”

 

 

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Canty on target for a summer return

 

DT Chris Canty couldn’t participate in his foundation’s golf tournament because he’s still recovering from relatively minor knee surgery he had about a week after the Super Bowl. The good news, though, is he said “The rehab is going really well” and he added “I’m looking forward to being ready to go for training camp.

 

“Obviously there’s a lot of work between now and then for me to be ready to get me to that point,” Canty said. “But the doctors feel good about the progress and they’re confident that I’ll be ready.”

 

That would be “ready” for training camp that is expected to start around July 26 – not the mandatory, full-team minicamp that takes place in mid-June.

 

“I don’t really see that,” Canty said. “And I don’t know that I’m going to be losing any sleep or shedding any tears for that.”

 

 

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Champions for children

 

Canty was hosting his first annual Champions Golf Glassic to benefit The Chris Canty Foundation at Manhattan Woods. The foundation, run with the help of his father and brother, is focused on affecting “positive change in the lives of children through mentoring, educational programs, and physical activities thus promoting health and well being,” according to the foundation website.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/2012/05/thomas-has-no-doubts-hes-still-a-starter

[BlueInCanada]

You always want confidence in your players, helps with the competition.

 

Webby is obviously the number one CB on the team but we have great depth in talent with the rest of the CBs as well. T2, Princy, Hosley, all of them chomping at the bit to get starting time.