Tuck loses season to foot injury

Luckily for the Giants, there is no cap on the number of players on the Injured Reserve. Unfortunately, that is one area on a football team where you do not want depth. The Giants announced today that DE Justin Tuck will miss the remainder of the season to undergo surgery on his foot. He has not officially been placed on IR, but should be in the immediate future. Tuck provided great depth on the defensive line and performed well on special teams.

In other injury news, General Manager Ernie Accorsi said LT Luke Petitgout will not be placed on IR. The Giants are optimistic that he could return at the end of the season. Accorsi claimed Petitgout is a quick healer and should be available in six weeks. The way Bob Whitfield has been playing, fans can only pray for a quick recovery. The much maligned Petitgout had cut down his penalties this year and performed admirably protecting Manning's blindside. Whitfield had been considered a capable backup, but struggles in consecutive weeks with Mario Williams and Alex Brown would suggest otherwise. There has been talk of shifting Rich Seubert inside and moving David Diehl out to tackle. It would be ashame to halt Diehl's progress at guard, be has the size and quickness to move outside. He's made the transition before and handled himself well at tackle. Another option that has not been discussed is simply inserting Seubert at left tackle. He's been a career interior lineman, but the Giants have used him as a second blocking tight end for most of this year. It's not unreasonable to think he could handle an outside rusher, but obviously management would have a better idea about this. The Giants also have fourth round selection Guy Whimper who was presumed to be the heir apparent to the LT position, but he is too raw and inexperienced to throw in to a playoff race. With Tyson Smith's promotion to the 53 man roster the Giants added T Jonathan Scott to the practice squad, but it is highly unlikely he would be an option.

With all of the injuries the Giants have suffered it is hard not to reflect on the big buzz out of training camp: this was not a typical Tom Coughlin camp. Everyone was raving about the softer, more laid back Coughlin and a less strenuous workout schedule. However, many injuries can be blamed on lack of conditioning. Obviously accidents such as a Bears defensive lineman rolling over Petitgout's leg can not be attributed to stamina, but it certainly seems to be an alarming trend after a relaxed camp. The Giants are on the verge of being destroyed by their growing list of walking wounded and it seems that more people should be held accountable.