For the Giants, the bye could not have come at a better time. Despite a 4-2 start that had them atop the N.F.C. East, the Giants have dealt with a host of injuries, from nagging to season-ending. On Monday, they returned to practice with an influx of healthy bodies.
“This is a good place to have a bye,” linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. “As close to the middle as you can possibly get — I think that’s the perfect time to get the bye and then you can just go downhill the rest of the way. It obviously worked out for us in particular because of the number of injuries we had.”
Seven players who were dealing with injuries entering the week off practiced Monday as the Giants began preparing to play the Miami Dolphins (0-7) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s a good sign to have guys out there, and hopefully we’ll have the consistency of all these guys practicing and it’ll give us a little bit of extra gas in our tank,” Coach Tom Coughlin said.
Among those out there was defensive end Justin Tuck, who has played in only two games this season because of neck and groin injuries. He is expected to play against the Dolphins.
In Tuck’s absence, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora, who has an injured knee but also practiced Monday, have stepped in. In three games, Umenyiora has recorded five sacks and forced two fumbles. Pierre-Paul is third in the N.F.L. with seven and a half sacks.
Sunday will be the first time this season all three defensive ends will be in uniform together.
“I think he’s definitely a guy offenses have to accommodate for,” Kiwanuka said of Tuck. Then, referring to Umenyiora; another defensive end, Dave Tollefson; and Tuck by their uniform numbers, he said: “When you look out on the field and you see the numbers lined up, you got to pick your poison. Do you double 72? Or do you double 71? Is it 91? Whoever is out there on the field, it poses a big problem for the offense.”
Safety Kenny Phillips, who sustained a rib-cage strain in the Giants’ 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills before the bye week, and cornerback Prince Amukamara, who has not appeared in a game after breaking his left foot during the preseason, also practiced. Amukamara participated in individual and special-teams drills and said that he was “almost 100 percent” sure he could make his N.F.L. debut on Sunday, but that he would not know until later in the week.
“It’s just a little soreness now,” Amukamara said. “At this time last week it was really sore, so I think that’s a good sign.”
The Giants also welcomed back running back Brandon Jacobs (knee), guard Chris Snee (concussion), fullback Henry Hynoski (neck) and wide receiver Ramses Barden (ankle).
Snee, who sustained a concussion in the Giants’ Week 5 loss against Seattle and did not play against Buffalo, said he was not sure if he would have been able to play on Sunday.
“I’ve been headache-free for over a week now,” Snee said, adding that he had not had a concussion before. “The bye week kind of helped with that. If I had to go back last week and play, I probably would’ve been a little worried about it. But I had an extra week to heal.”
Barden is eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list on Sunday. Coughlin said Barden took “about a third” of the repetitions at practice.
“People always say it’s like a kid in a candy store,” the 6-foot-6 Barden said of returning to practice. “I felt like I was in a bank vault without security cameras. That’s how much fun I had today.”
After a week off to recharge mentally and physically, the Giants hope they will be ready for the Dolphins and the formidable teams — including the Patriots — they will face in the coming weeks.
“As I always say, the bye is where the bye is,” Coughlin said. “I don’t have anything to do with it. We take it as it is. We use it as a positive, and hopefully everybody’s come back naturally refreshed.”
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