National Football League

Giants injuries have Coe starting at cornerback

Published Aug. 26, 2012 8:47 p.m. ET

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Coming into training camp, the New York Giants seemingly had three options to fill the starting cornerback position opposite Corey Webster.

With injuries in the past month to Terrell Thomas, Prince Amukamara and third-round draft pick Jayron Hosley, the Giants are on the fourth option - Michael Coe.

Entering his sixth NFL season, Coe played in 27 games and never made a start.

Unless someone gets healthy quickly, Coe has a shot at being a starter when the Super Bowl champions kick off the season on Sept. 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Thomas seems unlikely. He is rehabilitating his right knee after aggravating a knee injury that required reconstructive surgery in the offseason.

Amukamara suffered a high ankle sprain Friday against the Bears and those generally take a couple of weeks to heal. Hosley has dealt with turf toe for the past week and his status seems uncertain since he has not practiced since being hurt against the Jets.

And that leaves Coe, who returned to the field this past week after nursing a mild hamstring injury.

Coe believes he is ready after getting his share of playing time last season as a reserve before a shoulder injury ended his season.

`I feel like I've been building up enough confidence and comfort level in knowing what the coaches expect,'' Coe said Sunday as the Giants (No. 3 in the AP Pro 32) started work for the preseason finale against New England on Wednesday. ''In that room, you're always held accountable for everything.''

Defensive backs coach Pete Giunta has long told his players to prepare as if they're going to be a starter, so that if they are thrown into the mix unexpectedly, they're ready.

Coach Tom Coughlin said that Coe played well after taking over for Amukamara, who has struggled with injuries since being a first-round draft pick in 2011.

Amukamara missed the first half of last season after breaking his right foot in training camp last summer, and now he's dealing with an ankle injury on the same leg.

He hurt it getting rolled on a reverse by Devin Hester, but he did not come off the field until making a tackle after Brandon Marshall caught a pass on the next play.

''I just felt something poking out the side of my leg and I definitely had a flashback of my fifth metatarsal from last season so I didn't know what was going on,'' said Amukamara, who was wearing a protective walking boot.

''Then they brought out the cart. I thought the cart was pretty dramatic, but they were just taking precautions because they weren't sure.''

Amukamara would not speculate on how long he might be out, but he insisted he was not discouraged.

''I'm thankful nothing is broken and it's all a part of football,'' he said. ''You get banged up and I know the saying is you can't make the club in the tub so I've been in the tub enough. So I just have to hurry up and get out and do everything I can to help this team.''

The comment caused a lot of laughter because Amukamara was at the center of a so-called hazing incident in training camp after punter Steve Weatherford tweeted a videotape of him being thrown into an ice tub by Pro Bowl defensive Jason Pierre-Paul.

Thomas declined to discuss his status on Sunday, asking to put it off until Monday. Hosley was in the locker room without the boot he was wearing last week.

Coe is looking forward to his chance, one he felt he missed last season after being hurt.

''I'd be lying if I said I didn't,'' he said. ''I think any competitor wants to be out there and compete, especially when you start to get out there and having success. I was frustrated about (being hurt), but the most important thing is, I can't express enough how the DBs are good people around here.

''They just kept me staying positive through rehab, and that's all you can do. When you get in games, bad things are going to happen - but it's how you respond the next play. You get those curveballs thrown to you in life - you've just got to rebound from them.''

The other cornerbacks who will see more action because of the injuries are Bruce Johnson and Justin Tryon.

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Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL