Giants try to put FieldTurf injury concerns out of their minds
The NY Giants work out for the first time in New Meadowlands Stadium during a mini-camp Tuesday at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Credit: Craig Ruttle
ALBANY - Domenik Hixon won't be on the field when the Giants play their preseason opener tomorrow night. But he'll be on the minds of his teammates.
The last time the Giants were on the turf at the New Meadowlands Stadium was for a minicamp practice in the spring in which Hixon, one of the Giants' top receivers and special teams returners, blew out his knee. Hixon had to undergo surgery and was placed in injured reserve for the 2010 season.
While there was no direct evidence that the new, underused FieldTurf at the stadium caused the non-contact injury, there was plenty of speculation about it by the players and even the Giants brass. Now, as the team returns to the very same field for the first time, the Giants are trying to put those concerns out of their minds. Tom Coughlin said he would address the issue with the players.
"We have been back over there as coaches and looked at it," he said of the surface. "We were assured when we walked around. All of our concerns we had at that time have been answered."
General manager Jerry Reese said he does not believe the turf had any bearing on Hixon's injury. But he did note that the tray system at midfield that had allowed the stadium to change between the Giants and the Jets logo - but left seams and had to be tampered down - has been replaced by a permanent NFL logo. The tray system will remain in the end zones.
"They did some work on the center of the field," Coughlin said. "They did some work to make sure the distribution of the granules was even. They did a lot of that. They checked each area with a meter to make sure it all met to the specification."
For the players, though, it will be something they'll be thinking about. Or at least trying not to think about.
"We know when we practiced there the turf was pretty soft," receiver Derek Hagan said. "It was unfortunate what happened to Dom, but hopefully it's been fixed and we'll be able to run and not worry about anything."
"It was an injury that happened without any contact and I think the turf did play a big role in that," Mathias Kiwanuka said of Hixon's injury. "So we're concerned about it."
But Kiwanuka said he has confidence that the front office "has everything under control."
"You do have to block it out," he said. "Otherwise you'll play different, you won't play well and your game will suffer, and our team will suffer."
