Justin Tuck looks to salvage injury-plagued year
Earlier in the week Justin Tuck said the Falcons' offensive line had a reputation for being "dirtbags." (undated file photo) Credit: David Pokress
In some ways, Justin Tuck's season ended against the Jets.
He was having a monster preseason and appeared primed for another All-Pro year when, on an otherwise benign running play in the third preseason game, he was blocked by Vlad Ducasse and his left arm went numb.
For the next few weeks, he struggled to come back from that stinger, but the injuries snowballed -- his groin, then an ankle, then a toe. Pretty soon, the avalanche of physical ailments was overwhelming. Tuck, usually one of the Giants' best defensive players, has registered only three sacks and 31 tackles in the first 14 games of 2011.
He's hoping, though, that just as his season was derailed in August against the Jets, he can get it back on track Saturday against the same team.
"I probably feel better this week than I have all year," Tuck said Thursday. "Obviously, I still have something left."
Tuck is feeling so spry that he described himself as feeling "Tony the Tiger great." In terms of his own statistics, he knows it's too late for him to salvage the season. But he said he has two regular-season games left to make an impact.
"I've been to a few Pro Bowls. I've had 10-plus-sack seasons,'' Tuck said. "You get caught up in all of that. At the end of the day, it's win. That's all I'm focused on . . . My numbers aren't going to be what they've been in past years, but we have two more games here and my focus is making the best out of these two games, forgetting the last 14."
Perhaps last Sunday we started to see the first tremors of that. He had a season-high seven tackles against the Redskins, including a few key stops against the run. He's not on the injury report this week. That doesn't mean he's completely healed; maybe it's a sign that he won't allow injuries to hold him back.
"He has fought his way through all of this stuff and he plays with it," Tom Coughlin said. "Whatever is there is there, and it's not going to end. [But] it's not going to prevent him from doing anything. He is practicing every day and never missing a rep."
Tuck said he has drawn inspiration from former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand, with whom he has developed a relationship. LeGrand suffered a severe spinal injury and was paralyzed from the neck down last year while attempting to make a tackle against Army.
"The motivation I get from him is tremendous," said Tuck, wearing one of his T-shirts in the locker room. "A situation where not many would be as upbeat and as encouraged about his future as anybody I know that can walk. I think that's pretty encouraging."
LeGrand said he is a fan of Tuck's, too, and he'll be attending Saturday's game.
"When I was playing, I used to look up to him all the time," he told The Associated Press. ". . . Just to see him go out there and continue to fight, because I know he is battling injuries from earlier all year, and now, like a captain, he is fighting through the adversity and getting through it. I give him all the respect."
LeGrand also knows that Tuck isn't having the kind of season he imagined he would. Who knows better than LeGrand how quickly things can change? "It's not a Justin Tuck year," he said, "but he has to be happy he is still playing the game, you know.''
Asked if he thinks Tuck has anything "left in the tank," Coughlin said, "I definitely do."
Tuck agreed. "I'm not going to sit here and go out on the football field and just be an extra body," he said. "If I go out there, I'm going to try to make plays. Those games are right around the corner. Will they happen? I don't know. But it won't be for lack of effort."
