It's unclear how long defensive leader Antonio Pierce will be out for the Giants with a bulging disc in his neck. The situation was serious enough for Giants coach Tom Coughlin to release a statement Saturday.
"Our concern is for AP, and we are here to support him," Coach Tom
Coughlin said. "He is, obviously, very disappointed, and our
thoughts are about him and his well-being right now."
The Giants face a crossroads game with a similarly banged-up, slumping 5-4 Falcons squad. Coughlin expects Pierce's support.
"We won't have AP on the field, but we will have him on the sideline,
and we'll have his heart and his leadership there to rally the troops ---
all the troops, defense, offense and special teams," Coughlin said. "Hopefully through treatment and doing what needs to be
done, he will get back quicker than anybody expects."
The Giants defense has lost key parts for various stretches of the season, but was finally looking healthy after its bye. Chris Canty and Michael Boley are finally healthy, and the team hopes for cornerback Aaron Ross to make his season debut Sunday.
Chase Blackburn will fill in for Pierce at middle linebacker.
Coughlin hopes to get Pierce back "quicker than anybody expects"
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 21, 2009 10:39 PM ET
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Coughlin hopes to get Pierce back "quicker than anybody expects
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Translation:
Give him a few shots and suit him up.
Screw him. More where that came from. Just send him back in. What's the worst that could happen... another concusion? Oh wait... that was Westbrook. My bad.
Its the Redskins' fault right AP?
theres a good chance hes played his last game with the giants
The best news I heard all season aside from them getting healthy is AP going down. He has been a major reason the D has suffered, hes been awful for a season and a half now.
I would hope that the Giants would seriously consider shutting him down for the season, if not his career. A bulging disc is a very serious matter and greatly increases the likelihood that one tackle or block could result in perminent paralysis.
A player's health should not be taken for granted. I would expect that Congress should step in and force the NFL and the Giants to do what is right by the player and not soley focus on winning games.
Afterall, this is just a game and having to be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life is not worth the risk.......
Signed,
Florio
(I just copied and pasted his post on the Westbrook injury).
"So you wanna ask Howard- How do you fix a motorcycle and who's the fastest, who's the best?"