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- Coach Tom Coughlin expects Weston Richburg to play on Sunday.**
Left guard Weston Richburg, who suffered an ankle injury in Monday night's game against Indianapolis, returned to practice on Thursday in a limited capacity, causing coach Tom Coughlin to be optimistic about the rookie's status for Sunday's game in Seattle.
"I expect him to go," Coughlin said of the second-round draft choice, who has started every game this season. "He was really probably 50 percent today, and I'm hoping to go inside and find out that he can do more tomorrow."
2. CB Zack Bowman, DE Mathias Kiwanuka, and G Adam Snyder did not practice.
Nine players appeared on Thursday's injury report, three of which did not participate in practice. Bowman was sent to a local hospital with abdominal pain, and Coughlin had no further information when he spoke after practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Meanwhile, Kiwanuka and Snyder were held out with knee issues.
3. CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie moved "pretty good."
The veteran quarterback, who has been working through back and hamstring injuries in a banged-up secondary, was limited on Thursday but did show progress, despite practicing on artificial turf in the field house at the facility.
"I thought he moved around pretty good today," Coughlin said. "I was a little concerned being on turf and so on, but I thought he moved pretty good."
4. The secondary depth is feeling the weight of injuries.
After losing cornerbacks Walter Thurmond III, Trumaine McBride, and most recently Prince Amukamara due to season-ending injuries, the Giants' secondary went from one of the deepest in recent memory to relying on the "next man up" adage week after week.
"It's definitely more weight on my shoulders and the secondary's shoulders, not just me," cornerback Jayron Hosley said. "On the whole secondary, guys having to move around and adjust things a little bit but that's for the greater good of the team. We just have to be ready, man, to carry the load."
5. Cornerbacks Mike Harris and Chykie Brown have the experience to help right away.
The Giants signed Harris and Brown in back-to-back weeks to bolster the cornerback depth, and both may be called upon sooner rather than later.
"It's a different type of league if you've never played serious ball in this league before," Brown said. "It's a lot different for someone that's never played. Being that we both have experience, I'm sure it will help us tremendously."
He added: "There are definitely new guys in a lot of different spots, but that's the beauty of it, you're brought in for a reason -- to compete and hopefully play. That's one thing that's great about it. It's a great opportunity for each and every one of us."
*6. QB Eli Manning is working on his cadence in preparation for the 12th Man. *
The Giants head into one of the best home-field advantages in football this Sunday in Seattle, where the Seahawks have won 19 of their last 21 home games. Seattle's CenturyLink Field is knows for the noise generated by the 12th Man, which the offense is preparing for in practice.
"We're not talking too loud in practice, so they get used to not hearing what I'm saying and just understand the timing of the offense and the timing of things, sticking to our rules and reading off the center and stuff like that," Manning said. "We have to have great communication and everybody's got to be on the same page."
7. The Giants are looking to start faster.
Heading into Week 10, Big Blue is the only team in the NFL that has yet to score a point on its first offensive possession of a game.
"Starting fast is important," offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo said. "We put time into it. Finishing strong is more important, but at the same point and time, we sure would like to start faster. We need to do a better job there. Every game is a different game. You don't go in with the same set of plays for each game to start out with. You have some things you hang your hat on. A lot of the times it has been third down conversions, whether we have been behind the chains early or just haven't started out quickly on first and second down the way we would like."
