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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –** Jason Pierre-Paul's potential absence this week could lead to a big opportunity for Damontre Moore.
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"If you see me out there, I'm out there," JPP said.
Tom Coughlin remains hopeful that Pierre-Paul will keep intact his streak of consecutive games played, now at 57.
"I'm always upbeat," Coughlin said. "We'll see what happens." Asked if he expects the fourth-year pro to practice tomorrow, Coughlin said, "We're going to try it."
If Pierre-Paul is forced to miss a game for the first time in his career, or is limited, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said veteran Cullen Jenkins could move over from tackle to take his place on running downs and Moore, the third-round draft choice from Texas A&M, could step in when the Packers are expected to pass.
"We've seen him practice and, of course, we saw him in the preseason, so he would naturally be in the rotation," coach Tom Coughlin said of Moore. "He's got some pass rush ability."
"He would be in the picture in our third down situation, our rush package," Fewell said. "We see him making a contribution there."
Moore has had little opportunity to do that. He has played in eight games this season, mostly on special teams. Moore has one tackle, but made a big play last week against Oakland when he blocked a Marquette King punt that was scooped up by fellow rookie Cooper Taylor and returned 21 yards for a touchdown.
With JPP, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka ahead of him on the depth chart, Moore has had few opportunities to make a similar impact on defense.
"I'm excited a little bit," Moore said. "What player wouldn't be naturally excited? But at the same time, I just want to go out there and help the team and put them in the best situation, so if that's me out there, JPP if he's willing to go, it doesn't really matter.
"I think I'm fully ready. I like taking on the challenge, I prepared hard, I'm confident in the scheme and the coaches have put me in the best position so far. I feel like I can go out there and make something happen."
QUICK HITS >>
Running back Brandon Jacobs, who has missed the last three games with hamstring and knee injuries, returned to practice today on a limited basis. The team's athletic trainers must see how his knee responds before declaring Jacobs fit to play in the game. But if the 264-pound Jacobs can play, he could team with the 227-pound Andre Brown to give the Giants a hefty backfield.
"One thing is that teams are going to be sore," Jacobs said. "They're definitely going to be a little bit more sore than what they would be playing against other people."
It was mentioned to Jacobs that neither back runs away from defenders.
"No fair dodging," he said. "If you're there, you get hit, simple as that. One-yard gain, two-yard gain, whatever. If you're there, from 350-pound D-tackles to 240-pound linebackers, you're going to get hit. That's just what we stand for."
- Brown had 30 rushing attempts (for 115 yards) last week. Can he maintain that workload going forward?
"I have to," Brown said. "I have no choice. If they want me to do that, I'll be that guy. I'm just looking forward to going out there and playing good ball. That's it."
- The Giants' special teams have had their problems this season. So what was special teams coordinator Tom Quinn thinking last week when Jerrel Jernigan fumbled away the opening kickoff?
"Wondering if my name was Murphy," Quinn quipped. "It's mind boggling. The number one job of special teams is ball security. When they kick it off to us or punt it to us, we've got to give it to our offense and to have that happen it's been a long time since I've seen that happen. That's crazy. And then it bounces off his leg into their hands and they start running it back, so it was disappointing. We've got to be better at ball security, obviously."
- Asked if he was sticking with Jernigan as the kickoff returner, Coughlin said, "A couple to three guys are working, so we'll see how that is."
- In addition to Jacobs, cornerback Terrell Thomas (knee) and tight end Bear Pascoe (ankle) returned to practice on a limited basis. Pierre-Paul and cornerback Corey Webster (groin/ankle) did not work. Asked if it was unlikely that Webster would play Sunday, Coughlin said, "That's probably accurate."
- The starting time of the game on Sunday is 4:25 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for prime time, but was switched to a late-afternoon start so NBC can televise the Denver-Kansas City game in prime time.
