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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –** Zack Bowman joined the Giants this season after six seasons with the Chicago Bears. He learned to work with a new group of cornerbacks, one that included fellow newcomers Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Walter Thurmond, plus holdovers like Prince Amukamara.
"In my career I've probably played with over 100 defensive backs in the National Football League," Bowman said this week. "Some are still playing and some came in for tryouts and some didn't stick through camp and stuff like that. You play with a lot of guys.
"The motto that I liked when I first came here was, 'Faces change but expectations don't.' I like that, because the room is always going to change in the National Football League, but at the same time the expectations to come to work every single day and to execute and to be able to play at a high level, it all stays the same."
That motto has come to life in the Giants' cornerbacks room. Amukamara (torn biceps), Thurmond (torn pectoral) and Trumaine McBride (broken thumb) have all suffered season-ending injuries. But the Giants still expect to shut down opposing passing attacks and anticipate winning every game they play.
Beginning tomorrow in Seattle, Bowman will have a greater influence in helping them meet those goals. He will move into the starting lineup to take the place of Amukamara, who was hurt last Monday against Indianapolis.
Bowman has started one game this season (at Dallas) and 24 in his career, so he accepts the added responsibility in stride.
"Nothing has changed for me," Bowman said. "It's not about starting, it's about going out there, doing my job and helping my teammates win and going out there and having fun. I've been in this league for a while now and I have seen the ups and the downs. You just have to try to be consistent and just kind of go with the flow and always be you.
"I've done a good job of taking notes. I always do a good job of watching film, asking questions and stuff like that. It's a copycat league, so you have a lot of friends in this league that have played against the team you're going to play against."
This week, Bowman contacted two former teammates who recently faced the Seahawks, one who now plays for the Oakland Raiders (who lost in Seattle last week) and another with the St. Louis Rams.
"I picked their brains about what they saw out of them and what their game plan was going into the game when they played them," Bowman said. "You may ask them, 'Hey, what did you all do against them? What was your mindset and thought process going into the game?' It helps every time that you can get any little nugget to kind of help you out for Sunday.
"It's the smallest turn that can turn into big things. You never know. That small, little nugget could lead to an interception, which could be the game-winning interception or it could change some momentum in the game."
Bowman did not have a flawless week, though it was not his fault. He contracted a stomach bug that forced him to missed practice Thursday and spend that night in a hospital. Bowman returned to practice yesterday.
"Obviously, I wasn't out there with my teammates, but that's where the veteran part of you comes in," Bowman said. "You have to take it into the classroom. I had to watch extra film, take extra notes, meet with the coaches a little extra so I could get caught up."
Although he's started less than 30 percent of his career games, Bowman has always prepared as if he had to start every one.
Keep an eye on these five players as the Giants face the Seahawks
DE Robert Ayers Jr. On Monday night against Indianapolis, Ayers accounted for seven of the Giants' 11 quarterback hits and their lone sack of Andrew Luck. Following the game, Ayers said he'd let those on the outside debate where it ranks on the list of his best performances, but he did acknowledge that his defensive line coach Robert Nunn has built confidence in him. "Coach Nunn put me in some situations to do good and I studied those guys and I watched them, and I was able to do some good things," Ayers said. "I feel that way every week. I feel like I can do that every week. That is not always the case. Now I just want to keep building on what I am doing, keep learning, and keep improving."
RB Peyton Hillis Starting running back Rashad Jennings is listed as doubtful for Sunday and could potentially miss his fourth straight game after suffering a knee injury in Week 5. Over that span, the Giants' ground game has struggled with consistency for a variety of reasons. Rookie Andre Williams has assumed the starting duties, but Hillis has also seen his touches increase, possibly warranting more after notching 70 yards from scrimmage last week.
5 PLAYERS TO WATCH MOVING FORWARD
DT Johnathan Hankins After giving up 203 and 156 rushing yards in back-to-back games, the Giants buckled down against Indianapolis and allowed 98 yards with a long of 17. Hankins and the defensive line (which missed tackle Cullen Jenkins last week with a calf injury; Jenkins is questionable for Sunday) will have a tough test against a physical running back in Marshawn Lynch.
![S Antrel Rolle
Primarily because of injuries, the Giants' secondary looks vastly different in Week 10 than it did in Week 1. And with so much in-season turnover, the players will look to their leader on the field, Antrel Rolle, to steady the ship.
"You have to go out there and play ball," Rolle said this week. "We can't hang our heads or dwell on the fact that we have a lot of injuries, especially in the secondary. You have to go out there and play ball. It is the next guy up and, unfortunately, we are going to miss those guys that are not with us. [In] this game, there are injuries all over the NFL. Teams find a way to win. That is what the good ones do."](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/giants/ikk8czxdm52zwonfgta7.jpg)
S Antrel Rolle Primarily because of injuries, the Giants' secondary looks vastly different in Week 10 than it did in Week 1. And with so much in-season turnover, the players will look to their leader on the field, Antrel Rolle, to steady the ship. "You have to go out there and play ball," Rolle said this week. "We can't hang our heads or dwell on the fact that we have a lot of injuries, especially in the secondary. You have to go out there and play ball. It is the next guy up and, unfortunately, we are going to miss those guys that are not with us. [In] this game, there are injuries all over the NFL. Teams find a way to win. That is what the good ones do."
![WR Odell Beckham Jr.
The rookie first-rounder recorded 156 receiving yards last week, which were the most by a Giant so far this season. And the 22-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday, isn't shying away from Seattle's vaunted defense, including cornerback Richard Sherman.
"These are the games you live to play for, the moments you live to play for, to go against the best of the best, to go against Richard Sherman, the Seattle Seahawks and the L.O.B. [Legion of Boom]," Beckham said. "To go against all those guys, why not? Why not embrace that opportunity? Why not take the challenge, accept it and face it?"
WATCH WR ODELL BECKHAM JR. PLAYER SPOTLIGHT](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/giants/wz9nmw4ta3taookrhgej.jpg)
WR Odell Beckham Jr. The rookie first-rounder recorded 156 receiving yards last week, which were the most by a Giant so far this season. And the 22-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday, isn't shying away from Seattle's vaunted defense, including cornerback Richard Sherman. "These are the games you live to play for, the moments you live to play for, to go against the best of the best, to go against Richard Sherman, the Seattle Seahawks and the L.O.B. [Legion of Boom]," Beckham said. "To go against all those guys, why not? Why not embrace that opportunity? Why not take the challenge, accept it and face it?"
WATCH WR ODELL BECKHAM JR. PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
"Mike Brown told me this my rookie year when I was with Chicano and low and behold, we had a game where the whole entire secondary went down and I was up," Bowman said. "I was able to go out there and make a few plays and had the game-winning interception. Never stop preparing, because you just never know when it will be your turn to go."
Although the Giants have lost their last three games and the secondary has been in continuous flux, Bowman said he couldn't be happier that he left Chicago to come here.
"I wouldn't change anything," he said. "I was in Chicago for six years, loved those guys, love the people and the organization there, good people. At the same time, to be able to come here and make new friends and have new brothers to go out there on the field to fight with, it's been fun. This is probably the most fun group of guys that I've been around. Just laughing, laid back, guys crack jokes on one another. They always keep the room nice and loose, but at the same time, guys are very focused and locked in on what they have to do."
Bowman has 10 tackles, three passes defensed and an interception this season. Now the Giants need him to ramp up his production as a starter. And he has another motto to help him do that.
"You can have a bad play," he said, "but don't have a bad day."
