Photo credit: AP | Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora listens to music as he warms up before a preseason game in Jacksonville, Fla. (Aug. 10, 2012)
Football coaches often find themselves yelling during practice. Usually it is encouragement or a correction or even expletives that are shouted and showered over the players as they prepare for an upcoming game. On Thursday, though, as the Giants spent their final day on the field before facing the Jets on Saturday night, the bellowing had a unique message. Every so often, while the defense was facing the scout offense, the coaches would sound the alarm.
"Tebow is on the field! Tim Tebow is on the field!"
Of course he wasn't. It was only third-string quarterback Ryan Perrilloux running plays that the Jets might consider using with Tebow in the game. No one knows if or when the Jets will unveil their Wildcat look with Tebow for public consumption, but if they decide to do it Saturday, the Giants will be ready for it.
"We would expect that it may happen, so we've done some things to defend it," Tom Coughlin said. "At some point in time, if in fact it's going to be used, they need to look at it in preseason."
So far the Giants have only seen Tebow from afar, through their televisions and on the back pages of the newspapers. Saturday night they'll get to see him up close. At the very least the Giants are expecting him to see significant time in the second half with the rest of the second stringers. But they also know that Tebow could, at any time, come onto the field with the starters for his debut as the gimmicky quarterback the Jets envisioned when they traded for him.
That's just what the Jets want, for teams to be worried about him. Every rep that a coach somewhere in the league spends yelling to tell the team that Tebow is on the field in a practice is a rep not spent against the base offense.
The Giants will not face the Jets or Tebow in the regular season. But they will face three pretty mobile quarterbacks in their own division -- Michael Vick, Tony Romo, and newcomer Robert Griffin III -- as well as Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers and others who can make plays with their legs as well as their arms. So they're using this time and this game not only to prepare for Tebow, but for other quarterbacks like him.
The difference with the Jets is they'll make their intentions clear whenever Tebow jogs out onto the field.
"Most teams don't present you that type of wrinkle in an offense like they're going to," Osi Umenyiora said. "It definitely gives you something to work on that you usually wouldn't have to . . . If that's what's presented to us, as far as the Wildcat, I'm sure we're going to see that at some other point during this year. So, it's good to work on it now."
Not everyone is concerned about it, though. The Giants have certainly heard enough about Tebow in the last few months. Pardon them if they cringe a little when his name is shouted at them by their own coaches.
"I might not even get the opportunity to play against him," Justin Tuck said. "I don't know how they're going to do it. But what I'm worried about is their right tackle, their right guard, their center, their left guard and their left tackle. That's who I'm facing. The quarterback is just bonus."
Notes & quotes: Coughlin said newly signed CB Laron Scott will likely get a chance at kickoff returns Saturday night . . . Despite a muffed punt last week, expect rookie Jayron Hosley to get another chance at returns in this game. "One issue will not make the total judgment in that regard," Coughlin said. "Hosley has looked pretty good this week in practice."
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