If you are looking for a Prime Time player on the Giants, look no further than Will Peterson.
The rookie cornerback made his first and only start of the season in the opener, a Monday night loss in Denver. With rookie Will Allen hobbled by a sprained left ankle, it looks at if Peterson’s second career start will come this Monday night, when the Giants square off with the Eagles for early supremacy in the NFC East.
Anyone around the nation tuning in will see just how much Peterson has progressed in six weeks. In his debut, Peterson was torched by the Broncos’ Pro Bowl receiver Rod Smith, a learning experience that was doubly difficult in that Peterson was filling in for Jason Sehorn, the Giants’ best cornerback. The entire defense operates differently without Sehorn: There is less inclination to blitz and defensive backs are forced to spend more time in coverage.
Since that opening loss, Sehorn has returned, Allen has moved in as a starter, Peterson is on the field about half the time as the nickel back and the Giants have become even more enamored with this year’s two highest draft picks. The two had the speed and the smarts to hang with the Rams fleet-footed receivers in last week’s 15-14 loss in St. Louis.
“I haven’t changed my mind on those kids as far as talent, they’re exceptional athletes who are going to get better and better in our system,” defensive coordinator John Fox said.
Allen battled throughout the Rams game on a bad ankle, and he did not practice again yesterday. Jim Fassel said the decision on Allen may come as late as a few hours before this Monday night’s game against the Eagles. Most likely, Peterson will get the nod and Emmanuel McDaniel will move in as the nickel back, a spot he played effectively in last season.
Peterson, a confident player who started his college career at Michigan and ended it at Western Illinois, recalls feeling extremely self-assured going into his first NFL game. “Going into the game I was emotionally high, I felt like they weren’t going to complete passes on me,” Peterson said. “I realized once I got in there things happen, and they happen fast. After the first game I felt like a rookie.”
He says he will not feel that way when he goes against the Eagles, a team with a far less efficient passing attack than the one Peterson started against in Denver. “The rookie thing is over,” he said. “They can call us rookies all year. Once you’ve been playing a few games, the rookie thing’s got to be thrown out the door, because we got to play. We’re going to be counted on. You can’t go in and say that’s an excuse, I missed that play because I’m a rookie.”
There will be no Rod Smiths out there this time, but the Eagles do have an upgraded passing attack, with James Thrash and Todd Pinkston the new starting receivers, plus Donovan McNabb’s uncanny ability to buy time for himself. Fox, thinking back to six weeks ago and Peterson’s first game, felt comfortable enough to make a prediction. “He’ll be better in this one,” Fox said.
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Giants KR Ron Dixon (ankle) has a “decent” chance of playing, according to Fassel. DT Keith Hamilton (shoulder) practiced and will play . . . Fassel was especially pleased with yesterday’s workout . . . Even though the Giants have beaten the Eagles nine straight times, they have found ways to adopt an underdog mentality. Up on their bulletin board is a national football magazine, the cover praising the Eagles . . . This is a smiling Fassel’s take on Lou Piniella’s promise that the Mariners will take their playoff series back to Seattle: “I think it’s foolish for a coach to guarantee that stuff.” Fassel, of course, made his now-famous guarantee last season that the Giants would make the playoffs.
