GIANT NOTES
As Tiki Barber put the finishing touches on his 31-yard touchdown run just before halftime last Sunday in Philadelphia, Amani Toomer was there to meet him in the end zone.
“Amani came up to me and was like, ‘We’re high powered!’ and I said, ‘You’re right,'” Barber said. “There are so many weapons here. That makes it comforting.”
The main weapon has been Barber, who leads the NFL in rushing after two weeks with 240 yards. Barber has needed only 24 attempts to lead the field – a 78-yard run against the Cardinals didn’t hurt – and his 10-yard average has all around him thinking big. Including Barber.
“Every running back wants to lead the league in rushing, every running back wants to say I’m the best this league has. If my offensive line keeps doing the same things, come year end, I might be able to say that.”
Although Jim Fassel expected big things from Barber, what’s taken place thus far is a bit much.
“I’d be less than honest with you if I said I thought he was going to be averaging 10 yards a carry and leading the NFL,” Fassel said. “But I truly believed the guy was going to have an outstanding year.”
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Barber is the creative force behind a T-shirt that promotes him and Ron Dayne, the Thunder and Lightning backfield. Barber said the shirt is a caricature of Barber and Dayne “stomping on the city of New York,” with thunder and lightning all around.
“It’s pretty cool,” Barber said. “You’ll see it soon.”
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TE Pete Mitchell was finally back on the field yesterday, making a complete return to practice, and he will make his season debut Sunday against the Bears.
Mitchell damaged ligaments in his left knee early in the Aug. 5 preseason opener against the Bears and his arrival completes the Giants offensive package.
“This is a long time coming. I’ve been waiting a long time to be healthy, and hopefully by Sunday I’ll be as healthy as I’ve been in a while,” Mitchell said. “I’m really looking forward to getting out there and staying more than two plays like I did in that preseason game.”
SS Sam Garnes was also back in contact drills after sitting out last week with a concussion. He will start on Sunday and was pleased that he was knocked around a bit to test for any post-concussion symptoms.
“I feel great,” Garnes said. “I took a shot, I was scared, like ‘whoa.’ Me and the tight end [Adam Young] collided, almost head to head. We banged heads pretty good. I told him ‘Thank you’ because I needed that.'”
RB Joe Montgomery, who grew up just outside of Chicago, is purchasing 48 tickets for the game at Soldier Field. But Montgomery doesn’t know if he’s playing since Fassel did not activate Montgomery for the first two games.
The Giants are as healthy as a team can possibly be. Only one player is listed on the injury report as anything other than probable for the game. CB Andre Weathers (knee) is questionable. DE Jeremiah Parker (neck) is set to make his NFL debut. The rookie seventh-round pick from California will likely be a special teams contributor.
