Kenny Phillips era to begin Sunday
Just heard from our man Boone at Giants practice today that James Butler (knee) is out against the Eagles and rookie Kenny Phillips will get his first NFL start on Sunday.
I’m sure Boone will have some quotes from Phillips up here soon, but here’s some of what he said yesterday when I and a few other reporters grabbed him for a little chat.
On players talking about Westbrook: “We’re not blowing it our of proportion, but it’s an emphasis wherever he’s lined up.”
On the challenge of covering him as a receiver: “We all work on covering 1-on-1 every day in practice. The better man wins.”
On adjusting to him being lined up all over the field: “If you see him out there lined up on a linebacker, maybe you want to switch it and have a safety cover him. Or have a corner cover him instead of covering a tight end. We just want to figure out where he is.”
On the challenge of tackling Westbrook: “Watching him on film, it’s going to be tough to tackle him one-on-one so we’re just going to swarm to the ball, get 11 hats to the ball, and we should be successful with that.”
On the (at that time) possibility of his first NFL start: “I’m excited. I’m not nervous. It’s not like I haven’t been playing. I’m just looking forward to the challenge and making the best of my opportunity.”
Any butterflies? “Nah, not really. I don’t want to get nervous because then I’ll be thinking too much. I’m confident in what I’ve been doing in practice this week, so I should be okay.”
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Things I wonder about now that K Phillips gets his first NFL start:
1) Will James Butler ever get to start for the Giants again?
2) How long till Phillips is pronounced the fulltime starter?
3) How long until Phillips takes over as a perrenial All-Pro?
Just so everyone knows I am objective and reasonable, I'm going to need to see more proof from him as a player to pronounce his ride to the Hall of Fame secured.
But he is a hard hitting, ball hawking, run stopping, coverage guy, who excels and makes everyone around him better, so I may have high expectations (note: not hopes) for him after watching him for years at the U and now the Giants.
Welcome to the Kenny Phillips era fans, it should be a great ride!