The beaten-up Giants secondary could use some help Sunday night in Green Bay against Aaron Rodgers, and Ben McAdoo is hopeful a few of his injured defensive backs can return.
McAdoo said cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (groin) and Eli Apple (hamstring) will practice on a limited basis Wednesday. Apple was inactive for Monday night’s 24-10 loss to the Vikings, while Rodgers-Cromartie was dressed, but only was available in an emergency.
“I would like to think so,” McAdoo said on a conference call Tuesday, when asked about the availability of the two players. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Safety Nat Berhe is in the concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in the Sept. 25 loss to the Redskins. But it doesn’t appear the Giants have any plans to sign any safeties, despite being without Berhe and rookie Darian Thompson (foot), who has missed the last two games, for the time being.
“I’m confident in the players we have at safety right now,” McAdoo said.
The Giants aren’t piling up points as many predicted. They are averaging just 18.3 points per game, 28th in the league, though Big Blue is sixth in yards per game, at 382.3.
“Right now, we’re sixth in the league in offense and we’re not executing anywhere near where we are capable of executing,” McAdoo said. “We need to eliminate the mistakes, the penalties and the turnovers from our play, so we have chance to showcase the type of offense we can be.”
One of the bright spots in the loss to the Vikings was rookie running back Paul Perkins, who turned a screen pass into a 67-yard reception to set up the Giants’ lone touchdown.
“He’s going to get more and more comfortable,” quarterback Eli Manning said of the team’s fifth-round pick out of UCLA in an appearance on WFAN. “You see his skill set, what he can do.”
McAdoo wasn’t overly critical of special teams ace Dwayne Harris’ first-quarter muff of a punt that set up the Vikings’ first touchdown.
“He’s a player who wants to make an impact in the football game and do what he does best,” the coach said. “That’s making plays on special teams. He’s very aggressive in doing so. We just have to make sure we field the punt first.”
Tight end Larry Donnell is in the concussion protocol, according to McAdoo. Otherwise there were no significant injuries from Monday’s loss.
The Giants signed quarterback Logan Thomas to the practice squad and linebacker Deontae Skinner on Tuesday.