Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are your Tuesday morning Giants headlines.
Rodgers-Cromartie: Amukamara 'captain' of the secondary
It might seem hard to believe but Prince Amukamara -- a quiet player once dumped in a cold tub because teammates wanted him to stand up for himself -- is now the veteran presence in the Giants secondary. And it's leader with Antrel Rolle now a member of the Chicago Bears. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, entering his eighth year in the league, acknowledged as much on Monday.
"I'm a quiet guy," DRC said. "He (Amukamara) is the captain, and we follow his lead. He's the vocal guy."
Amazing.
Amukamara, incidentally, told Tom Rock of Newsday that he won't try to be the forceful leader Rolle was.
"I wouldn't say every team needs that," Amukamara said. "Antrel led his way, which way he thought was right. We're just going to go with the flow. I don't think that void needs to be filled necessarily."
Rodgers-Cromartie admitted that the loss of Rolle, a good friend, stung him.
"Life goes on and it hurt a little bit but at this point you just have to get it out of your system," he said.
Odell Beckham downplays hamstring injury
Tom Coughlin on Monday said holding Odell Beckham out of practice with a sore hamstring was "precautionary." Beckham echoed the sentiment.
Odell Beckham Jr. held out of Giants' OTA with sore hamstring - Newsday
"Absolutely not," Beckham said when asked if the new injury feels like last year's. "I try not to even think about last year. Comparing this to last year is just not even comparable.
"Just not practicing today was enough for me. But it's part of the game. The good thing is that it's just precautionary. I don't want to miss anything. I'll just go with the flow."
Of course, a year ago the Giants were also downplaying a Beckham hamstring injury. In June, Beckham said he "felt pretty good." In mid-August the Giants said Beckham had not suffered a setback during practice, but he didn't practice after that for more than a month.
Point is, you get the idea that hamstrings and Beckham are always going to be a thing. And that they will always bear watching.
Shane Vereen 'in a foreign country'
Running back Shave Vereen, who signed with the Giants after four seasons with the New England Patriots, said starting with a new team is like "being in a foreign country."
"It has been challenging but it has been fun at the same time," Vereen said. "It is definitely a different language; a completely different language. It's like being thrown in a foreign country. But it is starting to click now and slowly [but] surely coming around. I'm asking a lot of questions and so hopefully here in a couple weeks I'll have it."