How much would the Giants miss the Hynocerous?

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said last week that the Giants were "very confident" Bear Pascoe could do the job at fullback while Henry Hynoski recuperates from knee surgery. Pascoe has done it before and Coughlin's confidence that Pascoe can do an adequate job filling in is justified.

That, however, does not mean the Giants will not miss the Hynocerous if he isn't ready to start the regular season, or if he takes a while to regain full strength.

How much will the Giants miss the 6-foot-1, 266-pound bruiser of a fullback? Well, Pro Football Focus gives us a pretty good idea in naming Hynoski a 'Secret Superstar.' PFF writes, in part:

As he becomes a bigger part of the Giants' offensive success, Secret Superstar Henry Hynoski proves that the fullback is not yet extinct in the NFL.

Without Hynoski, the Giants will miss a reliable pass protector with a growing role in the offense. Most importantly, they’ll miss one of the best run-blocking fullbacks in the league. So closely tied to his team’s success, The Hynocerous has shown us that the fullback is not yet extinct in the NFL. Let’s hope that his days of charging, and dancing, are far from over.

Here are a few of the notes PFF passed along:

• Hynoski has surrendered only one quarterback pressure in 94 pass-blocking snaps over the past two seasons.
  
• Of the Giants' 18 rushing touchdowns in 2012, Hynoski was the lead blocker on 15 of them.
• Hynoski's +7.6 blocking grade in 2012 was fifth-best in the league among fullbacks. Pascoe's career-best run-blocking grade, per PFF, is +0.8.

There is the silver lining that Pascoe working at fullback leads to more snaps at tight end for promising second-year player Adrien Robinson. There is also, however, the curious fact that the Giants have released zero information about the knee surgery Hynoski underwent.

The Giants can only hope that Hynoski is full strength as close to Week 1 as possible.