Hakeem Nicks 'felt good' in return to action

Hakeem Nicks got his first action of the preseason Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts, and the New York Giants wide receiver made his presence felt.

Targeted five teams, Nicks hauled in two passes from Eli Manning for 40 yards. Each reception was for 20 yards.

But while the Giants offense did not appear too sharp, Nicks considered his outing a successful one.

"I definitely think it (was a good building block)," he said. "It was beneficial for me to get back out there and just get my feet back up under me, to get the long drives and just try and get that timing back with Eli."

Nicks missed last week's preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Nicks, coming off of a season in which he was in and out of the lineup due to a number of lingering foot and knee injuries, suffered a groin injury at the start of training camp.

Simply returning to the field was an encouraging sign for the receiver, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

"(I'm) just trying to contribute tot he offense the best way possible," he said, "and do whatever I have to do to get the job done."

As Nicks returned to the field, it was his counterpart, Victor Cruz, who left early with an injury.

Cruz suffered a bruised heel, though X-rays came back negative. As of now, there is no indication of whether Cruz will play in the Giants' next preseason contest against the New York Jets on Saturday.

According to Nicks, the injury does not appear to be serious.

"I really don't think it's that serious," he said. "I think they were just playing it safe by holding him out. But I don't really know too many details about it, so I can't really comment on it."

Of course the last thing the Giants need is to lose one of their top wide outs for a second straight season. It doesn't appear that will be the case this year, though.

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