Kenny Phillips feeling good for Giants

Two years almost to the day after microfracture knee surgery, Kenny Phillips is looking like the Kenny Phillips of old.

That's great news for the Giants and even better news for the former first-round draft pick, who said yesterday he wondered if his NFL career was in danger of extinction barely after it began.

"Whenever they say the words 'career ending,' that bothers you and really scares you a lot," Phillips told The Post yesterday.

Threatening Phillips' NFL future was arthritis in his left knee that forced the young safety from Miami to the injured-reserve list less than one month into his second season while prompting the microfracture procedure in October 2009.

The surgery calls for small holes to be drilled into the affected area so clotting can take the place of missing cartilage, and not all athletes who have that operation make it back with their careers intact.

But Phillips looks to be a happy exception for the Giants. He has been so disruptive during their 2-1 start that normally measured defensive coordinator Perry Fewell used the playground term "just balling" to describe Philips this week.

"We're very pleased with how he is breaking on the ball or when he's tackling," Fewell said.

Phillips is averaging seven tackles a game this season going into tomorrow's visit to Arizona. He also has broken up five passes and forced a fumble thanks to defensive game-plans that have had him playing closer to the line of scrimmage and covering tight ends more often.

"Getting in the box [near the line] has really boosted my confidence," Phillips said. "I like having those responsibilities again. It makes me feel like a big contributor."

That's a far cry from last season, when the Giants asked Phillips to play deep center field in the hope of protecting his recovery process. His individual numbers were middling as a result, and the lingering memory of Phillips' year was a missed fourth-quarter tackle on Eagles tight end Brent Celek last December that ignited Philadelphia's devastating comeback win at the Meadowlands.

"I feel like I had a solid season [in 2010], but there were things I saw that I wanted to break on but couldn't get there as fast as I wanted to," Phillips said. "I wasn't as explosive or as quick as I wanted to be."

But all that changed this offseason, when Phillips noticed during his workouts the strength had returned to his knee and it no longer needed to be babied.

Phillips made his return to form evident from Day 1 this season, leading the Giants with nine tackles and two pass breakups in the opening road loss to the Redskins, and he hasn't slowed down since.

"He's looking great," fellow safety Deon Grant said. "I mean, he's healthy. Last year, he was rushed in there and made the best of it. But he's comfortable now, the chemistry is there, and he's looking like the Kenny they drafted."

The Giants will need that tomorrow, considering the Cardinals boast the potent Pro Bowl receiving tandem of Larry Fitzgerald and tight end Todd Heap to balance Beanie Wells' power running style.

Phillips plans to be right in the thick of it once again, thanks to a left knee that he said gives him no pain or problems two years after it was repaired.

"They told me I could make it back, and that's exactly what I feel like I've done," Phillips said. "I'm just having fun out there again."

And he's balling, too.


(nypost.com)