Phillips fills a defensive void

ALBANY, N.Y. — When starting strong safety Gibril Wilson signed with the Oakland Raiders in the offseason, it left a gaping hole in the middle of the New York Giants' defensive backfield.

So when draft day approached, the decision was an easy one as the Giants chose Kenny Phillips, a safety out of the University of Miami. Phillips, the first safety taken in the 2008 draft, left the Hurricanes after his junior year.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin took a liking to the young safety right off the bat.

"He's been good right away," Coughlin said. "In the spring we noticed his range, and he is a physical guy. We have to make sure everyone understands the way we practice, but he's been very aggressive."

Despite high expectations, Phillips is just willing to wait and see what happens and play whatever role the Giants have for him, whether that's as the starter or something else.

"That's the goal, to be the starter," Phillips said in an interview after Wednesday morning's practice. "I'll just fit my role (on) special (teams), nickel and dime (packages), whatever it may be. I'm definitely playing for the starting job."

To that end, he's well on his way. But he still is the new guy, and even as a first-round pick, he's had to start from scratch.

"I'm still trying to learn the system and the guys are helping me out," Phillips said. "When you're the top dog, you definitely want to go out thereand do your best ... try to make as few mistakes as possible and earn the respect of the veterans."

Phillips has already earned some respect by being physical. His aggressive play put him at the top of the lists of many team's draft boards back in April, but Phillips said one of the toughest things to learn is that the NFL is more mental than physical.

"It's a lot different. Probably the biggest thing challenging me right now," Phillips said. "I'm being consistent all the time, but it's hard ... I'm used to finishing plays. Since we're not hitting, it's just trying to get in position. It's kinda weird, the ball in the air, but you can't really go get it because you just might hurt them."

One veteran, cornerback R.W. McQuarters, said he believes Phillips has the demeanor necessary to be a leader in the NFL.

"He's real quiet, you don't get cockiness at all, and he has a good head on his shoulders - he doesn't walk around like he owns the world," McQuarters said. "He doesn't walk around like he's the best thing out there, but he has a lot of confidence in himself and his ability."

Phillips has the resume to be a starter in the NFL. In 34 games with the Hurricanes, he started 33 times, making 203 tackles with seven interceptions, including three in one game against Duke.

But there's a lot of competition for playing time. Three players - Sam Madison, McQuarters and Sammy Knight - all have at least 11 years of NFL experience. Kenny Butler and Michael Johnson, among others, were key cogs in the Giants' championship run and Craig Dahl, an undrafted free agent who just re-signed with the club Wednesday after having surgery on his ACL, and Geoff Pope look to make an impact.

Phillips takes it all in stride.

"Sammy Knight, Michael Johnson are in front of me (on the depth chart). They're great guys to learn from and compete with," Phillips said. "They go hard every play, they get in position to make plays. It's gonna be tough for the coaches to make a decision."

Including all the practices in camp, he'll have at least four chances in preseason games against the Lions, Browns, Jets and Patriots until the season opener against the Redskins on Thursday, Sept. 4.

"I have to have something to stand out in the preseason games from those guys," Phillips said.

McQuarters, the former Chicago Bear and Detroit Lion, said he is pleased with Phillips' play during the first week of camp.

"He's done a great job. He's breaking on the ball well, making lots of checks," McQuarters said. "He has a huge (upside) as far as growth is concerned in learning the game."

McQuarters said he doesn't think Phillips will have far to go to make an impact on the Giants.

"Once he gets more comfortable with the defense and gets comfortable with the older players and some of the younger guys even, he'll be that much better," McQuarters said.

One player Phillips is already comfortable with is former Dolphin Madison, who is from the Miami area originally.

"He's been one of the greatest things about coming here," Phillips said. "He's been around for a long time, we're in the same area down in Miami, we connected as soon as we got here. He talks to me on and off the field. We have good camaraderie on and off the field."

Phillips said he knows it'll be tough to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but he wants to help the team return.

"I want to compete," Phillips said. "People want to beat us. They know we're Super Bowl champs, so the level of play goes up."

(benningtobanner.com)