When the Giants were losing their first six games of the season, plenty of the team’s players came under criticism.
Defensive end Justin Tuck was one of them. Rodney Harrison of NBC said Tuck was on his “last legs” and several other observers opined that Tuck was on the back end of his time as an effective NFL player. The Giants have won four straight games now, however, and Tuck’s play has also taken a turn for the better.
The veteran defensive end credits a return to health that has him feeling like it is 2009 again, something that Tuck wasn’t certain would happen after a long stretch of nagging injuries that kept him from feeling like his old self.
“Sure,” Tuck said, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “Considering the success I’ve had in my career, and understanding that mentally I can still play the game at a very high level. But when your body isn’t allowing you to do that in those said years, you start to wonder if your body is going to respond back to when the game was easy. I feel great this year, I think my play is showing that. This is a sign of things to come for me to get back to the ultimate goal.”
Tuck and the rest of the defense have spurred the turnaround for the Giants over the last four games, although it’s fair to wonder how much of the turnaround can also be credited to facing a string of backup and/or injured quarterbacks. This Sunday’s game against the Cowboys should give some insight into the final answer on that front.
