Prince Amukamara Optimistic About His Progress

Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara knows that hamstring injuries are tricky, and that if you rush back too soon from the, you can set yourself back.

Still, after finally returning to the practice field for the first time in over a week, the Giants starting cornerback said he was encouraged by how he came through Wednesday’s practice, where he was listed as limited.

“I feel like I made out great,” he said. “I’m a little sore, but I got a lot of reps for the most part and just see how it feels tomorrow and take it day by day.”

Amukamara paused when asked if there was anything he wasn’t able to do physically that he might need to do in a game.

“No, not at the moment. I practices, and I covered well and I got good feedback from the trainers and the coaches, so no, there’s nothing I can say that I was limited to doing today.”

At the same time, he knows that the temptation is there to push through any discomfort he might be feeling and that he has to play it smart, especially if he’s planning to cover speedsters such as the Ravens’ Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin, and Jacoby Jones.

“I just have to keep asking myself – you always try to put the team before yourself — but I keep asking myself if there is a situation where I could re-injure it and we make it to the playoffs, and then I’m out the playoffs, that’s going to be very unfortunate for me and the team,” he said. “This is such a crucial game and my team does need me so it’s like a Catch-22. So I guess I just have to be smart about it.”

And if he’s not at 100 percent, he said there are still things he can do that will allow him to compete at the level his team needs him to be at, most notably relying on technique and instincts to break up plays.

“It’s man vs. man, so yeah, you have to have your top speed,” he said. “But if your top speed is 4.6, 4.7, I think you can still get away with (being slowed down) as long as you have good technique.”