Big Blues: Giants lose three players to injury for the season

If things couldn't get worse for the New York Giants when they received word that Osi Umenyiora would miss a month due to a knee injury, Big Blue received word Tuesday that they will be without three more players, only this time it will be for the season.

During the second quarter of their 41-13 victory against the Bears Monday night, cornerback Terrell Thomas tore his ACL when he got tangled up with a teammate and rolled over on his leg as he fell. The loss of Thomas is huge considering he was one of the leaders in tackles on the team with 101, including four forced fumbles and five interceptions. He was the Giants' best corner, and, as a team that has had secondary issues in the past, this is a loss that will hurt all season.

To add insult to injury, the Giants lost Marvin Austin, torn pectoral muscle, and reserve corner back, Brian Witherspoon to a torn ACL. Both players are to miss the season as well. Granted nobody knows what kind of impact Austin and Witherspoon would have made on this team, but, without them, the Giants will be depleted on the depth chart.

Also, add to this list that first round pick Prince Amukamara, who was expected to be a big contributor in the Giants secondary, broke his foot three weeks ago and is out for 10 weeks.

Coach Tom Coughlin tried to put a happy face on this situation, saying: "I think our guys will come rallying back. Certainly it will be a bigger plus if we find there are contributors. Some of the people we have here, some of the people we may be able to discover, if they can help us and contribute it will be a big plus. I think our guys will continue to believe in themselves. We're going to have to push our way through this."

No matter how the coach tries to sugar coat this, the Giants are in trouble. With so many injuries to their defense, it will be very hard for the Giants to remain competitive all season.

This is a clear result of the NFL Lockout. There was always a fear that many players would get injured in camp and during the course of the season because there wasn't a normal off-season and work out regime for players to follow. This is not to make an excuse for the players that are injured on the Giants; they had to take care of themselves, and I am sure they did the best they could, but, let's face it, this is a direct aftershock of the lockout.

What will the Giants do from here on will go a long way in determining where this team goes this season. After a inactive off-season where the Giants did absolutely nothing in free agency, these injuries only make things worse for Big Blue. An 8-8 season might be the best they can do this year. We shall see.