NFL News: Osi Umenyiora is down but not out
National Football League is currently going through an extensive training phase. The regular season will start in September while at this point; teams are busy removing their flaws during training camps. These camps provide the players with an opportunity to master their skills in order to form good coordination between each other. Training camps are a positive activity but sometimes, they also create controversies amongst players.
In 2009, Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants experienced the same thing when he walked out after a quarrel with his teammate Bill Sheridan. With the start of season, the Giants got stuck in a tangled situation and collapsed in the playoffs. Taking all things in a strand, Umenyiora, showed his intention to retire from the game. However, he changed his mind and decided to stick to the game for a few more years. He expressed his thoughts and said that he had been acting quite selfishly in the past.
Umenyiora further added, “As soon as I get on that playing field I’m going to make plays, period. No matter where they put me, if I’m coming off the bench, I’m just going to be the best bench player ever.”
Somehow, health is the major issue for Umenyiora at present. He can’t practice a full day on account of his hip injury which has been lingering on since 2006. By principle, he requires going through a surgery to get rid of this problem but he has been delaying the process intentionally. He said that, “There was pain in the hip, but that he would be able to play through it.” He intends to be associated with the game for four more years.
Nonetheless, he is aware of the fact that one day, he will have to go through the surgery but it is something he doesn’t want to do right now. He also visited Dr. Marc J. Philippon to discuss the matter during the off-season. Before Umenyiora, Dr. Philippon helped Alex Rodriguez to repair his torn labrum in the hip last year. In addition, the team management is also willing to provide him with complete medical assistance. The General Manager of the Giants, Jerry Reese said that they arranged Umenyiora’s meeting with Dr. Philippon.
The GM also conveyed his concerns about other players, “We want our players to be healthy, and we want them to feel good about going on the field for us. Check out everything you need to check out, feel good about it, and if you feel like you have enough confidence to play with a minor injury, we’re more than happy to have you play.” It was indeed a great comment from Jerry Reese.
Despite all his assurance, Umenyiora playing time is a big issue which creates problems for other defensive ends as well. In the meanwhile, Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka have a competition for the starting role in the game and they have also exchanged their positions during practices.
The defensive line coach Robert Nunn has kept a close eye to get the best results from players by their proper positioning in the field.
Osi Umenyiora has paid years of service to the New York Giants and he is still confident to use his talent and abilities for improving the performance of his team. He said, “I think they’re going to use me to the best of my abilities because this team wants to win. It’s not a personal vendetta against me or anything that I have done in the past.”
Umenyiora has declared that he is mentally very good and he will definitely play his part in the overall performance of the team.
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