Giants Injury Report: Could cornerback depth improve in Week 2?

It may not have looked like it during the Giants’ 24-17 opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday night, but coach Tom Coughlin had prepared for depth issues at cornerback. New York was already playing without Prince Amukamara (ankle) and Terrell Thomas (knee, IR) so Coughlin thought ahead and made sure fourth-string cornerback Justin Tryon saw plenty of reps in practice.

The preparedness nearly paid off when Tryon entered the game for an injured Michael Coe (hamstring) in the fourth quarter, but ultimately Tryon and safety Antrell Rolle were beaten by Cowboys receiver Miles Austin on 34-yard touchdown reception that ultimately sealed the victory.

On Thursday Coughlin said that he had resisted putting rookie Jayron Hosley in for Coe because they had been focused on molding the third-round pick into a nickelback.

The good news is that Tryon might not have to start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. The Giants have 10 days to rest before their second game, so they should be fresh.

Amukamara can finally hop: Amukamara, last year’s first-round pick, sounded confident that he can play next Sunday when speaking with the media on Thursday. He said he previously had trouble jumping because of his high ankle sprain, but that’s changed recently, which is a positive sign.

“This is the week I had in mind so I hope it happens this week,” said Amukamara, who has yet to run on his ankle.

Amukamara said “it feels a lot better” than it had in recent days.

Coe expects to play vs. Bucs: Coe’s first start ended with a hamstring issue, but it wasn’t the one he had during the preseason. Like weakside linebacker Keith Rivers -- who also missed time in the preseason with a hamstring problem -- Coe now has an issue with his other hamstring.

However, Coe feels that some extra rest would have him ready for the Week 2 game against the Bucs.

“The swelling went down, it wasn’t too bad to begin with,” he said. “I was able to move around and do some things. We’ll be able to see better the next couple of days, but I feel very confident.

“We’ll see after these next three or four days what I can do as far as sprints. I know I can still change direction, still jog, do a lot of things.”

Hakeem Nicks says he’s almost there: Nicks was targeted six times by Eli Manning on Wednesday and came away with four catches for 38 yards, so obviously his surgically repaired foot wasn’t too much of an issue. However, he did say that he thinks it will take two or three weeks for him to feel normal again.

“I came out pretty good, a little sore afterwards as we expected but the main thing is I finished the game, played tough,” he said.

Weak(side) hamstrings: Rivers’ hamstring issue wasn’t too serious, he said on Thursday, although he did briefly leave Wednesday’s game before the half.

“I’ll be alright,” he said. “Just taking it day by day and we’ll see each day.”

Fellow weakside linebacker Michael Boley has also been dealing with a hamstring issue, and even though he admitted to being sore, he said his leg felt fine after the game.

Chase Blackburn feels fine: Blackburn left the game in the fourth with a stinger, but said he’s fine and expects to practice all week.

Da’Rel Scott expects to be active vs. Bucs: Scott missed Wednesday’s game because of a knee injury that he suffered in the final preseason game, but he told CBSSports.com that the swelling has gone down and all the tests came back negative. He expects to play next week.

Will Beatty could be on his way back to left tackle: Beatty was supposed to be the starting left tackle this season, but because his ailing back prevented him from practicing much last week, Coughlin started Sean Locklear and used Beatty as a blocking tight end in the jumbo formation.

Coughlin said Beatty “seemed to do okay,” in terms of managing his injury.

Follow the Giants and Alex Raskin @CBSSportsNFLNYG and @AlexRaskinNYC.