Plaxico Burress was back, but Jeremy Shockey wasn’t. Shockey still needs a day or two, maybe more, to get back from the hamstring tightness that cropped up on him during the Baltimore game Sunday.

As for Burress, he looked okay in his first practice since Aug. 2. Manning went to him on three consecutive routes, barely missing him with the first pass. Burress then hauled in a one-handed grab by the sideline, and then crossed the middle for another open reception.

“They need to practice together so their adjustments are all on the same page,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “He needs to know exactly where Plaxico is going to operate in the coverage. Those are the things you get away from.”

Burress told the trainers he felt good afterward, but tomorrow will be the test. Until then, at least he got some work in with Eli Manning.

“It’s good to have him on the field with the quarterback,” Coughlin said. “If we get Shockey back out there, we’ll get some real positive work done.”

WR Sinorice Moss had a sprained ankle and probably won’t practice again until Thursday, and maybe later.

As for the notes, the Giants finished off practice with some scout team Red Zone drills. They also ran a lot against the regular scout team, with Laveranues Coles marked out with a hand-written “87” on a practice jersey.

Backup center Matt Lentz continues to struggle, sending a shotgun snap over Anthony Wright’s head. Even with backup center Grey Ruegamer out now for several weeks with a high right ankle sprain, there appears to be little chance of Lentz making the roster.

First-unit defensive end Justin Tuck had a nice sack on Wright during a scout-team segment.

Manning hit a fourth-down pass to Amani Toomer between Osi Umenyiora, who had dropped into coverage from his defensive end spot, and cornerback Kevin Dockery. Toomer then had a juggling catch between safeties James Butler and Gibril Wilson over the middle.

Catch of the day went to fifth-round tight end Kevin Boss, who concentrated hard to gather in a long carom off the grasstops from the hands of David Tyree. Boss then gained his balance, turned, and ran with it. Very encouraging.

Fourth-round linebacker Zak DeOssie batted down a Tim Hasselbeck pass at the line, and Antonio Pierce came in nicely on a run-blitz to get Decori Birmingham well behind the line.

That’s it.

Ciao for now.

Some roster moves were just announced.

WR Michael Jennings (Achilles) and DT Charrod Taylor (foot) were waived/injured. OL Dan Parrish was waived outright.

WR Will Buchanon was claimed off Oakland waivers. And C Nick Jones and S J.R. Reed were signed.

Not a lot of recognizable names on the newcomers. But you do need people to fill the practice roster.

Ciao for now.

Wow!!!! Eli Manning finally rose up on his hind legs and barked back at someone who has become a major critic of his, Tiki Barber.

The former Giants running back, of course, made some critical comments during Sunday’s halftime show about Manning’s leadership qualities, or lack thereof, last year. That’s not the first time Barber has said stuff, but this is certainly the first time the quarterback has spread a little vinegar on Barber’s verbal salad.

“Last year about Week 12, I turned over the offensive
motivational speech to Eli and he was gung-ho to do it, but he was uncomfortable doing it,” Barber said. “I think a lot of it had to do with vets being around—myself, Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress. He didn’t feel like his voice was going to be strong enough and it showed.

“Sometimes it was almost comical the way that he would say things.”

Having had two days to think about those comments, Manning wasn’t laughing.

“I guess I’m just happy that Tiki’s made a smooth transition into the TV world,” Manning said. “It’s one of those deals, I’m not going to lose any sleep. I could have questioned his leadership skills last year, calling out the coach, retiring in the middle of the season, that he’d lost the heart.

“You hear your running back has lost the heart to play the game in the 10th week, you can see that a little bit. But I’m not gonna get concerned. I’m just going to go out and play ball.”

He blamed a lot of it on the nature of television.

“It’s just one of those deals where a guy goes into the media and he has to say stuff,” Manning said. “That’s just the way it is. That’s the world we live in. We’ve just got to deal with it.”

That’s the fire everybody’s been waiting to see from Manning. Even if he doesn’t show it on the field, he’s taken a step in assuming the leadership of the offense with his outburst. Now, if he can just translate that into a few more completions this year…

Ciao for now.

Back up for today and tomorrow, and then that’s it for Albany for another year. Camp breaks Thursday, and these guys can’t wait to get back home.

Maybe it’s because the hospital’s a little closer down in New Jersey. What a mess Sunday was. The good thing—if there are good things to be had out of torn Achilles tendons and dislocated elbows and yanked hamstrings—is that most of the guys who went down were down-the-line players. Losing Sam Madison for several weeks won’t be as big a loss as one thinks, especially if Corey Webster or Aaron Ross can step up. Will Demps had been making a big play for a starting job, but James Butler can probably handle strong safety until Demps resumes his challenge in a few weeks.

I feel horrible about Michael Jennings, though. He’s a thoroughly likeable kid who worked hard and had a great camp. He looked like he was going to make the roster, and now his season is over.

Losing Grey Ruegamer to a high ankle sprain could present a touchy situation if Shaun O’Hara goes down. The natural move might be to shift Rich Seubert over from guard, but that would involve touching two spots, a problem that often leads to instability.

Could this all be the beginning of an injury bug that torpedos Tom Coughlin’s critical season? Who knows? But it’s not a good start. He’d better be careful with the starters against the Jets. Maybe pulling them at halftime is the safest route.

Be back with more stuff later. One practice today at 2:40 p.m.

Ciao for now.

Hey guys!

We’re doing a preview piece on fans who are heading out to London for the Oct. 28 game with the Dolphins. And I’m coming to you for help. If you’re going, AND YOU COME FROM WESTCHESTER, ROCKLAND, OR PUTNAM COUNTIES, and wouldn’t mind being interviewed by one of the great shining stars in the journalistic firmament (or me, if that guy can’t make it), then send me your name, phone number and city or town where you live at my company e-mail (epalladi@lohud.com). All communications will be kept confidential. Promise.

Okay. Start writing.

Ciao for now.

Before the practice, the Giants placed Darcy Johnson, a shoo-in to be either the second or third tight end on the squad, on season-ending IR after an MRI revealed a partially torn right anterior cruciate ligament. Perhaps revealing a confidence in both Kevin Boss and Michael Matthews, they declined to sign a tight end to replace Johnson.

They also waived/injured DE Dek Bake (back) and CB Travonti Johnson (quad), and waived OL Chris Patrick. They signed OL Dan Parrish, OL Myniya Smith, and DT Manuel Wright.

For all those who clamored that the Giants give up a draft pick in the supplemental draft for Nebraska’s Patrick, just goes to show why few people bid on these guys in the first place. The Giants’ move sort of justifies why the kid had no bidders in July.

As for the new pickups, you may be familiar with Smith. He was on the practice squad two years ago. Wright, 6-6, 329, had been with Miami, and earned a reputation for weight and emotional problems. He’s the guy former Dolphins coach Nick Saban reduced to tears during practice.

Parrish was most recently with Jacksonville.

Also, CB Corey Webster had to sit out because of a tight hip-flexor. TE Kevin Boss (shoulder) returned to individual drills only, and WR Plaxico Burress (ankle) tried to return by didn’t make it past warmups. DT Charrod Taylor sat with a toe injury, but should return tomorrow.

Jared Lorenzen had one of his better practices. He hit both Anthony Mix and Marco Thomas in the deep middle, right in stride, as the receivers fried up seventh-round safety Michael Johnson. Later in the practice, Lorenzen dropped a great ball between Johnson and LB Tyson Smith to allow Thomas to make a clean catch.

He and Eli Manning might have had more completions, too, had the receivers been more sure-handed as a group. But there were too many drops. One of the worst came at the end of practice when second-round WR Steve Smith dropped a wide open Lorenzen pass in the back of the end zone.

Amani Toomer had a nice grab past first-round corner Aaron Ross off a Manning throw.

S Will Demps intercepted Derrick Ward’s ugly option pass, and Adrian Awasom once again took apart second-string tackle Guy Whimper for a sack on Manning.

Jeremy Shockey ended practice with a leaping touchdown grab off Manning, and then jubilantly threw the ball into the crowd sitting on the hill behind the end zone.

Ciao for now.

Only one practice today at 2 p.m. Some bad news already, though. Backup tight end Darcy Johnson, who went down in yesterday morning’s practice after getting his feet tangled, has a partial tear of the right ACL in addition to the MCL sprain doctors originally diagnosed.

Hope to get an update on Johnson’s condition soon. Suffice to say, with Kevin Boss’ shoulder contusion keeping him sidelined for now, the Giants are down to two healthy tight ends in Jeremy Shockey and Michael Matthews. Not much of a practice rotation there, but at least we’ll get a good idea of what Matthews can do.

Ciao for now.

Full pads tonight, but not a lot of ferocious hitting by design.

Placekicker Lawrence Tynes continued sitting with a strained left calf caused by overwork. Aside from him, seven others sat out including one-practice-per-day receiver Amani Toomer and injured linebacker Gerris Wilkinson.

As for the practice, Giants might want to start thinking about teaching Zak DeOssie the short-snap for field goals. Three of four of fellow rookie Jay Alford’s snaps either bounced or went wide, causing a holding adventure for Jeff Feagles. But he got the holds down and hit all four field goals.

Jeremy Shockey had an up-and-down practice, dropping Eli Manning’s throw between Antonio Pierce and R.W. McQuarters, but coming back on a nice screen completion as Osi Umenyiora got through.

Nyack’s Ryan Grant had a nice run around left end.

First-round cornerback Aaron Ross made an interception 10 yards back of a Jared Lorenzen pass that bounced off David Tyree’s hands and went high in the air. One thing about Lorenzen. He’s got a cannon left arm, but almost no touch. Could get dangerous if he ever has to throw a dumpoff in a game situation.

Safety James Butler dropped an interception off Manning.

That’s it until tomorrow.

Ciao for now.

Any of you guys have parking issues with the off-site lots last Saturday?

We spoke to Giants Stadium operations consultant Bill Squires today, and he said most of the complaints—especially the ones about being ferried to the stadium only moments before kickoff—were caused by people leaving for the game late. Now, no excuses here. But if a half-filled stadium can cause those kinds of headaches, imagine what things might be like when 76,000 show up for the regular season.

Anyway, Squires recommended three things to help alleviate things. Carpool, mass transit, and leaving early. If, say, you leave for a 1 p.m. game at 10 a.m., you might want to adjust that to 9:30.

Otherwise, Squires admitted there really are no solutions to the problems. He’ll be adding some extra signage to help direct people to the buses that will leave them off closest to their cars. But other than that, it is what it is. Losing 5,000 spaces to the construction of the new stadium is simply going to cause problems, and those without pre-paid parking permits are going to have to deal with them for the next three years.

All tales of parking nightmares are welcome here, as well as suggestions we might pass along. Keep it clean. Keep it rational. But feel free to vent.

Ciao for now.

Gonna have a morning practice report. But first, I was saddened to hear about the death of Phil Rizzuto.

I’m too young, of course, to ever have seen him as a player. But I grew up with him as an announcer. Even went to this high school journalists day at Yankee Stadium where he addressed a whole group of us. Coolest thing I ever did until I got into this racket fulltime. And Scooter was as accommodating as ever, regaling us wannabes with stories of his favorite calls.

Me, I loved his enthusiasm for even the most mundane action. And the way he called every partner he ever had “You Huckleberry!” Frank Messer, Bill White, whoever. They all got the treatment. He kind of made me remember what baseball—and by extension all sports—were about. Having fun. Being passionate.

Tell me about your favorite Rizzuto story. In the meantime, munch on this morning’s practice.

• Eli Manning and Jared Lorenzen had perfectly mediocre days, with numerous passes sailing to no one. Part of that could be miscommunication with receivers. Only Lorenzen had a physical excuse, as he showed up at lunch with his left knee wrapped for a second day after he was grazed by a defensive back yesterday.

• It wasn’t all bad, however. Especially for Manning, who ended practice with a touchdown in the two-minute drill. Credit Michael Jennings for making a nifty Z-out cut (in-out in my world) to get away from Corey Webster. Manning put it on the money, and Jennings caught the ball, turned it upfield, and ran the final 20 yards for the score.

• Jeremy Shockey showed good hands in making a leaping, rolling catch near the goal line in back of R.W. McQuarters off Manning’s throw. That came just a few plays before rookie Steve Smith made a leaping catch on Lorenzen’s pass near the sidelines and held on as Kevin Dockery plowed him out of bounds.

• Jennings showed he’s not shy about contact, either. When Sam Madison tried to jam him at the line, Jennings got free with a nice forearm to Madison’s head, eliciting a grunt from the veteran cornerback.

• The defense had some moments as roster longshot Tommy Davis, a defensive end, swept past second-string left tackle Guy Whimper for a sack on Lorenzen. Second-unit middle linebacker Chase Blackburn knocked down a pass in coverage, and starting weakside linebacker Kawika Mitchell came free for a sack on Manning.

• A not-so-good sight on defense was Gerrick McPherson, who has had a decent camp, dropping an easy interception off Lorenzen’s underthrown pass.

Be back with more after the evening practice.

Ciao for now.