Good news for the New York Giants: Justin Tuck is putting in a better effort this offseason.
The uncertainty created by last year's NFL lockout had a detrimental effect on the defensive end's work habits, something Tuck admitted on Thursday.
"I'm just working harder," Tuck said, according to the New York Daily News. "Last year, with all of the uncertainty around football, I might've laxed a little bit in my regimens. But I guarantee you that won't be the case this year."
Tuck missed four games in 2011 because of neck, groin and shoulder issues. Were the injuries the reason he's turned up the intensity in his workout program?
"A little bit. But I'm a New Jersey resident now," he told The Star-Ledger. "So instead of just sitting at home and watching cartoons, I came and worked out."
(Perhaps this explains the sustained physical fitness of Garden State icon Bruce Springsteen.)
In other feel-good Giants news, Chad Jones is officially with the team, working out for the first time since the 2010 car accident that nearly cost him his leg.
"From Day 1, the doctors were saying that I wasn't even going to be able to walk again," Jones said. "They were telling me I was lucky they were able to save my legs and the foot. (Now I'm) just jumping over hurdles as I go and proving people wrong."
Giants general manager Jerry Reese cautioned Jones still "has a long way to go," but just practicing with teammates represents a substantial personal victory.
