On my draft day in 2008 I knew my life was going to change. I wasn’t sure when or where I was going to get drafted, but I knew I was going to get drafted that day and I figured sometime in the first round. But I watched the draft until about the 20th pick and I still hadn’t heard my name called so I actually stopped watching it.

My agent had gotten me and my family a bungalow at a hotel on South Beach. Devin Thomas was in the bungalow next to mine. I turned off the TV and went out to the pool and just hung out with my family and talked and stuff.

I got the call when I was out by the pool talking to my uncle and my granddad. It was a number I didn’t recognize so I figured it was a team calling me. It was either Jerry Reese or Coach Coughlin, I don’t remember who I talked to first because they passed me around to a bunch of people with the team. They said, how would you like to be a Giant? I was smiling, everyone was running around and screaming because they knew it was the call we were waiting for. I was ecstatic.

It was definitely a sigh of relief. I didn’t know what round it was or what pick it was. I had heard so much of the negative leading up to the draft, people saying I wouldn’t get picked in the first round. When I found out it was the Giants I was excited that I went in the first round, but I was still disappointed that 30 other teams passed on me.

Right away I loved the idea of playing in New York. I had never been to New York, I had never really been outside of Miami, so to go play in New York City I thought would be great except for the cold weather.

I love this team and this organization so much that I already hope to play my entire career here. That’s how much I love the Giants organization. When you talk to guys who played for other teams before coming here, they always talk about what a difference it is and speak highly of the program.

I guess I walked right into the perfect situation.

If I could talk to the guys who are going to be drafted next week, I would just tell them to know that at the end of this whole process, no matter where they are drafted or if they are even drafted, they will get an opportunity. As long as you’re with a team you just have to prove yourself and the sky is the limit.

Kenny Phillips is a safety with the New York Giants. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.phillips21.com.

I have to say I think my knee is way ahead of schedule. Everything is looking good, from what the doctors say, and I’ll be running by the end of the month. Then I’ll start picking up my rehab a little bit more.

Basically, I feel like I could play tomorrow if I had to. The trainers and doctors have done a real good job of getting me prepared. I miss the game, I can’t wait to get back into it.

Everybody is focused on the NFL Draft Combine right now. Some of those drills are necessary and some really aren’t when you’re playing the game. I mean, the shuttle and the broad jump, you don’t really need those drills. You can watch film to see how explosive a guy is. As far as the 40, some guys are just not that fast running 40 yards, but on the field they know how to get from Point A to Point B. I think the Combine can help guys that are trying to make a name for themselves, players from small schools and guys under the radar especially. If you’re already projected to go high, it can only hurt you.

When I was at the Combine I felt pretty good about it, it wasn’t that special. I did what I had to do, ran pretty well, lifted pretty well. I didn’t hurt myself in the draft. The best things there were meeting the other players and getting to sit down with the coaches from the different teams. That was pretty cool.

But I didn’t like the whole process, it was a very stressful time for me and my family. Everybody has something to say about you, positive or negative, and your family has to read about it every day. It was a very tough period for me.

My official time in the 40 was 4.48, but I really don’t think that means much. That one guy who’s there now, Joe Haden the D-back, everybody was raving about him coming into the Combine. Then he runs a 4.5 and now everybody is questioning whether he can play the game. He can play the game. He ran a slow 40 time, that doesn’t mean he is slow. He’s a playmaker. That 40 time could hurt him in the draft but I don’t think it should matter. I think film is way more important than anything that happens at the Combine.

In the end it worked out for the best for me. Everybody thinks they should have gone higher in the draft, but I’m happy where I landed. The Giants system is perfect for me and I’m extremely happy with where I am.

I don’t have any idea what the difference is between this Giants defense and the one that won the Super Bowl and led us into the playoffs last year. I’m more like a fan now watching from home while I rehab my knee. It’s really frustrating, especially the way we’re playing right now, I can’t even watch the games sometimes.

I know this is a good team, I know how hard these guys work and how much they want to win, but for some reason it’s not showing and that’s the most frustrating thing. Sometimes I have to change the channel.

I actually think we can get out of it. I don’t see anyone out there quitting, you can tell they want to win and are out there playing. Somehow it just all has to come together. As long as no one is quitting, you still have a chance.

We do have a lot of guys injured or coming off injuries but that’s no excuse. With the guys we have we are good enough to win games. The whole thing went downhill and you just can’t call out one person. Collectively, as a team, the offense, defense and special teams have to get in sync.

A lot of people are blaming Coach Sheridan. I don’t want to say that losing Coach Spags was a big difference, but some things are going to change when you change coordinators. Coach Sheridan did his best to keep things simple and keep things the same so there shouldn’t have been a big dropoff.

It’s just hard to put a finger on it. But you know how it is, when something goes down somebody has to take the blame. Guys on the team are not pointing fingers but the media and the fans want to know who is responsible. If you’re not a tight group to start out with you can fall apart, but I haven’t seen that from what I’ve seen and who I’ve talked to.

As far as my rehab goes I’m down in Miami, walking around, starting to walk on a treadmill, do some light mini-squats, leg presses, nothing major. I had a checkup last month with Dr. Andrews in Alabama and he said the knee looks great and everything is on schedule. I picked up my rehab a little bit but I don’t want to overdo it. All I can do right now is wait until the knee is good enough so I can get back out there and start running around.

We’re still in the wild card hunt, and hopefully we’ll win out. It’s going to be hard, and people probably don’t believe we can do it, but you never know. No one on this team has given up. I know the hard work and effort these guys put in. I hate to see us lose.

I had the surgery yesterday with Dr. James Andrews in Alabama. Now I’m flying back to New Jersey so I can start my rehab right away.

I don’t remember anything because I was under anesthesia. My knee is wrapped up and I have a brace and crutches. They gave me a lot of meds. The knee doesn’t really hurt right now, but the meds are making me feel sick.

This kind of injury takes a long time to heal. It’s a long process, I can’t even run for 4-5 months. It’s going to be a while before I’m back to 100 percent.

At first this whole thing really threw me. I mean, we got off to a good start, I had a good training camp, we’re undefeated, everything was going the right way and then the injury occurred.

I thought this was going to be a great year for me and the team. To no longer be a part of the team, it hurts, it really does. But I believe that everything happens for a reason. I feel God has something better in store for me so all I can do is wait.

I won’t be at the games on the sidelines. I’ll probably watch at home on TV. But I’ll be at the facility first thing tomorrow to start my rehab. Nothing major at first, just icing and massages. I might get off these crutches in about 8 weeks.

All of you fans out there, hold on. I’m going to make a speedy recovery, and I’ll be back better than ever next year. Keep believing and pray for me.

Against the Saints we were out of sync and didn’t look good at all. It was just a bad game for us. I don’t want to take anything away from the Saints, they went out and executed. But I’ve seen the things our secondary can do in practice. We don’t even allow guys to catch passes on us in practice. Guys stay after practice working so hard.

For us to be out of sync like that, it was just a bad day, I guess. They’re going to happen.

There are a lot of new guys in the system, like Aaron Rouse and C.C. Brown, and Dockery was just coming back from an injury. The chemistry and communication you need just weren’t there. It takes time to build that chemistry and we just didn’t really look ready.

Watching that game without getting to play killed me, it really did. Especially because this was a game I really wanted to play. I knew Drew Brees was going to go out there like a gunslinger. If I was out there I think I could have made a difference. It just really hurts as a safety to see the quarterback having his way like that. When the team loses, it hurts.

I’m sure we’re going to bounce back. This is still a good football team. The Saints were a tough challenge and we’re going to build from this.

I’m still a part of the team even though I can’t practice. The guys still call me, still check up on me, whenever I’m back in Jersey they come by the house and hang out with me.

Basically I’m still doing what I have been for rehab in the early stages, trying to get the quad muscle stronger, nothing serious yet.

I can drive, so at least I’m not stuck at home. I’m not on crutches anymore, I’m able to move around but I have to be smart about it.

I had the surgery yesterday with Dr. James Andrews in Alabama. Now I’m flying back to New Jersey so I can start my rehab right away.

I don’t remember anything because I was under anesthesia. My knee is wrapped up and I have a brace and crutches. They gave me a lot of meds. The knee doesn’t really hurt right now, but the meds are making me feel sick.

This kind of injury takes a long time to heal. It’s a long process, I can’t even run for 4-5 months. It’s going to be a while before I’m back to 100 percent.

At first this whole thing really threw me. I mean, we got off to a good start, I had a good training camp, we’re undefeated, everything was going the right way and then the injury occurred.

I thought this was going to be a great year for me and the team. To no longer be a part of the team, it hurts, it really does. But I believe that everything happens for a reason. I feel God has something better in store for me so all I can do is wait.

I won’t be at the games on the sidelines. I’ll probably watch at home on TV. But I’ll be at the facility first thing tomorrow to start my rehab. Nothing major at first, just icing and massages. I might get off these crutches in about 8 weeks.

All of you fans out there, hold on. I’m going to make a speedy recovery, and I’ll be back better than ever next year. Keep believing and pray for me.

Against the Saints we were out of sync and didn’t look good at all. It was just a bad game for us. I don’t want to take anything away from the Saints, they went out and executed. But I’ve seen the things our secondary can do in practice. We don’t even allow guys to catch passes on us in practice. Guys stay after practice working so hard.

For us to be out of sync like that, it was just a bad day, I guess. They’re going to happen.

There are a lot of new guys in the system, like Aaron Rouse and C.C. Brown, and Dockery was just coming back from an injury. The chemistry and communication you need just weren’t there. It takes time to build that chemistry and we just didn’t really look ready.

Watching that game without getting to play killed me, it really did. Especially because this was a game I really wanted to play. I knew Drew Brees was going to go out there like a gunslinger. If I was out there I think I could have made a difference. It just really hurts as a safety to see the quarterback having his way like that. When the team loses, it hurts.

I’m sure we’re going to bounce back. This is still a good football team. The Saints were a tough challenge and we’re going to build from this.

I’m still a part of the team even though I can’t practice. The guys still call me, still check up on me, whenever I’m back in Jersey they come by the house and hang out with me.

Basically I’m still doing what I have been for rehab in the early stages, trying to get the quad muscle stronger, nothing serious yet.

I can drive, so at least I’m not stuck at home. I’m not on crutches anymore, I’m able to move around but I have to be smart about it.

I had the surgery yesterday with Dr. James Andrews in Alabama. Now I’m flying back to New Jersey so I can start my rehab right away.

I don’t remember anything because I was under anesthesia. My knee is wrapped up and I have a brace and crutches. They gave me a lot of meds. The knee doesn’t really hurt right now, but the meds are making me feel sick.

This kind of injury takes a long time to heal. It’s a long process, I can’t even run for 4-5 months. It’s going to be a while before I’m back to 100 percent.

At first this whole thing really threw me. I mean, we got off to a good start, I had a good training camp, we’re undefeated, everything was going the right way and then the injury occurred.

I thought this was going to be a great year for me and the team. To no longer be a part of the team, it hurts, it really does. But I believe that everything happens for a reason. I feel God has something better in store for me so all I can do is wait.

I won’t be at the games on the sidelines. I’ll probably watch at home on TV. But I’ll be at the facility first thing tomorrow to start my rehab. Nothing major at first, just icing and massages. I might get off these crutches in about 8 weeks.

All of you fans out there, hold on. I’m going to make a speedy recovery, and I’ll be back better than ever next year. Keep believing and pray for me.

Against the Saints we were out of sync and didn’t look good at all. It was just a bad game for us. I don’t want to take anything away from the Saints, they went out and executed. But I’ve seen the things our secondary can do in practice. We don’t even allow guys to catch passes on us in practice. Guys stay after practice working so hard.

For us to be out of sync like that, it was just a bad day, I guess. They’re going to happen.

There are a lot of new guys in the system, like Aaron Rouse and C.C. Brown, and Dockery was just coming back from an injury. The chemistry and communication you need just weren’t there. It takes time to build that chemistry and we just didn’t really look ready.

Watching that game without getting to play killed me, it really did. Especially because this was a game I really wanted to play. I knew Drew Brees was going to go out there like a gunslinger. If I was out there I think I could have made a difference. It just really hurts as a safety to see the quarterback having his way like that. When the team loses, it hurts.

I’m sure we’re going to bounce back. This is still a good football team. The Saints were a tough challenge and we’re going to build from this.

I’m still a part of the team even though I can’t practice. The guys still call me, still check up on me, whenever I’m back in Jersey they come by the house and hang out with me.

Basically I’m still doing what I have been for rehab in the early stages, trying to get the quad muscle stronger, nothing serious yet.

I can drive, so at least I’m not stuck at home. I’m not on crutches anymore, I’m able to move around but I have to be smart about it.

I had the surgery yesterday with Dr. James Andrews in Alabama. Now I’m flying back to New Jersey so I can start my rehab right away.

I don’t remember anything because I was under anesthesia. My knee is wrapped up and I have a brace and crutches. They gave me a lot of meds. The knee doesn’t really hurt right now, but the meds are making me feel sick.

This kind of injury takes a long time to heal. It’s a long process, I can’t even run for 4-5 months. It’s going to be a while before I’m back to 100 percent.

At first this whole thing really threw me. I mean, we got off to a good start, I had a good training camp, we’re undefeated, everything was going the right way and then the injury occurred.

I thought this was going to be a great year for me and the team. To no longer be a part of the team, it hurts, it really does. But I believe that everything happens for a reason. I feel God has something better in store for me so all I can do is wait.

I won’t be at the games on the sidelines. I’ll probably watch at home on TV. But I’ll be at the facility first thing tomorrow to start my rehab. Nothing major at first, just icing and massages. I might get off these crutches in about 8 weeks.

All of you fans out there, hold on. I’m going to make a speedy recovery, and I’ll be back better than ever next year. Keep believing and pray for me.

The atmosphere was just crazy in the Cowboys new stadium. There were like 105,000 fans, ex-President Bush was there, LeBron James was there. The setting was just perfect for a big game against a division rival, so for us to win it like we did was amazing.

Our defense thrives on getting turnovers and getting the ball back to the offense, so for me to get two picks was real big. We scored off both turnovers so that was just a really great feeling.

The one I intercepted and they said they blew the whistle to nullify my touchdown, well let’s just say I didn’t like the call. That would have been my first touchdown. I didn’t hear a whistle. A ref ran with me into the end zone, I guess he didn’t hear a whistle. For them to take that away was big, but we did score. The offense put it in the end zone so it worked out.

When Justin got tripped, I don’t want to say it was a dirty play. The guy got beat, wanted to protect his quarterback and did the first thing that came to his mind and stuck out his leg, which is illegal. Hopefully Tuck will bounce back fast and be with us for the next game.

We see Tampa Bay as a pretty good team. They’ve got Cadillac Williams and my former teammate Derrick Ward in the backfield, Antonio Bryant, Byron Leftwich has a good arm. They’re stacked on offense. We can’t take them lightly. We’re going to prepare like it’s the Super Bowl, same as we do every week.

Leftwich has a long windup, like a baseball pitcher, but he makes a lot of good throws. Still, that’s going to be big for our front seven. If he doesn’t get the ball away quick they’re going to have a field day. As a DB it can be kind of tricky. I’ve got to go back and study some more film, then I’ll tell you more.

I think I had a pretty solid game, but when our front seven play the way they did, you hardly get any work as a safety.

I wish I could’ve done more. But our front seven dominated the run and didn’t allow Jason Campbell to drop back and pass. He took maybe one deep shot the whole game. The front seven were amazing, they completely dominated the game.

It’s a good problem to have for a safety when you’re not getting any action back there. But you can find yourself trying to make plays that aren’t there or trying to do someone else’s job. So you have to be patient and when your chance comes, take advantage of it.

As a defense we pretty much did everything well. We stopped the run, didn’t allow Santana Moss or their other good receivers to go deep on us. The one thing we could do better is limit yards after the catch.

In the secondary Bruce Johnson had to step in because of the absence of Kevin Dockery and Aaron Ross, and he did a great job. He even forced a fumble. He was a big-time player for us and showed he’s ready to play at this level and can play at this level.

We consider ourselves the best defense out there. That’s what we work hard for, that’s our goal, we want to be No. 1. So every week we try to play like it and try to dominate our opponent.

Next we’re at Dallas. This is a big rivalry, two teams that really don’t like each other, a division game. It’s early for such a big game but that’s a good thing. We had so much time off in the off-season you can’t wait till the season starts. When it does with two big division games it gets you ready to go for the season.

Dallas has a big target that we have to watch out for in Jason Witten. Romo does a good job of spreading it around, he threw for 300-plus and he’s going to come out and be that gunslinger. He’s the one that makes that offense go. Our front seven is definitely going to have to get pressure on him and make him feel uncomfortable. When he does throw it, the guys in the secondary are going to make plays.