ALBANY – When Chris Snee went down with an injury to his right knee that at first appeared fairly serious, teammates expressed concern but predicted a quick recovery, based mainly on Snee’s toughness.
Sure enough, a week later, he was back on the field.
“That’s part of the game of football, especially being a lineman where you’re going to get nicked up and you have to be able to play through certain things,” Snee said yesterday.
He expects to play tomorrow night, making his preseason debut against the Chiefs at Giants Stadium. That would keep him on schedule to reach the stardom – as much as any right guard can ascend to such heights – the entire organization anticipates for him.
In just his third NFL training camp, Snee has successfully navigated through the unique personal connection he has with his head coach. When Snee was drafted in 2003 he was far more than a promising lineman. He also was the father of one of Tom Coughlin’s grandsons from a relationship he had at Boston College with Coughlin’s daughter, Katie.
Snee is now Coughlin’s son-in-law and Chris and Katie added to the family with a second son, Cooper, born June 20.
Snee knew his road with the Giants would not be the one most traveled. Plenty of Giant players have been visited here at camp by their wives and kids. No child, though, triggers the ear-to-ear grin from Coughlin that Snee’s oldest son, soon-to-be 3-year old Dylan, did yesterday when he hooked up with grandpa.
“The toughest part was coming in and proving I was worthy of the pick,” Snee said. “Being a second-round pick, that relationship, people who don’t know much about the game from the outside would look and say, ‘That’s why he was picked.’ I knew if I could play the way I was capable … I could silence everyone.
“We have two separate relationships, and I think that’s shown. It’s not difficult at all. When we’re here, we’re all football. I come here and he’s the coach. I have the same moaning and groaning that everyone else has about him.”
Well, not exactly the same moaning and groaning, at least not publicly. The early days of training camp were notable for Jeremy Shockey stating that Coughlin “can be an ass sometimes … but that’s what you need,” and Plaxico Burress pleading for Coughlin to lighten up.
“Have a little sense of humor, have a little fun,” Burress urged.
As evidence of how Snee has blended in, there was no rush to gauge his reaction to the jabs flicked at Coughlin. “It was something I read and chuckled at it and that was the end of it,” Snee said.
So, can Snee’s father-in-law be “an ass sometimes?”
“Some of these guys, in high school or college, maybe they had the opportunity to do what they wanted,” Snee said. “This is the coach I’ve had my whole life, so I don’t know any other way.”
So, should Coughlin “have a little sense of humor?”
“If that’s your style, to be a hard coach I don’t know if you can really change your style,” Snee said. “There is a lighter side other people don’t see. If they would happen to see that side, maybe they would appreciate him more, know that he is a good guy. His job here, he’s a hard coach, he expects a lot out of you, but we should expect a lot out of ourselves.”
There’s no limit to what Snee expects out of himself. He lists Mike Wahle, Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca and Larry Allen as the top guards in the game and says, “I’m nowhere in that caliber.” He doesn’t add “for now” – but you get the idea that’s what he’s thinking.
“I never look at it that I can’t be that,” Snee said. “I want to get there. Hopefully in time I will.”