ALBANY, N.Y. – Some Giants players knew Shawn Andrews was around their training camp the past few days. There were also those like Chris Canty, who looked at the big guy in the No. 74 jersey during Friday morning’s walk-through and tried to put a name to the face.

“I was like, ‘He kind of looks like Shawn Andrews a little bit,’ ” the Giants’ defensive tackle said. “Then, I’m like, ‘It is Shawn Andrews. Oh man, he got a lot smaller.’

“But I’m glad he’s back in the NFL and I’m happy he’s with the New York Giants.”

Andrews’ arrival Friday surely stirred a mix of emotions from those on the Giants’ roster. Players who aren’t in direct competition were obviously glad to have his potential on board, while guards and tackles looking to gain or hold onto playing time were perhaps secretly worried about their status with the team.

And then, there’s David Diehl, who on Saturday against the Steelers will be playing his second game at left guard because Rich Seubert and Chris Snee are out with injuries. With a healthy Andrews in the fold, Diehl realizes he would have a chance to remain at left tackle and have a more direct competition with last year’s second-round pick William Beatty.

“It was unfortunate the first game and this game I’m getting all my reps at guard because of Snee and Seubert out,” Diehl said. “I’m a team guy and I always have been. But bringing in another guy that can fill in that role helps me out because now I can get my reps and do what I need to do at tackle.”

Okay, so what about Seubert? What was his reaction to the signing of Andrews?

“Whoever we bring in to help this team better is good for the team,” Seubert said. “I got to talk to him today. He seems like a good guy. Everybody needs a chance; this is his chance. And we’re all here to win games.”

Seubert already had indirect competition through Beatty, who was trying to prove his starting at left tackle would be a better option for the team than Seubert’s starting at guard. (Diehl, of course, being the one who would just get plugged into whichever spot was then vacated.) Now, Seubert has direct competition from a former first-round pick who was one of the top guards in the league before his back woes sidelined him.

But competition is nothing new for Seubert, a former undrafted free agent who worked his way up to a starting spot and fought back from a horrific broken leg in 2003.

“There are a lot of people out there that want to play football,” Seubert said, “and I’ve been blessed to be around here.”

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Seubert would love to play football – game football. He expects he’ll do just that next Saturday against the Ravens. By the middle of next week, he believes he’ll be cleared to practice without a pad on his broken hand and without limitation.

“Three weeks is the magical day the bone’s supposed to be tacked back down,” Seubert said, “so I have nothing to be worried about.”

Nothing but a two-time Pro Bowl selection breathing down his neck. A player defensive end Osi Umenyiora said was the best tackle he faced in college before Andrews converted to guard with the Eagles.

“When I was with Dallas we played more right and left side and he was a right guard, so Jay Ratliff used to always talk about him,” said Canty, who faced opposing teams’ left guards and tackles as the Cowboys’ starting right end. “And I remember he used to say he had an incredible punch, he was athletic.

“They said, because he wore No. 73, everybody compared him to Larry Allen. I’m not sure anybody’s like Larry Allen; he was a really good player. He was definitely one of the elite guards in the NFL.”

Said Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield, “When he was playing well he was one of the best guards in the league. I don’t know everything that’s transpired, you hear a lot of stories. But when he’s playing at the best of his ability he’s one of the best in the league.

“His combination of power and athleticism. He’s unique in that way, with his size and power. But he’s got great feet. He’s a great athlete and one of the best guards, as you’ll see on Sundays.”