If memory serves me correctly, JPP (stupidly) elected to have back surgery right before training camp, but most said he wouldn't be ready to start in September. Despite having high round draft picks on the roster like Kiwanuka, Tuck, and Moore (as well as players like Cullen Jenkins that can fill in if necessary) Coughlin elected to start an ineffective JPP for the whole season. He had two sacks and 20 tackles.... literally any DE could have gotten the team that type of production.
Nicks was a top-5 receiver that was playing on a sore foot in 2012 in Tampa that got stepped on, aggravating the injury. He wanted a big payday, so he played through the pain despite the team once again having several capable and high-round-pick backups. He finished with 692 yards and was never the same player again... and the Giants rewarded his toughness by letting him hit the free agent market.
Coughlin has a track record of this... Tony Brackens, Boselli, etc. He's happy to run players into the ground in the name of "toughness." If the O-line injuries are minor then I'm glad he's finally letting his players get some recuperation time but you also have to ask why with the new CBA so many players are being injured in the first place.