Five Things Learned from New York Giants' Recently Completed OTAs

A look back at the top five things we learned from the Giants' 10 OTA practices.

The New York Giants wrapped up the last of their scheduled 10 OTAs last Friday, their off-season program nearing its conclusion.

"This is a teaching camp because it's important," Daboll said last week. "People are learning our language, our playbooks, how we want to do things here in terms of the building. So there's been a lot of teaching going on, which it needs to be."

Daboll and his assistant coaches have been looking for how well players are absorbing what they're being taught.

"The evaluation process is really more can they take the stuff from the classroom to the field. Other than that, without any pads on, that will be more in training camp," he said.

That doesn't mean there haven't been some revelations made to the casual observer, so let's rewind the clock and look back at the top takeaways to emerge from the Giants' OTAs. 

1. Saquon the Receiver?

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

No, running back Saquon Barkley isn't making an official position switch for 2022. But based on what the Giant showed on offense, it's pretty clear that they're looking to be a passing offense first, and Barkley will be a big part of that.

The Giants' offense has been calling for a lot of empty sets in which Barkley has lined up split wide or in the slot. The goal has been to get him in space, where his size and athleticism give him more of a competitive edge than the old way of thinking, where previous staffs insisted on sending him up the gut and into the teeth of the defense.

So far, so good. Barkley, who excelled as a receiver in his rookie season (91 receptions on 121 pass targets for 721 yards and four receiving touchdowns), has looked very comfortable in that role.

There have been a few handoffs for the Barkley, who is in a contract year, but the majority of those have gone outside the tackle box, which is where Barkley has historically been at his best. (Some have gone inside during the walk-through pace of practice.)

2. They Might Have Figured Out How to Help Daniel Jones Play Faster

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Whenever a new system is installed, sometimes players tend to do more thinking than they should, which slows down their play speed.

That's not good news for a quarterback like Daniel Jones, whose post-snap reads and decision-making have left something to be desired. So what better way to help Jones become quickly acclimated to the new system and play faster than to speed up the entire process and eliminate some of the guesswork that was bogging Jones down?

That's what this offensive system has done. The Giants will be using a lot more pre-snap motion, which will help Jones process what kind of defense he might be facing. After the snap, the objective is to get the ball out of Jones's hand as quickly as possible, letting the playmakers rack up the yards after the catch.

This approach should cut down on time to throw by Jones. Moreover, it should allow him to get into more of a rhythm early on.

Another advantage? By having Jones get the ball out of his hands quickly, the offensive line won't have to hold its blocks as long. That will help the unit while it begins its jelling process, especially as the younger players ultimately replace the older veterans.

There will be some deep attempts--the Giants will pick and choose where they take their chances. And along those lines, Daboll has encouraged Jones to let it rip during practice and not be afraid of throwing an interception. That, too, is going to help Jones speed up his play.

 

3. The Defense Plans to Be a Bully...

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

For as long as there has been football, defenses have strived to be aggressive.

The problem is there are different levels of being aggressive. Steve Spagnuolo, the defensive coordinator for the Giants when they won Super Bowl XLII, was aggressive with his NASCAR (four defensive ends) pass-rushing package. 

More recently, Patrick Graham emphasized playing more press coverage to force quarterbacks to hold onto the ball longer or force a pass into tighter windows while usually trying to get to the quarterback with four rushers.

And now? Current defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is sending the house at quarterbacks. Sporting an upgraded pass rush which should feature second-year man Azeez Ojulari and rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edges and Leonard Williams up front, Martindale is going for the jugular every chance he can.

In addition to cranking up the heat, Martindale's defensive players have been spotted working on practicing stunts and twists during the OTAs, something we don't recall seeing with the previous coaching staff. The end goal for the Giants defense is to become a bully, which despite its best efforts in recent history to do so, came up woefully short.

4. So Does the Offensive Line

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Despite it being a new program with a new staff, the Giants offensive linemen know all about the reputation past Giants offensive lines have picked up, and they're not exactly pleased.

That reputation as being a weak link on the football team is about to be kicked to the curb if the current crop of offensive linemen has their say in the matter.

"I think that fits the mold of what offensive linemen should be who are tone setters," said guard Shane Lemieux about the unit's desire to gain a reputation as being a nasty group on the field.

"In this offense, the offensive line, we're tone setters, and that's the way we should play, and that's the way we're coached."

To be fair to previous staffs and players, that's always been the goal. But various circumstances, such as injuries, have stopped the Giants from developing cohesiveness.

That's not the only factor. The constant changeover in coaching and how the players have responded to coaching have also played into the equation.

So when current offensive line coach Bobby Johnson put his list of characteristics and qualities he wants in his offensive linemen, one thing stood out at the top.

"I want guys that are tough--and I don't mean physically tough; I mean mentally tough. If you're mentally tough, you'll be physically tough," Johnson said.

"I want guys who are smart. I don't care what they got on the Wonderlic--are they football smart? Can they process the information? Can they solve problems? And are they dependable? Am I getting the same thing out of them every day when they walk into the building? I don't want to guess."

Those qualities will apply to every single member of the offensive line Johnson deems worthy of practice and playing time so that if the unit should suffer injuries, they have something they haven't had in a while on which to fall back on: depth.

5. Seeing Red

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last year, the Giants finished as the most injured team in the league, according to data assembled by ManGamesLost.com. The Giants have long fought a losing battle against the injury bug, often landing in the top-10 league-wide of the most injured teams.

Given that history, it's only natural that there be some concern when key players are spotted wearing red jerseys, indicating that they're dealing with some sort of ailment.

Such was the case with rookie edge Kayvon Thibodeaux, who suffered a lower-body injury in OTA No. 3. Thibodeaux has not been able to practice since and has also not gone through warm-ups with the team at the start of practice, which some injured players have done.

Head coach Brian Daboll refused to provide a timetable when Thibodeaux or any injured players might be ready, citing how every situation is unique.

There is still a long way to go before training camp begins, so as Daboll said, anything can happen with guys who are healing. But more importantly, it's too soon to panic now, in early June, about guys who may or may not be ready for camp.

  

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