Defense Wins the Day, Pads Were a Poppin’, and More from Giants Training Camp Practice 6
The New York Giants took one step closer to playing real football on Tuesday night when they practiced in full pads for the first time this off-season.
That opens things up for more physical, more fights developing due to short tempers in the heat of the moment, and a whole other level of competition that sometimes takes things a step too far.
But in team meetings, head coach Brian Daboll has undoubtedly made it clear what he expects to see from his players when they practice in pads.
“I think we’ve got to practice well with one another, stay off the ground but get our fundamental work in,” he said before Tuesday’s practice. “There’s usually some excitement from the players, but you have to do a good job of making sure (that) you don’t lose your technique (and) fundamentals. The energy is usually always good the first day of pads, but we’ve got to make sure we’re doing things the right way.”
“The main priority in every practice is to get better at technique and improve,” said interior offensive lineman Ben Bredeson. “The fact that we have pads on now makes things a little more intense (and) a little more exciting, but at the end of the day, you’re always trying to improve your technique.”
Bredeson believes that a player can learn how to practice without pads so that once the five-day mandatory acclimation period is over, moving around with pads is second nature.
“I think one of the big things that you learn going through the years is how to practice without pads (and) how to improve your technique without pads,” he said. “So that when you finally do get the opportunity to put the pads on and practice, you’ve already worked through technique multiple times beforehand so that you’re ready to go once the pads go on.”
Daboll stressed that he doesn’t want to see any training camp skirmishes between the players as that not only would result in a 15-yard penalty in a game and a potential ejection, but such an undisciplined act could lead to injury.
“I understand that it’s a competitive situation, but you can’t do it in the games, so being able to maintain your composure and be disciplined, I think, is important,” Daboll said. “With that being said, I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a camp where there wasn’t one but certainly something we don’t want to do.
Fortunately, the Giants had no skirmishes on the first day of padded practices. Of course, it helped that they had cooler temperatures to work with, and Daboll ended the practice about a half hour or so earlier than planned.
“You have to be strong up front on both sides, and this is really the first true evaluation of the players,” he said when asked what he’d be looking at. “Knowing what to do and being able to do it without the pads on, but now, seeing the physical part of it is important.”
Injury Update
Receiver Sterling Shepard, who is having his practice reps managed now that he’s off the PUP list, took reps after sitting out Monday’s practice. Tight end Ryan Jones (knee) returned to practice, but outside linebacker Jihad Ward (undisclosed) did not.
Ward was working on the side and seemed to be moving well. Daboll said Ward’s issue isn’t something he anticipates will keep the outside linebacker sidelined for long.
O-Line vs. D-Line
Given a choice to watch the O-line vs. the D-line in one on one, or the D-backs vs. the receivers, I went with the former, which did not disappoint. John Michael Schmitz went up twice against Dexter Lawrence, and although Schmitz did give up some ground, he held his own. Still, give the nod to Lawrence, who is just a load for most blockers to handle one-on-one.
Evan Neal had two reps, one each against Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Give the nod there to the two defenders. Ojulari’s quick burst seemed to catch Neal off guard to where he had to “catch” the defender with the momentum going forward. Neal kept the pocket clean on that rush, but I give the win to Ojulari there, who made Neal work for it.
As for Thibodeaux, the pass rusher won his battle with a second-effort inside move that left Neal grasping at air.
Tomon Fox knocked Tyre Phillips to the ground, easily winning that rep. Joshua Ezeudu won his matchup against Ryder Anderson. Leonard Williams got the better of Mark Glowinski in one of their two matchups.
Ben Bredeson had no trouble handling rookie Jordon Riley. Tashawn Bower just barely lost one of his battles against Devery Hamilton. Shane Lemieux showed stubbornness in handling Brandin Bryant. And Andrew Thomas put on a clinic in his two reps against Thibodeaux and Ojulari.
Defense Wins the Day
It’s a new world once the pads go on, and players can get physical. So after seeing the offense win most of the previous days of practice, the defense upped the ante on Tuesday. As I suspected would be the case, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale brought a lot of pressure packages, both from the second level as well as some corner and safety blitzes.
During one 11-on-11 series, I counted three sacks on Daniel Jones, two of them coming on jailbreaks. I also thought the defense did a nice job stuffing the Giants rushing attack. I don’t recall seeing a single run by Saquon Barkley going to the left side; most of his rushing attacks went up the gut or to the right.
And I thought Bobby Okereke, brought in to help stop the bleeding in the run defense, and Darrian Beavers had a good showing against the run, each taking a turn at blowing up a play in the backfield.
Quote of the Day
"He’s a unicorn player. Watching him be able to do what he does, even at his age, it's amazing. " -- TE Daniel Bellinger on fellow tight end Darren Waller
Other Observations
We had our first bad snap of camp in an 11-on-11 when John Michael Schmitz’s snap sailed over Daniel Jones’s head. Hard to tell what happened there, if Schmitz was anticipating the rush, but he hurried the snap.
There was more pre-snap motion in the team portion of the practice, most of it leading to a rushing attempt.
There were some interesting formations in this practice. In one, the Giants had Darren Waller line up in the backfield and go in motion, with Saquon Barkley in the slot. The pass attempt went to Barkley in the flat, who turned it up the field. Then we saw another rep in which Darius Slayton lined up in the slot, with Waller lined up wide. Gotta love the matchup football.
Cole Beasley couldn’t hang onto a short throw—I couldn’t tell if a defender got a hand in there or just dropped it.
Daniel Jones had three incomplete deep passes to Waller, Isaiah Hodgins, and Jalin Hyatt. Tre Hawkins, who again got reps with the ones, had a couple of the pass breakups. Hawkins continues to make a strong case for a nice chunk of playing time.
Darnay Holmes, who appears to be losing his quest to retain the slot cornerback job, was among those fielding punts at the start of practice. And he muffed one of his opportunities.
Speaking of the slot cornerback, this is the second day in a row Adoree' Jackson took some snaps in the slot, with Hawkins and Deonte Banks lining up on the outside. The coaches are obviously intrigued by this formation to want to see more of it.
Daboll was not happy with the third-string offense on one series. There appeared to be confusion over what play was supposed to be run, so he blew the whistle and let them have an earful.
Cor’Dale Flott picked off a pass. The Giants no doubt want to see more interceptions by their defensive secondary this year.
Jason Pinnock, who has been making a strong push for that second starting safety job, broke up a pass from Jones to Hyatt. Pinnock managed to get fine positioning on the play, getting an arm in there at the last minute.
Up Next
The Giants are off Wednesday but will be back on the field for another string of three practices on Thursday.
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