New York Giants Training Camp Practice No. 9 Report
East Rutherford, N.J. -- The New York Giants went through their final training camp practice open to the public for 2023, their second straight fully padded affair.
Let's run down what happened.
Injury/Lineup Report
Right tackle Evan Neal (concussion) did not practice after getting dinged in Friday's practice. Head coach Brian Daboll said that Neal continues to make progress.
Ben Bredeson continues to get first-team reps at all three interior offensive line positions. Tonight he was at center, with Joshua Ezeudu at left guard and Mark Glowinski at right guard. Matt Peart got the nod at right tackle with Evan Neal in the protocol.
Peart has come on the last few days, moving ahead (or so it seems) of Tyre Phillips. The one-time third-round draft pick has had his ups and downs in the one-on-one battles, but the coaches are giving him a long look to see if he can be part of things moving forward.
"Matt has done a good job this camp," Daboll said. "We have moved him around. You’ll see him in there with the ones today at the right tackle. Maybe the whole practice, maybe we will sub in some other guys, we will see how practice goes, but he’s done a good job for us to this point."
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams returned to practice after two rest days, while outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari got another rest. Daboll was asked to explain the logic behind giving guys two days off.
"I think it just depends on what it is you are resting for the player," he said. "I meet with those medical guys daily, come up with a plan for each individual player. In this case, it will be another day, too, for him. So it will be a day off tomorrow, and then get ready to go back on Monday."
Jack Anderson (unknown), Sterling Shepard (ACL), and Jihad Ward (unknown) were all back practicing. Shepard remains on a managed schedule.
Daboll said that defensive lineman Ryder Anderson (triceps) "will be out probably a few weeks."
Evaluating the Injured
With some guys not being able to practice yet or much at all, I asked Daboll how they do their evaluations, especially since before we know it, roster decisions will need to be made.
"Well, you are just evaluating them on the things they can do, so that’s really the retention in the meeting room, but ultimately it’s their performance on the field, executing under pressure, doing the things when you have to do them in a quick manner," he said before adding, "It’s a little bit harder than if they are out there practicing."
Quote of the Day
"I guess my generation, it means original gangster." -- Offensive tackle Matt Peart, when asked if his nickname of "OG" for offensive line coach Bobby Johnson meant "old guard."
Observations
• One of my favorite one-on-one battles at camp has been left tackle Andrew Thomas vs. outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux. I truly believe Thibodeaux is the only player on the defense that makes it challenging for Thomas. Thibodeaux seems to have improved his initial punch and initially caught Thomas off guard, but the tackle quickly recovered and shut him down.
• Then, on the following matchup, Thomas, perhaps ticked that Thibodeaux almost got the better of him on the first rep, put the defender on his butt with seemingly no effort.
• Thomas also won his rep against Oshane Ximines, who worked with the ones with Azeez Ojualri getting the night off.
• Eric Gray worked primarily as the kickoff returner.
• Brian Daboll blew a couple of gaskets resulting in a string of NSFW language. One such outburst came when offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was late getting a play called for a team drill.
• Daniel Jones is playing with some swag these days. It's crystal clear that he's completely comfortable in this offense as he's making quick decisions (and smart ones). His ball placement has been mostly outstanding. Jones puts it where only his receivers can get it. And he's been far more patient in letting things develop rather than holding onto the ball too long or just taking off with it.
• Another practice, another gorgeous deep strike from Daniel Jones to Jalin Hyatt. Seriously folks, get used to this because it's been quite a while since the Giants have had a quarterback playing with this kind of confidence and a receiver who has made splitting coverage look so effortlessly.
• Excellent effort by Sterling Shepard to come up with a sliding reception of a Tyrod Taylor pass.
• Daniel Bellinger had a nice practice, making a diving pass on a ball thrown by Jones, Don't sleep on Bellinger just because Darren Waller is in town, folks. He will also play a role in the passing game this year. (We have a feature article on Bellinger dropping on Sunday at 10 am ET.)
• Bryce Ford Wheaton made a nice diving catch of a Tyrod Taylor pass. Ford-WEhaton had some earlier drop issues but has looked solid in the last two practices.
What's Next
The Giants have Sunday off and will have a short, non-padded practice on Monday at their team facility before heading to Detroit for joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Lions ahead of next Friday's preseason opener for both teams. Both practices are expected to be of the padded variety.
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