Previewing Top New York Giants Blue-White Scrimmage Storylines

The Giants open the MetLife Stadium doors Friday night for their annual Fan Fest, featuring the Blue-White scrimmage. Here are a few areas of interest sure to be on everyone's watch-list.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Aug 5, 2022 10:36 AM EDT

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New York Giants

The New York Giants' marquee event of the summer is upon us as on Friday night, the team will hold its annual Fan Fest event highlighted by the Blue-White Intrasquad Scrimmage.

This will be a tuneup for head coach Brian Daboll, his staff, and the players as they try to simulate some game-like scenarios in front of a MetLife Stadium crowd expected to number as high as 50,000. And Daboll said he and the rest of the team, which has held seven practices open to the fans this summer, is looking forward to the experience of working in a game-like environment inside the stadium.

“I think it’s awesome. The more fans you have, the more juice you get as a player and coach. And I think it’s good. It’s the next step,” Daboll said.

“Spring ball is a lot different than training camp. You have the fans out here. There’s energy. There are a lot of people watching. You try not to let the outside affect your performance. You try to concentrate on your job. But everybody’s human. So, the more people there are, there’s added pressure at times for certain players. And other times, they can handle it. So, I think it’s just another step in getting ready for our preseason game.”

Daboll, who is next scheduled to speak with reporters after the scrimmage, said on Wednesday that the initial plan was to have the entire team on one side rather than put the defense on opposite sidelines.

He did say that the coordinators (Mike Kafka, offense, Wink Martindale, defense, and Thomas McGaughey, special teams) would be on the sideline. He added that no decision had been made regarding where they'll be during the season.

Expect an uptempo type of practice which Daboll will use to fine-tune game operations moving forward.

Here is a look at a few things that will dominate the evening's coverage.

Can Daniel Jones continue to build on a strong week of practice?

Might as well mark this one down for the next few weeks because it's an important factor everyone will be watching for. Jones had his best string of practice days after a shaky start, and the hope is that he'll continue to improve with each outing.

Daboll, meanwhile, has said he's not worried about statistics from Jones or any of the quarterbacks in these practices. Rather, the coaches are watching the decision-making process, especially when the quarterbacks are under pressure.

"Really, what I want Daniel to do is make the right play. Make the right decision," Daboll said. "If that’s a 60-yarder down the field, that’s a 60-yarder. If it’s a check to a run, check to a run. That’s what we’re trying to get done with Daniel--with all our quarterbacks."

And how has Jones done in that regard?

"I think he’s steadily improved since we got here," Daboll said. "He’s learning a whole new language. It’s not just for Daniel; it’s any young quarterback or new quarterback in a new system. There’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot to handle. So, he’s making progress."

How intense can this defense become?

Already we've seen defensive coordinator Wink Martindale unleash the hounds--and we're not talking the standard four-man rush that has been a staple of past regimes.

Martindale's defenses have featured some creative, non-traditional alignments, such as a 2-3-6 with one of the defensive backs lining up along the defensive front. He's also thrown some interesting pressure packages at the offense, including overloads to one side or double pressure off each edge.

Of interest moving forward should be the twists/stunts aimed at confusing the offensive linemen they'll face this season.

"I think it’s going to make us better," said offensive lineman Shane Lemieux. Wink’s bringing everything, and we’re competing. That’s a good D-line now. We’re seeing the best. Hopefully, that will prepare us for the future."

RELATED: Giants Excited by Wink Martindale's More Aggressive Scheme

The Offensive Line

We can talk about the new-look offense all we want, but it won't mean a thing if the new-look offensive line doesn't get the job done.

Daboll has said they're still trying to figure out the best combinations, tarter, and backups. Through nearly two weeks of camp, it looks like the starting five will be Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Lemieux at left guard, Jon Feliciano at center, Mark Glowinski at right guard, and rookie Evan Neal at right tackle.

So while there will be some linemen rotating in the preseason, Daboll has said he'd like to roll with the same five guys every week.

"Yeah, ideally, you’d like to have five guys," he said. "Now, if it’s close, then you always, ‘Hey maybe give this guy two series, the next guy two series,’ and see how it’s going in the game relative to the matchup."

For the rest of the summer, there should be some mixing and matching going on.

"I think the more guys that can get reps--if Andrew Thomas comes out in a preseason game, then who’s going to go ahead and go in for him? And the more position flexibility they can create for themselves – and maybe you find something, a good combination that works – but right now we’re going to mix and match," Daboll said.

The Rookies' Progress

The Giants rookie class--both the draft picks and the undrafted free agents--haven't always made things easy on their veteran counterparts. And that's exactly what the coaching staff wanted to see.

All eyes are likely to be on the matchup between the two first-round draft picks, edge Kayvon Thibodeaux, who's had a good week of camp this week, and Neal, who has had some struggles. But make no mistake: both of these core young players will become superstars on a Giants team that is transforming toward being more competitive.

Meanwhile, some other rookies to keep an eye on include receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, who, despite his smallish size, has played as big as anyone on the field; offensive lineman Joshua Exzeudu, who has shown some early position flexiblity; linebackers Micah McFadden and Darrian Beavers; tight end Daniel Bellinger; and undrafted free agent safety Yusuf Corker, who has a legitimate chance of making the roster what with draft pick Dane Belton on the shelf for the rest of the summer with a broken collarbone.