The Biggest Overreaction Fans Should Avoid After Week 1 of Giants Training Camp

Fans shouldn't read too much into the offense's rocky start at training camp — padless practices, a new scheme, and an aggressive defense are skewing the picture.

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) and running back Devin Singletary (26). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If you have followed the reports about the New York Giants offense’s struggles throughout these first few days of training camp in offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s new system, it’s tempting to overreact.

Do yourself a favor and keep calm. This time of year, when teams are going through the CBA-mandated acclimation period, the defense is always going to look like it’s in mid-season form because there is no live contact and the players aren’t in pads.

This means that pass rushers can feast on “defenseless” offensive linemen and make life hard for the quarterback. It also means that the defensive backs playing press-man coverage can’t put their hands on receivers to interrupt the timing of the receivers’ releases.

In other words, it’s normal for the offense to struggle. And when one adds in that the Giants are learning a completely new offensive system that not only has new language, but also requires quarterback Jaxson Dart to work more under center than he did last year or at Ole Miss, it’s not surprising that the offense looks disjointed.

The offense hasn't been that bad

Head coach John Harbaugh has actually been more encouraged with what he’s seen from the offense than one might think.

Following Saturday’s practice, he was asked what he’s seen improve, and he pointed to the offense.

“We're pushing the envelope on all the cadences,” he said. “It's not like we're protecting them and doing simple cadences. There's a lot of tough cadences, and for the most part, we did a really good job with it.”

By pushing the envelope, Harbaugh and his staff are learning what Dart can and can’t do so they can adjust accordingly when the games start to count for real. In the interim, there is sure to be some more missed opportunities in practice. However, on the flip side, any sloppiness related to penalties and dropped passes will hopefully start to dissipate.

But as far as spending any energy worrying about the offense, one might be better served focusing on the bright spots—the return of receiver Malik Nabers, the promise shown by tight end Isaiah Likely, and the running game—and how those elements plus the return of the pads will help alleviate some of the concerns that currently exist.  

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