Giants Notebook: Ogletree slims down, Penny praised and more from the day at camp

Since entering the NFL, Giants inside linebacker Alec Ogletree has been averaging 887 defensive snaps per season.

An every-down player for the Giants, Ogletree decided to shed some weight this off-season so that he plays lighter on his feet and cover more ground a lot quicker.

“This game is a fast-paced game. The guys that they bring in now are not your 250s or 240s,” he said.

“They are 225 and 230 at the most playing linebacker. You have to be able to move and cover ground at a fast speed and make plays. For me, still doing the same thing, if you get lighter, you can be a little bit faster than what you were.”

Ogletree, who has been sidelined by a calf strain—he’s unlikely to play in the last two preseason games, but anticipated he’ll be full-go for the September 8 season opener at Dallas—said he’s noticed a difference in how he’s moving after dropping 10 pounds from his 6-foot-2 frame.

“I feel like I can definitely still run,” he said. “I just have to do what the coaches ask me to do. Half of the game is being able to run and chase down tackles or cover out in space and stuff like that.”

Penny for your thoughts

Among the difficult decisions that head coach Pat Shurmur and his staff will need to make is whether to keep three running backs and four tight ends, or four running backs and three tight ends.

If it’s the former, then logic would dictate that fullback Eli Penny, whom the team signed off the Cardinals practice squad last year, might be the odd man out.

Well, except for a couple of things. One, Shurmur likes Penny and two, Penny doesn’t quite see himself as just a fullback.

“If you ask him, he’ll tell you that he’s a converted halfback. Just ask him, he’ll tell you. He’s fond of that. He’s a fullback,” Shurmur said with a hint of glee in his voice.

Penny’s versatility and attitude have also endeared himself to his head coach, who noted that Penny could run the ball in a dire situation.

Penny, Shurmur said, has served as a sort of inspiration to him because of his attitude.

“I’m very fond of him because he’s one of the people in this building that, in my opinion, has never had a bad day,” the head coach said.

“He’s smiling. He may have had a bad play or a bad meal, but he’s never had a bad day. He’s a little bit of an inspiration to me because he just keeps going. He loves the game and he keeps playing. He’s done some good stuff for us.”

Playtime Predictions

Although the Giants practices have mostly featured the starting offense and defense, Shurmur said that wasn’t necessarily a sign that the starters would get most of the snaps in Thursday night’s preseason game at Cincinnati.

“Generally speaking, I see us playing the game a lot like we did the first two,” he said, adding, “I still think we’ve got some guys that are in the second and third group that we have to see. We have to see them play. You’ll see the one’s a little bit, too. Maybe more than a little bit.”

This and That

Linebacker Tae Davis didn’t take part in the team drills. Shurmur said the inside linebacker was a little under the weather. … Safety Michael Thomas was excused from practice to attend to NFLPA business.

Rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker (knee) participated in individual drills but was held out of the team drills. “We’re going to move him back in there as quickly as we can,” Shurmur said.

Long snapper Zak DeOssie (toe) returned to practice.

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