New York Giants Training Camp Report: Day 10

The Giants were back in pads as they close out Week 2 of training camp. However, with the aches and pains starting to increase to the point where players need a little extra time with rehabbing, Giants head coach Joe Judge dialed back the practice just a bit.

"It’ll be kind of an on and off the field type of day due to some of the numbers and availability to kind of work with some guys in some different situations," Judge said before practice. "So we’ll be on the field today, progress on our install."

Judge is now starting to transition the camp toward establishing a flow in play-calling and building game tempo rather than isolating a specific part of the game to work on.

"We’ll start building a little bit more into team periods and kind of the flow of calling the plays from the sideline and get guys lined up and hearing the play in the huddle, break it and get going," Judge said.

The Giants will continue along that path the rest of the week and into next week when they have their Fanfest scrimmage on August 11 and then the first of three preseason games on Saturday when they host the New York Jets.

Judge said the players are looking forward to squaring off against some different faces.

"I think they’re at a point in training camp right now that is very natural where they’re tired of beating up on each other," he said.

"They come in every day, it’s a little bit of Groundhog Day to get working. They do a good job. They work hard. I think you get to get a certain point where you may not be 100 percent ready for a full 60 minutes but you’re at that point where competition is driving you and you really want to go ahead and play against an opponent."

They'll get their wish before they realize it, as after their game against the Jets, the Giants will have back-to-back weeks of joint practices with Cleveland and the Patriots, their preseason Weeks 2 and 3 opponents.

Judge: I Didn't Want to See Zach Fulton Go

Fresh on the heels of offensive lineman Zach Fulton's decision to retire, making him the third veteran this week to hang up his cleats, head coach Joe Judge expressed sorrow that Fulton won't be continuing with the team but added that he understands the reasoning behind it.

RELATED: Giants OL Zach Fulton Retires

"I would say that a lot of these older vets, they’re at a different point in their life with different things," Judge said. "Zach’s a guy that started a business in the offseason, he just had his son. His family is down in Texas. This is an opportunity for him to get back."

Besides all that, Judge said that older veterans sometimes think they still have enough gas left in the tank only to find out that they don't.

"You get to the point to see do I think I have it for 16 games? And you have to respect when these guys look us in the eye and say, ‘Listen, I really wanted to see if I could push through it, but I don’t think my body’s at that point,’ and you can leave this point in the game with your health."

As was the case with Joe Looney and Todd Davis, Judge said the door remains open to Fulton to return if he changes his mind.

Giants Thin on the Edge

The Giants remain paper-thin at edge rusher. Currently, the team is without Elerson Smith, Oshane Ximines, Lorenzo Carter, and Ryan Anderson for various reasons. Ifeadi Odenigbo also had to leave practice early Friday, possibly due to the high humidity causing cramps.

As a result, more opportunities have opened for young players like Azeez Ojulari, who continues to impress in his quest for nailing down a starting role, and second-year man Niko Lalos, who flashed during his handful of opportunities last season.

As for how close those missing edge rushers are to returning, Judge said there is hope a few of them will back sooner than later.

"A lot of them are day by day right now," he said. "We’re trying to get a few of them through the weekend, see where they’re at next weekend. The goal is to get these guys that are coming back to ramp them back up, see if they can play in the Jets game."

This year, teams will have to trim rosters down after the first preseason game, when rosters must go from 90 to 85 by August 17.

Teams then have to trim from 85 to 90 by August 24 and then down to 53 by August 31.

"I want to make sure that we don’t move on from a player without giving him an opportunity to go out there and play as much football as he can and make a strong impression.," Judge said.

The Offensive Line Shuffle

It was not the best of days for the offensive line--and not just because of Zach Fulton's retirement. The unit had some false starts and an overall shaky showing in what was probably one of its most subpar performances this week.

"Yeah, it wasn’t good," said Nick Gates. "We’ve got to do a lot better than we did. Some days will be up, some days are going to be down, and you’ve just got to keep an even keel and just keep moving forward."

As far as the depth is concerned, Gates saw snaps at both center and guard with the first- and second-team offenses.

RELATED: Rob Sale, Jason Garrett Reaffirm Optimism in Giants O-Line’s Progress

Undrafted rookie Brett Heggie took snaps at right guard with the second-string offense, a role that Fulton was projected to have with the backups. Second-year man Kyle Murphy also received some interior snaps.

And as the Giants continue to manage Andrew Thomas's reps this summer--Thomas is coming off off-season ankle surgery--Matt Peart took snaps at left tackle with Nate Solder working at right tackle with the ones.

Gates revealed that during the off-season, members of the offensive line--Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, Will Hernandez, <att Peart, and Chad Slade among them--showed up at a couple of different locations to work with quarterback Daniel Jones and the skill players.

"Just team comradery, you know?" Gates said of the gatherings. "It’s good to get out and have a good time with the guys and we went and worked, but there’s still an aspect to going and having fun with the guys and just bonding and stuff like that and being around each other."

MORE: Giants RB Saquon Barkley "Likely" Back by Week 3 | Report

Miscellaneous Notes

Rookie corner Rodarius Williams is making a strong push for a roster spot. Although the Giants don't have an official depth chart during camp, it was thought Williams might get caught up in the numbers game. But after picking off a pass and breaking up another pass that went for an interception by Jabrill Peppers, Williams sure is making a strong case to become part of the 53-man roster.

(I'll have more on Williams in a separate article.)

Receiver/return specialist Dante Pettis remains sidelined with an undisclosed ailment. Defensive lineman R.J. McIntosh joined him. ... Running back Gary Brightwell and outside linebacker Ifeadi Odenigbo left practice early, possibly due to cramping from the humidity. ... Undrafted defensive lineman Raymond Johnson also left practice early.

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