July 31, 2005 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

July 31, 2005 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

by BigBlueInteractive.com Contributor UAGiant

I pulled into campus a bit later than expected due to some construction on the Interstate, but did catch the tail end of camp from a distance. I decided to cut my losses and just get a spot on “Autograph Alley”. Eli signed for everyone, but his signature has deteriorated to a squiggly “E” and “M” with some loops for appearance, though I’m far from complaining. Antonio Pierce, Brent Alexander, Gibril Wilson, Jason Whittle, Jay Feeley and Jesse Palmer also went out of there way to sign everything. Also, Shockey’s tattoo is huge.

In between practices, I stood between the RACC and the PE building where the players have their daily meetings. I caught the entire team running to get to their meetings. Carlos Emmons had the quote of the day when responding to a fan asking for an autograph, “Pay my $10,000 fine and I’ll give you as many as you want.”

Although clearly established by many others, I have to say HB Brandon Jacobs is huge. I caught him walking into the PE building with a couple linebackers and he was larger than quite a few of them. I also caught WLB Barrett Green with heavy bandage around his knee, icing it down. He had an apparent limp, but I’m not sure if it was due to carrying ten pounds of ice attached at the knee.

Anyways, my impressions of the day:

Quarterbacks: Eli looked pretty good. He had a few miscues here and there, but nothing that isn’t to be expected this early in camp. I was impressed to see him pull WR David Tyree aside and give him a few pointers. Later on, Eli connected with him on a real pretty pass. Tim Hasselbeck is playing the number two spot as of now and his lack of an arm is rather apparent. He hangs a lot of passes and usually watches as defenders catch up to open receivers as his passes slowly sail in. Jesse Palmer seemed to make a few mistakes in judgment and often resorted to dumping it off to an open back five yards down. Not really impressive. J-Load got no snaps, much to my dismay.

Wide Receivers: Plax was on the field and didn’t appear to be slowed by any injuries. I noticed he was walking lightly on it between practices, but no need to take down the “All Year Baby” signs. Ataveus Cash really stood out, as he caught nearly everything thrown his way. Tyree also looked pretty good. Tim Carter had quite an impressive catch, leaping to pull in an overthrown pass to him. Toomer didn’t really do anything to make him standout, but was pretty consistent. Jamaar Taylor looks good and close to full speed (if not already there). He hauled in a few nice passes. Michael Jennings, along with the number 15 he has shaved into the back of his head, was disappointing today. He missed a few gimme’s and you could tell he was down on himself (as was the coach).

Running Backs: Not much to report on the backs. It is very hard to make a clear judgment when they’re in shells and not being tackled. Tiki ran everything out and never stopped hustling. Brandon Jacobs is huge with good acceleration, good speed, and good hustle. It’s hard not to gush about the guy. The rest of the backs also hustled and showed good speed. I didn’t see Ward on the field, but I may have just missed him.

Offensive and Defensive Lines: Again, hard to get a real impression, but could pick a few things up. Starters on the D-Line rotated often, with Robbins being the one constant. Joeseph was thrown in with the third stringers, but the coaches kept on him non-stop. It may be a psychological attempt to break through to the guy – who knows? McKenzie and Strahan are fun to watch. The two seem to go back and forth. Not that it isn’t common knowledge, but Osi has some wheels on him.

Linebackers: Antonio Pierce is quite impressive, not only athletically, but by his “smarts” on the field. He was yelling instructions to the defense and adjusting them to the offense quite often. Emmons looks to be at full speed. Greisen was in place of Green in the afternoon and broke up a pass to Shockey that was right on target.

Secondary: Gibril and Alexander were with the first string defense for the session. Allen and Peterson also performed quite well, breaking up a number of deep passes and generally having good position. Deloatch looks quite impressive as well.

Kicking: Not much to report, it’s obvious who’s already got the job. Feagles is going unchallenged and Feely doesn’t have much to worry in regards to Kimball. Feely hit everything he attempted with room to spare where Kimball nearly missed one without much boom behind it.

Other: It’s amazing how well-run the practices are. I remember watching them under Fassel and seeing a laid back team with no hussle. Everyone is in an all out sprint to start the next drill. On the return to the locker room, Plax, McKenzie, Gibril, and Seubert spent a ton of time on the fans. Seubert came in second place on quote of the day. In response to a fan calling him, “Mr. Sherbert” he called back, “Usually I’ll come over and sign if a guy can get my name right, but you’re so wrong I feel bad.” He is a great guy who took a minute to shoot the bull. I noticed his massive scar where he had his leg repaired and can report, it is not pretty. It is definitely good to see him on the field again.