August 9, 2007 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

August 9, 2007 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

by BigBlueInteractive.com Contributor Marty in Albany

It was a perfect day for football, sunny, breezy, 70s, and low humidity. The Giants were in shorts, helmets, and shoulder pads. As there would only be a walk-through on Friday, I expected them to be making last-minute preparations for the Saturday Panthers game. What I saw surprised me.

QB Anthony Wright got the lion’s share of playing time with the first team and QB Tim Hasselbeck played with the second team. There were no 7-on-7 drills to speak of. QB Eli Manning took about a half dozen snaps with the first team and every snap was a hand off except for a single lazy TD toss to TE Jeremy Shockey at the tail end of practice. It was the same for QB Jared Lorenzen.

I’m sure that Coach Coughlin will have an explanation. Neither Manning nor Lorenzen appeared to be injured. Practice ended 30 minutes early.

So how did Wright and Hasselbeck look? They looked better playing with better offensive players, but not good enough that you would want to substitute them for Manning or Lorenzen.

While I’m searching for the significance of these circumstances, it seems that there may be something of significance going on with the long snapping.

Well before the beginning of the practice, LB Zak (not Steve – I’m so proud of myself for getting the name right) DeOssie, DT Jay Alford, and the kickers were out on the field working on their snaps. P/holder Jeff Feagles was looking on and Coach Coughlin soon joined them. The snaps looked okay to me, except for one of Zak’s snaps that was so far to Feagles’ left that he could not handle it.

Later on in the practice there were six or sevem field goal tries by K Josh Huston and K Lawrence Tynes. Alford’s snaps looked good and it looked like all the kicks were good, including a long field goal by Tynes that had plenty of distance to spare. Here is the strange part: After the practice was over, QB Jared Lorenzen, who perhaps made one throw during practice was practicing the seven yard long snap. Stranger still, all of his snaps were perfect spirals and performed by with apparent ease. Questions: Was this a response to what Coach Coughlin observed at the beginning of practice? Does Jared Lorenzen have the strength and stamina to snap for field goals? Most likely he will have to block somebody and absorb a hit on every snap.

The usual people were not dressed: WRs Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer; DBs EJ Underwood, Aaron Ross, and Michael Stone; and DT Fred Robbins. I don’t believe that injured C Todd Londot was on the field nor was LB Gerris Wilkinson.

RB Derrick Ward, who may not yet be at full speed, got some work today. His best play was a pass that he bobbled. He continued to run while juggling the ball at least three times and he eventually secured it. It showed great concentration by Derrick. It reminded me of former Giant RB OJ Anderson, who sometimes made catches like that which never failed to impress me.