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Ryan Nassib, New York Giants (June 18, 2014)

Ryan Nassib had his best practice this summer on Thursday – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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JULY 31, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
Few players on the Giants’ present 90-man roster have been under the microscope as much as quarterback Ryan Nassib.

Last year’s fourth-round pick has had his play dissected, criticized, analyzed and torn apart by nearly every member of the New York media. The fact Nassib has struggled in camp’s early goings haven’t made those reviews very welcoming.

But Thursday afternoon, the day after the Giants gave players the day off, Nassib looked like, well, an NFL quarterback. The 24 year old was accurate, calm, posed and collected. He displayed his arm strength and put excellent zip on the ball. By all accounts, it was Nassib’s best practice of camp.

Below you will find the complete practice report. Wanna check out some of the best sites and sounds from camp? Visit BBI on Instagram.

Bennett Jackson, Notre Dame Fighting Irish (October 26, 2013)

Bennett Jackson left practice with an ankle injury– © USA TODAY Sports Images

SETTING THE STAGE…
The injury bug still continues to bite the Giants a bit hard. Rueben Randle and Ross weaver returned, but Odell Beckham Jr., Xavier Grimble, Trindon Holliday and Travis Howard remained sideline. Joining the two were Mike Patterson (shoulder), John Jerry (knee), Spencer Paysinger (concussion), and David Wilson (neck). During practice, Bennett Jackson (ankle), Will Beatty (illness) and Robert Ayers (ankle) all left at different points in time. After practice, Coughlin didn’t have much to say and did not know the extent to any injured players. although Jackson will undergo x-rays.

One positive, David Wilson rescued a bird that flew onto the field and put it over the fence. That was, until the bird flew back. Jon Beason was also seen running and jogging on the sideline.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
It was the kick off/kick return teams day to practice in the special teams portion of practice. It was interesting as well to see who got the return reps with Holliday and Wilson sidelined.

  • Marcus Harris and Michael Cox seemed to be the beneficiaries of the injuries to Wilson and Holliday. Both received extra looks as kick returners with Quintin Demps and Jerrel Jernigan. Preston Parker got a few looks, too.
  • It was Brandon McManus’ day to kick. He went 3-for-4 which officially ties him with Josh Brown at two missed field goals this camp
Ryan Nassib (9), Ben McAdoo, and Eli Manning (10), New York Giants (July 22, 2014)

Ryan Nassib, Ben McAdoo, and Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

TWO MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants’ offense strung together their second consecutive impressive offensive showing at training camp. Both Eli Manning and Ryan Nassib seemed to have control of the offense moving up-and-down the field.

  • Something a little different that hasn’t been show too much in camp, the Giants started the two-minute drill with both starting units going at it. Normally, the No. 1 offense will start it off against the No. 2 defense.
  • The starting offensive line is really beginning to come together nicely. For the second practice in a row, Manning dropped back and had all day to throw before checking it down.
  • A player who isn’t getting a lot of attention but is quietly putting together a very nice camp is Peyton Hillis. One run in particular Hillis began to stretch it to the outside before planting his foot and cutting up field between the right tackle and right guard. He had a lot of running room and showed very good vision.
  • Catching the ball is still a work in progress with Andre Williams. Manning checked down to the rookie, but the ball bounced off his hands and floated dangerously in the air. Walter Thurmond made a diving attempt to come up with the interception but it bounced an inch too far away.
  • Ryan Nassib made the throw of camp. The quarterback dropped back and threw one deep down the field to Kendal Gaskins who was tightly covered on a wheel route by Devon Kennard. Nassib threaded the needle perfectly and dropped the ball right into the hands of Gaskins. There was nothing Kennard could do. Picture perfect throw.
  • Another tight end sighting from another who continues to have a quietly good camp. Daniel Fells caught a touchdown down the seam from Manning. Eli came back the next play and hit Rueben Randle for a touchdown on a fade route.

ONE-ON-ONE…
Not too much excitement went down in the “one-on-one” portion of practice for the Giants. Most of the patterns run by the receivers were underneath routes or slants, nothing to write home about.

  • On a deep pass, Preston Parker beat Prince Amukamara on a double move. After catching the touchdown from Manning, the two players had a nice chuckle as Prince knew he got beat.
  • Bennett Jackson matched up with Corey Washington on a deep route. When the pass was thrown, the two players got their feet tangled together and hit the ground hard. Washington returned, but Jackson was surrounded by four trainers and helped up. He waved off a cart and walked back to the locker room.

TEAM SPECIFIC…
Shortly after the one-on-one, the Giants split their offense and defense into two separate sections of the field. Both teams ran goal-line packages with the backups acting as the opposite team.

  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie looks to be everything New York wanted and more when they signed the ex-Denver Bronco this offseason. On the goal line, Cromartie undercut a route thrown by a positional coach, reached across his body with one hand and palmed an interception. The things Rodgers-Cromartie does without a second guess may be the most impressive part of his game. He makes the difficult things look very easy.
  • On offense, Eli Manning ran a play fake and rolled out of the pocket. He then looked up and tossed one to the corner of the endzone. His intended target? Backup offensive lineman Mark Asper. Interesting little variation.
Damontre Moore, New York Giants (September 29, 2013)

Damontre Moore – © USA TODAY Sports Images

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT…
Something we started on Tuesday’s practice, we asked you, the fans, a specific player you wanted spotlighted and observed during the individual portion of practice. After Will Beatty won round one, it was Damontre Moore who pulled away in round two.

  • The first thing that jumps out about Damontre Moore is how quick his feet are. The defensive line was running a drill in which each player had to maneuver in and around bags laying on the ground, then field a fumbled bouncing ball. Moore’s footwork was impressive, quickly working his way in and out of the bags with ease.
  • The one area of concern, and it could simply be because it was a drill and not much effort was put in, was one where the linemen had to smack a tackling dummy out of the way as if they were getting around an offensive lineman. Moore didn’t have much power behind his punch. Again, it was a simple drill.
  • The offensive and defensive lines came together for a little one-on-one with each other. Essentially, the defender had to try to get past the blocker. The blocker had to try to keep the player in front of him. Moore made quick work of James Brewer, quickly getting around with a swim move.

11-ON-11…
The offense continued to look good in the 11-on-11 drill, but the defense worked its way into a pretty nice showing as well. A couple interceptions, a few touchdown passes and more names that continued to jump out.

  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie displayed his ball skills perfectly playing a deep pass from Eli Manning to Marcus Harris. Rodgers-Cromartie waited for the ball to reach its highest point, then attacked, batting it away. He made zero contact with Harris in the process.
  • The progress of Mario Manningham continues to get better day in, and day out. The former Super Bowl hero made his finest catch of camp when he beat Trumaine McBride on a flag, then reached up with one hand and tipped the ball to himself. Manningham then got control of the ball and tip-toed to get both feet in bounds. It was vintage Super Mario.
  • Julian Talley made an impressive play on an under thrown pass from Curtis Painter. With Ross Weaver draped all over him, Talley came back to the ball and tipped it up and to himself on a comeback route. Nice concentration shown by Talley.
  • Devon Kennard made a few pops in practice (see below), but John Conner got one in on him, too. On a stretch play, Kennard came up into the hole trying to make the tackle. Conner proceeded to connect with Kennard and seal him out of the play allowing the back to continue down the field.

  • Another impressive play from the Giants’ offensive line. The defense brought a heavy blitz, looked like three extra bodies, and the line picked up every one. Manning had time to scan the field and then find Victor Cruz deep on a crossing route.
  • Jordan Stanton had an interception on a tipped ball from Curtis Painter. The ball was batted around about 10 times in a game of hot potato before Stanton got a hold of it. It wasn’t a pretty play.
  • Antrel Rolle got a couple breathers as Cooper Taylor got some reps with the first team. Taylor’s another one that has had a pretty good camp and impressed.
  • Mario Manningham sighting again, this time on a crossing route to beat Walter Thurmond. Ryan Nassib tried to go back to the same play a few reps later and stared Manningham down. The result? Charles James II jumped the route for an interception.
  • Ryan Nassib responded, though, hitting Larry Donnell for a touchdown down in the red zone. The tight end made a leaping grab in the back of the end zone. Eli Manning then checked in and found Rueben Randle in the same location.
  • Practice ended on an impressive play from Jacquian Williams, who also had a nice practice. Manning dropped back and looked right; Williams jumped up and batted the ball in the air. As it was coming down, Jameel McClain ran underneath and intercepted it. It was off to the races after that.

The Giants will have a practice tomorrow 1:20-3:30pm before traveling to Canton for Sunday’s preseason game versus the Bills on Saturday.

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Connor Hughes/BBI

Connor Hughes has been working in both the broadcasting and journalism fields for the last seven years. His work has been heard on WMCX, WBZC and Lenape District Television, while read on the pages of The Star-Ledger and The Burlington County Times. Connor can be reached via email ([email protected]) or on twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes)

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