August 26, 2015 New York Giants Training Camp Report

Preston Parker – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 26, 2015 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held their second-to-last training camp practice on Wednesday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The full training camp schedule is available at Giants.com.

INJURY REPORT…
Wide receiver Victor Cruz (calf), center Weston Richburg (knee), left tackle Will Beatty (PUP – pectoral), defensive end George Selvie (knee), linebacker Jon Beason (knee), linebacker Mark Herzlich (concussion), cornerback Chykie Brown (knee), cornerback Chandler Fenner (hamstring), and safety Nat Berhe (calf) did not practice.

The bad news on Berhe is he re-aggravated his calf injury during practice on Tuesday.

Cornerback Jayron Hosley (concussion) returned to practice.

Right tackle Marshall Newhouse left practice early after injuring his left ankle. The Giants said another player stepped on Newhouse’s ankle.

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

• Jeromy Miles and Brandon Meriweather remained the first-team safeties.

• Landon Collins practiced with the second-team unit at safety.

• Wide receiver Preston Parker had another good practice, including catching a deep ball from quarterback Eli Manning. (Video)

• Cornerback Jayron Hosley broke up a pass intended for wide receiver Geremy Davis.

• Wide receiver Odell Beckham beat cornerback Jayron Hosley for a touchdown.

• One defensive line formation employed Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Cullen Jenkins, Robert Ayers, and Damontre Moore.

• For the second practice in a row, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had a pick-six interception. This time he intercepted quarterback Ryan Nassib. Defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa pressured Nassib on the play.

• Cornerback Trevin Wade picked off quarterback Ricky Stanzi. (Video)

• Safety Cooper Taylor blew up a screen pass.

• After right tackle Marshall Newhouse left practice due to injury, Geoff Schwartz and Bobby Hart split snaps with the first-team offense at right tackle.

• Tight ends Daniel Fells, Larry Donnell, and Jerome Cunningham were all active catching the ball, with Donnell also catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning.

• According to Giants.com, the top players of the day were defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa, tight end Daniel Fells, and wide receiver Preston Parker.

WATCH: Eli goes deep to @OBJ_3 at #Giants practice! http://t.co/AVLVlu3vOG

— New York Giants (@Giants) August 26, 2015

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN…
Tom Coughlin addressed the media on Wednesday (video is available at Giants.com):

Q: Landon Collins didn’t really seem like he did much yesterday?

A: He did enough. They wanted to take him and work him and just see him on the side and I think he passed all the tests, so he is going to get some time today.

Q: How is Rueben Randle doing today?

A: Rueben is fighting his way through. He thought he needed just to get some more work in and so today will be a better day for him, I’m sure, too.

Q: Did you like what you saw from him yesterday?

A: He was slowly getting into it. Hopefully he will be able to start faster today.

Q: Will Weston Richburg go today?

A: No.

Q: Is that concerning?

A: Well, certainly it is concerning; it is always concerning, but he is not going to be able to go today so I don’t know what else to say to you.

Q: What is it? Tendinitis?

A: It is his knee, yeah.

Q: How important is the third game overall because the guys will play the most they will play all preseason?

A: Well, we have played our people a little bit more this preseason. The third game, obviously, is an important game, just like any of them are but as far as advancing our people, we’ll play a half. There may be some that extend and there may be some that won’t not play a full half, but by and large, we’ll plan on playing a half and a half.

Q: Do you always look forward to playing the Jets in the preseason?

A: It is always a good game. It is a game that is well approached by the media, it is a preseason game, we have our issues, we have people that we are trying to evaluate and they do, too, and I think that is where it is. That is where the game is.

Q: Does it seem any quieter without Coach [Rex] Ryan on the other side?

A: You know what, we’ve got our own issues. I don’t pay much attention to what is going on in other places.

Q: In other years you’ve often had the starters in the third game play through halftime.

A: I always say that, Paul. I’m glad you brought that up, but it doesn’t happen much. I come in at the half and if we are in pretty good shape, I say that is enough.

Q: It is a special day for Osi. Any thoughts on today?

A: I just smile when I think of — I have this picture in my mind and it will always be there and I smile every time I think of it. It is that picture on the wall where 72 (Umenyiora), 92 (Strahan) and 91 (Tuck) are walking away from Brady who is laying on the ground in Super Bowl 42 and I just have that picture and every time I think of that, I think of Osi and I think of Strahan and I think of Tuck and I just smile. It will always be there.

Q: In your head, is he always aligned with that group?

A: Oh, absolutely. Early on, it was Strahan and Osi, and then, of course, when a young Justin Tuck comes along, but that way in which stories of how Strahan broke in and then how Osi was put to test, too, by the…that is a rare room, the defensive line room, now; you have to understand that. I will always have that smile and that thought of Osi, number one, and on this special day of his and, of course, those that surrounded him.

Q: That second Super Bowl run, when you think of him coming back, can you overstate the contribution that he made back there?

A: No, you can’t because of the way in which, like you say, he fought his way through some things. He had some injuries and he fought his way through those things and the way he played down the stretch in that situation and then through the playoffs was outstanding.

Q: What was he like to coach?

A: He was fun. He was a good guy. The one thing that probably went below the surface [was] what a job he did preparing. He studied those left tackles and he knew them—he knew the guy he was going against inside and out and that was really, I thought, the key to his success, that and the fact that he was very fast [and] very confident. When he stepped on the field, the guys around him knew that he was a very confident player, he was a master at his craft and that gave them great confidence, as well.

Q: The young group you have now has mentioned that group and how high they have set the bar. Do you see that as a good thing for these guys now to try and aim for that?

A: Most definitely, that is a good thing. It is always important to have something to look at to establish where you have to get to, to have that kind of success, and I think those guys represent that.

Q: Do you see that kind of talent in the room here?

A: Well, that is what we are shooting for. Guys are going to emerge and they are going to have to and these young guys are going to have to come and emerge. Guys like Owa, who people don’t know a whole heck of a lot about because he played on the other side of the country, and so on. He is a guy that is a talented young guy that can learn from watching these guys and knowing full well the success that that group had.

Q: Can I bring you back to this week’s game. What is going to mark the first half for the offense to be a success for you? What do you need to see?

A: It is continued improvement for me. The timing of the passing game is not there yet, and it’s got to happen. I thought our protection did a nice job early on. We’ll be tested this week, the Jets have an outstanding pressure package—they also have an outstanding front, a big front, so we are going to be tested with regards to that, too. That brings up the idea of some kind of consistency with your run game. We have got to have that. We had it at times the other night; we need it more often but we are going up against a very good front, so those would be the ways, you mentioned offense, where we would be looking to see us make progress.

Q: Victor Cruz said yesterday he sees defenses gunning for Odell Beckham. What does Odell have to work through with that?

A: I wouldn’t use those words. Obviously there is a difference between — people are always going to recognize someone who has the type of season that he had and they are going to do things to defend that. As far as gunning for him — you know the continuous of making plays [and] earning the respect of the opponents by doing it over time, proving as a rookie you made these plays and now the continuation of that, and I think that is what the rest of the league will see out of Odell this year.

Q: You saw the last play. The one down the right side where Odell kind of bumped him and gave the guy a little forearm. What did you say to him about that?

A: Well, we talk about those things and that remains pretty much between he and I. He is not going to be that way, I don’t believe so. You’ve got to stay away from those personal battles — that is a general statement for anybody in football, whether you are a lineman; a lot of times you want to attach those thoughts to linemen who get involved personal battles rather than see the whole picture and play for the purpose for the rest of the team. Odell he is going to improve on that.

Q: You had Steve Weatherford placekicking yesterday. Is Josh Brown okay?

A: We were working on our second and third kickers, is it okay to do that?

Q: Anything new with Cruz since yesterday?

A: No.

Q: So he won’t practice again today?

A: No, he won’t.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
The following transcripts and video clips of player media Q&As are available at BigBlueInteractive.com and Giants.com:

• QB Eli Manning (Video)
• WR Odell Beckham (Video)
• DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa (Video)

RELATED ARTICLES…

• Giants practice review: Defensive ends Owa Odighizuwa and Damontre Moore by Jordan Raanan for NJ.com
• A recurring Giant problem could cost Tom Coughlin his job by Bart Hubbuch of The New York Post
• Ground game picks up by Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The last training camp practice for the Giants this summer is on Thursday, but the practice is not open to the public.