August 11, 2005 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

August 11, 2005 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

by BigBlueInteractive.com Contributor DefenseWinsGMEN

Punt Return Drills: I saw Corey Webster, Michael Jennings, Curtis Deloatch fielding punts early (no returns) and Jennings was at it again with Willie Ponder later in the session. Again, full returns were not made, but they caught every punt that I saw, no fumbles.

Miscellaneous Defensive Observations:

• Linebacker Pick Drill: Not a major event, Kevin Lewis and James Maxwell each dropped one but made up for it on their next attempt.

• Defensive Back Sled: Deloatch and Webster stood out to me as the most physical, clearly putting in the most effort.

• Worked a bit on zone blitz schemes, with DE Osi Umenyiora dropping back in coverage.

• Observed First String DT’s: William Joesph, Kendrick Clancy. Second String DT’s: Damane Duckett, Kendrick Allen

Miscellaneous Offensive Observations:

• Wide receivers Plaxico Burress and Jamaar Taylor were both MIA, watching from the sideline. Amani Toomer, Tim Carter and David Tyree were the primary receivers, with Tyree working from the slot. Other than one drop, Toomer looked good – has noticeably slimmed down, seems to have regained some speed when compared to last year. On one sideline play late in the practice he abused Corey Webster for a nice reception.

• HB Mike Cloud got some work with the second team (splitting time with Brandon Jacobs), but didn’t look good. He lacks speed and it showed on a sweep right where he couldn’t get to the corner. Brandon Jacobs flashed his speed on a nice sideline run late in the practice, but was stuffed at the line on a few occasions early. He redeemed himself for that in the goal-line work, pounding through the left side for a touchdown. Two running backs fumbled today – both forced by defensive swats at the ball, not careless handling of the rock. Ryan Grant was guilty the first time around, and a few plays later it was Mike Jemison, the latter forced by S James Butler. Tiki got a few carries and ran well. He looks to have bulked up a bit in his upper body from last season.

• TE Chris Luzar was open over the middle and dropped a pass – I place the blame on both him and the QB (I think it was Jesse Palmer, not sure) as the throw was wobbling, but it did get to him. Tim Carter flashed his speed on the sideline late in the session. He isn’t 100 percent, but he looked like he was turning up the jets without ill effects.

• Coughlin was very frustrated with the first team offense late in the practice. He blew the whistle and screamed to re-huddle not once but twice in three plays before the ball was even snapped.

Quarterback Notes:

• Jared Lorenzen: He got some snaps today, and did not look good at all. I was very disappointed with what I saw from him, to be honest. Lorenzen did not make his decisions anywhere near fast enough on where to go with the ball. On multiple occasions, he just grounded it behind the line – 15 yard penalty in the game big guy. He also threw the only interception of the practice, reeled in by CB Will Allen, of all the unlikely candidates.

• Jesse Palmer: I didn’t see him getting much work. He was splitting time with Tim Hasselbeck, running the second unit. Palmer nearly threw an interception (LB Reggie Torbor missed on a ball that hit him right in the hands). Michael Jennings did make a nice catch on that play off the carom, drawing ooh’s from the crowd. In the red zone drill he had a nice pass to WR Ataveus Cash, but it was dropped.

• Tim Hasselbeck: He had an up-and-down practice, but definitely showed more polish than either of the previous two quarterbacks. He struggled early, with a few weak throws, and one that was badly behind David Tyree. But Hasselbeck seemed to get into a rhythm late. In the red zone drills, Hasselbeck excelled with the second unit, tossing a score to Jeremy Shockey and a pair of TD’s to the left corner to WR Michael Jennings, both over Frank Walker. He also made a nice throw (with an equally good catch by Willie Ponder) in a short no huddle drill, which was a nice recovery from a near pick by Curtis Deloatch. Deloatch had the ball in his hands (he jumped the route of TE Darius Williams) but Williams laid him out, jarring the ball loose. That was the only real hit I saw the whole day. Hasselbeck also seemed to have very good huddle command – the team moved smoothly when he was in there, quick to the line, good set and go, no problems.

• Eli Manning: Manning had a decent day, but it wasn’t a spotless performance. His throws were on target (those that I saw, the early offensive drills were on the far side), and he had good zip on the ball. The biggest issue was the huddle command – the first unit seemed to be slow to set up, and they were making mistakes (Coughlin note earlier). While that isn’t all Eli’s fault, it does come down on his shoulders in the end as the starting QB. He did have a nice throw across the middle to Shockey near the end of the session, it was good to see those two connect, hit him right in stride.

Who Looked Good: Curtis Deloatch is continuing to have a great camp; he caught my eye numerous times today. Brandon Jennings as well, he came up big in the red zone work and made a nice heads up play on the tipped ball where Torbor missed the pick.

Who Didn’t: Jared Lorenzen, his performance was flat out ugly.

Injuries: Did not see any players go down, so no bad news to report there. Burress and Taylor didn’t practice, same for Kareem McKenzie – minor injury, just a precaution. Barrett Green was in pads and on the field working, as were Tim Carter and Will Allen, each of them looking fine.