July 29, 2006 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

July 29, 2006 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

by BigBlueInteractive.com Contributor Marty in Albany

Coach Coughlin ended the practice 30 minutes early because of the arrival of more thunderstorms. It had been a pleasant enough day until then. I think that some of the players might have been happy to leave the field as practice got a bit ragged.

QB Eli Manning made some impressive completions and he also had a number of poor throws that were high. There was also a pass that wobbled as bad as anything Phil Simms used to throw. The high passes were to the sidelines which is good compared to high over the middle. WR Plaxico made a brilliant catch in full stride going over the middle. The ball was a good 18 to 24 inches over his head, which is to say pretty much out of the reach of the defensive back. Whether this was by design or just another high throw by Eli I couldn’t tell. It drew well-deserved oohs and ahs from the fans. Plaxico also dropped one that Eli threw at about knee level.

The rest of the quarterbacks had their moments and some inaccuracies to go along with them. Rob Johnson was short on a pass that CB Curtis Deloatch nearly picked off. There are very few quarterbacks that can run to their left and complete a pass. Rob Johnson is not one of them.

CB Sam Madison just barely edged out Deloatch as the owner of the skinniest legs on the team. Were you thinking 5’8″ WR Sinorice Moss? Not even close. He’s short but muscular. Moss caught what is likely to be the first of many passes thrown down the line of scrimmage. In the 7-on-7 drills he caught one over the middle. I wonder how well over the middle passes will work to Sinorice when there are eleven big bodies on the field instead of seven.

WR Amani Toomer caught deep sideline passes against CB Sam Madison and one against CB Corey Webster. He is amazing and he has not lost a step. TE Jeremy Shockey made one of his patented sliding catches on a low Eli throw. The crowd went wild. Jeremy is sporting a new tattoo. In the morning Jeremy was wearing red gloves. This afternoon it was black gloves. When he drops a pass I have seen him bad temperedly kick his gloves across the field. Jeremy appears to have a special relationship with his gloves.

DT Jonas Seawright, LB LaVar Arrington, and WR Tim Carter all practiced. Carter is playing well and is running fast and cutting. He made one catch that really impressed me. He ran down the left sideline and was pretty well covered, but there were about 8 or 10 yards of open space inside of where Carter was going. Whether intentionally or by accident Eli Manning threw the ball to that spot. Carter saw that the ball was not coming to him so he changed his direction and had the speed to get to that spot and catch the ball before the defender got there.

RBs Little John Flowers and James Sims and FB Tony Jackson continue to get a lot of runs and passes and they look very good. TE Wade Fletcher caught a pass or two, but TE Boo Williams had not done anything yet. The only time I saw him on the field was with the 4th string and QB Jared Lorenzen. TE Visanthe Shiancoe caught a pass and messed up two or three others. The pass that he held onto was also coveted by S Gibril Wilson. Gibril virtually mugged Shank while trying unsuccessfully to wrest the ball from Shank’s grasp. They both went down in a heap higgledy-piggledy.

CB E.J. Underwood continues to grab the jerseys of receivers that he is covering. He did manage to knock away a pass intended for WR Anthony Mix but it looked like a lucky contact because E.J. was not looking for the ball. This was not as bad as CB Brandon Williams who got faked out of his socks by WR David Tyree in a one-on-one pass drill. Brandon was standing there flat-footed and David was catching the pass ten yards away. It was cruelty to animals.

P Jeff Feagles didn’t get to punt but he did get to be quarterback for one of the defensive drills.

RB Brandon Jacobs continues to get a lot of carries and he seems to be dipping his shoulders. RB Tiki Barber continues to find small holes in the defense and dart through them.

Seventh rounder CB Gerrick McPhearson is big, strong, and very fast. He ran across the field to catch up to one ball carrier. He nearly intercepted a poorly thrown ball from QB Rob Johnson to WR Anthony Mix. Mix made an excellent play to strip the ball from McPhearson for an incomplete pass.