August 9, 2006 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

August 9, 2006 New York Giants Training Camp Report (Afternoon Practice)

by BigBlueInteractive.com Contributor Marty in Albany

The biggest news of the day may be that QB Rob Johnson was dressed, but stood on the sidelines watching QB Jared Lorenzen running the third team. It would appear that Jared is now the third-team QB and that Rob Johnson will be looking for work elsewhere. Of course, there could be other explanations, like minor injuries or soreness. I’m sure Rob did not enjoy watching Lorenzen run the team. I didn’t either. Jared had a few good throws in the 11-on-11s, but he was often wildly inaccurate and lacking in touch. DB Charlie Peprah nearly intercepted a Lorenzen to WR Anthony Mix pass. Everyone likes Mix because he is so big and smooth. He had two receptions today.

It was a wonderful day to play hooky from work – sunny and mild. The team was in “uppers” – helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts. OT Bob Whitfield was in his usual sweat suit and looked like the second coming of DT Norman Hand. Speaking of defensive tackles, William Joseph is back on the field sharing the starting duties with Fred Robbins. TE Visanthe Shancoe played a little, but did not look anywhere near full speed. My guess is that he will not play on Friday and the tight ends for the game will be Boo Williams, Wade Fletcher, and Darcy Johnson. Jeremy Shockey played in the 7-on-7 drills, but not in the 11-on-11s.

Wade Fletcher continues to make catches in traffic and I watched a little bit of his blocking. It’s hard to tell if he can hold his man out, but he seems to have good lateral mobility as a blocker. Boo Williams on the other hand got to watch first rounder DE Mathias Kiwanuka run around him as if he were a traffic cone. Although you can’t tell about defensive linemen until the season starts, I have not seen anything about Kiwi that did not impress me.

HB Mike Jemison is back with the Giants. He wears number is 38. He ran a little and caught a little. He should provide a bit of depth at the running back position. HB Little John Flowers practiced but still looks a bit nicked up. With HB Tiki Barber likely to carry the ball for only one or two possessions, and Derrick Ward out, and Brandon Jacobs being monitored, the only health running back is rookie James Sims and the 5’8″, 29-year old kick returner Chad Morton. Friday’s game is a big opportunity for Jemison. It will be interesting to see what he can do with it.

RG Chris Snee watched the practice. He’s got big arms, a big belly and a big ice bag on his knee. The Giants were smart to sign OG Rich Seubert to a long-term deal. Tiki, WR Plaxico Burress, and WR Amani Toomer did not play all that much and wide receivers David Tyree and Willie Ponder had an opportunity to shine. They caught the balls that were thrown in their vicinity.

On the defensive side of the ball CB Frank Walker almost made an interception and showed good technique. We will see if he can do it on a consistent basis or whether he will continue to put his hands on the receiver past the five yard line.

There were some interesting drills. The most unusual was an 11-on-11 drill where two of the defenders put on green doublets with the numbers 53 and 55 on them. I am clueless as to what that was about. I’ve never seen this in all the years that I’ve been to training camp.

Another, more typical drill, no doubt to prepare for the game on Friday night, was the “downing the punt” in the “coffin corner” drill. This drill was at a distance so I might be wrong. Anyway it looks like the Giants cheated by having the people downing the ball already in position rather than making them run down with the punt.

Okay, the one drill that I’m sure about is the hurry-up field goal attempt. PK Jay Feely had just made three field goals in a row from perhaps 45-yards away. The offensive team came on the field. Then the offensive team made one play and ran off the field and the kicking unit ran on. It looks like the kicking team was in sync, but Feely’s kick bounced loudly off the cross-bar. I could not judge the distance, but it looked like it might have been about a 50-yard kick.