Aug 142014
 
Eli Manning, New York Giants (July 22, 2014)

Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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AUGUST 14, 2014 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants took the practice fields at Quest Diagnostics Training Center for the final time in this year’s 2014 training camp.

But they’ll be back on Monday do everything the same. The only difference? It’s now closed to the public.

Thursday’s practice was a light one for the Giants as tomorrow the team will travel to Indianapolis for its game versus the Colts. There were some cards, mostly one-on-one drills and a two-minute portion as well with the second team offense.

On to the report…

Peyton Hillis, New York Giants (December 1, 2013)

Peyton Hillis – © USA TODAY Sports Images

THE WALKING WOUNDED…
Peyton Hillis (ankle/foot), Xavier Grimble (hamstring), Daniel Fells (knee) and Trindon Holliday (hamstring) all missed practice. Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring) continues to do more as he works his way back from a hamstring injury. Mike Patterson (shoulder) was back, too, and John Conner (concussion) did individuals.

SPECIAL TEAMS…
The Giants practiced their kickoff and kick return today. With this particular drill, I tried to focus on the exact order of both the returners and their up-man. When I say up-man, I mean the player that lines up directly in front of the kick returners and acts as a lead blocker. It’s organized below as follows : Returner/Up-man.

  • The rotation worked as follows: Quintin Demps/Marcus Harris, Preston Parker/Michael Cox, Michael Cox/Marcus Harris, and Marcus Harris/Andre Williams.
  • It was Brandon McManus’ day to kick and kick he did. Aside from going 4-for-4, McManus’ final kick was a beauty from at least 60 yards. He cleared the cross bars by at least 10 yards.

INDIVIDUALS…
There isn’t too much that you can take out of these lighter practices as it’s basically a glorified walk through. There’s little contact, the overall length is shorter and there’s not much to break down. Most of the observations are just that, observations.

  • It truly is time to sound the alarms with Ryan Nassib. Again today Curtis Painter was with the second team and Tom Coughlin sounded after practice like that’s where it’ll stay. It’s a telltale sign of how Nassib has played this summer.
  • Will Beatty was out there in all drills for the Giants which goes hand-in-hand with the fact he’ll start on Saturday.
  • Kellen Davis has been getting a lot of looks at tight end. He and Larry Donnell were working with the first team quite a bit. Again, the Giants are running a lot of multiple tight end sets.
Adrien Robinson, New York Giants (July 27, 2013)

Adrien Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports Images

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants ran through a bit of a hurry-up/two-minute drill as they usually do to start practice. Not much happened as the offense continues to look stagnant. It’s honestly frustrating at times to try to pick a positive out of something where there is so little. The entire training camp can be summed up in five words: The offense doesn’t look good. Simply put, the team doesn’t have enough playmakers on the field.

  • For the entire first drill with the entire first team, Adrien Robinson was out there at tight end. The Giants even moved him split wide at one point. Andre Williams was also out there as a running back.
  • Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz down the seam on a double move. Cruz shook free Walter Thurmond III and made the grab.
  • Zack Bowman had a nice bat down on a pass to Kellen Davis. Davis was open on a curl, the ball was delivered and Bowman just punched it out.
  • Something that certainly won’t make Giants’ fans happy: a big miscommunication between Rueben Randle and Manning. Manning dropped back to pass, Randle ran a streak, Manning threw a curl and Bowman undercut the route for a pick-six. All jokes aside, it was identical to the interception Bowman had against the Giants last year. Same side of the field, too.
  • Charles James II nearly intercepted Ryan Nassib. James had good coverage and undercut a throw intended for Julian Talley.
  • You may need to re-read this once, but Eli Manning ran for a touchdown. Manning pump-faked to open up a huge crease in the middle of the field. He then jogged into the endzone.
Ryan Nassib, New York Giants (May 22, 2013)

Ryan Nassib – © USA TODAY Sports Images

ELEVEN-ON-ELEVEN/CARD DRILL…
This was a little bit of both the card drill and eleven-on-eleven. Explaining the card drill for those that don’t know: The offense holds up a card with a play, the defense holds up a card with a play and then both go and run said plays at 3/4 speed.

  • Eli Manning looked for Marcus Harris on an out route but Cooper Taylor had really good coverage. Near interception for the second-year safety.
  • For the second practice in a row, Ryan Nassib dropped a shot gun snap. Snap was good, no pressure, Nassib just dropped it.
  • In a weird formation, the Giants split fullback Henry Hynoski out wide left as a receiver. Hynoski was the lone player to that side of the field. First time I’ve seen that all camp.
  • Touchdown pass from Nassib to Jerome Cunningham on a flag route in the red zone.
  • There was one interception today, but a few were dropped. Damontre Moore nearly had one as he lept in the air on a low pass from Manning. He had both of his hands on it but dropped the ball.
  • It wasn’t pretty, but Odell Beckham Jr. came down with a tipped pass for a touchdown in the red zone. Nassib was the quarterback as the ball bounced off a few defenders hands before making its way to Beckham.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL…
The Giants have ended practice like this a few times this week. Every day, a different team takes its turn and today it was the second teamers. The ball is set up at one end of the field and two minutes are put on the clock. The offense then has to march down the field against the defense and score. With Curtis Painter at quarterback, the Giants offense scored a touchdown on the final play. Painter threw a perfect pass to Preston Parker past a diving defender. Parker then walked into the end zone.

The Giants will be off on Friday as they travel to Indianapolis. The next scheduled practice is Monday, Aug. 18.

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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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