Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports
JUNE 8, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS MINI-CAMP REPORT…
The first day of the New York Giants 3-day mandatory mini-camp was held on Tuesday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. No live contact is permitted during the mini-camp, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are allowed.
“The #1 focus is building our football movement, get the players in shape,” said Head Coach Joe Judge before practice. “Give them more exposure to our techniques and systems and schemes on the field. What I would really like this to do is just give these guys a jumpstart carrying into the five-week break until we head back to training camp, but they have got a feel for what they have to work on in that absence and also a feel for their conditioning and overall shape and strength they have to work on right now throughout the summer.
“It’s invaluable having meeting time and being in the same room as opposed to Zoom. It’s invaluable being on the field together, and not only play and execute but also mistakes you make to know how that felt and how you have to correct those and then you develop chemistry with the players around you going forward.
“The one thing we can work on this time of year that you don’t need pads is communication. To me with the rookies, one of the most important things they can get right now is the communication with the vets, guys who understand our system a little better, have a little more experience with what we are doing and getting used to being on the field and talking with it.
“You have to remember when these guys got here a few weeks back, they are naturally just shy guys walking down the hallways trying to learn everyone’s faces and names. For them it’s not natural to sit down and have a conversation and say, hey, can we try to bridge that gap as much as we can. This is part of the process to make sure when they are on the field there’s no hesitation in having the confidence to speak up and make the right check, put yourself and be in the right play call and be all on the same page.
“In terms of this time in the spring overall with the rookies, this is really valuable. The more time you get with them here just to help them catch up, really, the goal for the rookies this time of year is just give them an opportunity when they get to training camp to be able to compete with the vets in front of them. The reality is every vet in this league has an advantage over every rookie based on maturity level, experience, expertise, they know how to handle their body better and they have seen NFL football and know the speed of the game.
“The advantage rookies have is they are younger, they are generally healthier and they recover faster with their young bodies. That’s generally their advantage right now. They have to mentally catch up and technically catch up on the field with the fundamentals to be able to compete with our vets when we get to training camp.”
ABSENTEES AND INJURY REPORT…
Not sighted at practice were RB Saquon Barkley (knee), TE Kyle Rudolph (foot), WR John Ross, LB Cam Brown, LB Ryan Anderson, and RB Taquan Mizzell. CB Aaron Robinson did not practice much. Aside from Barkley and Rudolph, it is not known if the other players are dealing with injuries. However, press reports said all were accounted for, in other words, no one was absent without permission.
Tight end/wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin left practice early with trainers with an unknown ailment.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney slipped a few times during practice and left late after his last slip.
68-year old Running Backs Coach Burton Burns also left the field due to heat exhaustion. The team said he is fine.
“In terms of where (Barkley is) at right now, he comes in every day, he attacks every day from a rehab standpoint,” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “He’s had a phenomenal attitude and great motivation, he’s been tremendously positive.
“We are going to make sure that we take Saquon’s rehab at the correct rate for his individual body and injury. It’s not any mirror of anybody else’s injury out there. We have to make sure that we let him get it at his pace and put him on the field, can play 100 percent aggressive and confident and he’s going to play safe and he can play effective. Typically we do Saquon’s rehab in the morning before practice so when the players get out there he’s already been off the field and a lot of times he’s not out there when you’re out there.
“We are getting a lot of our rehab done during some of the meeting time. Couldn’t be happier with how he is working, showing tremendous leadership this off-season. He’s chomping at the bit to get back on the field. We are taking it day-by-day and he’s getting better every day.”
PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:
- It was a light practice with little to report.
- Fielding punts were WR Kadarius Toney, CB Adoree’ Jackson, CB Darnay Holmes, WR Dante Pettis, WR Darius Slayton, WR Sterling Shepard, and RB Corey Clement.
- The starting offensive line remained LT Andrew Thomas, LG Shane Lemieux, OC Nick Gates, RG Will Hernandez, and RT Matt Peart.
- RB Gary Brightwell had a nice, one-handed catch down the sideline.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1402327565373693953
HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Tuesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.
THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:
Eric Kennedy
Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.
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