Jul 292022
 
Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants (July 28, 2022)

Wan’Dale Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports

JULY 29, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT… (by Sy’56)

Before I get into the practice analysis, please note that I will get to training camp practices about 10 times over the next few weeks. I am fitting these trips in around my job, college scouting prep work, and a 2-year old.

-General feel of practice still seemed, obviously, a tad slow and introductory. Some close-to-full-speed team drills were the highlight, which I will get to. But with no pads on, there is still a lot that cannot be answered quite yet. I opted to put more attention on skill positions today (although I do have some thoughts on the pass rush vs OL).

-My first macro-level observation that you could maybe even call more of a confirmation: the rookies are a HUGE part of this team. From my count of the 22-25 “starters” on both sides of the ball, 20% of them were just drafted this past April. Another 20% of them were drafted in 2021. This is a really young team and could easily end up being the most amount of first/second players in “starting” roles Week 1 that we have seen in a long time.

INITIAL ROOKIE THOUGHTS

-The most impressive player on the field, and arguably the most active, was Wan’Dale Robinson. The suddenness, burst, and explosion was fun to watch. He was moving at a different speed than everyone else, both sides of the ball. He lined up everywhere, he ran every route, he got the ball several ways. The lack of size is obvious but it only shows up negatively when it comes to catch radius

-Evan Neal is a different dude. I get very into body types when looking at players initially. I know a lot about the field, as I have been working in it for a decade now. You could take numbers off every jersey and cover up faces, I would be able to tell you who the rookies are. The contrast in their bodies year one to year two is enormous. Not Neal. Neal looks like a 5-year vet when looking at his body from head to toe. I love how he carries himself too. Detail oriented, overly thoughtful. He played with 1st and 2nd team at RT. As I expect to see this season, it was an up and down day. Without the practice film and from a point of view that was less than ideal at times, I counted Neal giving up 2 sacks. Both to the inside shoulder where he over set on the edge and took a misstep when redirecting inside, losing balance. Kavyon Thibodeaux got him once, Oshane Ximines got him once. He did seamlessly pick up blitzes to the inside, he was mentally in tune.

-Thibodeaux was interesting to watch. As expected, he looked slender below the waist. He is broad though and there is natural power that comes from his hands. He was very consistent with his get off, the best on this line by far (Azeez Ojulari did not practice) but he was always under control. I loved the balance he showed and it set up his secondary rush moves. I counted 2 unofficial sacks (1 vs Andrew Thomas, 1 vs Neal). The bend comes easy to him and the technique looked beyond what you would expect from a rookie in practice number 3 of his career.

-I believe both tight ends Jordan Akins and Ricky Seals-Jones were out. Daniel Bellinger was in there with the ones and Austin Allen/Chris Myarick were in there with the twos. Both rookies have impressive body types. It isn’t really worth diagnosing their blocking. The team drills were almost all pass-based and again, pads don’t go on until Monday. Bellinger was late to get off a chip block on two occasions and it threw off the timing of Jones getting the ball out. A common theme I will discuss below.

-Cor’Dale Flott was with the second string and he played on the outside, not nickel. Easy mover, stuck to guys downfield on broken plays and made an impressive pass break up in the end zone on a 40+ yard throw.

-4th rounder Dane Belton was entrenched right away with the ones. Initially a surprise to some, I’m sure. But remember the safety group on this team is thin-thin. Not just thin. I don’t want to take anything away from him yet (remember Gibril Wilson’s rookie year? A 5th rounder) but he is one of the young guys on this roster being thrown into the fire whether he’s ready or not. It was an interesting defensive day that I will get into later.

-The UNC lineman, Joshua Ezeudu and Markus McKethan had stand out traits, respectively. The former played both RT and LG with the second string. His foot speed/quickness and rapid fire hand work is going to suit him well and will get him on the field soon. And based on how the interior played today as a group, we will see him on the field soon regardless. McKethan is huge but athletic looking. He does not seem overly fluid yet but from my viewpoint, it looks more mental that physical. When he did have his mind made up, he moved plenty fast enough. But more often than not, he looked like he was still figuring out his steps and role play-to-play.

OFFENSIVE THOUGHTS

-NYG has a new offense. NYG has a new defense. Fair trade off, right? If that is the case, there is no disputing the offense is starting off camp behind the defense. There are two ways you can view it, choose your path.

-Yes, the amount of pre-snap motion and mis-direction was more than we are used to seeing from this team. It should help Daniel Jones diagnose at least some of the plans the defense has. It also appears to be aimed at helping the pass catchers (including backs) speed up their option-route decision making. Playing in this offense is going to be challenging mentally. These guys are going to need help when it comes to making the right decisions on option routes and that pre-snap motion should help.

-However, it will only help if you understand what you’re looking at. Kadarius Toney and Richie James both ran wrong routes (the latter got an earful from Jones). Barkley went the wrong direction on a blitz up the middle that would have resulted in a sack by Tae Crowder. Confusion post-snap on alignment two times caused the ire of coaches as well.

-The interior of the offensive line was hard to watch if I’m being completely honest. No Jon Feliciano at center meant a rotation between Jamil Douglas and Ben Bredeson. Dexter Lawrence handled them both with ease and Douglas rolled a snap back. Both Jones and Tyrod Taylor were both shuffled around for the majority of deep drop backs. I think that LG spot is very much up in the air and NYG better hope Feliciano brings more stability to center.

-How did Jones look overall? Not bad, not great. That is all I have for you. I did not see any standout throws but I did see a couple that were air-mailed over the head of his target by at lest 3-4 feet. His biggest play was a scramble down the right sideline and as we know, kid has wheels. He can really move and I expect to see that as a big part of the offense à la Josh Allen.

-Taylor is the best NYG backup we have seen since….maybe ever? I still think he is one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the NFL. The ease within his footwork and fluid hips during his release are so smooth to watch.

-The receiver group was a steady rotation of Wan’Dale Robinson, Kadarius Toney, David Sills, and Kenny Golladay. There was so much variety when it came to where they lined up. Toney seemed to have his live-snaps limited as he eases in but his quickness after the catch is going to be a dangerous weapon. Him and Robinson are the offense in the passing game, no question. Toney also looked swift as a punt returner.

-The backups did not have a ton of standouts, but Matt Breida plays at a different speed than others. He had one or two touches and it was easy to see how fast he accelerated. It did not look like Barkley was going full speed, so maybe Breida stood out even further in that regard. Nonetheless, he is going to be an exciting element to this offense.

DEFENSIVE THOUGHTS

-Stay glass half full with me. This defense and the complexity of it was what caused NYG’s offensive confusion and lack of fluidity. They played mostly dime and nickel packages. When one LB came off the field, it was Blake Martinez while Crowder stayed on. It appeared safety Xavier McKinney was calling the plays but I’m not completely sure.

-McKinney looks like the one potential “superstar” of this defense. He moves at a different speed than everyone else and reminded me a bit of Minkah Fitzpatrick from PIT. All over the place, no wasted motion, very sure steps. He almost picked off a Jones pass on a very acrobatic play on a crossing route. He sniffs things out in a hurry.

-Darnay Holmes had the play of the day and an argument could be made he was the defensive MVP of practice. On a 1-step drop back throw to the flat, Holmes made a break on the ball before it was thrown. The result? Definite pick six. He was sent on multiple blitzes from different angles and, at the very least, pressured the passer multiple times.

-The defensive line shuffled between 2- and 3-man fronts. Leonard Williams and Jihad Ward saw most of the snaps between the guard and tackle on most snaps. Ward is a vocal player. Dexter Lawrence came on for what I would call 50% of the first string’s snaps, maybe a tad more. I was glad to see him as the nose tackle for most of the odd man fronts. He had tremendous push on every play. Again, no pads, but notable.

-Aaron Robinson started at CB with Adoree’ Jackson. Robinson is really physical, perhaps too much. He took a cheap shot at David Sills (a day after taking a cheap shot at Robinson) and Daboll quickly got in his face. By far the most angry I saw him all day. Robinson was getting beat in coverage, perhaps he was frustrated.

-The backups did not “dominate” the way the starters did. Micah McFadden and Carter Coughlin were smart and instinctive. Andrew Adams was a shot caller from safety. Nickel Khalil Dorsey made a really nice pass breakup when covering Austin Proehl.

-Elerson Smith was someone I really tried to hone in on. He split time with both the first and second string. He looks bigger than his listed 245. The height and length easily stand out but he looks thick too. His first two-three steps as a pure edge rusher are notably slower than Thibodeaux.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

It would be foolish to have strong reactions to a practice so early in camp in either direction. The one thing I walked away with was that this rookie class is going to be a HUGE part of this team. For better or worse. Robinson is going to get the ball from any and all directions and he has the combination of lower body strength, agility, and slipperiness to create a lot on his own. Neal and Thibodeaux will be Week 1 starters, I have very little doubt there. And don’t sleep on Flott passing Robinson at corner if what I saw today continues.

The defense is going to be exotic, we know that. The fear? Good offenses can counter that easily if they win one-on-one matchups in coverage. The bad offenses? It will create playmaking opportunities for the likes of McKinney, Holmes, and Julian Love. I think we will see a lot of swings for the fences. A lot of homeruns, a lot of strikeouts.

Offensively, I feel better about the guys up front but that isn’t saying much when comparing them to previous groups. I’ve been down on this OL situation for almost a decade now. The OC + LG situation is going to determine most of it (in addition to staying healthy, obviously). I already feel good about the young OT combination and Glowinski will give us the Seubert-type dependability.

Can they score more points? I mean, they scored the 2nd least amount in 2021 and there weren’t many pieces added to the puzzle. The new brain trust alone will add more ceiling to this group and you have to think they can reverse some of the health misfortune. To me, it does not come down to Barkley. It does not come down to Golladay. It comes down to Jones, Toney, and the rookie Robinson. Jones being an obvious catalyst because of the position he plays. But in more detail, he needs to get the ball out in a hurry and improve the accuracy. Hit these guys in stride to create those important YAC opportunities. Work with the small reach-radius. Know when to tuck and run (QB scrambles are the most efficient offensive plays in football with QBs who are runners).

I won’t be back at camp for another week.

INJURY REPORT…
The following players remain on injury lists:

  • Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List: WR Sterling Shepard (Achilles), OC Nick Gates (leg), and OT Matt Peart (knee).
  • Reserve/Non-Football Injury (NFI) List: LB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring)

OC Jon Feliciano (heat exhaustion), TE Ricky Seals-Jones (unknown), TE Jordan Akins (unknown), DL Nick Williams (unknown), and ILB Darrian Beavers (unknown) did not practice.

We’ll probably have a few guys down today relative to heat and hydration and just to be smart on that end,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before practice.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Friday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

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:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants practice Saturday morning (10:00AM-noon). The practice is open to the public. Head Coach Brian Daboll and select players will also address the media.

Jun 022022
 
Brian Daboll, New York Giants (May 13, 2022)

Brian Daboll – © USA TODAY Sports

JUNE 2, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS OTA PRACTICE REPORT…
The Giants held their ninth voluntary organized team activity (OTA) practice on Thursday, and third one open to the media. No live contact is permitted during OTAs, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are allowed. The last remaining OTA practice will be held on Friday. A mandatory mini-camp will also be held June 7-9.

Just rolling right along here,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before practice. “Practice nine. We have another one tomorrow, then we’ll have our mini camp next week. Roll into the summer break. Get ready for training camp in terms of logistics and all those things. So there’s been a lot of meetings relative to that. We’ll have more and try to be set here once next week hits. So go out there and try to have another good practice today.”

INJURY REPORT AND ABSENTEES…
Players wearing red jerseys because of injury issues included WR Kadarius Toney, WR Sterling Shepard, WR Collin Johnson, LT Andrew Thomas, OC Nick Gates, OT Matt Peart, ILB Blake Martinez, OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux, ILB Cam Brown, ILB T.J. Brunson, CB Aaron Robinson, CB Rodarius Williams, and CB Darren Evans

“The guys are still in red jerseys,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll. “They’re rehabbing. When they’re ready to go, they’ll be ready to go… (Thomas is) doing a good job. Everything we’ve asked him to do rehab-wise, really all the guys, they’re doing what they can do. When they’re ready to go, they’ll be ready to go… I think they’re all at different spots, the guys in red jerseys. Knock on wood, hopefully he’ll be good to go (by training camp).”

WR Kenny Golladay, CB Darnay Holmes, and S Jarren Williams were not spotted at practice.

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • There was a heavier emphasis on 11-on-11 team drills in this practice.
  • First-team offensive line in team drills was LT Joshua Ezeudu, LG Shane Lemieux, OC Jon Feliciano, RG Mark Glowinski, and RT Evan Neal. Ezeudu appeared to have issues at left tackle giving up pressure off of the edge.
  • Daniel Bellinger appeared to receive most of the first-team reps at tight end.
  • The second-team offensive line was LT Korey Cunningham, LG Jamil Douglas, OC Ben Bredeson, RG Marcus McKethan, and RT Matt Gono.
  • The first-team defense usually featured DL Leonard Williams, DL Dexter Lawrence, OLB Azeez Ojulari, ILB Tae Crowder, CB Adoree’ Jackson, S Julian Love, S Xavier McKinney, and S Dane Belton.
  • Rotating in on the first-team defense were DL David Moa, DL Justin Ellis, OLB Elerson Smith, OLB Jihad Ward, ILB Justin Hilliard, ILB Micah McFadden, CB Cor’Dale Flott (slot), CB Michael Jacquet. Flott and Belton in particular saw a lot of first-team snaps.
  • By one account, QB Daniel Jones finished team drills 18-of-24. One of his passes should have been a pick-6 but CB Adoree’ Jackson dropped it. Jones also probably would have been “sacked” three times, including once by DL Leonard Williams.
  • QB Daniel Jones threw three touchdown passes, including to  TE Daniel Bellinger, WR Richie James (corner of end zone during 2-minute drill on 4th down), and WR David Sills on 4th down (who may have stepped out-of-bounds)
  • WR Wan’Dale Robinson dropped what should have been a touchdown pass from QB Daniel Jones.
  • QB Daniel Jones’ most frequent target was RB Saquon Barkley, who picked up a sizable gain on a play out of the slot.
  • OLB Niko Lalos picked off QB Davis Webb in the end zone for a defensive touchdown.
  • OLB Elerson Smith had at least two “sacks” and applied consistent pressure.
  • WR Darius Slayton dropped two passes, including a nice deep pass from QB Tyrod Taylor for what should have been a touchdown. Taylor avoided blitzing LB Carter Coughlin on the play.
  • OLB Quincy Roche broke up a pass that he almost intercepted.
  • CB Zyon Gilbert flashed in coverage twice and CB Maurice Canady also broke up one pass.
  • WR Alex Bachman was active catching the ball from QB Davis Webb.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The  transcript and video of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Thursday are available in The Corner Forum and 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:

Jan 052022
 
Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon, New York Giants (December 5, 2021)

Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon – © USA TODAY Sports

JANUARY 5, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
The New York Giants held a light, walk-thru practice on Wednesday at Quest Diagnostics Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Not practicing were QB Mike Glennon (wrist), FB Cullen Gillaspia (knee), WR John Ross (knee), WR Collin Johnson (hamstring), NT Austin Johnson (foot), DL Dexter Lawrence (personal/COVID ramp up), and LB Elerson Smith (neck).

The Giants revealed on Tuesday that Glennon’s wrist injury will require surgery he is done for the season. Jake Fromm will start in his place.

Limited in practice were RB Saquon Barkley (ankle, WR Kadarius Toney (shoulder), WR Darius Slayton (shoulder/COVID ramp up), TE Kyle Rudolph (ankle), OT Andrew Thomas (shoulder), OT Korey Cunningham (COVID ramp up), OG Will Hernandez (ankle), and NT Danny Shelton (COVID ramp up).

ROSTER MOVES…
On Tuesday, the Giants waived TE Chris Myarick and terminated the Practice Squad contract of OL Isaiah Wilson.

On Wednesday, the Giants placed LB Elerson Smith on Injured Reserve with a neck injury. The team also placed Practice Squad player DL Woodrow Hamilton on the Reserve/COVID-19 List.

The Giants activated WR Darius Slayton, OT Korey Cunningham, DL Dexter Lawrence, NT Danny Shelton, LB Omari Cobb, and CB Ka’Darr Hollman from the Reserve/COVID-19 List.

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Wednesday 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:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice again on Thursday. The coordinators and select players will also address the media.

Dec 302021
 
Kadarius Toney, New York Giants (December 5, 2021)

Kadarius Toney has a lot of boo-boos

DECEMBER 30, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
The New York Giants practiced on Thursday at Quest Diagnostics Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Not on the official injury list, but also not practicing due to being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 List were WR Darius Slayton, OL Korey Cunningham, NT Danny Shelton, DE Dexter Lawrence, and S Julian Love.

Not practicing were RB Gary Brightwell (neck), WR Kadarius Toney (shoulder), WR John Ross (knee/COVID ramp up), WR Collin Johnson (hamstring), OL Billy Price (personal), and DL Austin Johnson (foot).

“Billy and his family are dealing with a family matter,” Head Coach Joe Judge said. “I’m not going to go into it. It’s not mine to disclose, but his family has our full support as an organization. We’ve all talked to him. Our concern is for the personal wellbeing of Billy as a person, and his family’s well-being is a primary concern right now. We’ll deal with Billy as we go through the week, and we’ll know more as we go.”

Limited in practice were RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), FB Cullen Gillaspia (shin), TE Kyle Rudolph (ankle), TE Chris Myarick (hip), OT Nate Solder (COVID ramp up), OL Ben Bredeson (ankle), DL Raymond Johnson (illness), CB Adoree’ Jackson (quad/COVID ramp up), CB Keion Crossen (COVID ramp up), and PK Graham Gano (illness).

ROSTER MOVES…
The Giants have placed WR Darius Slayton, OL Korey Cunningham, and LB Omari Cobb on the Reserve/COVID-19 List. Slayton and Cunningham will likely miss Sunday’s game; Cobb is on the Practice Squad. The team activated OT Nate Solder from the Reserve/COVID-19 List.

The Giants also placed OT Matt Peart (knee) and RB Gary Brightwell (neck) on Injured Reserve. Their season is over.

The Giants waived LB Trent Harris.

THE COACHES SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following coaches are available in The Corner Forum and 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:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice again on Friday. Head Coach Joe Judge and select players will also address the media.

Oct 252021
 
James Bradberry, New York Giants (October 24, 2021)

James Bradberry – © USA TODAY Sports

OCTOBER 25, 2021 JOE JUDGE PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants Head Coach Joe Judge addressed the media on Monday to discuss his team’s 25-3 win over the Carolina Panthers:

Q: I wanted to ask you about a couple of guys if I could – (Tackle) Matt Peart, what you saw from him and (Fullback) Eli Penny and the job he did yesterday, particularly in the short-yardage situation.

A: I thought Eli did a good job. He’s been progressing in that role for us both as a fullback and as a running back or halfback throughout the season. He had a good game for us yesterday in a lot of things he did, showed up in the kicking game for us, as well. Eli’s just one of those kinds of guys who’s a steady presence, personality. Brings a lot of life into the room, but he’ll work extremely hard on the field. This is a guy that’s got a background as being a ballcarrier and he’s played some fullback the last few years here, but when we went through training camp this year he was someone we wanted to look at in terms of running with the ball in his hands and he’s done a good job for us pounding that ball between the tackles. Did a good job yesterday to close the game out when we got down into that four-minute situation for us. That’s how we wanted to go ahead and end it so we could go ahead and get into victory formation and kneel it down. In terms of Matt, I think Matt’s a guy who’s improving all the time and he was someone who we obviously challenged last week. He had a large responsibility on his plate, came in and he really stepped up to it. There’s things he has to improve on as a player, like we all do, like every player and every coach does, but one thing I see with him is a consistent work ethic to keep on getting better and he’s very, very coachable. Thought Matt did a lot of things yesterday that were positive that we’re going to look to build on.

Q: We didn’t ask you about (Safety) Jabrill (Peppers) after the game. Any update on his status?

A: I don’t have anything currently. I know he’s with doctors as we speak and they’re kind of on that backend of Monday check-ins with the doctors after going and getting X-rays and MRIs like a lot of our players do, so we’ll see how he comes out of that. We’re obviously hopeful to get him as soon as possible. I know the game means a lot to Pep. He’s a tremendous leader on this team and brings a lot to us in terms of production and just leadership on the field.

Q: The trade deadline is a week from tomorrow. Do you expect you guys to be active, whether that’s making deals to acquire players or to move players?

A: We’ll see. It’s definitely the time of year everyone starts making a lot of phone calls. There’s been potential and opportunities for trades going in, coming out, however it’s been the entire time since the season has been going, so sometimes people manufacture too much at the trade deadline. I know a lot of teams kind of rush to make final moves. We’ll obviously talk about a number of phone calls that we’ll be getting throughout the week, but I wouldn’t say we’re absolutely anticipating doing anything. Would say those conversations will run from now through the remainder of the week.

Q: Are you a believer in what people say about quarterbacks a lot, that the best guys can make those around them better? Do you believe a quarterback can do that?

A: I think any player in any position makes guys around them better. The quarterback’s obviously no exception. I think when you’re playing good football, that gives other guys around you an opportunity to have success. When you’re not playing well, it puts more stress on the man next to you, so to me that’s why you have to rely on all 11 to do their job. Obviously, the quarterback and his position touches the ball every pay, he’s the guy the offense runs through. Obviously, he has to play well for anyone to have success. You can’t have success just on the quarterback, everyone else needs to play well, as well. You have to protect him, you have to run the ball effectively, you have to get open, the skill players have to catch the ball. Simply put, you can definitely elevate the level of play of the people around you by playing well yourself.

Q: And the fact that (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) went out there without some starting offensive linemen, certainly without some offensive playmakers, do you think he did that yesterday, that he elevated some of the lesser-known players around him?

A: I’d say all the players on our team came to play yesterday. I know what you’re asking and what you’re kind of getting at there, but we had starters yesterday. We had 11 people starting on offense, we had 11 people starting on defense and that’s who we’re concerned about getting prepared every week. Every player we bring to the game, we expect to play. We coach every player, we develop every player, everyone’s expected to come in and produce and execute on Sunday. In terms of whoever’s available, we want everybody to be available. The reality is that sometimes that doesn’t happen, that’s just the nature of the National Football League. Whoever we have up, we’re going to go out and we expect to compete and we expect to have success. Obviously, did Daniel play well yesterday? He did. Did a lot of things that facilitated the offense and helped a lot of players have success. I think a lot of the success came from the way all the players around him played, as well.

Q: You obviously were eyeing this upcoming game for (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) and (Wide Receiver) Kenny (Golladay) when you didn’t put them on IR. Where are they and do you think that they’ll make it to Monday?

A: I think a large part of that is going to have to do with this being a longer week. Really, I think Wednesday is going to be the day of moving these guys around to see what they really look like. There’s not going to be an immediate press to put them on the field today or tomorrow at this point plans-wise to kind of see what they’re doing to give us an immediate projection. We’ll be on the field as a team Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in one way or another, but in terms of really going for those players that are coming off the injury list, Wednesday will be more of a day of moving them around to give them an early week preview of it, so it gives us an extra day on the front end to see where they’re at. But, I don’t have any final answer on anyone who’s going to be up or down this week at this point just based on we have extra time and some guys got nicked and banged up in the game, so sometimes that plays a big factor in it. With the guys that are coming off injury, those guys have been making consistent progress, so I’m optimistic with how they’ve been working, but we’ll see where their bodies are at moving through this week.

Q: You changed the way you practiced a little bit this past week, sort of an emphasis on returning to fundamentals. Do you expect that to continue this week or does it change because of the long week?

A: No, we always emphasize fundamentals, but last week there was a large aspect of making sure that we understood that we control the results based on how we perform and execute. Every good play starts with good fundamentals and that was a large emphasis in what we did in practice last week. We had some competitive periods between the offense and defense, we’ll continue doing some of those things, as well. The long week will not change any of that. I would expect to keep staying on that same track. Obviously, there’s a number of things the Chiefs present that we’re going to have to get prepared for offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, so there’s a large quantity of game planning you have to see against these guys to make sure you account for what they’re doing schematically. However, I’d say that fundamentally we’re not going to go ahead and lose any time in practice to take away from fundamentals.

Q: (Linebacker) Azeez Ojulari, obviously he had a big game yesterday, two and a half sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss. He started off really well with a sack in each of the first three games and then stats wise at least, he had no pressures in back-to-back games. Is this a case of he started off well, teams adjusted to him and then he adjusted to their adjustments and that’s encouraging to see?

A: It was encouraging to see him play well, but this guy has been playing hard the entire time. There’s not going to be any one button you push to say this is the reason why it happened. I always come back to pressure on the quarterback and sacks and the results on the production up front always ties into the other guys doing their jobs, as well. When the coverage is playing well, the front gets to eat. When they’re rushing the passer effectively, the coverage is helped right there, too. Thought we saw great complementary football on the defensive side of the ball yesterday with both aspects, the front and the secondary really playing together and all of them making plays with it – interceptions, pass breakups, good breaks for tackles for very short gains, rushes on the passer. Specifically getting back to Azeez, which you’re asking about, this guy has been working very hard. I think he’s doing a lot of things that – a lot of times the edge players as rookies, it’s a real big transition because it’s very different from college and the talent level is extremely different from college. He’s been productive early in his career really just by playing within his own strengths and skillset. I think (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Patrick) Pat (Graham) and (Defensive Line Coach Sean Spencer) Spence and those guys are doing a really good job using this guy to what he does well, letting him go out there and just play fast. I saw some things yesterday in terms of instinctually showing up, rushing up the field, countering back, getting to the quarterback, putting pressure on him. He didn’t do anything that really got him outside the realm of the defense yesterday and allowed him to play fast and controlled. I was very, very proud of how he worked last week to put himself in position.

Q: A big-picture defense thing, I saw some quotes on Sports Illustrated from Albert Breer about how the defense might have been in the wrong spots depth wise, in zone, man coverage, lost some leverage. How did you fix that? That’s a little surprising from veterans. Was this just a case of simplifying things for them and making them think a little less or react a little more that the defense played so well yesterday?

A: No, what I said about that was the emphasis that we’re placing on fundamentals. When you talk about zone, it’s all about depth and vision. When you talk about man, it’s all about leverage. When you talk about offenses attacking zone defenses, it’s about depth and spacing in your routes and making sure you have separation so that they can’t cover every window at the same time. When you’re going against man defense, it’s about winning your leverage and protecting your leverage on the way back to the ball. You run routes a little bit differently based on the coverage and you play zone and man defense a little bit differently, but our emphasis last week was simply making sure we go back to the root of what we’ve really got to work and no matter what the call is, no matter who the opponent is, understanding what our assignment and out execution is. I definitely saw that from the defense yesterday, they really did a good job playing with good fundamentals. You can see when the ball was coming out of (Panthers Quarterback Sam) Darnold’s hand, feet sticking in the ground and exploding to the point of attack right there. You saw a lot of pass break ups, quick tackles getting them on the ground. I think in zone defense, it doesn’t take away every route. You don’t play zone to eliminate every opportunity for a catch. What you do is you take away the things that are threats based on the kind of zone that you call and then you have to react and break with speed and vision when the ball comes out of the quarterback’s hand. Sometimes, it gives you a chance for an interception or sometimes just a quick tackle to get him on the ground, but I definitely saw good execution from the defense in those regards.

Q: (Wide Receiver) Kadarius Toney, is he at any different point than (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) or (Wide Receiver) Kenny (Golladay) as far as getting him on the field earlier in these next two days and is his status any different than those guys for possibly looking at Monday?

A: Two parts to that, his status is no different than those two guys right now, but I’d say all three are on different time tracks. Three different bodies, three different injuries, all three guys are kind of on independent tracks. I know this, I know all three guys are chomping at the bit to get out there. When you’ve got guys that really want to play and they’re doing everything that they can possible to get healthy, that gives them a little bit of an edge in where they can push to get back. If their bodies allow it, we’ll definitely have them out there.

Q: Regarding the trade deadline, do you believe you guys should be buyers looking to improve now in any way? Do you think you should be taking more of a long-term kind of view or approach as an organization? How are you approaching that?

A: I always think long-term. Sometimes, long-term can come in a move you can make immediately at this point, but I’m always thinking long-term. I’ve said this from the beginning, I’m not about taking shortcuts into anything. I’ve made it very clear in terms of my vision of the team and where I want to build it. It’s being built for long-term success. I have a lot of faith in the people we have in this program right now, but ultimately my vision always goes long-term. I’m always looking at – just for everyone listening, I’m always looking at not only what our depth chart is now, but what does it look like at the end of this year, beginning of next year, what does it look like two years from now? Whether you’re going through free agency, trades, draft, whatever it may be, to me, you’re always looking down the road in terms of not where you are immediately, but where do you have to get to. That’s my perspective on that.

GIANTS RE-SIGN TIGHT END TO PRACTICE SQUAD…
The Giants have re-signed tight end Jake Hausmann to the Practice Squad after terminating his Practice Squad contract last week. The 6’4”, 255-pound Hausmann was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Detroit Lions after the 2021 NFL Draft. The Giants claimed Hausmann off of waivers from the Lions in early August 2021.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.

Sep 172021
 
Kaden Smith, Chris Myarick, and Saquon Barkley; New York Giants (September 16, 2021)

Kaden Smith, Chris Myarick, and Saquon Barkley – © USA TODAY Sports

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 JOE JUDGE PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants Head Coach Joe Judge addressed the media on Friday to discuss his team’s 30-29 loss to the Washington Football Team and the current state of his team:

Q: We asked you a little about this last night, but (Wide Receiver) Kenny Golladay was seen on the sideline yelling at either (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) or (Offensive Coordinator) Jason Garrett – I think it’s unclear. Then, last night (Wide Receiver) Kadarius Toney posted a message on Instagram that kind of indicated he was frustrated. Are you concerned that you have two of your key offensive players publicly expressing their frustration that way, especially with the way you guys handled Golden Tate last year?

A: No, I haven’t seen anything on Instagram yet. (Sr. Vice President of Communications) Pat (Hanlon) briefly explained something to me, I don’t know what it’s in reference to. Look, I’ll talk to all of our players. In terms of what you asked about with Kenny, I’ll go with the same thing I said last night, I talked to the players, talked to the coaches that were involved and everyone has kind of dismissed everything in terms of there was no conflict. It was more just emotions on the sideline, talking through situations, things going. Our guys have good relationships, they work together. I don’t really see any issue with that right there, so talked with the players involved and they were good.

Q: You talk a lot about ‘mentally tough,’ your team is mentally tough, but when you see some of the mistakes they made last night – the false starts in the plus area, two late drives, obviously (Defensive Lineman Dexter Lawrence) Dex at the end — do you feel that your team is where they need to be as far as ‘mentally tough’ that you talk about all the time?

A: I don’t think any team at this moment in time in the season is where they need to be in any regard, so we’re far from a finished product. We’re going to keep working every week, getting going. We talk about mental toughness around here, it’s about doing what’s best for the team when it’s not always what’s right for you. We’re going to make sure that we have guys that are willing to put the team first in everything we do. We’re going to work hard through adversity, in terms of how they respond on a daily basis. I have no doubt about the guys and the character that we have in the locker room. We’ve got to make sure we continue to improve on the details and we keep on playing to be a more disciplined team and not do things that cost us opportunities. But in terms of our resiliency as a team, I have no question about that. We’ll keep on pushing these guys and working. In terms of where any team is at this point of the season – look, if we thought that we were a finished product at this point, then we’d have a lot of trouble because it’s a long season. We’ve got 15 more games to play. We’ve got to keep improving week by week.

Q: Going back to the situation there with 2:16 left after (Cornerback James) Bradberry’s interception, obviously Jason Garrett is calling the plays, but that’s your decision there to run the ball a couple of times, play what we would consider conservatively. I’m wondering if in hindsight that still is the right decision to you because watching a lot of football, it seems to be defenses in that spot lose more than they win when they do that. Not playing for the touchdown (and) leaving the game in the defense’s hands seems to not be the right decision these days with today’s NFL.

A: I don’t know at any point that we said we’ll leave it in the defense’s hands. I think we gave the ball to our running back for two good runs and tried to get it vertical. We took a chance on third down with a reception. Had we converted right there, it would’ve been a different story in a lot of things. In terms of playing the situation, I got it, a lot of people watch a lot of football. I watch every two-minute drive in the league every week looking at the different decisions that are made and how they play out. We use all that in our decision-making with our own team in terms of playing to our strengths. A team with three timeouts right there in that situation – it’s a situation there that we trust our run game to get that thing going vertical, produce the yards to get a first down, (on) third down convert and if you don’t get that, you get the points, you turn around and you’ve got to play the other side of the situation on defense. There’s a lot of things you could do. You can go out and throw three passes and you feel like you’re very aggressive, right? Then all of a sudden, they don’t have to use three timeouts. You give them the ball with plenty of time before the two-minute and they go ahead and have a two-minute drive with a lot of timeouts left as well, right? You could turn around and say that ‘aggressive’ is to go out there and just start being a gunslinger and make decisions that sometimes you want to make off of emotion, but I want to make calculated decisions in terms of playing to some of our strengths as a team. You’ve got to be able to run the ball when you have to run the ball and you’ve got to be able complete passes when you have to complete passes, and that’s what we had to do in that situation there. The decision we made was the decision we made and we’ve got to execute better to finish the game out.

Q: Somebody had a report that you were screaming on the sideline before the Dexter Lawrence penalty, that you saw him offsides and were screaming ‘Get back, get back, get back.’ Is that how it went down, you saw it and I guess had no timeouts to call and save Dex from that penalty?

A: Absolutely not. He wasn’t lined up offsides, so there wouldn’t have been anything to tell Dex to back up. I remind guys on a constant basis in those situations different things, so I wasn’t communicating anything directly to Dex on that play.

Q: I know you said you wanted to go over the film last night on the train with (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator) Pat (Graham) and go over the defense. What did you see there? What concerns you about the defense and its inability to seal off that win?

A: I thought there was a lot of positive things that we did last night in all aspects of the game. Obviously, there are things we’ve got to clean up and eliminate – mistakes, eliminate opportunities for the other team to make plays. Getting off the field on third down is a focus of ours. We played better on third down last night than we did last week. That’s big. We’ve got to finish in the two-minute more with the defense. That’s something we’ve got to go ahead and focus on right now as far as getting them off. Obviously, they made some plays going down the stretch and we’ve got to make sure we clean up some details as we go on through it with everyone on the board, and make sure we eliminate some opportunities for the other team to have success. But as I stressed to the team, it’s at this point in the year, it’s not some magical scheme there we draw up and go out there. It’s about details. It’s about fixing the little things one by one and making sure we’re on the same page and playing together 11 at a time. If we go out there and if everyone does their job the right way, we’ll have success. We’ve got to call it the right way, we’ve got to put our players in position to make plays and we have to go out there and execute.

Q: Two things, did (Center) Nick (Gates) have surgery and how do you think the offensive line responded?

A: We just left the staff meeting a second ago. I got a text, I haven’t checked fully. I believe he did have the surgery. I have to talk to the trainers still because it was a later arrival today. We haven’t talked to the trainers yet because a lot of players haven’t come through yet for their normal treatment and checkup. In terms of the offensive line as a whole, I was very encouraged by a lot of things. I thought mixing some different people in there – obviously, (Center) Billy (Price) in there for the first time, getting (Offensive Lineman) Ben (Bredeson) back in as a left guard, thought (Tackle) Nate (Solder) and (Tackle) Andrew (Thomas) did a solid job on the edges right there. I think that unit’s really moving in the direction we want it to and although we’re far from a finished product and far from perfect right now, I’m very encouraged by how these guys continue to work and support each other and take coaching and go out there on a weekly basis. I think they’ve obviously seen two very, very talented fronts so far to start the season. I don’t know if any of them get any more talented than what we saw last night. The ability to go out there and operate together and allow Daniel to get the ball out on time and move the ball down the field.

Q: Other than the loss, what disappointed you most when you watched that game back?

A: To be honest with you, I don’t really focus on the emotion of frustration, disappointment or anything like that. That’s not really something that’s going to help you be productive going forward. I say it all the time, I think it’s important we talk about the process. To me, again, the truth is the truth. Regardless of the outcome, you’ve got to come in and really view it objectively of understanding what do we have to correct and what do we do well enough to go ahead and build on. At this time of year in September, it’s a large part of finding out who you are as a team, it’s a large part of finding out what you’re going to do schematically really with the people you have going forward. That’s an aspect right there for us that – I thought we saw a lot of things last night on all three phases where you say, ‘Okay, we found another step and a piece of where we’re going to really be identity-wise, what’s going to help us going forward.’ Obviously, along the way you say, ‘Guys, it’s early season, we can’t go out there and shoot ourselves in the foot.’ But we’ve got to make sure that we keep going, detailed football and eliminate these mistakes and be on track to be a good team. I told the team last night, I said, ‘Look, we’ve got to make sure we come in and we’re just very detailed and we’re very receptive to coaching. As coaches, we’re very detailed and we’re just being good educators and putting the players in the right position,’ because you think back and you can go back to what you want to say (about) us last year, we started off slow. What got us on track and what got us playing as a team was everyone staying committed to the process and improving on a weekly basis and understanding that when you turn on the tape, that’s the truth. The truth is not found on Twitter, the truth is not found in the articles you read outside the building. The truth is found on the film and the coaching you’re receiving and how you execute as a player when you’re on the field. That’s what the truth is and if we understand and we stick to the truth of what it is, then all of a sudden we’ll be a better team. We have to keep improving down the stretch. For us, it’s not about coming in with emotions one way or another, it’s about coming in and getting better as a team by understanding what’s on the tape, what we have to build with, what we have to correct and what we have to be going forward.

Q: Did (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) come through okay and what did you think of him?

A: I was really pleased with Saquon last night as far as how he went out there. Again, I haven’t seen him today. I’m sure every player has nicks and bruises after games, but I thought his football conditioning really looked good. That’s something we’ve had to really try and push and build him into. He’s done a really good job for us working to do that. When you jump over from rehab into practice, that’s a different animal, it just truly is. We try to do everything we can to simulate for our players of replicating a practice when they’re not with us as a team, but there’s just a natural change when you get the pads on and you get moving around with the team. He’s worked real hard at that. I was pleased at how he moved around last night. He did some good things for us in the game. He played tough for us. He ran the ball hard. He had the explosive run for us and did some nice things in the passing game. Obviously, he’s going to be a key part of our offense and our team. He’s a key leader on our team. We’ll keep finding ways to be creative and get it to him. Again, look, this guy getting out there, getting his feet wet the first couple of weeks and getting moving with it, I’m really encouraged with where he’s at right now.

Q: Just a follow up on that with Saquon, I think he played 85 percent of the snaps. How much was that the plan or how much was that just kind of the way it worked out there?

A: Well I’ve said from the beginning, it’s kind of when the doctors say you’re clear to go, you’re clear to go. So we’ve got to make sure we put a guy on the field right there that he’s going to be okay. Obviously, last week was a little bit different in terms of kind of getting him in there and getting rolling, and that was kind of controlled a little bit by the packages we were using him – not trying to go ahead and let him drink from a fire hose on his first day back. It wasn’t so much that he was on a pitch count last week, it was just more we structured how he was going to be used within the game to kind of let him build himself back into it. This week the emphasis was let’s put him out there and let him go play. We rotate all of our players for the most part. We roll guys in and out. Running backs are definitely one of those positions you’re going to see multiple guys at from really every team in every game. No different for us here. I was pleased with the way he responded on the short week and came back. Physically, he looks good. Obviously, like all players, he’ll get a little extra downtime, some rest, time to get their bodies back right now and then got to get plowing ahead going forward.

Q: With Kadarius, I know you said you didn’t see the social media post, but how much have you sensed any frustration with him? Obviously, he didn’t touch the ball yesterday, so he is playing probably a smaller role than maybe he was expected to, that he expected or that he is used to. How much have you seen any frustration with him, and have you had to talk to him about that at all?

A: I talk to all of our players all the time, especially our young players, in terms of getting in and how the game flow may go and differences in the league from college. But that’s no exception for any player. I would say in terms of KT, I see a guy that shows up every day and works hard. That’s what I see. So, in terms of trying to gauge somebody’s emotions, I judge them based on their actions and how they work, and I’ve seen a guy that’s come to practice every day and the meetings and (has) been attentive. He’s worked hard on the field. He’s going to continue to improve as a player and build himself in as an intricate part of our offense.

Q: So you would be surprised, based on that, that he was upset about his playing time already?

A: I’m not going to go ahead and react to anything until I talk to a player individually. So, whatever may or may not be out there, again, I’m not going to react to something I haven’t seen or talked about, so I’ll just talk directly with the players.

Q: First, just quickly, I want to finish up something on Kadarius. Football-wise he had 19 snaps, no targets, no touches. Football-wise, what is he not doing on the field to get the ball?

A: I wouldn’t put anything directly on that. We’ll just keep working within our system and schemes. Look, for every skill player, it’s not your job to go out there and manufacture a play. It’s when the ball comes your way to make a play with it. It’s that simple. So when the ball comes his way, we have faith he’ll have the ball in his hands and make a play. We’ve seen that before from him. Right now, we’ve got a lot of guys making a lot of plays and sometimes it’s just the way things are dictated by coverage or look. Sometimes that goes ahead and dictates where the ball is going to. He’s obviously a part of our team. We’re looking to involve him as much as possible and that’ll continue growing as we go forward.

Q: You talked about telling the truth and educating and using everything you can with your coaching staff to get these guys on the right page, but do you have to be an amateur psychologist or psychiatrist at times as the head coach? If so, do you have a team whose psyches are a little bit wounded here after these first two games?

A: I see guys that come to work every day and are working hard. Like I said, I judge people on their actions. I thought we came out yesterday, we had great energy, we competed for 60 minutes. You talked about guys who are down maybe, you don’t see that from guys when they’re out there fighting for each other. In terms of being an amateur psychologist, look, I just look at it in terms of more just knowing people. I think it’s a job to have relationships with people and understand where they’re at personality-wise and understand what’s going on in their personal life and understanding some things externally outside the building that may factor inside sometimes with their moods. But that all comes down to team building, establishing relationships with your players and making sure that you understand where they are on a daily basis. Look, there’s a lot of different personalities. Not everyone’s the same. In fact, you get a lot of different type of guys with different backgrounds, different upbringings, a lot of different things. The important thing is that you can identify where guys are at and get everyone centered on the team goals and have everyone understand they’re working together for a collective goal.

Q: You talk a lot about improvement week to week and obviously you want to get better, but do you understand the frustration from the outside that the bottom line is winning and that sooner or later that improvement has to end up in victories?

A: I don’t know if there’s anyone more conscious of that than me. I’m very conscious of we’re in a production business. I’m very conscious of what we have to do as a team. I’m very conscious of the things we have to improve on on a daily basis and a weekly basis. But the key thing I keep going back to is to have those results, to have those bottom-line results, you’ve got to improve. You’ve got to keep building as a team and you’ve got to be in a better place. Look, our job is to go out there and give the fans entertainment and to give them something to cheer for. That’s our job and that’s our responsibility. I say it all the time, we don’t ask the fans for anything. We have to earn it and when they give it, it’s been earned. I’m 100-percent onboard with the fans and what they want to see, and that’s what we’re working to give them is that product on the field. But when you want to get those results, it ain’t about being frustrated to get results, it’s about working to get results. We’re going to come back to work like we do every week, keep putting them together and making sure we’re improving as a team and at the end of the day keep putting a better product on the field. We took a step forward this week in a lot of ways and there’s things we’ve got to correct and clean up going forward, but the point with our team is we’ve got to keep improving on a weekly basis to get where we want to go.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum:

 

Aug 112021
 
Jabrill Peppers, Xavier McKinney, and Adoree' Jackson, New York Giants (July 29, 2021)

Jabrill Peppers, Xavier McKinney, and Adoree’ Jackson – © USA TODAY Sports

AUGUST 11, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held their 13th full-team summer training camp practice on Wednesday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This was the only practice of the summer open to the public.

GIANTS MAKE FIVE ROSTER MOVES…
The New York Giants have signed defensive linemen Willie Henry and Elijah Qualls. They have also waived defensive lineman R.J. McIntosh and linebacker Cale Garrett. The team also waived wide receiver Derrick Dillon off of Injured Reserve with an injury settlement.

The 27-year old, 6’3”, 300-pound Henry was originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He has spent time with the Ravens (2016-2019), San Francisco 49ers (2020), Houston Texans (2020-2021), and Philadelphia Eagles (2021). The Eagles cut him in late July 2021. Henry has played in 18 regular-season games (14 in 2017), with three starts (all in 2017).

The 26-year old, 6’1”, 321-pound Qualls was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He has spent time with the Eagles (2017-2018), Carolina Panthers (2018-2019), Baltimore Ravens (2019), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019). Qualls has only played in six regular-season games, all with the Eagles in 2017.

The Giants selected McIntosh in the 5th round of the 2018 NFL Draft. After missing most of his rookie season with unpublicized medical condition, McIntosh played in 12 games as a reserve in 2019, playing 10 percent of all defensive snaps, and finishing the year with 13 tackles and two sacks. In his third year with the Giants in 2020, McIntosh spent the entire season on the inactive list.

The Giants signed Garrett to a future/reserve contract in January 2021. The 6’3”, 230-pound Garrett was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Tennessee Titans after the 2020 NFL Draft. Garrett also spent time on the Practice Squad of the Minnesota Vikings.

The 5’11”, 185-pound Dillon was signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent much of the season on the team’s Practice Squad, but was cut in early December. The Giants signed Dillon to a future/reserve contract in January 2021.

INJURY REPORT…
TE Kyle Rudolph (foot) and CB Aaron Robinson (core muscle) remain on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List.

WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring), WR Kadarius Toney (“workload maintenance”), WR John Ross (hamstring?), WR Austin Mack (hamstring), RB Saquon Barkley (“workload maintenance”), RB Gary Brightwell (unknown), OC Jonotthan Harrison (unknown), LB Lorenzo Carter (calf), LB Ifeadi Odenigbo (unknown), LB Elerson Smith (hamstring), CB Sam Beal (unknown), CB Jarren Williams (unknown), and S Chris Milton (unknown) did not practice on Wednesday.

S Jabrill Peppers (dehydration) left practice early, but Head Coach Joe Judge said he was fine. OC Brett Heggie (unknown) also left early and did not return.

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • RB Devontae Booker fumbled on his first carry of team drills. He was booed and replaced by RB Corey Clement.
  • RB Alfred Morris was stuffed at the line twice behind the back-up offensive line.
  • When Kenny Wiggins came out briefly with an injury, he was replaced by Kyle Murphy at left guard.
  • TE Evan Engram dropped a pass over the middle in 7-on-7 drills and was booed.
  • QB Daniel Jones was 5-of-5 when directing passes at WR Sterling Shepard.
  • QB Daniel Jones hit TE Cole Hikutini for a touchdown in the red zone.
  • PK Ryan Santoso nailed two 50+ yard field goals, but missed one from about 58 yards.

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Wednesday 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:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants practice Thursday afternoon (1:00-2:15 PM). Head Coach Joe Judge and select players will also address the media.

Aug 022021
 
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (July 29, 2021)

Sterling Shepard – © USA TODAY Sports

AUGUST 2, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held their fifth full-team summer training camp practice on Monday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Practices are not open to the public this year.

Players are a little bit refreshed and getting back to work (after a day off on Sunday),” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “The progress this week will be shells today as we get back into the acclimation period. We’ll be in pads for tomorrow and Wednesday. We’ll ramp up the team a little bit more. The emphasis still remains on getting our football conditioning right away, improving on fundamentals and then we’re going to keep advancing with the install and the situations that come up. Today will be more focused on early downs, just a little bit of goal line walkthrough and then get a review on the red area almost on a daily basis, so we’ll have that today.”

GIANTS RE-SIGN RB ALFRED MORRIS…
The Giants have signed unrestricted free agent running back Alfred Morris. The Giants signed Morris to the Practice Squad in late September 2020 and the 53-man roster in November 2020. Morris ended up playing in nine games for the Giants with no starts, carrying the ball 55 times for 238 yards (4.3 yards per rush).

The 5’10”, 222-pound Morris was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He has spent time with the Redskins (2012-2015), Dallas Cowboys (2016-2017, 2019), San Francisco 49ers (2018), and Arizona Cardinals (2019). Morris has played in 114 regular-season games with 70 starts. Morris was second-team All-Pro in 2012 and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014.

“This is just overall an opportunity to, number one, have depth to go ahead and practice the way we want to practice and also have the opportunity to bring a quality player back in,” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “Alfred, last year – look, I can’t tell you how much I feel on a personal level about Alfred and what he did for our team last year, about how he carries himself, about how he is as a teammate, how he is in the team meeting. Look, I walked by him when I was coming in the building and he was waiting outside for his clearance from his test, and we got to have a conversation sitting outside and it’s just refreshing seeing his face. He’s always smiling and good, great energy out there. Again, like anyone else, he has an opportunity to come in here and compete for a spot on this team. We had an opportunity to bring him back and he helps our competition within that spot.”

INJURY REPORT…
LG Shane Lemieux (knee), LB Blake Martinez (COVID), LB Lorenzo Carter (unknown), LB Elerson Smith (unknown), WR Kadarius Toney (COVID), WR Austin Mack (hamstring), WR Derrick Dillon (unknown), and RB Mike Weber (unknown) did not practice on Monday.

Regarding Toney, Head Coach Joe Judge said, “He’s still building up, but we will start seeing a little bit more of him day by day as the trainers keep allowing us to have him more. Look, these guys do a really good job as far as knowing our players and looking out for their health. We trust what they say, we trust our medical team, but the focus is to get this guy involved as much as we can with football and keep building him up through training camp. It’ll be limited for the time being., We’ll get him day by day a little more.”

On Smith, Judge said, “He’s day by day right now. He’s made a lot of progress the last few days. He had a small setback early in training camp. We don’t think it’s something that’s going to long-term limit him, but I don’t want to put a timetable on him in terms of when he’ll be back absolutely. We feel confident in the direction he’s moving, the trainers feel good about where he’s at right now and he’s working hard with the strength staff. So very similar to the other players. As soon as we can kind of get him back with the team, we will and it’ll be more of a ramp-up, gradual process when he gets back to practice.”

On Lemieux, Judge said, “Shane’s still day by day. I think if you asked Shane, like I said the other day, he’s going to always tells us what we want to hear. He’s with the medical team now and they’re continuing to do more and more with him each day. We’ll see where he is. Hopefully, we’ll get him as soon as possible, but I would say it’s more day by day than week by week.”

On Martinez, Judge said, “I would say, the good thing with Blake is he’s been engaged through all the meetings, so he’s heard the practice corrections and the install. So mentally, he’s gotten all of that. Now, there’s always an adjustment from hearing it in a meeting to actually doing it on the field. Physically, he hasn’t been with our team yet, so he’s got to ramp up and physically catch up to where the team is right now and that’s just how all these guys come off this COVID list.”

OC Jonotthan Harrison (hamstring) passed his physical and was activated off of the Active/Physically-Unable-to-Perform (PUP) List. He practiced on a limited basis, as did TE Levine Toilolo (unknown).

The following players remain on various PUP and reserve lists:

  • Reserve/COVID-19 List: S Joshua Kalu and TE Rysen John
  • Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List: RB Saquon Barkley (knee), TE Kyle Rudolph (foot), LB Oshane Ximines (hamstring), and CB Aaron Robinson (core muscle)
  • Reserve/Non-Football Injury (NFI) List: LB Reggie Ragland (hamstring) and LB Ryan Anderson (back)

ESPN is reporting that Robinson had core muscle surgery “late in the spring.”

On Barkley, Judge said, “You know what, he’s making a lot of strides for us and I don’t want to go ahead and make any predictions or anything on Saquon, but I will say that this guy’s showing progress, tangible progress every day with our medical staff, with our strength staff. He comes out here and works. Right now, we’ve really mirrored his rehab to what our players are doing on the field practice-wise to make sure that he’s building up that same volume, that same intensity. We can kind of go apples to apples with what he’s done on a daily basis compared to the players that are in practice to give us a better picture in terms of where he is physically.

I couldn’t give you an answer on (when he will return). That’s not being coy right there. Look, with this injury right here, we’re going to make sure we do the right thing by Saquon and what’s better for the team and we’ve got to take a long-term vision of this right here. The doctors know a lot more about the knee, about where he is medically. I know where his spirit is. I know where his work ethic is. I know he wants to be out there with the team. As I’ve said to him time and time again, when you’re ready, we’ll let you go. I know he wants to be out there, but we’ve got to make sure we help our players make the right decision. The goal is to get him out there and keep him out there. We know he can make a great impact for this team. We know what kind of player he can be, so we want to make sure we put him in the opportunity to go ahead and play full-speed, aggressive and confident when he gets out there.”

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • Zach Fulton received reps with the starting unit at left guard.
  • QB Daniel Jones had an inconsistent practice, overthrowing WR Kenny Golladay and WR Darius Slayton on a couple of deep passes.
  • QB Daniel Jones connected on deep slant pass to WR Kenny Golladay for good yardage against CB Sam Beal.
  • WR David Sills caught two touchdown passes from QB Mike Glennon, the second of which came on the final play of practice.
  • Head Coach Joe Judge had the entire defense and some of the defensive coaches running a punishment lap due to a substitution error.
  • TE Evan Engram made a nice catch in traffic and spun around into the end zone on a pass thrown from QB Daniel Jones.
  • Pass defenses by CB Adoree’ Jackson (in the end zone), LB Tae Crowder, and LB Cale Garrett.
  • Former Giants’ defensive linemen Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Mathias Kiwanuka attended practice.

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Monday 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:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants practice Tuesday morning (9:30-11:30AM). Head Coach Joe Judge and select players will also address the media.

Jun 102021
 
Kadarius Toney, New York Giants (June 8, 2021)

Kadarius Toney – © USA TODAY Sports

JUNE 10, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS MINI-CAMP REPORT…
The third and final day of the New York Giants 3-day mandatory mini-camp was held on Thursday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. No live contact is permitted during the mini-camp.

The two remaining Organized Team Activity (OTA) practices will be held on June 14-15, without media access. The players will then be off until reporting to summer training on July 27.

There are going to be a lot of things we talk about today logistically, getting ready for camp,” said Head Coach Joe Judge before practice. “Generally speaking, we are going to talk to the team about training, being in shape, making the right decisions off the field. There are a lot of resources for us in this building and it is important for us to stay connected throughout the summer. When they need something, we are always available. Generally that’s the message. We will meet individually with our players by position and find out what their plans for the summer are. We will close out with summer goals, training camp goals. This won’t be the last time we see everybody. We’ll still have OTAs next week on Monday and Tuesday and we will be able to meet extensively with some of the guys here as well.”

GIANTS PLANNING TO HOLD JOINT PRACTICES WITH BROWNS AND PATRIOTS…
Although not officially announced by the team, the New York Giants are planning to hold joint summer training camp practices with two of their preseason opponents: the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. The joint practices are not expected to take place in New Jersey but at the Cleveland and New England team facilities.

“I am a big fan of (joint practices),” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “I think it’s a great time in training camp to break the monotony, to get some competition against a friendly opponent. With both programs, the Browns and the Patriots, I’ve got great relationships with both coaches, known them both for a sustained period of time. In all of our conversations, I think one of the things you try to find in this are not only teams that are going to schematically help you with some of the things you are going to see throughout the season but most importantly you want to make sure you go out there and have a good, quality practice. The guys are going to compete. You want to make sure you keep it between the lines, the guys are not doing anything dirty, outside the whistle. So it’s important you know the coaches and what kind of program you are going against.

“I think it’s great for the team, it helps you get exposure to different schemes you may not see from your own team in training camp outside having to draw cards or scout teams. It is actually a way to take something off your players at a certain time. You kind of ramp them up and build them the first few weeks of training camp and then when you go ahead and do a cooperative practice with another team, you’ve got to figure it’s no longer the offense is always going, the defense is always going. When our offense is on the field, our defense is on the sideline resting, making adjustments, talking to the coaches and then vice versa, so actually, it breaks it up for them a little.

There are some things that aren’t finalized for training camp. The thought process is it’s a opportunity to get our team on the road through training camp, stay together, but also with the change in the preseason schedule, both organizations thought it would be a good idea to exchange a little bit year by year and that way the fans would have two exposures to really deal with each team. We’ve got two home games this year. We’re fortunate. New England has got the one. Next year it will flip. This will give us an opportunity, especially when we have fans, for our fans to see us exposed against another opponent.”

ABSENTEES AND INJURY REPORT…
Not practicing were WR Kadarius Toney (excused absence due to family emergency), RB Saquon Barkley (knee), TE Kyle Rudolph (foot), LB Cam Brown (unknown), LB Ryan Anderson (unknown), and RB Taquan Mizzell (unknown).

(Rudolph, Brown, and Anderson) are working on different things right now,” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “Kyle is making progress every day and this guy works really, really hard. You can tell he’s a vet. He has a lot of experience. He knows his body very well. He’s in there and he’s opening up the door with the coaches every morning bright and early. He’s an early morning guy. But Kyle has done a great job for us in terms of classes and everything he can do and he’s done a great job right now with our medical staff doing everything to get ready to get back on the field as soon as he can. We’ll see what kind of ground he makes up the next few weeks leading up to training camp but like all our players, we won’t put him on the field until we know he’s fully ready to go out there and play 100 percent… Kyle obviously had the off-season surgery and we have to check with the doctors where they feel he is at a certain point. In terms of the rehab and where he’s going to be, we have to make sure they can build the conditioning and football movement and not just be pain free and make sure he’s structurally safe.”

CB Aaron Robinson (unknown) was limited, being kept out of team drills.

WR John Ross (unknown) and S Josh Kalu (unknown) left practice early.

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • There was a heavy emphasis on red-zone passing drills on Thursday.

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1402785080267923461

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Thursday 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:

Jan 222021
 
Darius Slayton, New York Giants (September 14, 2020)

Darius Slayton – © USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps the single most disappointing unit on the New York Giants in 2020 was the wide receivers. Leading up to the season, there was much fan debate about just how good this group would be in 2020. The optimists pointed to Darius Slayton’s impressive 8-touchdown rookie season in which he averaged over 15 yards per catch. As long as he could stay healthy, Sterling Shepard had proven to be a reliable slot receiver who could move the chains. And despite missing four games due to a PED suspension and another due to a concussion, Golden Tate had gained 676 yards and six touchdowns in just 11 games in 2019. On the other hand, the naysayers claimed this group was way overrated. Most agreed that quality depth was non-existent.

The naysayers were right and the optimists were wrong. Slayton had a season to forget. He dropped six passes and saw his touchdown total fall to three (two of which came in the opener). Worse, Slayton all but disappeared from the offense for long stretches, catching only 12 passes for 167 yards and no touchdowns after the bye week. Shepard missed a quarter of the season with yet another injury, a turf toe that likely nagged him much of the year. While he led the team in receptions, Shepard only scored three touchdowns and averaged less than 10 yards per catch. Tate was most disappointing of all. He missed a quarter of the season (three to injuries and one for disciplinary reasons), and finished with just 388 yards receiving. No other wide receiver caught more than 11 passes. And as a unit, this group only scored an embarrassing nine touchdowns. NINE!

So what happened? It’s likely that the absence of Saquon Barkley from the line-up had a dramatic impact on the rest of the offense. Opposing defenses no longer had to worry about Barkley as a runner and receiver, someone who often received double-team and/or special attention. Teams could now spend more resources on defending Slayton, Shepard, or tight end Evan Engram. Golden Tate’s play fell off dramatically and he is clearly nearing the end of his career. Shepard (again) missed significant time due injury and Slayton was also dealing with a foot issue. Whatever the reasons, the top three receivers rarely created much separation from defensive backs. Every throw always seemed to be contested. And with no depth, the coaching staff had few replacement options. In the end, this group simply proved to be a bottom tier group, perhaps even the worst in the NFL.

THE STARTERS

In his fifth NFL season, Sterling Shepard caught a career-high and team-leading 66 passes, but 2020 represented yet another somewhat disappointing campaign. Shepard has now missed significant time due to injury in three seasons, spending four games on Injured Reserve in 2020 with a turf toe injury that he suffered in Week 2. He finished the year with just 656 yards (a career-low 9.9 yards per catch) and three touchdowns. Shepard was selected in the 2nd round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Giants. Shepard started all 16 games in 2016 and 2018, but missed five games in 2017 and six games in 2019, the latter with two serious concussions. He has never come close to cracking the 1,000-yard mark in a single season or duplicating his 8-touchdown season of his rookie campaign (he now has 20 career touchdowns). Shepard lacks ideal size and speed, but he is a fluid athlete with good quickness. Shepard runs good routes, is tough going over the middle, and adjusts well to the football. Shepard is not a consistent deep threat, but more of a move-the-chains underneath target who is ideally suited for the slot position. He needs to make more big plays. Good blocker.

After an impressive rookie season, Darius Slayton did not play as well in 2020. He played in all 16 games, starting 15, and finished the year with 50 catches for 751 yards and three touchdowns. While his reception and yardage numbers were similar to his rookie season, he played in two fewer games in 2019 while scoring eight touchdowns. Slayton also was second on the team in dropped passes with six in 2020. A nagging foot injury could have been an issue for him. The Giants drafted Slayton in the 5th round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He combines good size with very good overall athleticism and speed. Slayton can stretch the field and get deep. He runs good routes, adjusts well to the football, and is dangerous after the catch. To reach the next level, he must become a more physical receiver, including beating press coverage, and more consistent catching the football.

The play of Golden Tate really fell off a cliff in 2020. He missed three games to various leg injuries and was benched another game for disciplinary reasons. Yet despite playing in one more game than he did in 2019, Tate’s reception figures fell from 49 to 35, his yardage figures fell from 676 to 388, and his touchdown figures fell from six to two. The 5’10”, 197-pound Tate was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He has spent time with the Seahawks (2010-2013), Detroit Lions (2014-2018), and Philadelphia Eagles (2018). He made the Pro Bowl in 2014.  The Giants signed Tate as an unrestricted free agent from the Eagles in March 2019. In his first season with the Giants, Tate missed five games (four due to suspension and one due to a concussion). Tate is ideally suited for the slot position, but he appears to be slowing down. He is capable of making the tough catch in traffic and can be dangerous after the catch. Tate has a history of wearing out his welcome with teams in the NFL.

THE RESERVES

The Giants claimed C.J. Board off of waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars in August 2020. He surprisingly played in 14 games, including four starts, but only finished with 11 catches for 101 yards and no touchdowns. The 6’1”, 181-pound Board was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Baltimore Ravens after the 2017 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Ravens (2017), Tennessee Titans (2017), Cleveland Browns (2017-2018), and Jaguars (2018-2019). Before coming to the Giants, his only regular-season experience came in 2019 when his played in four games for the Jaguars and finished the year with just two catches for 31 yards.

The Giants signed Austin Mack as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. He played in 11 games as a rookie with one start, finishing the year with just seven catches for 91 yards and no touchdowns. Mack is a muscular wideout with good size, but he lacks ideal speed and quickness. Strictly a possession-type receiver, Mack is capable of making the tough grab in traffic.

The Giants claimed Dante Pettis off of waivers from the San Francisco 49ers in early November 2020. He played in the final two games of the season for the Giants, catching four passes for 76 yards and one touchdown. The 6’1”, 195-pound Pettis was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the 49ers. He has played in 30 regular-season games, with 12 starts. Pettis has experience returning kickoffs and punts. He’s a good athlete who has struggled with some of the mental aspects of the game.

The Giants claimed Damion Ratley off of waivers from the Cleveland Browns in early September 2020 and cut him in October. He ended up playing in five games, catching four passes for 63 yards. The 6’2”, 200-pound Ratley was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Browns. In 2018-2019, Ratley played in 26 regular-season games with six starts, accruing 25 catches for 344 yards and one touchdown.

PRACTICE SQUAD

The 6’0”, 190-pound Alex Bachman was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Los Angeles Rams after the 2019 NFL Draft. The Rams cut him before the season started and the Giants signed him to their Practice Squad in November 2019. Bachman began the 2020 season on the Giants’ Practice Squad, was cut, and then re-sign to the Practice Squad again. Bachman is an average-sized receiver with good quickness.

The Giants signed Derrick Dillon to a future/reserve contract in January 2021. The 5’11”, 185-pound Dillon was signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent much of the season on the team’s Practice Squad, but was cut in early December. Dillon is a smaller, speedy wide receiver with limited collegiate production.

The Giants signed Binjimen Victor as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent the entire season on the team’s Practice Squad but was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in January 2021.

The Giants signed Corey Coleman to the Practice Squad in late October 2020 and cut him a month late in late November. The 5’11”, 185-pound Coleman was originally drafted in the 1st round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. The Giants signed Coleman to the Practice Squad and then the 53-man roster in October 2018. He ended up playing in eight games with one start, finishing with five catches for 71 yards. Coleman missed all of 2019 with a torn ACL knee injury. The Giants cut him in early September 2020. The NFL just announced Coleman will be suspended for six games in 2021 for a PED violation.

The Giants signed Johnny Holton in early September 2020. He spent a month on the Practice Squad before being cut in October. The 6’3”, 190-pound Holton was originally signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2016 NFL Draft.

INJURED RESERVE

Cody Core was placed on Injured Reserve in August 2020 after tearing his Achilles during a training camp practice. While Core only had three catches for 28 yards in 2019, he was arguably the team’s best special teams player, excelling on punt coverage. He was credited with eight tackles and was a big factor in downing punts inside the 20-yard line. The 6’3”, 205-pound Core was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. In three seasons with the Bengals, he played in 35 regular-season games with seven starts, accumulating 30 catches for 360 yards and one touchdown. The Giants claimed  Core off of waivers from the Bengals in September 2019.

David Sills was placed on Injured Reserve before the season started in early September with a broken right foot. The 6’3”, 211-pound Sills was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Buffalo Bills after the 2019 NFL Draft. The Giants signed Sills to the Practice Squad in September 2019 after he was cut by the Bills. The Giants then signed him to the 53-man roster in mid-December 2019. He did not play in a game however.

COVID-19 OPT-OUT

Da’Mari Scott opted out of the 2020 NFL season due to the COVID-19 issue. The Giants claimed Scott off of waivers from the Buffalo Bills in July 2019. They waived him in August but Scott spent time on both the team’s Practice Squad and 53-man roster during the season. In all, Scott played in five games with two starts. He finished the year with just two catches for 22 yards. He also returned four kickoffs (27.5 yards per return) and six punts (5.3 yards per return). The 6’0”, 205-pound Scott was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. The Browns waived him in December 2018 and he was then signed by the Bills.