New York Giants Twitter Mailbag: Early Training Camp Edition

The New York Giants became the second NFL team (after the Buffalo Bills) to launch their annual training camp this year.

So far, it’s mostly been good news, as head coach Tom Coughlin’s team has been energetic, responsive and, save for a few first-day, practice, heat-related issues, mostly injury-free.

After a few days of practice in which new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo continues to install his bag of tricks to challenge the defense, it’s time to check in with you, the readers, to see what the pressing questions there are about how the team is progressing.  

Adam, thanks for the question. The Giants will have an interesting decision to make at kicker.

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If both Josh Brown and Brandon McManus have strong camps and the competition ends in a dead heat, do they go with the proven, 35-year-old veteran (Brown) or do they go with the 23-year-old rookie (McManus) and hope that he can be their kicker for years to come?

We still need to see how both do in a game before that question can be answered. Both men have strong legs and have looked good so far in camp, but practices are far less stressful than game scenarios. Let's revisit this topic again after a couple of games. 

Doug, thanks for the question. The person playing next to Beatty shouldn't make that much of a difference.

At worst, when an offensive lineman has someone who’s a little less experienced next to him, maybe the communication efforts need to be stepped up until both reach a point where they are able to read each other’s minds.

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With that all said, a big problem with Beatty’s play last year—and this was something that offensive line coach Pat Flaherty told me at the time—was that Beatty got away from the technique that made him so successful in 2012.

The other issue with Beatty, who by nature seems to be a deep thinker, is he has to stop thinking as much out there and begin relying on instincts.

He told Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger last year that he was “trying to do way too much” in order to live up to the hype of the contract he received.

That’s a rather unusual position for a player who’s just been paid a handsome coin to take, as normally you would expect that from someone in their contract year.   

If Beatty gets back to his fundamentals and stops over-thinking things, he’ll be fine regardless of who’s next to him. 

Great question Desmon. Anytime a receiver has a recurring hamstring issue, you have to be a little concerned because of the nature of hamstrings being so tricky.

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Another concern not being discussed is Odell Beckham Jr.'s  conditioning.

If players aren't in optimal shape when they come into camp, that's a problem. That Beckham re-injured that hamstring so soon has me wondering how he's training and how he's conditioning himself. The more time he misses, the less likely he'll be able to contribute this year.

Matty, they’ll be better than their 7-9 record last year, but I’m not yet ready to give you a prediction on a final record as I haven't really sat down to analyze each game. 

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As for whether quarterback Eli Manning will cut down on turnovers, it was interesting how head coach Tom Coughlin hinted in his post-practice press conference on Tuesday how Manning seemed to become a little too comfortable in the previous offense.

When you become comfortable with something, you sometimes lose your edge, and this observation made by the head coach was spot on.

With Manning now having to study to stay on top of things—and this is true of everyone on the offense—things should be cleaned up moving forward. 

Great question, Melissa. From the outside looking in, it’s still a little too soon to say because the media only has access to the players for an hour each day, and we’re not aware of what goes on behind closed doors.  

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I did put that question to safety Antrel Rolle, who told me for Inside Football that things are progressing communication-wise, at least on the defense.

"The chemistry on defense is coming together remarkable," Rolle said. "These guys are out there flying around out there, playing ball. More importantly, they seem to have a lot of fun playing among one another."

Patricia Traina is the senior editor for Inside Football. All stats from NFL.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.