New York Giants: What We've Learned Through Week 1 of Training Camp
Time sure does fly when one is having fun and when football training camp is in full swing.
Of course, if you’re fortunate enough to be having fun and be at New York Giants training camp every day, then it’s no wonder why these final few days of summer are flying by.
The Giants are a long way off still from answering some pressing questions regarding their 53-man roster.
However, the pieces are starting to fall into place for head coach Tom Coughlin, who has been putting his team through uptempo drills, some days ending in spirited competitions that decide who has to end up doing an extra set of pushups at the end of a practice session.
Here, then, is a rundown of some of the top storylines and developments from the Giants’ first week of training camp.
The Safety Competition Is Wide-Open
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For anyone who thinks that rookie Landon Collins is a lock for one of the starting jobs at safety, Giants safety coach David Merritt suggests that you tap the brakes.
“You look at these young guys and you’re still trying to make sure you figure out who’s going to be the leader, who’s going to be able to stand back and make the calls and make the adjustments that we need on game day,” he said.
“When you pull your eyes back and you look at it from a depth perspective, we have rookies on the field. I mean, the one guy that we have that is a veteran is Jeromy Miles, and Jeromy just came to us from Baltimore. As far as clarity and who’s going to be the starters right now—right now, it’s still wide-open.”
To further alleviate the shock of Collins not having already locked up a starting job, Merritt reminded reporters of when Kenny Phillips, despite his pedigree as a first-round draft pick in 2008, sat behind Michael Johnson and James Butler as a rookie.
Still, despite not having the starting jobs locked up, the coaches at least do seem to have an idea as to whom they might be learning toward.
Nat Berhe has apparently experienced a setback with his calf, the same injury that forced him to miss all of the spring.
Cooper Taylor, who worked with the starters in the spring, has dropped down the depth chart to the second- and third-string teams, where he’s been partnered with veteran Jeromy Miles and rookie Justin Currie.
Collins has seen the lion’s share of reps with the first-string defense. Of late he’s been joined by first-year player Bennett Jackson, who was on the practice squad last year until a knee injury ended his season.
That combination seemed to complement each other well, something that Merritt indicated is going to be key when the final decision is made.
“The thing is that when you look at these linebackers and the corners, they need to feel comfortable about who’s going to be back making the calls,” he said. “So, there’s no one that has a job that it is walking in saying, ‘Hey, this is your starting job.’
“I’m still looking for the chemistry, and hopefully that will kind of iron itself out over the next few weeks.”
The Offensive Line Is Still Unsettled
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I asked general manager Jerry Reese in his annual training camp “state of the team” address if he felt good about the talent on the offensive line.
“We’re going to get Will Beatty back at some point, hopefully, maybe in October,” he said. “We drafted Ereck Flowers, obviously. He is working hard out there at left tackle. We got a couple young veterans that we have drafted lately and a couple older guys that we have in our offensive line.
“There are some guys behind them, as well, competing for some positions. I think we’ll have enough to get us through and play well up front."
It would not be surprising if the coaching staff disagrees. Already the unit has seen three starters—Flowers, center Weston Richburg and right guard Geoff Schwartz—all miss practice time with various injuries.
Projected starting right tackle Marshall Newhouse has not looked consistent or solid, a factor that has seen the coaches experiment with Schwartz and Brandon Mosley, neither of whom has the feet to play on an island.
Quarterback Eli Manning might not necessarily be worried about who ultimately has his back during games, but let’s be realistic.
The projected opening day starting offensive line is going to have new faces at every single position. Although they worked together during the spring, now that contact is allowed and the pads are on, it's important for this unit to take the next step in its development.
Yes, it’s early, but that’s a major concern and one that if the coaches had their way, they’d probably have the same five guys working every day.
But this is the Giants we’re talking about, and the injury bug that has feasted on this team so heavily in the last two years is already at it, taking key starters away from the precious few camp practices allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.
More importantly, the injury-related events of the first week have begun to expose the fact that maybe the Giants don’t have enough talent on the offensive line in general to survive another injury.
So Far, so Good for MLB Jon Beason
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Regardless of what anyone thinks about 30-year-old inside linebacker Jon Beason, the Giants defense desperately needs him on the field this year.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s new system has been described as complex with a lot of moving parts, and with the inexperience at safety, this unit needs a healthy Beason to be there for 16 games.
That unfortunately has been a challenge the last four years for the three-time Pro Bowler. Assorted lower-body injuries have replaced the "All-Pro" label that preceded Beason’s name with the less flattering “injury prone” descriptor.
“Football is injury-prone,” he said when asked if being labeled as injury-prone bothered him. “You know it’s seriously out of your control—that’s the most frustrating part about it. When people say that this happens to one guy more than not, there have been great players that never were.
“So, I’m blessed, I’m fortunate to have come this far, to have the time that I have, I enjoy it. Now, I just focus on being in the moment and enjoying the very next rep because I know that’s all that is guaranteed.”
Beason—who told me for Bleacher Report that if he should become injured again, he might not attempt another comeback—told reporters that he is feeling as good as he has felt in a while, going back to his days in Carolina.
“I’m just happy to get my feet back under me, be back out here working hard. Missed the heat, missed the battles.
“This is the first year I’ve come in and not been injured or going through the process of going through rehab. I feel strong, I just need more reps, I need more contact.”
However, he also admitted that his surgically repaired foot does still require a little bit of maintenance, part of which he mentioned was wearing special orthotics to help keep his toes from bending.
It’s unclear how long he has been working or training with that change to his footwear, but certainly that could be a concern if the added support forces him to change his gait and puts pressure on his ankle or knee.
Beason, however, is more of a glass-half-full type of guy who, while despising the fact that he had to miss time over the last four seasons, looks at things on the bright side.
“The years that I was on IR [injured reserve], I don’t have those years of pounding throughout the season. I should be fresher and be considered younger than I really am.”
The Giants are hoping that is indeed the case this year.
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Eli Manning Is Throwing the Ball as Well as Ever
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As of the end of practice on Wednesday, quarterback Eli Manning had yet to throw an interception during training camp.
Mike Sullivan, Manning’s position coach, chalks part of that up to Manning being more comfortable with his footwork, which, remember, was completely overhauled a year ago.
“It always starts with the footwork but I think it is just really having the reads, having the concepts become second nature and having that level of comfort and confidence that the player is going to be where we want them to be,” Sullivan said.
“That he is going to trust his feet, as we like to say, in terms of the timing of the system and nothing beats experience. There are no shortcuts, there is no way to kind of go around that and you’ve got a true professional like Eli who really buys into doing all the little things that really makes it easier to improve.”
Manning added that his success thus far in the spring and summer, which he hopes to transfer into the fall, also has to do with an overall comfort level of what this offense asks him to do.
“Just having a better plan, having a better understanding of where to go with the ball. Not getting stuck in some bad situations where free blitzers or pressures and indecisiveness,” he said.
“I think that’s part of it is just a little better understanding and playing a little smarter. Understanding the importance of protecting the football. I think all those things play a factor in that.”
Still, Manning did agree with Sullivan’s assessment regarding the improved strength in his throwing arm.
“It feels good, it feels live right now. I think that’s the goal—keep it strong, keep it healthy,” Manning said. “I think a lot of times training camp is the most difficult time where you are throwing the most consecutive practices in a row.
“Less off days, less rest days—it is a time when you have to be careful and make sure you’re not overthrowing and keeping it strong and doing your maintenance. I think I’ve got a good program, a good system to keeping it healthy. Not overthrowing, so it will stay strong the whole season.”
They're Ready to Move on Without DE Jason Pierre-Paul
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Although the Giants continue to be genuinely concerned for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul—their unsigned franchise player currently recovering in South Florida from a July 4 fireworks-related accident that, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, included severe burns and the amputation of his right index finger—the team is prepared to move to the regular season without its 2014 season sack leader.
“I think we have to plan on moving ahead without him at this point,” team co-owner John Mara told reporters on the opening day of training camp. “Until we see him and make some sort of determination on the condition he is in, I don’t see how we can count on him, certainly not for the opening of the season.”
With the Giants planning to move on, the question now becomes how they replace the 26-year-old’s pass-rushing production.
One possible answer is second-year linebacker Devon Kennard, who last season finished fourth on the team in sacks after the coaching staff recognized that the former USC star could be a viable pass-rushing threat.
“I think they will give me the opportunities where I can do that and same with some other guys on the defense,” Kennard said. “I think it is something that I am sure I can do throughout camp and throughout the season.”
Given the aggressive, attacking style of Spagnuolo’s defense, Kennard believes that the field for the team’s sack leader title could very well expand to the linebackers this year.
“Obviously nobody gets more opportunities to rush the passer than defensive ends, but there is definitely times where we are going to pressure all of our linebackers, so we will see what kind of opportunities are presented to us once the year comes,” he said.
The Injuries Are Starting to Pile Up Again
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What’s a Giants training camp without a few injuries, right?
Stop me if you've heard this before. The Giants are getting hit hard at all the wrong places as injuries have been hitting starters and key reserves.
The latest crop of players affected include:
1. LT Ereck Flowers (hip flexor). As of Thursday, Flowers had missed three practices, though head coach Tom Coughlin sounded optimistic about having the rookie back sooner rather than later.
2. C Weston Richburg (knee). Richburg is dealing with tendinitis and has been unable to get on the field for two practices and counting.
3. RG Geoff Schwartz (ankle). Coughlin indicated that Schwartz is probably going to have to be managed the rest of the summer in order to keep the soreness on his surgically repaired ankle at bay.
4. CB Prince Amukamara (groin). Amukamara suffered the dreaded soft-tissue injury during individual drills on Wednesday. There is no timeline for his return.
5. S Nat Berhe (calf). Coughlin revealed that Berhe, the second-year safety who was supposed to compete for one of the two starting jobs, suffered a tear in his calf muscle. His return to the field is also unknown.
6. LB Jameel McClain (neck). McClain, the outgoing and fiery linebacker whose presence is so vital in the event that starter Jon Beason doesn’t hold up, is perhaps facing the most serious injury out of everyone.
Born with spinal stenosis, McClain suffered a burner during Wednesday’s practice, an injury that left him on the ground for several minutes, apparently unable to move his legs.
Because of his medical history, McClain is going to be held out of practice “for a while,” according to Coughlin.
It’s a big blow to the linebacker unit. If something should happen to Beason, it might necessitate moving J.T. Thomas to the middle or plugging in Mark Herzlich into that spot.
WRs Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz Are on Track for the Start of the Season
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After missing the spring OTAs—Victor Cruz while continuing to rehab his knee from a torn patellar tendon and Odell Beckham Jr. from another hamstring flare-up—both receivers have been slowly integrated back into the mix, providing a hint of what is to come.
Spoiler alert: What’s to come is going to keep many opposing defensive coordinators awake at night.
Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo has installed several new wrinkles that can take advantage of defenses and ensure that one of Cruz and Beckham finds himself in single coverage. Some early looks have included putting Beckham in the slot and Cruz out wide on the same side of the formation, and moving Beckham to the backfield.
“I think having Victor and Odell and Rueben (Randle) and Larry (Donnell) and Shane (Vereen) and Rashad (Jennings)—it’s about having all of them and all of them playing at a high level,” quarterback Eli Manning said.
“Seeing what the defense will do, their adjustments and how they’ll try to dart them off. It’s great to have weapons, it’s great to have talent and hopefully we can keep them all out there, keep them all healthy and get the best from them.”
For as anxious as the coaches might be to turn Cruz and Beckham loose, they are being smart with both assets.
“I mean I do understand that I have to take it slow and the training staff understands that as well. Even if I went to them and was like, ‘I feel 100 percent and want to go out there and play and do every series,’” Cruz said. “I definitely understand that I want to take it one game at a time, one step at a time, one practice at a time.”
Beckham said his goal is to take every snap for which he is scheduled.
“It’s very important just as far as being there and going through this stuff with your teammates. It’s always been frustrating having to sit out and sit there and watch people practice,” he said.
“With this being football, being what you love to do and have to sit back and take the backseat, I would definitely rather be out there and barely be able to walk off the field than have to stand there and watch every single rep.”
The Giants would no doubt concur.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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