Biggest Questions Facing New York Giants with Training Camp Underway

New York Giants' training camp is underway, with the team having put three practices—their acclimation period before donning full pads—in the books.

Coming into this year's camp, the Giants have one of the most loaded rosters they have had in years, with solid competition at virtually every position.

As the battles unfold, it will be interesting to see how some of the lingering offseason questions about the 2017 Giants are resolved.

Let's look at some of those questions and see if we can deduct how they might be answered.

Who's the Backup Quarterback?

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Coming into training camp, Josh Johnson—who by the end of last year had risen to the No. 2 spot ahead of now-former quarterback Ryan Nassib after the latter suffered a season-ending elbow injury—was the incumbent.

Why? Unlike Geno Smith, his competition for the job this year, Johnson was healthy and able to take all his reps during the OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Johnson also had a leg up on Smith in terms of knowing the playbook.

Fast forward to training camp. Smith has been fully cleared to do everything after completing his recovery from a torn ACL last year.

He's also presumably caught up with the Giants playbook to where head coach Ben McAdoo is having Smith alternate with Johnson each day of practice to see who meshes better with the second-string offense.

It's early so far, but Smith has shown a little better field awareness and has thrown better passes. Where he has fallen short, though, is in his accuracy, particularly on deep passes.

Still, with just three practices in the books at the time of this slideshow's publication, this is one battle that won't be resolved until at least the second week of the preseason, if not later.

And what about rookie Davis Webb? Thus far, he has been limited to conducting 7-on-7 drills, which McAdoo explained are used to take a closer look at some of the younger players.

The 22-year-old will probably get a few snaps in relief of whoever goes second in the quarterback rotation this spring, but he's not expected to really compete for the backup job to Eli Manning for at least another year.

How Much Did Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart Improve?

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Whenever questions about Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart—the Giants' two young offensive tackles—came up during the spring, the coaches seemed cautiously optimistic that the offensive line had improved.

However, they also cautioned us to wait until training camp when the pads go on.

Well, thus far the pads haven't gone on—that won't happen until Wednesday—but there are a few things that can be gleaned after watching a handful of practices, such as movement, base technique (i.e. keeping hands inside the opponent's framework, not bending at the waist, etc.).

The verdict so far has been mixed.

After observing three practices, both are clearly leaner and definitely have more stamina than I can recall from past camps. Hart has looked much quicker in firing out of his stance and getting to his blocks, and he has done a nice job with establishing a base.

Flowers has been hit and miss so far. Per Inside Football's Day 3 training camp report, there was one play in which he didn't get enough of a base and thus found himself bent backwards by defensive end Romeo Okwara, who received snaps with the first-team defense in relief of Olivier Vernon.

There were other times in which Flowers seemed to grab a handful of jersey to slow down his man, and then there were others where he did a good job of keeping his hands inside his man's framework and getting enough punch to jar his man backward.

Flowers, to me, looks like he's still developing a comfort level with whatever modifications he has made to his technique. The good news is there is still plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles and that no one seems to have lost hope regarding his progress.

With that said, the true litmus test will come once the preseason games start and Flowers has a chance to hit guys in other uniforms.

How Will They Use All Their Receiving Game Weapons?

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If Ben McAdoo seems a little giddier than usual, well, who could blame him?

The collection of offensive skill players assembled by the front office this year has brought a legitimate tight end/receiving threat in rookie Evan Engram, a tall and physical receiver in Brandon Marshall, and established blocking tight end/fullback in Rhett Ellison who can also sneak out in a pass route occasionally.

Those three, along with returning players such as receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard and running back Paul Perkins, have no doubt had McAdoo—likely to be the team's play-caller again this year—counting different personnel formations and options in his sleep.

Already the Giants have shown some new looks on an offense that last year was so reliant on 11 personnel that it became far too predictable.

The team have shown a greater willingness to use play-action and to take some deep shots down the field already, something they didn't do much of last year. Per Pro Football Focus, quarterback Eli Manning ran play action on just 100 pass attempts and attempted just 78 deep passes of 20 or more yards.

The Giants have also run more 12-personnel sets in which they have moved Engram around to the slot, to the outside and in-line.

Put it all together, and McAdoo—or whoever does end up calling the plays—is going to have a lot more options than a year ago. And the offense is going to be fun to watch.

Will They Carry a Pure Fullback?

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One thing we know for sure is that the Giants front office made a huge effort to add talent to improve the league's 29th-ranked running game last year.

Those new pieces include tight end/fullback Rhett Ellison, an unrestricted free agent who comes over from Minnesota. They also added offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, a mountain of a man they're hoping can help get a push to create holes for newly minted starting running back Paul Perkins.

What we don't know is whether the Giants plan to carry a pure blocking fullback. In this camp, they have two such candidates, Jacob Huesman and Shane Smith, both of whom have been used sparingly so far only because the pads haven't gone on yet, which is what you really need to have to see fullbacks block.

Then again, the Giants—who have decreased their use of a pure blocking fullback in each year since McAdoo came to the team in 2014 as offensive coordinator—might be moving in a different direction. The head coach seems to prefer a tight end in the fullback role only because the tight end provides more options.

That's probably the direction they'll head toward unless Smith or Huesman show they are reliable pass receivers. The Giants have a logjam at tight end where Ellison, Evan Engram and Jerell Adams are likely locks. And, if they keep four (which I think they will), Will Tye will need to fight off roster advances from Matt LaCosse.

The Giants have also worked Mark Herzlich in at tight end, but thus far this camp, he's mainly worked at tight end during 7-on-7s, which McAdoo said was a part of practice used to evaluate the younger players (and presumably those making a position switch).

Can They Avoid Injuries?

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Although the Giants lost defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (core muscle) for the last four games of the regular season and running back Shane Vereen (triceps) for the bulk of the campaign, they were otherwise lucky with injuries. They finished as the seventh healthiest team in 2016, per Football Outsiders, a year after ranking dead last in the league.

Can the Giants catch lightning in a bottle again this year? If McAdoo has anything to do with it, the answer will be yes.

In his first press conference to kick off training camp, the Giants coach offered up a rather lengthy, yet generic overview of the plan for the team in the season ahead. He stressed the importance of proper nutrition rest and recovery for a team that will be making several cross-country flights this year and also has some tough stretches in their 2017 schedule as far as timing.

"We took a big picture look at the calendar and the schedule, McAdoo said. "I think we have maybe five weeks that run like a normal week, so we'll be all over the map. We have a lot of challenges and opportunities ahead and we're excited for it.

"We took into consideration a lot of things when looking at the calendar year—the whole year. We put a plan together with a fine-tooth comb for these guys and it's going to give us an advantage to play our best football, and our best football is needed when the weather turns. We have more days off than we've had in the past, which is necessary.

"We have REM days, we have hydration and nutritional improvements, strength and conditioning, and practice loads. We're all going to be looking at—mental conditioning will be a big part of it. We're excited for the calendar year ahead."

The plan seems to be in place to keep the injury bug at bay, but the rest appears up to fate. So far, the Giants seem to have gotten off on the right foot as far as injuries are concerned, their only two notable ones being linebacker J.T. Thomas (knee) and running back Shaun Draughn (ankle), both of whom started training camp on the active/PUP list.

Thomas is still recovering from last year’s season-ending injury. The origin of Draughn's injury is not known. While both can add to the competition at their respective positions, it probably wouldn't be as devastating if they don't.

Can the Defense Pick Up Where It Left off Last Year?

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The Giants defense returns nine of its 11 starters from the base package last year, the two exceptions being defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard.

But don't let those two departures concern you, because defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo did something a little different this year that should pretty much guarantee that the Giants defense will be even better than in 2016.

He gave more ownership to the players by allowing them greater input into developing various aspects of the scheme and plays they feel might work best.

As Jonathan Casillas, last year's defensive captain, said, per Inside Football, Spagnuolo has developed more trust in the players, many of whom were new to him last year.

"Spags, I think since his first year to now, I think he's let his guard down a little bit," Casillas said. "He's let us, as the players, kind of dictate to him in what we like to do and what we're comfortable with."

To some that might be a risk, but in the grander scheme of things, by allowing the players a bigger part of ownership in the final product, Spagnuolo is instilling additional confidence and some pressure into them to deliver the results on the suggestions they themselves came up with.

Hence, there is more motivation and a greater likelihood that the desired results are going to be there. If they are, then the opposing offenses set to face the Giants defense this year are likely in for long afternoons.

Who Will Call the Plays on Offense?

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McAdoo continues to be tight-lipped about his plans for the team's play-caller this year. He might even be planning to let offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan call a game or two this preseason.

In the end, though, the chances of McAdoo calling plays during the regular season again are at 99.9 percent. There have been too many hints underscoring this direction, from the head coach calling in the plays to the quarterbacks during the team part of practices, both in the spring and thus far in training camp.  

With the added weapons on offense, McAdoo's job just might be a little easier this year—and a lot more fun—assuming everyone stays healthy and the unit jells.

Patricia Traina covers the New York Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.