New York Giants Training Camp 2011: 5 Players Struggling Thus Far

The New York Giants have been at camp since last Saturday, and for the players on the field the general consensus is that almost everyone is looking good.

However there are a few names that haven't had great practices so far. For one in particular, he had a very bad practice on Monday that have fans wondering about him.

The main problem with camp so far is the absence of players. Steve Smith is still unsigned, Osi Umenyiora is holding out, Bruce Johnson is lost for the season, Prince Amukamara is out two months at least, and several other players have missed practice or been limited.

Those include Mario Manningham, Marvin Austin, Clint Sintim, Domenik Hixon, and Kenny Phillips to name a few.

These injuries aren't serious, but with the problems the Giants have had with injuries it's tough to ignore.

That said, here are five players that have struggled out of the gate in training camp.

Ryan Perriloux

As of right now, I see zero chance at all that Ryan Perriloux makes this team. He had a minute chance of making the team anyways, but he's been struggling with his accuracy all camp. 

That's not all that surprising. Before he got kicked off LSU's team, he was never known for his play as a pure passer. He was more of an athlete, and the best chance he has of making an NFL roster is likely to change positions.

Ramses Barden

I know it's hard to pick on Ramses Barden because he has yet to see the field, but coach Tom Coughlin expressed his annoyance with Barden not being on the field.

"I’m basically just using the needle on a couple of these guys. Don’t let this time go by now without having been on the field, because it’s not going to be that helpful."

The Giants expected Barden to be a contributor last year and this year, but that hasn't happened yet. He needs to get on the field ASAP or he could get left behind and pushed down the depth chart.

Jason Pierre-Paul

It's been really hard finding a writer that will actually talk about the poor play of someone on the Giants, but I figured with so many players standing out, someone has to be on the other end of that.

I've heard nothing but great things about Will Beatty, and Jason Pierre-Paul has been the one lining up across from him.

Patricia Traina of Inside Football had this to say about the matchup.

"After creating a minor scare when he came up favoring his leg early in the practice, OT Will Beatty rebounded with a pretty good showing. He lined up mostly against Jason Pierre-Paul and seemed to have very little trouble handling him this evening."

We have expected JPP to step in and be a replacement for Osi Umenyiora if he leaves, but if he's struggling against Will Beatty it seems like something we should worry about—for now. 

Victor Cruz

I wrote earlier this week that Victor Cruz would win the starting third wide receiver job, and I still believe that to be very possible.

However, he's not had a great start to camp as far as dropping passes is concerned. It seems like every night at practice there is a pass that goes right through Cruz' hands, and most nights more than one.

It could just be getting back in to a groove after not practicing for several months, but he cannot afford to keep it up amidst a battle for the third wide receiver spot.

Cruz is a fan favorite after his highlight reel game against the Jets in the preseason last year, so to have a poor start to camp is disconcerting.

Eli Manning

This is not the slide fans wanted to see. Eli Manning led the NFL with 25 interceptions in 2010 to go along with five fumbles lost.

The Giants had an incredibly balanced team and the turnovers were really the only thing to point to as a reason why they didn't make the playoffs.

You could say injuries, but the Giants still had a top 10 offense despite losing several wide receivers to the IR.

Monday was a bad day for the franchise quarterback. The defense had his number and he looked very much off. He threw a couple of picks and had several other passed batted away.

Of course he's still made his good plays here and there, but the bad ones always seem to outweigh the good ones.

This shouldn't really be a cause for concern right now—the offense was likely to be behind the defense after the lockout—but it could be if it continues past the first couple preseason games.