Giants Training Camp Report: 8/3
The Giants had to go back to work today, unfortunately. Below you will find a bunch of notes and reports assembled by a variety of beat writers. The Giants play their first game on Thursday so make sure you watch it.
The Star-Ledger
- Since Plaxico Burress has been unable to practice, he is contributing as an adviser to the Giants’ young receivers. Plax is taking on the mentor role even if the young guys don’t ask for it.
- Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/3 morning practice report worth checking out. Below is a sample of the entire report. There’s much more where that came from so go check out the source.
- DEs Justin Tuck (foot) and Osi Umenyiora (hip), WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Amani Toomer (leg), Mario Manningham (groin) and David Tyree (knee/PUP), LBs Zak DeOssie (back) and Gerris Wilkinson (knee/PUP), CB Sam Madison (sports hernia), RT Shane Olivea and S Craig Dahl (knee) did not practice.
- There we go again: first play of team drills was a bomb. Again from QB Eli Manning to WR Domenik Hixon. Great tackle on the play by CB Aaron Ross. Too bad it was way before the ball got there. That’s a 40-yard pass interference penalty on Ross.
- QB Anthony Wright and WR Michael Jennings hooked up for deep in.
- WR Craphonso Thorpe got the crowd excited with a spinning, toe-tapping catch on a fade to the left side from Wright. Dockery was in coverage on the play.
- Hall ran a nice route to catch a hook from QB Andre’ Woodson in front of Webster. Hall later went deep on Pope, but the ball from Wright was overthrown and out of bounds.
- Mike Garafolo assembled an in-depth 8/3 evening practice report also worth checking out. Below is a sample of the entire report. There’s much more where that came from so go check out the source.
- WRs Plaxico Burress (ankle), Steve Smith (groin), David Tyree (knee/PUP) and Mario Manninghan (groin), LBs Gerris Wilkinson (knee/PUP) and Danny Clark (sports hernia), CB Sam Madison (sports hernia) and OT Shane Olivea (back) did not practice..
- CB Corey Webster would have none of WR Domenik Hixon catching a fade on the left side. He stayed all over Hixon and knocked the ball away. Webster also stayed stride for stride on a go from QB David Carr to WR Sinorice Moss. Webster had such good position it almost looked like he was the intended receiver. Webster knocked it away for a PD.
- Hixon ran a perfect comeback to get separation from CB R.W. McQuarters and make a diving catch. McQuarters bounced back with a PD a few plays later when WR Craphonso Thorpe ran the same pattern.
- LB Chase Blackburn keeps making plays. I mean, this guy couldn’t get a job after the draft a few years ago and now he’s a steady backup in my mind. Tonight, he stayed with Boss on a post into the end zone and wrestled with him to grab a ball from Wright for an INT.
- WR Brandon London made his first nice grab in a few days on a skinny post over CB Kevin Dockery. Not a bad ball at all from Woodson. London then did a great job of accelerating to at least get his hands on a deep incompletion from Manning. The ball was overcooked and I didn’t think London had a prayer of getting there, but he dove and almost made the catch after getting past CB Terrell Thomas.
- Plaxico Burress did some light running for the first time since training camp.
Big Blue Blog
- Paul Schwartz assembled his own morning practice notes. Below is a sample of his notes, but there are not too many more.
- On Manning’s second pass, Ross made another aggressive play, storming in to bat away a pass in the flat. Unfortunately for Ross, the ball was picked out of the air by RB Derrick Ward for a completion.
- David Carr could not have thrown a better pass on a deep toss to Sinorice Moss, who had a step on two rookies, S Kenny Phillips and CB Terrell Thomas. The ball floated down perfectly to Moss … who watched as it slid right through his arms and to the grass. Moss looked up to the sky in bewilderment.
- TE Kevin Boss, who has caught virtually everything thus far in camp, could not make the grab on a lunging attempt from Manning over the middle.
Inside the Giants
- Tom Rock believes that Sinorice Moss is basically playing for his Giants career in this camp so he’s been under the microscope this first week and a half. That means every drop is written about, and to be fair, there have been a lot of them. Moss had a pretty good practice tonight.
The Blue Screen
- Mike Garafolo put together another morning report and another evening report.
I’m thrilled that the Giants re-signed Derrick Ward to a one-year deal. However, I felt like he should have gotten more than a one-year contract. From what I saw on the field, I thought Ward was the best all around back that the Giants had in 2007. We know that Jacobs is a powerful back that wears out defenses, but he is unable to catch the ball whether it’s on a screen or a check down dump off that Eli has to make. We also learned that Brandon gets hurt often for being too physical. We know Bradshaw is the speedy back, but had some fumbling issues. We haven’t seen Bradshaw play an entire game yet either. Ward is a back who’s size is in the middle of Jacobs and Bradshaw, who can run up the gut, who can run to either side, and can catch the ball. Since Ward has all of the tools to be a lead back, I don’t understand why the Giants didn’t go after Ward more aggresively. The Giants allowed Derrick to go into free agency, and nobody picked him up which led to the Giants giving him a one-year deal.
Finally, the Giants are making a little splash in Free Agency. It seemed like Sammy Knight was going to be the only free agent that the G-MEN would add, but now Big Blue signed David Carr and Danny Clark this week. Carr is a former #1 pick who is going to fight for the backup QB role against Jared Lorenzen and Anthony Wright. Carr only costed the Giants $1 million. Danny Clark is going to compete for the outside linebacker position. The rumors are that Clark got a 2-year deal worth $4 million. So we have 3 starting linebackers, but the Giants will have to add some depth. That’s what the Draft is for…
