10 takeaways from Day 4
The New York Giants wrapped up their adaptation period on Saturday with the fourth and final training exercise of the week.
Things started with head coach Brian Dabol holding his regular pre-practice press conferences. He mainly focused on recaps of the first three days and how Saturday’s exercise would be structured.
The players will have a day off on Sunday before returning on Monday morning for the first padded practice of camp.
Here are 10 quick takeaways from exercise number 4.
h
h
cruises along
Jessica Alcheh – USA TODAY SPORTS
Although there have been some difficulties in the first three days of practice, Dabol expressed an overall optimism about his schedule and the players.
Accordingly, the Giants continued “together cruises” on Saturdays. The exercise once again focused on the defined zone, this time the Fringe Red Zone work.
“Keep attacking those positions,” Dabol told reporters.
Things have slowed down a bit with players without pads, but Dabol expects the intensity to pick up on Monday.
Aziz Ozulari is day by day
Mike Stob/Getty Images
The Giants placed Edge Rush Aziz Ozulari on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list with a hamstring problem as training camp opened earlier this week.
Ozulari has been the only player to ride a bike on the sidelines this week, who at times seems quite alone. And although Dabol initially said the injury was not serious, he declined to put a timeline on the second-year player’s return.
For now, Ozulari remains a day-to-day.
Quick evaluation is pointless
Danielle Parhizkaran\NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
After Thursday’s practice, some members of the media came down hard on quarterback Daniel Jones and the team’s offense. The fact that they are in an adaptation period and were not wearing pads apparently did not affect their opinion.
Dabol was asked that on Saturday and immediately shut it down, telling reporters there was no need for an immediate evaluation. He also noted that it is difficult to evaluate when players are only wearing shells.
More specifically, Dabol said the practice is structured in such a way that the offense is deliberately put in difficult circumstances.
develop a winning identity
Danielle Parhizkaran\NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
Speaking of adversity, Dabol wants to see more of the camp. Whether it’s damaging the offense or cutting off communication with the edge, it’s about preparing his players for anything.
From the fundamentals to the unexpected, the whole point of the current practice structure is to work on everything and prepare the players to adapt.
“You’re never satisfied,” said Dabol, adding that building a winning identity begins early.
John Feliciano still recovering
Bob Donan – USA TODAY SPORTS
Center John Feliciano missed Friday’s practice, which Dabol called “heat exhaustion”. It was initially expected that he would return on Saturday but it was not so.
Although this is only a minor problem for Feliciano, it has become a significant issue on the field. The depth behind the legendary first time center is lacking in the absence of Nick Gates. Both Jamil Douglas and Ben Bradson blamed poor snaps on Friday and it led to Shane Lemieux getting some rep at the center on Saturday.
Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones also missed his second straight day of practice.
kenny drops x2
Ken Blaise – USA TODAY SPORTS
Another exercise, more drops to wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
The camp started off poorly for Goladay, who is responsible for at least one drop in a day. Saturday was no exception as the ball slipped in the hands of the veteran once again.
This time, it drew a negative response from the crowd.
Goladay later returned with a touchdown from Daniel Jones.
belton on board
Rich Schultz / Getty Images
Rookie safety Dane Belton joined the board with his first interception of training camp on Saturday, going up and winning a 50-50 ball over wide receiver David Sills.
Beltane is expected to play the third security role after Xavier McKinney and Julian Love. However, with Love running around in defense of Vink Martindale, Beltane is likely to play a significant amount of snap.
camp’s first battle
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY SPORTS
It took a full week, but the first battle of the training camp erupted on Saturday.
After a major courtesy of Shane Lemieux, anger flared up. Lemieux and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence joined in and Leonard Williams quickly joined the field.
Mark Glowinsky was also involved and later, Saxon Barkley did a lot of barking in defense.
The cooler heads eventually prevailed.
darne chief
Jessica Alcheh – USA TODAY SPORTS
It is the start of training camp for cornerback Darne Holmes. He has been dominant in coverage, taking out a pass in each of his first three drills.
On Saturday, Holmes continued the turnover trend by snatching the ball from Saxon Barkley – a very rare feat.
Safety Julian Love picked up the loose ball and returned it to the other side for a touchdown.
If you’re bad at math, he made four turnovers for Holmes in four days and generated two touchdowns.
danny darts
AP Photo/John Munson
Quarterback Daniel Jones looked better on Saturday after two days of hard practice. He was not without mistakes – throwing an interception off the 50-50 ball and later missing Kenny Golladay – but he displayed progress.
As practice drew to a close, Jones released arguably the best throw of the camp so far, hitting Vandell Robinson in the endzone with a laser.
This is an example of the type of throw that Jones was not allowed to make under Joe Judge. The risk of error is high and the judge avoided them at all costs. However, these are also the types of throws that Giants require Jones to make.
1
1
The story was originally published on Giants Wire. appeared on
