Tag Archives: Giants Training Camp

WFAN’s Mike Francesa was in Albany yesterday and many Giants sat down to speak with him.  Here are some of the clips….

John Mara

Eli Manning

Tom Coughlin

Keith Bulluck

Antrel Rolle

Tagged Giants Training Camp, New York Giants |

CB Aaron Ross is finally healthy.

For the past few seasons, Ross has been marginalized by a tricky hamstring, making him sort of a forgotten figure in the Giants’ secondary.

The Giants’ 2007 first-round selection has been all over the place the first three days of camp.  He is pushing hard to get his old job back  – right cornerback – but that spot has been secured by another high draft choice, Terrell Thomas.

Ross has no worries, though. A starter on this defense is just someone who begins games.  Everyone will play plenty in this new Perry Fewell-led defense.

Right now, Ross is penciled in as the primary backup for Thomas, but he will serve as the nickel which will place him in position to make some big plays.

He is also in the running to replace Domenik Hixon as the Giants’ punt returner.  He has gone from forgotten Giant to key contributor.

This morning, he spoke to reporters…..

Q: How’s your leg feeling?

A: Last year, any sudden move, I was scared my hamstring was going to
go at any moment. This year, I put in the work, I put in the time to
get my hamstring healthy. I’m feeling healthy. Everything’s going
really, really good for me right now. I’m just ready to go.

Q: How are you adjusting to the new defense?

A: I’m loving it. The new defense, it seems like it fits me really
well. I have a chance to get my eyes back to the quarterback and that’s
something I like to do. Make plays on the balls and coach Fewell, he’s a
DB coach at heart. I’m loving every moment of it now.

Q: Are you able to guess or make plays on the ball? You’re able to play a little cat and mouse?

A: Exactly. You can gamble a little bit more in this defense. Last
year’s defense was more press, man-to-man in your face type. There
wasn’t too much gambling you could do. You basically just had to make a
play on the ball. This year, you can sort of read route combinations and
just go and be a DB and gamble.

Q: Do you have to know where the guys behind you are? You can’t gamble that much, can you?

A: If you don’t gamble you’ll never make a play. That’s something
that I think they drafted me for. For being a gambler, making plays on
the ball. That’s what I’m going to keep doing.

Q: From a distraction standpoint there hasn’t really been any
this camp. Everyone’s talking about the Jets a lot. Does that bother
you?

A: No, not at all. We just have to worry about what we’re doing. If
we take care of our business I believe we will be a top notch defense in
this league this year.

Tagged Giants Training Camp, New York Giants |

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com was in Albany the past few days assessing Big Blue’s 2010 chances

“With everyone around the country talking about the Dallas Cowboys,
the Giants are the forgotten team. But my warning is this: Not so fast.
This team is working hard to turn things around and isn’t using the
injuries of 2009 as an excuse for the collapse. Even Eli Manning took a long, hard look at being sacked 30 times and evaluated what he could do better to eliminate the problem.”

Tagged Giants Training Camp, New York Giants |

It’s only week one of training camp and the one topic everyone was hoping to avoid reading about – injuries – are once again dominating the headlines.

According to Paul Schwartz of the NY Post….from Twitter

C Shaun O’Hara‘s left ankle injury not new, result of chronic condition in joint, will be treated to reduce swelling and increase mobility.

WR Hakeem Nicks hyperextended right knee, will have MRI tonight says the Giants. Figures to miss time but probably not too serious

From Vinny DiTrani’s True Blue Blog…..

…WR Hakeem Nicks suffered an injury to his right knee late in Tuesdayafternoon’s practice at the Giants University at Albany camp. Nicks remained on the ground as his teammates went through their post-practice stretching regimen. He drew the attention of the entire medical staff as Ronnie Barnes, vice-president of medical services, fiddled with the knee. The second-year wide receiver eventually was helped to his feet and walked on his own to a cart, which took him to the locker room….

Tagged Giants Training Camp, New York Giants |

David Diehl visited with Jody McDonald and SNY contributor Brandon Tierney on their ESPN Radio show today….

LISTEN

Tagged Giants Training Camp, New York Giants Audio |

WR Hakeem Nicks is being limited to one workout a day.  The Giants do not want to go into the season with the promising second-year wideout less than 100%.

Last year, Nicks showed some explosiveness in his first season, grabbing 46 receptions for 790 yards, tying him with Minnesota’s Percy Harvin for the most by a rookie.

The Giants want Nicks build on those numbers, and like they have been doing with all of their hobbled players, they intend to err on the side of caution with Nicks and let him heal.

He sat out the morning practice but stopped by to speak with reporters during the midday break today.

Q: Coming off last season, obviously you’re a little more comfortable with being in the offense and reading the defense, what changes are looking for out of yourself at this camp?

A: You know, just being more dependable at my position as well as being more consistent. I want to take my game to another level and be consistent every play.

Q: What has Coach Sean Ryan said to you?

A: We talked about consistency and little critiques in my routes and things like that which I feel I still could work on.

Q: Do you like the young receiving corps and what guys are kind of stepping up in terms taking some of the younger guys under their wings?

A: Well, Steve (Smith), but I think as a group collectively we all encourage each other and help each other out. We know we have to work hard day in and day out, on and off the field and we know what it takes at the end of the day.

Q: How much does Eli (Manning) communicate with you guys in what he needs to do and what he wants out of the receivers?

A: Eli communicates a lot with us. Making sure we’re on top of our game and making sure we are on the same page when we’re out there.

Tagged Giants Training Camp |

From the Giants’ Communications Department….this morning’s transcript of Tom Coughlin’s press update….

Q: What about your receiving corps? They surprised a lot of people last year:
A: More things are expected of that group. Greater consistency, greater productivity. Obviously the loss of Domenik did not help. He was a very stable force there. He could play all the positions. The young guys have to continue to improve. I talked to you the other day about Ramses. They’ve got to be part of a receiving group in terms of the depth and quality that we want. It’s got to be an everyday thing for him as well. I think it doesn’t help any that Hakeem is out one practice a day and now Manningham is out with whatever he has, soreness in the groin area. When they miss a practice, they really don’t understand that they’re not just missing a practice, they miss opportunities for the team to continue to move along with the guys who have proven on the field that they can play. It’s a group we are expecting a lot from.

Q: Is there a concern with O’Hara’s ankle, that it’s more than just swelling?
A: Well, I think they’re going to look at it, do all the tests, and find out what it is. It’s always a concern.

Q: Is this something new for Manningham?
A: I guess so, yeah. I’m not aware of anything in the past along those lines.

Q: Will Nicks be limited to one a day for the duration?
A: Yes. That’s what they’re saying. Unless he can prove that he’s not going to get sore and there won’t be setbacks. He seemed to do well with one practice yesterday.

Q: What about Beckum?
A: Beckum started to feel a hamstring, so we backed him off. Don’t think he pulled it, but it’s still sore.

Q: DeOssie has the back flaring up again?
A: Well, DeOssie did what he had to do. I don’t know if he…no report was made on him. It’s a constant thing but so far it hasn’t held him out of anything.

Q: Is there a reason you’re keeping the one-a-day guys to the the afternoon? You used to split them up:
A: Well, for (these first two days) I did it. I didn’t want, this early in camp, to take those guys with the one a days and have one follow the other right away. The afternoon practice, then the next morning. I sort
of held it that way and I sort of made a general statement so the training room would know whether or not, and the coaches would know how to play them there. As we go forward with the one practice a day thing, we may have a chance to do some maneuvering. I’ll look at it by practice, and calculate how many times they’ve been involved in the first time and how many times they’ve been involved in the third down, that type of thing.

Q: How are the cornerbacks adjusting to Perry Fewell’s new techniques?
A: Okay. They’re doing alright. I think they’ve all shown at different times an aggressiveness. Obviously you saw a couple more catches out there by those guys. So it’s been good. Technically, they’re doing okay. They’re doing well. Just little things here and there just withalignment, etc. that they have to be coached.

Q: One of the coaches said you guys might give up a few more catches but the goal is to give up less passing yardage:
A: Well, I hope we don’t give up more. I don’t think anybody wants that. I think what they’re saying is if we shut down the big plays and stop the big plays, we would be much further ahead than we were last year.

Q: What have you seen from Bruce Johnson thus far?
A: He’s been good. He’s been spry and he’s run well. He’s jumped a couple routes and I told him he has done a nice job. I was kidding him about his punt return coverage drill yesterday, which wasn’t much. But he has done pretty well.

Q: To me, he seems like he’s guessing:
A: Well, he’s reading the quarterback. In that situation, a zone situation, he’s reading the quarterback well and he really shows an ability to break.

Q: A few of the new guys you brought in last year, Michael
Boley, Canty, the injuries…you just hoping these guys do what you need
them to do? You didn’t see much of it last year:
A: I hope, I hope. The offseason and working in the spring and staying healthy through all of that, I’m hoping that’s the answer. With Michael and Canty and some of those guys who really deal with the quality of their
work.

Q: What does Boley give you? We haven’t really seen his best?
A: He’s very athletic, fast, and very good in coverage. He can play and does play on special teams. He’s carrying a little bit of extra weight and hopefully that will be recognized in his ability to play the run.

Q: You like seeing him have extra weight?
A: He’s always trying to do that, and you’d like it. He’s always been trying to do that and trying to keep it there. He’s always trying to keep it there.

Q: From the off the field standpoint, you haven’t seen many distractions. What do you think that is a reflection of?
A: That’s a reflection of our team, and our team’s commitment and their focus. The realization of what camp is all about and just the idea of why we’re here. We are here to work, prepare, and become the best team we can be. We have a short amount of time to do that, and we certainly don’t need anything except their effort, their focus, and all of their time spent on being the best team they can be and not other things.

Q: When you see fire between guys like Beatty and Tollefson, what do you think?
A: It’s good, it’s fine.

Q: Why?
A: They’re competing.

Q: What does Beatty have to show you?
A: Get better. Just keep getting better. Do a better job with assignments, consistency.

Q: Did Webster just cramp up at the end?
A: Yeah. Might have been post cramp.

Q: What’s your message to Eli in terms of this season?
A: Take it to the next level. It’s always the same. I chart all the previous year and we sit and talk about where he has to go and what would be the next level of improvement for Eli and we chart it. He sees it and his completion percentage and his reduction of turnovers, touchdown passes, all those things. They’re point blank for him. I’ll give that to him and the quality of play and the step he took a year ago. We expect it to take place again.

Q: What about his work with the wide receivers?
A: He’s always talking about what he sees: ‘Did he see what I saw?’, youknow. ‘I expected you to make this kind of a reaction and you did something else. What did you see that I missed? Did you read the
coverage? Did you know the other corner had dropped off.’ He’s always talking to all the receivers and he’s taking a lot of responsibility with it because of our young guys.

Tagged Giants Training Camp, Tom Coughlin |

Since I am not at camp today, I will have to rely on the esteemed Giants beat writer pool for updates.

Here are some quick notes from the morning practice:

Alex Raskin, CBSSports,com Rapid Reports

“WR Hakeem Nicks (toe), TE Kevin Boss (ankle),C Shaun O’Hara (ankle), S Kenny Phillips (knee), G Kevin Boothe (pectoral) and WR Mario Manningham are on bikes this morning, while TE Travis Beckum is using the hand crank.

Coach Tom Coughlin said WR Mario Manningham has a sore groin, and Travis Beckum was on the hand crank because of a sore hamstring. The coach also said WR Hakeem Nicks won’t practice twice a day until he proves his toe is pain-free.

As promised, 22-year NFL veteran Jeff Feagles is here to work with his successor, P Matt Dodge. Unlike Feagles, Dodge could handle kickoff duties as well.

CB Corey Webster was apparently suffered a cramp, and coach Tom Coughlin said he was unaware of any injury to LS Zak DeOssie,, who wasn’t in pads this morning.”

Mike Garafolo, The Star-Ledger, SNY …via Twitter…

“(Terrell) Thomas excellent in coverage so far. Beatty looking solid, just shoved Tollefson to the ground with one arm…Now Tollefson gives a shove back to Beatty, who didn’t seem to take kindly to it.

Bruce Johnson with a pick. Having a solid couple of days here…..Bruce Johnson again – this time a PD on a ball to Hagan. He wouldn’t quit until he knocked it out of Hagan’s hands and he succeeded.

S Michael Johnson on CAR WR Steve Smith vowing revenge: “You talking about the Steve Smith who went to the Pro Bowl?” Zing!”

Tagged Giants Training Camp |

The Giants begin Day Three of camp this morning, with a carbon copy of yesterday’s schedule.  A morning practice (8:35-10:35) followed by Tom Coughlin’s presser and player interviews. The afternoon practice will go from 3:15-5:15.

There is no practice tomorrow.

For the absolute latest and greatest, check out our “Tweet Beat” feature on the menu bar for the Giants beat writer tweets.

Today’s weather in the capital region is calling for showers and thunderstorms with a high of 86.

The team still has over 1200 PSLs available for the new stadium.  Be aware, they are all in the priciest areas of the stadium.  Go to Giants.com for the latest information.

Fewell Restoring Lost Techniques, Attitude

Perry Fewell‘s hiring is just what this Giants team needed.  The awareness, the unity and the purpose have all been restored as far as I can see.

His enthusiasm is contagious. Practices are upbeat and even the vets have to be on their toes.

There is not one player on that defense who is taking their position for granted.  Every job is being competed for.  Playing time, too.

The philosophy is to create turnovers. Every drill (including “hot potato”) is predicated on locating the ball, or getting your hands on the ball.

Fewell is constantly yelling “ball, ball, ball” or something of that ilk, even on incomplete passes.  Play until the whistle blows.  He’s bringing the aggressiveness back, which is good to see.

Fewell is also lucky he has such a fine group of assistants.  New D-Line coach Robert Nunn, Jim Herrmann (LBs), Pete Giunta (corners) and David Merritt (safeties) are all veteran teachers as well as strategists.

Jason Pierre-Paul

Giants first-round draft pick Jason Pierre-Paul is coming under criticism from a lot of  pundits and fans.

Why, I ask?  He’s just starting out.  I hear and read all of these”bust” labels being tossed around. Ridiculous.

People have to be kidding with this stuff.  JPP is a phenomenal athlete with exponentially high and unique physical ability.  He’s raw, but he’s learning from the best and the team will not ask him to do more than he’s ready to do.

He’s a bit shy in front of the cameras and with the media. Big deal. This kid can do things most normal humans cannot.  I say hold your tongues on him for now. Later on, you’ll all be dropping your jaws……

Kenny Phillips

He is anxious to participate.  He will not play one second sooner than he is ready. The question of KP’s career hinges on that.  At some point, the Giants are going to have to allow him to resume that career.  It may be next week. It may be next year. If you’ve ever had arthritis, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

I equate Phillips’ condition to that of the Mets’ Carlos Beltran.  Sure, Phillips is younger, but arthritis is not something that knows age or improves with it.  In his case, just hope he can give Giants something at some point…..

Yesterday, I saw him doing his individuals. He was moving around pretty well but that doesn’t mean a whole lot for a guy in his early twenties.  Mind over matter at that point in life.  Can he make football moves…? That’s what the team needs to see.

Tagged Giants Training Camp, New York Giants |

Giants DE Justin Tuck met the throng of reporters outside the dining hall at the U of Albany after this morning’s practice.  He is stressing teamwork along the defensive line and although he has his eyes on the Super Bowl and thinks the Giants have the talent, he doesn’t want his teammates “locking into that word “talent”"…..

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Photo: A.F. Chachkes for Football Reporters Online

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