Some notes and observations about the Giants’ three-day mini camp.
The Sounds of Silence.Unlike years past, the Giants actually went through a stress-free spring. There were no disgruntled players holding out because f their contracts, no one refusing to workout with the team during the OTAs and no shouting matches with the general manager. I have to think that the Giants, who are a low-keyed organization, like it that way because it allowed them to solely focus on football rather than having to deal with the sideshows that have been a regular occurrence at their camps for the past four years.
Making the Grade.I realize that you can’t tell a whole lot by watching mini camps because the players don’t wear pads and there is no hitting. However, they do work on certain aspects of their game and in reviewing my notes, I thought the deep passing game looked very sharp this spring. However, the same can’t be said of the red zone offense. Then again, maybe the Giants defense was just that good in shutting the offense, but I sure hope the offense finds its groove in the red zone before summer camp ends.
Most Impressive – Offense. Hands down Sinorice Moss, who had a very strong practice every time I saw him. However, Moss has looked good in the past – I remember how during his rookie year he was always standing out only to fade away when he got into game situations.
I’m not saying that history is going to repeat itself – certainly I hope that’s not going to be the case – but given Moss’ history, let’s just say I am cautiously optimistic that this is finally going to be the year he shows people why he was worthy of being a number two draft pick.
Most Impressive – Defense. I think Kenny Phillips has to rank up there. He’s bigger, stronger, and faster, and has just taken to the full time free safety role like a hand in glove. While on the topic of safeties, I think you have to throw some kudos over to Michael Johnson, who in taking over at strong safety, looked very aggressive and very comfortable in his new role. Whereas I had concerns about the safety opposition at the start of the spring, I think thee two have done a long way toward alleviating those concerns.
Most Underrated – Offense. Domenik Hixon.For all the credit Moss received from the press, Hixon, who will go into camp as the number one receiver, not only caught everything thrown his way, he consistently managed to separate from defenders and did a nice job with adjusting his routes to make catches. It help that Hixon is not dealing with any injuries, which I’m told were a major factor in his drop off down the stretch. Certainly, Hixon is someone fans might want to keep an eye on come training camp.
Most Disappointing. The one player I continue to be disappointed with is TE Travis Beckum, the H-back I know, I know. He has been dealing with an injury and it’s not his fault, but considering he’s going to fill a very unique position in the offense, I have to wonder if the time he spent on the shelf this spring is going to set him back any for the summer, a concern shared by offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.
“It is hard to make this time up when you have missed it. "Gilbride said. "You hope he is a quick learner, you hope that he can maybe develop more quickly than the average guy. But history shows that if you don’t go through this time period or you miss much of camp, it is hard to be ready and contribute during your first year.”
Gilbride was asked if he’s putting in new plays specifically for Beckum’s talents . “No, not really. You are always looking to put your best 11 matchup – who matches up best for you, gives you your best chance.”
Most Talked About Story. The new practice facility, which this week was christened the Timex Performance Center. Yes, it’s beautiful, and yes, it’s state-of-the art, but the bottom line is clothes don’t always make the man, or to put it more clearly, a state-of-the-art facility doesn’t translate into a champion.
If this team wants to be competitive, and wants to be in the Super Bowl again (and remember, they’ve done it before in the outdated facility), they have to put the hard work in, keep the drama out of the locker room and stay focused.
Most Interesting Observation. Prior to this mini camp, one of the things I was interested in seeing was any noticeable differences in the defense under new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. Sheridan, remember, said that the defense wasn’t going to change all that much save for a few new wrinkles, so I made it a point to pay closer attention to alignments, pressure packages and the like to see if anything jumped out.
What I noticed is much more aggressiveness and a lot more disguising of pressure packages. The final personnel packages aren’t set, but I think one difference you’ll see a lot of is more safety blitzes – something Michael Johnson did very well in this camp.
Some Things Never Change? One of the observations we have made at Inside Football in the past is that PK Lawrence Tynes seems to get rattled if just a bit, if his snap and hold aren’t on the money. Well he did miss a kick in the spring drills in which the snap was off target.
The good news is that Tynes is planning to hang around the practice facility these next few weeks to work hard at his craft. Hopefully, this will be something he’ll be able to eliminate from his game as not every snap and hold is going to be perfect.
Most Impressive Rookies. Hakeem Nicksdidn’t look lost against the big boys, nor did Ramses Barden for that matter. Boy, are the coaches going to have some tough decisions to make at the receiver position.
Remaining Questions. I’m going to explore these (and other) questions in more detail in our July training camp preview issue, but there are a few that come to mind that bear watching this summer.
For starters, the Giants need to show they’ve recovered from the Plaxico Burress fall-out. Oh sure, Burress is no longer their problem, but they spent a lot of time this spring redesigning the playbook to compensate for his loss and it remains to be seen if what they want to do actually pans out. Of course, it will help if their receivers can avoid those nagging “soft tissue’ injuries that sidelined receivers Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, and Taye Biddle during the mini camp.
Another pressing question is how much better will Eli Manninglook now that he’s had a full spring to work with all his receivers? I don’t have to remind you about the numerous occasions last year when it looked like Manning and his top guns, Burress and Amani Toomer, didn’t always look to be in sync. I would hope that this year will be much different.
Notes. The Giants have signed rookie draft pick DeAndre Wright, their sixth round draft pick, to a four-year deal worth a reported $1.6M with escalators. They waived DT Dwayne Hendricks to clear a roster spot for Wright.
Head coach Tom Coughlinwill be at the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, NJ on Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. until noon. The Giants coach will be at the Verizon booth to promote the MyFiOS Home Contest, information about which can be found at www.experiencefios.com.
I still have a few more things to take care of football wise before I take my break. As I said in an earlier blog post, I am going to be rolling out my “Giants Stadium Memories” feature starting next week.
Finally, join me tomorrow for a 2PM ET mini camp wrap up chat. Pop on over to www.insidefootball.com for the link.
