The Giants next to last OTA workout was a short one -- less than an hour -- with no 11-on-11, so not too much in the way of highlights. however, I did take a few notes and will share what I came up with.
First the attendance report. Everyone was present for this workout, with the usual guys (Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield) being limited. Back at work were LB Michael Boley (hip) and WR David Tyree (groin), both of whom didn’t work last time we had access. Boley told reporters after practice that he was finally able to return to work this week.
Corey Webster was limited a bit by what head coach Tom Coughlin described as a shoulder ailment, but he said it’s not serious. Also slowed by injury in this workout was CB Aaron Ross, who tweaked an ankle and became a spectator throughout most of the practice.
Afterwards, Ross told me that the injury wasn’t anything serious and that he expected to be ready for next week’s three-day mini camp.
Speaking of Ross, I promised him a plug for his upcoming even. The “Aaron Ross Bring It Home Charity Celebrity Weekend,” which will be held in San Antonio, TX, will feature a cheer camp which will be run by Ross’ fiancée, Olympic medalist Sanya Richards, a football camp run by Ross and a few of his Giants teammates, a “meet and greet” celebrity dinner, and then on the final day, a celebrity basketball game. All proceeds will benefit numerous charities selected by both Ross and Richards. For more information, visit www.bltsports.com.
Getting back to the practice, the Giants did some work on kickoff returns, so we got to see a little bit of what they pan to do as far as addressing the new two-man wedge rule. AS far as the lineup of players, they rotated different guys as traditionally the wedge has been a mix of power and finesse. With kickoffs not going full speed, it remains to be seen how it will work out as I’m told it’s still a work in progress. One thing of note though is that Kevin Dockery took a turn at returning kickoffs.
Eli Manning had a chance to air out a few balls today and looked very relaxed in doing so. He hit TE Kevin Boss in stride on a seven-on-seven drill – Boss, by the way, looked extremely fluid. Then Manning connected with Mario Manningham over the middle. Manningham did a great job of separating from the defender.
Manning connected again on another deep ball, this one to Sinorice Moss who separated nicely from Rashad Barksdale.
Good job by Jonathan Goff, lining up at middle linebacker to stop Steve Smith on an outside slant. Goff quickly diagnosed the play perfectly and quickly got himself into a position to make the stop.
Micah Rucker caught a ball thrown by David Carr. I didn’t catch who the defender was, but it looked like the defender just gave up on trying to cover Rucker, who looked particularly fluid on that reception.
Antonio Pierce broke up a pass intended for TE George Wrighster, a ball that was very nearly picked off by Michael Boley. Pierce is certainly moving these days with an extra pep in his step as he’s determined to bounce back from last year.
Great job by Gerris Wilkinson and Stoney Woodson to converge on a pass intended for Andre Brown in the pass. Woodson knocked the ball away while Wilkinson was in position to prevent Brown from turning up field for any gain.
Barksdale did a nice job defending against Hakeem Nicks, who was unable to come up with the catch. Then on the next pass attempt, the ball bounced off Ramses Barden’s hands as Stoney Woodson managed to get just a small piece of the ball to deflect it.
On the next play, Darcy Johnson might have left a bit early, but since there are no officials in these workouts, it went unnoticed. Anyway, the pass attempt was to Domenik Hixon, who dove at the ball thrown in front of him. It was a good effort, but Hixon wasn’t able to come up with it.
As far as the slot receivers go, the Giants have been trying numerous combinations. In addition to Steve Smith, last year’s slot man, taking a few snaps at the position, Hixon, Darcy Johnson, and Sinorice Moss all took turns in the slot. Smith was covered well by CB Travonti Johnson. On the next play Hixon went inside wit Kevin Boss lining up wide. Then it was Darcy Johnson in one slot with Sinorice Moss on the other side. Johnson was the target and he did a nice job of reaching up and pulling in a ball as Kenny Phillips was defending.
Nice job by Hixon to beat Chase Blackburn over the middle on a pass. But then the defense made up for it on the next play as Gerris Wilkinson stopped Danny Ware on a pass to the flat.
David Carr overthrew David Tyree on the last play of the practice, but in fairness, all of the receivers were covered.
One quick note of interest. As we were gathered around Coughlin for his post practice press conference, I happened to notice Rich Seubert over by the tight ends. Seubert, who played tight end in school, caught a couple of balls that were thrown by tight ends coach Mike Pope. Not sure if that was just for old time’s sake or if their might be a chance of Seubert getting to show off his pass catching skills (he’s still a natural by the way), down the line, but it was a curious sight.
The Giants will have one more OTA tomorrow. They’re off on Monday and then on Tuesday they begin their three-day mini camp. What is head coach Tom Coughlin expecting? “It’s a continuance of where we are and in trying to work on the areas in which we need the most work at,” he said. “We have already introduced it and want to see how the young guys do. So it will be a combination of what we have done this spring.”
That’s a wrap on the workout. I will have one more story for you later today, but I’m not going to say who it’s about yet, other than it’s a member of the defense.
One other quick note for our subscribers: since this workout was so short, there is no full report – there just wasn’t enough to write to be honest. However I promise to make it up to you next week with our mini camp coverage.
