The New York Giants concluded their first week of training camp practice on Saturday, and just as was the case in Wednesday’s practice, the majority of practice was spent on red zone and special teams drills.
Although they weren’t in pads, the intensity was noticeably higher than in the previous practices, as players were grabbing and pushing more aggressively.
Daniel Jones heating up, along with tensions in the trenches
Tempers eventually boiled over when guard Shane Lemieux and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence got into the first fight of training camp following a Daniel Jones designed run near the goal line. Lemieux was angered by something Lawrence did and tackled him from behind and the two wrestled one another. It took several players to break up the altercation.
As far as practice went, for the most part, Daniel Jones performed well. He and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson have formed a nice rapport as the two connected on a couple of nice completions including a touchdown. But Jones also forced a pass in double coverage in the end zone and was intercepted by rookie safety Dane Belton.
Tyrod Taylor had another solid day of practice. Perhaps his best throw in practice was a completion down the right sideline to running back Andre Miller for a touchdown.
So far cornerback Adoree’ Jackson is up to the task of being the Giants’ number one cornerback. He’s had an impressive first week of training camp and made one of the best plays of the day when he broke up a touchdown on a pass intended for Kenny Golladay.
Jackson wasn’t the only defensive back that shined in Saturday’s practice. Darnay Holmes, who’s had an interception in the first three practices, punched the ball out of Saquon Barkley’s grasp, and the ball was recovered by Julian Love.
As far as special teams goes, Darius Slayton, C.J Board, and Gary Brightwell were all used as returners on kickoff drills.
Related: Wan’Dale Robinson is ‘star’ of New York Giants training camp, expected to play key role in 2022
Injury update
Prior to practice, head coach Brian Daboll stated that center Jon Feliciano was once again unable to practice as he recovers from hydration/heat issues. Daboll also mentioned that linebacker Azeez Ojulari is working through his injury but wouldn’t give a timetable for when he’ll return.
Two receivers to watch for
Fifth-year wide receiver Richie James and third-year wide receiver Robert Foster have been impressive this week in camp. James continues to take reps with the second and first-team offense, and although he didn’t take reps with the first-team offense, Foster continues to beat corners downfield. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to compete at a high level.
Related: Recapping the New York Giants second training camp practice
Pads go on for first time on Monday
New York will have the first day off in training camp on Sunday before they return on Monday and practice in pads for the first time.
Daboll was asked how excited he is to have his team practice in pads.
“That’s really when training – I mean this is great. There’s a lot of good teaching out here. It’s really, like I said in the spring, it’s a teaching camp. It’s competitive because there’s fans and the nature of training camp. But the evaluation process of the things that they need to do physically and they’re able to do that, really exert that a little bit more, I think we’re all waiting for that.”
Brian Daboll on his excitement for pads
Once the team practices in pads, evaluators will have a better assessment of how well the team is performing, especially in the offensive line and defensive front seven. This first week of training camp was pretty much an extension of OTAs to help players get acclimated to doing football activities.
So next week is when training camp will start for real for Big Blue.
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