New York Giants Training Camp: Afternoon practice report
by Ed Valentine on Aug 4, 2009 6:27 PM EDT
in News
37 comments
When I tell you who I thought was the most impressive player on the field during Tuesday afternoon's workout during New York Giants training camp, you might rub your eyes, read it a couple of times and wonder, 'who the heck is that and what is Ed talking about? Maybe the sun has fried his brain.'
The best player on the field was safety Vince Anderson. Yes, Vince Anderson. Yes, the Vince Anderson who was signed as an undrafted free agent cornerback out of tiny Webber International, a school I had never heard of.
Anderson, 6-foot-2, 205 pounds has been moved to safety by the Giants. Anderson made a pair of interceptions Tuesday afternoon on poorly thrown balls by Rhett Bomar (yes, my fav Rhett). He also tipped away a long ball from David Carr that seemed destined to become Hakeem Nicks' first huge play of camp.
The Giants have three safeties they know they can depend on. Michael Johnson, Kenny Phillips and C.C. Brown will see most of the playing time.
There is a nice little battle shaping up for the fourth safety slot between Travonti Johnson, undrafted free agent Sha'reef Rashad and Anderson. Who knows? Anderson might not do a thing the rest of camp, but Tuesday afternoon he stamped himself as a contender for that last safety spot.
- The other most notable thing about Tuesday afternoon's session was Tom Coughlin's foul mood. After expressing plenty of unhappiness with his offense in his morning press briefing, TC let his offense have it most of the afternoon. During the first set of 11-on-11 drills there were quite a few unprintable TC explosions when mistakes were made. To say the least the head coach is not happy with what he is seeing from his offense thus far.
- Steve Smith rebounded from a sub-par morning with an excellent afternoon. Smith's highlight play was the first pass of the day, when he beat Aaron Ross deep and hauled in what would have been an 80-yard touchdown catch.
- By the way, before I forget to mention it, the wind conditions at UAlbany this afternoon were good practice for Eli when it comes to handling Giants Stadium winds in December. It was very blustery, and Eli tossed a couple of wobblers. For the most part, though, he delivered the ball well.
- Rookie receivers Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden both made a couple of nice grabs. The more I watch Barden the more I wonder how he got all the way to the tail end of the third round. With his size and strength he looks like one of those guys you can complete passes to even when you know he isn't open.
- Bryan Kehl had an interception for the second straight day. He picked off Eli on a pass intended for Kevin Boss. Pretty obvious Eli never saw him. It's also pretty obvious to these eyes that Kehl is a better player than Gerris Wilkinson. Which leads to the question -- why is Wilkinson working with the first unit and Kehl the second?
- Watched Lawrence Tynes kick off four times and nail three into the end zone. Of course, he did have the wind at his back. Tynes did not miss a field goal toward the end of practice, making something like 8-10 in a row (I stupidly didn't bother to count).
- By the way, both Jay Alford and Zak DeOssie snapped during field goal drills. Every Alford snap was high, and Jeff Feagles had to pull it down. Every DeOssie snap was perfect. I am going to continue to ask. Why isn't DeOssie handling ALL of the snapping during games?
- By the way, what does it tell you that Eli was the first non-kicker or snapper on the field this afternoon? By a wide margin. And yes, that means yours truly was the first reporter there -- early enough to notice.
0 recs |
37 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
thanks for the report
nice to hear how the young receivers are doing…how about the new guys on the dl? and how does osi look?
Osi
He looks frisky. He always has a smile on his face, and from what I can see he is running and moving very well.
D vs. O
Early on the D is almost always better than the offense. I remember back to my days of playing the D in summer ball would invariable outplay the O, which is primarily a function of the importance of pace and timing for the Offense to generate solid play.
…Pace & timing: two offensive concepts that I’ve never been fully convinced that Gilbride can actually understand….
I'm pulling for DeOssie too.
It sounds like Steve Smith may be ready to step it up this year.
There must have been a gale warning if Tynes kicked it that deep….
Keep up the good work, Ed.
by giant fan since 57 on Aug 4, 2009 7:21 PM EDT reply actions
Funny note
I just read the notes the Giants e-mailed out about practice. I swear I wrote my post beforre seeing this, but Michael Eisen’s notes include this line: The star of the afternoon practice was…Vince Anderson. So, I’m not the only person who thought so.
I honestly never thought
Steve Smith would or should be our #1…i love the guy to death but i always thought he looked un comfortable catching the ball over his shoulder and flat our running past guys…
i guess the Giants think otherwise and so far from what i’m reading he’s proving me wrong…which is obviously a good thing. I still think he’s best in the slot…but we might as well give him some reps outside now so if it comes to that during the season he’s ready.
also, thank you for pointing out the fact that Kehl is out playing Gerris…I think he’s more physical than Gerris and is just as fast. In fact I think he’s a future starter…if it weren’t for Boley having surgery he’d be challenging Clark and Sintim for SAM.
I think
it is very early, and the giants are trying a lot of things with guys to see what they have. Smith can get deep, the question will be what the best use of all their guys will be.
by Ed Valentine on Aug 4, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions
A quick rant...
I’m usually over at the espn draft board arguing about this…but is anyone here sick of D. Clark as a starter?
If i recall he was brought in to compete with Wilkenson for WILL? How did he become our starting SAM? Obviously Gerris is constantly hurt and Kehl got banged up last year too, this i know…but someone WAS healthy: Chase Blackburn!
IMO we should have moved him over to SAM. I’m well aware that Chase doesn’t have “starter” type skills but the guys’ got a motor that does not quit. Aside from AP he probably knows our system better than anyone else at LB, and the guy makes plays when he’s on the field…something D. Clark does very rarely.
Look from what I can tell, D. Clark is a helluva stand up guy, great teammate, and obviously someone that Coach C. vouched for. But if he was brought in as a back-up type player and someone who could play all 3 spots well…let him do that. Chase is not the long term answer but in the short term aka when Sintim is ready to start, he’ll be the better solution IMO
comments?
whoops
wrong blog
President of the Ramses Barden Fan Club
by Hoyadestroya85 on Aug 4, 2009 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions
props
Great report Ed! Couldn’t ask for better coverage. Let us know how Brandon Jacobs looks tomorrow.
steve smith
Got to post it one more time my family. We have the other Steve Smith in the league this year, maybe the better Steve Smith.[heavy on this year]
Let's not get carried away
I’ve posted before that I love our Steve Smith but he is not in the same catagory as Carolina’s Steve Smith. SS of the Panthers is a one man wrecking crew. Catch a Panthers game and not just the highlights on ESPN!
Ed, Question about the D Line
How is Canty working out in practice and is he drawing doubles that would free Tuck and Osi? Who do you think will get the most double and single coverage on the line. It seems to be a pick your poison type of deal.
Doubles?
Geesh, these guys are working in shorts and shells. They aren’t exactly game-planning for each other. That said, under these conditions it is pretty much impossible to gauge line play. There is no tackling, so every running play goes for a TD. And, no one can get near the QB so they aren’t killing themselves rushing the passer. By the way, I have always maintained Tuck is better than Osi. If I am a Defensive Coordinator, I would single Osi and take my chances.
by Ed Valentine on Aug 4, 2009 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Like I said, pick your poison
What would be “your” ideal D-line? We’re stacked. What’s the best line for the pass and the best for the run in your opinion?
i know you didn’t ask me specifically but in 3rd and long i like Kiwi, Tuck, Canty, Osi
in running downs Tuck, Robbins/Bernard (when healthy), Cofield, Osi
I even heard they’re trying kiwi out on the other side where Tuck normally plays…possibly for that scenario and we know tuck has no problem moving inside.
Ed, i’m not sure if you got up close to Kiwi but from the 2 seconds of film i saw of him he looks a lot bigger…which is good. I thought last year he relied too heavily on that outside move and because of it lost all contain on that side. With more size hopefully he’ll pick up a bull rush or an inside move because that outside move was taking him outta plays a lot of times…he ended up running behind the QB.
I remeber during OTA’s Osi said he was staying late and working w/ Kiwi and Alford on pass rushing, hopefully he’s helping him along….
Kiwi
is the third DE. He will play both sides, and he has worked extensively on both sides thus far.
Ed
Really want to let you know how much we all appreciate the little things you do to keep us up to date on all things Giants. Was born in Jersey now I’m stationed in WA, so there is no Giants coverage up here in the Northwest at all. I look forward to this page more every day as the season closes in on us. :)
I was also there
For the first practice anyways- And agree on Anderson as well. He looked really good for an undrafted free agent for sure.
I thought offensively, the 2 more impressive players in my mind was Kevin Boss and Domenik Hixon. It looks to me like Hixon is our best wide out going into the year, Steve Smith had a 50 yard bomb where he got passed a corner and a safety was lurking and Eli put it on him to hit his hands and drop it. He is normally sure handed but he had a few drops.
Defensively, I think we are stacked. I do not see many teams running on us for one, And Boley, and Tuck were not even out there from what I could see.
Also, Danny Ware looked good I thought. That kid has some speed and a legit chance if one of our backs go down to see some carries and I think its warranted for sure.
Sounds good
I was going to ask Ed about any Danny Ware action. Glad to hear he’s doing well on the field. Although I wonder if his pass blocking skills have improved any? I guess I’ll have to wait until August 17th to find out (I have that date circled on my calendar at work). I think this preseason will be very telling as to what our WR situation will look like and also our DB play.
LETS GO GMEN
by I_Formation27 on Aug 5, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Ware
It’s really hard to judge running backs at this point. Since they are in shorts there is no tackling. It’s tough to tell what is a good run and what isn’t right now. Once they get into pads (probably Thursday morning) I will be able to see more.
by Ed Valentine on Aug 5, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
I hear you
D-Ware is def going to be good for us, he looked strong.
WR’s not so much from what I saw, Eli did throw a beautiful fade to Domenik Hixon who made a spectacular catch with Corey Webster right on him, I did not see much from Barden except a few times He was running a post or fade and got past the dback and David Carr/Rhett Bomar threw elsewhere. All I wanted was for them to throw to Barden on at least one of em, and I was saddened when this did not happen. Nicks seamed to grab alot of possession catches, I liked what I saw from him.
D-Back play looked very solid, Ross and Webster played stellar. I liked what I saw from Phillips and Johnson, Terrell Thomas had like 2 INT and 1 pick 6 as well. DBacks looked good.
by jsballer3314 on Aug 5, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Ed...
You’re getting me more and more excited about Barden with each post…
Should I be?
"We'll show up tomorrow and do the same thing we try to do every day, Kick Pedroia's ass in cribbage and try and win a baseball game."
by tito (eight and oh) on Aug 5, 2009 9:46 AM EDT reply actions
Well ...
I am loving what I see. He might be a tad slow off the ball … but he has good hands, he is strong and he knows how to use that huge body. What I see is a guy who can still make a play on the ball even when it looks like he is covered, mostly because of that body.
by Ed Valentine on Aug 5, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Ed
How many times did he get past somebody and they just wouldn’t throw it. I think one time Woodson led him over the middle where if there was pads and tackling he might have left on a stretcher, and he under threw him too. Can we please try to get this man a few jump balls for Gods sake?
by jsballer3314 on Aug 5, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Game Planning
Line Up Ramses and Kevin Boss on the Same side of the field and then just chuck it up in their general direction
President of the Ramses Barden Fan Club
HAHAHA
From what Ed is saying that sounds about right for every third and goal this year.
"We'll show up tomorrow and do the same thing we try to do every day, Kick Pedroia's ass in cribbage and try and win a baseball game."
by tito (eight and oh) on Aug 5, 2009 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Can Canty catch?
Because isn’t he 6 ft 7?
They would put 3 very tall people out, I don’t know how you can block that?
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
Related FanPosts on Big Blue View
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Get Your Giants' Gear
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
