New York Giants 2013 Training Camp: Ten things I've learned so far

Here are 10 things I learned about the New York Giants during my visit to Quest Diagnostics Training Center for the first four days of training camp. If you have been paying attention to the coverage here at Big Blue View and elsewhere, you might be able to guess a lot of these.

1. Prince Amukamara will make a bigger impact this season. It's clear he is the Giants' best cornerback, and he is playing with more aggression, more swagger this season. Maybe still not quite as much as the Giants hope to bring out of him, but this is a more mature Prince.
2. The same can be said for Reuben Randle. While Hakeem Nicks was skipping OTAs, and now that he is taking limited snaps and working carefully around a sore hamstring, Randle is growing by leaps and bounds. He has been far and away the most impressive offensive player in camp.
3. Damontre Moore can rush the passer. After only a couple of days of camp defensive line coach Robert Nunn said Moore is "off to an outstanding start."
4. Nunn is a great interview. His presser on Monday was the first time I have heard him speak, and he gives thoughtful, complete answers.
5. David Diehl is the starting right tackle until further notice. Moore spent four days abusing rookie first-round pick Justin Pugh, and when Moore wasn't doing it Adrian Tracy wasn't making Pugh's life any easier. Pugh is going to be a good, versatile player. It's just looking like it's going to take some time.
6. Training camp at Quest instead of in Albany might be better for the players and the organization, because they stay home and use their own facility. It is not better for the fans, however. The seating isn't as good, with temporary bleachers set up in a parking lot. Fans are usually farther away from the action with a worse view than they had in Albany, having to peer through a chain-link fence. Players can also completely avoid fans after practice if they want to, which was impossible in Albany.
   
7. I've spent some time trying to figure out why quarterback Curtis Painter is still on the roster. I believe it's because the Giants want a veteran backup who is familiar with the offense in the event something happens to David Carr. During the last couple of days of practice, Nassib was very erratic with his throws -- especially the deep balls.
8. The Giants talked a lot about the versatility of defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins when they signed him as a free agent. They have begun to experiment with some "heavy" packages that have Jenkins lining up at defensive end.
9. The Giants are going to miss Henry Hynoski if he isn't ready Week 1, no matter what they say about having confidence in Bear Pascoe or Ryan D'Imperio. Pascoe is, technically, filling in at fullback. The Giants, however, appear to be employing a lot of one-back sets without a fullback in Hynoski's absence.
10. No real darkhorse candidate to make the roster has become obvious yet, at least not to me. I think, though, that running back Michael Cox, the seventh-round pick from UMass, has a chance.