“Prep-cation:” McAdoo sends New York Giants into summer break

“Prep-cation.” You won’t find it in the dictionary, but coach Ben McAdoo used it Thursday as the New York Giants concluded minicamp and it perfectly describes the six-week break leading up to training camp.

Giants players will be on their own from now until reporting for training camp July 28. Some will take vacations to faraway places. They will find a variety of ways to relax. They will all, however, be expected to continue to prepare for the 2016 season.

“This is a key time for every club in the league right now — you build to this point. We feel that we could put pads on, give them a couple days off, put pads on, go out and practice for a couple weeks and be ready for the first game. But that’s not the case — they have a little “prep-cation” coming up. They can prepare for what’s coming down the road and we hope they all make smart and wise decisions,” McAdoo said.

Ah yes, “smart and wise decisions.” Not ones that lead to getting arrested or impacting your career by blowing your fingers off. Teams around the league will worry about the health and safety of their players for the next six weeks, and the Giants are no exception.

No matter what NFL team you are a fan of, you should hope your players are not in the headlines between now and training camp. If they are, that probably is not a good thing for them or your team.

Here is a little more from McAdoo’s press conference Thursday at the conclusion of minicamp.

On what the Giants accomplished in spring practices ...

“We started to establish our identity — without pads — but sound, smart and tough, committed to discipline and poise. We know what it looks like now. We had a chance to sit down, we had a chance to define it and lay the foundation for when we do get the pads on.”

On his first spring as a head coach ...

“I blinked my eyes and it was over. Very fast, very fast. Tough to slow things down in this business.”